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Reconstruction

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Submitted By hotdiggity122
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If the old saying, ‘If I only knew then what I know now’ applied to anyone more than me I would be shocked. Here I am a thirty-three year old apprentice starting yet another career. I have had a long and hard road to get to where I am today, but I am very fortunate to be able to become an electrician. I know my success in local three rests upon my own shoulders, and I intend to take full advantage of my current situation as an apprentice. I know that my hard work and dedication to becoming a good electrician will pay off at the end of this apprenticeship. My success and failures are the reasons that have led me to join local three

Although my back round is not in construction, I will be able to rely on certain traits that I have picked up and learned throughout the years to succeed in it. I started out by having odd jobs as a young man. When I became a Firefighter for New York City, I had to learn many skills like teamwork, being reliable, and thinking on your feet to preform my duties. I believe that these skills will prove to be very valuable in my success as an apprentice. Being a realiable worker is probably most bosses biggest concerns. If a boss can’t rely on you to get the job done, then your are no longer an assett to him and can become expendable. As an apprentice you have to show good skills in teamwork as your on the job training will have you work with multiple people. Your ablility to get along with your co-workers and bosses will only enhance your chances for success. I know that things won’t always go as planned. Having the ability think on your feet to trouble shoot problems you encounter will prove to be a valuable trait in this industry. Once you are skilled enough, and able to think critically on your feet your work will flow smooth on the job.

After my career with the Fire Department was cut short, I Found myself bartending again untill I landing a job managing a bar. This was my first job as an authority figure and I had to learn some different skills to fulfill my role as one. I had to learn to lead people, be trust worthy, and be self reliant. No longer was I the bartender who was asking the questions but the manager who was answering them. I know that as an apprentice I will not be leading anyone, but down the road as a journeymen this skill will play a big role. Being trustworthy will however be a usefull trait that i can rely on as an apprentice. Once I can prove to my peers that I am a trustworthy person, they won’t have to worry about my integraty expecially when certain situations arise. Being self reliant or making sure the job gets done might be the most critical skill that an apprentice can obtain. This is an industry where the work load falls fully on the workers and it’s there responsability to complete there assignments. There might be stretches where your supervisers and formans are not directly monitering you. This is when you need to rely on yourself to get the job done. If you fall behind because of lack of supervision you have no one to blame but yourself. As a journeymen self reliance will take you a long way in this industry.

My last job leading up to my apprenticeship was running a Boars Head route. I used the skills that I learned in my previous jobs to advance from being a driver to route manager. I also polished up a few other traits in this line of work like being devoted, decisive, and polite. As a devoted worker your employer can build trust and confidence in your performance. I also had to be decisive in everyday situations while dealing with all the daily accounts. When dealing with these accounts, I found that being polite can go along way to building a great buisiness relationship. You never know exactly what situations all your accounts are in. So being understanding an polite have giving me a great step to build good repores with my customers. Although I really like my job, I have come to terms that job security is an issue.

There are many factors in making my decision to join local three. The main one is that my hard work has not really set me up for my future the way a union job can. I have spent many years building upon different skill sets that will enhance my chances for success in this industry. I hope that by using these skills and learning new ones as I go along has prepared me for a long and prosperous career. Having the peace of mind that I will have all the training, benefits, union backing, and job security has made this an easy decision to make. I am very thankful that my past experiences and traits were able to provide me with this opportunity to have a career in these very trying times.

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