New boy, advice, guidance, info, suggestions

[SPARK2B]

HI ALL!

firstly, if i have posted this in the wrong place, i offer apple-ogies....

I am due to start college in September to begin city and guilds 2330 (lev2 yr 1), i am vry excited about it and really looking forward to the change and the challenge!:clap:

my question is, if you were in this situation, knowing what you already know, what would you advise i look into before the course starts, not to gain brownie points with Sir, but just so i can hit the ground running kinda thing..

any and all advice greatly appreciated, i have had a look around the forum for a few months now, and i really like the professional attitude that's put across here, as well as the laughs i get from some of you.

many thanks again.

Nath-

 

[trev]

Try to take a look at the syllabus and bone up on the introductory bits and bobs. Don't be scared to ask questions.

 

[Andy78]

You should be congratulated on your enthusiasm. Like Trev said, don't be afraid to ask questions either in class or on here. I believe there is a trainee sub forum here to use.

Try and swot up on safe isolation procedure and the basics of the physics behind electricity. If you are not great at maths then a little practice wouldn't go amiss.
Lots of questions on site will fill in the practical gaps left by the limitations of college training.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

Good luck mate,

As above, ask ask and ask again. I don't know your circumstances, but if you are a young apprentice, this course isn't costing you anything, but it isn't free, someone somewhere is paying for you, possibly the Governement indirectly, if this isnt the case you will be paying, but whatever the situation, you want good value for money, so get into the tutor's ribs big time if you dont or cant understand things, it is the Tutor's job to make sure that you get all the relevant info you need, so remember, you are the purpose of his job, not an inconvenience to it, if it wasn't for you and others like you he wouldn't have a job, so get stuck in.

Cheers..........Howard

 

[VoltzElectrical]

Electrical Installations NVQ and Technical Certificate Book 2: Bk. 2: Amazon.co.uk: JTL: Books

Get this, and book 1, and read them. They are really good.

 

[SPARK2B]

aw!....:rockon2:........see this is what i mean, nothing but enthusiasm and direction in reply to my first post,...thanks so much!

to clarify for you guys....(which i should have done before)...i turned 30 in mid July.....I have just left a job where i was being totally mick-taken, you know the score, company ((big company, massive profits)) earns 96 million in profit in 6 months, but there's no possibility of a pay rise, overtimes being put to flat rate, keep doing a managers job but we cant possibly pay you for it....etc etc,....

....you get tired of it,....so i quit....my last day was 30th July..will live off savings for about a year..i am paying for the course £860 for this first year, and the same for year 2.....

my maths could a bit of dusting, so that's great!....the book from amazon is going to be ordered a.s.a.p.....also will look at isolation and physical side of electricity (still remember ohms law from school)....god knows how!

also told everyone in family that for xmas and birthday now i will be either requesting tools or money for them,......got some odd looks, obv some members of the nearest and dearest think i am mad to quit a job and go back training at age 30, some think im a hero,......most importantly, wifey told me if i didn't quit and follow a path that made me happy, she would beat me with with my own hammer!!!

appreciation cannot be put across enough,.......trev, andy78, sirkit breaker and voltzelectrical....:yinyang:

 

[dazza1981]

Hi
I finished college not so long ago and i must admit at first i was thinking what on earth has all these formulas and so on got to do with electrics.
But give it time and it does all click into place as you progress threw the course.
I enjoyed my time at college mostly and had some laughs along the way,but most importantly you must ask questions even if they seem stupid to you,as when the exams come around you will be wishing you had asked.
I probably annoyed the hell out of my tutor and foreman with the amount of questions i asked but it shows your keen.
Good luck mate

 

[SPARK2B]

exellent!.....i shall ask ask and ask more!......its the rest of my life im prepping for,...so im all in!!

cheers dazza1981!

:yinyang:

 

[dazza1981]

Hi spark2b
I got ur message in my inbox but for some reason i cant send you a message so i,ll do it on here.
I did my apprenticeship at a big boarding school which had its own works department.
Alot of the work was reactive maintanence but also lots and lots of testing so this really drummed testing into me way before my practical exams and fault finding exams.
There was some installation work but not what i would call massive installs as the kids were always there,but during half terms it was full steam ahead so this gave me a little practical experience.
It was a perfect place to learn as i could take my time,ask questions and really understand the work i was doing as apposed to just doing it to get the job done,this made college pretty easy for me as i was understanding alot of what the tutor was talking about.
I left there once i finished my nvq3 as they started laying people off,i went on to building sites which i found a challenge and very different to what i had done for 5 years.
I got really ill last year and had to have 10 months off and that really knocked my confidence,but im back on site and slowly picking up the pace and finding my feet.
The real work for me started after i qualified but it was a perfect job for me to grasp the basics and qualify.
Hope that helps mate

 

[SPARK2B]

fantastic dazza1981,.....sorry to hear you were sick, glad to hear your better!!

i had 3 months off this yr, jan, feb, mar, shoulder problem......but 10 months!!.....good for you!!

