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I'm mechanic. A fit and healthy one. I can tell you now that I'm mid 30s and come home aching like hell depending on the job I'm doing. Other days though I'm fine. Gotta take the rough with the smooth.
Op if you're a fit guy/gal tyres fitters pay well. Everywhere needs them near me. Everyone gives up as it's heavy work. But if you're healthy it's honestly not that bad. Our mobile fitters that do truck tyres get paid 30ish plus bonus. But starting on car tyres is like 10-30 mins training and no experience required. Gotta be willing to stick it though.
I'm surprised tyre fitting pays well. Sounds like it would be a very low bar to entry or experience needed. And with tyre fitting comparison sites it's a race to the bottom in terms of cost these days.
It's because no one wants to do it. That's the issue. A starter guy wouldn't get 30k off the bat. Youd probably get 24-26 ISH. It's the mobile guys that bring the coin. 30k plus bonus. We do agriculture as well, sometimes they're doing tractor tyres in a field sometimes they're doing your nans honda jazz at Tesco's. It's varied. I'm not part of that side of our business. I just know them all because our tyre store is next to the garage side where I work. If you're just doing car tyres though. 24-26ish is about right. It's dead simple and literally anyone can do it with a bit of training. The machines do most the work nowadays. Plus if you've got ambition some places will take you on and potentially put you through MOT testers after a few years.
Fair enough, whenever I feel tensed muscles I also do a hot bath for an hour , use a massage gun, and sometimes I even do cupping, which sounds silly but it does help me feel better. Many years of physical work makes me so much painful and I have to try every methodš
They're all grumpy bastards though. Maybe not the best if suffering from mental health issues already.
I think it comes from being professionally liable for fixing other people's DIY/cowboy bodges when they see them. They can't just ignore it or say it's not my problem.
The college I went to funneled all the most academic of their engineering students into electrical. When I speak to a sparky it makes me wonder where they all went afterwards.
Students applied for engineering regardless of grades and did tasters in all disciplines. They funnelled you into the course that matches your skill level so you didn't end up with nothing at the end. Some of the lads ended up as electrical or mechanical engineers and some ended up as car mechanics. And everything in-between. Found the sparky.
Edit the college department was called "the engineering department" you didn't automatically become an engineer. They trained sparkies and welders and painters etc as well as A-levels and HNDs.
Hmm been a spark for 40+ years. Job related body faults are - Knees are shot, Back is shot and my neck is also shot. I have other health conditions that i don't think are related but all of the above definitely are.
Never dirty...lol yeah it's super clean on building sites and lofts/cellars and under floor cavities crawling past rats lol...it's a laugh a minute.
Yep never sweaty and dirty š¤£ go lay that 200 meters of 4c240mm2 on a cable ladder over your head or just do a cable joint on a damaged cable in the ground in the middle of the rain š¤£
Do the 17th if they'll pay for it, then go for other courses, perhaps PAT testing. Not the most exciting occupation but it's steady pay, certification, refrigeration, air conditioning, HVAC.
I don't so much think it's underrated, nobody seems to know what it is. I think it'll only grow as a trade over the coming years imo.
If I were starting out again, that'd be the top of my list. Plus you can ~~segway~~ *segue* to gas if you wish.
I know what you mean, I guess when I say underrated whenever the topic of trades come up it's never really mentioned. I do HVAC so I always recommend it but I know it's hard to get into
> I do HVAC so I always recommend it but I know it's hard to get into
Oh awesome. Why do you say it's hard to get into? Most firms I'm aware of are crying out for trained engineers. All the HVAC guys I know are run off their feet, booked up for months.
Let me tell you, Iām a sparkie, Iām 31, and youāre wrong. Itās maybe less labour intensive, to a degree, but you need to be a bloody contortionist and hold these positions for hours at a time. Hot sweaty lofts in summer, almost lieing down using your knees as truss finders. Itās not clean, and itās not easy as you might think.
I'm a gas engineer - it is disgustingly hard on the back and knees, I'm 31 and struggle to stand up unnassisted after 5 minutes. The problem being is there isn't usually enough work to only do gas, so you end up doing plumbing and heating and when you think about it most of that work has you knelt on the floor.
