What advice would you give to kids interested in sparkying?

[calpol91]

Abit random, but one of my younger brothers mates asked me today if i thought it was a good idea for him to become a sparky....

I told him i love the work (sometimes) but the problem is there isnt much around at the moment, but if he could find an apprenticeship then go for it. When i thought about it though, ive been struggling the past few months, so i kinda thought my advice should of been more "not a good idea right now, no..."

What do u guys think?

 

[Mr.Si]

How much does a trainee at sse expect to earn at places like sse?

It's a thought i have had about a possible route into the electrical industry. There are also other companies such as HVMS. Or do you need an electrical engineering degree for these places?

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[Mynamesmatt]

Id tell em.. "If you think being a spark means walking around some ones house with a terminal screwdriver in your top pocket, your wrong - very wrong." Thats what i thought it was all about before i got in to in anyway haha :shocked:

 

[Mynamesmatt]

sse trainees salarys go up in annual stages.. 1st years dont get alot, by 3rd/4th year its not so bad.

 

[Knobhead]

If you get an industrial apprenticeship why start with domestic? I’m sorry it doesn’t make sense to me. Set off as you mean to go on. OK I started my time in the machine shop, later in my career I was better than most of the fitters I worked with. House bashing bears no resemblance to industrial maintenance.

 

[johnboy6083]

i agree with the posts regarding versatility. The [problem is, many companioes tend to specialise in one area, and the trainees/apprentices dont get to do lots of different work. When they then qualify they often dont have the confidence to apply for jobs in different areas.

In my career so far ive been lucky, i started off house bashing, then worked for a water feature comapny getting the basics in controls/panels and general industrial work. I then worked on a power station, getting experience in heavy industrial work. From there i went back to agencies, doing shop fitting, a bit of domestic for a friends company, worked on LUL, an 11kV sub, a 132Kv sub and then back to the power station, doing small power and lighting, which was all wiring in singles. Then it was to the job ive got now, working in thge water industry, which is really a culmination of everything Ive done so far.
The problem at the start was being honest. I had to lie to get on jobs, becauise they asked how much experience i had. Im the kind of bloke who sees something once, and then ive got it.
once id worked for a few agencies, and done good work for them, then id start to get return calls, Thats how ive landed most of my jobs.
The most important thing is not to burn your bridges.

This might seem like an "Im so good post" but its not. Im trying to impress that it is possible to earn a living from this trade, and enjoy it, but you need to be proactive in getting experience. Not everything turns up at your door, sometimes you have to knock at theirs!

 

[johnboy6083]

If you get an industrial apprenticeship why start with domestic? I’m sorry it doesn’t make sense to me. Set off as you mean to go on. OK I started my time in the machine shop, later in my career I was better than most of the fitters I worked with. House bashing bears no resemblance to industrial maintenance.

with maintenance i agree tony, but for an installation spark, then i beleive that you should have a grounding in domestic sparkying. If you can understand how a house is wired and why, and the earthing arrangements ect, then it will be easier to progress onto 3ph, and then large 3ph.
testing is also easier to grasp starting in domestic, and then progressing onto commercial/industrial.

before anyone mentions it, im fully aware that there are some houses that are very involved, eg ground source heat pumps, house automation ect.

 

[Dcf]

How much does a trainee at sse expect to earn at places like sse?

It's a thought i have had about a possible route into the electrical industry. There are also other companies such as HVMS. Or do you need an electrical engineering degree for these places?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

My lad applied for 2 posts.the app electrician one was about 8k starting salary and the trainee engineer was 16.5k starting salary not bad in my book.i know for a fact they had hundreds of applicants or the apprentice spark one.beats my 32 quid a week first pay packet....