Career change to plumber

[Rowdey]

Hi all,

I am currently working as a support worker, looking after adults with learning difficulties. I, as im sure lots of others do, want more money. I was thinking of doing and doing a nursing degree, but if im completely honest with myself - its just not me. I dont care enough about others and i REALLY should if i were to become a nurse.

I've always been good with my hands and know a few bits and pieces that my dad has shown me over the years, so im thinking of trying to become a plumber. Does anyone know of any recommendable places to do a course? Or maybe an apprenticeship??

I've looked online and found something that sounds a bit too good to be true, New Career Skills, they offer a 12-18 month course which i can fit around my job, and at the end of it they even help me to find a job and offer further support where required.

I'm a bit lost with all this as i never even bothered with college after school, so any advice would be massively appreciated

There were a few dodgy establishments around a year or so ago that promised you'd be qualifed in months!! I've been in the game for going on 40years and believe me I still come across stuff that baffles me!!

As said, please be careful with companies typically saying your'll earn '£100k a year & we'll place you with a job' etc - It's littered with people who have spunked their redundancy on £5-9k course with unfulfilled promises.
Your'd be better off paying £5k to a plumbing company, and getting on the job training, and going to college couple of days a week.
Or actually start a company Training would be Plumbers.. Much more money in it..!

Start by researching exactly what you get for your money -here's a place to start and see how others have fallen.. http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/plumbing-courses/

Oh, and if you're going to be looking at other aspects of the building trade have a look at painting/decorating. My Dad has done that since he was 16 and it's afforded him a decent lifestyle, nice house and allowed him to support a wife and two kids.

Good for him, but P+D in my experience are the lowest paid per day, and the first job for home owners to cut from their budget and do themselves..

To be honest i don't think any job will make me happy! But as long as the pay is good and there is some banter, and its not too strenuous then im sure i will cope!

Haha lying on your back thumbing the bottom of a sink?

Or having to do a 'live' swap on a stopcock, when it's squirting out 30 Liters a minute of freezing cold water at you.. That's apprentice training in my book.

My brother did a plumbing course at a Worthing college two years ago.
He did an intensive course, never missed a lesson over 12 months and finish top of his class. The last part was to work with a plumber so that he could be tested. He contacted plumbers from Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and London. He contacted every plumber in the yellow pages volunteering to work for nothing, only to get the experience so that an inspector could be called to check his work so he could complete the no-corgi part of his city and guilds.
He did have about 3 replies. He was at this time 38.
He wasted a lot of money he couldn't afford. Lets hope if you do this course the same doesn't happen to you (Apologies have not read all the posts).

See that's the thing, training co's say ' We'll give you the theory, then just find a company to complete the practical..'
It's very difficult to find companies who will give a 'clipboard joe' a place, knowing when he's done, that he's going to bugger off and start his own company up and want to nick your business..

Find a company first, knuckle down, get paid shite money for a while,and learn from time served pro's.

Other stuff you noted/mentioned:
Money - Know that 'site' plumbers have seen their work dry up; hardly any new build happening right now, so they have come into the private sector, undercutting prices, doing crappy things like taking rads off/on for plasterers for £40.. Yikes - £40, minus tax, NI, Public liability Ins, petrol, parking, Lunch.. Whats left..?!


Holidays - Two weeks out unpaid.. Yikes..

Finish and put your feet when you get home..? Not likely.. At night, you go and see new clients, do invoices, work out where the VAT money's gone this quarter.. etc etc


If you're still up for it, then great do it, and hurry the f*ck up

 

[Worthingite]

Oh i might have to have a look! I am 22, im leaving it a bit late to decide where i want to go in life. Probably due to my drug fuelled teens, wish i'd been more motivated to do something!
Thanks though, will have a butchers

Have you considered a career in the "pharmaceutics" industry? Working from home, keep your own hours, money is apparently very reasonable.

That said, ownership of at least 1 Staffy or Alsatian, and a BMW is required

 

[Benjyman1990]

As said, please be careful with companies typically saying your'll earn '£100k a year & we'll place you with a job' etc - It's littered with people who have spunked their redundancy on £5-9k course with unfulfilled promises.
Your'd be better off paying £5k to a plumbing company, and getting on the job training, and going to college couple of days a week.
Or actually start a company Training would be Plumbers.. Much more money in it..!

Start by researching exactly what you get for your money -here's a place to start and see how others have fallen.. http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/plumbing-courses/



Good for him, but P+D in my experience are the lowest paid per day, and the first job for home owners to cut from their budget and do themselves..




Or having to do a 'live' swap on a stopcock, when it's squirting out 30 Liters a minute of freezing cold water at you.. That's apprentice training in my book.



See that's the thing, training co's say ' We'll give you the theory, then just find a company to complete the practical..'
It's very difficult to find companies who will give a 'clipboard joe' a place, knowing when he's done, that he's going to bugger off and start his own company up and want to nick your business..

Find a company first, knuckle down, get paid shite money for a while,and learn from time served pro's.

