As an apprentice, the mechanic(s) working with and around you are responsible for what you do! As well as your well being and safety. This will become painfully obvious throughout your first year. But this lesson will be carried with your entire carrier!
Again let me say this because of its importance! "YOUR ENTIRE CARRIER"...
Everyone of the members who have participated on this forum have, are and continue to display their dedication to the advancement of this industry. And I for one feel honored to be apart of it.
You are given a preview into a unique circle by simply asking for help and advice. There is no doubt in my mind that you have the desire to be apart of it. My advice is to pay attention to the instructor & the mechanics when you are out in the field.
Be mindful of when it is appropriate to ask questions. And no matter how hard it may feel to connect with everyone you work with, find a way to do so.
Best wishes,
Dont worry solution, mechanics are required to have 2 of many of the common tools for this reason. Most mechanics have a helper bucket or tool bag setup already and if it lacks something you feel you need to perform your job better, ask about it. I dont know one single mechanic who wouldnt go get another tool, Crap we usually look for excuses to buy new stuff, lol.
I appreciate everyones advice and heads up, but really I'm still not even sure when/if I'll get called to work. There is no telling how long it will take for them to get to number 10 on the hire list in Austin. I think they've done a recruitment 3 years running now so it makes me think the list moves at a decent clip.
Can anyone touch on how consistent the work is. I know this is vastly different from region to region, but what should I expect as far as lay offs are concerned?
I'm trying to figure out why everyone is assuming I'll get a call though. I just can't get hyped yet until I find out some concrete info on where I stand with my ranking.
I might recommend sticking around these forums after you get hired. This thread alone should be proof that the guys on here are genuine and helpful. We could learn a lot from them.
This is the dumbest thing I have heard! Why cant an apprentice have his own tools? As apprentices we were issued a full tool kit!! You don't have to have them on site at all times( and most of the time you may not need it) but at times you do need them.
The best advice I can give is, live the industry and be a sponge. Have a notebook and write everything down and ask questions(if you don't understand anything, ask particularly safety issues). Be attentive to the mechanic's needs ie quick to hand the pliers without the mechanic having to ask for them etc. Doing this tends to have mechanics trust you, and then they fight to get the best apprentices which is a feather in your cap. But the most important lesson you need to learn is fault finding. I was lucky I had mechanics put faults on for me, run snap question and answer sessions etc. The best thing I learnt was when attending a breakdown was, walk in the motor room, hands in the pockets and use the best organs to analyse the situation and determine what is wrong. And that's your EYES!!!! You can most of the time tick off 3/4's of possible causes by checking relays/indicators for safety ccts, locks, direction etc with this method. Learn this and you will be able to fix lifts pretty quickly(don't worry there is no race tho) and look good to your bosses. All the best mate
Unless you have a mechanics card in your pocket you aren't allowed to bring any of your own tools. A pencil and tape measure is the only exception to that. Period....no if ands or buts that is IEUC 101. That is for construction, Mod and Repair. As a fifty you wont see a maintenance job for a while.
This is the dumbest thing I have heard! Why cant an apprentice have his own tools? As apprentices we were issued a full tool kit!! You don't have to have them on site at all times( and most of the time you may not need it) but at times you do need them.
The best advice I can give is, live the industry and be a sponge. Have a notebook and write everything down and ask questions(if you don't understand anything, ask particularly safety issues). Be attentive to the mechanic's needs ie quick to hand the pliers without the mechanic having to ask for them etc. Doing this tends to have mechanics trust you, and then they fight to get the best apprentices which is a feather in your cap. But the most important lesson you need to learn is fault finding. I was lucky I had mechanics put faults on for me, run snap question and answer sessions etc. The best thing I learnt was when attending a breakdown was, walk in the motor room, hands in the pockets and use the best organs to analyse the situation and determine what is wrong. And that's your EYES!!!! You can most of the time tick off 3/4's of possible causes by checking relays/indicators for safety ccts, locks, direction etc with this method. Learn this and you will be able to fix lifts pretty quickly(don't worry there is no race tho) and look good to your bosses. All the best mate
Unless you have a mechanics card in your pocket you aren't allowed to bring any of your own tools. A pencil and tape measure is the only exception to that. Period....no if ands or buts that is IEUC 101. That is for construction, Mod and Repair. As a fifty you wont see a maintenance job for a while.
Thanks for the reply mate. I understand different area's have different rules, but here there is a demarcation between electricians and fitters. We don't do mechanical work as that is the domain of the fitters( apart from minor works on service particularly for the big companies, smaller companies you do more). Because of this most of the time your first year you go into service to learn and understand the basics. You are given a tool kit, but most of the time you don't need it. As you progress into mods, construction, repairs ect you tend to use these tools. Anyway it seems to work here.
Anyone who stumbles across this thread is welcome to join the forum and PM me with questions they may have about going through the process. Thanks as always everyone, I'll stop spamming this forum with my soon to be proby nonsense.
I'm in the same group. How did you move from 10th to 9th on the list? I'm just curious because my letter stated that I was 7th. I'm wondering if the change is because 1st already received an offer, which would now make me 6th. For me, it's pretty irrelevant in regards to the big picture though. Eventually I'll get an offer, but the anticipation is pretty wild.