Has anyone heard about these self-paced HVAC, carpentry, electrical, and construction courses with certificates? Supposedly they're free. Is it worth it to attend to learn more about DIY?For those of you that have certifications or degrees, how long did you go to school?
>>2950797Are the certs worth anything? Are the accredited by anybody?Somewhat related, I did SkillCat for my EPA certification, and their HVAC, electrical, and plumbing courses. For $10/mo, I actually recommend it if you want a little extra knowledge. It’s not really a trade school degree, but it counts as continuing education and is accredited and I actually rolled that into some NATE certifications. So like 200hrs of online work and I had half a dozen certifications to put on my resumé and it cost me like $100.
>>2950838Do you have to be accredited to do the work and offer your services on Craigslist and by worth of mouth? Why would Home Depot offer cert courses that wouldn't allow you to do the actual work?
>>2950841That’s more of an insurance thing…But as far as those courses on SkillCat, as somebody who has taken tons of residential stuff apart, I learned a lot about larger air handlers, wiring diagrams, refrigerant bullshit, etc. I never knew what lift stations were and now I’m very familiar with them. And modules I knew like multimeter use and stuff, I could cruise through.
>>2950797Hey cool, thanks for making the thread. Just signed up.
>>2950866Hey Bepis, would you recommend SkillCat or HD classes to someone who only wants to gain knowledge/confidence in being able to inspect a house for purchase? I wanna make sure I'm not being screwed by lazy inspectors/real estate agents/sellers but not sure how in-depth I'd need to go with it.
>>2950873>>2950866Yeah this question. I just want to be able to point stuff out or fix things in my own home. I'm a computer nerd/structural fitter by trade so I know may way with a measuring tape, but don't know anything about electrical or hvac.
>>2950873The SkillCat app gives you like a 3 day free trial. You can bounce around different modules. Go spend an hour looking at it and see if it’s worth your time.It’s not really going to teach you how to inspect a house though. Shit is either broken or it’s not. The courses might help repair the broken stuff but it’s not like “How to spot termites and water damage”, it’s “how to wire an outlet” and “how to change a blower motor”
>>2950797>how long did you go to schooli had to go to school for 3,5 years to become a certified industrial electricianafter that it usually takes people 1-4 years of work to be able to do shit on their owndoing household wiring requires less insight in elektronics but there is still alot of stuff you can fuck up and shouldn't be done by amateurst b h i would not even trust you to change a fuse if you told me you got your degree from some home depot
>>2950797I have a degree in electrical engineering and thought I could rewire a bedroom.I have discovered that I spent a lot of time and money learning to do math, and little else.I have signed up for their electrician classes. Thanks for the heads up.
>>2951353It's my house and I'll do what the fuck I want. I don't have any respect or regard for your ilk after 4 of the previous 5 constructions sites I was on had "licensed pros" who didn't speak english and did a shit ass job. I don't even need to mention the modelo bottles and piss filled gatorades left around and in wall spaces getting closed in because that's a given. Worthless, just like you.
>>2950797>For those of you that have certifications or degrees, how long did you go to school?i have zero certifications and training
>>2951763Keep adding romex and push fit outlets until the 15A breaker pops, then buy a 20A and rinse repeat
>>2951811>"adding outlets increases load no matter what regardless of use factor or whatever gay fucking argument I'm trying to make"In what way are you even trying to seem superior? You do know the NEC hasn't had specific restrictions on the number of 15 amp outlets per circuit since 1996, right? Residential electric is fucking easy. Literally any White Man can do it.
>self-pacedthey're gonna send you a $300 textbook to read and two years later if you haven't forgotten about it you can challenge an exam
Going to point something out now since this probably fits in better than in other threads.Why is the union trades education system so bad. Having talked to journeymen in a ton of trades it seems like people talk a lot about how in 5 years you will turn out and be fully functional, but from talking to other guys it seems like at 5 years the contractors and employers want you to get another half decade before they will bring you on for stable work. It seems like a clownish system.
>>2953664>different employers want different levels of experiencewow you don't say
>>2953664I'll offer two observations: many non-trade schools also suck ass and the laziest sacks of shit I've ever worked with across several job fields were protected by unions.
>>2950797Are any of these courses offered in the English language? I don't speak Mexican.
