r/AusElectricians

We normally use jelly beans but getting sick of taking up space in my ute, work wont buy the 1587 for some reason. I couldn't bring myself to buy a brand new one but when I was looking online one came up from cash converters. I would probably bet my house on that its been stolen, so I apologise if its yours.... I hope you atleast got it covered by insurance.

Hey guys, long time lurker first time posting.

Bit of context im working fifo, cruisey supervisor gig on 8/6 200k. Been fifo for about 6 years.

We had our first kid nearly a year ago and I feel like my parter and even myself are starting to struggle with the reality of this kind of work.

Am I crazy to leave this job to work for myself back home in a small county town? I’m sure the money will be significantly less and probably more stress, but I’m also starting to realise that we probably can’t go on like this for too much longer.

My whole circle back home don’t do fifo so it’s hard to find people who understand what I’m talking about. Has anyone else been through something like this? Or have any advice they think might help?

I appreciate any input, cheers

Hey guys, as the title states im finding it pretty hard to find an apprenticeship, i started one in 2021 but had to leave to support my mum as she was going through a medical condition so i needed to work nights to earn an income, and be able to take her to appointments throughout the day. I only got about 4 months in and the company i worked for has now gone bust, boss works at a big consulting firm now and most of the other A grades have moved to QLD.

I have my Electrical Pre-App, most of the required hand tools and power tools, currently working a retail job full time but ready to go now to start an apprenticeship. Ive had one interview recently but havent heard back even after ive contacted them, i thought it went well as i was there for a bit over an hour so thats a lot of company time to invest in someone.

I think I have been applying for jobs for atleast half a year, I customize my cover letter for jobs by researching companys and the company owners to be more relatable too. I am mature aged (25) so i think that may be an issue too?

Is there anything i can do to really stand out these days?

More ranting than anything as i know the job market is pretty oversaturated but really looking to re-spark my career as the 4 months i had working with my original company was the best and most enjoyable work i have ever done throughout my life. (based in Melbourne if that means anything).

I have just been informed by my energy supplier that they want to upgrade my electrify meter.
They have informed me they can’t carry out the replacement because my meter board is defective.
I have inspected my board and there are no issues and no everything is in good order apart from the asbestos backing plate.
The energy supplier claims my board d is defective because it does not have a service fuse and main switch in line with current standards.
My building was built in the early 70s and the board is compliant with the regulations of the time of construction.
The supplier is saying it’s my obligation to have the fuse and switch fitted so they can fit their meter.
My argument is my board is compliant as far as the law is concerned.
If they are doing the work upgrading my board by fitting a new meter, isn’t it there responsibility to fit their fuse and switch to make the board compliant to suit the works they are carrying out.

Starting new role just wondering do people get call outs often late at night?

And for the industrial guys what faults/call outs do you get regularly.

G'day everyone, I'm just looking for some advice in terms of my apprenticeship

To quickly sum it up I got my apprenticeship through putting my resume at different wholesalers landed an apprenticeship that way back in February and have been on a wait list for neca which I start this week

PROS:

Boss drives me to site everyday

I have another job I work in the evenings which he respects and I usually get home 4 second job is 4:30

He's not a bad teacher I've learned quite a lot from him on his good days

CONS

My supervisor aka the a grade on our team of three is a cunt he recently finished his apprenticeship and just gets mad at very easily makes jokes like importing Labour

I got into pretty heated argument about immigration and then asked to go home took a few days off

I get paid 18$ an hour no overtime as in if the job goes from 7-4or 7-5 I don't get paid between 3-5 which obviously adds up

Pay for my own tools and everything my own ppe I'm buying my own power tools soon

Safe to say I'm pretty sick of it, the passive aggressiveness no banter either I don't mind a joke here and there but striaght up racism and telling me a fucking idiot isn't really working

The only reason I'm still here is cause I've got no other option but school does start soon so I will stay for that and I get payments for working in solar which I'll wait for that as well

TLDR: Neca told me I would be able to stay in school for 3 months before having to find an employer but since I have more experience hands on would I still have to do the middy's method again cold calling as well or would NECA be able to sort me out

I'm anxious about it though cause I can do some great work I like to believe but the way my boss and a grade berrade me has me shitting myself even doing downlights lmao

Just needing some advice any would be great

Cheers

Long story short I’m looking at locking in 9-12 months of work subbying to a guy. We have a good relationship and he’s offered to put be on wages if I prefer.

I’m on the fence about it as I’ve been doing my own thing for a while now and going back to wages seems like a step backwards…

I charge him $65/hr currently and that’s just me and my hand tools, jumping on the train into work. I’m not sure what the going rate is for wages as I’m a bit out of the loop… I do feel that I’ve always sold myself short however.

For some context, it’s mostly high end residential / small commercial work. I’ll be paired with an apprentice most of the time or working alongside another A grade just out of his time. So aside from the boss I’ll be the most senior of the group.

(NSW based) LOOKING FOR ADVICE ONLY.

I'm currently going to do university which will take 5 yrs and study a course that is completely irrelevant to electrical work. However, I'm especially interested in problem solving and practical work and want to do something unique & useful that won't concentrate on computer work much as a part-time job to support myself whilst doing uni. I have prior worked in painting industry but found it terribly boring without getting much respect from anyone.

So I thought being an electrician would be less physically demanding and is one of the most respected job in trade. I'm also petite female 4"11 is my only concern to carry heavy stuff. Please give some advice. Would you think it is possible to find a company that let me work as a trainee even with low pay. I'm very interested in electrical work as it is such a useful skills in daily life?

