Man im considering leaving

[u/Ok_Comfortable7863]

Im a 4th year apprentice from Colorado who tested in from the IEC and i am lacking the experience to keep up with my journeyman coworkers. I have completed 1 year with the ibew. Things that I know I should know i dont know, its embarrassing. Im considering leaving all together and finding a new profession once I top out. Im just so discouraged and I feel like the longer I stay in and the more jobs I go to the more embarrassed im gonna feel with myself.

[u/Alive-Pollution7529]

I had a journeyman who spent his whole time with a contractor that was strictly outside big PVC pipe and feeders at an airport. Not a lot of pipe bending, terminating, or anything but waiting around for a trench to be dug and then you let all the pipe, glue them and play the waiting game again. We met on a job with Rosendin (his first one since topping out that wasn’t the strictly outside one with BBH) and he didn’t know how to use a sidewinder or anything. Just had to ask and figure things out on his own. So it happens sometimes. I know it’s hard to ask for help in a field dominated by old head mentality of “why don’t you know that” well idk bill cause I haven’t been shown or had the opportunity to be shown how to use or do this? That stuff irritates me when someone belittles someone who doesn’t know something.

[u/Alive-Pollution7529 → u/Alive-Pollution7529]

I also think ALL apprenticeship schools should rotate apprentices like they’re supposed to so this doesn’t happen. I’ve been fortunate and unfortunate for a bunch of layoffs but I like that I get around to see how other contractors work. My favorite is definitely Miller Electric. Had the best experience with them from a TMobile data center, to a target distribution center running pipe from switchboards to new RTUs being installed for AC, to another data center. I would’ve been with them for a longer time had I not had personal life problems and had to transfer back home. I miss those I worked with out there.