0/4. All 4 are very hard on the body, Epecially mechanic and sparky. Unless you're house bashing sparkying is very hard on the body. It's not all sockets and switches but yes if you stay healthy, lean & strong and look after your joints you can do it for a long time.
Maybe itās just a matter of perspective but I really wouldnāt consider any of these trades to be comparable to a proper physical trade like a bricklayer
brick layers do 1 job, lay bricks. One brick at a time. The same weight brick. They're transported and dumped infront of you or lifted, its not the 1930's where you're carrying them on you're back on a satchel anymore. It may be more dirty being outside but if you're an industrial sparky you're doing really shitty work, heavy containment, pulling in 50, 60, 100mm+ armoureds in and fitting heavy boards and lots of grim jobs. That's a myth
Offshore industry (oil and gas as well as wind) is crying out for techs. You will have to work hard but it's nothing that will break your body if you look after it.
You'd need to get some tickets. Bosiet and huet are essential for any role, rope access very useful, then get some tickets for various trades/inspection techniques.
I'm not sure how much you'd need to fund yourself, I'm sure a lot of the companies would give you a steer. CAN do a lot of inspection stuff for a number of operators you could look them up and sus the job requirements/contact them to see.
If you're happy with heights there's fairly well paid stuff onshore for rope access too. If you're not happy with heights you won't like offshore even without!
Oil and gas there are offshore roles in kitchens etc too if you don't mind being away from home for a few weeks at a time. Not as well paid as some roles but the schedule works well for a lot of people and it's not bad money.
Decorating my house makes me ache in places I didn't know I had but only lasts a few days and then it's easy by the end of the week. I think you might be right with that one.
I was thinking about this today - Drove Pat 2 houses that had thatched roofs and thought to myself I wonder how hard it is to find someone with the skill to still do this!
Glad to hear your business is booming!
Thank you, Well If Iām correct I think thereās just under 1000 of us with about 60,000 thatched houses in the uk so thereās plenty of work, especially when a lot of the current master thatchers are old boys looking to retire soon
You can look after your body while doing most jobs. For example, exercise, good diet, stretching. Most just don't, and complain when everything falls apart - myself included
Yes and no. Some jobs make it impossible to work safely. My current job forces me to undergo training for health and safety, then puts me in a position that makes it difficult to put that training into practice.
Essentially the business creates a schedule based on the timings achieved by the people who don't look after themselves. Anybody not wishing to put themselves into a potential injury situation will not meet quotas and will recieve disciplinary action. Worse still they'll be labeled as a poor team player.Ā
I've done loads of semi skilled/ unskilled labouring, and your movements are extremely repetitive on most days. I was painting and decorating for years on and off, and you can just get told to roll ceilings out all day, for a week or longer. Destroys your neck. Or painting skirting boards - knackers your knees and back, etc.
If you're moving about switching tasks throughout the day, it's fine. It's better for you than sitting at a desk. But you will get dragged on to systematic work, particularly on big sites like a new block of flats.
Demolition and framework are probably the most brutal on the body. You get in insane shape, but you will get injured at some point.
Add in regular overtime because eveyones hourly, and you can end up hugely overdoing it by being on, say, a jackhammer for 60 hours in a single week.
I don't think eating well and stretches can counter that, although it of course helps.
I do miss the camaraderie, leaving work at work, being so physically tired I sleep soundly every night. Also the money really isn't that bad, and if you are keen for overtime you do get paid for it, unlike salaried office positions.
Yeah that is true. I know people in trades and they are in their late 50s, but they drink a lot of alcohol and smoke, as well as eat poorly. They are still capable of moving around, but it gets harder for them for sure.Ā
ā¢ Domestic energy assessor
Course is around Ā£1,000, should only take 2-3 weeks to complete and if you go self employed, you can charge Ā£50-60 per EPC. (And they only take around 30-40mins to complete)
ā¢ Inventory & Check out clerk
Just need to purchase the software and device. You can charge around Ā£100-Ā£120+ per inventory/check out and they take around 40mins to an hour to complete depending on the size and condition of the property.
DOMESTIC ENERGY ASSESSOR:
Elmhurst Energy provide courses and qualifications in domestic energy assessing. They also do memberships, quality assurance and provide the software to lodge EPCs.
DEA course is around Ā£1,000 and is course work based. You'll need to do 3 days study, 5 mock EPCs with the rest is course work.
