journeyperson electrician

project engineer

electrician

superintendent

electrical foreman

Helix Electric

I currently work at Helix electric and let me just say it is awful. Helix Electric offers employee's hire than average pay but that's the only good thing about this company. Then again, the money feels like a trap. This company will pay you more than you would make at most other electrical companies but treats it's employee's like dog food. Upper management has very obviously sold their souls to get where they are and treat all in field employee's like numbers. Not a day goes by where some one isn't threatened to get sent home or fired for some of the smallest things. They also try to demand that everyone makes their home life about helix, telling employees they should stop personal life activities because it will effect their performance at work. This company is driven by forcing their employees to work above and beyond a quota system that doesn't make any sense, allowing easy tasks to be accounted for but the hardest tasks aren't, leaving the employees with a feeling that nothing they do is good enough. 

   They put an insane amount of pressure on their higher skilled workers like journeyman, making them complete tasks that foreman would have to complete such as inventory management or helping the less skilled workers with out increasing pay and still demanding that you meet your quota. And god forbid you are a new electrician. They force you do safety training and then throw you to the wolves. They have absolutely no training program to help new electricians with anything from hanging receptacle boxes to bending pipe, putting more pressure on them and the higher skilled workers to teach them, all while under very tight time pressure and no assistance from management. And if you are a single minute late they will send you home. I understand punctuality is important but the east coast location has most of their work located in D.C. which is a tough commute and demanding that you are not only on jobsite but at the gang box (which could be on any floor of a 12 story building) before your time starts in the morning and making sure you don't leave until the very second the clock strikes closing time, they really take away all of your free time.

   All in all, if your fine getting treated horribly for higher pay and have nothing to do except work, this company will gladly bring you on board. If you have the slightest of hobbies or social life, I would never recommend this company. Planning on leaving soon myself.

       

I worked on the solar farm they did in McCamey TX, I was part of the modules installation team. Every single day when the day started it all began with a superintendent or foreman screaming at the whole crew that the production numbers were bad and that the quality was bad and that if we didn’t pick up the numbers and better our quality they would replace us all. Our 10 minute breaks were a joke we had to talk almost a mile to get to a break area where we didn’t even have enough shade for everyone and 5 mins into the break they would start yelling out “ OK GET UP AND GET WATER TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK “. They had ice chests that were really nasty and filled with a lot of dirt and they expected you to get ice from here to put into your camel pack. Also if it rained they would keep you on stand down in the morning for like 3 - 4 hours and then tell you to go home that there was no work today, they would not pay per deim or any hours for showing up. They used scare tactics to try and motivate their employees. Sorry helix but if this review sounds harsh it’s because it’s the truth you treated everyone with disrespect and they are the ones that kept the company alive.

ON top of all of this they would mess up payroll all the time.

I work with many different superintendents and employees.  Because of the nature of construction we have many different types of people to work with and for, and it takes adjusting for each one of them. 

A few things I would say about working for Helix (or any company).  Helix is in business to make money.  Working for Helix means I am in it for Helix to make money too.  If I only am worried about my paycheck, and not the success of the company I work for, then I will not last long.  It is a mutually beneficial relationship.  Helix pays my paycheck and gives me benefits, I work to do quality work, save time and money, and work safely.

Many of the other reviews I am reading make some generalizations based on individual personality clashes, and attribute their problems to Helix.  From my experience, Helix is very open to suggestions and seeks to resolve problems as a whole.  There may be some individuals who haven't caught the vision, but overall, the company is very supportive.

Helix is an okay company, but you can get stuck in certain areas of the company. Like for example prefabrication if you shine in that area you’ll most likely never leave the prefab division to excel as an electrician they’ll keep you there to benefit them. Also don’t even try to ask for a raise once you journey out they are firm and set on that pay rate and they’ll tell you go to the training classes to get a raise. No it’s up to your  superintendent  to decide if you deserve a raise but they still need to keep labor cost way low. The sad part is if your in apprenticeship program 7/10 people get let go once they hit there third year in the program they don’t want to pay there rates and this number is from personal experience there working with other guys. But if you want a decent stepping stone company for maybe a year or two I guess this company would be okay but once you journey out I’d recommend looking else where to get the pay you deserve. A lot of guys stay there till the journey out because a lot of guys know Helix doesn’t pay journeymen that well sad to say multimillion dollar company can’t do better to keep there guys.

