recently qualified electricain advice

[youngsparkie]

Hi guys

I'm new to the forum and I think I will be using it frequently as it looks very useful to some one like myself.

About myself I'm 22 and qualified as an installation electrician a year ago and got my JIB gold card, I started my apprenticeship at the age of 16 and a lot of the time felt like quitting for probably as you guys know the reasons for apprentices feeling like that but thankfully I listened to my parents and stuck at it and got where I am now . I feel a little bit embarrassed and rude asking for help and advice on my very first post but I think I need some advice from people more experienced than me and more knowledgeable about my trade than I am.

I'm currently employed by a big company in the uk based in the west of England (who I did my apprenticeship with) and I'm not entirely happy where I am regarding my employment. I know there is a belief that young lads are perceived to want the world but I am a thinking man and I no the grass isn't always greener, and the way the world is I need to box clever. when I qualified my company put me straight on the full rate they pay for electricians which is 13.50. I was and still am over the moon with that wage as iv been working hard for years to obtain it and to be honest with you I was very surprised they put me on it as even though i am qualified i am still in experienced and have a lot to learn but there we go. we mostly do refurbs and work away from home nationally around the uk doing long days lots of travelling and hours you guys can probably tell where I'm at. Like a lot of people I have become bored of the company i am working for and am wanting to change employment for different reasons that I think are common for tradesmen, that I'm sure you guys have experienced in your time sparkying. I consider myself good at my job, I'm confident in my own ability but by no means a cocky know it all I have a lot to learn still and I don't think I will ever stop learning in this trade.

iv been looking into other companies and applying for jobs but not having a lot of luck, I'm putting that down to my inexperience but have become deflated that I haven't had any interest back off of these companies. I then began to look into agency work but am kind of scared to take the plunge from the security of the job I have now so I'm kind of left thinking what do I do and where should I be looking to go regarding my job as an electrician. do i stick it out where i am now and gain more experience and knowledge? one day i would like to go self employed but I think its too early for that right now what do you guys think? Any help or advice I would be seriously grateful for as I'm newly qualified and just trying to get the best deal I possibly can and to be honest get out of working away.

any advice or pointers would be appreciated!

stay safe guys

 

[Evans Electric]

You sound like you have your head screwed on the right way  Youngsparkiemelad !!! 

At 22 you start to learn in earnest  because you don't have the excuse that I'm just an apprentii.   And you are aware of that so all is good.  

I'd like to return later ....you're on the right Forum here , don't be afraid to ask , I'm still learning at after 100yrs in the trade and even these reallt ancient guys like Steptoe  are still learning .  :innocent

Two things I'll say before dissapearing .......  you are , at the moment , on a really dire contract , as in....  travelling.... refurbing council houses I presume .. its a learning curve but you can't continue on that stuff.

Second.......  think seriously about agency work ...I hate them with a vengance ..... creaming off a profit from your hard earned skills while sitting on their asses in the warm & dry.  

I don't think theres a great exchange of labour at the moment ...certainly not if you're an apprentice .    

Hone your skills  and then theres nothing to be afraid of in going self employed . 

Do you have any skills in Commercial & industrial by the way ?    Catch up later .

 

[Andy™]

i dont think he'd be going all over the UK refurbishing council houses, more like commercial refurbs

 

[youngsparkie]

thanks for your quick replies,

thankyou for the nice comments evans electric, I'm currently doing pub refurbs etc and yeah the word is dire to say the least, spent a fair chunk of time on them now and need a change as I almost feel like I cant learn anymore by working on them, yeah it pays the bills but I want to see more and do more if you get me.

The thing that attracts me with agency work is the element of freedom that I can see in it but I don't know what its like to be doing it so I might be wrong there but your right about them creaming off a profit! commercial yes done majority of my work there (hotels, shop fitting, pub refurbs, various new installs) and a bit of industrial work too and lots of domestic too.

