Being a good electrician requires more than mastery of all things electrical. Being a good electrician requires patience, humility, and flexibility – especially as an apprentice.
So listen up ATI electricians, landing an entry-level electrician job will probably be your first priority after graduation, which is why we want to share this video with you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un4rcaF8nUI
In this video our friends at electricianslibrary.com share with recent graduates the skills, knowledge and etiquette it takes to become an electrician without being hated by your bosses and coworkers. While some of the tips (like clean up after yourself) should be pretty obvious others mightn’t be.
It’s our job here at ATI to prepare our students for success, so while we encourage you to watch the video for yourself, we were awesome enough to summarize it for you.
- Be teachable – just because you’ve graduated, doesn’t mean you’re a master electrician yet…
- Be humble – humility shows respect for your co-workers and bosses.
- Really know the skills – be able to complete tasks.
- Remember the NEC is only a guide – If you’re already studying to become an electrician at ATI you know how important the National Electrical Code is, so help everyone out by learning it.
- Don’t use your cell phone – ATI teachers don’t want you on your phone during class, you boss doesn’t want you on the phone at work.
- Clean up your messes – this is a safety issue, but will affect your popularity as well!
- Arrive on time – working as a tradesman means early starts and deadlines, so no wasting time.
- Ask questions – working as an apprentice is an opportunity to apply classroom learning to real life situations. This is the time to ask questions.
- Dress like a professional – at ATI we don’t have a uniform, but don’t assume this is the case when you start a new job.
- Have your tools with you – in the classroom we provide any necessary tools for hands-on-learning, but once you start working as an electrician the burden is on you!
- Don’t complicate what is simple, don’t simplify what is complicated – this is up there with the Golden Rules if you ask us.
- Accept your mistakes – we all make mistakes, so long as you acknowledge and learn from them it’s okay.
- Listen more than you speak – just like your mother taught you, and your teacher taught you, your boss will want you to pay attention to him.
- Work hard even when you’re alone – ever heard the proverb, while the cat’s away the mice will play? Trades are not often social jobs. You will spend a lot of time working alone, and discipline will be required.
- Don’t make up new solutions – industry rules and techniques are in place because they work – creativity is not part of you job as an electrician.
So what do we here at the Advanced Training Institute think of all this? We agree with the electricianslibrary.com, but we want to remind our recent graduates of a few more things that can make entering the workforce a little smoother.
- Start Applying for jobs early, and take advantage of resources available to you – stop by the career center at ATI to review your resume. Once satisfied with your resume, start sending it out!
- Follow up with employers after you send them your resume. Following up shows initiative, persistence, and genuine interest in the job.
- Work on your people skills. While you may think people skills aren’t important to electricians, the ability to develop good relationships will set you apart from other candidates and shows your leadership potential.
So how does all this affect you?
- Existing students – already enrolled in our electrician diploma program? Stop by the career center at ATI and start working on your resume ASAP, so you can hit the ground running.
- ATI graduate – already a graduate of our electrician diploma program? We want to say congratulations on selecting an accredited electrician technician program and working hard until the finish line. This blog post is especially for you! We hope these tips are helpful as you transition from student to apprentice electrician.
- Future ATI student – do you want to go back to college or quit a dead end job? The ATI family welcomes you to study with us at our accredited career college in Las Vegas. Study to become an electrician, HVAC/R tech, automotive technician or personal trainer, and trust that you’ll have the support you need to succeed.