Retraining as an Electrician

[stevebamford]

Hi Guys

I'm considering retraining as an electrician... I currently work in IT but would like to do something more 'hands-on'. Am aged 43

I'm in the fortunate position of being employed (at the moment anyway) so could do evening courses to get the required qualifications.

so ....

1) What are the minimum qualifications legally required to do domestic jobs including notification (up to and including full re-wires) and how long does it take

2) Any ideas of start-up costs (tools, can etc)

3) Best form of advertising to get going

4) What kind of toolkit would I need to get together ?

5) Any more top-tips ?

6) Approximate annual costs (e.g. emberships etc)

7) If you don't mind me asking - approximate take-home money ?

 

[flameport]

1. Almost nothing. The 2382 multiple guess exam would be the absolute minimum to be accepted onto one of the competent persons schemes, however this will be useless on its own.
The proper route is 3 or 4 years part time at college. Work experience is also essential, and you can't get that by filling in exam papers.
If not doing notifiable works, then no qualifications are required at all.

2. A five figure sum.

3. Whatever works in your area. However the likes of yellow pages are definitely a complete waste of money.

4. Test equipment, drills, saws, screwdrivers, cutters, hammers, scutch chisel, ladders, portable lights, rods/draw rope, head mounted torch, and plenty more.

5. Don't bother

6. Scheme membership about £400 per year. However this is minimal compared to all the other costs.

7. Far less than you are earning now. Yes, really.

Something else to consider is that at age 43, do you really want to start doing domestic electrical work? Most of it will not involve electrical work at all, but more likely shifting furniture, lifitng carpets, removing floorboards, cutting holes in walls, crawling about under floors, in dirty cellars, hot and dusty lofts, garages which reek of leaking petrol and oil, fixing up outside lights in the rain, climbing through the back of flowerbeds to fix cable to the wall behind, trying to remove the decades of grease which has built up over the connection plate to some ancient old electric cooker, and finally:

Explaining to customers that no, you can't fit their fancy new light fitting or make new sockets magically appear where there were none before, as the cabling is rubber coated rubbish with no cpc, the fuse boxes are pre-war, the entire installation is blatantly unsafe and should have been rewired years ago.
This usually occurs just after the whole place has been totally redecorated at huge expense, a new kitchen and bathroom has been fitted, and thick white carpets have been installed in every room.

Unfortunately, most people do not consider electrical work in their home to be a priority, and even when they do, will want it done for practically nothing. Usually those which want to have the work done for a completely unrealistic low price will be the ones with the brand new 50 inch plasma TV, two jags in the driveway, and the hot tub in the back garden.

 

[BigDY]

Christ! Talk about job satisfaction...
Perhaps this can be of help, Flameport:

 

[ericmark]

I'll swap you I want something less "Hands on" as now have a useless hand due to an accident.

Some times one can be lucky. One can get in a firm where one can slowly move over. I have seen this with mechanics/fitters where some work is Electrical and some mechanical so the firm put an Electrician and Mechanic together and on Mechanical work the Electrician labours for Mechanic and on Electrical work the Mechanic labours for the Electrician.

In time of course they both learn part of the others job and to take formal qualifications to fill in the gaps would likely allow a move.

However although when working with a gaggle of electricians you may be able to hold down the job for long enough to learn any missing bits from your peers to work without the support of colleagues would not really be advisable until you had at least 5 years experience in the trade.

I found it hard going from being maintenance electrician to installation electrician and I have seen the problems in reverse and that is with years of experience in the trade. To be called to task because I had used a adjustable spanner on a gland and it had left marks was the last thing I had expected to get a verbal warning for. I was lucky I kept my job long enough to learn the different methods used.

However with any trade some people will expect an OTT standard and when you have been in the trade for some years what ever the trade you learn what standard is accepted and when some one asks for something out of the normal you can argue with conviction on how you need extra money etc. But when ones experience is limited one can get really taken for a ride and if self employed you have no real way to know if the customer is right or wrong and I don't means electrical wise but with simple items like re-plastering wall. And unless you can first work cards in you will never gain enough experience.

And this is not the time to change jobs. When there is plenty of work you can move from firm to firm easy and gain experience as they are having problems getting labour and will take a chance. But at the moment finding work cards in without a CV showing how good you are and string of references is near impossible.

