Hi All, I am not a sparky at present, I work in engineering, but I am considering a change.
Last time there was a global financial crisis (2008-ish) I decided that I'd had enough of the uncertainty of working in someone else's engineering business and did my C&G 2330 L2 & L3 over a couple of years through night school, as a fall back option. By the time I finished the 2330 course, the engineering work picked up and I carried on "making hay" for the next few years. Fast forward to the pandemic and I have again hit rocky ground and am now kicking myself that I didn't move forward any further with my plan to become independently self employed in a trade. In the intervening years I have re-wired my house and done a few little bits for friends and family, but no "official" electrical work.
I'm 40 now and have a mortgage, so any change in profession would have to be a bit of a transition. I know a lot of regular advice is to become an apprentice or offer to work for free, but this isn't really a realistic option. I guess I am in a bit better position that a youngster (in some respects) in that I have health and safety qualifications, experience of contracts, liability insurance, tax etc.
I have (engineering) work for a couple more months, but may well be unemployed after Christmas. I would like to come up with a plan for what might be possible with my current qualifications.
I know the wiring regs have gone up a notch, I assume I might need to do a refresher course?
I think when I took the qualifications my lecturers said that they were sufficient to gain a part P accreditation. I know that this is potentially looked down upon , but it would seem like a pragmatic way of getting into being able to "officially" undertake some degree of electrical work. I also seem to recall that they mentioned some of the accreditation bodies were a bit more relaxed than others with regards to allowing you to use work on your own property for assessment, which is obviously something I have available and ready to go. Is this still the case?
Sorry for such a long post. I would welcome any advice - hopefully encouraging, but feel free to call me deluded
Last time there was a global financial crisis (2008-ish) I decided that I'd had enough of the uncertainty of working in someone else's engineering business and did my C&G 2330 L2 & L3 over a couple of years through night school, as a fall back option. By the time I finished the 2330 course, the engineering work picked up and I carried on "making hay" for the next few years. Fast forward to the pandemic and I have again hit rocky ground and am now kicking myself that I didn't move forward any further with my plan to become independently self employed in a trade. In the intervening years I have re-wired my house and done a few little bits for friends and family, but no "official" electrical work.
I'm 40 now and have a mortgage, so any change in profession would have to be a bit of a transition. I know a lot of regular advice is to become an apprentice or offer to work for free, but this isn't really a realistic option. I guess I am in a bit better position that a youngster (in some respects) in that I have health and safety qualifications, experience of contracts, liability insurance, tax etc.
I have (engineering) work for a couple more months, but may well be unemployed after Christmas. I would like to come up with a plan for what might be possible with my current qualifications.
I know the wiring regs have gone up a notch, I assume I might need to do a refresher course?
I think when I took the qualifications my lecturers said that they were sufficient to gain a part P accreditation. I know that this is potentially looked down upon , but it would seem like a pragmatic way of getting into being able to "officially" undertake some degree of electrical work. I also seem to recall that they mentioned some of the accreditation bodies were a bit more relaxed than others with regards to allowing you to use work on your own property for assessment, which is obviously something I have available and ready to go. Is this still the case?
Sorry for such a long post. I would welcome any advice - hopefully encouraging, but feel free to call me deluded