Side Work

Side work is an area that needs to be addressed for those journeyman or apprentices who take on some side work to help meet their bills. It is often difficult to make ends meet even when we make the kind of money that electricians make, yes I believe that we are generally paid well.

The first problem is that most journeyman and no apprentices that I am aware of have a contracting license. The lack of liability insurance could cost you for years to come if something goes wrong, as you will not have a leg to stand on legally. Several contracting firms actually operate without either a contracting license or the required liability insurance, Russian roulette is played with one round loaded in the guns cylinder. Operating without a license or insurance is playing Russian roulette with five of the six chambers loaded. If something goes wrong with the building or anything that gets ruined that may be plugged into or connected to the electrical system, the first place that an investigator may look at is the people who completed the recent work. Regardless of when it was completed, I do not know what the statue for this type of problem may be, but it may be longer then the normal one year warranty that a licensed contractor may give.

Many journeyman and apprentices look at side work as a quick source of spendable cash. If a journeyman or an apprentice is working a regular job for a contractor and then continues working after hours for their side work, that person is going to get fatigued and both the regular job and the side jobs performance is at risk.

Often no consideration is given to the contractors who are operating businesses who would otherwise complete a significant amount of the "side work" that is being completed. It could be that the people completing this side work may eventually take the spot of a co-worker, or even them self.