 

[shadyspark]

flameports bang on, at your age you will never make your money back, your measly flaccid office body will crumble with the manual work, plus i know several good electricians at your age with nearly 30 years experience that are struggling for work. would your boss employ an ex electrician that went on a 2 week IT course?

 

[SteNova]

To be called to task because I had used a adjustable spanner on a gland and it had left marks was the last thing I had expected to get a verbal warning for. I was lucky I kept my job long enough to learn the different methods used.

i'm assuming that was on a new build non residential? i've lost count of the number of new build sign offs ive been involved with where the fit, finsh and quality of work was outstanding, only for it to get trashed by the owners maintance team in the following years doing things like you did, no one disciplines them and slowly the standard is eroded

 

[ColJack]

an adjustable shouldn't mark the glands.. unless you mean pipe grips etc..

there are no teeth on an adjustable and it fixes to the flats so it's the same as a spanner providing it's a good one that doesn't undo itself for no reason..

 

[Sparklms]

an adjustable shouldn't mark the glands.. unless you mean pipe grips etc..

there are no teeth on an adjustable and it fixes to the flats so it's the same as a spanner providing it's a good one that doesn't undo itself for no reason..

Thats what i was thinking he could mean the footprint grips ive seen some people use maybe?

Anyway, whats wrong with a hammer and your big flat knocking driver

 

[ColJack]

pipe grips for SWA glands, the boot hides all the marks..

 

[tamz]

Good to read the CC's are moving trades

 

[stevebamford]

measly flaccid office body

Ha - you must have seen my picture somewhere !!

Hmmm well you guys must all hate your jobs

So no encouragement at all ?

Must admit its good to know that I could just self-study, sit the exam and be legally allowed to work as an electrician.

Have any of you done the C&G evening courses - would they be worth doing ?

 

[ericmark]

Doing three exams the 17th Edition (2382) Inspection and testing of in-service electrical equipment (2377) and Inspection and testing (2391 or lower grade 2392) may be done at night class but most of the others are designed for the apprentice and are day release courses. My Dad (86) did his qualifications at night class but by my day (59) all apprentices were given day release and this resulted in insufficient numbers for colleges to run night classes in same subjects.

In my area the three run concurrent so you can take all three in the year but passing the 2391 without being in the trade is very unlikely. Although not impossible my son took it with just 2 years in the trade but of course he had me as a teacher as well as work and college. Also my Father ran a power station and Father-in-law project director for electrical systems used by hospital board so he was brought up in the trade even if he did go to University instead of doing an apprenticeship.

As to Gland I used a cheap moving spanner not a Backo and had I used a more expensive spanner I may have got away with it. It was Petro-chemical and the glands were all Ex rated with all the extra seals and there were special rules like stainless steel tie wraps every 5th one so in a fire the cables would not fall on firemen etc. And yes I have seen panels that once must have looked really good with true harness but by time I arrived one had a problem closing the door on the rats nest where maintenance had done mod after mod and never bothered even putting cables back into trunking. However where I was designing and building my own panels I always ensured all wires were folded somewhere so when I did need to change things there was spare. As a result they still looked good years latter. But some of the so called neat panels are just impossible to modify with all wire exact length and it not the maintenance electrician to blame for their state but the designer would left no room to modify.

 

[AndrewDavie]

I've just finished C&G2330 L2 (full time), and the guys aren't kidding when they say there's bugger all work out there right now.
A couple of kids in my class have managed to find apprenticeships, but otherwise, nada.

Currently I'm applying for jobs in my old career - not giving up on electrics - I will get there eventually, but not attempting to make a living off it until things pick up. It's a real shame as I enjoy it a lot.

Ddid a PIR for it yesterday so that the electrician will know exactly what needs doing and can give an accurate quote. It failed the L-E insulation resistance test on the ring circuit, so I'll be investigating that today.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

measly flaccid office body

Ha - you must have seen my picture somewhere !!

When I first read shady's post I thought about saying that for all he knows you work out every day and do a triathlon every Sunday....

 

[ban-all-sheds]

pipe grips for SWA glands, the boot hides all the marks..

You'd need a b. big gland to be able to get a pipe wrench on it.

Pump pliers OTOH.....