What does an Electrician earn?
Discussion
Douglas Quaid said:
I’m not a spark but it does seem that some people really dislike the idea of tradespeople earning a half decent living. Quite odd really.
Also depends where you live.You would expect to pay more in London than Egremont (for example) because the cost of living is much higher.
Douglas Quaid said:
I’m not a spark but it does seem that some people really dislike the idea of tradespeople earning a half decent living. Quite odd really.
Your right. For some reason they don’t see why a tradesman should earn a good living. They don’t see the hours some put in to earn it either. It’s not like they’re easy jobs, manual labour, on your knees, climbing through lofts, chasing out, working outside up ladders in the wind and rain, etc. Yes there are some easy days and some hard days and anything in between, responsibilities of making sure everything is right and not dangerous. Over the years I’ve earnt some decent money but I’ve worked for it. Working late and weekends, being on call, driving for hours to a job.
Yet another thread on PH that shows the very worst of some of the people on here.
I’ve paid electricians £120 a day cash on mates rates, (north Midlands), and it was me that chose that figure, not them.
But there again, I don’t like to take the piss out of people or sneer down at them simply because they get their hands dirty for a living.
I’ve paid electricians £120 a day cash on mates rates, (north Midlands), and it was me that chose that figure, not them.
But there again, I don’t like to take the piss out of people or sneer down at them simply because they get their hands dirty for a living.
Douglas Quaid said:
I’m not a spark but it does seem that some people really dislike the idea of tradespeople earning a half decent living. Quite odd really.
Yup this is the case here with all those powerfully built CEO's talking.....Dont like the fact that all those lower grades school dropouts and wasters are on decent salaries without the right university education.
We went through a spell where it was the done thing to go to school and then uni. were seen as low achievers if they didnt, that played to the higher education establishment, got into the psyche... in fact so much so that they started doing university courses for nurses...
in fact universities and some were no more than jumped up polytechnics all jumped on that bandwaggon and made hay.
reality now lack of electricians and trades is harming the economy. and it will take years to get over that.
I have a few properties and dabble a bit in property development small scale. My experience of self-employed trades day rates are (North Wales);
Electrician - £200 a day
Joiners - £150 to £200 a day
Plumbers - £170 to £300 a day
Plasterers - £160 to £180 a day
Its not quite that simple though, you won’t get a plumber to swap a boiler over for less than a £1000, 2 or 3 days work. As said previously by another poster, a new consumer unit is going to be £350 to £550 and less than a day for an electrician.
It can be very expensive getting good work done & puts pressure on the feasibility of projects. But there all flat out, there just isn’t enough of them and demand is high. Finding one who can fit you is a big challenge.
Sometimes I’m tempted myself to retrain! But it the jobs are physical, dirty, long hours and its limited how late in life they can work. A lot hate it, despite the pay.
I can see how people are jealous when they've spent £60k on further education, 3 or 5 years in University and a few years in job training. On the face of it a plumber charging £300 a day, is on more than some NHS Doctors. But that £300 is the gross, there are overheads, non-payers, call backs and as I said limited longevity. Who wants to be doing it in their 50's. Risk of injury and that ending it.
Obviously, its market forces that dictate the pay.
One plumber I use left and went to uni at one point, qualified as a solicitor. Did a few years in conveyance before coming back to plumbing as they couldn’t earn enough as a solicitor.
If anyone’s tempted you can self-fund and qualify as an electrician for about £9000 and for a gas safe plumber about £6500. Fill your boots! We need more!
Electrician - £200 a day
Joiners - £150 to £200 a day
Plumbers - £170 to £300 a day
Plasterers - £160 to £180 a day
Its not quite that simple though, you won’t get a plumber to swap a boiler over for less than a £1000, 2 or 3 days work. As said previously by another poster, a new consumer unit is going to be £350 to £550 and less than a day for an electrician.
It can be very expensive getting good work done & puts pressure on the feasibility of projects. But there all flat out, there just isn’t enough of them and demand is high. Finding one who can fit you is a big challenge.
Sometimes I’m tempted myself to retrain! But it the jobs are physical, dirty, long hours and its limited how late in life they can work. A lot hate it, despite the pay.
I can see how people are jealous when they've spent £60k on further education, 3 or 5 years in University and a few years in job training. On the face of it a plumber charging £300 a day, is on more than some NHS Doctors. But that £300 is the gross, there are overheads, non-payers, call backs and as I said limited longevity. Who wants to be doing it in their 50's. Risk of injury and that ending it.
Obviously, its market forces that dictate the pay.
One plumber I use left and went to uni at one point, qualified as a solicitor. Did a few years in conveyance before coming back to plumbing as they couldn’t earn enough as a solicitor.
If anyone’s tempted you can self-fund and qualify as an electrician for about £9000 and for a gas safe plumber about £6500. Fill your boots! We need more!
