what if I don't want to be self employed?

[Tosh]

Hi plumbers of the world.

I finished my C+G and NVQ level 2 over a year ago and have been taking on private jobs on weekends while still working full time in my regular job, and yet I still can't seem to get a job with anyone as a domestic plumber.

Is there something else I should be looking at taking course wise that will help or is this really just the state of the world at the mo with the recession an all.

I've had numerous interviews with some bigger companies and been offered a max of 13K a year which would be impossible for me to survive on but just wondered if there is anyone out there at all looking for a relative newbie or knows of companies hiring guys who don't need a 100K a year jobs but just want to get by.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated ( i live in Essex by the way)

Many Thanks

Tosh

 

[newbie1]

tbh the problem is that plumber shortages have been massively overhyped and as such there is now just too many wanna be plumbers and the employers can be choosy and offer low wages hence the 13k
to be honest with you you are very unlikely to get a company to take you on and offer a liveable wage of shall we say 20k+
its a tough choice you have a job and a wage but hate the job
self employed is tough
van/insurance/public liability/advertising/tools and low wage as it takes years to build a clinet base and covering your bills will be a real struggle
ime afraid too many people have been sold plumbing as the golden goose only to find the reality is so different

 

[johnmcginty]

Hi tosh , I am in the same boat though I am self employed , I think next year i shall be turning over enough of a salary to tick over proplerly . What about going self employed and scaling up the advertising to say £200 a month i.e google adwords (which works wonders for me so far) big coloured ads in local free mags and flyering ...do small jobs and get a weekend job too? It is very tough gong self employed straight away as I all to well know though if I can do this for a couple of years I will definately have enough under my belt the way things are going.

 

[doug]

Ive allways found advertising as a total waste of money. Turn up when you say you are going to turn up. do a good job. and charge a fair price you wont go far wrong

 

[so-solar]

Very true!!! The main thing to remember is 'You are only as good as your last job so do it properly!'
Word of mouth and recomendations are the answer to good business!

 

[voice of reason]

I agree with everything that has been said so far, I have been a self employed plumber for about three months and have been picking up work here and there, mainly by using flyers and local papers.

My local video shop delivers flyers to the local area and we have teamed up to split the costs of delivery. This weekend his staff will deliver 1,000 leaflets, £10 for the leaflets and £20 for delivery.

If you go down the leaflet route, don't be put off by no immediate response, I've had calls from people who have had my leaflet for a couple of weeks.

I wouldn't say that I'm making a living yet but things are slowly improving and I suspect it will be a year or so before I make money every month. I broke even last month Woo Hoo!

One of the problems is that every job I take on I need another tool or a different joint (which inevitably means a trip to the supplier) this cuts into the profit margin. If the part I buy is not too expensive I get two at least then I have a spare!

I have found the learning curve quite steep, but I've got good knowledgeable suppliers who offer advice if I get a problem and can't see the solution. In addition this forum is superb. You get a very quick response.

Give it a go...... but don't expect instant results.

 

[quickturnitoff]

become a plumber and ern 40-45k a year.....looks good for somone with 5k to spend...thing is,loads have done it,and now the games ,by giving answers to questions posted on this site will make life very easy for "the six week plumbers".thus putting another nail in the timeserved plumbers coffin.

 

[voice of reason]

Don't agree with your train of thought really. I am sure that there are a lot of problems that "time served plumbers" come across that a different perspective would help, I just don't see the problem with giving people a little bit of advice. It would be different if the "time served plumber" was asked to complete the task.

I keep reading about the "Fast track plumber" "6 week plumber", only good for carrying tube etc. Although, my plumbing experience is not vast, I have many other skills, which I do not intend to go into here. I don't feel as though I have to justify myself.

However, fast track courses are available in nearly every walk of life, teachers, driving instructors, electricians, plastering etc.

One more point before I never discuss this topic again (I'm sure I will!), on my 10 week course, we were told that no qualifications were needed at all to call yourself a plumber! So, the fact that someone has spent £7K on a course would surely mean that they are serious about this job.

I appreciate reading the forum and learning from other peoples problems and reading the varying replies to those questions, there is more than one way to "skin a rabbit". So, although I may know how to complete the task a different perspective is always helpful.

Thank you to everyone who posts questions and answers them.

 

[david williams]

its not the money you spend on the course its the fact you can not train a plumber in 6 weeks.and when you go and muck up a job and upset another member of the public it reflects on us all

 

[Dave]

I can't see how it reflects on all plumbers if one bad one does a crap job...It will only reflect on the guy who did the job and he gets bad mouthed and no recommends....I can't see a customer who has a bad plumbing job blaming all plumbers....lol lol...

 

[david williams]

I can't see how it reflects on all plumbers if one bad one does a crap job...It will only reflect on the guy who did the job and he gets bad mouthed and no recommends....I can't see a customer who has a bad plumbing job blaming all plumbers....lol lol...

been a plumber for 40 years tried to always do a good job.but recently been going to jobs to repair other plumbers work(hate this but its work) client moans and watches you like a hawk and says things like do you know what your doing ,and yes poor plumbing does reflect on us all.nothing wrong with fast track but you can not be a competant plumber after 6 weeks training why should to public have to pay to train a plumber, when they call you to do a job they expect you to be able to do it all.you would not like it if your garage said our best guy will polish your car but our most inexperienced mechanic will have a go at your brakes he thinks he might be able to do it

 

[bigcheese]

Going back to the OP - I qualified 6 or 7 years ago after doing 3 years at college....I went throught he Yellow Pages and called every single plumber in there. I was told I needed at least 5 years experience, some asked for 10. How can you get the experience if you can't get a job?! So I know exactly what you are going through.

I took on a Soild Fuel Heating engineer job.....chimney sweep!! You may laugh but it got me out of an office job and I gained experience working in peoples homes etc.

I was poached by a guy on the same industrial estate who worked on flood damaged houses. 10% of the job was Plumbing, I picked up plastering, basic electrics, decorating, fitting skirting boards, coving etc.

Then out of the blue, after 6 years of applying, I was called by British Gas offering me an interview. I got through 3 gruelling interviews and they agreed to give me a chance although expressed concerns over my experience. That was 18 months ago and I learn more and more every day, far more than I ever did in college. The wages are good, tools supplied, work from home, good conditions and I get well looked after. They are also talking about putting me through my gas this year. I am just a lowly plumber at the mo.

So all I am saying mate, is it might take a bit of time, but don't give up hope and keep plugging away.

Try vacancies with us at britishgasacademy.co.uk. Thats where I started.

 

[david williams]

good on you mate to make it in this game you have to continue to try ,and continue to learn,the days of easy work for plumbers is over,but some who are keen will always make it