Attending an electrical trade school does a lot more than prepare you to begin an electrical career. Sure, you have an amazing job and financial stability that allows you to support your family. You may even have the opportunity to actually get your hands on some of the most advanced electrical technology available.
You will have additional advantages the average person lacks when it comes to home improvement, and we're not talking about being better or faster at stringing up your Christmas lights. As an expert electrician, you will be able to save money on your projects, and your home will boast the highest quality, most up-to-code electrical work in your neighborhood. Plus, you aren't going to electrocute yourself along the way.
Your Electrical Knowledge Will Help You Save Money
The average homeowner is an electrical novice — they attempt to complete wiring or other electrical work to save money and maybe impress their spouse and friends. In all likelihood, the bigger the project, the more their grandiose plans can backfire and end up costing them more. It all boils down to simple inexperience.
Novice work can end up damaging cables, switches, and light fittings, resulting in more trips to the hardware store. Inexperience often fries circuits, ruins fixtures, and possibly causes irreparable destruction to major appliances. Electrical accessories can end up catching fire, further damaging a room or the entire home. All these scenarios end up costing more money.
Also, homeowners insurance requires that work be done by a licensed electrician before they pay for a claim. If you choose to sell your home in the future, any buyers will be reassured that your electrical work was done by a licensed professional.
Your experience that many homeowners lack allows you to work freely in your own home to make repairs, upgrade fixtures, and install the latest electrical gadgets. You may never have to pay for electrical labor ever again.
You Know The Code
It's one thing to not know how to do basic electrical work, but it's quite another to not even know what you don't know. There's a reason for strict electrical codes, and as a professional you already possess that safety and knowledge lacking in novices. You also know about all the cool new products out there.
The most well-meaning do-it-yourselfer simply does not know the intricacies of cleat wiring, conduit wiring, metal sheathed wiring, and single conductor, multi-conductor, stranded, and solid core wiring. They are, quite possibly, one wire away from a short circuit. Some common code violations that you will never be a party to are:
- Install the wrong circuit breaker
- Wire switches without a neutral wire
- Use a ground rod electrode rather than footing rebar
- Put the wrong cover on an outdoor receptacle
- Mount too few receptacles
Each code violation is a potential fire hazard at the very least. Novices are putting their loved ones at risk simply to save money or impress others.
You're Probably Not Going To Die
A huge part of your training involved safety and how to avoid getting hurt. Here are the perils most novices face:
- Burns from minor shocks
- Seizures, cardiac arrest, and difficulty breathing due to severe shocks
- Electrocution and death
The voltage in an ordinary home is strong enough to kill. Fortunately, your training has taught you to plan out your materials and projects patiently, leaving time to complete any project and not feel hurried. You know to use a ladder made from a non-conductive material like fiberglass rather than aluminum. On the job you wear rubber-soled shoes and only touch fuses with one hand to prevent the completion of a fatal circuit.
To learn more about further electrician training or certification you may want or need, check out a trade school like HVAC Technical Institute.
Share