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Advice for my son please?

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Sam D

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Hello Everyone,
I am new to the forum, but hopefully wont be a pain! I have searched the forum, and know that there are a lot of helpful and smart folk on here! I havent found the answer to my question, but i apologise if it has been asked before!
My son, is currently a teacher, but is desperate to get out of this profession. He has expressed an interest in becoming a gas engineer, and has found a course which would fit around his current job. He would need to continue his full time job whilst studying to become a gas engineer.
He would like to work for a larger company such as British Gas, but the course he is considering will give him an ACS qualification. My understanding is that this is a core qualification, and he would then need to qualify in different aspects of gas installation/fitting etc to be able to work for a company....is this correct?
This is the requirements stated by British Gas on their website, to be a Gas Engineer with them.:
We are looking for you to hold CCN1, CEN1 or CENWAT, CPA1, CKR1 and HTR1. Ideally you will also possess OFTEC and HETAS qualification however this is not essential.

Q) Does this mean then that you need a: a CCN1 or... a CEN1 or.... a CENWAT, CPA1, CKR1 and HTR1 as well as the ACS qualification?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me/ us!
 
Can he not do these qualifications with the Gas board?
One major issue is the viscous circle!
He will need experience to get work and need work to gain experience.

I don’t know much about the current situation where access to our profession is concerned but there are a few folk on here who work in that field. (I’m fairly sure about that), they will be able to tell you more, or people who have just been through it themselves.
 
Thank you for your replies. Unfortunately he can't do a BG apprenticeship as it would mean too much of a drop in salary. The course puts him with an engineer for a number of weeks to build up experience and his portfolio- he is also planning to contact some gas engineers locally and see if he can labour for them free of charge to gain insight and advice.
 
Why does he want to get out of teaching?

Why does he think gas engineer is the way forward?
 
He is becoming frustrated with the amount of work and the sheer political nature of it in all honesty.

He wants to do something more hands on, with a possible view to becoming self employed in a number of years? Obviously he doesn't want to go straight in to Self employment, and feels a company environment would be beneficial.
 
As in all jobs. It's hard work. Long hours and political.
But this one gets your hands dirty, very cold in winter and hurts your body.
And for at least 5 years will be on at best 1/3 wages of a teacher.
 
For 5 years he will be on 1/3rd of a teachers salary? How much will this be as he is in approx 30k at present? Thank you.
 
Being an apprentice that way you won't earn much at all but you could have a chance to learn a lot if you are willing to listen, to look and to adopt.
 
It's tough. So much competition driving prices down. He'd be lucky to get employed at all never mind getting 30k a year after a short course. not impossible but being realistic if he's not willing for a massive drop in wages for a number of years it ain't gonna happen. This trade takes years and years to gain confidence and competance.
 
He is aware of that, and prepared to take a drop in salary but he has a mortgage and bills to pay so he has to consider this.

Thanks for your replies- I will pass this out not him.

He isn't afraid of hard work, and is prepared for it to take as long as it takes but he just wanted to know the difference between ACS and the other bits.
 
I think he is under the impression that we earn as much as teachers, someone has been telling him fairy tails, What is the lowest wage he could live on ? BG like most other Co only take on guys with experience , Please don't just jump into this game thinking its big money ! or there is plenty of jobs available, all that ended in the 80s and it still hasn't caught up, a lot will depend on location for jobs and earnings, Has he any experience at all in the plumbing industry ?because with-out any plumbing experience he will find it very hard to be a gas engineer, you need to know how systems and controls work , What does he think a Gas engineers job entails ? He could be in for a big shock.
 
put i this way for a few years he will be sub 15k as he will be on mates rates as hes got no experience
 
I love these posts.

I want to give up my crappy job and become a heating engineer.
But..........
I don't want paying peanuts.
It has to fit around my current job.
I'm available to help when a professional has finished their working week.
Etc, etc.

Well buckle up buttercup. If he is truly serious about it then he is going to have to make a lot of sacrifices. Time and financially.

Why heating?
I would question somebody's resolve who is wanting to dip out of teaching because it's a bit tough.

Not saying people can't change careers just trying to say how I see the nasty real world.
 
Wish I had been a teacher. :) Everyone of them I have known (and that is a lot!) have been quite wealthy and with plenty of free time and holiday time. Although most teachers will say they are overworked, stressed and underpaid. I think it can be one of those professions where they live in a bubble - usually a lifetime job, so easy for teachers to not understand the reality of other professions real life hard work.
I would stay with a job that you know and provides a high wage, but I can understand a person wanting to leave a profession that they have lost interest in.
 
Right.

He is not a fool, nor is he naive. To address the whole 'teachers are wealthy and have plenty of free time'....quite frankly that's complete and utter balls. He works 6-7 days per week, leaves the house at 7, returns at 6pm then does at least 3 hours work. He goes in on school holidays too. He gets verbally and physically abused by the kids he teaches and the parents are often no better.

He doesn't live in cloud cuckoo land- he KNOWS he will be on a lower wage but he needs to have a rough idea of what this would be.

