PAT testing newbie

[thequeenscheese]

Firstly this forum is annoying if your not going to allow the link in my thread yet at least take me to my origional text so i do not have to type it again especially when it says saved!!

Rant over, Im looking at doing a PAT testing course and im after advice on it, i have researched that it will probably cost me around 1k for the course and equipement i would post the link to the course ive seen IF THEY WOULD ALLOW ME tut, but it was a 3 day course for absolute beginers (£500) like me so my questions are:

Can i doit without having any electrical qualifications practically and make a living? (for eg doing a platering/bricklaying course etc doenst mean i can be a plasterer or a bricklayer )

is it viable to be self employed or more of a cscs/on the books role

what are the the average weekly/monthly earnings i can expect

are there any pit falls to expect

any other help and advice you can give is appreciated thanks john..

 

[timo1]

I would imagine that it would be difficult to make a good living just PAT testing as typically you are looking at charging £1-£2 per item. If you get a good contract with a hospital or similar then it could be very lucrative but you would need a steady stream of contracts to keep the revenue going.

PAT testing has been ruined by the huge firms who will charge 50p an item and employ professional sticker staff who do very little testing. I only PAT test as a favour to customers as the paperwork isnt worth the hassle (unless you have a really modern tester which costs ££££)

 

[Martyc]

PAT testing is soul destroying dullness, there's so many people that do it and charge peanuts it's hard to make as a viable stand alone business proposition (although the 'sticker brigade' never do it properly). I wouldn't recommend it but that's just my opinion.

 

[thequeenscheese]

thanks for the advice, is the course worth doing at all ? maybe to do as and when around what im doing now?

 

[grantr37]

I have found that less people are wanting to pay for PAT testing (they want it as a free extra with other work) but there is still some work out there doing things like shops and hotels etc....
you would be looking to do the 2377-11 and 2377-12 and I would say to rent a PAT tester as and when you need it for the first while...
I have used the Megger and Fluke PAT tester machines, my favourite one is the FLUKE 6500, this is about £1000, there's companies renting out FLUKE 6200 Testers for £69 a week, this is the next model down that Fluke does and is exactly the same but does not have a keypad and memory card reader, so each test has to be written down manually in a notepad and typed up as opposed to transferring to a PC.....nobody seems to rent out the 6500...
Google PAT tester hire UK and you will see ones to rent.....then you can get an idea of how much business you may get before buying what could turn into a paperweight....if you will be busy enough, then you should buy your own personal tester....

if you buy a tester and it comes in a nice yellow box with a logo, spraypaint it black if you want to keep it, as the pilfering type (people who might break into your van etc) know what's in the box when they see a yellow box with an electrical logo on it...also get the tester marked with your name and contact details....this will help put off opportunists that might enter where you are working from the street, this happens a lot, crooks watch workmen going in and out of site getting tools from vans etc then walk in and steal things and just walk back out the front gate....



there are recruitment agencies out there that have set up offering PAT testing for 38p an item and paying £6.08 an hour, expecting 300 items a day done.....that's where the "sticker brigade" came into being that is bringing about problems for genuine test workers and customers, especially when things get sub-sub-subby-sub contacted out 3 or 4 times over on price (pocket filling) which happens....then its a brisk jog round with a pricing gun full of pass stickers....

 

[thequeenscheese]

hmm gives me something to think about, id supose the sort of thing i was thinking of is along the lines of smaller businesses where they have 10 / 20 items and would be a minimum call out fee? or does this not exist andf maybe building sites etc where i do still have some contacts..

 

[i=p/u]

upto yourself now, it is all about who ya know , and whos to say wont help you get ajob elsewhere if doesnt work out ,you have the certificate.... depending how much youu know to interprut results and a week or two getting use to tester then bobs your uncle

 

[sparks1973]

Firstly this forum is annoying if your not going to allow the link in my thread yet at least take me to my origional text so i do not have to type it again especially when it says saved!!

Rant over, Im looking at doing a PAT testing course and im after advice on it, i have researched that it will probably cost me around 1k for the course and equipement i would post the link to the course ive seen IF THEY WOULD ALLOW ME tut, but it was a 3 day course for absolute beginers (£500) like me so my questions are:

Can i doit without having any electrical qualifications practically and make a living? (for eg doing a platering/bricklaying course etc doenst mean i can be a plasterer or a bricklayer )

is it viable to be self employed or more of a cscs/on the books role

what are the the average weekly/monthly earnings i can expect

are there any pit falls to expect

any other help and advice you can give is appreciated thanks john..

please please stop and think about what your doin.....you don`t need certs for pat testing...look on ebay right now we have Mr. `guild of pat testers`...then theres these clowns offering an `online exam`...with some sort of `certificate of competance` to go with it.......its all a scam.....don`t get bogged down in what must be one of the most boring, dull, unfulfilling, soulless jobs in the entire world......PLEASE..DONT DO IT TO YOURSELF.....

 

[Adam W]

Do what you like, but PAT testing is based on legislation - companies get it done because they think they have to, not because they want to. The present government are keen to stress that it isn't necessary and is just stifling small businesses.
Can you really imagine there is a gap in the market for something that only takes a couple of days to train for? The company I was working for offered PAT testing as an extra service so I went on the course; I was the only electrician, one guy was after a change of direction, but he left at tea break on the first day because he 'realised it wasn't for him', the other people on the course were all caretakers and handymen whose companies wanted to stop outsourcing their PAT testing.

 

[sparks1973]

Do what you like, but PAT testing is based on legislation - companies get it done because they think they have to, not because they want to. The present government are keen to stress that it isn't necessary and is just stifling small businesses.
Can you really imagine there is a gap in the market for something that only takes a couple of days to train for? The company I was working for offered PAT testing as an extra service so I went on the course; I was the only electrician, one guy was after a change of direction, but he left at tea break on the first day because he 'realised it wasn't for him', the other people on the course were all caretakers and handymen whose companies wanted to stop outsourcing their PAT testing.

exactly what i found as well Adam when i sat the C&G2377.....full of `handymen`...and office staff that had been offered the course...

 

[thequeenscheese]

please please stop and think about what your doin.....you don`t need certs for pat testing...look on ebay right now we have Mr. `guild of pat testers`...then theres these clowns offering an `online exam`...with some sort of `certificate of competance` to go with it.......its all a scam.....don`t get bogged down in what must be one of the most boring, dull, unfulfilling, soulless jobs in the entire world......PLEASE..DONT DO IT TO YOURSELF.....

maybe a dull boring job but surley to do this you would need to be qualified?, the only reason i was looking into this was cos i was working on site recently with a couple of suby sparks (one was the company owner and his son) who were saying they found it quite lucrative - and no they wernt a big firm, but from you guys it seems a waste of time, so i think ill not bother, cheers for the advice