Electrical vs gas courses

[Aurora123]

Hi

I’m 18 and recently cancelled my uni application, I did a levels in biology, chemistry and psychology and did pretty good. Someone introduced to the trade saying it’s lucrative etc etc and can courses can be acquired in about a. Year. I thought it’s better then me doing 3 years uni and having 27k in debt. For these courses I spend less then 10k . I’m stuck whether to do a gas course or electrical. I have asked some gas engineers and they say lots of people are already in gas and electrical is better. Plz help as I need to get admission and places are filling up very quickly

 

[Aurora123]

but if you're thinking of going the gas/plumbing route.........

sh!t flows downhill, gas goes psssst. there. fully qualified.

Yh it’s quite quick

 

[DPG]

Can someone give me a link to show all the qualifications and guide to become a electrician etc etc. It would be very much appreciated.

Have you searched the forum yet? There are loads of threads about this subject.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Having had to get a gas safe engineer out yesterday to check my dripping boiler I can safely say they earn more by the hour

£152 per hour (this was call out rate) + materials

fortunately it was a minor repair and thankfully it was a friend of a friend so we got a small discount

but if you can be a busy gas engineer then your earning potential is pretty much limitless

 

[Aurora123]

Having had to get a gas safe engineer out yesterday to check my dripping boiler I can safely say they earn more by the hour

£152 per hour (this was call out rate) + materials

fortunately it was a minor repair and thankfully it was a friend of a friend so we got a small discount

but if you can be a busy gas engineer then your earning potential is pretty much limitless

Now I’m even more confused

 

[nicebutdim]

Having had to get a gas safe engineer out yesterday to check my dripping boiler I can safely say they earn more by the hour

£152 per hour (this was call out rate) + materials

fortunately it was a minor repair and thankfully it was a friend of a friend so we got a small discount

but if you can be a busy gas engineer then your earning potential is pretty much limitless

Annual gas boiler service in NI costs us £60 and takes less than an hour for the basics, which is labour only.

Not sure how many services could be crammed into one day, much less finding enough of this sort of work. No matter what you go for, there'll be easy money and jobs in which you earn every single penny the hard way - probably far more of the latter.

Considering the learning involved, I'm surprised how many experiences this forum throws up where sparks cut prices to the knuckle. Not sure if gas engineers tend to be similarly poor at business.

 

[Aurora123]

Annual gas boiler service in NI costs us £60 and takes less than an hour for the basics, which is labour only.

Not sure how many services could be crammed into one day, much less finding enough of this sort of work. No matter what you go for, there'll be easy money and jobs in which you earn every single penny the hard way - probably far more of the latter.

Considering the learning involved, I'm surprised how many experiences this forum throws up where sparks cut prices to the knuckle. Not sure if gas engineers tend to be similarly poor at business.

So electricians have a lower profit margin? Please I need to decide soon. I maybe irritating but spaces are filling soon for the courses

 

[Dustydazzler]

Gas fitters (gas safe) will almost certainly earn more per day

 

[nicebutdim]

So electricians have a lower profit margin? Please I need to decide soon. I maybe irritating but spaces are filling soon for the courses

No.

The point I was making is that it would seem as though a number of electricians undervalue their trade and price their time at an unrealistic level. A lot of forum threads mention this - particularly in relation to new builds and re-wires.

While gas engineers might currently get a better average hourly rate, who's to say that the situation wont be reversed in a number of years if people re-train to chase better wages and demand for their services drops?

I don't presently work in either industry, so simply wish to provide some alternative angles for consideration. You're looking at a considerable investment of your time an effort, not to mention money, so think about more than what either trade might earn today.

 

[Dustydazzler]

wet pants (plumber) also do okay for themselves, £80-90 per hour isn’t uncommon in my area for a basic plumbing job

 

[telectrix]

thing is, british gas charge £80/hour + vat, but the engineer don't get this. he's probably on £15/hour.

 

[Aurora123]

No.

The point I was making is that it would seem as though a number of electricians undervalue their trade and price their time at an unrealistic level. A lot of forum threads mention this - particularly in relation to new builds and re-wires.

While gas engineers might currently get a better average hourly rate, who's to say that the situation wont be reversed in a number of years if people re-train to chase better wages and demand for their services drops?

I don't presently work in either industry, so simply wish to provide some alternative angles for consideration. You're looking at a considerable investment of your time an effort, not to mention money, so think about more than what either trade might earn today.

You know what , I’m going to do both. Electrical first then gas

 

[nicebutdim]

You know what , I’m going to do both. Electrical first then gas

A lot of work, but I can't fault that strategy.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I personally wouldn’t do both

I would initially focus on one or the other

 

[Baddegg]

I fully intend to do a gas course in the next few years, and then just pick all the easier jobs as I wind down to retirement, I know gas boilers have a time scale now but that’s for new builds and anyone with one existing are gonna want to keep em going as long as possible I reckon ?

 

[Dustydazzler]

I fully intend to do a gas course in the next few years, and then just pick all the easier jobs as I wind down to retirement, I know gas boilers have a time scale now but that’s for new builds and anyone with one existing are gonna want to keep em going as long as possible I reckon ?

do we know what will be replacing gas boilers in 2025 for new build ?

back to storage heaters ?