Shop Location 737 West Chester Pike, Suite 6, Havertown Pa 19083
Website Donaldmillerelectric.com
I am a master electrician that specializes in dated electrical work and older style homes. We try to bring the best quality work with each job we do.
Our goal is to educate and inform the home owner of the current situations regarding electrical work and electrical wiring.
Our employees are taught how to be tradesmen. They learn what methods of installation produce the best quality work. Quality installation practices produce the nicest and safest electrical practices, this style of education rare in this modern day fast paced world. The modern training practices for new electricians is lacking in many ways. We stay true to the old world craftsmanship apprenticeship and teach how to be professional tradesmen on and off the site. A properly trained tradesman should be helpful to the community he works and lives in.
Man Donald I need advice I know you said not to worry about pay but man this is hard i wake up everyday at 4 and buss my ass everyday to get treated like shit for 8 hours by and old master electrician that I’m under. I take school very seriously I’ve been doing electrical work since 10 years old but man making 19 and hour at 22 in nj is hard man and I’m truly losing hope for my passion
@@IsaiahWarner-um6hx How long have you been working under him? Just remember, if your early every day, if you can be left alone for 4 hours at a time, and you can complete tasks without guidance (160-200) a day which is between 20-25/hr. Call me during the week and I can help you prepare for a raise. You should know what thresholds need to be met to make a pay increase.
Came back to watch this video as this is hitting my right now. Just went into the IBEW after being non-union for 4 years and let me tell you that shit is rough. A foreman and a journeyman that don’t get along so i feel like they let their anger/frustration out on me since in technically a first year apprentice and I’m new. Getting yelled at or being around these mfs when they’re in a bad mood sucks man but the journeyman teaches me how to measure and bend 3 inch emt which i never had the chance to when i was non-union so i can say i’m learning quite a lot but like i said man this shit is not for the weak and i have experience i can’t imagine some absolutely green apprentice getting nervous around grumpy oldheads
My plaster is SUPER dry & brittle. It crumbles so easily, and this is according to an electrician who has built his business working on old houses with KnT. I’m looking at options for remediating or replacing in certain places. BTW, It’s Jane, not Jan. @SeeJaneDrill
Mix your Lyme the night before and let it hydrate. Make your donut with a little more Lyme than normal. As your top coat dries…..make a plaster milkshake out of the remaining mix and add water- slick out any cracking or give it a finish There’s some art with mixing your top coat, you gotta play with your ratios until you get it. I do all mine by eye…..you’ll know when you got it.
Donald seeing as how you are brilliant at making videos that answer questions posed by your subscribers I have a perfect question , relating to a situation I am in where I work in a commercial company . On a big job ( multiple level , multiple building apartment complexes , when I am apprenticed to a company who’ve submitted a competitive price to win the job , and who need the job to progress at a specific pace . How am I best to balance , learning , working at a profitable pace and assuredness of the safety of the installation specifically concerning electrical verification testing ? Thankyou
@@DonaldMillerElectric Hey Donald can you do a video on your review on Milwaukee electrical tools they’ve been lately having a lot of electrical hand tools?
I have an kind of unrelated question about apprentices working with bad licensed Journeyman Electricians or Mechanics. I've worked on a few commercial remodel jobs where a journeyman has almost get me electrocuted. Should apprentices or helpers be allowed to verify power is off at the panel? I was told to cut some conduits that were feeding 3 phase panels and the journeyman told me the circuit was off and it wasn't. I cut into the EMT tubing and their was a small arc flash when I cut the wire inside. Then on the next job he told me to cut an MC cable in another area so he could pull it back to the panel. He said he cut the breaker off and when I cut it my linesman sparked and the electricity blew a hole in my lineman pliers. He laughed about it on the way back to the shop. Just wanted to see how you would handle the situation as an owner or fellow worker? T
Hello Mr. Miller. Just found the channel and already a fan. I just wanted to know if you could point in the right direction. Maybe you already made a video but I want to get into electrical field and I am looking into a trade school. Is that a good route? I am currently 27 years old and I am highly motivated to make this move but confused on how to go about it. I have been trying to find an apprenticeship but I do not know anybody in the field. Hope you can help me out and happy Thursday!
