Great News :D

[Bailes1992]

Been doing IT for two years.
Had plans to go do my Cisco CCNA and become a network engineer.
Almost finished my current IT course but the last 18 months I have had nil motovation, really starting to hate IT.
I applied for university but didn't have any enthusiasm to go, infact I didn't really want to go.
I decided to bite the bullet, withdraw my university application, finish off the course I'm currently doing and look elsewhere.

So after being turned down for a car bodywork course I had a word with my old man...

Start as an apprentice as an electrician in august

Can't fecking wait

Should be able to afford a lovely D9... Or do I get a D8 and make it a D9 rep like I'd always planned? Or do I get an XUD based van?

Ahh well... I'm happy :p

[highlander]

As long as you're happy, that's what counts. If you're doing something you love, it's not a job, it's a paid hobby. I'm fortunate enough to be in that position myself (funnily enough, as a Cisco network engineer, but I don't have any Cisco certification yet).

Also, sparkies can command some decent money - my Mum had to pay £45 for the sparky to come in and wire up her new oven last week - he was only there 20 minutes!

Get yourself a D8 and turn it into a D9. Or get a D9, and smile as you'll be able to afford filling it up with actual diesel now that you're going to be working

[Bailes1992]

As long as you're happy, that's what counts. If you're doing something you love, it's not a job, it's a paid hobby. I'm fortunate enough to be in that position myself (funnily enough, as a Cisco network engineer, but I don't have any Cisco certification yet).

Also, sparkies can command some decent money - my Mum had to pay £45 for the sparky to come in and wire up her new oven last week - he was only there 20 minutes!

Get yourself a D8 and turn it into a D9. Or get a D9, and smile as you'll be able to afford filling it up with actual diesel now that you're going to be working

Yeh but would I rather fill up my 406 with Veg oil or diesel using my hard earned ?

[DiscoPol]

Congrats young man, but there is a bit of me saying you will be missing out on some good times not doing the uni thing, its not all about academic learning you know

as long as you are happy Sam go for it, the price of uni now is frightening, so maybe a few years working might not be a bad idea and you picked a good trade, always room to improve yourself, a lot of money to be made simply house bashing if thats all you want or maybe look into the engineering side of things at a later date, who knows what the future will hold, lets face it electricity isn't going to disappear is it?

[Bailes1992]

Congrats young man, but there is a bit of me saying you will be missing out on some good times not doing the uni thing, its not all about academic learning you know

as long as you are happy Sam go for it, the price of uni now is frightening, so maybe a few years working might not be a bad idea and you picked a good trade, always room to improve yourself, a lot of money to be made simply house bashing if thats all you want or maybe look into the engineering side of things at a later date, who knows what the future will hold, lets face it electricity isn't going to disappear is it?

As much as I agree with you about the Uni things there were two flaws...

One, I wouldn't be staying, I'd be comming home every day.
Two, I have another half (Long term) to would be seriously limited to my freedom

I might in the future look into the engineering side but for now, I'l concerntrate on getting a trade.

But Dad sent me some rates and stuff, an approved electrician on 40 hours a week is on nearly £30k

[lozz]

i have afew mates that are qualified sparkys they have there own companys,
there on good money but they struggle to get work somtimes,
and then theres the waiting game for cheques to clear once they have had a decent contract,

one of my mates sleeps in his van when hes on long distance contracts to save on hotel bills,
then theres the wear and tear on the vans to pay for

[Bailes1992]

Don't think I'd go self employeed to be honest. Much prefer stability

[FarmerPug]

Good luck to you, hope you enjoy it as liking it is more important than anything else, and a bit of electrical knoledge is no bad thing around a peugeot.

i did A level ict (although it taught feck all about hardware) and got an A* the highest in the year, then went to uni to do the same thing, although it wasnt the same, accounting? management? compared to what i had been doing. in the course i did it for 8 weeks and absolutley hated it.
So now i plan to go in september to do technology and design which was something i preferred much more at school.

[lozz]

Don't think I'd go self employeed to be honest. Much prefer stability

doesnt matter if your self employed or not mate,
with most electricans they dont get paid till there boss does,

getting paid monthly is shite

[Welly]

A self-employed sub contracting Electrician doing commercial buildings (much better than faffing about in someone's house lifting carpets and floor boards trying not to make any mess) will earn circa £40K at least.

To be honest there must be thousands of young guys trying to get into the IT scene but far less getting into construction so the higher the demand the more work you'll have and better wages. The other thing is when doing site work you can pretty much forget about it when you get home rather than working as a project engineer with everyone pestering you for answers all the time.

Typically a construction worker will want between £100.00 and £160.00 per day before tax over a range of disciplines and overtime at weekends, extra money for lodging away is always available. One drawback can be the travelling which can add maybe 4 hours to your day but you normally get some reward for that, also lodging away for weeks at a time doesn't suit everyone (but will suit single guys ).

You'll need to get your CSCS card at some stage, this is dead easy, I've got one. Also IPAF and PASMA training are all a must for site works but are easy to achieve (typically a one-day course each).

Best of luck........

[Doggy]

Oh well Sam, you'll be following in some illustrious footsteps there, just remember Doggy's first principle of career development:

Start at the bottom and work your way down.

If it's really what you want, then go for it. I truly hope you enjoy it.

[DaiRees]

Well done Sam . I used to wish I'd done a trade instead of doing the Uni thing, but all's good at the moment

How come you got turned down by Coleg Glan Hafren then?

[Gary406]

nice 1 sam, wish i had done something like that now. i'm stuck doing floors in peoples houses (not your normal carpet shite, i do fancy design vinyl tile floors)

get yourself a nice D9 SE in black

[Bailes1992]

Well done Sam . I used to wish I'd done a trade instead of doing the Uni thing, but all's good at the moment

How come you got turned down by Coleg Glan Hafren then?

I was too late
I'd have loved to had ago at spraying but glad I'm doing this. Suppose I could do an evening course when I'm more settled just to get the skill?

Looking at HDi 110 Executives. Theres a lovely D9 estate in Diablo with black leather on Auto trader.
Lower it,
Fredro DS2500 Pads with Brembo OEM discs, braided brake hoses and a lovely painted caliper up front with OEM breaks at the back,
New timing belt,
Solid flywheel with a fresh clutch,
Remap,

And I'd have a lovely motor?

Or do I get a D8 Exec and make it a D9

[DiscoPol]

or do you get the job started and then spend some of the money

*Im in full grumpy Dad mode today, its been most entertaining