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So you think you could be an electrician?

456 points · 414 comments · zdw

  1. airbreather · · focus · HN ↗
    One point that most people miss is there are many different kinds of electricians who, often can't even do each other's jobs.

    There is the house wirer, the panel builder, automotive electrician, HV, marine, drilling, industrial, maintenance etc etc.

    Some kinds pay better, others yield work almost wherever you go, others lend themselves to starting your own business better.

    It is nowhere near as homogenous as often described.

    1. defrost · · focus · HN ↗
      Sparky's with apprenticeships (in Australia at least) have the advantage of earning while learning while also segueing into the interstitial Hardware / Software zone.

      A good many I've known have pulled cable and slogged for several years, invested in shitty old house after another (renovating and flipping), transitioned into running electrical subcontracting companies, and "retired" out of trades and into software careers (in GIS or other domains) in their mid thirties to early forties.

      Neither trades nor university education are lifetime commitments or mutually exclusive.

      1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

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