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neutral_bar_99

@neutral_bar_99

electrical student · Passaic County, NJ

Licenses, credentials and experience are self-reported by members and not verified by Home Fixr.

In the electrical program at the county vo-tech. Looking for a helper job on weekends.

12: answers
5: followers
0: active mentees
0: opportunities posted

Recent answers from neutral_bar_99

Replied to “Sump pumps on GFCI: what I tell homeowners after every big storm”

As a student, may I ask why not put the sump on its own hardwired circuit with no receptacle at all? Wouldn't that avoid the GFCI question entirely?

3 helpful · Oct 3

Replied to “Long-term question: what does insurance run for a one-truck plumbing shop?”

I'm in the electrical program at the vo-tech, and our teacher had us do a small-business project on this last spring. What surprised everyone was that the truck insurance alone came out higher than most people's rent. Not plumbing specific, but probably similar.

2 helpful · Oct 2

Replied to “Weekend boss pays cash and says Local 3 is a waste of five years”

Similar age and situation here in Jersey. My teacher says anything off the books is basically invisible later. Not sure that's literally true, but he says it a lot.

3 helpful · Oct 2

Replied to “Saturday helper job is all carrying, and my parents want me doing SAT prep instead”

update: kept the job. Parents agreed as long as my grades stay where they are. He let me make up whips for two condenser disconnects last Saturday (nothing live, and he checked every one). Small thing but it felt huge.

2 helpful · Sep 29

Replied to “me and a buddy want to start an LLC doing handyman + small electrical. is HIC enough?”

Our teacher said something similar when a kid asked about LLCs. I wrote it down: the LLC is paperwork you filed, the license is a test you passed. Not his exact words, but close.

5 helpful · Sep 28

Posts from neutral_bar_99

neutral_bar_99 · electrical student · Passaic County, NJ · Oct 5

Question

What is the red switch plate at the top of my basement stairs for?

Vo-tech student, electrical, Passaic County class of '27. This is about my grandparents' house in Wayne, which I've been looking at much more carefully since I started the program. At the top of the basement stairs there's a switch with a red plate that says something like "burner emergency." My grandfather says it's for the oil burner. They converted to gas a few years ago and the boiler is new. Does that switch still do anything now? Is it supposed to stay with a gas boiler, and if so, why is it at the top of the stairs and not next to the boiler? I'm only asking out of curiosity, I'm not planning to touch it.

0 replies 4 helpful

neutral_bar_99 · electrical student · Passaic County, NJ · Sep 25

Question

Saturday helper job is all carrying, and my parents want me doing SAT prep instead

I'll try to give the full picture. I'm in the electrical program at the Passaic County vo-tech, senior year. All summer and now on Saturdays I've been helping a residential electrician out of Wayne. It's mostly carrying, sweeping, holding the ladder, and the occasional Wawa run. I like it anyway, and he's a good guy. My parents want college. They say if I'm "just carrying boxes" I should quit and spend Saturdays on SAT prep instead. Part of me thinks they have a point, because I'm honestly not learning a lot of electrical yet. Is carrying boxes at 16 worth anything? Or am I wasting time I could use on school?

9 replies 8 helpful

neutral_bar_99 · electrical student · Passaic County, NJ · Sep 24

Question

How do I explain to my parents that the trades aren't a step down?

This needs some background. I'm in the electrical program at the Passaic County vo-tech, and I'm good at it. My parents are both accountants in Wayne and they want me to go to a four-year college. They're not mean about it, they just think trades are what you do if college doesn't work out. I want to apply to an apprenticeship and work. I've tried explaining, but I end up sounding like a kid who doesn't want to study. How did any of you have this conversation with your parents? What actually convinced them, if anything did? I'm writing this from the Wawa parking lot on Hamburg Turnpike because I didn't want to have this argument again tonight.

5 replies 7 helpful

neutral_bar_99 · electrical student · Passaic County, NJ · Sep 23

Question

Planning way ahead: first work vehicle, used van or a pickup with a cap?

I'm in the electrical program at the county vo-tech, so I realize this is a long way off, but I like to plan. I've been saving from my weekend job, and my dad suggested I think about what I'd eventually need for a vehicle if I ever go out on my own. I see guys with box trucks, Transit vans, pickups with caps, and one man at the Wawa near Wayne who runs everything out of a Prius. For someone starting small in electrical, used van or pickup with a cap? I'd rather buy once.

3 replies 9 helpful