Change of career to Heating Engineer

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I was in the same boat as you mate, I was down a different path however.

I left college at 18 to go University, stuck it out for around 4 months and left because I hated being known as a 'lazy student' - I then went into the police, passed my interviews and assessments and was shafted by their HR department when they told me I couldn't progress as they had made 'Clerical mistakes' with the amount of officers they allowed to train. Then went into CAD design, stuck through it for as long as I could but hated sitting on my bum watching my life drain away before me.

So I chose plumbing, gave up policing and University to be a plumber. Why? Because it's the self pride of knowing you have a trade, knowing your a plumber in itself is quite rewarding, I may not be fully qualified yet (Only on my NVQ 2) but I still feel a sense of pride.

Believe me, if you didn't want to do it you'd know within the first day of being an apprentice. Waking up at half 5 every morning, coming home in agony, looking like a tramp on the train home and busting your balls is all part of the learning process, one that's worth it in the end.

Contrary to above, there is money to be made in this game. You need to be a good businessman and know your stuff with your hands however before you can even imagine earning what they tell you in the papers. If you want your own business which makes good profit prepare for 60+ hour weeks and find a good accountant.
 
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Said it before and i will say it again TILING TILING TILING!!!!!

Half the outlay ,need only one braincell and still bag four figure pay packets
 
I think the phrase the grass is always greener on the other side is very apt here. We do tiling and plastering work as part of our building projects. I don't mind doing them, I think we do them to a very high standard but I certainly wouldn't want to do them full time. Both are physically very tiring jobs, much more so than plumbing imho. We use a plasterer who we subcontract in on bigger projects and I am both full of pity and admiration for him. He's been working on the tools for longer than I've been alive but his shoulders must be absolutely knackered.

The money the papers throw about can come your way but certainly not as a non-gas plumber in a one man business. Our business really started to take off when we added electrical work into the mix of things we do. I can imagine gas work being the same. Any work that homeowners aren't supposed to do themselves attracts a premium and if you can get into that you will earn much more. Pretty obvious really!

Don't think people on here are being doom and gloom merchants (although perhaps some are 🙂 ) but don't expect to be earning much for 3 to 4 years.
 
First time I have posted on this forum, very interesting the conversation developing.

I think I am in a fortunate position where I can grow the business, I do accept that there is a cost when you set a business up.

I have been in recruitment for 10 years now and all the job satisfaction has gone, but I have learnt how to deal with a wide variety of people.

I was thinking, I am going to get on the job training with a plumber/heating engineer working 3 days a week with him. If I combine that with doing a course in tiling and plastering, would that be a good combination of skills. Unfortunately as I am colour blind being a sparky is out of the question.

Thanks for all the feedback.
 
I worked with my dad when i started ( Labouring mostly / learning general building work ) Which i think was a good start as i learnt alot in most areas of domestic construction (Carpentry, groundwork, tiling, roofing, brickwork, etc etc )
Personally i think you need to be able to do basic carpentry and brickwork atleast for the areas of the job which are necessary i.e bricking up old flues and lifting boards
As you don't want to be working like some plumbers (Not lifting floor boards have to wait for carpenter etc)
I have nt done alot of electrics as i get my brother to as he's faster and knows more
 
Most sparky's wiring heating seem to be colour blind anyway so don't let that put you off, if you have contacts and can live on poor earnings for a few years fine, Position you are in you must see who gets the cream payment, its certainly not the trades-man doing the work
 
OP
You tend to do this job because you have to, not because you want to!
Ive been plumbing since leaving school so I dont know any different but if you already have a steady job with decent pay things must be bad to consider plumbing!
No pension, no added benefits (other than said milfs, of which ive never sampled. Honest), very average pay after expenses, no holiday pay, lots of stress & hassle
No reason why you cant make a go of it but it all depends on your situation whether its worthwhile or not.
 
strepsi said:
First time I have posted on this forum, very interesting the conversation developing.

I think I am in a fortunate position where I can grow the business, I do accept that there is a cost when you set a business up.

I have been in recruitment for 10 years now and all the job satisfaction has gone, but I have learnt how to deal with a wide variety of people.

I was thinking, I am going to get on the job training with a plumber/heating engineer working 3 days a week with him. If I combine that with doing a course in tiling and plastering, would that be a good combination of skills. Unfortunately as I am colour blind being a sparky is out of the question.

Thanks for all the feedback.
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If you are going to start off doing plumbing then you certainly are going to want to combine that with tiling/plastering and look at doing bathrooms yourself. There is good money in fully doing bathrooms and to be honest it's not a huge leap from there to do kitchens (in fact kitchens are easier). If you aren't going to be gas safe registered or an electrician then to earn good money you need to be doing bathrooms really. Otherwise all you are left with is smaller jobs as the larger jobs like changing a hot water cylinder will normally go to gas fitters when they do boiler swaps.

