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Young Electrician - Where To Go From Here?

Discussion in 'Licensing & Education' started by Canuker, Jan 16, 2015.

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  1. Canuker

    Canuker Guest

    Hi everyone,

    I'm a 21 year old Canadian about to graduate from a two year Electrical Engineering Technician program in college. Area's of study covered in this program include:
    • Canadian Electrical Code usage and application
    • Reading and creating blueprints, schematics and wiring diagrams
    • Residential, commercial and industrial wiring
    • Industrial process measurement, calibration and control
    • Power electronics with application to power and motor speed control equipment
    • Industrial automation systems with programmable logic controllers and motor control equipment
    • Power generation and distribution equipment
    • Fire alarm, security and communication systems
    • Statistical analysis and sampling for quality control
    • Business communication, management and financial skills.
    I'd like to explore the world of marine electrical after graduating, in order to work on large yachts, but I'm not sure where to start. I was looking into starting my electrical apprenticeship at a super yacht ship yard but,unfortunately, the closest (Canadian) one is located 4,000km away in Richmond BC (Richmond Yachts) However, there is a ship yard in my city that makes fire/ work boats (http://www.metalcraftmarine.com/) as well as a <100 ft yacht builder located a couple hours away ((http://www.******************/)

    My question is whether or not apprenticing would be a good route to go in order to get hired on a yacht. I understand that an ETO has a myriad of other responsibilities on top of just being an electrician, but is this a good starting point ? Would doing electrical on fire and work boats give me applicable experience to work on super and mega yachts? Or should I focus on starting my apprenticeship at a ship yard that specializes in yachts? Long term goals aside, will being even a 1st year marine electrician make me an attractive job candidate for a deckhand job?

    Regards,

    Brian
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 16, 2015
  2. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Experience gained on workboats will serve you well on yachts. Being a 1st Year apprentice will not however serve you very well for much except finishing that year and completing your apprenticeship.

    A ETO's role on a mega yacht often means they do a lot more with AV/IT and such than with electrical work in the traditional sense.
  3. Canuker

    Canuker Guest

    So your saying I would be better off completely completing my apprenticeship before attempting to find a job?

    As a green deckhand looking for a job, would my schooling and a year or two of marine electrical apprenticeship count for any sort of employability when looking for a job? I ask this because I don't have much boating experience to speak of. I drive my friends 30 foot wake board boat and his bass boat a handful of times each summer and that's about it. No sea miles what so ever. I was hoping some electrical skills would give me a little leg up on competition.

    I'm also looking into taking online IT classes to gain more knowledge in that field.
  4. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Yes, If you can become a full on Marine Electrician you can make a heck of a lot more than dropping your studies a year or so early to clean windows.
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I agree. MUCH MORE. Independant Marine Electricians with a small company charge $75-$105 per hour for their labor.
  6. Canuker

    Canuker Guest

    Well that is a nice chunk of change.

    Im wanting to add IT skills to my repertoire and, seeing as there is a lot of free IT courses online, I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction of what specific area of IT applies to yachts and ships the most. For instance website coding falls under the "IT" umbrella but I doubt any captain is going to care if their ETO knows how to build a website.

    Specifically what systems are ETO's / IT techs expected to know on yachts. If I had to choose just a few which ones would benefit me the most?

    EDIT: I might just make a separate thread on this all together