New Testingstan

The Spartan wrote:Is this something that happens in union* shops? Or just whatever industry he was in at the time?

From what I've seen, references matter a lot. If you have good references, getting another job isn't hard. If you have bad references, it is hard.

Whether you have a degree or not, what your last employer thinks about you makes a big difference.

How much math do electricians actually do?

Most of it is fairly basic; if you are getting in to the big time stuff, you call in an electrical engineer*. But, like Aaron said, there can be a lot of it, along with a lot of little facts to remember, as to what devices can do, what wires can handle, how much current you get down a part of the circuit, how much light a room needs, and so on. And, of course, getting the right materials to cut, bend, etc.


When I'm working with my electrician buddy, we don't often think about the math much, but he knows piles upon piles of facts and quick formulas to get the jobs done.

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* Said electrician friend has three jobs - his contracting, his day job: selling electrical supplies from a local warehouse distributor, and teaching the craft at a trade school.

He's had that middle job (the day job) the longest; he started in there laboring in the warehouse at age 15 or 16. (His father works there too, which is how he got in at the beginning.)

What's interesting is how much the company owner is willing to pay for his stuff.

She's put him through all kinds of product training things and transferable certifications. She didn't just pay for the training and tests either; she threw in a bonus and a raise for each level completed.

He recently asked her if he could borrow a couple vacation days from next year so he could do the next certification for the teaching night job. She said no...... instead, she decided to pay the whole thing and told him to go down there for the tests while on regular work time.


And, he was thinking about getting an electrical engineering degree from the state university for a while. When she got word of this, she again decided to pay for the whole thing. I think he's starting that next year.



What you might wonder is why would some filthy bourgeois pig not just be willing to, but to volunteer to pay for all this education? What would a supplier need with an engineer and teacher? I see the benefit in sales by having your people know the product, but I'm not so sure about the rest of it.

I wonder if she's just generous, if this is a loyalty thing (he has worked for her company for I believe 12 years now, and his father has been there for much longer yet), or if it's some evil plot to use him to expand her profits with long term expansion of services? Don't just buy the materials from us, buy the plans too!



Anyway though it's pretty cool, and from what I've seen, fairly common - a lot of employers pay for ongoing education. I guess they don't care much for OWNING people's asses unless they are actually productive! lol

Paying for your tradesman to keep current seems fairly common in industry here, at the least you seem to get time off. But I've been exposed to union shops only. They don't appear to be bleeding the country white, as some have claimed.

It might be cheaper for her in the long run to pay of his stuff and have him wear 2-3 hats then hire the equivalent number of dudes.

I have to pee. Who's in the bathroom. Gonna eat this chocolate coated apple. Now some hunks of turkey. Now chicken hunks. I don't want a pregnant dog coming back from the groomers. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah

All in the span of about an hour :<

But your electrician buddy is a skilled worker and his value only goes up as his skills go up.

And the oilfield guys, they're in a high demand industry so it's in an employer's best interest to not be a dick to the limited human resources in the market, if word got out they don't give good references in a desire to retain people they'll never get a new hire again.

At the other end when you've got both higher unemployment and lower demand you are easily replaceable. Defending against that possible situation is a good idea, I think. If youre fortunate enough to end up in a high demand field, you're set. Otherwise you've got some security of your own.

I've been thinking about this a little bit and I wonder if the guys he was talking about were sorta like Eminem's character in 8Mile: little more than drones when on the line.

The thing that's sticking in my craw is the part about having nothing to prove your experience. Do C/V's not exist? Are employers not required to verify employment? Do they not get certifications of some sort? I mean... there has to be something showing you were working there doing a particular job, right?

Yeah, and if an employer actually lies about you when someone asks, you can sue them, so it shouldn't be hard to get a history.

Maybe it's just (north) America

My new work (UTC Fire and Security) will pay the fees plus a stipend for any staff member whose been there more than a year to do any degree or trade qualification they want. It doesn't even have to be work related; one guy did a cert I in wine tasting

thats more a retention strategy for an industry with massive turnover

And hells high training costs

i don't think you really know what high training costs are but whatever

when you burn out employees you need to trick them into staying somehow

the acquisition of useless quals is pretty common

there's a curve on retention in most industries; peopel stay for x, then there's a period where many leave, but after a second point it goes back up again

trick people into staying for a year or two more = they are now emotionally and mentally trapped in the role, retention achieved

adr wrote:Yeah, and if an employer actually lies about you when someone asks, you can sue them, so it shouldn't be hard to get a history.

Employers are allowed to say you worked there between <x date> and <x date>, but anything else can be shaky if it's not well documented.

the shitty phone call center i was in did garbage like stupid worthless low level comp certs

if you stuck around

nobody did

Well, fuck. I was going to buy a laptop on Tuesday when my check cleared but now it's out of stock. Newegg need to start displaying stock levels.

Newegg's okay for components. I'd stay away for "new" computers if I were you.

hiiiii chocula

look at him be serious

i love guys like this

GETS ME AHWT

Newegg is pretty good actually. Now someone kindly ban the good Count.

Newegg's great for components.

Hi Flagg. Can you change your username to one more alliterative that I can mock?

You could always be incredibly lame and call me "fagg". That would have the added bonus of getting you banned.

IDK and IDC if you are and it's way too easy and puerile. Change your name so I can mock you, dammit!

Count Chocula wrote:IDK and IDC if you are and it's way too easy and puerile. Change your name so I can mock you, dammit!

No?

Fine. Good evening, Mr. Flagg. I shall address you using formality in all future posts.

someone has sullied my venting thread

speaking of which i feel like i'm going to keel over of sleep deprivation at any moment like a nazi experiment and all my limbs are queerly heavy, as if under heavy layers of cloth and cotton pressing me to sleep

last final in about an hour lol

Nietzslime wrote:someone has sullied my venting thread

speaking of which i feel like i'm going to keel over of sleep deprivation at any moment like a nazi experiment and all my limbs are queerly heavy, as if under heavy layers of cloth and cotton pressing me to sleep

last final in about an hour lol

Reward yourself by seeing Dragon Tattoo. I don't want to be the only one talking about it tonight.