Advice needed...

[Whitey-Ford]

　
　
　
　
　
　
Hello everyone, & thanks for taking the time to read/reply to this.
I am a qualified electrical improver, I have my C & G levels 2 & 3 in electrical installation and have recently obtained my Esc card.
A lot of what I am going to ask is going to sound very strange to you all, a lot of what you might reply is stuff I may already know... But here goes.

When doing my course at college I wasn’t on any apprenticeship, the only experience I got was the one day a week at college for two years. Unlike everybody else who had apprenticeships who got to be out in the field four days a week etc… and you can guarantee that the course at college its self was pretty much all theory based, apart from the odd practical assessment here and there.

Due to my location, and lack of experience I am finding it hard to find work. So I am hankering on the idea of going out there on my own. To gain this experience and ultimately widen my chances of finding something better in the future…
I am not sure if I am technically allowed to go out there not having done my NVQ, but like I said, I cant find work due to my lack of experience and partly down to my location also.

So I ask you all this… To anyone who has worked as a local electrician.
What are the common faults you are faced with when being called out to
someone’s home ? How would you go about rectifying the problem ? What are the kind of questions you ask when they explain over the phone to get an idea what’s wrong ?

In theory I should already know all of this, I am qualified. But after only doing one day a week at college my confidence is low. But if I am given a heads up I believe it will help me a great deal. The testing side of things is fine, I have my OSG to look at etc…

And if your feeling really generous, talking me through fuse box changes would also be welcomed alone with cable pulling ect lol I am a fast learner, I just need to be told how and then i will be fine.

Many thanks!

 

[ezzzekiel]

far too vast an area to cover, if you are planning on going it alone (a lot of people in your situation do) then start small, only take on jobs you know you can handle and well revise any work your planning to do.

as for your question, come back with them one at time as and when required.

 

[martysparky]

Also use the search feature, top right, because there are thousands of questions others have asked and had answers too.

Also try and find a local spark who might let you tag along a day or two now and then as voluntary for the extra pair of hands and then those hand are hands on experience.

 

[malcolmsanford]

Great advice from EZZZEKIEL never feel stupid for turning work down if you honestly feel you can't cope with it. There really isn't any answer to your question. I was so lucky I did a full apprenticeship 5yrs of it. When I was told I was going out "JOBBING" about 3 months before the end of it I can honestly say I was totally lost and relied so much on older wiser sparks.

You don't seem to have that unfortunately but you do have a place like this and the guys will help you. Could you not ask some of the lads you were at college with if they could give you someone to contact in their companies, talk to them and offer yourself free to just get some experience. You may get refused quite a bit due to insurance but you may be lucky and get a yes.

Sorry not to be more positive but best to be honest than to mislead. It will not be easy for you but you seem a determined lad so just keep plugging away