Is Plumbing a good career for me

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Badcompany

18 from london thinking of either becoming a Plumber or Electrician i like the sound of both but not sure which to choose.
 
Read some of the similar threads on here......................Then think again!
 
spend a couple of hours reading through the threads before you decide. the industry is flooded (no pun intended) at the moment and there is not enough work to go around.
 
There needs to be a dedicated thread on here regarding this subject! Come on mods and admins, earn yer corn!!
 
Do you reckon the climate wil get better in the next 5 years or so ?
 
steveb said:
spend a couple of hours reading through the threads before you decide. the industry is flooded (no pun intended) at the moment and there is not enough work to go around.
Click to expand...

Thanks
To be honest i dont have much options , cant afford uni dont have no qualifications etc.
Learning a trade is the best thing for me i think , just need to decide which one.
 
well if they have trained 50,000 new plumbers in the last 7 years i think its enough to cope with an increase in demand so id say no.

i think the crunch will come in 10-15 years time. Many people re training are in their 40s and 50s, they will be dropping out of the trade by then
 
yes it better be anyhow lol, plumbing and heating can be a good career with constant changing technologies and now we have renewables to look forward to in the future, there is a diversity aswell your not always doing the same thing day in day out you could work in domestic, commercial, industrial and work abroad.

If you could get an apprenticeship at the moment then take it, but I highly doubt it everyone is getting paid off at the moment, my old company have almost cleared out all their workforce and are down to just a handful of small contracts where as before they had alot of big multi million pound ones

Although the word recession does annoy me, if the banks can make money out of thin air then why do we have recessions in the first place ??
 
i know a company thats 100 years old and very respected with big contracts go under, apparently coz the bank pulled the plug on the overdraft required to purchse materials for big contracts before money came in, 100 years down the drain parden the pun
 
I reckon i would be able to get an apprenticeship.
What qualifications should i be loooking for ?
 
my old company is around 113 year old, they seem to be surviving so must be doing something right, although no one has had a raise in pay in around 2 years and are on week rolling contracts
 
I found an apprenticeship and it these are the quals you gain

You will be working towards an Apprenticeship in Domestic Installation consisting of:
NVQ in Mechanical Engineering Services - Heating and Ventilating Installation Level 2
C&G Certificate in Heating and Ventilating Installation Level 2
Key Skills in Communication Level 2
Key Skills in Application of Number Level 2
Key Skills in Information and Communication Technology Level 1

Any good ?
 
If it's a genuine apprenticeship with a good company then you'd be wise to take it.They're rarer than rocking horse manure.
 
Badcompany said:
I found an apprenticeship and it these are the quals you gain

You will be working towards an Apprenticeship in Domestic Installation consisting of:
NVQ in Mechanical Engineering Services - Heating and Ventilating Installation Level 2
C&G Certificate in Heating and Ventilating Installation Level 2
Key Skills in Communication Level 2
Key Skills in Application of Number Level 2
Key Skills in Information and Communication Technology Level 1

Any good ?
Click to expand...

is it a good employer? the employer is the key, dont worry about the quals, if its an apprenticeship there is only one set of quals you will do and they will be the right ones

who is the employer? they seem to know alot about quals which is good
 
thats a standard rate for a 1st year apprentice im afraid you won't be making any decent money until your in 3rd year

as said before the quals are only a peace of paper, although they still are essential to get employment but make sure you get a good employer that will let you do everything and not the same thing day in day out that way you don't learn much
 
fuzzy said:
is it a good employer? the employer is the key, dont worry about the quals, if its an apprenticeship there is only one set of quals you will do and they will be the right ones

who is the employer? they seem to know alot about quals which is good
Click to expand...

Employer is AA Plumbing Uk limited

Learning provider is Training Trust (WFCCTT)
 
GQuigley67 said:
thats a standard rate for a 1st year apprentice im afraid you won't be making any decent money until your in 3rd year
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Yeah im fine with this i was just stating the details the apprentice said.
I would work for nothing if it meant getting qualified and experienced .
The pay is a bonus.
 
just checked it out , it looks good go for it, i guess therel be a lot of people going for it
 
Badcompany said:
Nothing ?
Click to expand...

This will give you an idea of the pay rates you could expect if you found an apprenticeship
[DLMURL]http://www.unitetheunion.org/pdf/IssuedPayRates20112012Prom163A3.pdf[/DLMURL]

They can vary up and down a bit depending on the firm.

Apprenticeships are thin on the ground but there are always some to be found. The place you mentioned seems legit enough. Go for it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not to put a downer on things but you haven't found an apprenticeship yet, you've found an ad for an apprenticeship.
350 people applied for my apprenticeship, 100 sat aptitude tests and 10 were interviewed. I have good gcse grades, 3 A levels and i'm fortunate to be fairly articulate and calm under interview. Also I was a jammy sod.

