Intensive Courses?

[Film]

Hi there I’m a completely new member that is really confused about where to start an electrical course. I’m a 21 year old interested in gaining all the electrical qualifications I would need to get up to the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] edition for electrical installation. I would eventually like to become a film lighting technician and have been trying to gain work experience in this kind of role. To be fully qualified in this role I would need to get the above qualifications.

The main problem I have is that I have just completed a degree in film production and I don’t know if I would be able to stomach another three years of studying. If possible I would like to do something intensively so that I could get out and actually try and gain some work.

I am based in South London so something within London would be ideal, but I would stretch to some areas of Surrey and Kent to get the right qualifications as quickly as possible.

 

[Adam W]

Can you get a job in film lighting if you've taken a shortcut to get the 17th edition?
Most electrical contractors would throw your application straight in the bin.

 

[Film]

Can you get a job in film lighting if you've taken a shortcut to get the 17th edition?
Most electrical contractors would throw your application straight in the bin.

Possibly, I would have to check with some lighting companies first to find out though. To be honest from speaking to some of the sparks on jobs I've been working on reckon that they only use around 25% of what they learnt on the courses most of the time. A lot of needing to be qualified is an insurance thing, so it may be better to do it properly. In the new year I will contact some of the big lighting companies and see if they offer apprenticeships or trainee positions to make three years of studying a bit easier to deal with.

 

[sjhall]

3 years of your life at 21 is nothing, although it may seem like forever... apprentice/ trainee
is the way to go
Good luck

 

[Thomas123]

Adam is right, they will just throw your application in the bin, who wants someone who has done an intensive course, I think back to how little I knew after 5 weeks. It's dangerous to think people are signing work off. Insanity.

 

[Adam W]

Possibly, I would have to check with some lighting companies first to find out though. To be honest from speaking to some of the sparks on jobs I've been working on reckon that they only use around 25% of what they learnt on the courses most of the time. A lot of needing to be qualified is an insurance thing, so it may be better to do it properly. In the new year I will contact some of the big lighting companies and see if they offer apprenticeships or trainee positions to make three years of studying a bit easier to deal with.

Oh yeah it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tighten up a few terminals, but for some reason people still manage to get it wrong, hence the reason for qualifications in the first place. I'd say I probably use less than 25% of what i learned at college on a day to day basis, although I can't be certain how much of it I'm using subconsciously.
The point I was making in my last post was regardless of what you learn or don't learn on a course, you need the qualifications which the employers want, and a lot of them won't employ someone who has cut corners on their training.
Anyone can pass the 17th edition exam - it's an exam on looking stuff up in a book, but a decent employer is more likely to want someone who can instinctively install electrical systems to an appropriate standard.