....im still nervous, looking massivly forward to it all but the change in job/ training is huuugeee....

.......oh and for all you regulars, i have been reading as many posts as i can, and one (so far) really got under my skin,.....tool theft, not just from van, or garage, but on site!!!!....


...all i can say is,......MURDER......

......told another mate earlier bout new route, he looked at me and said, wouldn't you be happier as a bouncer ((for some reason hes been grilling me about being a bouncer for 5 years hes not one, never been one but wants me to coz my size ..((im 6ft 4 and 24 stone))


then the negativity starts,

you wont like it,

i cant believe you quit,

your too big to fit in the small spaces,

what have you done,.....etc...etc


..then i realized,.....all the guys that have been negative,....hate their jobs!!!!!


your own mates, jealous (even tho there's nothing stopping them from doing it.......

kinda stumped me to be honest.....shokked!!

but yer, anyway, tool theft,.....murder, esp on site!!

 

[SPARK2B]

coincidence!

he just text me about being a bouncer again!!!!..



"mate i rekon bouncer is ur way 4wrd"


more careers advice!!


....whats going on ???

iv never mentioned wanting to be one,...lol........

woe is me.....

 

[dazza1981]

6ft 4 and 24 stone...... jesus im 16 stone and struggle in some lofts and airing cupboards.lol
mate i was 30 when i qualified so just crack on....i spent 8 years in a job i hated and have done pretty much the same as you.
I wont lie because there are times when i think this aint for me but other times i love it,its all a learning curve.

 

[trev]

Ditch them, you don't need negative people. If they hate their job they have a problem, if they hate their job and do nothing about it they're idiots.

 

[Andy78]

I too was nearly 30 when I started my college, don't let that put you off. Was a really rewarding experience. I was one of the youngest in the class it turned out, lots of guys retraining. I'm still in touch with some guys from the course.

I was a bit different to you as I had a good few years site experience before I started the course. I won't lie, that really stood me in good stead, but plenty guys didn't have that and went on to do great anyway.

If you are that hefty, you are going to want to invest in a good 10m set of cable rods, and a ferret/small child, as under floor crawling will be impossible.

 

[Iddy]

Hi
its good to know you are going for the challenge. I just want to add a bit to whats already been advised is to study in your own time too. keep going over what you learn in each leason that way the science/ maths/formulaes will sink in quicker

 

[dazza1981]

oh yeah and a website called swindon massive will give you an idea of what the questions may involve!
I spent hours on that bloody site!!

 

[SPARK2B]

lol!!!! made my day......i could take on a 5 yr old apprentice ?...pay um in jammy dodgers?

and your dead right, when i re did my GCSE exams at college, we did coursework on osmosis sugar content and weight of saturated cells in a potato ((sounds bizzare when u write it out like that))

anyway, i *******COULD NOT****** remember the definition for osmosis,...its like one small paragraph, i read it and wrote it over and over again, to the point classmates were ribbing me about it,....

anyway, during exam, question 5


....what is osmosis,.......i heard giggles and laughs, dint know why till i got to the question, when we finished the exam, everyone was talking about me and osmosis......

got an A.........repetition, repeat, repetition ......itll all sink in in the end

once again guys,....thanks more than i can say in text!!!!! :clap::clap::clap:

 

[Andy78]

lol!!!! made my day......i could take on a 5 yr old apprentice ?...pay um in jammy dodgers?

You'll have to give em broken bits of rich tea. The jammy dodgers will be your wages.

 

[SPARK2B]

You'll have to give em broken bits of rich tea. The jammy dodgers will be your wages.

...beats the malted milk i just quit from :drool5:

...i want a biscuit.

 

[SPARK2B]

Ditch them, you don't need negative people. If they hate their job they have a problem, if they hate their job and do nothing about it they're idiots.

AINT THAT THE TRUTH!!.....amazing how quick ppl can flip on you when jelous!!...and its not like iv done anything yet!!...iv applied to college!!....

 

[dazza1981]

Spark2b you do realise though that to start off with your wages are gonna be crap and you will be expected to do alot of the crap jobs that an apprentice would have to do to start off with. ( crawling about in boiling hot lofts, threading ****e loads of conduit and running couplers,chasing walls etc)
You obviously have to do these jobs at any point whilst doing sparky work but from my experience i started on crap wages doing the crap side of the trade before i ever got let loose on wiring and testing my own work.
Not trying to put you off but just stating the facts as the first couple of years of my training was quite a challenge for me,but i also enjoyed the learning aspect that came with it!!

