u/z283848

Would like some insight from some elevator guys if possible. Im 27 and currently work in a steel mill, rotating 12 hour shifts so days/night and alternating , I make about $3/hr less than my local elevator mechanics currently. A semi-nearby local is about to be hiring within a couple months and I’m very interested in applying (I know it’s extremely competitive to get in and nothing is guaranteed) but if I were to get a shot should I jump on it? I currently am in an operations Role, and work with maintenance fairly regularly, on a technical level I’m not great but I can turn a wrench and know tools pretty well, for the most part my job is fairly laid back and stress free. I aspire to be more mechanically savvy than I am, and absolutely hate the rotating shifts and even the free time I’m not fond of , but feel dumb for wanting to walk away from a good paying job that’s not strenuous and is close to home. It would be a well over hour drive each way until I could either relocate or transfer to the slightly closer local (45ish mins) knowing what you know now about the elevator trade, and what I’ve described, what would you recommend someone in my shoes to do? Any advice is appreciated (edit: I am aware of the apprenticeship pay scale in the local I’m applying to, I can handle the paycut as long as I thought it will be a worthy decision in the long run )

I’m 27 years old and currently make 125ish thousand a year, I work a decent amount of overtime but nothing crazy, i have a good work life balance and my job is fairly low stress and is only about 25 min commute. The downside is I work rotating shifts 12 hour shifts (alternate between days and nights) and work 2 weekends a month. This job also feels very bland and boring to me, as I feel like I could be somewhere else learning things that could be applicable in other aspects of life. Another downside is if I were to lose this job for any reason, I would be very lucky if I were to be able to replace 60% of my income. The job I’m considering would initially be about a 50% pay cut, over the course of 5 years , at 5 years I would make slightly more than I do now (maybe $5hr more?) each year I would get an interval raise working to that top pay. This job would be more work but would give me a much more normal schedule (6-2) , better benefits, an hour plus commute (I know this part is big, but I’m not opposed to moving or transferring to a different location after I get some time under my belt) the main thing about this switch is I would learn a ton about alot of things and would definitely increase my skill set in and out of work, as well as make my resume much more built up and give me more qualificationss for higher jobs if I were to ever switch. Would love some advice as this is an extremely tough decision to make, I think on paper it doesn’t make sense to do , but something in my gut tells me to go for it.

I’m 27 years old and currently make 125ish thousand a year, I work a decent amount of overtime but nothing crazy, i have a good work life balance and my job is fairly low stress and is only about 25 min commute. The downside is I work rotating shifts 12 hour shifts (alternate between days and nights) and work 2 weekends a month. This job also feels very bland and boring to me, as I feel like I could be somewhere else learning things that could be applicable in other aspects of life. Another downside is if I were to lose this job for any reason, I would be very lucky if I were to be able to replace 60% of my income. The job I’m considering would initially be about a 50% pay cut, over the course of 5 years , at 5 years I would make slightly more than I do now (maybe $5hr more?) each year I would get an interval raise working to that top pay. This job would be more work but would give me a much more normal schedule (6-2) , better benefits, an hour plus commute (I know this part is big, but I’m not opposed to moving or transferring to a different location after I get some time under my belt) the main thing about this switch is I would learn a ton about alot of things and would definitely increase my skill set in and out of work, as well as make my resume much more built up and give me more qualificationss for higher jobs if I were to ever switch. Would love some advice as this is an extremely tough decision to make, I think on paper it doesn’t make sense to do , but something in my gut tells me to go for it.

Pretty new to the Smokey mountain, and I’m curious if you try to get your temp roughly settled in before putting on your meat? On one hand , I know your temp will fluctuate largely when you pull the lid to put the food on anyways, but if it’s settled in and air valves are dialed in , it should roughly return back to same temp I would think? And on the other hand , if you put the food in first than dial in you won’t have to pull the lid and then make sure everything is going get back to where it was. What’s your method?

Been eyeballing the trade for about 6 months now, I’m right in between two locals with staggered recruitment years so ideally I can apply for one each year until maybe i get lucky. One of the recruitments opens next month 🤞🏼But on a side note there’s really not much content out there on what the actual process is of being an elevator mechanic, I know it’s hard meticulous work. If you were to start a new construction today, what’s the steps and time frames? Do elevator mechanics run a vast amount of equipment? Are all parts brought up the stairs by manpower or is there cranes involved to bring stuff up? I’m not here to ask for interview questions, test tips or anything like that , but I’d love for someone to actually break down what the process looks like for someone who’s never seen it before. Thanks in advance fellas.

