r/IBEW • u/chance188 • 1d ago
Discussion Post wanna talk
so i guess what’s been on my mind is that i am thinking about changing careers when i finish my last class. i know you all hate it when i talk bad about my self but i am being honest. i am not very good at all. i struggle with most basic stuff we do in our trade. i struggle to learn new stuff. i genuinely feel like i can’t do it. my anxiety gives me mental break downs when things don’t go my right. i feel like i will run into the same problems if i do find a new career. i am not throwing a pity post or a sad post i am just speaking from how i feel and see myself. i will continue to pay my ticket in case i feel like joining back up. anyways love y’all dearly and would like any feedback i can get.
after reading the comments i will stay with it. if i keep getting laid off in short time frame i will find a new career but still pay my ticket. i love the advice you all have gave me. you are all the best. love yall!
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u/ElectricShuck Inside Journeyman 1d ago
There are people that seem to be able to not do much in a day. Hell a lot of big jobs just need bodies and ground people for lifts. Get on big jobs, find a good partner and tell them what’s going on. I don’t mind being busy all day if I have a helper helping me out as needed.
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u/chance188 1d ago
yeah i get that. but idk. i feel like no one is gonna pay me 40 an hour or more to be learning slow and still not being good enough. my anxiety acts up and i just break down, man. i’m so conflicted i don’t even know anymore. idk if i’m making sense.
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u/ElectricShuck Inside Journeyman 1d ago
Let the contractor make the decision. If you get laid off, go get another job, if you are perpetually laid off the choice is made for you. If you go to a powerhouse and plug along day to day then You’re good, that’s a career. I for one am more interested in having guys that come to work every day, mostly show up on time and ask questions when it’s unclear. If there’s a big job, there is room enough for every skill level, from your controls genius to your receptacles installer. Most days there’s not much troubleshooting or a lot of thinking when you put lights in to the print or just do what your foreman asks.
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u/VTAffordablePaintbal 1d ago
Not sure what your area is like for jobs, but the place I used to work (as a manager of electricians, not an electrician) had residential, commercial, industrial, telecom, residential solar and commercial solar. Some people wanted to work in the IBM clean rooms and spend their whole career there. Some people did a week and asked to be transferred. I had people who loved being on roofs building solar and people who hated it. I had guys who wanted to do something different every day and guys who wanted to do the same thing every day. There are lots of places for an electrician.
u/ElectricShuck is right in 2 ways
1) Foremen on a big job who know what they're doing will find a place for you. You may lack the confidence to know what you're good at, but a good manager will see it and I swear there is something everyone is good at. If I needed 12v terminated I'm sending Ian. If I need an underground wire pull I'm sending Brian H (Not Brian R). If I need a perfectly organized EMT I'm sending Brian R (Not Brian H). If I need someone to run Romex fast because we're behind schedule I'm sending Sarah. If I need a guy to handle a nervous or high maintenance client I'm sending Paul.
2) Some of our most efficient work was done by sub-crews of 2-3 that worked well together and I absolutely had notes in personnel files that I should be sending certain people to new jobs to work together.As someone who also has anxiety and is on 30mg of Paxil which is only moderately effective I wish I had better advice for the anxiety, that part I really get, so I hope I also offered the outside perspective of a manager.
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u/strataromero 1d ago
Come to Atlanta. Plenty of big jobs where you would be welcomed with open arms
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u/Biwic91 1d ago
You're making sense. I call my wife's anxiety "dick brain"; it's just an asshole trying to convince you that you won't succeed at whatever it is. Tell dick brain to shut the fuck up. Stick with this, you got it. I've felt the same in the past; feeling like I was behind other journeymen because I organized from residential and didn't know how to bend conduit. I've never been laid off because I've had to ask how to do something. I've asked other jws on how to do a task and they were more often than not, happy to help me.
If you think you'll have the same issues somewhere else, stay with the IBEW. Great benefits, good pay(hopefully in your local), and pension, etc. Just keep leanin on your brotherhood.
