Future Apprentice Carpenter

I’ve been an apprentice electrician for the past four years. During this time, I’ve obviously learnt a lot, with one of those lessons being that I don’t actually want to be an electrician. It was pretty bad when I came to that realisation midway through my third year. I’ve already wasted so much time on this apprenticeship that I couldn’t in good conscience throw it all away, so for the past six months I have been grinding out my work every day with a forced smile on my face. It’s sucked.

In this time of deep reflection on my many life choices, I also discovered that I love building things. I spoke to my mate’s Dad who’s a builder and he said once I finish my apprenticeship, that he’ll take me on for another apprenticeship, but this time as a builder. The only other requirement is that before he takes me on, I have to learn everything possible about timber supplies. Cheltenham hardware stores have every type of building supply possible, so I’ve been visiting different ones every day after work. I am determined to learn everything I possibly can, so that when I rock up on my first day of the job, I’m already a bloke they consider to be an asset to the team. I’ve definitely got a leg up having past experience as an apprentice and the fact that I’ll be a qualified electrician, I’ll be able to help them out way more than a regular apprentice. 

I’ve expanded the number of hardware stores I want to visit, and so tonight after work I’ll be visiting the local hardware store near Sandringham. I’m going to go in and cover all the timber labels with my hand and test myself on whether or not I can determine the type of wood it is and its best uses. I’ve been doing this at the other stores I’ve visited, but I think going to a brand new store where I’m unfamiliar with the layout will be a good test.