Friday, November 26, 2010

Speed Control

One problem I'm having as a journeyman is speed. I'm having trouble getting tasks done fast enough, or at least at a rate which I feel is expected of me. I realize that I'm being paid 20% more per hour than I was as a fifth-year apprentice, and so I really feel like I need to be 20% more "valuable" to my company, which to me oftentimes means being 20% faster.

I suppose part of the problem I'm having comes from the "learning curve" which you encounter on every new project you take on, but a large majority of it comes from the heightened sense of responsibility that I feel as a mechanic. Since there's no longer anybody coming behind me to make sure I'm doing the job correctly, I tend to over-think each task to make sure that it's being done correctly and efficiently. When I described this feeling to one of my teachers at the hall, he introduced me to a term which perfectly conveys the feeling: "analysis paralysis." I couldn't believe how apt that description is. I was very relieved to learn that this is a common feeling that new mechanics get!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

First Few Months

Over the course of the 5 years that you spend in apprenticeship before becoming a journeyman electrician, you become a really good apprentice. When I started out in the trade, I didn't know a thing about electricity and I didn't know a thing about construction sites. But as graduation grew closer and closer, I felt more and more comfortable in my role as an apprentice. You learn what's expected of you in many areas of performance: attitude, manual skill, knowledge of the trade, forethought and planning, etc. As a first year student, I looked up to 4th and 5th years in much the same way as I looked up to mechanics. I could see that these men and women knew what they were doing.

Coming into this summer I felt like I knew what I was doing, finally, too. And it was that comfort which I relied on to keep me rolling as a new mechanic. But I noticed that some things were different.

As I met new people on the job I was now introduced as a journeyman--not an apprentice. These people never knew me as an apprentice, and I suddenly started feeling a new sense of responsibility settling on me. What kind of jobs would I be asked to do? Could I ask questions if I had them? Apprentices are full of questions and are always learning. I still had a lot of questions!

I'm still learning what's expected of a journeyman. I've got the tools, I've got the training, and I'm ready to work. What I've found to be most helpful to me as a journeyman are mental techniques. I try to approach every new task or new jobsite with optimism and a "can-do" attitude, even if I'm not feeling too confident or sure of what I'm doing. I'm trying to ask fewer questions of my foremen. I think we know more than we think we do at this point, and we just have to trust ourselves (this is the part that's particularly difficult for me!).

Also, I'm trying to quickly engage the task at hand and be the one who is "leading" the work to it's completion. As an apprentice, you sometimes have to sit back and let the mechanic drive the tempo of the work being done. Sure, there are many apprentices who are faster than mechanics, but I'm realizing that it's our job to pace the work. It's successful completion rests on our shoulders.

It's been an interesting few months so far. I'm looking forward to the work ahead and finally getting comfortable in my new role!