Electrician apprentice

[Calgarian]

Hey everyone, I was wondering what kind of grade 12 subjects do you need to be really good at in order to be successful in this trade. Since it is one of the more technical trade than the others, do I need something like calculus and physics? Is this trade worth pursuing if you are weak in math?

And which area of the trade is it best to focus on? Resi,commercial, or industrial? I like the thought of mastering resi since you can always do side jobs and do your own electrical if need be, but in order to do side jobs such as rough ins and what not do you have to have your journeyman ticket first?

Looking forward to hearing from you guys.

[Rig-Rat]

Check the SAIT or NAIT course outline it will tell you what math you need to be accepted into that course. Math is a major part of the trade but day to day nothing to crazy. Most of the hard calculations are in school. I started in commercial and recomend that. Simmilar to Resi but its conduit and wires instead of lumex.
Good Luck.

[elkhunter11]

If you are weak at math and physics, then electrical isn't for you.You don't need to do many calculations doing the actual work, but you do need to be able to do them to pass your apprenticeship schooling, and there were more people that couldn't pass their schooling than I expected that there would be.

[bigfis]

Personally I found the school extremely easy. Half of the guys in those classes are high school drop outs and most get by. If a student is able to graduate high school in the -1 or -2 stream they should have no major difficulty with schooling. I want to say that SAIT only requires 20-2 or 20-3 math to apply so I think the speaks to the difficulty of the course.

[acrtech]

Be sure to look up. Tradesecrets.org. Search for the trade and it will give you all sorts of answers. Tap into the electrical trade and then go after refrigeration an AC. Two good trades to have. Union fridgeys I hear are at $50/hr.+ benefits.

[nick0danger]

Originally Posted by bigfis

Personally I found the school extremely easy. Half of the guys in those classes are high school drop outs and most get by. If a student is able to graduate high school in the -1 or -2 stream they should have no major difficulty with schooling. I want to say that SAIT only requires 20-2 or 20-3 math to apply so I think the speaks to the difficulty of the course.

Yup i would have to agree. Also at SAIT they have LOTS of extra help, the people that are not successful do not seek more help and do not try.

[trophybook]

Math, math ,math and English and shop class to teach you some common sense and common tools.

[TomP]

I was quite average in math class in high school and bad at physics and I've done great in the trade. I started on resi and have moved to industrial but I've done commercial as well and I believe that being well rounded is important in this economy.

[Dick284]

Basic math formula manipulation. ( I=E/R, P=ExI, etc)
Trigonometry.(soh, cah, toa)
English and reading comprehension.(rtfq)

Having some basic chemistry, and physics doesn't hurt, but from what I saw in trade school was the abject reading comp. issues, the rest will come together when you know what's being asked of you.

[Supergrit]

Not much math in electrical but you can't find quite a bit if you take instrumentation

[Brian Adams]

Originally Posted by Supergrit

you can't find quite a bit if you take instrumentation

English?

[omega50]

Bigger stumbling blocks will be encountered getting started in this trade than Math.

Seems like lots of guys get dropped after a year or two for cheaper labor.

[Calgarian]

Thanks for the replies. The math doesn't seem intimidating after all but I guess we'll have to wait and see.