>>2953664That's the excuse they use to pay you less until you have 5-10 years. That's why they would rather hire an illegal or oa mexican or immigrant and pay them $10/hr for doing the same job, rather than pay you $25/hr for the same thing.
>>2951746>I have discovered that I spent a lot of time and money learning to do math, and little else.What did your degree focus on? At my state university, there are about 3 main tracks for EE: Power (closely tied to ME), Mechatronics and Industrial Automation (centered around Control Theory, Dynamics, and Engineering Economics), and Telecommunications (closely tied to VLSI and DSP). The Power guys took some more courses on electrical power generation and distribution, as well as learning about the contents of the NEC, but I learned a bit about wiring and HV installations too when I had my first job doing industrial maintenance work. Did you do any hands-on work during internships before graduating?
>>2950797I'm no expert but it seems like theres literally no way to fasttrack being proficient in the trades. You basically just need to be handy since you were young or taught alot by your elders to really have any leg up. Union schools are a joke that subject you to seniority rule and make raises impossible, and don't guarantee you aren't an idiot working for idiots after you sacrifice 5 years of your life. Home Depot certs are also a joke but much funnier.I think the honest best approach would be to thug it out working as an apprentice for a mom + pop(but it doesn't have to be) that's primarily service or takes lots of fresh residential calls for atleast a year so you get to see the widest variety of stuff. I did that for a while with plumbing, didn't help that my boss was an insecure pothead that turned everything into a competition and couldn't keep track of my progress let alone what he ate for breakfast. But I got to learn all the basics of all the modes of plumbing, even dig jobs, which helped me get my current job. As for my current job it's significantly more repetitive and that's not good for experience beyond a certain point, so my wish is to make it into another crew that does something else sometime after winter like roughing, finish or more service so I can get more experience. Here's the catch, and why I mention that. Not every employer is honest about field mobility, theres a good chance despite what they say that I'll get stuck on digs longer than I want because apparently it's a rarer skillset to come by and somewhat more harsher conditions so theres less candidates overall.You honestly just have to prioritize any opportunities for experience you can get as soon as you can get them, and in that sense variety is the spice of life. Towards the beginning of your learning process it can be good to not work for any particular asshole longer or shorter than is necessary, but always be prepared to move on to a new one to gain experience.
>>2950797Military (Air Force) where I stayed because no trades career offers twenty year retirement vesting or that kind of benefit package for life with that short an employment window. Would gleefully Air Force again. I'd done automotive and industrial maintenance before and left for Uncle Sugar because that deal is stunningly good. I worked afterwards for toy money and took welding and machining courses the better to enjoy my personal shop, but if I was going to trade my working life for an outcome NOTHING beats reliable money and health insurance for life, which is too uncertain to fuck around. That's worth killing for and fixing fighters is much nicer than automotive work. Industrial maintenance was fun but lacked career progression and any job is a recession away from not existing. America rewards what it truly values and it truly values war.That turned out to be a very wise move as I was eventually disabled with amazingly life-ruining chronic pain due to back issues (don't lift too much heavy shit or abuse your back which happens to many young men in or out of trades). Always have a backup plan in case life fucks you by surprise and always have a plan to mitigate any mistakes you might make. My SNCObros went on to comfy second careers in and out of DoD and related, from drone programs to working at Lockheed in Greenville and at TTR in Nevada. Reliable money makes freedom usable. Choose with cold pragmatism because passion makes young men do Stupid Shit and you only get one life. I avoided auto mechanics thanks to warnings from successful techs. See current videos for why burned out mechanics are taking their wide skill mix and leaving for industrial or heavy equipment or fleet maintenance job. I enjoy it for fun and saving me life-altering money like other DIY but for a career, no bueno. Working until you're 65 means by the time you retire you're body is expended like most of your life. Get the most out of whatever you do.
>>2950841Certs only qualify you to be an apprentice/laborer working for someone who has a license. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, you gotta start somewhere, and this can get you in the door to get a job, where you can get experience.Most states require that you have 3 years experience as a supervisor, before you can get a contractor's license. So don't think that you can just start working for yourself right away. You'll have to put in some work, before you make it to being a supervisor.
>>2958194Thank you for your cervix ZOGbot
>>2958030>No way to fast track being proficient in the tradesEveryone lives and dies by the codes so just studying them will get you quite farBecoming good at performing them is another thing entirely
