calling all electricians

[pompousporcup...]

I'm wondering/pondering on a potential change in careers. Sitting at a desk for between 8 and 14 hours a day is really starting to piss me off. I'm getting fat (i'm not actually fat yet) and feel like i could be doing something different that still brings in enough money

Anyway, can any of the electricians that reside here advise on the best path to take to become "certified", what qualifications are needed/what the salary exceptions are whether working for a big company or going out on your own once qualified.

cheers
D

[lihp]

Don't do it. Wages are low, you're competing with all the Eastern Europeans willing to work for a goat and 2 sheep.
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[pompousporcup...]

[dodsi]

[J4mes]

The proper way to do it is to become and apprentice. You'll get the qualifications, the practical experience and hopefully if you're with a good teacher you get the time savers, the work-arounds and the other tips and tricks that you develop when you've spent a long time in a job and come across most situations.

Alternatively you can sit the C&G courses on your own or as part of a "become an electrician in 5 weeks and earn £50K/year" school and hit the ground with no fucking clue about the real world of the job.

I wouldn't sat wages are low, as it depends on what you end up doing. If you're house-bashing building new estates then sure, you're competing with the foreign labour. Go it alone, or move in to the commercial/industrial/agricultural sectors then its a different kettle of fish.

I don't use an electrician because I sat an electrical apprenticeship (16th edition, 2391 etc) but I've had a lot of work done on my house and I can tell you that when I find a decent, reliable, quality plumber/plasterer/landscaper/flooring fitter I don't mind paying good money for them, getting them back for more work and recommending them to others. And that's what you need, because I've dealt with some utter shits and I'd never have them back or recommend them!

[pompousporcup...]

[faffergotgunz]

Building site sparks - fun for a while but gets boring. Plus if you are subcontracting you never know if you will have a job the next month.

House bashing - bit more fun but seriously gopping when you are crawling through a loft space for the 1000th time. Bit more blaggable on time. 25k ish if you work for a company (might have changed now). A good earner if you go out on your own but committing and hard work.

Maintenance (van based) - 25k ish again, maybe 30k sub contracting. I enjoyed this type of work as it was easy, very blagable on time, plus you could pick up a little weekend work now and again off clients (naughty )

Maintenance (on site) - 25-35k plus. shift work. This is what I do now. Lots of training available if you are with the right company. Clean, easy but you are there for the hours/shift. From my experience this would be a good bet for a new qualified sparks, as long as you are multi skilled and handy with other maintenance.

Getting certified (to do your own work) in a nutshell...
- do courses
- buy tools, tester and van (a good few thousand)
- do a couple of free jobs (test them and keep it all above board) - you will find out which jobs to do when you start training to comply with part p ect..
- enrole with a certified scheme (NICEIC, Elexa, Napit ect...) £500 quid a year
- an inspector will inspect you
- advertise (shit), work of mouth (good)

Its not that easy, pricing jobs, doing your taxes. Fecking effort!

Cash in hand jobs are your best bet while you work for a company as a sparks. Lot less faff and you can take it or leave it.

If i was to do it all again, bollox to trades, I would have become a Ferrari test driver
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[Mark_F]

I personally would recommend against doing this.

Construction work is very volatile, and training is generally on you (especially if companies cannot get any "apprentice" cash for you due to age etc). It could be worthwhile IF you know someone in a good position within a company who can get you on under the right terms. If you don't know such a person, you'll be treated like a mug from the off.

Most companies require you to be recognised by the JIB before they will pay you the proper rate. If you are undertaking the training on your own as you subcontract, it can be difficult to get the NVQ the JIB require (as work based assessments must be done, with it being a lottery as to whether the company/foreman/site agent you're working under will allow you to do it).

Welfare facilities at their best will probably look really rough to you.

If you end up on agencies books, they never pay the money they promise (their excuse is they tell you the self employed rate, however they cannot pay you as self employed thus make you pay the employers NI, and you are charged a fee to recieve your wage, done through Umbrella companies).

I worked in the commercial and industrial sectors (mainly commercial) and the summer holidays are the main peak work weeks due to school refurbs. Christmas to April tend to be the leanest months, though it only takes a smidge of luck to have enough to get by.

Bear in mind that you will be doing a lot of metalwork (most people have no idea what electricians do).

