heartbrooksbrain

Everything good in life, exists on borrowed time. A ship in the quiet night. Then you long forever.

Hi. I’m a 3rd year IBEW apprentice who has an interview next week for an Instrumentation Technician trainee position for a local water utility company.

I have always envisioned myself transitioning to controls, instrumentation, testing, etc at some point in my electrical career. Would it be foolish to abandoned my electrical apprenticeship for this opportunity? There’s no guarantee I’ll ever have another opportunity like this down the road. Also, if anyone has any advice on how to prep for this interview I’d greatly appreciate it. I have a solid foundation of electrical knowledge and hands on experience from my apprenticeship and a previous jobs.

Thanks ahead of time for your input

Folks with 25–30 years in the industry — how does the pace of jobs today compare to how it was back in the day?

I’m currently on my first union jobsite in the Northeast, and the environment feels incredibly fast-paced, stressful, and at times borderline hostile. Everything is rush rush rush — just nonstop pressure to get things done as fast as possible. Half the time it feels like everyone’s running around like headless chickens.

One of the older journeymen I work with constantly says the trade didn’t used to be like this. He talks about how guys used to work more like “gentlemen,” where there was more pride, professionalism, and less chaos. According to him, it’s only getting worse, and h

Still not used to the feeling of you being gone from my life. It doesn’t feel natural, and I really don’t want to accept it. After 6 years together, I thought that you would be by my side for the rest of my life. Not anymore, you walked away. I can’t blame you, I gave you enough reasons to leave. I hope so badly that you come back. I’ll always be hopeful because my heart belongs to you. I miss your presence, this apartment feels so cold and empty without you. You gave me so much to live for everyday, more than you will ever know. My heart is so tired and I don’t know how I’m going to get over this. I just want you home, where I believe you belong. But I can’t make you feel that way, I can’t

My girlfriend of nearly 6 years left me 6 weeks ago. This person was my first love, and I viewed her as my life partner. I thought it was a mostly good relationship, with a lot of great times and we loved each other dearly. The problem is, probably for the last 3 years, I became a complacent and lazy lover. I stopped dating and courting her like she deserved, I stopped making her feel loved and understood. I did so many things wrong, I slowly broke her heart to the point where she felt like she had to leave. Sitting with that thought is so devastating, and makes me feel physically ill. I still love this person with every atom in my body. I can’t believe I botched this so badly. I’d give anyt

Show is broken up into 10 minute segments, with annoying advertisements in the middle of the freaking conversation. Just break the show up by hour and be done with it. Mind boggling

Probably one of the most relaxed, casual interviews I’ve ever had that lasted just about 10 mins.

I came prepared to answer those typical “story” type interview questions and I wasn’t hit with a single one. The only question they asked me was why do I want to become an electrician. The rest of it was mostly casual talk about my job history and if I had any questions. However, I do have experience as an apprentice already so I’m not sure if it differs for someone who has no experience.

Just wanted to share.

How physically demanding is your job as a service technician?

How do you access the equipment you need to work on, if working on overhead and tower cranes? Ladders? Scissor lifts? Boom lifts?

To the stoplight dawdlers staring at their phones, oblivious to the green light—move. To the slow walkers clogging narrow hallways, unaware of the people stuck behind you—wake up. Wasting someone’s time is the ultimate crime against humanity. Time is the most valuable commodity—you don’t get it back, and you don’t have the right to steal it from others