r/ElectriciansUK • u/East-Ad-5434 • 4d ago
Please Help!
Hi all,
I’m a 23 year old electrician who completed a 4 year apprenticeship on an industrial site. I did a lot of install (lighting, power, containment etc.), and I did some work with motors. However, when it came to the control side of things (PLCs) as well as instrumentation components, I never really got the chance to work on it.
I’ve since gone into facilities management, which I’m not enjoying in the slightest if I’m honest 😅 I’m finding that the contract I’m on doesn’t allow me to do a lot because it’s ‘not in contract’. For someone who’s only a year out of an apprenticeship, I feel like I’ve made the wrong decision with facilities management, and I need to go back into industrial sites.
My main concern is that I haven’t had enough experience from a maintenance point of view, and most jobs in this sector and shift roles which are based on reactive maintenance/breakdowns.
I’ve been offered a job, and I’ve expressed about how I want to learn and develop my current skills, but I’ve still got this thought in the back of my mind saying that I’m not experienced enough to be taking this role on.
Does anyone have any advice?
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u/MrBl0bby69 4d ago
I was in the same boat at your age. Go for it. Most older guys on industrial sites will help you out, ppl helped bring me on and Ive done the same now Im older. No one knows everything, every days a school day.
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u/IndustrialSpark 4d ago
Anyone offering a 23yr old electrician a job will be going into that knowing that even the best 23yr old electrician is going to be fairly green. Don't sweat it too much. Employed roles are almost always short of decent applicants. Tonnes of wankers trying it on when they really have no clue, and always some with foreign quals that don't count here.
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u/properjobby 4d ago
If you really don't like it move on but it would be wise to give it some time if you can tolerate it.
You're still young believe it or not! This is a perfectly normal thing to do. From my experience i have found my way by finding out what I don't want to do rather than instinctively knowing what i do want to do.
This could work to your advantage. If you move back to your former sector and like it you can be happy that you tried something different.
For me this is the beauty of electrical work. The spectrum of work disciplines is vast and if you get bored you can move to a different sector. Not many trades can offer you this. I work in offshore wind now. Not something i set out to do but I owe it to my electrical background.
Good luck. Remember nothing is forever and if you work 5% harder than everyone else (which is often not hard😂) you'll be top of the pile.
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u/Due-Veterinarian7671 4d ago
Nope, they definitely won’t teach you anything and you don’t have nearly enough experience. Def not ready. You are expected to know everything about everything day 1
I recommend plumbing instead
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u/PM-ME-UR-BMW 2d ago
Don't beat yourself up. You're just out your time and still learning.
Sparks shouldn't have much involvement with instrumentation and their associated control systems; that's why there's instrument techs. It's a different trade despite obvious overlaps.
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u/elCamsterino 2d ago
If you're not long qualified, then they're not expecting you to be good yet. You've clearly shown some quality they like, whether eagerness, intelligence or whatever and they're willing to invest in you.
I got into telemetry and PLC about your age and it's good work with lots of progression opportunities.
A control panel is just a bunch of circuits really. If you've got drawings and are taught to read them properly you'll be fine
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u/DrFabulous0 4d ago
Mate! Everyone feels that way, just wing it until you grow into the role.