Can You be the Best Electrician in 10 Years?

To be honest, each and every one of us electricians consider ourselves the best! Ok, well the bulk of us do anyway! But how do you become the best? And in 10 years? This is a question posed by one of our followers. In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin digs in and offers some advice and guidance on being a great electrician.

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The short answer to this question is that no one can be the best in 10 years! There will always be someone that has been doing it longer and has more experience. And, every individual is different. However, there are pathways that you can embark upon that will set you up to be a GREAT electrician. It does start with a great attitude. If you feel that you have what it takes and are willing to do what it takes, then that is a huge chunk of what is required. The rest of the stuff are learned items.
Among the first things to do is figure out the path. Union or Non-Union? Union learning/work is much more structured. Merit is recognized less and time in grade recognized more. With Merit Shop (Non-Union) it is based more on what the individual can do regardless of time. This can be a big factor in deciding your pathway. The union tends to play into the long game, a bit steadier and slower. Non-Union tends to be a bit more rapid with different opportunities being presented based upon how you perform and what responsibilities you are willing to take on. Not that there is anything wrong with either, it really is just personal preference. Both offer excellent opportunities to learn.
Studying/Reading/Learning is another BIG way to become more than just average. There are MANY MANY books available on A TON of electrical topics. There are several online learning platforms (you belong to one now, Electrician U, if you are watching this video!) You MUST be willing to learn from others and the information and practices that they offer. Within the electrical trade, there are several different types of installations, and if you want to be the best, then you must know them all (or at least know how they work). Schooling ties into this as well. There are different classroom type schools available, and depending on how YOU learn, you must navigate which works best for you.
The work portion will vary from person to person. A good path would start off with residential type work for a couple of years. This will allow you to learn the basics of how things operate and get you used to seeing the typical materials used. If you follow that period of time (because it may be more or less than 2 years) with a couple of years doing service type work, that tends to be beneficial. At this point, you learn how to fix things along with running into multiple types of materials and methods. You also gain the benefit of seeing how OTHERS installed their work.
Teaching can also be a valuable resource to fill your brain. If you can teach to others (whether its your apprentice in the van, or to a physical classroom, or an online platform, you must first learn the material yourself before you can expect to impart that knowledge upon anyone else! So, back to the reading of books, watching videos etc.! But having to learn a new topic (or reeducate yourself on an older topic) can get the repetitions in of becoming an expert in any particular topic. Then, one day (trust me, it’ll happen!) things will just click in your head. The proverbial AH HA moment! At that point, things will just organically fall into place.
We hope this has been insightful into seeing what it takes to become the best electrician! It’s a marathon, not a sprint! Is there a topic you would like to see discussed? Leave a comment in the comments section and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin and Electrician U as we are constantly updating our content to assist our followers in becoming the best electricians they can be.