 

[SPARK2B]

Spark2b you do realise though that to start off with your wages are gonna be crap and you will be expected to do alot of the crap jobs that an apprentice would have to do to start off with. ( crawling about in boiling hot lofts, threading ****e loads of conduit and running couplers,chasing walls etc)
You obviously have to do these jobs at any point whilst doing sparky work but from my experience i started on crap wages doing the crap side of the trade before i ever got let loose on wiring and testing my own work.
Not trying to put you off but just stating the facts as the first couple of years of my training was quite a challenge for me,but i also enjoyed the learning aspect that came with it!!

i appreciate your input, its what i am here for.....

im quite prepared for the challenge, i have had some *crap* jobs in my day,....covered in filth, mundane, pointless tasks, and such,..... never got to use my noggin, and they all lead me nowhere,....... at least with this there will be a light at the end of the tunnel,.....

and if when i get there, the lights broke, i will fix it, because i will be qualified

....how zen!!

 

[VoltzElectrical]

I re-trained at 28 ish (can't quite remember) after 3 years TRYING to educate 11-16 year old feral kids in comprehensive schools from hell. And I love threading tube... so much more rewarding than holding detention, or trying to convince cocky know-it-alls to even just take off their coats, put their phones away and get a pen out.

 

[SPARK2B]

I re-trained at 28 ish (can't quite remember) after 3 years TRYING to educate 11-16 year old feral kids in comprehensive schools from hell. And I love threading tube... so much more rewarding than holding detention, or trying to convince cocky know-it-alls to even just take off their coats, put their phones away and get a pen out.

I do HONEST TO GOD not know how teachers do it nowerdays........wen i left school in 1999, there were perhaps 2 kids with mobiles (texting was not summin that was done, even if it was no other kids had phones!!!........but even then, keeping the attention of 99% of the class was near impossible!!...........then again, everythings got a plus,......4 months off a year ....

not a job i could do,......but bless thos who do, fighting a losing battle!!

 

[dazza1981]

Good luck mate and keep me posted on how you get on.
Also being as i finished college not so long ago then i may be able to give you a hand with some bits........ if i can still remember.
Im sure your going to love doing phasor diagrams....... i did (NOT)

 

[SPARK2B]

Good luck mate and keep me posted on how you get on.
Also being as i finished college not so long ago then i may be able to give you a hand with some bits........ if i can still remember.
Im sure your going to love doing phasor diagrams....... i did (NOT)

phasor diagrams,..........sounds,...space-age!!...i cant wait!!

 

[SPARK2B]

hi guys, as to some of your instructions i have written out and intend to learn the safe isolation procedure (found a 12 step guide for it on the electrical safety council site, as well as getting to grips with the physics behind electricity, and awaiting some start of course info on 2330, but i still have 6 weeks before college starts, anything else you would consider worth me getting a head start on?

as always all opinions, info and guidance is much MUCH appreciated


(and thanks for everything so far to everyone!!))

SPARK2B

 

[dazza1981]

Theres a website called swindon massive that will help you to see what sort of questions you will get.
Also familiarise yourself with the green on site guide as this will be your bible, particularly the testing sections and the tables for current carrying capacity,volt drops and cable sizing.
The formulas and so on you will just learn as you go and as long as you listen and turn up every week then you will breeze threw mate.

 

[SPARK2B]

Theres a website called swindon massive that will help you to see what sort of questions you will get.
Also familiarise yourself with the green on site guide as this will be your bible, particularly the testing sections and the tables for current carrying capacity,volt drops and cable sizing.
The formulas and so on you will just learn as you go and as long as you listen and turn up every week then you will breeze threw mate.

Yepppp!!....kool went there other day,...but you have to join, passwords and such,...i will have another look,....

did i read sumwhere that kev brown of swindon college runs the site ??

 

[dazza1981]

Not sure who runs it but there are certain questions that require a password but it should work mate......unless theyve changed it

 

[SPARK2B]

Not sure who runs it but there are certain questions that require a password but it should work mate......unless theyve changed it

...i will for sure check it out!

thanks!!:wink5:

 

[GMjohn]

If I was starting 2330 in 6 weeks, I'd give this a read through-

Electrical Installations Level 2 2330 Technical Certificate Student Book - Revised edition: Level 2 Student Book: Amazon.co.uk: Mr Nigel Harman, Mr Dave Allen, Mr John Blaus, Mr Brian Tucker: Books

I'd probably also join learning lounge and watch some videos.

i thought the 2330 qualification was being replaced?

 

[sparky1502]

What are you going to do to get on site experience , at 30 you might struggle to get a foot in the door, the advice I can give you is network network network meet every single spark you can and tap them up for knowledge you never know were it may lead. All the best