Very Big on Safety, which is a plus plus. Hard, fast paced work, which is also good. Management tends to fly off the handle and belittle coworkers infront of other coworkers and in an unfriendly manner, very unprofessional and often, especially if you do not make quotas. Some are intimidated by management to come in early or stay late without compensation or empty promises. Workers told to do things a certain way by management and then later coming back to tell them they did not tell them to do things that way, along with more intimidation. Apprentices are paid a less wage than journeyman and expected to do the same work. Money is good. Bennefits are out of california, not so good. Coworkers are awesome to put up with management or mismanagement I should say. Management also does not give a !@#$ about your problems and will tell it to your face, in front of god and everyone. Management should treat thier employees like an investment not a tool.

Worked at Helix for 10+ years. No chance of advancement due to poor upper management that take your ideas and call them their own. They have prevailing wage butt will work you part time as to not have to give you full time bennies. They will dangle carrots to get you to work free overtime and give you the shaft on pay day every time. Verry little oppertu nities for OT and even if you get some they will only pay you for some and not all as to not go "over budjet" . The only advancement that they offer is to take on more responsibility for no additional compensation and all you get is set up to fail with no support from the office and then punished for not making 25% on a job that was underbid by a million $. Upper management creates a hostile work environment and will find the guys that have mortgages and young families and use it against them to get free overtime with threats of private work (1/2 pay of PW) and lay off.

Positives? Pretty much all of the workers were very helpful and fun to work with and I learned a lot. But as for the negatives my superintendent would constantly hang the possibility of me losing my job over my head and he was really condescending and petty. To him all I was, was another person to produce "big numbers" not taking into account my experience or the in between work that doesn't show up on the time sheet at the end of the day. As an apprentice I did just as much work if not more the some of the journeyman on the job did and didn't get paid half as much as them. Management treats u like trash and expects you to bend over backwards for them and do it perfectly. There are better ways to gain experience and helix is just not worth the headache...

It really is all about who you know.  If you're not related or don't have friends in the office, you will have to cover your own back.  There is no sense of community or family other than their own. 

Hardest part of the job was working for supers who talk down to you.  I get that people in the trade worked 20+ years and get to run their job how they want but to disrespect others because you hold their paycheck or threaten to not pay someone for an earnest days work is an illusion of power and illegal. Nobody should be disrespected for making an earnest living and working hard. 

Also you get paid time off but they don't give it to you, they transfer you somewhere else so the time doesn't come off their job. 

The most enjoyable part is working with my peers.  Made a lot of friendships.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There are many talented, dedicated people working for Helix. There us a strong company culture and they do treat their employees well.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The travel and the workload were a bit much for me. A company vehicle was part of my agreement, but it took almost seven months to arrive. By that time, another (better) opportunity had found me.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Workload was heavy (at least it was for me), and there are production quotas that were sometimes impossible to meet. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Drive at least 90 minutes to the job, meet up with other electricians, participate in group stretch and flex exercises, the pull cable. All day long. Then another 90 - 120 drive home.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Plenty of fellow workers to help. Many hands equals light work

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Production! Helix does not care about you they only care about production, and be careful when you fill out your production otherwise you may screw your self

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Pretty good  you have a morning stretch  fill out a daily  assignment  then goto work and at the end fill out a production log  don’t be afraid to decide it up. If your running mc be sure to include the make up time.  Incorporate  production hours with some non-production hours included with that task or you will come up short

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Journeyperson electrician 23 salaries reported	$38.02 per hour
Project engineer 10 salaries reported	$70,634 per year
Electrician 3 salaries reported	$32.33 per hour
Superintendent 29 salaries reported	$117,374 per year
Electrical foreman 5 salaries reported	$109,171 per year

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