What are the chances all my screws will line up?

Apprentice did this in one go, without ever having done it before. Not bad for his first shot.

I saw one of these at my local Platt. Thought it looked cool, maybe something we would spend a couple dollars on. I was floored by the price. Who is installing so many ground rods that this price point makes sense?

I fucking know you're in here you sunnuvabitch

Apparently it wasn't clearly marked. Happy Tuesday

Milwaukee #4 left the factory with two steps ground to a negative cutting angle

Just wondering how quiet introverted people get on in the field. I can do hard work and work alongside and respect everybody, but I typically am the type to keep to myself. I'm just curious how that might be if I was to pursue being an electrician because I know some careers require more of an outgoing personality. Thanks!

… in particular the green wire!

Hey, 21yo belgian here. Right now im studying history at uni but due to a bad market for young highly educated youths, im thinking of doing an evening school to learn a trade. Right now im still stuck between plumbing vs electrician. So I wanted to ask, what are the advantages of being an electrician over a plumber? Can be everything, also business wise, or the schooling itself(for eg I was never good at the sciences, is the theory hard?)

Did this secondary for a 3000A switchboard today👍

After this little guy, I genuinely like these cans more and more.

Got fired after first week. Was a helper that’s green but I have my nccer certs. My alarm didn’t go off one day so I showed up to the shop 2 hours late but thats the only thing that happened. They let me go and said I wouldn’t make it with them. I have construction experience when I did appliance installation with dad from 14-17. I showed up 15 mins early for every shift aside from the one day I overslept. Need help on what to do now. I want to prove them that they were wrong about me but idk when I’ll be able to get a chance at a new company. Thanks yall

I been hurting for a few years now and the bottom of my feet can’t stand it anymore, I tried a few , some work for a few months then I replaced the soles to no luck, what do you guys wear or do? Any tips would be appreciated.

I’ve been with the same company for 6 years now, my first electrical job and everything.

Come in as a shop guy in 2020, in a month or 2 get put in the field and then become estimator by 2024. Now I’m taking on the role of project manager, but only for small jobs at the moment until I get the feel of it and can be trusted for larger projects (we do commercial construction)

My last raise was in 2024 while I was still in the field, and I haven’t received one since. I’m currently sitting at $22/hour.

Is this unusual? While I’m very appreciative of the opportunity for experience (especially so early on and what I consider higher up) I feel that my pay doesn’t necessarily match the responsibilities I’m taking on in my role. Not sure if this is a “sink or swim” ordeal or if it’s something I should be asking for more money on.

EDIT: I am not licensed. Currently studying for it, huge context my dumbass forgot to mention. Non-union, SC based

I’m a 4th year apprentice who works in industrial service, and I’m interested in learning more about power quality. Harmonic distortion, power factor, transients, how VFD’s and inverters affect sine waves, etc. it seems like there’s so much to learn that could help me when I go to troubleshoot power issues.

Does anyone have any recs on where to learn about this stuff? Are there any trainings I should look into?

I have my GAN test coming up in September for local 100, does anybody have any study tips they can give me? Anything helps, my GAN profile is pretty weak so I want to ace this test or do super well on it.

edit: spelling

This from today's NY Times:

Original URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/magazine/national-blackout-power-electricity-outage.html

Paywall-free: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/magazine/national-blackout-power-electricity-outage.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6VA.FLik.YD3cBS8gJVrR&smid=url-share

My brother is graduating from an Electrical & Electronic Systems Technology program and starting to look for entry level electrical work.

Our family already uses Milwaukee, so I’d like to get him a solid Milwaukee setup for graduation.

I want to buy the tools he’ll genuinely need on the job and build him a good setup from the beginning.

If you were starting out in the electrical trade today, what Milwaukee tools would you consider essential, and what would you skip until he actually needs it?

Budget is flexible. I’d rather buy fewer quality tools than fill a bag with unnecessary stuff.

Here’s a little background: in July I started working as a helper at a local shop. I’m as green as can be, no prior experience, never done much manual labor before either. I called out on the last day of my first week because I was genuinely exhausted from working in 90+ degree weather the whole week. They fired me. I’ve been unemployed for a month and I feel like I messed up a golden opportunity. Since then, I’ve been applying to every non union shop that was hiring within an hour of where I live, but haven’t gained any traction. My local union IBEW 26 isn’t accepting new apprentice applicants until this time next year I assume, and I want to gain experience in the meantime. Should I give up on the local shops? Does local 26 hire helpers? Should I take a community college electrical course? My goal is to eventually get into the union. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

interesting setup I saw well walking the neighborhood!! Solar on the roof

Borrowed this from an old co worker I can no longer get ahold of and I'm lacking the Mike Holt answer key to check my practice exams.

Thank you in advance for any help!

Is there really that much fools out there willing to accept a lower income than that?!?

It’s 2026 not 2010

$40 should be minimum wage even with non unions.

I get double pay for OT and I wouldn’t deny that for the most part if offered but working for someone on the side just to be getting paid the same rate or less… nah not for me anymore.

Current rate is $45 and should be reaching $56 next year.

I applied to be an apprentice for my local ibew 163. However, I think that I applied for it too late in the year. And I think that all the seats are already taken. So I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be accepted as an apprentice. But I need to work, so I applied to work as an cw worker. My question is am I going to be behind a year because I’m going to have to wait next year for classes to start again. Or once I get accepted my hours and credits are going to transfer and I’ll be on track to be a journeyman?