new to gas work

[kirkgas]

For what its worth mate I was in this position about a year ago.
After Nine YEARS working for a company and after doing all my Quals the 4 YEAR NVQ route i was made redundant, now i was offered a couple of positions but decided i was gonna go on my own and my advice to you is GET WITH A GOOD COMPANY.
Yeah sure i made some good money at the time but on several occasions i would come up against problems that i had no idea how to solve.
Now i have worked on thousands of boilers and systems yet i still go to houses where i have never seen the set up or boiler before yet you only need 30 or so items for your portfolio so you have no chance of making it.
In the end i was asking more questions every day to my father in law who has his own succesful company (And willing to help me) than was healthy and realised that i still was not experienced enough to go it alone.
I now more than happily work for a well established local company who pay me a good wage, they use the things im good at to their advantage (installing) and teach me the other things on my travels.
Please listen to the guys on here if you ask for their advice as they have forgotten more than me and you know.
What happens if you get called to a job where the customer wants a back boiler out and combi with vertical flue in and you quote and win said job. Do you honestly beleive you could do it as i could not until last week.
And how is your fault finding?
Im off to a job tommorow to a ravenheat combi with no hot water or heating, now your as blind as i am at the minute as i have not been to the job yet but what do you think the problem may be?
As for your other Subject do you really think you could ask for much more than minimum wage at this moment?
It was 4 Years before i fitted my first boiler do you think you could do it already to a tradesmans standard?
I now earn more than £25k p/y + van and fuel etc + phone but the more experienced guys who at the mo can go to any job get more.
Out of curiosity what do you think you should be earning?

Im not disrespecting or having a go at you but just being honest, the problem is in this industry MUD STICKS and if you get covered in it you may not even find PAYE Employ never mind your own work.

most sensible balanced opinion i have read on this now boring post,
by the way if the OP earned £80k last year why the f**k would you give that up to go and do ACS, cause there are not too many domestic gas engineers straight out of training earning any more than 25% of that

 

[Agile]

News item today is that 90% of workers in the UK earn less that £42,300

 

[Corgigrouch]

dangermouse and clf gas what was your earnings last year

475k after tax. you?

Crikey DM!!... Have you been off sick a lot?....

 

[OvertonPlumber]

Oki im a relative newbie ive been ACs 7 years. I have bpec solar,unvented.nvq2 lpg conversion 4elements etc.
Mainly do installation work, refurbs work for established builders. Company van. Start at 8am rarely finish before 6.
I earn less than 23k a year.

My prior employment was tescos distribution i earned 26k a year.
For me plumbing is a lot more satifying like today finished a Netaheat to Gw ultracom. Air vent was soldered shut on cylinder the system has never in 25 years vented correctly. bg changed almost every radiator in house didnt spot the obvious.

 

[rabeye34]

For what its worth mate I was in this position about a year ago.
After Nine YEARS working for a company and after doing all my Quals the 4 YEAR NVQ route i was made redundant, now i was offered a couple of positions but decided i was gonna go on my own and my advice to you is GET WITH A GOOD COMPANY.
Yeah sure i made some good money at the time but on several occasions i would come up against problems that i had no idea how to solve.
Now i have worked on thousands of boilers and systems yet i still go to houses where i have never seen the set up or boiler before yet you only need 30 or so items for your portfolio so you have no chance of making it.
In the end i was asking more questions every day to my father in law who has his own succesful company (And willing to help me) than was healthy and realised that i still was not experienced enough to go it alone.
I now more than happily work for a well established local company who pay me a good wage, they use the things im good at to their advantage (installing) and teach me the other things on my travels.
Please listen to the guys on here if you ask for their advice as they have forgotten more than me and you know.
What happens if you get called to a job where the customer wants a back boiler out and combi with vertical flue in and you quote and win said job. Do you honestly beleive you could do it as i could not until last week.
And how is your fault finding?
Im off to a job tommorow to a ravenheat combi with no hot water or heating, now your as blind as i am at the minute as i have not been to the job yet but what do you think the problem may be?
As for your other Subject do you really think you could ask for much more than minimum wage at this moment?
It was 4 Years before i fitted my first boiler do you think you could do it already to a tradesmans standard?
I now earn more than £25k p/y + van and fuel etc + phone but the more experienced guys who at the mo can go to any job get more.
Out of curiosity what do you think you should be earning?

Im not disrespecting or having a go at you but just being honest, the problem is in this industry MUD STICKS and if you get covered in it you may not even find PAYE Employ never mind your own work.

