UPDATE October 2016: We are hiring again.

The company I work for is hiring, or at least looking, for one or two people to come on board as apprentices and learn a very valuable trade.

Electrical Testing.

Background: I'm a former Navy ET, went into industrial automation with Toyota, and then did some time in prototype development for a fuel cell manufacturing company. I'm now working for one of the West Coasts' premier electrical testing companies, and the opportunities here are incredible. In the last year, I've been to the basement of the Grand Coulee Dam, an Air Force base on the northern tundra of Alaska, a coal mine in central Colorado, a nuclear weapons storage bunker, the rooftops of a half dozen Seattle skyscrapers, Niagara Falls, a pipeline station at 8,000' in Arizona, Diablo Lake in the north Cascades, and a powerplant in the SoCal desert that's 18' below sea level. I've been to Morro Bay and Sedona and Yuma and Sacramento and Blaine and Spokane and Portland and Vegas and Wenatchee and Phoenix and Salt Lake City and Port Angeles and Yakima and Reno and Kennewick and Craig and a dozen others that don't come to mind at the moment. I've seen glorious sunrises from the middle of nowhere, driven through whiteout blizzards, and seen temperatures from 10 to 110, swam off a hangover in a river in a desert canyon, dined in the executive suite of the Russel investment company, and scraped shit off my boots in the lowest mudpits of hell.

It's an awesome job.

And we need help.

Ideal candidate will be 20-something, mechanically and electrically inclined, and willing to work all sorts of hours in all sorts of conditions. We're a field service company, so you will be on the road. It's often unpredictable, and requires great flexibility on the part of our employees. This is not a job for somebody who expects to be home every night, or every week. The job is physically demanding, mentally challenging, and financially rewarding. Overtime is plentiful, I've had three 40 hour weeks in the last year, most are in the 50-60 hour range. The company offers full health insurance (something like 90% company paid), 401(k), and all that tasty baloney. Most of our team is former military, and for good reason. Hell, the company owner was once an Army diesel mechanic. We find that the ability and willingness to show up every day, bust your ass, stay safe, work with a team, and take the initiative to learn everything you can seems to be hard to find.

If you're motivated and able to learn, there's nowhere you can't go with this company.

General mechanical ability is a strong plus, much of our work involves some disassembly and reassembly of equipment for testing.

Electrical knowledge and theory is helpful but not required, you'll be taught enough on the job to keep you safe, and there is an almost limitless amount you can learn if you so desire. We once made a transformer on our lunch break out of some scrap wire and a bent piece of steel to teach one of the newer team members about the theory, and he tested it that afternoon.

The electrical testing industry is unique in that we're non-union and self-certified. We don't answer to the IBEW or any of their apprentice/journeyman/master classifications. We provide all required safety training for our various client sites (OSHA, MSHA, NFPA, etc) and from there, the sky is the limit. Our overseeing organization is the International Electrical Testing Association, or NETA, and they offer 4 levels of qualification. You'll start as a NETA 1, certified by the company, and from there each successive level is based on experience and testing. As a NETA 2 and above, which is achievable within 18-24 months, you'll basically never be unemployed again if you don't want to. It's an industry with rapidly growing demand and not nearly enough technicians. Many of the people in our field are older, at 35 I'm the youngest in our shop by a decade, and the retirement and attrition will only continue to provide upward mobility within the industry for smart, motivated individuals.

We're located in Sumner, Washington. Don't care where you live, but you'll be expected at the shop at 0700 any day we're not out on a project.

PM me if you think this could be for you.

And don't get scared if you're 30 or whatever. Our last two apprentices came on at 46 and 58, and they're still with us. I just have to be nice and not make them lift particularly heavy breakers.

Also also, we have the machine that goes "ping"...

Nick Davis

If I were 20 years younger...

LOL, no doubt, Aims you're recruitment right at the entitlement generation. Good luck!

If you choose to recruit in the just 40 generation who hate everything there is about their bullshit desk job and is well past ready for a career change, gimme a shout.

Man I would be there yesterday if I were not still active duty. Any chance you guys will be looking in 5 years when I'm done wearing Uncle Sam's monkey suit ?

What would the commute from Newcastle, WA to Sumner be like on a daily basis? I'm looking at 35-40 minutes a way. This is a very interesting job opportunity. My dad is an electrician and has been for 20 years, my favorite memories were headed out on the job to help him with larger projects that he'd need an extra pair of hands on. I've got a solid background in computer building and coding and have been in accounting for the last couple of years but am looking for a severe change of pace and would like to get out and see something other than my office every day.

I'm the type of guy who would much rather fix problems himself than pay someone else to do it for me. I reload my own ammunition, shoot twice a week if I can help it, and know how to follow instructions and have a deep appreciation for the dangers of working with electricity. I'm 6'3" and 240-250 lbs. Think I'd be a good fit?

I'm sure the industry will still exist then, and who knows what it'll look like. What's your rate/MOS now?



That would be a reverse commute, probably not terrible. 405 and 167 are usually parked northbound, but okay headed away from town.

Send me a PM and let's chat.

PM sent

OK

All PM's replied. Keep them coming, and feel free to post questions in the thread too.

where does one find this 20yr old with the eagerness to have a job?

It is a myth

Time machine, go back in the past.....

If I needed a job...

If I wasn't retired....

If I NEEDED MONEY hahahahahaha

Glad you're looking after your fellow Wagunners

Sounds like a great gig. If I weren't invested on & off for the last 20 years in the utility industry already in another capacity I'd almost consider it.

Anyone looking for a very rewarding hard day's work should seriously look at the utility industry. Electric, O&G, etc. Hard to have a bad day at work out there unless you hate getting dirty.




PS - I've worked on the machine that goes 'ping' a few times.

Hmm Very tempting....

Minion #1 has been offered a job and is starting on Monday.

Minion #2 has an interview tomorrow.

Thanks all for the amazing responses. I'll bump this again if the need arises.