I’m a 27m whose dad never taught him anything, I’ve been in the steel industry since highschool, I’ve learned a lot in that time and learned it all the hard way. Overall I’ve been around a lot of maintenance work, but not been the main hand in much of it. I’ve replaced my water heater, installed water softener , changed outlets, ceiling fans , done basic car maintenance and light repairs, but every one of those tasks has been a much larger ordeal than it should have been, going over instructional videos over and over to get it done. The moral of the story is, I’m looking to change careers and was wanting to go electrical or elevator mechanic if I were luck enough, and I’m just alittle worried about my ability to take in all that info and being able to retain it and be good at my job. I have a great work ethic and am very driven but my only doubts is my mental capacity. I’ve never had to do mechanical things on a daily basis , so I am optimistically hoping that seeing it day in and day out would make it much more comfortable. Does anyone have a similar experience or any kind of advice relevant?

My nearest local is opening up within the month , curious if testing and interviews are typically strictly one day, or stretched out over a week or two period. I have two vacations planned in the upcoming 2 months and a fair bit of scheduled overtime at my current job. Just curious what to expect , I’m fine with using vacation time if I need to but curious if it’s a “let’s schedule a day this week” or a “come interview on this day” kind of deal.

I’ve found myself in a 5 year loop of being stuck in a “motivational” phase in life where I spend hours day dreaming about living the way I want to , being fit, eating the way I want to, doing more productive things and I can’t seem to break out of it. Every single day I think about how I I want to work out, eat clean, learn a new skill, then end up going down the “internet self help rabbit hole” which I know isn’t nearly as useful as people like to think it is. I’ve tried many things such as deleting all social media (aside from Reddit except for occasional days when Im bored and have nothing going on I will redownload, such as today.) I’ve been “dieting “ for years now more or less but end up in a loss, rebound , loss cycle. As for working out I muster up the courage to go about once a week which is almost a waste of time at that point. I know there’s no magic snake oil for just doing the work and that’s about the only thing there is to it, but I’m curious if anyone had any specific strategies that broke them out of this cycle after many failed attempts, what made it stick for you? (Also I might add I’m not a complete bum, I do make some progresses in other aspects in my life , do pretty well financially and I’m not super overweight or a terrible junk food eater, In most people’s eyes I do pretty well for myself but in my eyes I know somewhere deep down that I am capable of so much more. I have the aspirations to be a 1%er but I have the motivation of a 50%er lol any advice is greatly appreciated! I know “do the work” is the answer but I’ve read that enough times that it doesn’t help so only strategic replies would be much appreciated.

I’ve found myself in a 5 year loop of being stuck in a “motivational” phase in life where I spend hours day dreaming about living the way I want to , being fit, eating the way I want to, doing more productive things and I can’t seem to break out of it. Every single day I think about how I I want to work out, eat clean, learn a new skill, then end up going down the “internet self help rabbit hole” which I know isn’t nearly as useful as people like to think it is. I’ve tried many things such as deleting all social media (aside from Reddit except for occasional days when Im bored and have nothing going on I will redownload, such as today.) I’ve been “dieting “ for years now more or less but end up in a loss, rebound , loss cycle. As for working out I muster up the courage to go about once a week which is almost a waste of time at that point. I know there’s no magic snake oil for just doing the work and that’s about the only thing there is to it, but I’m curious if anyone had any specific strategies that broke them out of this cycle after many failed attempts, what made it stick for you? (Also I might add I’m not a complete bum, I do make some progresses in other aspects in my life , do pretty well financially and I’m not super overweight or a terrible junk food eater, In most people’s eyes I do pretty well for myself but in my eyes I know somewhere deep down that I am capable of so much more. I have the aspirations to be a 1%er but I have the motivation of a 50%er lol any advice is greatly appreciated! I know “do the work” is the answer but I’ve read that enough times that it doesn’t help so only strategic replies would be much appreciated.

