How Many Jobs

[jaydebruyne]

i'm happy doing 3 jobs a day.
sod that, i'd rather be home with my feet up than killing myself.
cant beat the odd day where you got 6 done and a grin on your face with 5-600 in your pocket tho.

What types of jobs would pay you like that redraw?

Just curious. At the mo my boss is paying for me to get gas safe (1 day a week at college for 6 months). I know what he's paying me isn't top dollar but we are both getting something out of our arrangement. Me, experience. Him, a cheap plumber. But I will be going solo in a couple of years once I get a bit more experience under my belt and I've given back some time in repayment for paying for my gas safe.

 

[PlumbersMate]

I don't even earn that in a week :/ in the end, my 1st two jobs were swapped with a job replacing 2 rad valves on a communal system in a block of flats, 1 was a standard 15mm valve and the other went on 1/2 inch steel pipe. Only managed to do that, a reactive to radiator issues and replacing a bar shower mixer by 4pm. I was willing to do 2 others but the custards wanted to reschedule. But I know I'm probably gonna get pulled up on it

so you're expected to do all that each day and you don't earn £400 p/wk, what wanchors are you working for?

 

[lame plumber]

tescos pay more than £400 a week to shelf stackers

 

[jaydebruyne]

so you're expected to do all that each day and you don't earn £400 p/wk, what wanchors are you working for?

The guy I work for is a nice guy. But at the end of the day he's a business man and his aim is to earn money, not worry about how I feel. Apparently (as one guy told me who has worked for him for over 10 years), he'll push you and push you to get as many jobs out of you as possible. BUT, he has given me a chance and is paying for me to become gas safe when nobody else was willing to. So I can't complain, even if I am driving around like a crazy man trying to rush from job to job! I just wanted to know if 8 jobs was normal or if I was just being really bloody slow not being able to complete my list - Needless to say the responses have made me feel so much better - thanks everyone

 

[jaydebruyne]

tescos pay more than £400 a week to shelf stackers

Are they hiring?

 

[WaterTight]

my hope is that once you can do jobbing and if you're a nice enough sort, you can rest assured that even if you end up old and with no money you can get by comfortably by spending a few leisurely hours a day being well paid by a long and hard earned clientelle for decent work that is done properly and unrushed.

 

[REDSAW]

my missus worked at tesco once, evening shifts at £11.50ph weekends @x2.
that was 3 years ago and i heard morrisons pay more!!!

 

[jaydebruyne]

my hope is that once you can do jobbing and if you're a nice enough sort, you can rest assured that even if you end up old and with no money you can get by comfortably by spending a few leisurely hours a day being well paid by a long and hard earned clientelle for decent work that is done properly and unrushed.

To be able to work unrushed sounds like a dream. As soon as I get into a place I can hear the clock ticking.. tick to tick toc.... I don't like working like that. I like to take my time, do things right (not to say I don't now, but I'm new and I want to learn and take things in, not just do do do).

 

[WaterTight]

My worry is that when I do less work and clock of earlier I'm more inclined to be lazy, eat too much drink too much in between.

 

[cr0ft]

The guy I work for is a nice guy. But at the end of the day he's a business man and his aim is to earn money, not worry about how I feel. Apparently (as one guy told me who has worked for him for over 10 years), he'll push you and push you to get as many jobs out of you as possible. BUT, he has given me a chance and is paying for me to become gas safe when nobody else was willing to. So I can't complain, even if I am driving around like a crazy man trying to rush from job to job! I just wanted to know if 8 jobs was normal or if I was just being really bloody slow not being able to complete my list - Needless to say the responses have made me feel so much better - thanks everyone

A good business man would realise that his staff are his best asset and that over-working them leads to mistakes and ****ed off staff that want to leave, like in your case it seems!

4 short jobs each day is an achievable amount all plumbers will be capable of and it will earn a business enough to keep you employed. They get a good balance between work and home time, they don't feel they have to rush and quality of work doesn't suffer. That means we get more customers in the longer term and grow quicker.

 

[Millsy 82]

A good business man would realise that his staff are his best asset and that over-working them leads to mistakes and ****ed off staff that want to leave, like in your case it seems!

4 short jobs each day is an achievable amount all plumbers will be capable of and it will earn a business enough to keep you employed. They get a good balance between work and home time, they don't feel they have to rush and quality of work doesn't suffer. That means we get more customers in the longer term and grow quicker.

I agree with you there and that's probably why I've had 13 jobs in 16 years, I always got fed up of rushing round like a maniac and not getting home until late most nights.

The one thing I do disagree with is 4 jobs I think 6 can be done easily during the day unless they go over an hour job then obviously adjust that accordingly.

 

[tomplumb83]

Haven't done an immersion in a long time but if were talking an unvented 210 litre cylinder bottom entry I wouldn't like to guess how long it would take - surely at least 3-4 hours though? 2 jobs a day.

 

[jaydebruyne]

I agree with you there and that's probably why I've had 13 jobs in 16 years, I always got fed up of rushing round like a maniac and not getting home until late most nights.

The one thing I do disagree with is 4 jobs I think 6 can be done easily during the day unless they go over an hour job then obviously adjust that accordingly.

I don't mind 6 jobs a day as long as they're close together. But they never are. today I had 7 jobs. I live in west London and my last job tonight was in North London to drain down and change a rad and 2 rad valves, plus go to 2 different merchants not very close together to pick up parts beforehand. The job before that was in west London. Needless to say I didn't go.

 

[jaydebruyne]

A good business man would realise that his staff are his best asset and that over-working them leads to mistakes and ****ed off staff that want to leave, like in your case it seems!.

I don't want to leave, I like working for him. I just wish I had some breathing space so I could take things in, take my time and learn.

 

[Ermintrude]

I'm looking forward to the challenge. These are spaced out between SE, SW, E and W London. Hopefully traffic won't be a nightmare

Flexi that. U got company helicopter. ?

 

[jaydebruyne]

Flexi that. U got company helicopter. ?

Haha in a conversation I had with myself in the van today as I was pretending to speak to my boss, I said I left my wings at home so unfortunately I wouldn't be able to fly across London today

 

[tomplumb83]

How much is your gaffer charging you out at?

 

[jaydebruyne]

How much is your gaffer charging you out at?

After pimp tax? Haha

 

[armyash]

How many jobs do you guys clear on an average 8 or 9 hour day? Obviously it hugely depends on what the jobs are but general plumbing stuff like the list below (as well as picking the parts up):

2 x bristan shower heads replacement
Immersion replacement
Reactive - no hot water
Bar mixer replacement
Reactive - Leaking tap
Toilet handle replacement
Kitchen tap replacement
Kitchen tap & concealed shower valve replacement

I'd say that is a good amount of work for a day. I get a similar amount of jobs if not more most days but some will also be gas jobs. I always think to myself, if I was self employed would I be happy with what I would have earned from the jobs I completed if I was charging them out myself and if I answer yes then I am satisfied I have justified my wages for the day.