Career change time.

Where do you live?

I started off with 0 experience or qualifications at the bottom and am now a qualified maintenance engineer. Can point you down the same route i took depending on where you live.

Training wages are normally 20-22k in my industry
Maintaining what?
 
Maintaining what?

Traffic systems, so cctv cameras, vms signs and traffic signals and vehicle detection. (Not speed/red light cameras) LV and ELV systems and programmable timing equipment

Basically a glorified electrician. As an example sorting out messes like this and working out why it isnt working is part of my job.

ibamnmR.jpg


Edit :- just to add it takes many years of experience to get to the desirable rolls like
Any other job but you get full training and all the qualifications you need along the way. Some of the guys choose day release at college but obviously this is less money so depends what you need/want.
 
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Traffic systems, so cctv cameras, vms signs and traffic signals and vehicle detection.


Ah yes! You've told me this before :)

I can't believe people think that that wiring is in any way acceptable. I guess this is what happens when you don't have a manager close by to sign it off. Do you guys keep photos of your completed jobs? I feel like that's a blame session away from an unnecessary drama at work.

(Which company is it btw? Serco? Tell me to sod off if you'd rather not say ofc)
 
Ah yes! You've told me this before :)

I can't believe people think that that wiring is in any way acceptable. I guess this is what happens when you don't have a manager close by to sign it off. Do you guys keep photos of your completed jobs? I feel like that's a blame session away from an unnecessary drama at work.

(Which company is it btw? Serco? Tell me to sod off if you'd rather not say ofc)

That mess is the usually the result of its broken i.e someones crashed into it and we need a new one and want it working yesterday.

Were not required to take pictures of our work but we maintain an “area” each. So you tend to look after your area, as if something goes wrong last thing you need is a mess making your life harder fixing it.

Cant really say the company but from my location and industry it wouldnt be hard to work out!

This is an example of a well wired (altho no longer used equipment) controller, i cant share pics of my current work.

KRO8lkj.jpg
 
That mess is the usually the result of its broken i.e someones crashed into it and we need a new one and want it working yesterday.

Were not required to take pictures of our work but we maintain an “area” each. So you tend to look after your area, as if something goes wrong last thing you need is a mess making your life harder fixing it.

Cant really say the company but from my location and industry it wouldnt be hard to work out!

This is an example of a well wired (altho no longer used equipment) controller, i cant share pics of my current work.

Yes, that's more like it! Why can't you share photos of your current work? This seems odd, but you'll no doubt tell me a reason which will make me look a dumbass and go "aha! that makes sense!"
 
LOL @ the 'well wired' panel.

I can't think of a site i'd work on where that'd be acceptable. That first one is a joke but at least it has trunking.

Is anything crimped? Why are there so many colours and what do they mean? Why is only half of it numbered?
 
LOL @ the 'well wired' panel.

I can't think of a site i'd work on where that'd be acceptable. That first one is a joke but at least it has trunking.

Is anything crimped? Why are there so many colours and what do they mean? Why is only half of it numbered?

It all means something if you know what your looking at. Unfortunatly if you dont your screwed

Just to add highways installations arent covered by any wiring standards or anything like the 19th edition as its classed as proprietary equipment, altho there is a section its 2 or 3 lines long. Most are wired as per customer requests, hence why contractors are paid so well in my industry as you really have to know what your doing to cover different areas.
 
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It all means something if you know what your looking at. Unfortunatly if you dont your screwed

I've been an electrical engineer working on industrial control systems for 15 years. Before that, aviation electronics.

Must be pretty fortunate this far to have worked on panels that make sense even if you've never seen them before.

An example of one I worked on last week which I was complaining about because it's badly organised. Overloads mixed with breakers and in the same row as relays/contactors etc. I was annoyed that nothing was labelled. Still night and day compared to what you've posted, I'd have had a heart attack :o

WCbsu22.jpg
 
I've been an electrical engineer working on industrial control systems for 15 years. Before that, aviation electronics.

Must be pretty fortunate this far to have worked on panels that make sense even if you've never seen them before.

