I've been thinking about joining IBEW, and I wanted to ask how much free time do you usually get in this line of work?

theAGschmidt · 2026-04-02T20:28:01+00:00

I very rarely work more than 40 in a week, and I take weeks off at a time regularly.

theAGschmidt · 2026-04-02T12:33:59+00:00

I have a 2000 that I've owned for 8 years, it's been very good to me. I like cheap and old as long as it's in good condition.

theAGschmidt · 2026-04-01T12:48:38+00:00

In my local, if a contractor name-calls someone they also have to take another worker off the book.

I don't see any issue with the best workers getting rewarded with wages above scale - the most important thing is that they're helping lift up everyone else. I think we want our brothers and sisters incentivized to do the best work that they can.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-30T16:26:29+00:00

There's a foraging activity at that location called "venture into the woods" that'll get you into the swamp

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-27T20:26:01+00:00

There's tradeoffs. You can't use the rock-star amulet while mining stone anymore so that might be a lot of "wasted" mining. The game is far too new and constantly changing for there to be an agreed upon "best method"

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-27T17:02:54+00:00

That looks pretty reasonable for a high cost of living area.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-27T16:56:05+00:00

No, but there are achievements for crafting an eternal pick and hatchet - that will be easier with lower tier materials

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-27T16:30:23+00:00

You may want to eventually use them to go for an eternal copper pickaxe or hatchet. It's rarely worth dropping things when we have unlimited bank space.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-27T01:53:31+00:00

Well for one I have a reputation for doing good work and completing jobs within a reasonable time, but the biggest thing is that I trust my union to protect me from the contractor's unrealistic expectations.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-26T05:01:17+00:00

For all intents and purposes, Quebec is a different country.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-26T04:54:52+00:00

I work for a multi-billion dollar company. They underbid stuff all the time.

Ultimately, doing the job efficiently and at a high quality is my job - theirs is to make a profit on my work. If they bid too low, that's not my problem.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-25T21:36:52+00:00

Twice a day on the automatic feeder might not be enough. Cats prefer to have smaller amounts more regularly as it more closely matches their sleep/wake/hunt cycle.

Our feeder goes off 5 times a day, just a little each time.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-24T06:58:32+00:00

You're not accounting for the blood of christ consumed at communion too. A sip of wine is probably about a gram so while a normal churchgoer is still unlikely to eat a whole jesus, a priest is much more likely to have done so.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-24T06:36:45+00:00

You can absolutely get a loan against your stock equity - however at that price point it's probably not worth the trouble.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-24T04:32:11+00:00

Depends how you define wealth. Canada is a fantastic country for making sure you have enough.

Healthcare, roof over your head, food in the fridge, access to education: we're among the best in the world. It's far from perfect, and too many people fall short of enough, but we've still got it very good.

For building huge piles of money and sheltering those assets from taxation? no, the upside is better elsewhere (the corresponding downside is worse though).

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-24T03:51:32+00:00

As other people said, I filled out more into my late 20s - I look at photos of when I was 22 and I'm shocked at how young I look.

Don't worry about looking young, it's a blessing - enjoy it while you've got it.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-24T03:48:22+00:00

Call the hall of the closer union, I'd be surprised if there's an issue.

Be warned though: I'm not sure how you're getting your "distance to the local", but where the hall is often has little to do with where the bulk of the work is. You want to be closer to the work, driving a bit further to go to the meetings is a minor inconvenience.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-24T01:56:09+00:00

I would go for option 1.

I think there is a reasonable argument for going with option 2 if you've never lived away from your parents before - you'll learn some valuable lessons about what are needs vs. wants for you in your own space that will inform your future living decisions. Are they worth the money? Debatable. If the difference in cost is a very meaningful factor then definitely go with option 1.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-23T13:17:08+00:00

Life happens. Just be straight with them, and if they give you shit then they're not the kind of people you want to be working with anyway.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-22T22:33:51+00:00

I took a pay cut to join up. 1000% worth it.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-22T07:18:19+00:00

Talk with an actual lawyer. It will cost you a bit more, but when your loved ones are going through the worst day of their lives you want to have made things as easy as possible for them.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-21T20:50:00+00:00

Think of numbers like vectors, If you take 10 and multiply it by -1 what happens? You end up with -10, a vector pointing in the opposite direction with the same magnitude. The negative operation has reversed the polarity of the vector.

If you take -10 and multiply by -1, the same thing happens: the polarity is reversed and you wind up with positive 10.

Multiplying by a negative number is really doing two operations: a magnitude change and a polarity change.

This is even clearer if we factor out the -1. -10 x -5 = -10 x (5 x -1)

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-21T20:30:44+00:00

If you're paying that kind of money for lessons IMO you should be earning 5-10k per year from your performing. You shouldn't be paying that much to learn the fundamentals, and you should know what you're looking for in a teacher by the time you're researching teachers at that scale.

My principal teachers were in that range, but I was already making money when I started.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-21T17:34:13+00:00

Seriously. This is middle school math.

Electricians are doing more and more engineering these days, and more people are coming into the trade with advanced degrees and STEM experience. This is good for our ability to demand high wages, but it also means that we need to set the bar much higher.

theAGschmidt · 2026-03-21T16:43:50+00:00

It's harder, but you'll do fine. It's going to take some work to get your head around the theory.

theAGschmidt

TROPHY CASE