what sort of course should i do to become a plumber??????

[Roger Welton]

They may be charging £50 an hour, but by the time youve taken into account traveling time, quoting (sometimes fruitless), admin, training and so on all of which are not billable the £ per hour averaged out through the day drops very quickly, then take off ACS, gas safe registration, PLI, tools, van purchase and running costs even less.

The headline figure looks very apealing, but you need to sit down and work out the actual £/hr and you find it's not so good!

 

[flat pack]

About 5 years on low pay
4 years on a 4 day a week
Then your somewhere near

 

[tamz]

I heard someone say once "would you trust a doctor that trained in 2 months?" lol

If they allowed fastrack doctors or surgeons i can just imagine him (or her), straight out the geez a job training centre, being at a simple appendix job for a week before giving up and the patient if salvageable, needing a major rebuild when he was finished :lol:

 

[lambchop]

imho please do not go into plumbing and gas if you dont have a really genuine interest in the subject, enjoy working with your hands, dont mind hard graft, even if you love doing it there are days that you can happily throttle custard/site agent/apprentice etc...

Its definately not a 'get rich quick' thing, if you want to make your parents proud, do something that your passionate about, apply yourself and be happy.


Got to go theres some 'trisha' re runs on the box....

 

[jtsplumbing]

Hi lambchop ! what time is Trisha on ? I like Jerry Springer and Judge Judy ! will it clash with any of these ???

 

[mountainman]

Come on guys, give the lad a break. Why not tell the truth that plumbers can easily earn 50k a year profit and GSR's double that.
Might take slightly more than two months training though.

 

[jtsplumbing]

Sorry mountainman just trying to put him off ! dont want the competition , (yes GSR 100k easey) I am now running out of places to stash all the money can't get any more in the off shore accounts . LOL

 

[hammers4spanner]

You dont need to do a course to become a plumber you just walk into any plumbcenter and open an account

 

[David John]

just a bit of a different perspective here ive been in the building trade for the last 7 years although in a pricing/design capacity ive just finished my level 2 (2 Years in a proper college btw) and currently doing my NVQ and I would not dream going self employed and taking work on my own for paying customers let alone after 2 months! those "learning centres" are a disgrace! rant over

 

[Millsy 82]

I started an apprenticeship when I was 16 i'm now knocking on 30 and still learning now. How these courses think they can train you up in 2 months is unbelievable. Your better off doing a 2 year night course but there still the same no onsite experiance so your out working and everything takes more time.

As for money I went for a job a year or so ago and the pay was terrible £18000 for a qualified gas engineer as soon as I found that out I turned around and told them I wasnt interested for that money but they had 160 people go for it I know of a self employed bloke went for it and he was happy with the steady wage.

 

[ecowarm]

as a comparison in 2002 I went to work for Lord ?? on his estate, £20k+ Not much ?? well I got a free detached 3 bed cottage 1.5 acre garden, council tax paid, water rates paid...................

 

[Dannypipe]

How do I become a lord? Seems to be well paid.

 

[Mcgoo's]

I think these courses should be stopped or at least sanctioned a bit better, I've met several of these 12 week course plumbers straight out of the starting blocks, and it aint pretty. The courses fill their head full of (false) confidence by doing workshop exercises, which every trained plumber will know that the workshop is a little different to whats on the job, then the balls something up, and it's not their fault, it's these damn courses!! I think it should all be reverted back to 4 year apprenticeships, and if there isn't enough apprenticeships around, you'll just have to wait. All these courses do is make less jobs for the trained, less money for the trained and a damn-site less public confidence in the plumber of today.
Don't get me wrong if you do the course and you've made it, fair play and good luck but it's the blokes who don't make it I feel sorry for!!
You can make 50K+ a year, I do......but I also work 70hrs+ a week as a subby!!
Not the best industry atm!!

 

[ecowarm]

How do I become a lord? Seems to be well paid.

English Lordship Title

 

[mountainman]

Is Lord of the 'O' Rings still available?

 

[gornsgorns]

Seems as though this guy isn't really that interested in plumbing, but rather has heard that plumbers earn a fortune so fancies an easy route to making a good wage. The fact is, in any career to make 50k a year takes a lot of knowledge, hard work and dedication. You can't just do a 2 month half hearted course and suddenly become a skilled professional earning 50k a year. If it was that easy wouldn't everyone be doing the same and earning 50k year? People would laugh at other professions claiming you could be trained up in a matter of months. Yet for some reason, many people think you can become a plumber earning mega bucks just by handing over a couple of grand to a training centre and doing the 6 week course.

 

[Dannypipe]

I don't want to give it the large one, but it is possible to earn £50K a year in this game. You need to be dedicated to it though. Work a lot of hours, put up with a lot of crap and take the rough with the smooth (in spades).

It doesn't happen over night though. Takes years to build up to it.

 

[Guest123]

Fast track training course providers are the parasites of this industry. Why is it that plumbing, electrical and other highly skilled trades that take years to learn are targeted?

And would those office type workers who've sat at a desk all their career and consider doing a plumbing course because their bored, please stick to your own career and leave ours alone.

 

[Dannypipe]

I don't feel threatened by the fast tracker - ex accountant come plumber....they're normally no good at their job. They can talk a good job but when push comes to shove they don't know their backside from their elbow.

They mess stuff up and soon go back to their office.

I agree that these training centres making promises of high earnings to new plumbers should be shut down. Its ridiculous.

 

[Guest123]

Fast track plumbers should undergo a government backed probation scheme where they are vetted after completing their courses for at least two years before becoming fully qualified. There are no watchdogs in our industry and it's going to pot.