How much should i be worth?

[LeeJayyx]

Realistically? Im self employed and work on CIS. I have my own van, tools, steps, rods drills etc. but am without a tester nor part of any governing body. I am Level 3 NVQ Qualified with my AM2 and have been working on site for over 3 years. I mainly specialize within domestic installation but have experience and am qualified within commercial and industrial.
I have good site knowledge and common sense about me, i am preety able to manage my own jobs with minor assistance.

My main contractor wants to talk to me about a possible rise, im just wondering how much you think i should be worth roughly? And if you were to employ someone like me for your business how much would you be willing to pay?

Thanks in advance, Lee

 

[PEG]

...Like that one,even being someones "batch" :rofl: My own tuppence...if you don't KNOW what your worth....you have not got into the position where you can demand it...just my opinion. When you realise what you are due,you will have no hesitation in asking for it.

 

[uksparks]

I've just corrected the typos, damn iPad.

 

[uksparks]

I won't tar everyone with the same brush like saying if you have done an apprenticeship you have godly powers etc not will I slag Electrical Trainee's off. Everyone is different and until proven to be crap and lacking knowledge and experience, you are all worthy of a punt in my book.

I don't care how you learnt it, what century or how fast, if you can do the job and know wha your talking about, that's the important bit.

 

[JD6400]

Everyone is going to have differing opinions on how long you should be a mate for etc, but at 3 years, he has more years than me so am not in a position to argue. But having only nearly two years under my belt, I've got various electrical quals aswell as NVQ 3, 2394, done 2395, awaiting written exam, soon upgrading to AC with NICEIC, and I am earning in the region of £200 per day working for myself.

Without wanting to drag it out, to say 3 years you are only a mate/improver, IMHO I think everyone is different and cannot be compared to one another. At what point would you say they are actually worthy of better money? When blood has been drawn? Personally, I think working under someone holds you back, I won't say that's always the case, but think people cn be treated like tea boys and never actually do any 'proper' work.

Last week I met two people, one who had his 236 parts 1,2 and 3, and I wouldn't trust him to wire a plug or even select the correct test instrument to use. And the other, has done an apprenticeship, has worked for 5 years on his own sinse and I was telling him how to do things, and had to explain even the most basic things to him, it was scary. And the best bit was, he had two apprentices working for him, just goes to show, just because you have done an apprenticeship means **** unless you can actually prove yourself. He was a total plank to be honest, I'm not kidding, I was having to tell him the basics, I actually knew more than he did.

So going back to my point, you could work for someone for 3 years being their biatch and not know much, or you can drop yourself in at the deep end and learn hard and fast. I hold my hands up, I didn't do an apprenticeship not dd I go to college to learn, yet I do damn good electrical work and put the time and effort in to maintain the high standards that I work to.

Being under someone while you learn the trade is not about holding people back , it is about increasing the responsibility given to you in a steady and controlled way . This way both errors and achievement's will gradually build up to help you attain the two most important quality's to being a good sparks in my opinion , which are both confidence and competency .

With these you will be able interpret just about all scenarios you will encounter once going it alone , and if you do still need that little extra help once in awhile , you can always call on the help and knowledge of your old mentor , who will intern be able to call on his peers for help !
A little less hit and miss than having to resort to asking any possible cretin on an internet forum !

A prime example would be , " just banging the mcb back on " after being called out for it tripping , without a single thought of a test to check what had caused it in the first place . And thus potentially putting a possibly compromised mcb back in to service onto a faulty circuit ? Now being under a mentor , may have made you think twice about that one .

 

[uksparks]

I have previously said I have just switched it back on myself probably, and everyone on here is also probably guilty of it too.

My point was that just because you have done an apprenticeship does no way mean you are educated in electrical installation or know what you are doing. Not everyone is the same so am not tarring everyone. I have seen this several times, and the people I have seen, I would rather my granny rewire the house over them.

So as previously said, I don't care how you learnt it, what century or how fast, if you can do the job and know what you're talking about, that's the important bit, you cannot just say because they have done an apprenticeship they have been exposed to all scenarios and built "confidence and competency", like I say, the ones I have seen are not confident and by far not competent.

I am not a Electrical Trainee, but didn't do an apprenticeship or go to college, I have built my experience up working along side someone else on and off and doing work myself, and in this time I have managed to complete a full portfolio and finish my Level 3 NVQ 2356, also I have done my 2394 and passed that, and also 2395 pending written, 2382, 2377, 2392 amoungst others. Personally I feel like I have done ok considering I didn't do it the 'official' and 'godly powers' recognized route. I have put the time and effort in to learn things, I take my regs book to bed with me each night to learn more and understand things, as I do my Level 3 2365 Diploma in Electrical Installations book, i read it and take it in, call me sad, but I am putting the time and effort in to have a better understanding and increased knowledge.

Every single person on here is at a different level and had a different background and abilities, so from my point I would say its all about proving your worth, not about if you have made tea for someone for 3 years and gradually had your responsibilities increased to make coffee then eventually in your final year supply chocolate biscuits. I am not suggesting that this is always the case because its not.