I really hope you get it but don't apply for it then stop looking because you think it's a sure thing. It isn't.
You're trying to get into an over subscribed profession, there's going to be loads of competition.
 
Thanks everyone i realise i probably wont get it but i may aswel apply its better than sitting on my arse all day doing nothing.
 
lets hope you have a chance then and its not one of those companys who dont even open the CVs and just take on someones son instead for your sake, as alot of people do this, this is how i got my job haha through my uncle.
 
Any idea it how long it takes to become fully qualified ?
I want to do it properly not some 2 week courses ive been seeing online surely they are a scam ?
 
well in scotland its 4 years but we do the level 3 NVQ as that is the minimum here, I think it may be 3 years in england but i'm not sure
 
but if you compare 3-4 years working on site and at college to a training course for 3 weeks with no on site experience, then you can see the obvious differences. It took me around a year just to get used to all the different pipes, fittings, tools etc there is so much to learn.
 
GQuigley67 said:
but if you compare 3-4 years working on site and at college to a training course for 3 weeks with no on site experience, then you can see the obvious differences. It took me around a year just to get used to all the different pipes, fittings, tools etc there is so much to learn.
Click to expand...
Im looking forward to it just need to find an aprenticeship now.
 
getting a job as an apprentice is KEY, dont worry too much about college, apply by all means but remember the best way into the industry, in fact the only way to get fully qualified is to get employment/apprenticeship in the industry.

apply for 500 jobs, you think im kidding, i know people who have applied for 200 and got nowhere
 
fuzzy said:
getting a job as an apprentice is KEY, dont worry too much about college, apply by all means but remember the best way into the industry, in fact the only way to get fully qualified is to get employment/apprenticeship in the industry.

apply for 500 jobs, you think im kidding, i know people who have applied for 200 and got nowhere
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help.
Do you think its worth me having a go at this ?
 
if there are any apprenticeships going they will be taking on them now as college will be starting around end of august start of september so give it your best shot
 
Im still deciding on whether to pursue Plumbing or an Electrician.
Majority of my family have said Plumbing but they are no experts.
I have read around and the pay seems to be similiar so i suppose it will come down to which one is more enjoyable and which one gets more work i suppose.
 
Electricians have a slightly higher rate than plumbers but it depends on what you are doing as a lot of work is piece work (for a price).
Compare these official electricians rates with the plumbers ones i gave you earlier
[DLMURL="http://www.jib.org.uk/hlw080910.htm"]JIB Industrial Determination 2008 / 2009 / 2010[/DLMURL]

If you are thinking of trying to get an apprenticeship in any trade then now is the time to start applying as most positions will be filled by school leavers by the end of July, start of August.
Apply to everyone you can think of. Bigger companies, councils etc always take some on. With small firms a personal visit to their yard first thing in the morning with your CV might work better (it shows you are willing to get up out your bed in the morning). Don't get dishartened if you don't get many replies. It may come down to luck more than anything else but the more you try the shorter the odds.
Good luck
 
Last edited by a moderator:
leelister6 said:
Read some of the similar threads on here......................Then think again!
Click to expand...

Very good idea. Because like everyone here, I don't want to be rude to anyone, but people need to be told the situation factually. We're all a bit sick of telling people that the market is saturated. Yes you can still make a comfortable living if you're a good plumber but there is more to it than that. You have to be a people person, confident in dealing with jo public, able to work with initiative, cope with pressure, be self motivated, and have some natural ability on the tools.

Of course even if you have all this, you need dedication to building a good customer base and reputation, deal with mountains of paperwork, be able to quote, invoice, and finacially plan ahead.

Once you've mastered all this, you better hope that there is room for another plumber in your area and you better be better than most of the established competition.

Lots of people do make the cut and carve out a living (its hard work) the majority of people go back to their old job.
 
What the hell is the deal with the avatar Mr Plumb. Not exactly my cup of tea. Bit inappropriate.
 
Dannypipe said:
Very good idea. Because like everyone here, I don't want to be rude to anyone, but people need to be told the situation factually. We're all a bit sick of telling people that the market is saturated. Yes you can still make a comfortable living if you're a good plumber but there is more to it than that. You have to be a people person, confident in dealing with jo public, able to work with initiative, cope with pressure, be self motivated, and have some natural ability on the tools.

Of course even if you have all this, you need dedication to building a good customer base and reputation, deal with mountains of paperwork, be able to quote, invoice, and finacially plan ahead.

Once you've mastered all this, you better hope that there is room for another plumber in your area and you better be better than most of the established competition.

Lots of people do make the cut and carve out a living (its hard work) the majority of people go back to their old job.
Click to expand...

If i enjoy Plumbing im willing to put hard work effort and everything it takes to make it work.
This is will be something i will do for the rest of my life.
 
whos this mr plumb and what was his avatar ? im guessing hes been removed ?
 
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