CBA to read all the replies but here`s my take on it all (not that anyone cares!!!).
After 5 weeks you are not an electrician, you can wire up a few sockets and lights, you are a glorified labourer and it will take you many years to get to even a basic house basher level.
If you think I`m out of order your deluded. That`s not to say you won`t make a good living out of it and provide for your family, but please don`t embarrass yourself and try and discuss real electricity with people like myself, I`ll see through you in 5 seconds.
Domestic sparks/ house basher types?
Hmm, I think you lads ruined it for yourselves by jumping on the building boom bandwagon back 6-7 years ago buying L200`s with "Joe Bloggs property maintenance" down the side charging over the odds to do simple work that anyone could do and also ignoring smaller jobs to constantly look for the big payday, no sympathy from me, I`ve seen a few of these in industry where I am now and not one so far has cut it for me, yes they make things look pretty but anyone can do that given enough time, set them a real fault finding task and the phone usually rings soon after crying for help.
Industrial sector?
Some good talent out there but grass root training is again the problem, lack of ability to do the basics i.e read diagrams,understand voltage concepts,resistances etc, methodical searches and so on. Huge investment required by training providers who have actually worked in this industry and understand what will be required.
High voltage?
law unto themselves but deserve every penny they get, scary ---- that!!!
Are we underpaid?
Depends, my hourly rate is pants but I made £43000 last year despite having 10 days off a month every month and 2 weeks in the summer in what is the worst payer in the area, although thats not hard considering I`m in Aberdeen where tech wages are off the scale compared to the rest of the country. I think £40K plus is a good wage myself so I cant say were underpaid, I think for what I do its about right but bear in mind someone pulling cables, changing lights and resetting breakers on 8-4 shift gets around £30K its maybe not that brilliant, although it`s put me in good stead for the offshore job I`ve got an interview for on Tuesday.
I think the issue is that a few years back people thought,fuelled by Blair`s cheap money to borrow and ever increasing house prices, that the artificially high economy was never going to end and ended up living way beyond their means and like Issac Newton proved, what goes up must come down and right now boy are we on a downward slope.
We stand today in an economy where people are choosing between eating and putting petrol in their car, whether they all eat or just their kids, whether it`s worth going to a job that costs you to get there what you earn, where any slight financial issue can take a year to recover from, where "I`ll get a job stacking shelves in TESCO" is no longer a joke option, it`s one where graduates are competing with you for, where a TV ad telling you that being a KFC chef is akin to cooking in a Michelin starred restaurant, these were jobs for losers years ago yet now a deputy manager in Lidl earns £23000 and the store manager gets £32000, yet a maintenance spark is asked to be a fitter,operator,supervisor,and perhaps sweep the place with a broom up his bum for £24000 a year.
Therefore electrical work is pretty far down the list of peoples priorities. An old consumer unit that needs changing soon? Wait til it breaks. Need some outside lights fitted? I`ll do them myself, "but thats illegal, you need a certificate", well, thats a risk I`ll take.
My guess is its the same in all trades right now, i`d certainly agree that we should be on more than a painter decorator but when the industry dictates a wage then thats life, your still working for it and theres 1000`s of others to take your place tommorow at the drop of a hat so either look to do something else or lump it.
I chose to further my career and invested in it via courses,training and knowledge and I`m hoping to soon see the fruits of my labour but its come at a price of leaving my family for 18 months, living 600 miles away in the back of a Transit Van in Scotland for 4 months and paying two lots of bills.
We must first value ourselves before we look to what others value us as,otherwise we really will be fighting a losing battle.
