Send CathInfo's owner Matthew a gift from his Amazon wish list:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/25M2B8RERL1UO

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Author Topic: Matthew's new career  (Read 5271 times)

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Offline MaterDominici

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Re: Matthew's new career
« Reply #45 on: September 06, 2026, 11:04:51 AM »
Quote from: DirigeNos on September 06, 2026, 07:36:25 AM
The only way to be making that kind of money as an electrician is to own the company or be the boss and have lots of commercial work in a very wealthy area. For the average person, that takes 20+ years to work your way up to being a Master. These are two common misconceptions: "electrical work is easy" - "electricians make bank". It's another job in the trades like being a plumber. Do you make better pay than a roofer, sheetrocker, or framer? yes, usually. However, I know cabinet and countertop installers that have better salaries than electricians because they own their own business. To own your own business as an electrician, you need a master on board to pull the permits. It takes a long time to work up to that licensure. If you install a cabinet wrong, the house is not going to catch fire and burn down.   
I agree with your sentiment and the "paid training" that is often touted is the equivalent of working a fast food job while in college, however, I think you can get to Master in 7 years if you're focused and reasonably in 10 years.
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Offline Matthew

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Re: Matthew's new career
« Reply #46 on: September 06, 2026, 03:23:34 PM »
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated tools from my wish list!

It's hard to say how many have donated, since virtually everything has been anonymous thus far.  My best estimate is 6 individuals.

I am extremely grateful to each one of them. I appreciate these tools because I know that any job is so much easier with the proper tool. And one's employer is mostly concerned with results -- output -- not so much "how much you worked for it". Therefore, an older guy like me can't afford to be hampered by substandard, worn out, or inadequate tools. Let's face it, I can't compete with the young guys on energy or bodily endurance.

I am keeping the Amazon wish list up to date, so everything on the list reflects my current needs in the tool department, as of right now.

The remaining items are either less critical (though I don't know for sure, since I haven't started the job yet), and/or I have a far-from-ideal, or more or less substandard substitute in my existing household tool collection, which will make do for a while.
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Offline Matthew

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Re: Matthew's new career
« Reply #47 on: September 07, 2026, 06:49:10 AM »
They posted some photos of our classes; I was only in a couple of them.
Here is a photo of our first instructor, who reminds me a bit of Abraham Lincoln. He was a great instructor, but he had a family emergency after teaching our class for 2 weeks, and someone else had to fill in for the remaining 2 weeks. I preferred the first instructor, to be honest. He was pretty redneck (note the tobacco product on his desk) but that's probably why I got along well with him.

My class was a real motley crew, a real band of misfits (like "Police Academy") 
Even the black student was rather unique. He doesn't have the black/ebonics accent, he's shy, his parents are strict, he gives homeschooler vibes, and his last name is Dutch (starts with Van ____) Tell me that's not unusual.
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Offline Matthew

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Re: Matthew's new career
« Reply #48 on: September 08, 2026, 04:28:16 PM »
My first day of work went well. It was a bit hot outside, and the first couple hours of work were done outside (the rest was in the shop -- not climate controlled, but at least it was in the shade). Today in my part of Texas it was 100 degrees, not counting humidity.
I forgot to bring any electrolytes/gatorade which was extremely stupid of me, but fortunately they had a large multi-pack of some kind of flavored electrolytes with no sugar that you could mix into water. They gave each new person a nice water bottle, which I made use of. I went through about 8 packets of the electrolyte powder! Once I found those, I was fine. Before that, my hands were starting to cramp up from lack of minerals.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support!
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Offline DirigeNos

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Re: Matthew's new career
« Reply #49 on: September 08, 2026, 06:36:01 PM »
Quote from: Matthew on September 08, 2026, 04:28:16 PM
My first day of work went well. It was a bit hot outside, and the first couple hours of work were done outside. Today in my part of Texas it was 100 degrees, not counting humidity.
I forgot to bring any electrolytes/gatorade which was extremely stupid of me, but fortunately they had a large multi-pack of some kind of flavored electrolytes with no sugar that you could mix into water. They gave each new person a nice water bottle, which I made use of. I went through about 8 packets of the electrolyte powder! Once I found those, I was fine. Before that, my hands were starting to cramp up from lack of minerals.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support!
That's great to hear that your first day went well! I have had problems with hydration myself due to health issues and have tried a few different electrolyte solutions. My favorite one is called BodyBio E-lyte. It's a liquid concentrate you add to water. My second favorite thing to do is add 1/4 tsp of Celtic Sea Salt to a water canteen and shake it up. I heard that crunching on sea salt and chasing it with water is also beneficial because it releases extra minerals absorbed through the mouth (I got this from Dr Barbara O'Neill)
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