Brad Abrahams, electrician, Queensland, Australia

Transcript: Brad Abrahams, electrician, Queensland, Australia

The types of jobs I end up doing are domestic jobs, like installing fans or air-conditioners. I really like installing air-cons because it’s an easy job and it’s good money. Other times, I get called out to install smoke alarms in buildings because they’re compulsory to have, at least in Queensland. On commercial jobs, I may be required to do testing and tagging, which means inspecting an appliance to see if it’s OK and then electrically testing with a portable appliance tester. Sometimes, I need to get up in the ceiling, and that can be a pain, especially in the middle of the Queensland summer. It can get really hot up in the roof, sometimes over 50 degrees. It can also be dangerous and dodgy climbing around ceilings installing cable and that. I remember years ago when I was an apprentice how I didn’t watch my step and fell through the ceiling. I had to pay for the damage, which was a lot for a second-year apprentice. I learned my lesson back then, that’s for sure! Speaking of my own apprenticeship, I had to do a four-year apprenticeship, which involved mainly hands-on training and eight weeks a year of study of tertiary education. During a day’s work, I don’t really have a set time for smoko or lunch. It depends how busy I am and what’s available, food-wise. Sometimes my wife packs me something to eat, but most of the time I get so busy that either I don’t get around to eating or I completely forget it’s there because I’m so flat out. My wife doesn’t appreciate it when I bring my lunch home at the end of the day! So, most of the time when I get home I’m starving hungry. I like to have a beer to wash things down at the end of a hard day’s work. Sometimes I get last minute jobs that I have to manage to fit in between my scheduled jobs. Once I had a so-called “emergency” out by a fella who said his kitchen light was on the fritz. He paid 80 dollars for my call-out fee only to find it was the light bulb that had blown. Bit funny. Bloody expensive light bulb!