meritshopapprentice

Checking In

It’s been some time, so here I am to say hello! I’ve changed crews over the last year. The same company but with an oil field emphasis. Being outside all the time is my absolute favorite. The cold gets a bit rough, but I feel like a living creature. There have been some rough socialContinue reading “Checking In”

Yay Spring

Happy spring everyone! I’ve got some changes to report since the last post. There’s been another large project at the factory in which the team updated old infrastructure in a freezer to include a lot of stainless steel. The freezer was defrosted for this task. *Sigh of relief*. It was a lot of long hoursContinue reading “Yay Spring”

Robot Update and More

The robot project finally went through and it was not at all what I was expecting. Before I dive into that, I’ve got some other updates for you. I’ve officially been in the trade for a year! I’m trusted alone with more tasks (Journeyman still on site). The thing about that is that I makeContinue reading “Robot Update and More”

Apprentice Studies

Seems like a great day to talk about the school part of the trade. Not all states require some kind of college to achieve Journeyman status, but North Dakota does. I’m taking classes online through NDSCS and I really feel like the program has been forgotten about. Many of the books are from 2008 andContinue reading “Apprentice Studies”

An Unexpected Lesson

Last week I was pried away from the factory. Just a few service calls in some apartments which turned out to be changing some lightbulbs. A few that turned out to be breakers off… not tripped, just off. Some wall packs to retrofit, and an explosion-proof light fixture to wrestle open. I’ll talk about thoseContinue reading “An Unexpected Lesson”

Closing Out October

This week I received my first raise since entering the trade. I certainly feel that marks an important step in my career. The upcoming week holds an exciting new experience. The factory has bought a robot of some sort to help with the freezer duties and I will be helping set that up. I’m personallyContinue reading “Closing Out October”

Progress of the First Year Apprentice

A problem I now face is that I’m not sure how my progress is. I’m the newest at the shop and the others have been there a minimum of ten years. I’ve looked up on forums about where I should be in my skill-set, but it hasn’t been overly helpful. See, the skill-set is differentContinue reading “Progress of the First Year Apprentice”

Entering the Electrical Trade

The goal of this is to plot out my journey as an electrician. At this point in time, I’ve been an apprentice for 9.5 months. I can’t promise that I’ll be great about regularly recording my life experiences, but here is the attempt. My trade journey began as many do… I was tired of myContinue reading “Entering the Electrical Trade”