45 and want to retrain as a plumber!!

[secret squirrel]

thanks for the advice, people on this forum definitely know what their talking about

I've done quite a few posts on here about this, I've done many jobs but was a grade 6 driving instructor blah blah blah before I became a plumber. I won't go into everything on here as it'll bore people going on about it again.

If you want to pm me feel free and I'll give you an open and honest opinion of things as I've found them.

As a start you'll charge £20 per hour as a driving inst at 6 hours a day, 5 days a week = £600 per week Yep, know about expenses but they are nothing to what this job has....... you won't be earning anywhere near that...... ANYWHERE!

I used to start lessons every day at 8 finish my last lesson at 7.30 and sat start at 8 finish at 2ish still not earning what I did as an inst! (min 8 hours teaching a day!)

 

[mountainman]

I wanted to retrain as a banker but my JSA adviser was dyslexic.

 

[neebdike]

hi!! can i ask why you havent gone back into instructing then?

 

[secret squirrel]

hi!! can i ask why you havent gone back into instructing then?

At this point I new I shouldn't have posted a reply, here goes:

The reason I re-trained as a plumber is because I wanted to move to NZ but spending 4 weeks there it was obvious that it was too expensive, house price comparable to the UK, expensive just to survive, lawyers waiting in bars in the evening, everyone having 2 jobs.

I have a quite an interesting life and didn't want to give it up, neither of us did. Thats why I re-trained.

Course cost me £6500 which you cannot claim back through tax because you put yourself into employment there is a way round this but I didn't find out until too late. Oh, company I did my training with now gone bust!

I came out after 10 weeks with quite good quals but wait for it 'NEW NOTHING'. Imagine doing your training as a driving inst and sitting there for your first lesson with a person with no experience on there first lesson. Nerves etc, now enhance that by 200% as you turn the water off on your first job cut through the pipe and water is still coming. NO dual controls there.

I've found this job lonely, very lonely at times, things go wrong all the time, you constantly underestimate the time it takes, therefore underprice, not just novice plumbers but I've even seen experienced time served plumbers do this! Everyone knows what a lesson costs but your competing with any muppet with a spanner doing this.

There is no help, if it goes wrong it happens quickly and you loose control of the situation, not because of incompetence or lack of knowledge it just does, draining down a cylinder and the connection fall out as you touch it!!!! because of corrosion.

Its hard, on the knees, back, mentally, physically, I've watched my mate whose 62 put his head in his hands then look at me shrug and go and sit in the van for 30 minutes to calm down.

Then you finish the job, no leaks, 2 days later you get a call and its dripping HOW! but it does. You solve the problem a week later the problem comes back HOW! then you argue with the customer because they've already paid once!

Expenses are huge, as a driving instructor, a car, insurance, dia membership, tax, NI, fuel and maintenance.

Plumber public liability insurance, van, tools, tools, tools and tools and more tools etc.

IN general you as an instructor get paid at the end of the lesson, we get paid at the end of the job, you get knocked by a learner its £40 max, we get knocked it can be £000's.

Advantage we don't deal with the idiots at the DSA.

Why am I still doing it?

I can't afford to, in my 4th year and not earning as much as I did as a driving inst, now paying myself a wage though.

I'm in a unique posistion I have other money coming in, my girlfriend is the main bread winner and I am lucky.

If your the main bread winner, you'll be lucky very lucky to survive.

Last point as a fast tracker NO ONE will take you seriously, your only option is to go it alone! I run my own company and work with a couple of friends that I've made along the way.

If I needed to live on plumbing money alone I wouldn't be a plumber now, I'd have wasted £6500.

I quite enjoy it having said all that but this is not an easy industry by far. Don't be under the impression that because you 'tinker at home' this is an idea of what its like.

Hope this helps.

As a footnote, anything written here is not meant to offend anyone I have tried to be honest but it is difficult putting all my experiences down on a short post.

 

[mutley racers]

awesome squirrel. I couldn't have put it better myself. You speak the truth

 

[Blake]

A really good and honest post there SS on what being a plumber is all about.

 

[nicro3]

A well thought out and constructive post SS

 

[sam51]

Ive had enough of this plumbing lark.
i want to be a driving instructor,
all those young ladies with skirts up to there arse,
wanting me to teach them.absolute heaven, and you get paid.

 

[Deleted member 25704]

A good post from Secret Squirell. I liked this bit:

Secret Squirell:

...draining down a cylinder and the connection fall out as you touch it!!!! because of corrosion.

It does not get any easier with time either, people just want it done cheaper and faster. As years went by I found myself turning into a kind of Norman Wisdom of the plumbing world!

As for driving instructing, I had one of the blokes who worked for me learning this for years, so he could get out of the plumbing game. He never mangaged to pass the advanced qualifications which are very difficult. So respect to those driving instructors, it is not easy to qualify in that either.

Read more: http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/p...-45-want-retrain-plumber-2.html#ixzz2LRTKgF3H

 

[neebdike]

fascinating read S, you have given a frank and honest account of the industry at its pesent time. I work for Red, and at the moment jus cant give me enough work to make a good living. I want to go independent but think the risk might be to geat in the financial climate