Night school at community colleges usually have electrical courses you can take. Residential 101, 102, Commercial 101,102. Before you jump into trade school, make sure this is what you want to do. Trade school is a business, they are pricey and often fill you with information pertaining to your rate of income in the trade that is not factual. Try calling a couple companies up and asking what the rate of pay is for new graduates fresh and green out of trade school.
🎉 I big thanks first off. I'm in commercial and I don't directly work for a master electrician but journeymen that works for him. But the master is what I am inspired to be like. I was thrown onto my first huge project 2 years ago and was the opportunity to work scale pay so I really needed to change my act. I started to watch your videos then and slowly started to implement everything to become a better apprentice. I spent months working on that job site on hanging up strut 60ft in the air, running pipe, installing those lights, pushing wire.... When those light turned on for the first time I was like This Is What I Want to do the rest of my life. Now I'm an apprentice everyone wants around at their job sites. People like you and my Mechanic I work under inspire me to do better everyday.
@@DonaldMillerElectric i’m a little bit over 2 years in. Ive done residential, commercial, and some industrial electric including 277/480. The company i used to work for did a little bit of everything. Im 28 years old and I’m Located on Long Island, NY.
keep the videos coming, I literally stopped smoking and fixed my sleeping habits because of the vids. Once i found out i wanted to become an electrician for the rest of my life i knew i had to make some sacrifices and damn do i feel good about it. I'm currently trying to get my GED and driver's license so I'm not even remotely close to becoming an apprentice but i will get there one day. i do not want to become a hack, i want to be amazing at it, I want to put my soul into it. Thank you sir for making me realize what's important
Keep it up, skill is what truly matters, no one can stop you from climbing the ladder if your skilled, BEST PART ABOUT THIS TRADE- nothing can hold you back!!!!
Retired after 50 enjoyable years as an electrician. Started working with my dad & uncle moonlighting jobs at ten years old. Graduated top of my Vo Tech & Army class and could do a lot of different types of work. Started my first job as a helper but two years later after received a little cost of living raise and the boss said " Kid maybe I can give you a nickel raise " Told him to stick the nickel up his tight ass and refused to troubleshoot on my own. After he needed a machine running I just stood by and asked what electrician will I be working with. Told me to get the GD machine back running but told him that he never supplied me with the meters they promised and being that I'm only getto helper pay took my meters home for side work. Got a good raise a d meters. I was single at the time and did not care if they fired me, just wanted to get the money that I deserved.
I’m in Australia 🇦🇺 Donald your videos are brilliant , very relevant for the electrical industry across the globe . I’m 48 and I’m second year into a 4 year apprenticeship to become a qualified mechanic . I’ve had a whole career in another industry and I’m at a stage of life where I’m really focussed on what I want to do in the industry so your theme of focus focus focus just sings in my soul Thankyou and keep it coming ❤
I was working in Upstate New York and we were running tubing in a commercial sized greenhouse for a nursery and crop company. Anyway, the other helper broke out commercial electrical pump pliers to tighten the raintight fitting and they broke a part in his hand when he started tightening the raintight compression couplings. I didn't laugh , but thought to myself that he was a fool.
Can you do a video on how you can shine if as a fourth year? I have been following your advice since my 2nd year in and man not trying to pat my own back but I can tell myself apart from other apprentices. I got the tools, the positive attitude to keep improving and I genuinely can get a bunch done for the day comparatively for my skill level. Really appreciate the videos Donald. Hello from Arkansas!
I am a union electrician in Philly . I enjoy watching your videos . I typically never have any interaction with our customers mostly because we deal with commercial type work , however I do often do small sidework . I changed a breaker out for a guy a few weeks ago. He was so happy when I gave him my price , he told me the last company charged him $600 to change a 2 pole 30 amp breaker . Makes me sick to stomach that there are people out there beating old folks over the head .
