Q: What got you interested in this career?
A: One day, during my 10th grade electronics class, our class was visited by a representative from the College of New Caledonia (CNC). He provided information about the Electrical CTC program offered at CNC.This peaked my interest so I decided to give the program a shot. Afterwards, I knew that this was the career I wished to pursue.
Q: Do you know someone who does this type of work?
A: Yes, luckily a friend of a friend of mine is an electrician. I got in touch with him and he was kind enough to share his knowledge about employers.
Q: What do you like best about it?
A: So many things! But if I have to choose, I'd say that my favorite part about the job is the nice balance between physical and technical work. One day,you might be getting a workout pulling massive cables around, and the next day you might be working with the tiniest of wires and components. It's nice to do both.
Q: What's the biggest challenge?
A: The electrical trade is constantly changing as new technologies are invented.This makes for a pretty intimidating learning curve. However, I imagine that as I become a more experienced electrician, having new things to learn will keep the job interesting.
Q: What job do you hope to have when you finish your training?
A: Although I plan to work for many companies during my apprenticeship in order to learn a variety of skills, my plan once I finish my training is to work in a more industrial setting. Most likely, I will look for a more permanent job at one of the pulp and paper mills in Prince George.
Q: What sort of post-secondary education do you think you will need?
A: The mills in town are unionized, meaning that they will not hire apprentices, rather they give apprenticeships to their existing workforce . However, they do hire journeymen . So once I complete the four levels of electrical training, I will be good to apply!
Q: What type of environment would you eventually like to work in?
A: Like I said, I would like to find a permanent job at a mill, assuming no unexpected opportunities arise. However, that doesn't mean that once there, I will not seek to improve and move up. Perhaps I will eventually become a supervisor? I have also heard of many electricians returning to school to get one, or many other trades, in addition to electrical. It is apparently not uncommon to find an electrician who also has an instrument mechanic's ticket, as the trades are similar in many ways. I have also considered eventually pursuing a degree in electrical engineering.