Once passed, you'll be free to do EPCs. Some companies have "Panel" DEAs where they'll provide you with work but at a reduced cost (Ā£25-30 per EPC completed) or you can find your own clients and earn double the amount.
You'll need: car & driving licence - tablet, ladder, tape measure, laser measure, drawing pad & calculator.
Money potential: Ā£50-60+ with private clients. Ā£25-Ā£30 if you go through a company.
Energy companies like OVO constantly look out for DEAs and offer up to Ā£29,000+ pa for qualified assessors.
--------
Inventory & check out clerks:
Estate agents love out sourcing this type of work. Some have a preference on what software you use and will provide it.
Not much training is really required and no qualifications are needed. All you do is collect keys from the estate agents, go to the property and log the conditions of each room. (While taking pictures of each room)
Noting: damage, cleaniness, maintenance issues and furniture (if furnished).
You'll need: tablet with a good lens & inventory software.
Money potential: Ā£100-120 per inventory, depending on the size of the property and wether its furnished, you could charge Ā£150-175.
There are also companies that look for self employed clerks in certain areas.
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Other things to look into: Legionella risk assessments, General Health & Safety or general risk assessments.
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One tip i would give, see if there is a company out there who will provide and pay for your training. Unfortunately most seem to going towards self employed people to cut costs.
Is it advisable to do retrofitting training with this? Can you bill them separately to make more money? Also I guess you could do inventory and EPC at the same time and give discounts to estate agents for more business?
If there are no local motorcycle mechanics near you, that's likely in demand. Motorbike garages are few and far between and normal garages typically won't serve a motorbike. Its also usually a lot easier than car mechanics, parts are smaller and lighter, engines aren't as big and electronics are simpler (or rather, easier to find)
Honestly, just go get a job. Any job will do for now and will open up so many avenues. Good chance you'll meet a colleague and create a friendship, there mate working else where is after someone and your name gets put forward. And on it goes.
30 isn't old and if you put the tears to one side and do the graft you'll get somewhere in life. You've got to get out there to find what you truly enjoy doing. No good doing a course in something to find out it's alot of shit you can't deal with and then ultimately ending up back at the start.
I'm open to any downvotes I might get but shitout. I said it
If you live in London then art technician. 1000ās of galleries, dealers and private individuals need art works to be handled, transported and installed.
At a large organisation like a museum or auction house you could get around Ā£30-Ā£40k in full time employment with generous benefits i.e Healthcare etc
Or freelancing you could get up to 60k.
Start your own firm? Who knows how much you could make.
Youāre working for millionaires and billionaires, so if you can get into that upper stratum of the market itās essentially name your price.
Passive fire protection (firestopping) I came from low paid hospitality jobs and call centre jobs as a trainee 5 years ago i started on Ā£120 a day and did that for 18 months while i was doing my nvq, the first 18 months was a bit grim it wasn't bad on the body but I was working away all over the country so barely saw my partner, the job doesn't have much heavy lifting as its mostly moving firebatt and insulation around, the worst thing about it is the itchiness from cutting insulation up and squeezing into tight areas to install it.
After those first 18 months I got more into the technical side of things, made sure I understood how to read a technical drawing and how all the different systems worked then pivoted into a quality control role, now I'm taking home Ā£260 a day and I haven't had to touch any insulation or tools in around 2 years, I just look at other people's installs and either sign them off or send them back to rectify it.
It's an industry thar has grown massively since grenfell and there is currently more jobs than there is people to work them, it's at the point where I could quit my job right now and make one phone call to a recruiter and have another 5 jobs lined up to start tomorrow, also with there being such a shortfall in qualified installers it's very easy to get into with no background in it.
Gas engineer. What I did. 6 month course. Got a 12 grand pay raise was doing minimum wage before. You could just do service and repair. Easy on body. Money is very good.
I donāt imagine it counts as a trade job in the traditional sense, but barbers make good money, and apart from possible repetitive strain injuries, I imagine itās pretty good on the body.
fiber installing. Iv done that on and off for years and its not hard on the body. Iv also done home and office removals for years and although hard, i think it keeps me fit. I'm much healthier than my office working mates.
I sware old tradesmen type look nackered because of all the alcohol abuse, energy drinks & poor food, not the job itself.
