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Freshly graduated, I walked the walk, got my certificate and now with the National Electric Code nearly memorized (or at least being a human index), I was a bottle duster looking for a real job. My manager resended that, as he made working at a package store quite the career for himself.

The job market wasn't that great, the economy was improving, but it wasn't booming. Now I had to start the inevitable; proove to a complete stranger that I would be a reasonable investment. All of my previous jobs were not handed to me, but I had prior relationships to the employer; a family mechanic, a Boy Scout camp I previously attended, etc.

I signed up for a head-hunting site, called many contractors. I got a hit from a company around Lake Champlain, out of state, but at the time I was ready to go wherever to get an appreticeship and earn my journeyman's licnse. I was really excited for the phone interview, which went quite well, until the recruiter said that they weren't going to hire me as an electrical apprentice. They wanted to hire me for the computer skills that I had gotten while in college with the objective of hooking up security systems to smartphones.

Looking back, that might have landed me with a cushy job, but the skills that I had were not exactly enough to fullfill this task. My goal was set, and explained in my refusal, I had a goal, and they couldn't provide it.

My next hit was from a contractor in-state. The interview went well, as did his shop tour. It was a small outfit with a clean shop, but they seemed decent. He said he would call me in a week or two, Which he did, more on that later.

In the meantime I managed another interview. The owner was peppy, and the office staff seemed friendly enough. They were ready to hire me on the spot, and a few bucks over the base apprentice pay at the time. There would be "some travel" but as a bachelor living with my parents, I didn't mind. I took them up on their offer and put in my 2 weeks at the package store.

The company that I got hired at was very much a commercial contractor. This meant mostly Metal Clad (MC) cabling, drop-in lights, lots of data cabling, concrete slab work, transformers, refrigeration and more! I was assigned to a large department store remodel, night shift as the store would be open during normal business hours. This was a change, but I eventually got used to it.

A week or so into the job I got called in to the office, things were going well, this was to complege additional paperwork and meet with a representative from the labor board. This was to get me registered as an apprentice. All went well, and I went back to work. It was hard work, mostly on ladders. Eventually I was sent to a job that made use of scissor lifts. My training was as follows "Do you know how to use a joystick?" "Yes." "Ok, drive this around for a bit, put it up to the max height, rock it around a bit and then come inside, try not to hit anything." This was pretty much how the company was ran. At the seat of their pants, nothing truly offical. Did I mention that this travel really meant out of state travel. Pretty much wherever the general contractor went, we did. Every so often a job would get 'hit' and fines would be handed out. Fortunately I was never on any of these. There were some jobs I was put on another company's pay roll, likely to appease other states boards of labor.

One thing I learned was that given the information of the second job offer. He had said he would register me in 6 months after hire. This is apparently a method that some contractors use to get someone in, but then they lead them on and don't register them. As such, not being registered prevents you from getting the required pay increases as you make progress to becoming a journeyman. Apparently I dodged a bullet.

Eventually was running small remodels as an apprentice. They ranged from small remodels for said large department chain, to which I had become rather proficent at, regardless, they were still very fast paced.

Unfortunatly with the crazy fast pace of the jobs, and the long hours (routinely 50+ hours per week). There really was not much time to study and keep up with the code book. Also as an apprentice, you're not required to attend the required continuing education classes, so you don't know what code changes are happening until you're flipping through the new code book. The NEC has a 3 year cycle, and there are usually many changes, some large, some small. When you're just installing per plan, and not needing to consistently reference the code book, you start to lose touch with the subject matter. Knowing this I ended up taking the time and attended a prep course with great reviews. I also finally managed to schedule my test. Testing centers are not fun, they really know how to get under your skin. Fortunately, I managed to complete my test with an hour to spare. I checked a few questions I had skipped, and confirmed a few answers that I had second thoughts on.

I ended up leaving after 6 years due to disrespect of doctors orders after a bout with untreated Lyme Disease. I do miss some of the people that I worked with, but I don't miss working for the company. I learned a lot of good skills and information. I also developed a lot of bad habits, some I'm still trying to shake today. I might go into more detail about these later.

One additional note, referencing my college story, debt. My parents, were also quite instrumental in my success. They did not force me to move out at age 18, like I know that some parents have. They also did not charge me rent, which they could have, however, they also agreed that paying rent for a place ot spend weekends at since I was mostly out of state and staying in hotels would have been an unneccecary drain on my income. So, I ended up taking what would have been a typical rent payment and used that to pay off my student debt. After 5-5.5 years, I was free from the preadatory federal loans. For this I am tremendously grateful, and I encourage any parent who is financially able to do something similar. We all know it's a zany mixed-up world out there, don't make it a hand out, but you can still be a parent, even after you're not required to be.

My First Real Job

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