Do not underestimate the effect the arrival of plastic pipe has had on the plumbing industry!! It's really devalued the industry by making it much easier for Joe Public to do their own repairs. Even if the pipe inevitably ends up bursting at some point (the weak point is the o-rings and when they go they go)!

I need to start offering courses in tiling and plastering I think, to out of area people wanting to get into the trade! It's not hard to be plastering a wall/ceiling well by the end of a 5 day course that's for sure. It's just knowing your limits. Bathroom sized rooms are easy. Large living rooms are not so much so.
 
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jtsplumbing said:
Most sparky's wiring heating seem to be colour blind anyway so don't let that put you off, if you have contacts and can live on poor earnings for a few years fine, Position you are in you must see who gets the cream payment, its certainly not the trades-man doing the work
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Sadly not. The money goes to the person who is getting the jobs or the builders at the top of the chain on new build developments.

It's not uncommon to hear of self employed plumbers bringing in £18-£20k per year, i.e. as much as they could earn on an employed basis. That's once they are established.

The potential is definitely there for you to earn more than your current job but of course the risk of starting up is something like 90% of businesses fail within the first year.

I am always pointing out to the lads when I see a new plumbing company around Lincoln. In nearly all of these cases you don't see the vans again within 6 months.
 
cr0ft said:
Sadly not. The money goes to the person who is getting the jobs or the builders at the top of the chain on new build developments.

It's not uncommon to hear of self employed plumbers bringing in £18-£20k per year, i.e. as much as they could earn on an employed basis. That's once they are established.

The potential is definitely there for you to earn more than your current job but of course the risk of starting up is something like 90% of businesses fail within the first year.

I am always pointing out to the lads when I see a new plumbing company around Lincoln. In nearly all of these cases you don't see the vans again within 6 months.
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Get the same here, New van, set of shiny tools, expensive work cloths and not forgetting the compulsory iPhone/ipad, 6mths van is back with lease Co, case of running B4 you can walk.
 
jtsplumbing said:
Get the same here, New van, set of shiny tools, expensive work cloths and not forgetting the compulsory iPhone/ipad, 6mths van is back with lease Co, case of running B4 you can walk.
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Hey, I have one of those compulsory iPhones lol. T'was the first treat I've bought on my business for myself though in 6 years. We don't lease our vans, we own them and they are 6 years old now (eek). Both really low mileage and will probably last another 6 before I replace them (not for new ones).
 
It's common knowledge that around 80% of businesses won't gain profit within the first year, I think it's where lads/ladies lose money in their first year and don't like this, so they abandon being self employed, the well established companies consist of constant well researched marketing, understanding their overheads and most of all having the hunger to succeed. I'd say a huge sum of luck is also needed in order to do well in this game.
 
TheCockneyScot said:
It's common knowledge that around 80% of businesses won't gain profit within the first year, I think it's where lads/ladies lose money in their first year and don't like this, so they abandon being self employed, the well established companies consist of constant well researched marketing, understanding their overheads and most of all having the hunger to succeed. I'd say a huge sum of luck is also needed in order to do well in this game.
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Undoubtedly luck is a key component in success. I know good plumbers who struggle and crap ones who seem to be able to pluck money out of thin air.
 
Without a doubt luck, if anything overweighs everything else. I won't mention anyone in perticular but I used to do work for a guy up in Central London who used to be a BG engineer, he openly said to me that he has no clue about basic plumbing, just the heating side mainly, yet he would go to houses and charge ludicrous sums of money for work he had little knowledge of, I can't say how much he was earning but a rough estimate would be around £50K, luck was a huge part in his success.
 
He must have been a fairly charismatic to convert the jobs though! Imo you make your own luck in life and business. Like I said, being a good salesperson is sadly more important than being a top tradesman in this game.
 
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Ive been in the game 30 odd years and every week I must think if only I had done better at school..brum
 
In regards ealier post, had a conversation with plumber that I am "working" with 3 days a week (or it will be). He is going to teach me the plumbing and tiling, I am going to get myself on one of these "intensive" courses and learn plastering and joiner/carpentry. I am going to try and guess what response I will get with regards "intensive" course.

I do accept I will need to gain experience within these skills also.

Cheers
 
Good on you for having a go, But what are you like working with your hands, how meny courses do you intend doing ? Plumbing / Tiling / Carpentry / Joiner, its going to cost a fortune , and if you don't have any practical ability you will be wasting your money, Stick with the Plumber for 2/3 Mths to see how you take to it B4 you lay out money on 'intensive training' Good luck with it !!
 
kay-jay said:
Undoubtedly luck is a key component in success. I know good plumbers who struggle and crap ones who seem to be able to pluck money out of thin air.
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That doesnt prove its "luck" Kev.

It just proves that there are skills and attributes other than technical competence that contribute to success.

A reasonable plumber with excellent people skills will out-earn an excellent plumber with reasonable people skills IMHO.
 
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