Why choose to be an electrician

[AP Electrical]

A little about myself, plasterer by trade been general building for around 10 years competent in most aspects of building inc project management, now working full time as an operations manager for a company not associated with the construction industry - taken time away from full time construction as had a few bad payers and the allure of full time salaried work was just to enticing and also it gave me a chance to focus on my career change.....

Yep you guessed it i want to be an ELECTRICIAN!!

2330 l2 /l3 Done , Finishing my 17th in two weeks, Nvq lv3 is well under way and 2391 booked for oct 11', so I'm almost there....

Which is the point of my post, almost every day I read post's from people eager to become electricians either 5dw or college and Nvq, all prepared to spend thousands to become qualified electricians.

I read threads from bona fide sparks all saying the industry is struggling and the money is not there, but we still plough thousands into training courses and offer free labour just to get a foot in.

I still take on guvvy work to make ends meet and can when I can be bothered make a good return, If i'm honest with myself I could'nt make what I make now if I went full time sparking - please dont take that as an insult its just I earn a good salary company car and the guvvy jobs I do can rack up, So why am I retraining!!!!!!!!!......

I can only sumize that when I've been on site or hiring sparkys, I've been a touch envious of there knowledge, a good electrician who knows his stuff is still respected imo, because you lads are at it all the time you dont see that on site electricians are still top of the tree ( ok for a pay perspective maybe not) but from a knowledge perspective, people just see wires and are baffled at what can electricians do.

I'm not saying I totally understand why people are so eager to leave stable paid jobs to become electricians, but if I had to hedge bets I'd reckon its because the word Electrician still carry's status.

As for me I'm not about to abandon my main job as two kiddies need clothing and feeding, but when times change and money flows a bit easier who knows.

Just wanted to post this so some of you guys could see from the other side of the fence, I can tell by some responses to people talking about retraining that your groaning and thinking why oh why.....

 

[Adam W]

I don't think anyone's got any problems with anyone becoming an electrician (after all, we all did); the problem is with people who think they just need to buy a van and register a company, then moan that nobody will tell them the 'cheats' and 'secrets', because there aren't any - you have to learn how to do it.

 

[AP Electrical]

I don't think anyone's got any problems with anyone becoming an electrician (after all, we all did); the problem is with people who think they just need to buy a van and register a company, then moan that nobody will tell them the 'cheats' and 'secrets', because there aren't any - you have to learn how to do it.

Good point, to be honest i'm more impressed with how many words I'd written - althought it has taken me about an hour.
It was only an observation as there seem to be more and more posts about people ditching careers to become electricians and I could understand if guys who had been in the trade years could'nt understand why people would want to be apart of the industry.

 

[Adam W]

Good point, to be honest i'm more impressed with how many words I'd written - althought it has taken me about an hour.
It was only an observation as there seem to be more and more posts about people ditching careers to become electricians and I could understand if guys who had been in the trade years could'nt understand why people would want to be apart of the industry.

I think it's definitely something you have to want to do - anyone would have to be mad to throw away 20 years' experience in a different field then flush their savings down the bog on a fast track course because some salesman has told them they'll get rich quick.
You can tell people that until you're blue in the face, but they just think you want to keep 'all the money' for yourself.

 

[sparks_114]

To be honest the money at the moment isn't anything like before and things have slowed down in latter times. Being an electrician yes does put you on top of the tree like you say but being the most prestigious of the trades is perhaps why so many people are attracted to it leaving too few jobs to go around. On the money side of things I suppose it just comes down to supply and demand and as much as it sticks on my throat to say this (as an electrician) the money is in plumbing. Not because they are any more rigorously trained, but because there simply isn't enough of them to go around. So in brief, if respect is what you have paid your moneys for then it's a bit of an expensive buy, if it's a better living or earning you're after then I think you're going to have to wait a little for things to pick up. That's my take. All the best mate.

