Domestic Installer earnings

[jaypatel33]

Hi,

I have been thinking for a while now to do the 17th edition course and start working as a DI. My family business (brother and father) have a gas and heating company with a rather large customer base, and the plan was to put my name out there and start working on domestic electrical jobs. There is also a former electrician that is working with us, and I have done installs with him and will do some more work with him before doing the course.

I have been looking on this forum and others and a common complain is that course like the 17th edition, part p etc are dumbing down the industry and flooding the market with these guys and hence jobs are hard to come by and due undercutting very little profit. I just wanted to ask, how true is this? It seems there is a lot of hate towards these course becuase a true spark has spent 3-4 years training so not sure how true this it.

Should also add, I already have a part-time job, which I plan to keep, so this will be part-time as well, also I live and work in NW London.

Thanks for the help.

 

[brightspark11]

Hi,

I have been thinking for a while now to do the 17th edition course and start working as a DI. My family business (brother and father) have a gas and heating company with a rather large customer base, and the plan was to put my name out there and start working on domestic electrical jobs. There is also a former electrician that is working with us, and I have done installs with him and will do some more work with him before doing the course.

I have been looking on this forum and others and a common complain is that course like the 17th edition, part p etc are dumbing down the industry and flooding the market with these guys and hence jobs are hard to come by and due undercutting very little profit. I just wanted to ask, how true is this? It seems there is a lot of hate towards these course becuase a true spark has spent 3-4 years training so not sure how true this it.

Should also add, I already have a part-time job, which I plan to keep, so this will be part-time as well, also I live and work in NW London.

Thanks for the help.

I did one of the Domestic installer courses two years ago. I passed everything, achieved part p certification and started a business. I tried advertising in local papers and found that most of the replies were from other papers asking me to advertise with them! Overall my return from advertising was £20 of profit for every £100 spent on advertising. I tried spending two days handing out leaflets with no return at all. I started a website and had no replies. I am on the NICEIC website as a domestic installer and have had no business from it. I am also on the electrical safety register ditto.

After six months I took a job in a factory and did some work for my collegues- my best customers so far.

If anyone is thinking of becoming a domestic installer I would strongly advise them to test the market in their area. Simply place a dummy advert in your local paper. if anyone actually calls you, ask about the job they want doing and tell them you have broken a leg or something like that. It's a bit naughty but it will only cost a few pounds and could save you thousands - I found out the hard way. Of course you could be sitting on a gold mine in your area!

Wholesalers can be a bit unfriendly towards domestic installers but if you know what you need and pay cash they tend not to ask.

As for experience- yes you do need to know how a house is put together and they don't teach this on most DI courses, but if you are a keed DIY enthusiast and can lift floor boards and safely work in a loft then you should be ok for most jobs. The important thing is to refuse and job that you are not confident you can do.

Business skills - don't ask me!

good luck if you decide to go ahead.