Solar Pv Installer How lucrative is it?

[Roggi]

Yeah just wanted to know is this gonna be a flash in the pan type of thing or is it here to stay? I know of the government legislation but im sure the fit tariffs are being revised soon .

Thinking of doing the city and guilds solar pv installer course and i have all the blinking electrical quals qualifications needed including a nebosh general health and safety 2391 17th ed 236 part2 ,2330 level 3 nvq 3 etc

Just wanna hear from people in the biz and have taken the course whats your feedback and experiences is it also easy to freelance?

 

[Ramjam]

Buttons,

all you'll ever make are buttons, no money it it whatsoever, best stay out of it I say!

 

[Manny]

Hi mate,

I don't know really, I just wanted to share my feelings about the market as I am looking 4 a position myself.

I am trying the market too, I became electrician no so long ago coming from another tech industry, and I went 4 PV as another course carer option. However, as I still looking for a position in the electrical market 4 some experience, in the PV market jobs seems to me still, very small and difficult to get. This market is way smaller and fewer companies are hiring, in the other hand there are new PV installers coming to the job market everyday out there getting qualified in 3 day courses.

There is a lag of job market versus professionals IMO, not new in the electrician’s general market. I think there are better chances if you are MCS qualified, in other words, if you invest a great amount of time and money getting in that level you could have better chances, but again my feelings about it are mixed! I think with the economic slowdown I don't know if a great amount of people is going to engage in the "PV revolution" just yet... so you could end up struggling to meet basic average installations per year... I may be wrong.

The ones already engaged are probably busy, but the ones coming now could have hard time achieving the minimum. Remember PV involves risk, working in heights. I worked many years in heights, but I was VERY well paid! This past week I had a possible contract for PV, but when came to talk about wages, WAS A JOKE ! Folks wanted to pay what a mini cab is making sitting in his ss driving people to the airport... That's because there are a great amount of desperate PV installers looking 4 work.

So again, I don't know much. My impression is that PV should be a better paid job because of the risks involved. I was approach by another company to be their sub installer, but again they offered junk money.

What seems to me, the new wave of investors wants to make a great amount of money, and pay electricians and installers a fraction of their profit, so you can guess who will be the horse of this ECO bandwagon...