 

[Hobsoni]

it makes me smile when i see these get rich schemes promising the earth for a small fortune, theres only one way round and thats the long way round. Some of my darkest days were spent as an apprentice earning very little whilst training in college. However, it was all worth it, i passed my 2391 about a year and a half ago and have not looked back since. I still think that its money for old rope and that i was baffled at first before getting my head down to learn. Did you say that you are working alongside a sparky whilst studying??

 

[AP Electrical]

it makes me smile when i see these get rich schemes promising the earth for a small fortune, theres only one way round and thats the long way round. Some of my darkest days were spent as an apprentice earning very little whilst training in college. However, it was all worth it, i passed my 2391 about a year and a half ago and have not looked back since. I still think that its money for old rope and that i was baffled at first before getting my head down to learn. Did you say that you are working alongside a sparky whilst studying??

I do some work for a few guys just bits and pieces, only problem is working with them is 2hrs travel each way, usually plan it in to knock stuff of the nvq, because i'm from a construction background im afforded certain priviledges apparently regarding NVQ so I can do my own works as self employed then just have to get key criticals signed of by somebody in the know.

 

[Hobsoni]

You sound keen to be fair, travelling two hours to get to and from work. I never did nvq because i chose to go self-employed and although it may affect me later on, thought that 5-6 years of apprentice action was enough. Thankfully for me it was and i have a few contractors that i sub to and private jobs that keep me ticking over. Although the money is not as lucrative as i thought it would back when i was training. But i find there is so much competition that at times you ask yourself how is this guy able to do the work for that price!? i think us electricians need to get together and form a union and monopolize the crap out of our trade! but thats me, lol

 

[AP Electrical]

You sound keen to be fair, travelling two hours to get to and from work. I never did nvq because i chose to go self-employed and although it may affect me later on, thought that 5-6 years of apprentice action was enough. Thankfully for me it was and i have a few contractors that i sub to and private jobs that keep me ticking over. Although the money is not as lucrative as i thought it would back when i was training. But i find there is so much competition that at times you ask yourself how is this guy able to do the work for that price!? i think us electricians need to get together and form a union and monopolize the crap out of our trade! but thats me, lol

It's a funny game - I've always had an intrest in electrical works and tbh I find it a lot more challenging than the other things I do, if I go skim that ceiling in the house round the corner its the same as skimming the ceiling in the house 10 miles away, same as sticking a dormer on
you've done one you've done them all.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

It's a funny game - I've always had an intrest in electrical works and tbh I find it a lot more challenging than the other things I do, if I go skim that ceiling in the house round the corner its the same as skimming the ceiling in the house 10 miles away, same as sticking a dormer on
you've done one you've done them all.

To be honest Alex, electrikery is not much different. There are only so many ways to wire something up, and once you have done it, you have done it. Ok there is quite a bit of knowledge required for testing your work etc, legislation, unnecesary costs like Part P reg etc. But dont talk yourself down because you are a plasterer, you will come across problems in your trade much the same as we do in ours.

But good luck in your quest. I notice you are on the Oct 2391, can i ask where, and start reading GN3 now, dont wait till you start the coures or you will have a rough ride.

Cheers............Howard

 

[AP Electrical]

Hi Howard thanks for post, I'm going to tta in osset for 2391, drilling through gn3 as we speak, and brought some other software with info on every little helps as they say...

 

[Adam W]

To be honest Alex, electrikery is not much different. There are only so many ways to wire something up, and once you have done it, you have done it. Ok there is quite a bit of knowledge required for testing your work etc, legislation, unnecesary costs like Part P reg etc.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Sure, I can imagine house bashing or PAT testing every day for your entire career can get a bit 'samey', but there's not too much stopping you from doing something else; offices, factories, boats, railways, oil rigs... They all need wiring up if you fancy a change of scenery. Plus it's not just sockets and switches - there's alarms, data, metering, HV distribution...

 

[AP Electrical]

Always enjoyed electrical stuff used to mess around with electronics a bit as well, just find it fasinating, now I've some tech knowledge as well things become even more intresting, as I'm more aware of whats going on within the circuit... I cant believe how sad I am always thought i'd be a bit of a james bond (connery), not the saddo with an anorack and maplins bag...lol