No question, but i personally find domestic work more ("fun") than commercial & industrial... change my mind.

[EoinMcD]

It just is...

 

[snowhead]

What can be more fun than turning up at a multi-milion pound site and being asked how long it's going to take to sort the problem out, when you've not even seen what it is.
Then when you're working on trying to get machinery or lights or power back on having a constant stream of people asking Is it fixed yet, How long are you going to be, Can't you get more people in to help.
Then add it could be in the middle of the night and you're miles from home on your own on a site you've never been to, Loved it.

What's even more fun is all the above and you walk in a plantroom, press a reset or move a pile of cardboard boxes off the reset / DB Isolator etc and bingo they're back on.

If the last company that took over the contract I worked on hadn't been a complete set of A*seoles, I'd have probably still been there now instead of being sat at home in retirement.

 

[LukeD]

High end domestic is nice, easier and pays better . And you get better perks

 

[littlespark]

We had a recent “domestic vs industrial” thread that turned into a nasty --- for tat, so let’s try and keep this one on track…

Domestic:
Generally less money… can be working in restrictive space… attics, underfloors and cupboard… feel guilty making a mess (in clean house) or fear of catching something (in not so clean)

Industrial:
Can be boring if just metalwork for days on end…. More strenuous work because working with heavier cable etc…. Get to play with large machines (cherry pickers etc) ….. 3 phase

 

[telectrix]

and no crawling. kneeling, stretching with industrial. things go where you can reach, using proper access equipment where needed. no pressure to get the job done quickly to compensate for the fact that you underquoted.

 

[James]

Being able to spend hours or days on a complex fault finding job
not having a home owner looking over you thinking “he is just milking this job for as much as he can get from me”

eventually methodically finding and repairing the fault.
rather than have someone gasp and say HOW MUCH, YOU ONLY CHANGED ONE PART!!!
you get a pleased manager/director tell you that they are impressed and thank you because you were the 3rd spark they called I and the Other 2 couldn’t fix it.
often followed by “send your bill in, will get it paid immediately “

 

[Electrics]

I'm working commercial but got sent on a domestic job the other day. Just had to put a single cooker feed in and it was a right ballache. The cable needed to go into ceiling space under glued laminate floor and where the previous guy had chased out and drill a hole ready for the cable he'd gone upwards into a wall plate so it had to all be redrilled. Noisy, dusty, dirty. Then i had to get all the floorboards back, put the carpet down, hoover, sweep up, cover floors, liaise with the customer.

Yeah i got a cup of tea out of it but give me tray work off a lifter any day of the week. Then there's the other lads at work who constantly complain on our whatsapp group about customers not being in or not answering the door.

Domestic:
Generally less money

I've asked before about this but is this really true? If you have a steady flow of work, being self employed in domestic settings is much better paid than working cards in for someone else on site. Look at job sites, pay is crap around the country, max you'll see advertised is around £25 an hour which is all pre-tax don't forget.

no pressure to get the job done quickly to compensate for the fact that you underquoted.

Lol tell that to our supervisor!

 

[Dustydazzler]

I have spent 85% of my working life doing domestics but occasionally help a mate with commercial cable pulls and the off bit of wiring 3 phase equipment. It makes a nice change as its a different mind set and skill set wrangling with a 95mm 4c swa and getting to use the cherry lift etc,

But Is the pay better ??? There are domestic installers who comfortably earn £600-700 per day doing upper end domestic work, board changes, eicrs and fault repairs etc. There can't be too many commercial sparks out there earning that kind of money on a daily basis ?

As for the bordem factor , any job can get boring if you let it. Its all about the mind set you have and trying to find work that keeps you interested. I quite enjoy fault finding and doing awkward re-wring, where I know others who hate domestic and steer clear of it as much as possible

 

[telectrix]

different ball game with industrial/commercial fro cards in to self=employed contractor. factory has a partial shut down, costing thousands. you go fix, name your price. domestic..... Mrs. Jones can wait for you to fix that tripping fault that takes you an hour and earns <£60.

 

[Dustydazzler]

talking install work / day work / piece work , i can't see many commercial guys getting 600-700£ per day

fault work / emergency call back is different , especially if its evenings and nights

I helped in a call out to a factory after a fire in an attempt to get it up and running / power back on again over a weekend , I think my company at the time were charging us out at £1000 per shift / night. we had guys working 12 hours then the next guys 12 hours

 

[Electrics]

But Is the pay better ??? There are domestic installers who comfortably earn £600-700 per day doing upper end domestic work, board changes, eicrs and fault repairs etc. There can't be too many commercial sparks out there earning that kind of money on a daily basis ?

