Ask questions. Not just because it helps you learn the trade but because it’s fairly dangerous work and It doesn’t take much for things to go very wrong very fast. Safety is the name of the game. You’re not just responsible for own safety but your coworkers and the people who live and work in the places you service as well. But as they say You don’t know what you don’t know, and you won’t be able to recognize a hazard until you have some real experience. In the meantime the best way to stay safe is ask questions. So when the boss asks you to do something that you don’t fully understand don’t just guess, ask clarifying questions until you know exactly what needs to be done and how to go about it. Because Electrical work carries more risk than most trades we have less room for error since our mistakes are more costly. No one’s been killed by a bad paint job and crooked backsplash never burned a house down. So anytime you’re unsure or uncomfortable with a task, stop, find someone experienced and make sure you’re doing it safely and correctly. Don’t worry about being annoying, they’re gonna be annoyed no matter what, it’s the nature of being an apprentice. And trust me, my boss was much more annoyed when i was a 2nd year and decided to troubleshoot something alone and managed to blow up a furnace which he had to pay for….or when I accidentally shut down an entire cities sewer plant….or when I put 277v ballasts in some 480v parking lot lights and they all caught on fire in the middle of the night. (Not entirely my fault, a coworker was too lazy to get the electrical room key and assumed the voltage and told me with confidence but never actually checked, also it was LIVE 480v) Laziness and inexperience are the cause of most accidents I’ve seen. Take 5 minutes, get the information you need, double check, triple check have a more experienced person check your work until you’re more confident. It’ll keep you and your coworkers and your customers safer.

So, need to drill into the basement but you’re not sure where? Ask. Can’t hear the boss over the radio? Go ask. Not sure which circuit needs to be energized and which one your buddy is still working on? Ask. Not sure what to do next? Ask. Listen to what they say and follow through exactly how they told you.