You may make the jump and find it works for you (the job can be rewarding etc), but the pay and conditions are beyond crap, and obviously the work can be quite dangerous (the risks you take are up to you, some managers are willing to be a bit loose when it comes to your safety, you need to know your limits, how and when to say no, etc. There are good people in the industry too though).

I stopped this year as I am unable to do the job anymore, and had I had any idea what I was getting into, I wouldn't have put the money I did into training. There are things I have liked, but on the whole it isn't remotely worth it IMO. Should you take the jump I hope you have better luck than me.

Edit to add a phrase a good friend uses a lot: "It takes a certain level of intelligence to be an Electrician, and that happens to be enough intelligence to know that there are far better things you could be doing with your time".

[drzsta]

The trade is a mess tbh. Other than going through an apprenticeship I really don't think it's worth paying for the training.

I've been lucky on the industrial side and I've been on the cards since I was an apprentice so I can't comment on agency work. Domestic is now a joke, full of chancers with 3 weeks of training calling themselves sparks.

[TheArchitect]

If you were willing to relocate then there is work and decent money to be had.

Last January my company went on a recruitment drive to hire MEFP engineers to work on multiple projects in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain. Essentially we needed experienced engineers/technicians to act as consultants representing us or the client to the local engineers and vetting their work/strategies. Vast majority of the those we hired were from the old school or semi-retired and after a boost to their pension via some tax free income. Decent folk who knew how to spot a blagger and wasn't shy about setting them straight.

Anyway point I'm making is if you're looking for a drastic change in scenery with a decent paycheck then look outside of Europe. Granted you'll be a newbie to the scene but there is still a hell of a lot of work out in those regions. Do 3 years in the Middle East and you'll have enough set aside to kill off most of a mortgage up north.

Edit: Nice avatar, OP!
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[robs321]

Be a plumber! same shit, more money!
I think people have a rose tinted view of what being an electrician involves. I've been at it 32 years and the whole industry has turned to shit.
Your knees wont love you for becoming a sparks and I'm waiting for carpel tunnel opp number 4!
I try and spend my time these days running sites and avoiding working for a living but last week, I was stuck in a loft void covered in insulation kneeling on 50mm joists thinking why the fuck am I still doing this shit at my age.

[Alan1986]

I'm a service engineer and it took me 4 and a half hours to get to a call out today 150 miles away,
Every job has its shitty side
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[pompousporcup...]

Plumber was also an option although I'm not sure on the route to take. In a nut shell, I want to earn upwards of 35k and not be stuck at a desk and not go overseas for extended periods of time.

I thought being a mobile bike mechanic would be pretty cool. Apart from the high starting costs of a big van, diagnostics equipment. I already have a garage full of tools

[Dave500]

I'm currently doing my plumbing and heating apprenticeship and the job is looking good to be fair. I started the course when I was 24 so I think the company had a free year of tuition and now I'm 25 they have to pay for the second year. I think if you want to be earning 35k you'd have to get into gas and then you could possibly come up a little short. (but the weekend jobs I hear pay well)Fortunately we tend to do industrial and commercial so no really nasty jobs. But the apprenticeship's are certainly the way forward, I would ignore the "within 6 weeks you'll be a fully qualified plumber earning 40k+" bullshit.
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[Alan1986]

Salary all really depends where you live,
Wanting 35 is quite high I reckon,
To get to that level you would also need some decent experience, 35 is bang on my salary minus Overtime/bonus,
Decent enough salary, but I live in Birmingham and not London otherwise that money would be shite
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DAS some time soon

[Chuffin Nora]

[Dischord]

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T DO IT
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[roboff94]

I just finished my apprenticeship last year, started straight from school at 16. Did my ONC, HNC and nearly finished my HND now, aswell as all the relevant NVQ's. I work in the maintenance department at a petro chem site, so we do alot of instrumentation aswell as electrical stuff, dont really do much electronics unless we need to.

I enjoy it, always have done so far, maybe in 10 years i'll be sick of it but for now i like it depends what sort of stuff youre into, if your not that interested i imagine its pretty boring....

I think an apprenticeship is the best way to get into it after my experience, dunno how old you are, but at my place theyre not interested unless youve just finished school, so that might be an issue...
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[331X2]