Portrait of an Electrician

To find out more about the everyday life of an electrician, we interviewed Helmuth Hummel from Hummel Elektrotechnik Munich in Germany (@hummel.elektro). Helmuth is 33 years old and has been a self-employed master electrician since 2013. Find out more about Helmuth's day-to-day work in the following interview.


Did you always want to take up a trade or did you only decide on it later? Did you do an apprenticeship?

In any case, it always had to be something "manual": I first trained as a specialist in event technology, then became a master craftsman in event technology and only then did I take the journeyman's examination to become an electronics technician for energy and building technology, followed by a master craftsman's examination in electrical engineering. So it was all very practice-oriented, even if not immediately in the "classic" trade.


When did you become self-employed and was that always your plan?

I worked as a technician while I was still at school and it was clear to me straight after my training that I wanted to continue working independently - not least because my father is also self-employed, albeit in a different trade. Initially, I worked as a freelancer in the events sector; after my master craftsman's certificate in electrical engineering, I quickly moved into electrical engineering.


What does a working day in your life look like? Do you mainly work alone or with colleagues?

My day-to-day work is very varied: customer acquisition, consulting, planning and project planning, costing, but also the construction of switchgear, PLC programming, measurements and tests, installation, troubleshooting - this and much more is part of my daily tasks, which are constantly changing. For some months now, I have been supported by a permanent skilled worker who carries out many tasks independently and thus relieves me of a lot of work. However, we often work as a team of two when necessary. I also have a very good network of colleagues, most of whom are self-employed, who support and help each other out with larger or special projects. I really appreciate that!


Which Klauke tools do you use and how often?

The Klauke company has a firm place in our company. Be it with materials for electrical connection technology or, of course, with tools. You could really say that not a day goes by without me holding a Klauke tool in my hand!

We use the following tools on a daily basis:
K301/6, K82, K507 WF, K5, K43/2, K43/3, K28, K29, 2x EK50ML, EK WF 120 ML, EK 30 ID ML, EK 35/4 ML, EKM 60/22, EKM 60 ID, EKM 60 ID IS, ES 32 F ML, ESM 50, LS 50 FLEX, SpeedPunch hole punch.


A message to people who want to start a job in a trade or even as an electrician

Learning and practicing a certain craft gives you the great feeling every day of creating something with your own hands that you can touch, literally, grasp at the end of the day! It is something physical and sustainable that lasts for a very long time. Electricity can no longer be erased from our lives and is becoming increasingly important and complex and needs to be mastered by specialists. Everyone will find "their" place here.


Follow Helmuth (@hummel.elektro) on Instagram, where he posts pictures and videos of his daily work.

For more information on Portrait of an Electrician talk to Gustav Klauke GmbH