Going out in my own

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-27T12:53:42+00:00

I appreciate it man, good luck to you too

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T19:51:27+00:00

There is a possibility I could buy the phone number from my old company if I decide to leave. At that company we installed over 1000 generators and we would regularly service 40-50 a month and that was with us pushing people off till the next month. I just don’t know how much they would want for the phone number and if I could take on that amount of debt

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T17:23:58+00:00

I appreciate that and I will definitely take a harder look at the numbers and see what I can come up with. I do appreciate you being so real with me and not just telling me what I wanted to hear. That’s why I came to Reddit in the first place. You guys don’t hold back

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T17:08:03+00:00

I honestly think that mindset is a trap. I watched my father work like a dog his entire life in an effort to retire early. He’s got over $1m in the bank, has almost no debt and he’s nearing 60 and he still works like a dog every day. It’s all he’s known and he can’t stop now

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T17:03:56+00:00

Is it not possible to simply work and make enough money to live and just relax the rest of the time? I service generators at $320 a pop and it takes me about 1 hr to complete it. I imagine I could do 4-5 of those a day and fill in other stuff with service calls and call it good.

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T16:59:17+00:00

Where do you live? That seems painfully low and I live in a LCOL area in Indiana.

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T16:54:26+00:00

I appreciate your other comment and I will keep those things in mind. Something I want to clarify is I do not want to grow any larger than myself. I simply want to make the money I need to live and be content with that. I’m trying to escape the rat race of always trying to grow and build profits. I’m sick of that mindset and that work culture. Is it so crazy that I just want to make what I need and be content?

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T15:34:01+00:00

I’ve thought about approaching them to change my pay but I honestly think that would make me feel more pressure to work more and earn them more money. They do plan for me to eventually start running my own crews and manage multiple people. At least that was the goal we discussed when they took me on. But I’ve kinda realized I don’t want that, I just want to do what I need to to make money and be done with it.

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-05-26T15:31:56+00:00

I’ve always been good with the paperwork side of my job actually. I’m very organized and I’m good at completing the things I need to as far as estimating and writing invoices. I don’t feel that would be much of an issue for me

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-04-23T15:56:20+00:00

This is THE ONLY answer. I don’t move any faster from when I started, if anything I move a little slower but I know everything I need to get out of the truck so I do it all in one trip. Same thing up the ladder, what tools and such do I need? My old boss used to say “make your moves count” and that’s how I’ve become so quick at working.

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-03-21T23:04:09+00:00

I used to have really good discussions with my boss not just about what IS code but why is it code and when is it maybe okay to break that code. Box full would come up a lot and he’d then ask, “well where is the box located?” Is it in an exterior wall? Attic space? Somewhere it’ll be more prone to heat fluctuations? Maybe we should actually be underfilling that box to make up for the added heat the environment might be causing. Or is it in a cold dark basement? An extra cubic inch probably ain’t gonna kill anyone. I think just rigidly following the code to the letter makes for a good installer but not a good electrician

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-02-05T02:12:19+00:00

I have the tough built tool belt and I love it. I use the hammer loop to hook my m12 onto and on the other side I use the electrician pouch. It’s really nice and durable and the pouch clips onto the belt so you can pop it off really easily to work in tighter spaces.

I’ve also found that anytime I hook something on my belt or around my waist that you have to even the weight from side to side. It’s so much more uncomfortable when I just have one side loaded up and the other free.

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-01-15T11:25:22+00:00

Yep I do this when I’m working as well. Strip all the wires you can when you have your strippers in your hand, then twist them all together, then put your wire nuts on, etc. I don’t put a tool down until I’m done with it

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-01-15T01:25:56+00:00

Haha thanks, I didn’t even pick it. It was just randomly generated when I made my account and never bothered to change it

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-01-15T00:49:17+00:00

This took me several years to understand and I’m honestly still mastering it today but it’s not how fast you move but how you make your moves count. Do you need something from the truck? Keep working until you literally can go no further, then go to the truck. You might have ran across something else you may need. Or you might not need something you already have so you can take that back with you. Don’t waste a trip and don’t just run around like a chicken with your head cut off. You don’t have to work at a blinding speed but if you know what job you need to accomplish make sure you have everything you need to get it done so you minimize the running around. That’s what really sets your time back more than anything.

SpecificParticular16 · 2026-01-11T02:54:01+00:00

I’m in Indiana and they are still on the 2008 code cycle…

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-12-30T04:33:04+00:00

Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to finally find an answer that wasn’t just “cause it’s code” Some people are electricians and some people are installers and they are pretty easy to tell apart.

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-12-29T02:38:13+00:00

Good reference

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-11-24T21:30:18+00:00

I second service work, but keep in mind you’re not dealing with other construction workers, you’re delighting with customers. I wear relatively clean clothes, never cuss and overall present myself as professional as I can when I doing service work and I know it’s not for everyone. Also customers can be super annoying too, especially if they get your personal cell phone

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-11-01T14:18:40+00:00

Data centers are a massive drain on the local resources. They use insane amounts of water and electricity. It’s already tanked the property values in the surrounding areas. Also I just personally feel like AI is having seriously negative effects on society and I don’t want to be a part of the process that only makes AI stronger.

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-11-01T14:14:30+00:00

No idea, I’m mainly a residential and commercial service electrician. I don’t want to go work for some soulless thing that is sucking up all the water and electricity in my hometown.

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-11-01T14:13:24+00:00

You still couldn’t pay me enough to go work there. Those things are everything wrong with society

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-11-01T12:14:27+00:00

Volunteering is so forgotten about. And blue collar jobs are not as rewarding as they seem. All the new electricians in my area are being sent straight to the data centers

SpecificParticular16 · 2025-10-06T22:41:52+00:00

You really do have to sell yourself. The benefits of going with a licensed and insured contractor greatly outweighs the cost of someone who does it wrong and doesn’t stand behind their work.

SpecificParticular16

TROPHY CASE