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The regulatory requirements for electricians and plumbers take so long to advance through that if you don't choose it at a young age it's hardly possible to jus

The regulatory requirements for electricians and plumbers take so long to advance through that if you don't choose it at a young age it's hardly possible to justify doing later.

vkou 3y ago
If the pay (At the lower/upper/both certification levels) were better, people would justify it.
- mdgrech23 3y ago
  Wife's Dad was a plumber. He made better money running hydraulic fluid to the machines at the GM plant than he did bringing clean water to people and disposing of their waste. This boggles me my mind. Clean drinking water and the ability to safely and sanitarily escort your shit out of your house is so vital yet these guys get paid shit. Capitalisms don't always reward what really matters.
  - jtbayly 3y ago
    Capitalism just says that whoever is willing to pay more has the priority. GM was willing and able to pay more than a single consumer? That’s not a surprise. Their factory couldn’t run without it.
- denimnerd42 3y ago
  The pay will never increase because you need the master to hire you to become a master yourself. So they have so much power. You just have to suck it up when you're young and then capitalize on your master license later. That's one reason it won't easily change. The masters have the power and they are entrenched with it. Will the masters that sit on these state regulatory boards or however it works ever vote to decrease the requirements? No it would have to be a revolution or coup.
  - morkalork 3y ago
    In smaller towns, some masters aren't even interested in taking apprentices because they don't want the future competition.
robcohen 3y ago
This is so correct it's absolutely ridiculous. I learn new skills as a hobby. I have a degree in construction. There is no way for me to learn to be an electrician that is authorized to do anything unless I drop everything else I'm doing for a minimum of 4 years. This is clearly ridiculous. Electricity isn't hard. This is precisely the sort of thing that standardized tests, both knowledge and practical, can effectively fix. No one wants to fix it though.
- VWWHFSfQ 3y ago
  > Electricity isn't hard. Famous last words. Maybe the real issue is that it's treated as a "trade", ie, something you can get accredited with in 2 years of vocational school or community college. But as we know from all the actual regulations about it, the reality is much different.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    Residential/Household electricity isn't hard. Learning everything you need to know and putting in the time to get licensed as an electrician is. And for good reason, there are plenty of fools who would try to call themselves electricians otherwise (as there are many fools who try to call themselves software developers but make more of a mess than anything else). Learning how to do your own household wiring as a homeowner is not hard.
    - meetingthrower 3y ago
      Exactly. Running basics circuits is very straightforward. Why don't we just tier the licenses from super easy on up? Run 110, license A; run 220, license B; install main service from the street, license test C; running three way switch, badge 1. That way you can then get a handyman to do a light fixture change without him breaking the law.
    - quickthrowman 3y ago
      Wiring houses is maybe 5-10% of electrical work, the rest is commercial and industrial.
Gibbon1 3y ago
I made a big mistake when I was a young man. Back in the early 1980's you could get a contractors license by just passing a test. I thought maybe I should get one. Being dumb and young never did. Now you need to work for four years under a licensed contractor to get a license. If I hadn't been young and stupid I'd have a contractors license and be able to legally pull permits.

The regulatory requirements for electricians and plumbers take so long to advance through that if you don't choose it at a young age it's hardly possible to justify doing later.

vkou 3y ago

If the pay (At the lower/upper/both certification levels) were better, people would justify it.

mdgrech23 3y ago
Wife's Dad was a plumber. He made better money running hydraulic fluid to the machines at the GM plant than he did bringing clean water to people and disposing of their waste. This boggles me my mind. Clean drinking water and the ability to safely and sanitarily escort your shit out of your house is so vital yet these guys get paid shit. Capitalisms don't always reward what really matters.
- jtbayly 3y ago
  Capitalism just says that whoever is willing to pay more has the priority. GM was willing and able to pay more than a single consumer? That’s not a surprise. Their factory couldn’t run without it.
denimnerd42 3y ago
The pay will never increase because you need the master to hire you to become a master yourself. So they have so much power. You just have to suck it up when you're young and then capitalize on your master license later. That's one reason it won't easily change. The masters have the power and they are entrenched with it. Will the masters that sit on these state regulatory boards or however it works ever vote to decrease the requirements? No it would have to be a revolution or coup.
- morkalork 3y ago
  In smaller towns, some masters aren't even interested in taking apprentices because they don't want the future competition.

robcohen 3y ago

This is so correct it's absolutely ridiculous. I learn new skills as a hobby. I have a degree in construction. There is no way for me to learn to be an electrician that is authorized to do anything unless I drop everything else I'm doing for a minimum of 4 years. This is clearly ridiculous. Electricity isn't hard. This is precisely the sort of thing that standardized tests, both knowledge and practical, can effectively fix. No one wants to fix it though.

VWWHFSfQ 3y ago
> Electricity isn't hard. Famous last words. Maybe the real issue is that it's treated as a "trade", ie, something you can get accredited with in 2 years of vocational school or community college. But as we know from all the actual regulations about it, the reality is much different.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  Residential/Household electricity isn't hard. Learning everything you need to know and putting in the time to get licensed as an electrician is. And for good reason, there are plenty of fools who would try to call themselves electricians otherwise (as there are many fools who try to call themselves software developers but make more of a mess than anything else). Learning how to do your own household wiring as a homeowner is not hard.
  - meetingthrower 3y ago
    Exactly. Running basics circuits is very straightforward. Why don't we just tier the licenses from super easy on up? Run 110, license A; run 220, license B; install main service from the street, license test C; running three way switch, badge 1. That way you can then get a handyman to do a light fixture change without him breaking the law.
  - quickthrowman 3y ago
    Wiring houses is maybe 5-10% of electrical work, the rest is commercial and industrial.

Gibbon1 3y ago

I made a big mistake when I was a young man. Back in the early 1980's you could get a contractors license by just passing a test. I thought maybe I should get one. Being dumb and young never did. Now you need to work for four years under a licensed contractor to get a license. If I hadn't been young and stupid I'd have a contractors license and be able to legally pull permits.