8 things I wish I knew before beginning my APPRENTICESHIP | Make 2024 your BEST year

hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is Carly and this is eight things I wish I knew before beginning my apprenticeship so the first thing I wish I knew before beginning my apprenticeship is how to dress properly as a lot of you guys probably know I'm Canadian which means I have to work outside in Canadian Winters and although I work in one of the warmest places in the country it's still gets pretty cold here because I live beside a body of water it's not like a dry cold it's more of a wet cold which if you've experienced this before it sucks basically your clothes are like damp all of the time I made the unfortunate decision of beginning my apprenticeship right as winter was approaching and unfortunately no one informed me of how to properly dress for the outdoors there is definitely a difference between walking from your house to your warm office and working outside for 8 plus hours and because I didn't realize that I wasn't dressing properly I almost quit my job because of it another thing to note is shoes because you're walking around for the entire day climbing stairs climbing ladders Etc I cannot stress enough how important proper Footwear is and unfortunately there might be a lot of trial and a to finding shoes that don't make your feet blister or hurt all day long I feel like after being 7 years in I finally figured out how to dress properly and the proper gear that works for my body if you guys would like me to share all of that with you I can definitely make another YouTube on that topic the second thing I wish I knew before beginning my apprenticeship is who you work with will make or break your experience 99% of the time people who aren't enjoying their apprenticeship is usually doe to the people that they are working with or for it is so important that in the four to 5 years that you're apprenticing you are gaining as much knowledge and experience as you possibly can if you working with someone who does doesn't want to teach you or allow you to do things then you're not setting yourself up for Success because in the end it is your job to make sure you are getting the experience and education that you deserve I know it can be scary to switch companies and try something new but if you don't take the leap you will never know I myself have moved on from a couple companies to gain more experience and every single time that I do it benefits me in one way or another which leads me to my third point which is joining the union isn't for everyone I promise you every single time you speak to someone who is in the union they're going to feed you false information about non-union jobs there are so many factors to consider when joining the union and in Canada specifically a lot of the time joining the union means relocating or working away from home that doesn't always fit everyone's lifestyle in the end it comes down to personality lifestyle and what your goals are personally I'm a very heav head strong person and I'm going to be completely honest with you guys I like to be in charge I like to think for myself a lot of Union guys will tell you that you will never find a job that pays as well as the union and that is just the farthest thing from the truth there are so many great non-union jobs out there I know because I've worked them I have nothing bad to say about the pay or experience that I have had personally I like to be in my own bed every single night living on a camp just isn't for me I also like to run jobs have a B talk to customers and make decisions for myself personally my end goal isn't to be a labor forever I want to own my own company I want to move up I want to learn and gain as much experience as possible to be able to do that so I think that my experience in non-union jobs is setting me up to be able to do that one day the fourth tip I have for you guys is invest in your tools the way I see it now is your apprenticeship is your education and although many companies provide Power Tools Etc I still think it is so important to slowly add to your personal collection I set a goal in my apprenticeship to buy one tool a month so that when I was a journeyman I would have everything that I need for the job to my name you never know what will happen in the future you might have to switch companies who don't provide you with tools you might want to start your own company and it's nice to have all those tools in case something like that happens because otherwise it's going to be a hefty bill this is your future and your professional career and I think owning your own tools is a really great thing to do the fifth thing I wish I knew before beginning my apprentiship is relationships and professionalism is so important I have been made fun of for looking clean or put together on the job site from other trade workers but honestly I believe in dressing for Success when I'm a business owner one day I'm not going to be showing up smelling with a stained t-shirt on so why should I dress like that now every single relationship you make on the job is important people remember things opportunities arise from the relationships that you make there are so many trade workers out there and I think that showing professionalism on the job at all times is only going to benefit you my sixth tip that I wish I knew before beginning my apprenticeship is the importance of having goals and enjoying the process I personally have a 5-year rule for myself basically what that means for me is every 5 years should look completely different than my Last 5 Years whether it's income job position or something else it doesn't matter as long as it's better sorry we're in a different position cuz my phone died and my cord isn't long enough to put it in the place that it was before but what was I saying here that being said this goal is really easy to achieve when you're Apprentice because in 5 years time you're likely going to be a journeyman and in a in a completely different position in your life it's after that point that is so important to continue the pattern and keep improving it is so easy to get stuck in a job or a position that is easy and comfortable but if you are not moving up taking on more responsibility and pushing yourself then you might get stuck in a pattern of hating your job I see it so much in the trades which is why change and growth is so important and something you need to personally take control of your life I truly think that by doing this it is the sole reason that I love my job I love waking up every single day and going to work I'm passionate and I am one of the happiest people that I know all right we're almost done my seventh point for you guys today is confidence is key you have the power to control how people treat you I'll say it again you have the power to control how people treat you there is a way to put people in their place while being still respect respectful when I began my apprenticeship the amount of disrespect I received was mind-boggling it wasn't until later that I realized that I was the reason people were treating me the way that they were I'm a very shy and quiet person so people would honestly walk all over me but in the end it does not matter what level you are you deserve human respect on the job site I don't care what you messed up or what you don't know adult toddler like behavior is unacceptable in my opinion so stand up for yourself set the boundaries of how people should speak to you and I promise you it usually only takes one time and it probably won't happen again the final thing I wish I knew before beginning my apprenticeship is the Technical Training isn't the be all end all it doesn't determine your future or how good of a worker you will be a lot of people that go into Hands-On careers usually aren't the best in school I myself am a perfect example of that I personally had a really really tough time in my in-class portions so if you struggle as school it's totally okay you're going to get through it in my opinion let's say you have to take every year twice just to understand the material and pass the schooling that says so much more about your work ethic and determination than if it was just easy if you put yourself through that to achieve your goals props to you man you can do anything anyways that's all for today guys thank you so much for watching please like And subscribe and comment down below what video you would like to see next and best of luck to you with your apprenticeship

Channel: Karly the Sparky

Views: 88,953

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Id: BYGplLyaY4A

Length: 8min 33sec (513 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 31 2023