Other stuff you noted/mentioned:
Money - Know that 'site' plumbers have seen their work dry up; hardly any new build happening right now, so they have come into the private sector, undercutting prices, doing crappy things like taking rads off/on for plasterers for £40.. Yikes - £40, minus tax, NI, Public liability Ins, petrol, parking, Lunch.. Whats left..?!


Holidays - Two weeks out unpaid.. Yikes..

Finish and put your feet when you get home..? Not likely.. At night, you go and see new clients, do invoices, work out where the VAT money's gone this quarter.. etc etc


If you're still up for it, then great do it, and hurry the f*ck up

Top man! Thanks for all the advice, you've put me right off with the last bit but in all honesty, its gotta be better than wiping bums!!

 

[Benjyman1990]

Have you considered a career in the "pharmaceutics" industry? Working from home, keep your own hours, money is apparently very reasonable.

That said, ownership of at least 1 Staffy or Alsatian, and a BMW is required

Hahaha i could deal with the dog and the BMW!!

 

[smeariestbat]

mate, i was in the building game and left to do support work. Hours are long, hard graft, no-one pays you holiday money so you need to earn loads in order to be able to afford the time off. then, when i was on holiday, unpaid, i just found myself thinking that i should be out working, i'm losing money and not enjoying my holiday. And there is no way you could switch off when you got home, always something you could be doing. updating website etc.

you spend all your time worrying about how much work you have lined up and when/where the next job will be. quoting is a nightmare, factor in all your overheads, petrol, public liability etc etc. and if you work for someone, in this economic downturn the apprentice will be the first to go when times are tough.

fair play if you want to do it bud, but after 10 years i'd had enough of my time on the tools.

 

[chesneyhawkes]

I have just finished an electrical installation course and that was 3 long years. If you can i would suggest the apprenticeship route as the main thing employers look for is experience and i find myself in limbo at the moment. It is a bit bleak out on the work front at the moment from what i have found, employers can take their pick at the moment. I would also be vary wary about going on any of the trades forums they are full of doom and gloom, still it might be worth a look to see what route other people have taken. Good luck, i think 22 is a very good age to be making a change i was 33 when i decided to go back to college.

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

mate, i was in the building game and left to do support work. Hours are long, hard graft, no-one pays you holiday money so you need to earn loads in order to be able to afford the time off. then, when i was on holiday, unpaid, i just found myself thinking that i should be out working, i'm losing money and not enjoying my holiday. And there is no way you could switch off when you got home, always something you could be doing. updating website etc.

you spend all your time worrying about how much work you have lined up and when/where the next job will be. quoting is a nightmare, factor in all your overheads, petrol, public liability etc etc. and if you work for someone, in this economic downturn the apprentice will be the first to go when times are tough.

fair play if you want to do it bud, but after 10 years i'd had enough of my time on the tools.

Depends what you want,he could always go and work for someone and not go self employed,the rewards are not as good but it takes a lot of the stress you point out away.
I'm a self employed carpenter and what you say is true,but you can't beat being your own boss.on the flip side to what you say,I can just take an afternoon off to go and watch my sons sports day or crack on with a job and just go home at 3oclock without any worry.having done a 3 1/2 year apprenticeship years ago and worked for people for 20 years I decided to go on my own about 6 years ago and could never go and work for someone again.

 

[Seagull58]

Loads of people don't sort their careers out util they're 40 or so. It's defo not too late to have a go at something different and see if it works. Good luck.

 

[Seagull58]

Hmmmm interesting! I dont see myself as a brick layer particularly, perhaps the thought of lugging shit loads of bricks up a ladder puts me off! But perhaps plastering could be a good one! Roofing is a no go for me, im shit with heights!

Plastering. Go for it. Here's why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXuRvthgn4U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON-7v4qnHP8

 

[Woodchip]

Work in IT. It's a piece of piss, the money is good and you barely have to lift a finger.

 

[Woodchip]

Have you considered a career in the "pharmaceutics" industry? Working from home, keep your own hours, money is apparently very reasonable.

That said, ownership of at least 1 Staffy or Alsatian, and a BMW is required

Get with the times, grandad. It's Audi's now. BMWs are so last decade!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Oh i might have to have a look! I am 22, im leaving it a bit late to decide where i want to go in life. Probably due to my drug fuelled teens, wish i'd been more motivated to do something!

22 is just a baby - you've still got loads of time yet. I was 30 before I decided and still have a nasty suspicion that it was the wrong choice.

PS the world cannot have enough carpenters, plumbers, electricions etc. Its murder trying to find one who is any good, available and affordable, all at the same time.

 

[Woodchip]

If you do train as a plumber then by the time you qualify (2 years roughly) then you could head down this way and help with the rebuilding of Christchurch.

 

[Benjyman1990]

Thanks everyone! Apart from [MENTION=24519]smeariestbat[/MENTION], thanks for your negativity
Im gonna have a good think about my options but im pretty sure im gonna look into plumbing. I cant face an office job because i'd get far too bored and probably put on weight due to the lack of exercise!! And i feel like i need a change from what i am doing now. I could probably put up with it for another year perhaps but i cant see myself doing it until i retire, no chance.