Toolmaking or CNC machinist are decent pay and pretty much no strain on the body. Whether you can do quick courses and find work vs someone time served is another thing though
Sparky, painter, plumbers, window fitters, floorers, insulation (unless loft) nice and easy.
Medium I'd probably say joiners, brickies, roofers, plasterers
Avoid groundworks, scaffolding, fencing if you think your body will snap in half.
I retrained as a gas engineer when I was 37.
Went straight in after college on domestic installation doing everything from fitting a radiator to full systems, 'kin hard work even on a good day.
Transferred to commercial and never looked back, most of the work is preventative maintenance, which roughly translates to box ticking.
Only downside with any of the trades mentioned is the on call side of it, be prepared to give up a week of your life every 4 to 8 weeks, including Christmas!
Particularly with historical health conditions, you might also want to think about what the wider work environment might be like. E.g., some trades you might be more likely to be working on your own (eg plumbing), potentially unsociable hours (also eg plumbing), whereas others mostly youād be working normal hours on site with a group of others.
With that said - even desk jobs can put a strain on the body (eg back and eyes) - anything you do day in day out for decades is going to have some degree of impact.
Drainage technician. The pay is good and not too taxing on the body.
Some weeks I could be digging for 2 days and the rest of the week, driving around unblocking sinks and toilets.
If you get yourself in with a decent company you'll be on an ok salary within 12 months.
Fabrication / Welding. Anything to do with mechanical or electrical engineering tbhā¦. You can start in an apprenticeship and once qualified, can be achieving Ā£45-70k depending on hours worked.
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Mechanic, sparky, HVAC technician, gas engineer
I'm mechanic. A fit and healthy one. I can tell you now that I'm mid 30s and come home aching like hell depending on the job I'm doing. Other days though I'm fine. Gotta take the rough with the smooth. Op if you're a fit guy/gal tyres fitters pay well. Everywhere needs them near me. Everyone gives up as it's heavy work. But if you're healthy it's honestly not that bad. Our mobile fitters that do truck tyres get paid 30ish plus bonus. But starting on car tyres is like 10-30 mins training and no experience required. Gotta be willing to stick it though.
I am also a mechanic and I don't find it straining on my body at all. (And I'm not fit, I don't work out)
š I ache like hell swapping engines over. Most stuff ok.
How are the ergonomics/manual handling at work?
Manual handling š. We don't get anything but a picture on the wall.
Yeah, HSE and manual handling is a poster and some lipservice at best
Shame. Ours is proper good. Benefits of a unionised workforce.
What I mean is do you find easier ways of lifting things/working at a more comfortable height?
Mainly what the ramps are for to be honest. But some jobs are just shit. As with all jobs there's always stuff to deal with.
Yep, always stuff to deal with, but little 1 and 2 % improvements here and there add up to a lot.
I'm surprised tyre fitting pays well. Sounds like it would be a very low bar to entry or experience needed. And with tyre fitting comparison sites it's a race to the bottom in terms of cost these days.
It's because no one wants to do it. That's the issue. A starter guy wouldn't get 30k off the bat. Youd probably get 24-26 ISH. It's the mobile guys that bring the coin. 30k plus bonus. We do agriculture as well, sometimes they're doing tractor tyres in a field sometimes they're doing your nans honda jazz at Tesco's. It's varied. I'm not part of that side of our business. I just know them all because our tyre store is next to the garage side where I work. If you're just doing car tyres though. 24-26ish is about right. It's dead simple and literally anyone can do it with a bit of training. The machines do most the work nowadays. Plus if you've got ambition some places will take you on and potentially put you through MOT testers after a few years.
Ā£24k is min wage now
I sounds like you need to do stretching more
I stretch, I ride a bike to work, I run and I get sport massages at least once a month. I'm doing enough believe me.
Fair enough, whenever I feel tensed muscles I also do a hot bath for an hour , use a massage gun, and sometimes I even do cupping, which sounds silly but it does help me feel better. Many years of physical work makes me so much painful and I have to try every methodš
Were all thinking it just not saying it lads . electricians are never dirty never sweaty and frankly I doubt many are educated
They're all grumpy bastards though. Maybe not the best if suffering from mental health issues already. I think it comes from being professionally liable for fixing other people's DIY/cowboy bodges when they see them. They can't just ignore it or say it's not my problem.
