Discuss am I in cloud cuckoo land? in the Business Related area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

P

piman

I am a head of a thriving maths department at a large independent school, earning above £40k. I am 53 and have been yearning for self employment (unshackled so to speak). I have a sound academic working knowledge of electrical principles and have done a number of simple domestic installations over the years; I am a practical person with above average DIY skills. Am I being realistic in seeking to become a trained electrician for, what will probably be, 10-12 years? What are earnings prospects (Cheshire region)/ Thank you for any help/advice.
 
Are you sure you want to work out on site? It sounds like someone with your background should be working for a training provider or college, a large percentage of lads i have met ( i took a break from the tools to work in FE) really struggle with the principles and the maths is shocking!!
 
Reet don't wanna sound rude but, your gonna found it very hard at your age to go self employed in a very competitive skill, but i do admire yer courage , if its your dream to do this then go for it , but sometimes the grass is not greener, i agree with the other reply, your role could be as a skills assessor in the trade so as you could get a good feel for the job all be it from a safer place. . . . .hope this helps :)
 
I left a £40k + job some years ago for personal reasons (wife, big C) and she - against all odds got better leaving moi unemployed. I soon found that at 40 I was too old to be employed so I set up a Company and employed myself.

I earn half as much do twice the work but I just love it. But then I had no choice - dunno about leaping out of safe employment unless there was no other way...
 
No disrespect intended but at 53 you might find the physical side of general electrical installation work a problem. Being profitable is as much about speed as it is about doing a decent job.

If you earn a decent salary and your existing job issecure then it would be a massive gamble.
 
so he's 57 now. according to marvo's post, he's well over the hill now. and, marvo, you're partly correct. i've slowed down a bit but can still give the young-uns a run for their money. just takes a while to get up stairs with the zimmer frame.
 
Last edited:
Although this is a very old thread he would have been mad to leave a 40k job to get into this trade, it's a struggle to earn half that amount for a lot more work, hopefully he didn't do it
 
i'll exchange employment with him!
 
I've seen it a few times, the guys stuck in a job that's admin of office wanting to get hands-on. I usually recommend they buy a Triumph or Harley and spend their weekends reconditioning it rather than a career change.
 
Hmmm stick with £40k job for a few more years then draw pension / Go back to square 1, learn the trade, go self employed, slog my guts out building a business and all the hassle that brings.
I know what I would do.
 

Reply to am I in cloud cuckoo land? in the Business Related area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock