Electrical certificate. Worth the time in this industry

[calwalker1]

Hi guys. I though I'd ask some of you here for your opinion on this matter.

So basically I am currently in my senior year of high school (nearly 18 years old) and intend to continue working in this industry once I've done a course at a local institute (box hill institute, for all you Aussies)
At the moment I am getting my teeth sunk in to as many shows as I possibly can and making what I believe is good progress in doing a good job and being called back for another show. Working for big vision companies as the cable ***** (you can never roll enough 5 way 30 meter video lead )

Just like the good parents they are my dad is thinking
About what I can do to not fail at life. And one thing he really wants me to do is get an electrical certificate so I am more "hire-able" , however I don't believe this will be of much use as if I were to start working for a rental company I can't do anything in venues that would actually require an electrical certificate.

So what do you all think interwebs. How many of you are now working at a professional level in this industry and can say "thanks to being a licensed electrician"

Just so you know I want to get involved with lighting such as programming and assisting designers.

Thanks For you advice

 

[Footer]

I have no advice on this one. I know there are some things that are pretty different in the Australia regarding certifications. You guys have govt. issued certs on stuff that we don't have in the U.S. So, if your a non-Australian, please keep that in mind when responding to this thread.

 

[Chris15]

Sparkie's ticket... yep it's on my to do list.
For use in entertainment? Nope. More because I can...

Now, in which part of the country do you plan to spend most of your career?
The banana benders have some really draconian rules that mean you need to have an Electrical Contractor licence (ie. a Sparkie's ticket) to change a plug.
Yes, that's right you need 4 years of training to be able to change a plug...

It would be FAR more useful IMHO to go and get a level of IT training. Just think about how much stuff we use today has a computer built in or connects via ethernet.
I've seen ethernet cause SIGNIFICANT issues in a show. It was not pretty to witness...

The Box Hill course is, from what I understand of it, top notch. It's also great to see that you've recognised that school won't teach you all (much?) of what you need to know and that getting down and dirty in the industry is a really important part of the education process.

 

[gafftaper]

As Footer said, I too am not an Aussie and don't know how your certifications work. I defer to Chris' advice and respect his opinions. I'm going to send a PM to Kiwitechgirl and David Ashton to ask them to comment as well.

In general, my theory on this sort of thing is if it's the least bit related to what you want to do in theater get all the education you can afford. I've never heard of a technician who didn't get the job because they had too much training. I have heard of technicians who always get work because they have such a broad range of knowledge. At the same time, Gaff's #1 rule about education is never get yourself too far in debt. There are lots of good technicians out there working desk jobs to pay off their student loans because they can't afford to work in theater.

 

[David Ashton]

being a licensed electrician is probably not of great value as they mainly do installations, but a few 1 day course tickets worth getting are, elevated work platform, test and tag license, forklift driver, and maybe building site white card and riggers ticket, all these are basically safety courses and get straight down to teaching the essentials and a practical test.
With this lot you stand a very strong chance of being employed as crew in any Australian city.You won't go broke paying for these courses and there are government subsidies fo certain people, though I don't know the detail.
These will get you in the door after that it's up to you.
If you want to join the State sector then formal qualifications become more important like diplomas from WAAPA or other university courses, but most commercial firms care more about someone who can do the job.
One other ticket, theatre pyrotechnics , can be handy.
Another thought, join ALIA and ask advice in their fora and maybe join in their backstage show tours.