Mortgage_tom said:
One plumber I use left and went to uni at one point, qualified as a solicitor. Did a few years in conveyance before coming back to plumbing as they couldn’t earn enough as a solicitor.
The guy that did our roof last year was a micro-biologist! He's from N Wales too.I've never had anyone quote a day rate though - it's always a price for the job.
Zoon said:
number2 said:
I thought the way to make money was to gain experience and contacts, and then start your own firm.
For most electricians/plumbers etc., earnings are limited if working on your own - there is a market rate, and only so many hours in a day.
True, a lad I went to school with does electrical contracting for the big construction firms.For most electricians/plumbers etc., earnings are limited if working on your own - there is a market rate, and only so many hours in a day.
He's the only employee but he subs all the rest out.
Just bought a million quid house, a Taycan Turbo S and a Cayenne Turbo so must be earning more than £150 a day!
It wasn't launched until 6 years after number2's post.
How time flies...
Sheepshanks said:
The guy that did our roof last year was a micro-biologist! He's from N Wales too.
I've never had anyone quote a day rate though - it's always a price for the job.
For domestic work maybe, but on-site you often need x number of trades on site at once so work to a day rate.I've never had anyone quote a day rate though - it's always a price for the job.
what most people forget here is they only look at the yearly figure and see a 10k payrise as a huge thing
once you take off the extra tax, NI, pension etc its never as much as you would like.
plus with that most people then earn more = spend more so the difference is even less
when i worked on a building site they said
80-100 labourer
200 (sometimes £1 a brick) brick layer
250 plumber
300 electrician
these were north london prices and only what i was told. not sure why they would lie to me.
once you take off the extra tax, NI, pension etc its never as much as you would like.
plus with that most people then earn more = spend more so the difference is even less
when i worked on a building site they said
80-100 labourer
200 (sometimes £1 a brick) brick layer
250 plumber
300 electrician
these were north london prices and only what i was told. not sure why they would lie to me.
VEX said:
I'll find out in the morning for you.
A friend is a site manager currently with 20 odd sparks working for him in contract in the commercial sector.
V.
ok, I've waited long enough. Did you get to speak to your mate that morning? It was 8 years ago, surely you've caught up with him by now?A friend is a site manager currently with 20 odd sparks working for him in contract in the commercial sector.
V.
Mortgage_tom said:
If anyone’s tempted you can self-fund and qualify as an electrician for about £9000 and for a gas safe plumber about £6500. Fill your boots! We need more!
Hey Mortgage_tomInteresting you say this. I've been looking at retraining and I've found trying to find companies for learning a trade to be a real mix.
Some companies are scammy and others don't really work when the student needs to work fulltime. It's unfortunate my local colleges don't run night courses anymore for retraining.
My career to date has been in IT for the last 11 years and I'm so bored of it.
Networkgeek said:
Hey Mortgage_tom
Interesting you say this. I've been looking at retraining and I've found trying to find companies for learning a trade to be a real mix.
Some companies are scammy and others don't really work when the student needs to work fulltime. It's unfortunate my local colleges don't run night courses anymore for retraining.
My career to date has been in IT for the last 11 years and I'm so bored of it.
What do you do in 'IT'? Switch to infrastructure installation, running CAT cables and fibres, patch bays etc. 'Similar' work to electrical, no qualifications needed. Interesting you say this. I've been looking at retraining and I've found trying to find companies for learning a trade to be a real mix.
Some companies are scammy and others don't really work when the student needs to work fulltime. It's unfortunate my local colleges don't run night courses anymore for retraining.
My career to date has been in IT for the last 11 years and I'm so bored of it.
Douglas Quaid said:
I’m not a spark but it does seem that some people really dislike the idea of tradespeople earning a half decent living. Quite odd really.
Agree. Genuinely good tradespeople are worth whatever people are prepared to pay. I once tried to skim a wall and it didn't end well, so respect to the skilled plasterer who came to the rescue. I also used a joiner to custom build an oak/glass staircase, and the skills/angles/joinery required doesn't even begin to compute in my head. The best tradespeople are the ones who may it look easy, respect.megaphone said:
What do you do in 'IT'? Switch to infrastructure installation, running CAT cables and fibres, patch bays etc. 'Similar' work to electrical, no qualifications needed.
That's a very good suggestion. I work in the network space in IT, so very well versed in running infrastructure cabling. Tbh I've seen what cablers are paid and it's not really for me, but a very good suggestion
Networkgeek said:
megaphone said:
What do you do in 'IT'? Switch to infrastructure installation, running CAT cables and fibres, patch bays etc. 'Similar' work to electrical, no qualifications needed.
That's a very good suggestion. I work in the network space in IT, so very well versed in running infrastructure cabling. Tbh I've seen what cablers are paid and it's not really for me, but a very good suggestion
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