Becoming Who You Want To Be

Lots of people choose a career within the electrical industry because it both appeals and motivates them. Although often assigned to as ‘Electro-Mechanical Engineering”, we will simply refer to this as the Electrical Industry. As there are a wide variety of global standards, we will focus on those from the UK and in particular those relating to the domestic and commercial markets. We will begin by reviewing the main issues first and come back to the ‘add-ons’ later, because of the huge number of options available as a career within this subject.

Essentially, we see two distinct forms of entry into the electrical market. The primary route is the apprenticeship which is considered the more traditional and then we have the second phase for those who are joining at a later stage. For the sake of clarity throughout, the first will be known as ‘Junior Entrants’ and the second simply known as ‘Mature Entrants.’

Many Mature Entrants enter the market so they don’t have to rely on others, especially when they can work on their own building ideas and not have to pay for anyone else to help them. However, people who join as junior entrants like the fact that they can join a recognised firm to pick up the bulk of their practical and work based skills. Upon leaving school many apprenticeships provide a fast learning curve for young adults looking to boost their auxiliary skills.

Entry has two separate approaches to teaching. Junior Entrants are heavily linked with NVQ’s (or the Scottish equivalent – SVQ’s.) Whilst the core syllabus is relatively similar to non-NVQ commercial training, there is a particular requirement to attain the actual NVQ qualifications as part of the overall training program. ‘Junior Entrants’ will have to be in an apprenticeship of some sort in order to achieve the testing and course work required.

By opting to work on a freelance basis, many Mature Entrants appear to focus on those areas that provide profitable and practical solutions other than NVQ’s. Having said that, the mature student does aim to gain the necessary skills to do the job, whilst at the same time reducing their training costs at all times. Although this may offer quicker and more commercial options, it does reduce the official requirements set for certain areas of the industry.

In terms of typical earnings, we have two clear routes – those relating to employment and those for self-employment. Whilst self-employed people can choose the hours that they work, we assume that they are working full time for the purpose of this review. Certainly, whilst salary levels can be affected by knowledge and qualifications, they can also be affected by competence and aptitude.

With the right level of experience, ‘Junior Entrants’ salaries can rise considerably from twelve to thirty thousand pounds per annum. On the other hand experienced self-employed electricians have been known to earn around 70 thousand or more within the UK. It should be remembered however that a self employed person must often bear additional costs for items such as vehicles, tools and clothing. Self employed people also have to allow for added expenses. In the UK there is a lot of work for electrical professions due to a short fall of current skilled people. In light of the above, a full seven day week is available to most people should they want it. Whilst figures of seventy to a hundred thousand are often bandied around in the press, they do not often inform you of the long hours you would need to work to achieve this.

To be fair, most Junior and Mature electricians experience very different working hours to each other. Most of the work for Junior Entrant electricians will be on a simple 9-5, Monday to Friday basis. Whereas the Mature market can be more dependent on the domestic market for some – i.e. weekend and evening work, when their clients are available and back from work. And yet, a huge number of self-employed electricians operate during the main part of the working week by focusing on office and small business systems.

Once a career in electrical work has been chosen, a Junior Electrician is often at the mercy of their employer when it comes to learning new skills and expertise. Whereas the mature entrant can gain knowledge from any trade source – even one outside of the core of electrical work. Without a doubt the extra skills help them in their overall employ whether this is commercial or domestic work.

One new, fast growing area – one that invokes a wide array of skills sets and is new to the industry overall – is that of the ‘Green Engineer’. The chance to win some big employment and business advantages within the governmental as well as the traditional growth sector means that this area could be attractive to both Junior and Mature Entrants alike.

(C) 2009 Scott Edwards. Go to Electrician Courses or Electrical Training Courses.