I have an electronic engineering degree and 2 years of experience as an engineering intern in manufacturing, focusing on reliability engineering and continuous improvement. I generally enjoy the work, but I’m struggling with a major confidence gap.

Currently, I feel like a middleman: I listen to operators, fitters, and sparkies describe a problem, try to verify it (though sometimes I struggle to tell if they've found the root cause), and then ask the maintenance team to fix it. When machines go down, it's the technicians and sparkies doing the hands-on troubleshooting and solving, not the engineers. I often feel like I don't actually know anything practical and have to constantly rely on the trades team.

The Dilemma:

- Financials: It often seems like electricians earn more than engineers (even engineering managers). I know it’s due to overtime, but other salaried staff have overtime as well, and my company never raises the pay. Is this common?

- Interests: I genuinely enjoy engineering work (reliability/manufacturing path) and don’t mind getting my hands dirty in order to gain hands-on experience. However, I do not enjoy routine installation or regular preventive maintenance work.

- The Ideal Scenario: Getting an electrical license while continuing to do engineering work, but it’s not easy to find a role that combines both.

My Questions for You:

If you could choose, would you keep pursuing the engineering path now or spend 4 years to get an electrical license?

Lately the big dogs have been taking it too far with the price hikes… What’s your local cheapo wholesaler? i.e ELS, AGM, NES etc
From my knowledge, there’s nothing like this in the eastern suburbs or South Sydney/ shire etc

I've potentially got myself an opportunity for a job in Tier 1 under an EBA in commercial construction. I'm curious to know what the reality is with the OT and can you get away with just doing 8 hours Mon-Friday. Or is the OT heavily encouraged or expected and saying no to it will probably result in me getting the flick? I'd be happy to do it here and there but not weeks/months at a time.

I understand the whole point of these jobs for a lot of guys is to chase the big hours but it's my only real concern with making the move.

Hi everyone,

I know there is a shitload of apprenticeship threads, so I am sorry for creating another one. I have been offered a Liney role from one of the big mobs in Western Sydney.

My career is primarily office based to this point, I have been involved in the NDIS world, and these last 2 years I am wanting firstly to get out of the office, hopefully learn a trade to set myself up for the latter part of my working life (I am late 30's). From the research I have done, Liney is a good job pays really well especially for these apprenticeship roles. I can only assume this is related to the nature of the work, and the risk involved.

I am wondering hopefully from other Lineys out there, and anyone that maybe has given an apprenticeship a crack later in life in a similar boat to me, I would appreciate any advice or something that assisted you especially during the transition if you came out of an office. I have tried to research as much as I can, watching video's looking on social media etc so I figured I would try Reddit as well.

I am excited, this is exactly what I wanted. I wanted out of the office in a large organisation who will allow me to "learn" at my own pace, and prioritise safety.

I am worried that I could be doing harm to my family by being selfish and doing this apprenticeship, and throwing away my current career. Our goals in the next 5-6 years are to leave Sydney behind, hopefully in a smaller state, smaller town/suburb and this Apprenticeship along with my current experience will hopefully secure me work in most places in the country.

Id love any input or feedback anyone would feel comfortable sharing, I feel like I am rambling at this point so thanks again, any advice and real expectations would be greatly appreciated and feel free to ad your 2c!

So main switch then feeding sub circuits and RCDs, I was always taught the minimum size you can feed these with is 4mm. I see lots of people feeding gpo rcbos with 2.5mm, wondering your thoughts

G'day, after a bit of knowledge about opportunities out of Bris.

Im moving there due to family so would love a FIFO role somewhere. Obviously good work and good pay would be grand, an excellent on-site gym.

I'm currently at a residential mine with one of the big companies, got plenty of industrial experience and am fine with the rosters.

Any suggestions on companies or places to look for vacancies would be awesome.

Cheers team 🙂

I’m a 4th year apprentice my Teacher doesn’t want to give me an extra day to come in and study and i told him struggling, i have a test on voltage drop and current carrying capacity on Tuesday. Any tips or advice while im studying? Mainly getting issues with picking right installation method and also confused as why we use normal temperatures on cables but the max demand one we use the max please help me I teacher pulled me aside at the end of class and was basically saying he thinks I’ll fail and he isn’t sure if electrical is for me. This is complete bull and I’m keen to take him on and pass this shit once and for all, I started in 2019 and have been 4th year since 2023 been having alot of personal issues and shit so it’s been dragged out which makes him believe i don’t have the capability to pass

I’m currently working as an accountant in professional services, but I’ve realised pretty quickly that the desk-based corporate environment just isn’t for me.

I don’t enjoy sitting behind a computer all day, the office culture doesn’t appeal to me, and I’m struggling to see myself doing this for the next 30–40 years. I went to uni and got into accounting because it seemed like the safe career path, but I’m starting to think I would be much happier doing something more hands-on.

I’m seriously considering making the switch and starting a mature-age electrical apprenticeship. I understand I’d be taking a decent pay cut initially and essentially starting again, but the actual work interests me a lot more. Long term, I’d like to become qualified, get a few years of experience behind me and potentially start my own electrical business.

Would appreciate any advice!

Bought 7k worth of tools a week ago, sales guy sold me a milwaukee laser as a plumb dot/cross line but after I opened up the laser I realised it has no plumb dot capability.

Hasn't been used, no batteries inserted, everything in its plastic. They said no because the cardboard has a rip in it which I just taped back together.

Store manager is a fat f*** kid who has never worked a day in his life on the tools.

He said its not my fault so when I replied whos fault is it then he wouldn't take responsibility. Absolute power tripping dog.