There are a select bunch on here that certainly appear to know there stuff and have years of experience and vast amounts of knowledge, I would not want to suggest they only made tea, but not 'every' apprentice learns the same things or gets exposed to what you would hope. I totally agree that the apprenticeship route is the best and preferred route, but it appears that the term 'apprenticeship' doesn't hold consistency with their final ability at the end.

This is my opinion only, I am not knocking anyone, tarring anyone with a brush or slagging anyone off, so not looking for a argument.

 

[MDJ]

Realistically? Im self employed and work on CIS. I have my own van, tools, steps, rods drills etc. but am without a tester nor part of any governing body. I am Level 3 NVQ Qualified with my AM2 and have been working on site for over 3 years. I mainly specialize within domestic installation but have experience and am qualified within commercial and industrial.
I have good site knowledge and common sense about me, i am preety able to manage my own jobs with minor assistance.

My main contractor wants to talk to me about a possible rise, im just wondering how much you think i should be worth roughly? And if you were to employ someone like me for your business how much would you be willing to pay?

Thanks in advance, Lee

So Basically a newly qualified virgin spark? if so I would suggest 11-14 an hour self employed is the amount to expect and no more at this time due to inexperience, if you can get more great, but as you are a subby and work is not exactly everywhere at the moment you may have to bit your tongue for a bit and put up with the lower end. Out of interest whats he paying now?

 

[JD6400]

Uksparks , I will admit that I too have seen some frankly scary " Time served " sparks out and about !
But in a vast majority of cases , the use of a proper apprenticeship as a learning vehicle will always out preform any other way of learning the trade .
Now I know only too well that people will have different abilities and levels of uptake on the guidance given , but ( and this is not meant to belittle or take away from anyone , what they already may have achieved ) as I have seen myself , without working along side another sparks for an extended period whilst learning , you do not realise just how much you do not know !

And I can not say that I have ever "just banged" the mcb back on to a known potential fault , but if I had not been shown by others whilst learning the trade ( which I am still doing , 22 years and counting ) the very real dangers of doing so , I may well take the same approach as well .
And again this last comment is not said to offend you , it is to convey my point .

Fair play , on your commitment to the trade and you obviously do want to do your personal best judging by past posts , so I have no doubt you will succeed to even greater heights . I just felt the need to disagree on the apprenticeship route .

 

[Pwoo1]

£120 - £150 a day?

 

[uksparks]

Thanks. I do totally agree that the apprenticeship route is the correct way, and if things were different I would have done so myself.

Yes every day you learn something new, no two days are the same! You are right though, the vast majority of apprentices are shown properly, but sadly there are cases where they are not.

I think all i was trying to suggest was, just because someone has done the whole apprenticeship route, doesn't always mean they are any better than anyone else.

I'll be honest i feel embarrassed driving round with Domestic Installer on the side of my van and the sooner I can upgrade to AC the better as I don't like being tarred with that brush, unfortunately they want to see the results of my 2395 written exam which im waiting on...

I probably exaggerated the case there, i wouldn't just put an MCB back on without at least having a look so see what may have caused it first, I'm not that bad.

I am trying to find someone / anyone who would like to have a helping hand doing some commercial / industrial work, free of charge but no takers, I would just like to get more experience in that area.

 

[JD6400]

You would be welcome on our jobs and would get paid as well , but although I was up your neck of the woods on Wednesday ( Wymeswold ) setting out the ducting for the ground workers on a set of gates we have to install on a new yard , I then had to nip down to Cirencester and do the temps for the site cabin on a new equestrian yard we are starting down there , before going back to base in Bucks again .

So as you can see we are normally , probably a bit to much of a drive away !

Having said that , we will need to pull in about 140 m of 3c 10mm on those gates within the next couple of weeks so if you are local and want to get paid for some experience pulling in a , all be it small armoured and then installing a set of automated gates , feel free to pm me !?

 

[uksparks]

Yeah ok ill take you up on that if it fits around my other commitments, ill PM you then nearer the time if you do want a hand, ill gladly come and assist.

 

[JD6400]

Pm received and sent .

 

[Guest55]

wages have absolutely sweet F.A. to do with quals , career route , and your own self worth.

its entirely down to supply / demand and geographical location.

and the rate you can charge as a sole trader / company owner bears absolutely no resemblence to what your offered as a subby / employee / agency worker , which is the OP's case.

 

[Meggerman]

£200 a day !!!!????

for a domestic subby ? lol , which arab oil shiek do you work for ?

Agreed, that is top whack round here to the customer for sole traders.

 

[Eddiesparks]

I won't tar everyone with the same brush like saying if you have done an apprenticeship you have godly powers etc not will I slag Electrical Trainee's off. Everyone is different and until proven to be crap and lacking knowledge and experience, you are all worthy of a punt in my book.

I don't care how you learnt it, what century or how fast, if you can do the job and know wha your talking about, that's the important bit.

Preach on brother!!