I want to leave where I am at the moment but I'm scared of shooting myself in the foot as I think for my age and experience iv landed on my feet wages wise. I worked my backside off to get qualified and now I'm here I'm struggling to see where and what type of work I need to be going into, but the idea of self employed is becoming more and more appealing but I know there are two sides to the coin in that department.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Welcome to the forum....

With the economy the way it is at the moment every employer will be tying to extract every pound of flesh, plus a bit more, out of their employees.

The old phrase "better the devil you know then the devil your don't know" is often a very true statement.

I can't really comment on agency work but you will be losing a lot of employment rights if you are no longer employed!   holidays, sick-pay, redundancy pay, regular monthly income etc..

So it is a decision that should not be taken lightly.

As for self employment;   anyone who is prepared to put in some hard graft and not expect an easy ride, will stand a chance at self employment...

But you do also  have to remember...

• Not all good tradesmen are good businessmen.
  
• Quoting, Paperwork, Invoices, Sales & Marketing, Accountancy and Tax are just a few of the basic skills or awareness that has to be added to your trades-man's skills.
  
• Some people are forced into alternative employment by redundancy, but if you are going to jump of your own self will, it is far better to get as much set up before the final jump so as to minimise the duration  you are waiting before you start earning money again.
  
• Every self employed person has periods when business is slow or quiet, so you need financial reserves to see you through the lean times.
  
• Many books recommend having three-months worth of money put aside so if work or cash flow slow down you have a buffer to see you by.
  
• To maintain your standard of living equivalent to when you were employed, you typically need to earn double as a self employed person to cover the additional overheads.
  
• More than half of all small businesses fail within the first five years of trading.
  
• Legally HMRC are happy with people being both an employee and self employed. However some employers have employment rules restricting work in similar fields that may bring conflict of interests.
  
• A single person still living at Mom & Dads will get by easier than someone in a relationship with young children and mortgage or rent to pay every month! 
  

opcorn

 

[steptoe]

avoid agency like the plague if you can

most agency workers are 5weekwonders [ime recently] , and a lot of employers are onto that now, especially with not a massive amount of experience you have

stick out where you are if you can,

its not maybe ideal, but get what experience behind you as best you can,

 

[Evans Electric]

Hmmmmm   I don't know why I thought you were on council house refurbs ... its an age thing :C     You're getting valuable experience at the moment and good money too I'd guess.   So I'd say make sure you know where you will land before jumping ship.   

As my good friend Mr Steptoe has said ....agencies are the Devil's handmaidens .....they're just bloodsuckers ....you  got through your apprenticship ...you learned the skills required .....you bought your tools ... you supply & drive your own vehicle..... you turn up onsite in the freezing cold and they're creaming a percentage off your pay ......naw!  Theres better ways of earning a living than that . 

I would say .... stick with it a bit longer ... take an interest in how the jobs are being  organised ...could you do it better etc etc ....keep an eye out for a better position ...one with more normal hours ....   but think about self employed also , but you must have connections ....its all about having connections & knowing the right people who are willing to use you .

If you think there is a vacuum in your area for a local sparks on the domestic side  then to be honest , I'd go SE ...name on the van ...start to become known in the area...cultivate a couple of builders ....join a scheme so you can sign off your jobs to Local Building Control.  

 

[dmxrr]

Hi youngsparkie,

I'm 25 and did an Installation apprenticeship like you, I stayed with the company for 3 years after my apprenticeship. I luckily got a break in a cement terminal which handled rail tanker and ship operations, quick learning curve but I'm glad somebody took the chance on me. Now I've moved over to the port and work on coal conveyors, CSU's and grab gantrys. 

Work on Your CV and aim for Maintenance roles if you really want to progress and be in a job that your learning something new everyday.

 

[binky]

Hmmm, I would suggest you talk to your employers about expanding your skills eg 2391 ( whatever that has become now) fire alarms, door entry systems, or whatever else you fancy learning. It never hurts to show willingness to learn new skills that may also open up additional works for the company. Putting a few years on top of being qualified will also make you far more employable to someone else, and £13.50 isn't bad.

 

[M107]

Agency :vomit ........................Stick where you are for awhile longer, get some more recognised quals under your belt to pass the time & then bang your CV about.

