I have done a lot of reading around on this but there seem to be many different bodies, lots of different courses, etc so I'd rather ask those in the know, who do it day in, day out.
First off, I'm an electrical engineer, did a 4 year apprenticeship and have since worked 4 years as an electrical engineer in automotive manufacture, involving installation, maintenance & modifcation of machine tools. Day in, day out work for me is fault finding, with machine mods probably a close second. My 3ph installation work is few & far between, as we have a dedicated dept for that.
Anyway, we're getting hit by the downturn in business and are likely to be approaching a 4 day week, as well as lots of down day that we are already experiencing.
My brother in law runs a roofing firm and often gets asked about electrical jobs, that he outsources to an electrician he uses.
He asked me about getting myself into a positoon to take these small jobs on, to supplement me through the rough patch.
Thing is, I don't really have any domestic qualifications. As part of the apprenticeship I did a BET 1,2 & 3 in electrical installation & testing (doubt it's recognised) and a few years back sat & passed C&G 2381.
As I gather I would have to join a recognised body, update my C&G2381 to 2382 (I've read about a 1 day refresher course for this?) and then pass C&G2391?
Am I right in thinking that the bodies, such as NICEIC have membership fees? Also, as I very rarely do testing, and college was a long while, I'd feel more confortable sitting a beginner/intermediate C&G2391 course, I'm guessing this would probably be a 5 day course at around £800?
Not sure what a one day refresher would cost to get me up to C&G2382.
Then I'd need insurance right?
What about test equipment? I have a coule of Fluke meters, but neither are calibrated. I'd also need insulation resistance & earth loop impedance tester right? Have to keep calibrated?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this will end up being quite an outlay for just a few jobs here & there, unless there is another way? Would I need to go full scope?
I can see that it would be good if I intended to go fully self employed and make a go of it as a business, but I'm not convinced I'd be much better off, and would have a lot more paperwork/hours to go with it.
Without getting personal, is it usual for a domestic electrician to earn around/excess of £40k in the South East? If so then I could see it being worth it, and with my company offering a 30% paid sabbatical (12 months) it could be time to think about a change, but if not, it probably wouldn't be worth it for me.
Hope someone can offer some advice, sorry for the long post!!
First off, I'm an electrical engineer, did a 4 year apprenticeship and have since worked 4 years as an electrical engineer in automotive manufacture, involving installation, maintenance & modifcation of machine tools. Day in, day out work for me is fault finding, with machine mods probably a close second. My 3ph installation work is few & far between, as we have a dedicated dept for that.
Anyway, we're getting hit by the downturn in business and are likely to be approaching a 4 day week, as well as lots of down day that we are already experiencing.
My brother in law runs a roofing firm and often gets asked about electrical jobs, that he outsources to an electrician he uses.
He asked me about getting myself into a positoon to take these small jobs on, to supplement me through the rough patch.
Thing is, I don't really have any domestic qualifications. As part of the apprenticeship I did a BET 1,2 & 3 in electrical installation & testing (doubt it's recognised) and a few years back sat & passed C&G 2381.
As I gather I would have to join a recognised body, update my C&G2381 to 2382 (I've read about a 1 day refresher course for this?) and then pass C&G2391?
Am I right in thinking that the bodies, such as NICEIC have membership fees? Also, as I very rarely do testing, and college was a long while, I'd feel more confortable sitting a beginner/intermediate C&G2391 course, I'm guessing this would probably be a 5 day course at around £800?
Not sure what a one day refresher would cost to get me up to C&G2382.
Then I'd need insurance right?
What about test equipment? I have a coule of Fluke meters, but neither are calibrated. I'd also need insulation resistance & earth loop impedance tester right? Have to keep calibrated?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this will end up being quite an outlay for just a few jobs here & there, unless there is another way? Would I need to go full scope?
I can see that it would be good if I intended to go fully self employed and make a go of it as a business, but I'm not convinced I'd be much better off, and would have a lot more paperwork/hours to go with it.
Without getting personal, is it usual for a domestic electrician to earn around/excess of £40k in the South East? If so then I could see it being worth it, and with my company offering a 30% paid sabbatical (12 months) it could be time to think about a change, but if not, it probably wouldn't be worth it for me.
Hope someone can offer some advice, sorry for the long post!!