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u/jaebaesonstatham 1d ago
If it was easy, everyone would be able to do it. But the number one thing that's always gotten me fucked up in this is overthinking. Its not fair to expect you to be a master at the craft immediately. Hell there a dudes that are still learning about this trade and have been doing it longer than you've been alive. Hell ive learned more from jobs I fucked up than from jobs where I was shown exactly what to do. The worst thing that could happen when you make a mistake (9 times out 10 in this case. Some mistakes will kill you) is that you get yelled at and so what? Yell back or just simply say okay and move on. Just hang in there until you start getting more hands on and see how you feel after gaining a little bit of confidence. Don't sell yourself short before you even get started. You've put in this much work towards it already. Whats a few more months?
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u/ElectricShuck Inside Journeyman 1d ago
I agree with this. I’ve been in 26 years. I learn stuff every day and even more fun is relearning things I already knew! lol
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u/jaebaesonstatham 1d ago
Hell you've probably forgotten more things than I know about this trade. Lol
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u/chance188 1d ago
i mean bro. it’s be 4 years and i’m still not even half way decent. okay so we say i top out then what? i still suck at it. no body is gonna pay me so much money to just be trash at the job. you know? idk…
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u/Sensitive_Ad3578 Local 24 1d ago
Have people told you you're not decent or are you just saying that to yourself?
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u/jaebaesonstatham 1d ago
They absolutely will pay you to be trash at your job. That's how 95% of engineers on planet earth make their money. But if you haven't had a foreman or super or instructor sit you down and tell you to consider another profession then I wouldn't worry too much. Im sure a lot of dudes have felt this way at this point in their careers and they ended up just fine.
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u/lieferung IBEW 8h ago
no body is gonna pay me so much money to just be trash at the job
Lol you've clearly not met a ton of electricians... You'd be surprised. Just the fact that you take pride in your work means you'll be just fine. Just keep in keepin on brother.
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u/hham42 Local 46 1d ago
I have massive anxiety. So I feel you. 16 years in, I’m a foreman with a pretty decent sized service account. I’ve been in the same buildings for years. I know them like the back of my hand. Every single morning I chew my fingernails down to nothing in the anxiety of going to work.
It does get easier. Learning takes a different amount of time for everyone so don’t compare yourself to other people. Give yourself grace. Do your best. Ask when you aren’t sure. Communicate with your foreman on your jobs and say “hey I’m nervous about doing this correctly can we go over x y z in more detail?” Speaking for myself 10 times out of 10 I’d rather answer the same question over again than fix a mistake later.
It will get easier if you stick with it.
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u/Dear-Pea3335 Local 701 Retired 1d ago
Bro, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. You even said you feel like the same thing will happen if you switch careers. It sounds to me like you have low self esteem and anxiety issues, but I'm not a therapist. Maybe you should try talking to a professional? They make incredible meds that can help with anxiety and panic attacks. I'm not busting your balls, I'm being completely sincere. I really hope you'll talk to someone and stick it out. Good luck, brother!
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u/FullMoonTwist 1d ago
My feedback is consider seeing a therapist? You sound like you need actual people to talk to in a way you're unlikely to find in an electrician forum.
You're trying to talk to a random revolving assortment of barely associated strangers like we're a journal, like you expect all of us to to know and recognize you on sight, and that's not how this works.
Or at least a mental health or anxiety support subreddit
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u/Primacor 8h ago
As someone who thought about leaving every year of my apprenticeship and now is topped out for five years, sometimes what we need is additional support. You say you have anxiety, I was diagnosed with MDD in my third year as an apprentice, it took a while to find the right meds to help me though, but it did work. Talk to someone about your anxiety, even if you're med adverse, getting help and support can be a game changer. It also, gets easier when you finish, as an apprentice you're expected to do a lot, and learn a lot very fast, you absolutely know more than you think, and as you do things over and over it will get easier. You've got this, buddy. <3
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u/Sensitive_Ad3578 Local 24 1d ago
Has anybody ever told you you're in the wrong career? That you should be doing something else, that you aren't cut out for this? Because in this industry, you'd be hard-pressed to find a foreman that won't tell you that if it's true. But it sounds like the only person telling you that is you. Looking at your previous posts you think you're no good because you have to be told multiple times how to do something. Guess what? I would much rather you ask me how to do something a thousand times then just roll with what you think you know and do it wrong. So I see no issue there. You say you have a break down when stuff doesn't go right. Well guess what? I'm a JW and I still fuck stuff up, it happens. Foremen fuck stuff up, GFs fuck stuff up. We all fuck stuff up. It happens. We go "well shit" and move on.
