End of ME

Thread Starter

Robin Mitchell

Joined Oct 25, 2009
819
Hi all,

This is the last day for my small little business.

Recently I have been thinking alot about my life and the direction which it should take. I have finally decided that electronics, while was a fun degree and something that I enjoy is not the carrer I wish to persue.

Instead I am qualifying as an electrician and wish to start my own business. I have been doing the course for about 3 months and really enjoying the work.

Maybe in the future I will think again about doing what I now used to do. Now I need to start thinking more about the rest of my life and how I can use my abilities to grow something that will help me and family in the long run.

It was fun while it lasted but enough is enough.
 

Thread Starter

Robin Mitchell

Joined Oct 25, 2009
819
I wont stop electronics as a hobby but as a small business that paid next to nothing its not worth it. My carrer is not about what I do, its about being my own boss. That is my ONLY requirement so the electrician path was the best (in fact, it looked amazing).
 

nerdegutta

Joined Dec 15, 2009
2,684
As an electrician, will you do home cabling or most industrial cabling? After some time dragging, pushing and pulling cables through too small holes and openings, I'll bet you think that "Hm... designing PCB wasn't so bad afterall." Too bad the pay isn't good enough. :) Good luck with you new path.
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Not sure how it works on your side of the pond, but over here if you want to be a self employed Electrician, you've got several years of indentured servitude in front of you. In order to operate legally you need a Master Electrician to supervise electrical work, so effectively to be self employed you need to be a Master Electrician*, and that takes years to achieve. You have to go through several steps (helper, apprentice, journeyman, master, ...if I'm not forgetting any), logging thousands of hours in each step, passing several exams, and then apply for the license.

*I think there are ways around it, like contract a Master Electrician to file for permits and inspect work. But then you'd be paying a competitor and involving a competitor in every job you do. How demoralizing would that be? You might as well just work for that competitor, at least you'd get health insurance - maybe not an issue for you.
 

Thread Starter

Robin Mitchell

Joined Oct 25, 2009
819
The work I will be doing is domestic electrician for now. This means that work done inside the house will not be as grand as in a factory or industrial unit. All that is required is competency, certification (for me, city and guilds), as well as being Part P Qualified.
 

boatsman

Joined Jan 17, 2008
187
Best of luck Mitch. It's hard work to be a self employed electrician, no fixed hours, but there's a tremendous satisfaction in being your own boss in a job you want to do.
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,159
One of the things you learn from the VCs is that you have to know when something isn't working and make a change. They refer to not making the required changes as "slow stupid failure". Knowing when to change course bodes well for your future I think.

May I suggest "MITCH electric"

Everyone would remember you and be unlikely to confuse you with anyone else.
 

gerty

Joined Aug 30, 2007
1,305
Not sure how it works on your side of the pond, but over here if you want to be a self employed Electrician, you've got several years of indentured servitude in front of you. In order to operate legally you need a Master Electrician to supervise electrical work, so effectively to be self employed you need to be a Master Electrician*, and that takes years to achieve. You have to go through several steps (helper, apprentice, journeyman, master, ...if I'm not forgetting any), logging thousands of hours in each step, passing several exams, and then apply for the license.

.
Here in TN you can operate a small business with an LLE (Limited License Electrician) license. The limit on that license is your part of the individual job cannot exceed $25k, anything above that requires a E C (Electrical Contractors ) license. I know of several people that operate a 1-2 man business with just the LLE.
The LLE can be had by passing a 40 question test in 2 hours, you can bring a NEC code book in with you.
The LLE is not the only license required in some locales, usually larger cities. You can buy a work license simply by answering a few electrical questions and pay a fee. Places like Nashville, Knoxville, and other large cities require you to take a written test and maintain that license as well as the LLE.
Confused yet? In small towns all you'll ever need is the LLE, the rest is all about the money.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I changed from electronic design and QC to air conditioning. My background in electronics made me the big fish in the little pond. Imagine being one of few electricians who actually knows why there are 4 wires in the stove outlet!

Go Blue Collar if it feels right. I did.
 

Thread Starter

Robin Mitchell

Joined Oct 25, 2009
819
Yeah, there are many parts of the course I have essentially skipped because I already know it. 3 phase, current laws etc was a piece of cake!

I am just making sure that the legal sections (wire regs etc), are stuck in my head!
 

Sinus23

Joined Sep 7, 2013
248
Here in Iceland the courses for becoming an electronic engineer and becoming an electrician is interwoven for the first 4 semesters. Then they separate to specialize in their field.

It has probably to do with the fact that we don't mass produce electronic components, devices and such. So only a handful of EEs have enough work here without going oversees(It got worse after everything became disposable and fixing it isn't worth it...). So the thought I think is here that even if you graduate as an electronic engineer you could still be useful as an electrician with just a little extra work since you already have a good grasp on the principles.

Edit: And mostly it's about regulations and such.
 
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