Wow.... only took a year to go hot? Seems awful fast to me.
I have been a hot app for about 3 months after being a cold app for a year and have been struggling and been making some mistakes for example i left a cap off a fuse, i was making up a tx and thought a butting tri plex was dead and thought i needed to tie it to the tri plex i was making up to the new tx and i was skinning the hot legs ( that i thought was dead ) i boomed over to skin the hot legs ( that i was making up ) and i got them together and knocked out a fuse on the tx that the butting tri plex was on , and i was setting a pole and was handling the butt and almost pushed into pri. These are the mistakes i have made in three months . what i was wondering is have any of you struggled in the beginning or am i in the wrong business?
Wow.... only took a year to go hot? Seems awful fast to me.
Where i work you start off with secondary voltage ,pri if it is dead and ground , or off an eight foot stick ie pad mount pri or putting a switch on line or throwing a throttle. after 2 years as a C class than you go back to school to get qualified to work pri
You sound young and worried your in the wrong line of biz. Not to worry You say that you like what your doing and that's a start. Your going to make mistakes just like everyone else. The thing is to try and stick with someone that you trust and they will keep you out of trouble. It takes a long tome to learn this job and even longer to get to the point where you can be comfortable in just about any task. So show a good work ethic alot of intrest and leave your cell phone in the truck. Stay engaged with what you are doing. Somebody is going to take you under their wing and teach you the ropes.
BE SAFE
Everyone makes mistakes, it's how we learn. But it's better to be making them with secondary than primary, which is less forgiving. (not that high current secondary is particularly forgiving).
So you've made a few mistakes. Was there a mentor there to keep you right?
It's odd to be asking if you're in the right business so early in your training. Are you happy doing what you're doing?
Well, trauma happens. You don't sound like you are willing to quit, so just learn from your mistakes. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, has made a mistake. BUT, you can tell the guys who have learned from them and those that haven't. You ever see a guy constantly flashing a service before he puts it in the connector? Or the one that looks at the span in front and behind him when working wire?I bet you have never seen a guy close a fuse back in after it blew up already once in their face though. Its almost a common sense thing.. Like everyone else has already said, use your head, ppe, and a little common sense and you will be fine. Line work is almost like training a dog, the more time you spend with it and feeding and teaching, the better dog its going to be. THATS why not every swinging dick off the street is a LINEMAN. It takes time and dedication. GOOD LUCK and BE SAFE
just because you cover a pile of sh*t with syrup doesn't make it a pancake.
Try to relax a little. Just don't get anyone or yourself hurt. Pay attention to your surroundings and listen to the guys you work with. Don't get down on yourself. One day you'll look back and realize without a doubt you made the right decision. Trust me.
Proud to be an IBEW (Utility) Journeyman Lineman; and d@mned proud to be an Army Lineman (12 quebec) and an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran in the U.S. Army Reserve ...
Be patient, I myself am in my 3rd year of my app and things in the begining dispite how well i did in lineschool seemed hard. Its easy to be overwhelmed by the knowledge and experience of the older guys. But they were in our shoes to at once. You'll see in due time you'll be doing things as if it were second nature. Thats when you can step up and remember how you felt when you were knew and use that knowledge to help your apprentices. We Just got a class of 15 that have come out into the field and they are in the same boat. Good Luck keep you head up and be safe.