Eylül 15, 2025
Oğul sadece 18 yaşına girdi. Elektrikçi?
Oğlum bu yıl HS’de bir kıdemli ve yakın zamanda 18 yaşına girdi. Henüz bir kariyer yolunda yer almıyor. Elleriyle çalışmak ya da en azından bütün gün bir masanın arkasına sıkışmamak istiyor. Babası ve ben belki elektrikçi olmayı önerdik. İyi para kazandıklarını duyuyorum. Fikri seviyor gibi görünüyor. Babası bir itfaiyecidir, bu yüzden keşfetmek istediği bir fikirdir. Harika bir iş ve büyük olasılıkla takip edilecek. Ama dışarı çıkmaması durumunda takip etmek için başka bir yola sahip olmasını istiyorum. Ayrıca birçok FF’nin elektrikçi olduğunu biliyorum. Bir yan iş yapmak o kariyerde her zaman bir bonus. Bazı tavsiye/içgörü arıyorum.
Bu seçmek için iyi bir yol mu? O’na yardım etmeye istekliiz, bu yüzden orada hiçbir kısıtlama yok. Ona bakmamız gereken başka kariyer var mı?
Burada bir elektrikçi var mı ve tavsiyelerde bulunabilir mi? Ya da hangi belirli alan/yol en iyisidir?
Onun hakkında bir fikir: egzersiz yapmayı seviyor. Son birkaç yıldır onun işi bu. Bu yıl iki kilo kaldırma dersi ve başka bir fiziksel fitness sınıfı seçmeli dersler alıyor. Bence bu yüzden sıkıcı bir masa işine meraklı değil.
Etiketler:
Fire fighter I recommend tbh. Union, pension, good benefits, nice retirement plans, and good pay.
Electrician is actually a really solid path — good pay, strong demand, work that isn’t stuck behind a desk, and lots of opportunities to branch into specialized areas (industrial, commercial, residential, even renewable energy). A lot of firefighters do pair it with a trade for the reasons you mentioned — flexible side work and a backup career option.
A couple things to keep in mind:
– Apprenticeships: These are the main entry point. They combine paid on-the-job training with classroom work. He’ll earn while he learns.
– Certifications/Licensing: Requirements vary by state, but after a few years of experience he can test for journeyman/master electrician licenses.
– Other “hands-on” options: Plumbing, HVAC, welding, or even something like lineman training are all in-demand and pay well. If he likes fitness and physical work, these are worth exploring too.
– Firefighting tie-in: Fire academies usually want candidates who are disciplined, fit, and having a technical skill/trade doesn’t hurt on the side.
He’s in a great spot at 18 — he doesn’t need to have everything figured out yet. Exploring a trade while keeping the firefighter path open sounds like a smart, practical plan.
(For what it’s worth, I coach students and young adults on exactly this — figuring out career direction, weighing options like trades vs college, and building a clear plan forward. If you or your son would ever want to talk one-on-one about mapping out his next steps, feel free to DM me.)
Electrician or fire fighters aren’t bad occupations at all. Both are in demand, active, and pay well.
I would see if your state has an age requirement for firefighters. Some do, others don’t. Also, see if their is a volunteer fire department nearby for him to get experience in to see if he will like it.
Alternatively, what he could do is join the military. The army lets you pick a career so he can enlist as either a firefighter or electrician, see if he likes it and if so, then he can pursue that in civilian life especially with the US Federal Government which provides a special hiring path for veterans. He could also use the GI bill to fund any education he wishes after he is out and save you some money.
Electrician is solid. However, is working overtime regularly attractive to him? Thats a question to consider.
Aviation maintenance is a good trade . School is less than two years and starts around 30$
You sound like a nice mom.
Your kid will find his way . There are kids every day at a trade school or college , there cause their parents want them to be and they slowly fail cause they’re just kids .
Working terrible jobs was always the best motivator for me. Maybe your son needs some tough love and will have time to think while he’s digging a ditch ? Like hmmm I actually like lifting when it’s convenient and when I can go home. Trades are hard and need intelligent people to want to build things they take pride in.
Electrician is a good profession. Being a tradesman is the quickest way to dabble in business and self-employment for anyone who isnt super academically inclined. There are short term house calls, there are mid-long term fields jobs. No, robots are not going to fix wiring anytime soon. Go ahead to encourage as the supporting parent, let him decide for himself.
My parents never pushed me in one direction and it was really rough talking to the kids whose parents were. So much outside stress. Or depression if their parents owned a business and were forcing them to follow.
I used to work as an electrician and then went to college because my body was not cooperating (from work and sports).
Electrical work wasn’t for me personally, but I was doing a lot of commercial and industrial through the IBEW. It’s a great career, but it is dangerous and can wear your body down. I think if he’s interested in it, he should try it out. It’s usually competitive to get a union apprenticeship, but non union shops are usually easier to get into, then if you have 6 months of experience and tools it looks pretty good on your union apprenticeship application.
Some people really like it, so he should try it out and see. Pretty low stakes to try it out for 6 months assuming he’s safe and uses proper safety equipment and practices. For me personally, I’d be happy to never have to do that kind of work professionally again but I only know that because I did it for years. I’m really grateful to have spent some of my young adult life working with my hands for a ton of reasons.
Edit: I would usually find my jobs on craigslist but this was a while ago, not sure if there’s still postings there but I’d see “electrical helper wanted” or whatever and call them up. He’ll need to buy some basic tools and a tool-belt.
These are all wonderful comments and I’m sure your son will be fine regardless of what he chooses. Thought I would throw my career into the ring.
Logistics. All the possibilities for working location and hours. Usually some okay perks in the lower management positions. Great if he likes to solve problems.
Please stop right now. He needs to find his own path, that is part of his growth, and you’re robbing him of this opportunity.
Stop helicoptering, Mom.
What he does with his life has to be his choice, it isn’t at all your place to make these decisions for him. The more you coddle him, the higher the chance he’s still in your basement at age 35.
Is this a career for you or him?