become an electrician?

[contactme_11]

after several years out in the field, i'm seriously thinking about leaving hvac as a full time job and becoming an electrician. i would still do hvac service on the side, i love the pros, but i'm tired of all the cons to this trade. so my question is, how many of you have tried this migration and what are your thoughts?

[ct_hvac_tech]

I myself like electrical work and wanted to get an electrician's license.

I thought it might be a good position for me, as my boss would no longer have to sub contract electrical work on installs.

I got to checking and found out that I'd have to go through school and apprentce sip all over again so I said screw it.

[outside rep]

sounds like your switching sides to me


sure if you like playing with hardpipe
and that blue lube
and you enjoy being shocked

ok now I am going to stop its only going to get worse from here.


Hey if you dont like what your doing change.


I live my life by this saying.

If every job payed the same, would you still do this.

If not your doing the wrong thing , if so you have your dream job.


I know I have mine :D :D

[wolfdog]

Originally posted by contactme_11
..... how many of you have tried this migration and what are your thoughts?



I have both licenses and both contractor licenses.

HVAC is a more lucrative field in this area.

[dec]

I had always thought about it when I started out. I think the main reason was being I could see that you didnt need as much equipment to start out being an electrician. That was 30 years ago before you could buy pre made ductwork and fittings. I also looked at it that it just seemed like a lot larger field.....what doesnt take electricity.

I never have looked into pay differances or how hard it was to get into one trade over the other. I do think hvac or at least the installing of ducting and equipment is a lot more physical ( harder on the body). Oh well who knows at this stage , I went with hvac.

[James 3528]

is a pretty encompassing term now. Most of what I have seen that call themselves an electrician are wire pullers and scary at that.



I guess it is like the term "Engineer" or god forbid.."Sales person"




Should of said Car Salesman ..sorry OSR...I am sure you have one more brain cell than a Car Salesman.

[Edited by JAMES 3528 on 05-02-2006 at 06:20 AM]

[alpha480v]

If your in your late 30's or in your 40's,switching over to electrician might be even harder on your body then what your doing now as a hvac tech.Commercial construction electrical work is hard work.I know because I did it for many years before I learned hvac/r.

[contactme_11]

I'm in my mid 20's and would be doing mostly residential hopefully. I've been doing residential and commercial hvac since i was in my mid teens, and i just don't think that at my age my body should be aching this much. However, I'm still young enough that starting over in a new career wouldn't really bother me.

[bornriding]

I, like wolfdog, are licensed in both. Started out electrically, then added Hvac.
As james said, there are many variations to being an electrician. The harder physical work is in bending pipe & pulling wire. The harder mental work is in troubleshooting. Being both, I like the fact that when Hvac is slow, doing electrical work keeps the bills paid.
We are wiring a new home this week, got the Hvac as well.

Either way you go, make sure that you understand the theory, and if you don't know WHY you are doing something, then don't do it. IMO, bending pipe & pulling wires - even wiring residential, doesn't make you an electrician.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
Richard

[coolwhip]

Electricians are the only trade that doesnt clean up their mess. Your overhead might not be too bad either.

[srmfsr]

Originally posted by bornriding
I, like wolfdog, are licensed in both. Started out electrically, then added Hvac.
As james said, there are many variations to being an electrician. The harder physical work is in bending pipe & pulling wire. The harder mental work is in troubleshooting. Being both, I like the fact that when Hvac is slow, doing electrical work keeps the bills paid.
We are wiring a new home this week, got the Hvac as well.

Either way you go, make sure that you understand the theory, and if you don't know WHY you are doing something, then don't do it. IMO, bending pipe & pulling wires - even wiring residential, doesn't make you an electrician.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
Richard

I too have a masters' license in both fields. I was doing electrical first in a industrial plant.
But like the man said learn the theory. Anybody can be trained in a short while to wire a house. That, in my opion, is not a true electrician. Troubleshooting and controls are my cup of tea.
I have a industrial customer that I build controls for when he gets new equipment. I love it.

[The Penguin]

Industrial/commercial troubleshooting plcs ddcs etc is where the money is the rest is jerking wire.

electricans are like chickens - walk around making no sense and leaving their crap everywhere buck buck buck sh!t sh!it buck buck buck

[srmfsr]

Penquin, are you having a bad day,old son?

[spotts]

Originally posted by The Penguin
buck buck buck sh!t sh!it buck buck buck [/B]


I work with the same ones.......:)

[Green Mountain]

Up here in our State every air conditioning technician must get a type "S" electrical license. This allows us to wire anything from the buss of the load center, down stream to our air conditioning equipment.

In practice we only do line voltage for residential. Then if a master electrician is on the job we just as soon have him include the electrical wiring into his contract. Everyone is happy that way. We do the control wiring and the EC does the line voltage.

[dutchcool]

We all have our up and downs every now and then.http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/93/is1a8fa.jpg.
Don't swap to soon it might fly over.

[bornriding]

Originally posted by srmfsr
[QUOTE
Troubleshooting and controls are my cup of tea.
I have a industrial customer that I build controls for when he gets new equipment. I love it.

My kind of guy, and my kind of work ( building controls ).

Richard

[jrmech]

I have been in HVAC for a little less then a year, I did electrical for about 4 months till I figured out I hated it. I was doing industrial/commercial construction..if you think that HVAC is tough on your body then get into electrical. All day I was pulling wire and bending conduit and carrying bundles of conduit from one side of the building to the next...trust me, HVAC is a gods send compared to electrical unless of course you get into PLC's automation side.