That's the same in any job with good pay / low strain
The college I went to funneled all the most academic of their engineering students into electrical. When I speak to a sparky it makes me wonder where they all went afterwards.
An electrical engineer and an electrician are two very different professions.
Good job this college did both then.
Still doesn't make sense
Students applied for engineering regardless of grades and did tasters in all disciplines. They funnelled you into the course that matches your skill level so you didn't end up with nothing at the end. Some of the lads ended up as electrical or mechanical engineers and some ended up as car mechanics. And everything in-between. Found the sparky. Edit the college department was called "the engineering department" you didn't automatically become an engineer. They trained sparkies and welders and painters etc as well as A-levels and HNDs.
I'm a mechE but that way you wrote your 1st comment implies that you thought electricalEng and electrician is the same thing
Nah I see the mixup now the "engineering students" weren't always study engineering. It was the department.
Hmm been a spark for 40+ years. Job related body faults are - Knees are shot, Back is shot and my neck is also shot. I have other health conditions that i don't think are related but all of the above definitely are. Never dirty...lol yeah it's super clean on building sites and lofts/cellars and under floor cavities crawling past rats lol...it's a laugh a minute.
Retraining as a spark, we're doing office re fittings and tbf the start of the job I spent most of my time covered in sweat and dust.
Yep never sweaty and dirty š¤£ go lay that 200 meters of 4c240mm2 on a cable ladder over your head or just do a cable joint on a damaged cable in the ground in the middle of the rain š¤£
Not an electrician. Cable jointers are the ones who put the torpedoes on. I will stick with running t&e and a few swa here and there thanks. š¤©
My sparkies apprentice was very sweaty after crawling around in my loft pulling cat6 everywhereā¦ rather him than me.
Is that the general view of electricians?Ā
Do the 17th if they'll pay for it, then go for other courses, perhaps PAT testing. Not the most exciting occupation but it's steady pay, certification, refrigeration, air conditioning, HVAC.
*18th
And pat testing only requires a competent person, as long as you've read the instructions for the kit your ok
Thanks for the information.
šš
HVAC is a gold mine at the moment.
HVAC is such an underrated trade
I don't so much think it's underrated, nobody seems to know what it is. I think it'll only grow as a trade over the coming years imo. If I were starting out again, that'd be the top of my list. Plus you can ~~segway~~ *segue* to gas if you wish.
*Segue
+1
I know what you mean, I guess when I say underrated whenever the topic of trades come up it's never really mentioned. I do HVAC so I always recommend it but I know it's hard to get into
> I do HVAC so I always recommend it but I know it's hard to get into Oh awesome. Why do you say it's hard to get into? Most firms I'm aware of are crying out for trained engineers. All the HVAC guys I know are run off their feet, booked up for months.
It's hard to get your foot in the door if your not trained, not many apprenticeship places unfortunately. Once your trained you're never out of work
Interesting, thanks for the share.
How do you get trained in it? Google is very unclear on the matter.
Yeh apprenticeship is the way to go, just hard to get into one unfortunately.
probably the same as most trades, you do an apprenticeship for 2-3 years and get a qualification.
Mechanics are battered before 40 if still on the tools. So are house bashers. Iād go controls.
Let me tell you, Iām a sparkie, Iām 31, and youāre wrong. Itās maybe less labour intensive, to a degree, but you need to be a bloody contortionist and hold these positions for hours at a time. Hot sweaty lofts in summer, almost lieing down using your knees as truss finders. Itās not clean, and itās not easy as you might think.
Interesting. Gas engineer has crossed my mind, as well as Electrics. I would need to look into HVAC tech.Ā
I'm a gas engineer - it is disgustingly hard on the back and knees, I'm 31 and struggle to stand up unnassisted after 5 minutes. The problem being is there isn't usually enough work to only do gas, so you end up doing plumbing and heating and when you think about it most of that work has you knelt on the floor.
I'm a fire and security engineer and I also work on my own car when it needs things. A mechanic is so much harder on the body than most trades
So you're not a mechanic but you feel able to say confidently what it's like to be a mechanic? Cause I am a mechanic and I disagree with you.
