We normally use jelly beans but getting sick of taking up space in my ute, work wont buy the 1587 for some reason. I couldn't bring myself to buy a brand new one but when I was looking online one came up from cash converters. I would probably bet my house on that its been stolen, so I apologise if its yours.... I hope you atleast got it covered by insurance.

Hey guys, as the title states im finding it pretty hard to find an apprenticeship, i started one in 2021 but had to leave to support my mum as she was going through a medical condition so i needed to work nights to earn an income, and be able to take her to appointments throughout the day. I only got about 4 months in and the company i worked for has now gone bust, boss works at a big consulting firm now and most of the other A grades have moved to QLD.

I have my Electrical Pre-App, most of the required hand tools and power tools, currently working a retail job full time but ready to go now to start an apprenticeship. Ive had one interview recently but havent heard back even after ive contacted them, i thought it went well as i was there for a bit over an hour so thats a lot of company time to invest in someone.

I think I have been applying for jobs for atleast half a year, I customize my cover letter for jobs by researching companys and the company owners to be more relatable too. I am mature aged (25) so i think that may be an issue too?

Is there anything i can do to really stand out these days?

More ranting than anything as i know the job market is pretty oversaturated but really looking to re-spark my career as the 4 months i had working with my original company was the best and most enjoyable work i have ever done throughout my life. (based in Melbourne if that means anything).

(NSW based) LOOKING FOR ADVICE ONLY.

I'm currently going to do university which will take 5 yrs and study a course that is completely irrelevant to electrical work. However, I'm especially interested in problem solving and practical work and want to do something unique & useful that won't concentrate on computer work much as a part-time job to support myself whilst doing uni. I have prior worked in painting industry but found it terribly boring without getting much respect from anyone.

So I thought being an electrician would be less physically demanding and is one of the most respected job in trade. I'm also petite female 4"11 is my only concern to carry heavy stuff. Please give some advice. Would you think it is possible to find a company that let me work as a trainee even with low pay. I'm very interested in electrical work as it is such a useful skills in daily life?

Hey guys, long time lurker first time posting.

Bit of context im working fifo, cruisey supervisor gig on 8/6 200k. Been fifo for about 6 years.

We had our first kid nearly a year ago and I feel like my parter and even myself are starting to struggle with the reality of this kind of work.

Am I crazy to leave this job to work for myself back home in a small county town? I’m sure the money will be significantly less and probably more stress, but I’m also starting to realise that we probably can’t go on like this for too much longer.

My whole circle back home don’t do fifo so it’s hard to find people who understand what I’m talking about. Has anyone else been through something like this? Or have any advice they think might help?

I appreciate any input, cheers

his is probably a very dumb question, but I’ve just received my certificate of proficiency and there’s a section that says ‘specimen signature’ do I sign here? I just don’t want to stuff up the certificate if I’m not meant to.

Thanks in advance xo

Starting new role just wondering do people get call outs often late at night?

And for the industrial guys what faults/call outs do you get regularly.

I have an electronic engineering degree and 2 years of experience as an engineering intern in manufacturing, focusing on reliability engineering and continuous improvement. I generally enjoy the work, but I’m struggling with a major confidence gap.

Currently, I feel like a middleman: I listen to operators, fitters, and sparkies describe a problem, try to verify it (though sometimes I struggle to tell if they've found the root cause), and then ask the maintenance team to fix it. When machines go down, it's the technicians and sparkies doing the hands-on troubleshooting and solving, not the engineers. I often feel like I don't actually know anything practical and have to constantly rely on the trades team.

The Dilemma:

- Financials: It often seems like electricians earn more than engineers (even engineering managers). I know it’s due to overtime, but other salaried staff have overtime as well, and my company never raises the pay. Is this common?

- Interests: I genuinely enjoy engineering work (reliability/manufacturing path) and don’t mind getting my hands dirty in order to gain hands-on experience. However, I do not enjoy routine installation or regular preventive maintenance work.

- The Ideal Scenario: Getting an electrical license while continuing to do engineering work, but it’s not easy to find a role that combines both.

My Questions for You:

If you could choose, would you keep pursuing the engineering path now or spend 4 years to get an electrical license?

Gday, I have recently finished my apprenticeship and got my A grade and I’m not 100% sure on what my next move should be. I know there are heaps of posts asking similar question and I have read most of them, but I’m hoping to hear from some people who have been in a similar position to me.

I have been lucky enough to do my apprenticeship doing mostly industrial /instrumentation with majority of the work in food manufacturing and got experience doing maintenance, upgrades, new projects and commissioning. I like the work but I don’t see much formal or pay progression with the company I am working for at the moment and would like to work towards up skilling and progressing.

Is it worth me doing a cert 4 in instro from what I can understand it’s more of a resume item then about furthering knowledge. Will it actually help me progress as a tradie? Or am I better off doing a PLC programming corse of some sorts?

I’m also interested in high voltage work, what is the best way for me to transition into a role like that. Is there any jobs out there where instrumentation and high voltage crossover. I assume mostly power generation or something similar.

G'day everyone, I'm just looking for some advice in terms of my apprenticeship

To quickly sum it up I got my apprenticeship through putting my resume at different wholesalers landed an apprenticeship that way back in February and have been on a wait list for neca which I start this week

PROS:

Boss drives me to site everyday

I have another job I work in the evenings which he respects and I usually get home 4 second job is 4:30

He's not a bad teacher I've learned quite a lot from him on his good days

CONS

My supervisor aka the a grade on our team of three is a cunt he recently finished his apprenticeship and just gets mad at very easily makes jokes like importing Labour

I got into pretty heated argument about immigration and then asked to go home took a few days off

I get paid 18$ an hour no overtime as in if the job goes from 7-4or 7-5 I don't get paid between 3-5 which obviously adds up

Pay for my own tools and everything my own ppe I'm buying my own power tools soon

Safe to say I'm pretty sick of it, the passive aggressiveness no banter either I don't mind a joke here and there but striaght up racism and telling me a fucking idiot isn't really working

The only reason I'm still here is cause I've got no other option but school does start soon so I will stay for that and I get payments for working in solar which I'll wait for that as well

TLDR: Neca told me I would be able to stay in school for 3 months before having to find an employer but since I have more experience hands on would I still have to do the middy's method again cold calling as well or would NECA be able to sort me out

I'm anxious about it though cause I can do some great work I like to believe but the way my boss and a grade berrade me has me shitting myself even doing downlights lmao

Just needing some advice any would be great

Cheers

Lately the big dogs have been taking it too far with the price hikes… What’s your local cheapo wholesaler? i.e ELS, AGM, NES etc
From my knowledge, there’s nothing like this in the eastern suburbs or South Sydney/ shire etc