If a 9-to-5 job isn’t the best for you, you probably want to shift careers into something with a bit of diversity and flexibility. The trade industry offers several high-paying jobs, but the choice, ultimately, lies in your interest. You may have some difficulty in choosing the best trade skill. To overcome this issue, it is essential that you read up on your areas of interest, research the type of work you would have to do, and then make a selection from the ones that to your liking.
Since each job has its pros and cons, you should keep your personal preferences at the forefront of your mind. Once that’s done, the next step would be gaining the necessary skills set to start. To help you with this journey, there are several courses you could consider. For highly paid tradespersons jobs like electricians, plumbers, carpentry, construction work, gas engineers, and so on, you can find several good courses and resources. For instance, if you would prefer a course for plumbers, a fast track plumbing course would be ideal.
How To Decide On A Trade?
Each new trade has its challenges. The best part is that you can be your own boss, start a business, and build a fabulous career. There are several courses and certifications that can help you get on track for a career in the trade.
- Indoor or Outdoor Job: As a tradesperson, you will have to choose the type of trade before working towards it. Trades like gas, plumbing, electrical, and a few more are indoors and outdoors, depending on client requirements. It would help if you handled the needs of industrial and domestic clients individually. Freelance traders decide which jobs they would like to select and which they would prefer to avoid.
- Time For Job Completion: Some jobs take a longer time to finish than others. For example, gas engineers may have to work with a site, project, or client for a day or a week. But construction work can take months to finish. The trick is in understanding which job suits your personal preference. If you would prefer to work for a prolonged period, you could opt for something in construction. However, if you choose to take on several jobs in a lesser time, then a trade career like electrician or plumber would be a better fit.
- Limitations: As with any skill, tradespersons jobs also have limitations on which would suit you best. If you have claustrophobia, learning to be a plumber might not be a good idea since there are basements and other confined spaces with pipework, water blockages, and leaks. Similarly, if you have difficulty sorting through all the colours in the spectrum, then an electrician might not be a good role. Electricians need to sort wires by colour coding. If you make a mistake in identifying the correctly coloured wire, it could turn out to be extremely dangerous. It is best to know your physical, mental, and emotional limitations before making the switch to a tradespersons career.
Which Trade Career Pays Best?
Trade careers have no earning limitations. If you start your own business, you can select and choose the best clients, projects, and jobs. Depending on how much hard work, determination, and skill you bring to the table, the pay will increase. Let us look at a few trade careers with limited experience (perhaps a year).
Plumber:
Plumbing is an excellent trade. It takes 25 weeks or less to learn. Plumbing involves fixing water leaks, pipework, taps, water blockages, drainage, irrigation, and more. You could start as a plumber’s mate or opt for a fast track plumbing course. Traditional plumbing courses take nearly 3 – 4 years to complete.
The salary that you can expect in your first year would amount to approximately £30,000 per annum. Since there is a skills shortage in plumbing, you could make up to 40% more.
Electrician:
Working in electrics will allow you to command a competitive salary. A level 2 or 3 diploma course is ideal for people who want to work in the domestic, commercial, and industrial fields. Those with technical mindsets, people who like to work with intelligent systems, and technology would find this field rewarding. The salary you can expect would be anywhere between £20,000 to £35,000 per annum.
Gas Engineer:
Gas engineers are responsible for heating, ducting, domestic pipework installation, emergency isolation systems, and more. This work is very specialized and requires extensive skills and knowledge. You could opt for a fast track course and complete the training and certification in 25 weeks. The approximate salary you can expect is £44,000 per annum.