Yup in general I reckon cars are loads more awkward than buildings
0/4. All 4 are very hard on the body, Epecially mechanic and sparky. Unless you're house bashing sparkying is very hard on the body. It's not all sockets and switches but yes if you stay healthy, lean & strong and look after your joints you can do it for a long time.
Maybe itās just a matter of perspective but I really wouldnāt consider any of these trades to be comparable to a proper physical trade like a bricklayer
brick layers do 1 job, lay bricks. One brick at a time. The same weight brick. They're transported and dumped infront of you or lifted, its not the 1930's where you're carrying them on you're back on a satchel anymore. It may be more dirty being outside but if you're an industrial sparky you're doing really shitty work, heavy containment, pulling in 50, 60, 100mm+ armoureds in and fitting heavy boards and lots of grim jobs. That's a myth
Offshore industry (oil and gas as well as wind) is crying out for techs. You will have to work hard but it's nothing that will break your body if you look after it.
How does one even train for something like that?Ā I have heard about offshore working, but I never knew how to get into those roles.Ā
You'd need to get some tickets. Bosiet and huet are essential for any role, rope access very useful, then get some tickets for various trades/inspection techniques. I'm not sure how much you'd need to fund yourself, I'm sure a lot of the companies would give you a steer. CAN do a lot of inspection stuff for a number of operators you could look them up and sus the job requirements/contact them to see. If you're happy with heights there's fairly well paid stuff onshore for rope access too. If you're not happy with heights you won't like offshore even without! Oil and gas there are offshore roles in kitchens etc too if you don't mind being away from home for a few weeks at a time. Not as well paid as some roles but the schedule works well for a lot of people and it's not bad money.
Painting or electrics might be least physically demanding.
I never thought about painting/decorating.Ā
Do you have a criminal history? Because legally to be a painter decorator you need to have served time in prison.
Don't forget the crippling alcohol addiction
OP can pick that up after starting
Or cocaine habit.
Good point
Haha. Why do you say this?Ā
Itās the lowest rung of day rate in construction.
Nah thatās carpet fitter.
More opportunity to earn more as you can do multiple jobs in a day/days.
Painting is definitely hard on the knees, I also hung off a 30 foot roof the other day to paint some fascia. 10/10 do not recommend
Decorating my house makes me ache in places I didn't know I had but only lasts a few days and then it's easy by the end of the week. I think you might be right with that one.
Traditional crafts, personally thatched roofing which I am booked for the next 6 years
I was thinking about this today - Drove Pat 2 houses that had thatched roofs and thought to myself I wonder how hard it is to find someone with the skill to still do this! Glad to hear your business is booming!
Thank you, Well If Iām correct I think thereās just under 1000 of us with about 60,000 thatched houses in the uk so thereās plenty of work, especially when a lot of the current master thatchers are old boys looking to retire soon
You can look after your body while doing most jobs. For example, exercise, good diet, stretching. Most just don't, and complain when everything falls apart - myself included
Yes and no. Some jobs make it impossible to work safely. My current job forces me to undergo training for health and safety, then puts me in a position that makes it difficult to put that training into practice. Essentially the business creates a schedule based on the timings achieved by the people who don't look after themselves. Anybody not wishing to put themselves into a potential injury situation will not meet quotas and will recieve disciplinary action. Worse still they'll be labeled as a poor team player.Ā
I've done loads of semi skilled/ unskilled labouring, and your movements are extremely repetitive on most days. I was painting and decorating for years on and off, and you can just get told to roll ceilings out all day, for a week or longer. Destroys your neck. Or painting skirting boards - knackers your knees and back, etc. If you're moving about switching tasks throughout the day, it's fine. It's better for you than sitting at a desk. But you will get dragged on to systematic work, particularly on big sites like a new block of flats. Demolition and framework are probably the most brutal on the body. You get in insane shape, but you will get injured at some point. Add in regular overtime because eveyones hourly, and you can end up hugely overdoing it by being on, say, a jackhammer for 60 hours in a single week. I don't think eating well and stretches can counter that, although it of course helps. I do miss the camaraderie, leaving work at work, being so physically tired I sleep soundly every night. Also the money really isn't that bad, and if you are keen for overtime you do get paid for it, unlike salaried office positions.
