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g/apprentice • Posted by u/trade_school_tina •

How do I handle a JW who tells me to do something that seems wrong or unsafe?

This is a personal situation but I think a lot of apprentices face this. I had a JW ask me to do a task in a way that I thought was wrong (not dangerous, just not code compliant based on what I've learned). I did it his way because I didn't want to be difficult.

How do you navigate disagreeing with a JW? Especially when you're not sure if you're right or they are?

💬 4 replies

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u/conduit_king •

Frame it as asking, not challenging. "Hey, I was taught X in school — is this situation different because of Y?" puts you in learning mode, not adversarial mode. Even if you're right and they're wrong, you learn more by asking than by correcting.

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u/admin_jake ADMIN •

This is one of the most important things to learn as an apprentice. Rule of thumb: if it's a safety issue (could hurt you or someone else), speak up immediately regardless of seniority. If it's a code compliance question (not immediately dangerous but potentially wrong), ask "I learned it differently — can you help me understand why we're doing it this way?" Not confrontational, just curious. Most JWs will either explain the reason (often there's a legitimate exception or field judgment) or appreciate that you know the code.

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u/three_phase_phil •

I've had to do this. It's awkward at first. But a JW who refuses to look something up when there's a genuine code question is a JW who will eventually create a problem for themselves and the apprentices on their crew. Document your concern if you're really unsure.

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u/nec_nerd •

Carry a copy of the NEC (or the app). If you genuinely aren't sure, you can both look it up together. "Let's check the code on this" is a professional response that doesn't attack anyone and keeps the work correct. Inspectors don't care whose idea it was — the responsibility lands on the license holder.

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