The stories I hear from new clients are shocking to say the least. 12 grand for a 200 amp service, 1 grand for a simple exterior outlet. Thanks for watching
I know, Kevin. He's an outstanding person and technician. He trained me when we worked for a "for profit" company. He was so good that clients thought he was the owner and when they met the actual owner they were like "Dude, you're better than this."
Hey Donald I wanted to say thanks again for all your advice and videos, it really saved my butt with my k+t l/p job here at the house. Without your help and videos I would have been badly taken advantage of I really have fallen in love with the trade from your videos and going through the process even with the negative experience I had , the electrician that did the work was a good guy and easy to work with and I worked with him and he explained so much to me as the job progressed The contractor and admin were a big 👎🏼, very bad experience The inspection actually failed 3x too and I had bill issues and inaccurate esa report, but I expected problems going in as I had told you I just couldn’t find a good candidate for k+t job here Anyway I just wanted to report in , thank you again and wish you a grand weekend Thanks so much for what you do 🫡
I’m happy to help. It’s nice to know that I’m helping homeowners with this hidden problem. Inspection agencies are known to ignore it, realtors are known to play dumb, that leaves the potential buyer with no one looking out for them except themselves. Thank you for the update, how’s the house coming along?
@@DonaldMillerElectric its coming a long great, I’m able to do some other much needed and long overdue repairs because of the money you saved me with the electric, so I’m super happy Now summers here I’m starting on some work to the outside of the house 😁 I’ve really come to appreciate having an older built home. Things I thought were negatives I’ve realized there actually a positive and better then new construction
@@user-dd7qp2qo4c Absolutely, I love my older home. It was built in 1759, so I have no exterior wall framing (all stone), but it keeps the house cool during spring and storms don’t phase me in the least. Learning how to work on an older home is rewarding on so many levels, I’m doing two extensions myself and learning new things almost daily. Good luck and enjoy the home.
This is dam good information and good advice for anyone see and hear. Hell I believe blind man would have taken your advice and would have been a dam good electrician too lol 😂
Hello.. thanks you the amazing video .. can you please tell what's a usual day like for a starting apprentice? What time it start in morning ? And end ?
Hey im a licensed electrical contractor and licensed journeyman in washington state. Im looking for more experience in knob and tub rewire. If you would be interested in me working for free and helping you on a rewire later this year that would be super cool.
I have been watching your videos , as soon as I heard the first sentence I picked up on your accent and figured you were somewhere local to Philly . I have been a union electrician in Philly for 24 years . Everything you’ve said on every topic is spot on . Coming from a union carrer , its cool to hear your views. I also admire you finding your nitch in knob and tube , as a commercial guy , I would never even touch it lol . Anyway, good luck and stay safe . ⚡️⚡️
I'm in the IBEW and even though we go to class after work, you can clearly tell apart the guys who just show up, work, class and they're done between the guys who are constantly studying code, learning more theory and actively trying to better themselves.
I appreciate this tremendously. I just started with a company that gave me a crew of high school co op students. This is great advice I'm going to try and use with them.
And bringing your own lunch also saves you the hassle and stress of going out and procuring food offsite, thus affording you a more relaxed lunch break!
Can you make a video for older helpers or apprentices ( 30's to 50's ) in the trade? How to deal with other co workers and electricians as an older apprentice. Thanks Neil from Massachusetts
Donald, you gotta start loading up more videos. There isnt anybody else on RU-vid that has the content you have. I'm an electrical contractor s8nce 2003 in Colorado, and I love these videos.
I agree and disagree a person with a family might need the extra the money 💴 fr fr can’t stay at a job making really little if you got a family to feed but I understand the learning process
Apprenticeship is not for everyone, employment in the electrical trade is still an option, but history tells us the dedicated apprentices make a wealthier living.