An example of one I worked on last week which I was complaining about because it's badly organised. Overloads mixed with breakers and in the same row as relays/contactors etc. I was annoyed that nothing was labelled. Still night and day compared to what you've posted, I'd have had a heart attack :o

WCbsu22.jpg

Same situation tho, none of that means anything to me.

We also work live if that makes you feel any better as 90% of the time its safer to do so :)
 
Same situation tho, none of that means anything to me.

We also work live if that makes you feel any better as 90% of the time its safer to do so :)

Oh right, I must have misunderstood what your job is. Electricians work on what I work on, let alone glorified ones :p

I have to keep things live where possible. The panels are always 415v so it's definitely not safer but isolating them interrupts processes and costs the company thousands a minute usually. Keeps you on your toes that's for sure.
 
Oh right, I must have misunderstood what your job is. Electricians work on what I work on, let alone glorified ones :p

I have to keep things live where possible. The panels are always 415v so it's definitely not safer but isolating them interrupts processes and costs the company thousands a minute usually. Keeps you on your toes that's for sure.

Electricians in your industry work on what you work on. Electricians in my industry work on completely different equipment as you can see just by looking at the pictures! Unless you want to tell me in not an electrician ofc!
 
Electricians in your industry work on what you work on. Electricians in my industry work on completely different equipment as you can see just by looking at the pictures! Unless you want to tell me in not an electrician ofc!

I know what everything in your picture is and so would electricians in my industry...you have primitive I/O controllers that are very badly wired, a transformer and obviously a power supply somewhere as you're also using DC. My comment wasn't that I don't understand your equipment, it's that I don't understand how it's so badly organised.

I'm not saying you're not an electrician. I'm saying i'm surprised you've put yourself above electricians when your knowledge seems limited. No offence intended.
 
Some great replies here, my goal regardless of how long it takes is to become a self employed domestic electrician.

In order to get to that stage though is be willing to do anything, have a keen interest in renewables so maybe solar PV/domestic battery/charging systems would be one option.

Keen interest in electronics, and of course computers so that's always something to consider.
 
I know what everything in your picture is and so would electricians in my industry...you have primitive I/O controllers that are very badly wired, a transformer and obviously a power supply somewhere as you're also using DC. My comment wasn't that I don't understand your equipment, it's that I don't understand how it's so badly organised.

I'm not saying you're not an electrician. I'm saying i'm surprised you've put yourself above electricians when your knowledge seems limited. No offence intended.

I mean glorified electrician as its not all i do, not as in im better than any other electrician maybe i worded it incorrectly.

Still we will agree to disagree regarding primitive equipment and also the badly wired part, if you read the description its an old piece of equipment. You can think of our equipment more of a computer than anything else, all the pcbs and programmable/monitoring is on the swing frame moved out of the way to take these pictures

Anyway i feel this thread has been hijacked by us.
 
An example of one I worked on last week which I was complaining about because it's badly organised. Overloads mixed with breakers and in the same row as relays/contactors etc. I was annoyed that nothing was labelled. Still night and day compared to what you've posted, I'd have had a heart attack :o

What about when you have got contactors and timer relays laying loose on the bottom of the panel along with a layer of grease, and a load of hanging connector blocks....

https://imgur.com/a/yTYfxrm
 
Some great replies here, my goal regardless of how long it takes is to become a self employed domestic electrician.

In order to get to that stage though is be willing to do anything, have a keen interest in renewables so maybe solar PV/domestic battery/charging systems would be one option.

Keen interest in electronics, and of course computers so that's always something to consider.
I've built a few setups using renewables kit (solar/turbine, but bicycles supplying the power...). I've also been taking care of the solar setup my landlord put in. I'd definitely look into it as it will tie in nicely with domestic electrics, and hopefully in future be a more in-demand knowledge set.

I'm an electronic engineer but that largely means digital stuff and even moreso, software over hardware. I've just always done electrical stuff for myself and that includes informing myself of the equipment/standards I'm working with.
 
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