21 Jul
2006
21 Jul
'06
2:51 p.m.
C Fernandez wrote:
Patrick Finnegan wrote:
> I'm not trying to piss off anyone here, but really only "card-carrying
> union-member" electricians do apprenticeships. Purdue (for example)
> hires non-unionized electricians, who haven't necessarily been through
> any apprenticeship program (though some of them work just as
> effectively as Chicago card-carrying union electricians... ;).
Is this a question of "electrician" vs. "Electrician"?
It was my understanding that Electricians (licensed as such)
go through a formal apprentice-journeyman-master process.
Whereas "someone who fiddles with wires" mayn't even know
the first thing about electricity (and, in some localities,
wouldn't be allowed to work on an electrical system in a
residence or commercial building).
*Is* there such a formal process *required* to become a
"licensed Electrician"? Or, is it simply "take a test,
pay the fee" (in the US).
I have a cousin who is a Master Electrician and I know went
through those "stages". Though I never thought to ask if
that was a requirement for licensure or just a practical
consequence of employment.
(e.g., Don't MD's *need* to do internships?)
My point is that an electrician has formal training
for the trade, and a
handyman type maintenance person does not. A friend of mine, was
attending the local community college for his electrical training while
working under a local electrical contractor for his apprenticeship. I
don't have any reason to believe that the contractor was union.