Wired to Work - My Reflection as a Journeyman
By: Felix Diaz, P.Eng. | Licensed Financial Advisor
Being a journeyman electrician myself, for me it means wiring up more than just circuits—you're wiring yourself into a life where sweat is currency and reputation is everything. You show up early, work through pain, and shake it off because there’s no one else to pick up the slack. You tell yourself you’re good—until you're not.
Every tradesperson knows the feeling.
You work through pain like it’s part of the job—because it is. A stiff back from years on ladders. Knees that crack with every crouch. Hands calloused and swollen from grinding, lifting, pulling. You clock in sick because the project won't pause, and you hide the limp because someone’s counting on you to finish on time.
In the trades, injury isn’t rare—it’s expected. It builds over time. It creeps in with every skipped stretch, every rushed shift, every tool dropped because your grip failed just a little.
And when it finally hits hard—everything stops.
I still remember the sound of rain hammering the tin roof, the cold biting through my gloves, and my buddy up on the ladder, pulling cable through endless conduit. We’d both worked in worse weather. We’d both pushed through worse pain.
But that day? His arm gave out.
Rotator cuff tear. Just like that.
He sat in his truck afterward, silent. Staring at his hand like it didn’t belong to him anymore. And I saw it—the fear behind his eyes. Not just the pain. Not just the injury.
It was the fear of stopping.
Stopping means bills stack up. It means suppliers won’t wait. It means clients find someone else. In our world, one injury can turn a month into chaos, and it’s not just about money—it’s about identity. We’re wired to work. When that wire snaps, the silence is deafening.
That’s why Industrial Alliance’s Acci-Jet and Acci 7 PLUS hit different.
These aren’t generic insurance plans—they’re built for tradespeople. Made for the worker who can’t afford to miss a week, let alone a month.
Acci-Jet provides fast, no-fuss coverage for accident-related injuries. Just a few health questions—no medical exams—and you’re eligible for monthly tax-free benefits if an injury takes you off the job. You can cover your rent, groceries, vehicle payments, even business overhead if you're self-employed.
Acci 7 PLUS adds deeper coverage for disability, fractures, hospital stays, prescriptions, and paramedical services like physio or massage. No long forms. No wait. When your body’s down, this coverage steps up.
These plans speak the language of the trades—tools, trucks, timelines, recovery, pride.
When my buddy was down, this coverage meant:
No panicked client calls
No tool liquidation
No missed mortgage payments
No stalled business growth
It meant peace. And for tradespeople? That’s worth everything.
He said, “I didn’t have to choose between healing and hustling. I could finally just… rest.”
That broke something in me—because most of us have never felt that luxury. We grit our teeth. We work through bruises and broken sleep. But we deserve more than survival.
We deserve dignity.
Trades Reality Check:
Every day, we’re one slip, one wrench, one snap away from a forced pause.
That pause comes with fear—of falling behind, letting down your crew, and losing your place.
Without coverage, healing costs money. And stress slows recovery.
With the right plan? You heal without guilt. You come back stronger.
We might wear steel-toes and tool belts, but beneath it all, there’s heart. There’s pride. There’s worry. And if nobody’s talking about it, then I will.
For every person who works with their hands, their back, their knees, their grit—this isn’t just a job. It’s your livelihood. Your identity. Your legacy.
We work with pride, but we also work under pressure. And for every electrician, carpenter, roofer, welder, plumber, or mechanic who earns their living with muscle and grit, these risks are real. What matters is how we prepare for them.
If you’re ready to safeguard your livelihood and learn more about coverage options with no pressure or commitment, I invite you to reach out for a no-obligation quote:
📞 Call/Text: 403-498-4775
📧 Email: felix.diaz@forthrightltd.com
🌐 Visit: www.forthrightltd.com
or leave us a message.
About the Author
From tin roofs under Alberta rain to the steel and sweat of shipyards overseas, Felix Diaz has lived every word he writes. With 23+ years as electrician, instrumentation technician, and licensed engineer, he’s wired systems and rewired expectations. Now a financial advisor, Felix helps tradespeople protect what they’ve built—with coverage crafted for those who hustle through pain and hold pride in every job done right.