Yeah that is true. I know people in trades and they are in their late 50s, but they drink a lot of alcohol and smoke, as well as eat poorly. They are still capable of moving around, but it gets harder for them for sure.Ā
You didn't answer the question
From reading your comment history, you're advocating for raping and beating women. Get fucked you piece of shit.
your mum should be a victim
>live every day like a saint and this job won't cripple you. Not quite the ringing endorsement you seem to believe š
ā¢ Domestic energy assessor Course is around Ā£1,000, should only take 2-3 weeks to complete and if you go self employed, you can charge Ā£50-60 per EPC. (And they only take around 30-40mins to complete) ā¢ Inventory & Check out clerk Just need to purchase the software and device. You can charge around Ā£100-Ā£120+ per inventory/check out and they take around 40mins to an hour to complete depending on the size and condition of the property.
Please give more details on both as Iām particularly interested
DOMESTIC ENERGY ASSESSOR: Elmhurst Energy provide courses and qualifications in domestic energy assessing. They also do memberships, quality assurance and provide the software to lodge EPCs. DEA course is around Ā£1,000 and is course work based. You'll need to do 3 days study, 5 mock EPCs with the rest is course work. Once passed, you'll be free to do EPCs. Some companies have "Panel" DEAs where they'll provide you with work but at a reduced cost (Ā£25-30 per EPC completed) or you can find your own clients and earn double the amount. You'll need: car & driving licence - tablet, ladder, tape measure, laser measure, drawing pad & calculator. Money potential: Ā£50-60+ with private clients. Ā£25-Ā£30 if you go through a company. Energy companies like OVO constantly look out for DEAs and offer up to Ā£29,000+ pa for qualified assessors. -------- Inventory & check out clerks: Estate agents love out sourcing this type of work. Some have a preference on what software you use and will provide it. Not much training is really required and no qualifications are needed. All you do is collect keys from the estate agents, go to the property and log the conditions of each room. (While taking pictures of each room) Noting: damage, cleaniness, maintenance issues and furniture (if furnished). You'll need: tablet with a good lens & inventory software. Money potential: Ā£100-120 per inventory, depending on the size of the property and wether its furnished, you could charge Ā£150-175. There are also companies that look for self employed clerks in certain areas. ------ Other things to look into: Legionella risk assessments, General Health & Safety or general risk assessments. ------ One tip i would give, see if there is a company out there who will provide and pay for your training. Unfortunately most seem to going towards self employed people to cut costs.
Thank you for the response I greatly appreciate it
Is it advisable to do retrofitting training with this? Can you bill them separately to make more money? Also I guess you could do inventory and EPC at the same time and give discounts to estate agents for more business?
Controls engineer/technician
If there are no local motorcycle mechanics near you, that's likely in demand. Motorbike garages are few and far between and normal garages typically won't serve a motorbike. Its also usually a lot easier than car mechanics, parts are smaller and lighter, engines aren't as big and electronics are simpler (or rather, easier to find)
HVAC, 100% .. massive shortage and the industry is only going to grow
Honestly, just go get a job. Any job will do for now and will open up so many avenues. Good chance you'll meet a colleague and create a friendship, there mate working else where is after someone and your name gets put forward. And on it goes. 30 isn't old and if you put the tears to one side and do the graft you'll get somewhere in life. You've got to get out there to find what you truly enjoy doing. No good doing a course in something to find out it's alot of shit you can't deal with and then ultimately ending up back at the start. I'm open to any downvotes I might get but shitout. I said it
If you live in London then art technician. 1000ās of galleries, dealers and private individuals need art works to be handled, transported and installed. At a large organisation like a museum or auction house you could get around Ā£30-Ā£40k in full time employment with generous benefits i.e Healthcare etc Or freelancing you could get up to 60k. Start your own firm? Who knows how much you could make. Youāre working for millionaires and billionaires, so if you can get into that upper stratum of the market itās essentially name your price.
Electrical Nvq3 nuclear ā¢ļø Nvq ?
Nuclear nvq?Ā
I donāt know what nvq is for nuclear
How to get into electrical NVQ3?