 

[youngsparkie]

Hi guys, 

thanks for your responses sorry I haven't got back to you guys Iv been flat out. Iv spoke it over with a few people and I have come to this conclusion that I like the idea of agency purely because of the freedom of not being tied down to anyone and I'm on my own accord to such an extent but the negatives of that outweighs the positives massively so I don't think that is a good idea for me. I think I'm gonna continue with applying for jobs elsewhere until something turns up, and I think going self employed a few years down the line is a real option for me now and in the mean time more experience will be essential. I guess it's just hard sometimes when your somewhere you don't want to be 

 

[Phoenix]

What is it that that you are most unhappy with? it sounds like its the travelling and lodgeing away? I assume they are paying travelling time?

TBH, as things go, I can think of much worse things to be doing than pub re-furbs, Deke mentioned council house re-furbs, thats one of them for sure!

As to self employed, its going to be a lot of hassle with paperwork, dry periods, etc. And unless you mostly end up subbying back to to the large contractors then you are likely to end up doing a pretty high proportion of domestic work, at least to start with. Its alright if you don't mind that, but if the pub refurbs are starting to become boring to you... then domestic certainly will!

 

[Tony S]

If you have contract of employment with the company hang on in there. Agency work is haphazard to say the least. A week here, a week somewhere over the horizon.

If you have dependents relying on you to bring in a steady income. Stay where you are.

Only once have I worked for a specialist engineering agency (totally different to your situation). For three months I enjoyed myself. I knew jack s**t about ceramics but at the end of the three months I was asked to stay on as works engineer.

 

[thebluewaffle]

I've been qualified for 2 years now. Gold carded all that stuff.

I've been trading as a sole trader for the same amount of time. And I wouldn't look back now. 

I was sh#tting it when I first took the plunge. The thought of invoices, tax, customers, not to mention that I am now completley liable for my own works. Was slow at the start, but once word of mouth starts generating, work slowly begins to build up. My work is a great mix of commercial and domestic. I've got regular customers, recommendations, even in with a couple of decent builders (sigh). 

Give it a go. 

Agency work is bullcr@p. They take a nice chunk out of your earnings. I don't graft so some numpty who sits in an office yapping on the phone and tapping away sending emails can take a cut of my hard earnt pennies!

 

[Evans Electric]

I'd agree with all of that Mr Waffler .    Specially the agency bit .

 

[steptoe]

@thebluewaffle

Welcome back, and I'm happy to say its still not your avatar,   msl1:

 

[youngsparkie]

My friend is a plasterer and has gone as a sole trader and has worked out well for him, jobs I have applied for have fell on deaths ears. Might just get myself a van and go from there lol. 

 

[Kurt]

In my 7th year SE. First 6 months was scary, not much work and plenty of leaflet dropping, also did some PAT Testing as a sub-contactor. Following year was subbying again direct with firm at £25pph,i was doing industrial site work and panel building . So for the first 18 months it was not nice but i could see progress. The last 4 and half years have been very good and i now positively dont promote myself out to new clients. In other words i have more than enough work, its now about time for myself (fat chance), lol

Good luck

 

[Evans Electric]

My friend is a plasterer and has gone as a sole trader and has worked out well for him, jobs I have applied for have fell on deaths ears. Might just get myself a van and go from there lol. 

Sounds like you've made your mind up Young'un ....so its four yes's from me , go for it !!   Do you have a wife / 5 kids & a  mortgage to support ?   If not do what I said earlier ,,,, get a van ..get it signwritten .... have a look if theres a local domestic help website such as  "Nextdoor"  in your area and push your self on that  foe bread & butter work .  

So its:-

Get van.

Join Niceic/ ELECSA./ or STROMA  so you can sign off your own jobs .

Get business cards printed

Get to know local builders

Notify Nat.Ins and HMRC

Hand in notice .

Take out Liability Insurance .

Begin new life  as your own boss .   

Come back on here for further advice

GO FOR IT!!!!!!!