What is your name and trade?

Jonathan Michael Laura, Electrical

Describe job requirements and tools you are required to have:

A C-10 License, a bond with insurance and a substantial knowledge of electrical theory. Including material necessary for all applications including H 1 div 1 "explosion proof material" to common Home wiring medians. Tools required are boots, hand tools, wire pullers, drills, saws, testers a truck with ladders and a hard hat.

What kind of experience do you have (training, on the job, military)? How much would recommend others have?

An obsession with lightning & static electricity were my first training grounds. I then dug tenches in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado for Ma Bell. Served a 2 year apprenticeship as a line man, got fired and served another 3 year apprenticeship as an electricians helper. Moved and worked in Los Angeles as wire man for 5 years pulling 5.2 million feet of NMB wire before attending trade tech for electrical theory. Finally testing for State Laws and electrical contracting in California. Now I am ready. So would you.

What made you decide to enter your particular field of work?

Found it very easy to conceptualize protons and electrons moving in a predictable fashion. Thus, producing a useable energy that is the fundamental basis for most of the cool stuff we use everyday.

What kind of education is required or would you suggest?

Electrical Engineering would have been easier than my choices. Although, the results are nearly the same.

How long did your trade education take to accomplish? Is continuing education required?

2 years. I would love to increase my education in this field. But if I could choose I would choose to study the smallest components in the Universe instead. "Quanta"

Are there special skills one needs to enter your field of work?

Patience is the first thing I learned as an apprentice. Dexterity, flexibility and fearlessness shortly followed. Then, long suffering became necessary for all the electrical shocks that I continually suffer. Finally, good people skills.

Do you remember your first day on the job? Describe it for us.

I was a junior in high school. My best friend's father was an electrical contractor. That summer he invited me to work w/him so I did. We drove an hour into the mountains to a line of trees. My friend and I got out of his Ram charger utility truck and began digging. Two days later, we had dug 30 feet of trench, 2 feet wide and 7 feet deep. Then, we ran into a boulder the size of a school bus. My friend said, "If it is too big we get to blast it with dynamite". Four days later, we had dug all around it to prove its size. Frank, the father, called in the blast crew and I watched as they split it into about 5 manageable pieces. I thought I could dig all the way to Montana, with the help of some TNT. My confidence found its legs. I never looked back.

Briefly describe your typical day on the job – hours worked, challenges, etc.

Usually, I wake up at 5 am. After a bite, and a steamer, I rush to the wholesaler, were I load the days material, wire, boxes, panels, and any other electrical items I need or think I may need. Like a crazed moonshine runner, I proceed to the job site. Check with security, wait for my minion and proceed to drill, pull and hammer my way to lunch time. While the boys and girls go to lunch, I lay out the next phases of the construction. If no- one is missing, we continue till about 3:00 p.m. Then, I meet with the owners or the General, and tell them what I need from them. I return home just before 6 p.m. Most of my clients hire me for the additional information that I supply them on the progress of construction. The electrician is the first to show, that means we are there before the ground is broken, and the last to go, meaning we leave only after all the systems have been tested an validated. I own every site until validation day.

What was the best advice you received about your job and trade?

First, never wait until the end of the day to call your wife, or honey. Second, bill early and often.

What advice would you give to someone interested in entering your trade?

Give me five years of your life, do not back talk, show up early, wear clean clothes and never lie to me. Then, I will reward you with a trade that you can perform anywhere, in the world. Every- one will respect you and pay you very well. Then, your wife will love you. Or you can take your chances with some one else.

What is the best thing about your job or what do you like the most?

When a client sees that I gave them more then they asked for. And when they hand over the check.