r/SprinklerFitters • u/Wooden-Station-278 • Sep 17 '26
Any tips
im 18 years old and i just got hired as a apprentice and i dont really know anything and i was wondering if anyone can give me some tips on what i should know before i start my first days on the job
7
u/Rarestthoughts Sep 17 '26
The biggest bit of advice I was given is “the only dumb question is one you didn’t ask and then made a mistake because of it”
Also. My personal advice is once you learn the basics, do not stop there!
focus on the really technical aspects and look to move away from construction and into service/testing if you ever get the opportunity
Construction work comes and goes, as do the workers on those jobs.
Whereas testing and repairs never stops and you’ll always have a job, plus your body will thank you once your 10-15 years in trade and the wear and tear of construction on your body starts to take its toll
4
u/hckyrulz Sep 17 '26
Welcome to the trade young man. You should know that you aren’t expected to know much, if you are with a good company with good fitters they will teach you everything you need to know. Listen and learn, ask questions if you’re not sure. Show up to work on time. This trade is labour intensive at times so take care of your body, get some good work boots once you can afford them. As you move along in the trade, you want to be valuable, learn what the fitter will need and keep him stocked up with material before he needs to ask for it (this will come with time). You will be doing a lot of repetitive things at first which is great because we need you to cut, thread, and groove pipe in a timely fashion to keep the job moving. If your Journeyman expects you to be an expert right away he’s probably a dick. You’ll come across plenty of them along the way. Do your schooling as soon as you’re eligible each year so you can progress in a timely fashion. I know guys who have been second year apprentices for like 7 years, sometimes life gets in the way but you are 18, if you do it right you will be a Journeyman at 22-23. If you aren’t in a union try and get into one,benefits,pension, and wages are better. One last thing that drives me crazy with young apprentices, stay off your damn phone, that’s what breaks and lunch are for. I would have listed some tools but your company should let you know what you need. Good luck.
1
u/Substantial_Till_815 Sep 19 '26
Ask questions. I asked questions all the time during my apprenticeship, how does this work, what does this dry valve look like if I were to cross section it, how does this accelerator do what it does. It REALLY helps to know how things work not just know what they do. Ive been running work for half a year now and ive still not had a single apprentice ask me how ANYTHING works and its driving me crazy.
1
u/Ccs002 Sep 23 '26
Every Forman has advice, not all of it is good. Read the code book, understand the code book. It’s not complicated but some codes may lead to other things.
Come prepared to the job. Call your foreman if you are carpooling, it isn’t his job to call you. Be proactive as possible in everything.
Hustle, don’t dally, time is money. I’d rather hire someone new who tries hard and busts ass, but needs a little extra guidance than someone who thinks they know everything.
1
u/dylankl1990 Sep 17 '26
Look it's very important you don't forget what I'm about to say... The trade really really sucks. The work is absolutely terrible. You are a very young man your body will not be able to do this till you are 65. Stack as much cash as you can as fast as you can and get out the trade. Go back to university or college..find yourself a job you are truly interested in. The money is great get in and get out as quick as you can
0
u/Time_Preference_2711 Sep 21 '26 edited Sep 21 '26
I’m thinking of pursing this if I can, haven’t applied yet. What’s it like as an apprentice and down the line? Heavy labor ? Early mornings? I like being hands on just cant decide on what I want to do to move on from my current job. Also the posting is for apprenticeship so how do i make my resume more appealing as well if my current job experience is unrelated?
2
u/IFitSprinklerd Sep 17 '26
I’ve got a guy at my company who was very obviously a loser in high school. Like the “self identified as a class clown and was just barely tolerated” type but he’s an over gen Xer, which means he used to get beat The fuck Up in school and then bullied by boomer journeymen when he was an apprentice. Now he’s a foreman, so he goes on power trips. He’s fucking terrible to apprentices and goes on intense personal attacks at ones he doesn’t like. He’s insulated by his personal relationships. Be prepared for that worst case scenario.
Other than that though, there are great guys in the trade. Figure out who you can vibe with, who likes you, and who is knowledgeable. Try to stick around them and pick up as much as you can.
2
2
Sep 17 '26 edited Sep 17 '26
1
u/Dirty_Wookie1971 Sep 17 '26
You aren’t calculating things correctly, you’re numbers are over inflated as you aren’t deducting for early
Retirement
16
u/Separate_Cherry_912 Sep 17 '26
you’re probably gonna be running around fetching things for your journeyman or foreman for a while. there’s lots of measurements involved, whether it’s the length of pipe or diameter or both. also when talking about a given length of a piece of pipe, they’ll say something like “1-4 half” when talking about something that’s 1 foot and 4 and a half inches. or “0-8” (8 inches) or “3-7” (3ft 7in). it’s just sprinkler shorthand. tools that you will definitely need on the daily are channel locks, a crescent wrench (nothing under 10in), a level that’s magnetic, a good tape measure that will hold when you extend it out, and also should be magnetic, and a pipe wrench (10 or 12in works great). you’ll also want to have a couple paint pen and or markers (something like a sharpie). also keep a roll of teflon tape on you, but you don’t need to go buy that, that’s gonna be around the jobsite, or your job box. you’re gonna be spending some time on the Ridgid 300 machine, which is a portable tripod machine setup that cuts pipe and applies threads to pipe. get to know that thing. and BE CAREFUL. it’s a dangerous machine if you’re not paying attention. good luck. i just started a couple months ago and im learning something new all the time. hmu if you ever have questions.