Exactly. If you're not the one with the contract the pay isn't better.

different ball game with industrial/commercial fro cards in to self=employed contractor. factory has a partial shut down, costing thousands. you go fix, name your price. domestic..... Mrs. Jones can wait for you to fix that tripping fault that takes you an hour and earns <£60.

Well yeah but how many lads in commercial and industrial are going on as the main contractor? Hardly any, there's usually one main subby and then CIS lads are being paid £18-25 an hour.

The 'self employed contractors' on our site are on £19 an hour, because they're subbying for a company that's subbying for a company. Our company is probably getting £75 an hour for us all but we don't get that we just get wages.

 

[ferg]

It's just down to personal preference.

I hated industrial and left the trade entirely.
Came back to it after a long break. Doing domestics only and now I love it. I honestly wish I hadn't listened to and fallen for the snobbery around domestics.

In fairness domestics has changed significantly since then. Gone are the days of a couple of sockets and a pendant per room.

Life is too short to be stuck in a job you don't like.
If you can make enough money to support your family do whatever makes you happy. Unhappiness spreads to those around you so money is definitely NOT everything.

 

[Electrics]

It's just down to personal preference.

I hated industrial and left the trade entirely.
Came back to it after a long break. Doing domestics only and now I love it. I honestly wish I hadn't listened to and fallen for the snobbery around domestics.

In fairness domestics has changed significantly since then. Gone are the days of a couple of sockets and a pendant per room.

Life is too short to be stuck in a job you don't like.
If you can make enough money to support your family do whatever makes you happy. Unhappiness spreads to those around you so money is definitely NOT everything.

There is more money in domestic though. Although i know there are certain contracts out there that pay very well even cards in and come with perks like fuel allowance, digs paid for etc, the maths don't lie - i'm going to be extremely lucky to find a cards in job paying all expenses and giving £30 an hour, whereas you can easily clear £40-50+ doing domestic.

That's why i started the other thread - i see domestic being bashed all the time but imo the work is of no higher quality on site, you get paid less and the knobs you have to deal with can be draining.

On my site the lads are like a bunch of old women, moaning and b**ching about each other all the time, slagging off the management. We also have checks, passes, drug/alcohol swabs, strict PPE rules, all that jazz. Eyes watching you all the time.

Swings and roundabouts but the actual work itself is much less of a faff on site imo.

 

[ferg]

There is more money in domestic though. Although i know there are certain contracts out there that pay very well even cards in and come with perks like fuel allowance, digs paid for etc, the maths don't lie - i'm going to be extremely lucky to find a cards in job paying all expenses and giving £30 an hour, whereas you can easily clear £40-50+ doing domestic.

That's why i started the other thread - i see domestic being bashed all the time but imo the work is of no higher quality on site, you get paid less and the knobs you have to deal with can be draining.

On my site the lads are like a bunch of old women, moaning and b**ching about each other all the time, slagging off the management. We also have checks, passes, drug/alcohol swabs, strict PPE rules, all that jazz. Eyes watching you all the time.

Swings and roundabouts but the actual work itself is much less of a faff on site imo.

I'd be wary of those numbers TBH.
It looks like you are comparing cards in with self employed, two totally different things.
Self employment has significant extra financial and time costs associated with it, hence the higher hourly rate.

Don't forget the additional stress involved which if not managed carefully can affect those around you, there are a fair few failed marriages and estranged families due to this.

 

[Electrics]

I'd be wary of those numbers TBH.
It looks like you are comparing cards in with self employed, two totally different things.
Self employment has significant extra financial and time costs associated with it, hence the higher hourly rate.

Don't forget the additional stress involved which if not managed carefully can affect those around you, there are a fair few failed marriages and estranged families due to this.

Nah if you do your pricing properly the £50 an hour is after expenses. Plus all the expenses are pre tax not post tax which makes a huge difference. This isn't speculation, i know people pulling this. The ones that aren't are still pulling much more than £19 an hour pre tax. Domestic pays more unless you have the contract and it's not even close.

Having said that most self employed people i know never do their finances properly and never take advantage of going LTD.