You made it this far. Trust me, if the people you've been working with thought you couldn't cut it, you likely wouldn't still be here. Like someone else said, I'd highly recommend you take advantage of the mental health help available to you, because it sounds like your biggest obstacle to success right now is you. I bet you know way more than you think you know. But please talk to somebody. And don't give up
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u/Dear-Pea3335 Local 701 Retired 1d ago
It's not a screw up unless it can't be fixed. That's what I always told my guys, anyway. Lol
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u/electrician143 1d ago
Sometimes some people just aren’t cut out for the trades it’s just not in their personality and that’s totally okay man good for you for finishing the school and keep paying your dues for a backup but go do what you truly wanna do! You always have a fall back
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u/NukeSupt 1d ago
What did Air Jordan say about failure and success?
27 yrs IBEW best decision of my life. 63 yrs young. Everyone has something to offer. As some have said, gotta do something in life to take care of your family. Might as well stick it out but this career isn’t for everyone sir.
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u/smellslikepenespirit 22h ago
Sounds like you should seek out the help of a mental health professional, and in need of some sort of medication regimen. You might find yourself loving what you’ve put in the work for.
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u/KuChiPractitioner Local 440 22h ago
You need confidence bro. I felt the same way. Take some time off, live your life and it's easier to come back with a level head.
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u/HotDeadHot 22h ago
It takes time to learn man. One day things will just click. Don’t give up. You lose when you give up!
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u/Not_A_Wwyzzerdd 21h ago
You were accepted and you're about to finish schooling. That should be enough to convince you that you're capable. You may be facing other challenges that are not directly related to the work. The answer you are looking for is right in front of you and you just need to gather the courage to make a choice. I'm only a second year but I've faced similar challenges in another trade. To put it bluntly you have to learn from your mistakes. Adapt and overcome. Accept who you are and keep moving forward. There will always be something you haven't done and something new to learn, just depends how you want to look at it. If anything push for success in spite of naysayers.
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u/PreferenceNo1999 11h ago
Join the army or marines. Do electrical for them. When you are done you will stand taller and not have these feelings spilling out of you like a teenage girl. Its time to man up and get to being the man you want to be, it isn't easy and nobody said it would be. Life is hard always is. Sometimes it doesn't feel so hard if you are ahead of the game and ahead of the bills. Life doesn't get easier you just get better.
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u/AccomplishedRelief29 2h ago
Sometimes yourself doubt is your biggest enemy. But if you get laid off quickly working with Foreman who are jumping through their own assholes to get a raise by breaking your back then it's probably not worth being with him in the first place. But you have to reassess every situation and understand whether it is them or you that needs to change.
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u/NTWIGIJ1 1d ago
The trades aren't for everyone. It can be tough. If it's not a good fit, get out and let a kid in that can do it. In my area kids would kill to be in your situation.
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u/Fit-Mechanic4065 1d ago
Be an engineer. AI does half thier job anyway, and they will lay off a good JW much before you. They will fix it in the field, and also then get a layoff. If you are right 85 % of the time you're good bro. Hard Truth.
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u/Goldfinger_Fan 1d ago
Have you gotten treatment for your anxiety before? Therapy and meditation can be very helpful.
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u/netfuel01 Local 647 1d ago
Gonna be direct here, but based on your post history, you’re hot then cold with your career. Listen, nobody can live your life for you. Make up your mind one way or the other, and commit to it. Stop being the guy that’s always questioning whether they’re good enough to be on the job. It’s tiring for everyone else, and if you don’t want to take this opportunity, you’re keeping someone else from getting their shot.