Josh's Last Week: Sorry for Such a Horrible Summer - Digging in the Texas Heat!!!

The summer of 2022 (although still not over with yet!) will be known as the summer of heat! At least here in Texas!! Seems that the heat showed up early and has been unrelenting since! In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin explains what his summer workload has been like and what it has been like having his son, Josh, work with him throughout the summer.

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First, lets give kudos to Josh for being an awesome apprentice electrician this summer! As most of us electricians know, the apprentice usually gets the labor-intensive work, the labor-intensive work that no one wants to do, or clean up! However, Josh stuck through it all without whining, moaning, or bitching about it. A definite rarity these days. To top that off, not only did he have to perform as a brand-new apprentice, but he had to work alongside his father almost every day AND did it all while temperatures were in the record high numbers! As I sit here and write this piece, I cannot think of another summer in recent years that has been as hot for as long as it has without letting go! Brutal to say the least.
Part of being an electrician is having to bring power INTO the buildings we work on. This is done typically in one of two ways. overhead thru the air, or underground thru the dirt. And here in Texas, the dirt is HARD. I mean, super hard and full of rocks. So much in fact, it usually requires us to dig with powered equipment or have rock bars alongside our shovels to bust up the soil/dirt/rock. So needless to say, electricians & apprentices here in the state of Texas, have to be a pretty hardy bunch of individuals. In addition to the soil composition itself, in the summertime it tends to get hot. Really hot! And this summer seems like the heat started earlier than normal and has been unrelenting ever since it began.
Another thing to consider is the type of work you are doing. Contrary to popular belief, the “boss” doesn’t just spend his/her days on the golf course or kicking back while everyone else is doing the hard work! Jobs must be found and estimated before the work can actually begin, and all the different projects have to be managed to be able to perform efficiently. And once the work has begun, the materials must be found, purchased, and delivered. After the work has been finished, it still requires someone to inspect it to make sure it was installed properly/safely and meets the customer's end vision. Even after all of that, there is still more work to do. Billings still need to be put together, funds collected from the customer, and the labor used to build the project & the materials used need to be paid for! So, a “boss” is constantly juggling several different stages of several different jobs at once on top of all the logistical company running. Add to that the projects that staff can’t get to still have to be done by someone and that someone is usually the person in charge!
Being an electrician (or in any trade honestly) is hard work! And most of us actually thrive on being able to do the things that most people either can’t or don’t want to. Its part of the allure of the trades themselves! So, if you have ideas of entering the trades or progressing thru the ranks, know its going to be a hard road. You are going to work hard, long hours doing many difficult tasks. But know that you are part of a trade with a history full of awesome hard-working folks that believe in a strong work ethic.
We hope this has been a good look into what some of the less than glorious parts of being an electrician is like! It is not just glamour, fortune, and fame!! Is there a topic you would like to see? Leave a comment below and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin and Electrician U as we are constantly adding new content to help our followers be the best electricians that they can be!