Curious how people who were adults before smart phones were around feel about them now? Most older people I know are just as addicted to their phones as younger adults but seem to be less aware of it (or maybe just don’t care as much) have you personally seen a decline in your mental health (anxiety , depression, attention span , worth ethic , ect) since smart phones have been more popular. I would like to hear how people who grew up pre-technology boom feel about all this considering they got to experience adulthood both ways.

Obviously it’s a very highly skilled profession, and very niche, but curious how much it carries over to other kinds of professions or not professional projects. Especially considering the schooling is geared directly towards elevators. Im going to attempt to get into one of my locals, if I’m one of the very few lucky people who get in I would just like to know if for some crazy reason I would ever leave, that I would possess the skills to do maintenance just about anywhere within reason just for peace of mind. If you took only what you’ve learned from being an elevator mechanic, would you be fairly comfortable starting as maintenance in most any manufacturing plant or things alike? Thanks in advance for answers. If I were to make it in, it would be a big leap for me so just trying to reassure myself.

Just curious as for what to expect out of your medicine. Is there a certain point where it comes on and you immediately know it’s working? I’m on adderall xr20 and I don’t really ever have a realization moment that it’s working. I’m pretty reluctant to go up any in dose but I’m starting to feel like maybe I’m not getting what I should be out of it. Can you tell it’s working , even if you’re not in the middle of something that actually requires your focus? Because that’s the only time I do notice it and it’s very subtle. I know the ideal is to be subtle and effective but how subtle is too subtle

If you’re a year 1 probie, and work gets slow and you get laid off (strictly because work is slow and not performance issues) are you put on a list to be called back when help is needed again or do you have to reapply to the apprenticeship and start over? I’m applying for my local next month, I currently have a pretty good job and will be taking a big leap to do this for a better long term future. I’m perfectly okay with the initial pay cut until becoming a mechanic, but the thought of potentially being laid off and not brought back,after giving up a good steady job is pretty scary to me. What’s your experience with this situation or what have you seen in the past?

Just curious if any long term users of caffeine have quit, did it help you or make little to no difference? I quit caffeine for about 3-4 months at one point maybe 7 years ago? I recall it being the most mentally Sharp and energized I’ve ever been in my life. I don’t remember the fine details or why I ever started back or any of that because it was so long ago, but I am curious if this is the general consensus. For what it’s worth I was also in the best shape I’ve ever been in at that time as well. Obviously caffeine is known to help people with ADHD somewhat , I dont feel I get any change from caffeine other than craving it. I’m a fairly new diagnosis and was just thinking about that recently and was curious if anyone has ever had a similar experience.

Just curious if any long term users of caffeine have quit, did it help you or make little to no difference? I quit caffeine for about 3-4 months at one point maybe 7 years ago? I recall it being the most mentally Sharp and energized I’ve ever been in my life. I don’t remember the fine details or why I ever started back or any of that because it was so long ago, but I am curious if this is the general consensus. For what it’s worth I was also in the best shape I had ever been in at that time as well so that may be a contributing factor. I was recently diagnosed with adhd and allegedly caffeine helps people with adhd to some degree, but thinking back on this makes me more curious about my experience whether it was due to other factors or the caffeine itself. I’m considering quitting again , but want to see if the juice is worth the squeeze first, I also work rotating shifts which just adds to the desire for caffeine (I was also working these same shift then) let me hear your experiences with cutting caffeine

I’ve always had cheap, WELL under 1000 dollar beds my whole life , I’m looking to upgrade to something in the 3-6k range. Obviously we spend a 1/3 of our life there so it is important and makes a difference, but does a quality bed over a low quality bed make a huge difference? I’m 27 and starting to have some trouble sleeping for the first time in my life, and have lower back pain and work a fairly physical job and just need a little justification to shell out the money. Ps. Not particularly looking for suggestions at this time, just some testimonials

I’m looking to apply to my closest local next month when recruitment window opens. I take low dose prescribed adderall for ADHD, therefore would likely show up positive for amphetamine. Is this acceptable as long as prescription is readily available to be shown, should I bring it up prior to even submitting the test, or just not take it for a couple days prior to avoid unnecessary conflict? I’m not really familiar with how this works as I’ve been with the same company since it’s been prescribed. Any advice is appreciated.