[wiki
Thankyou for your genuine advice.
I have listened to a lot of genuine blokes on here now and i am very glad that came on to this site.First of all is there any good companys out there that take new be engineers on?
I worked for ten years for transco working from the distribution mains to the meter,i no it is a lot different from working inside but it is a awareness of working on gas.
I innovember 2008 enrolled in a company cts gas consultants where i gained relevant evidence to gain my ccn1 and four appliances.
I do realise that the book does not end there and i have a lot of learning ahead, i am green to this this new field.
in answer to your questions i think i should be earning between 15-20k.
could you please explain to me how you did that job changing the back boiler with a vertical flue was it opened flue? in answer to your otherbquestion i have not done any fault finding as i have not done any gas work yet as i am still waiting for my certificates and card to come through.
I am currently doing a boiler repair and wiring course online.
i will have hands on advice like you did, everyone that i have met on the courses with cts are going out there on there own i no it is probably stupid to do that, i am going to see my consultant next week and have a good chat as he is the one that thinks it can be done with no experience. Again thankyou for your advice i appreciate it.[/wiki]

 

[ChrisR]

I think I changed my first boiler legally, about 3 weeks after joining Corgi. I'd done a couple for friends in the past. In those days you didn't have to show any experience other than stating you were working in the industry. Ie a plumber.
If you get through ACS, take most of it in, ask if you're in trouble, read the darned instructions, then there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do things like combi-swaps. It is NOT the science of the moonly rockets! Some systems will floor you, but you've got mates, the internet, the manufacturers, GSR technical, and so on, to ask. I wouldn't suggest you try fault-finding orrible old combis for a start. Read read read. There's masses on this site alone.
You WILL be desperately slow, so you have to take on work where that doesn't matter too much, you can still earn enough. Quick people can put in a combi and 6 rads in in 2 days, all copper and properly. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd take 8 days, assuming you've done a limited amount of copper bashing.
Remember you get paid for finishing, not for being brave.
Listen to your instincts - if a job or a customer alarms you, don't take it on.
Work with/ for someone else for a while, if you can.
Do simple stuff at first, learn learn learn, and you'll get there.

 

[rabeye34]

I think I changed my first boiler legally, about 3 weeks after joining Corgi. I'd done a couple for friends in the past. In those days you didn't have to show any experience other than stating you were working in the industry. Ie a plumber.
If you get through ACS, take most of it in, ask if you're in trouble, read the darned instructions, then there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do things like combi-swaps. It is NOT the science of the moonly rockets! Some systems will floor you, but you've got mates, the internet, the manufacturers, GSR technical, and so on, to ask. I wouldn't suggest you try fault-finding orrible old combis for a start. Read read read. There's masses on this site alone.
You WILL be desperately slow, so you have to take on work where that doesn't matter too much, you can still earn enough. Quick people can put in a combi and 6 rads in in 2 days, all copper and properly. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd take 8 days, assuming you've done a limited amount of copper bashing.
Remember you get paid for finishing, not for being brave.
Listen to your instincts - if a job or a customer alarms you, don't take it on.
Work with/ for someone else for a while, if you can.
Do simple stuff at first, learn learn learn, and you'll get there.

cheers for your advice chris looking forward to getting out there.

 

[Boilerman2]

Well done Rabeye, try and find a good SME independant company they will give the experience and confidence to eventually realise your ambition of running your own show.

Wishing you a long and rewarding career, hope you have as much fun as I have enjoyerd over 35 years

 

[namsag]

Do yous not realise he is winding you all up

 

[rabeye34]

Do yous not realise he is winding you all up

genuine

 

[gassafeman]

of course you are softus

 

[rabeye34]

of cour
se you are softus

what

 

[astarquitefrankly]

iv had my ACs nearly 2 years now but been plumbing for nearly 10, took over my dads business this year and its the hardest thing iv ever done and sometime wish i was just the worker again. i dont claim to know everything, be fast and least of all price jobs properly. i sometimes wish id not been given the opportunity to take over a ready made business as i know i would be working for someone else for more money and less hassle

iv had more qualified installers ask me to partner up with them for them to have access to my dads client base but dont want to run the risk of making a mistake. even with all my dads experience and client base, a good accountant and a good work ethic i still only net £1600 a month wheras when i did purley plumbing i made almost double that.

i wouldnt advise you not to go on your own because some people like me seem to think thats the only way to be, but i would be prepared to be baffled by something 3 days out of 5 and lose a lot of the love for the job that you had when you were training.

good luck

 

[namsag]

1600 QUID a month dont you have a bed you could stay in

 

[rabeye34]

1600 QUID a month dont you have a bed you could stay in

i want hat in a week