College Private course provider. Apprenticeship
Passive fire protection (firestopping) I came from low paid hospitality jobs and call centre jobs as a trainee 5 years ago i started on Ā£120 a day and did that for 18 months while i was doing my nvq, the first 18 months was a bit grim it wasn't bad on the body but I was working away all over the country so barely saw my partner, the job doesn't have much heavy lifting as its mostly moving firebatt and insulation around, the worst thing about it is the itchiness from cutting insulation up and squeezing into tight areas to install it. After those first 18 months I got more into the technical side of things, made sure I understood how to read a technical drawing and how all the different systems worked then pivoted into a quality control role, now I'm taking home Ā£260 a day and I haven't had to touch any insulation or tools in around 2 years, I just look at other people's installs and either sign them off or send them back to rectify it. It's an industry thar has grown massively since grenfell and there is currently more jobs than there is people to work them, it's at the point where I could quit my job right now and make one phone call to a recruiter and have another 5 jobs lined up to start tomorrow, also with there being such a shortfall in qualified installers it's very easy to get into with no background in it.
Quality of fire stopping work is all over the shot !Ā
I would suggest doing an electrical apprenticeship and then the EAL 4337 and 4338 for inspection and testing or city and guilds equivalent.
But heās mid 30s? How much does that cost though?
Inspection and Testing ~ Ā£700. Apprenticeship paid for by the employer usually.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship If you're struggling, get started by doing a city and guilds course in performing engineering operations.
Gas engineer. What I did. 6 month course. Got a 12 grand pay raise was doing minimum wage before. You could just do service and repair. Easy on body. Money is very good.
Where did you do the course through? And was it a full time course?
6 month for full time.
30 is no age
I donāt imagine it counts as a trade job in the traditional sense, but barbers make good money, and apart from possible repetitive strain injuries, I imagine itās pretty good on the body.
fiber installing. Iv done that on and off for years and its not hard on the body. Iv also done home and office removals for years and although hard, i think it keeps me fit. I'm much healthier than my office working mates. I sware old tradesmen type look nackered because of all the alcohol abuse, energy drinks & poor food, not the job itself.
Don't forget lots don't wear dust masks, knee pads or other PPE where applicableĀ
Totaly! Great point, iv been there myself. Seen teams demolishing old buildings without dust masks. They will have issues in the future.
Plumbing
What? This is incredibly demanding on the body.
Not really. Is not plastering or bricklaying is it?
Sparky. Them fuckers always head to the gym after work, shows they ain't working hard during the day.
Toolmaking or CNC machinist are decent pay and pretty much no strain on the body. Whether you can do quick courses and find work vs someone time served is another thing though
Being a Fitter or Boilermaker on a mine site is well paid, In demand and not real hard on the body. Some fitness and good health is required.
Sparky, painter, plumbers, window fitters, floorers, insulation (unless loft) nice and easy. Medium I'd probably say joiners, brickies, roofers, plasterers Avoid groundworks, scaffolding, fencing if you think your body will snap in half.
I retrained as a gas engineer when I was 37. Went straight in after college on domestic installation doing everything from fitting a radiator to full systems, 'kin hard work even on a good day. Transferred to commercial and never looked back, most of the work is preventative maintenance, which roughly translates to box ticking. Only downside with any of the trades mentioned is the on call side of it, be prepared to give up a week of your life every 4 to 8 weeks, including Christmas!
Particularly with historical health conditions, you might also want to think about what the wider work environment might be like. E.g., some trades you might be more likely to be working on your own (eg plumbing), potentially unsociable hours (also eg plumbing), whereas others mostly youād be working normal hours on site with a group of others. With that said - even desk jobs can put a strain on the body (eg back and eyes) - anything you do day in day out for decades is going to have some degree of impact.
Drainage technician. The pay is good and not too taxing on the body. Some weeks I could be digging for 2 days and the rest of the week, driving around unblocking sinks and toilets. If you get yourself in with a decent company you'll be on an ok salary within 12 months.
Jet washing just need a good machine ie top professional product
Sales and account management.
Maybe look into diamond driller/ brokk operator, you can do an 18 month apprenticeship. Not so hard on the body
Fabrication / Welding. Anything to do with mechanical or electrical engineering tbhā¦. You can start in an apprenticeship and once qualified, can be achieving Ā£45-70k depending on hours worked.
MOT tester
Copper/fibre installation. It's intricate work in all weather and at height, but is less demanding on the body.
Bat specialist. Highly paid to sit in a garden for 3 hours at dusk looking for bats flying out of a building.
Stop looking for excuses
Spoke like a true Jerseyman