He KNOWS he will need to work hard, build up confidence and experience until he feels comfortable. He does not expect to walk into a GE job and earn tons of money. He doesn't expect it to be a cakewalk either.

All he wanted was an answer to a question.
Thanks for the productive replies.
 
Please do not forget that in order to gain ACS you should consider an NVQ first as it will lay the foundations for getting ACS and a better understanding of the "nature of the beast". A gas safe engineer without an NVQ or C&G is as good as a headless chicken on acid.
 
Doesn't the UK Government offer subsidies for the employer taking on a mature aged apprentice?

Are there no Government schemes that would benefit your son financially by doing an apprenticeship.

Maybe you should look into that avenue - it can do no harm.
 
Sam D said:
Right.

He is not a fool, nor is he naive. To address the whole 'teachers are wealthy and have plenty of free time'..quite frankly that's complete and utter balls. He works 6-7 days per week, leaves the house at 7, returns at 6pm then does at least 3 hours work. He goes in on school holidays too. He gets verbally and physically abused by the kids he teaches and the parents are often no better.

He doesn't live in cloud cuckoo land- he KNOWS he will be on a lower wage but he needs to have a rough idea of what this would be.

He KNOWS he will need to work hard, build up confidence and experience until he feels comfortable. He does not expect to walk into a GE job and earn tons of money. He doesn't expect it to be a cakewalk either.

All he wanted was an answer to a question.
Thanks for the productive replies.
Click to expand...

Believe me a lot of the guys on here do 6/7 days a week putting in even more hours, and earning a lot less than your son is getting, we also get abused, conned out of money, have to work not in warm and dry classrooms but outside in all weathers day & night, Its no fun being called out to problem on Dartmoor in the middle of winter at 11pm, But he needs to ask himself What is the absolute minimum income he can live on ?? and remember we don't get regular pay increases or meny holiday brakes, unlike schools we don't close several times a year, Guaranteed to be in regular employment is almost impossible and he can expect times when he wont be employed (More often than you think) So can you answer the question how much can he afford to lose from his income ? what does he need to earn just to pay the bills ? can he get by on 15K a year or less for the next few years ??
 
Best said:
Wish I had been a teacher. :) Everyone of them I have known (and that is a lot!) have been quite wealthy and with plenty of free time and holiday time. Although most teachers will say they are overworked, stressed and underpaid. I think it can be one of those professions where they live in a bubble - usually a lifetime job, so easy for teachers to not understand the reality of other professions real life hard work.
I would stay with a job that you know and provides a high wage, but I can understand a person wanting to leave a profession that they have lost interest in.
Click to expand...

Very true about the bubble. When construction dived in 90's I was laid off and worked in a factory. Full of people who had been there straight from school. All they did was moan and complain about the place. It was the easiest place I had ever worked in. I told them if they didnt like it then get a proper job in the real world.

Sometimes the bucket just seems shinier.
 
I suspect mummy steered him into education which is why he doesn't like it anymore so time to tell your son to grow some and stick it out, enjoy the numerous holidays and or find another school where the conditions are better. The fact that you are here instead of him stipulating all the preconditions he requires demonstrates to me he really doesn't have the gumption or determination to change careers. Assuming he doesn't have a family he could rent the house, rent a room, live cheap, save some money for a year or three to get qualified but we really know that ain't going to happen because he's been coddled all his natural life.
 
Sam D said:
Right.

He is not a fool, nor is he naive.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone was trying to upset or offend you.

I think the thing here is that teachers do (and i'm sure you'll accept this), in general go through the system and never leave the same environment.
i.e. :-
Infants School - Junior School - Senior School - College - University - Teacher training College - Job (in School).
They may look at other jobs and think they seem appealing because they (not all but some) have never lived in the World outside an educational environment?
I personally (and I can only speak from my own experience and talk of teachers I know), think they have a good life. They do get long holidays, pensions, decent pay etc.

If he thinks that by leaving teaching and going into this trade, it will take him away from long hours, hard graft, paperwork, politics, regulations, responsibility, accountability etc, he will be sadly mistaken and will only be wasting more time in my opinion.
It is not a quick course at college - out into the van - off repairing Heating breakdowns. It will take a very long time to get to that stage.

If he wants hands on work with less responsibility, has he not thought of Labouring for example. That is not to put down Labourers as I know a few and they are worth their weight in gold. I just mean it is more a turn up, work hard, go home job! A lot get paid very well.

Out of interest, can I ask why he is not on here asking the questions?
 
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The maths ain't right.
I don't think the hours are there for him at present if he continues in his teaching job while trying to do plumbing qualifications.
" leaving house at 7 ... back at 6..... then at least 3 hours work at home .... 6 or 7 days a week" doesn't leave any time for anything other than sleeping, unless he doesn't take meals. I make that over 14 hours work related per day - at minimum of 84 to 98 hours per week?
The teachers I know have nearly all their time off outside school, with the few exceptions at school functions. And they still complain.
I think it might be the wrong school if he is always doing those hours.
 
Sam, I know a lad who went down the course route. He is doing okay, and I helped out with his evidence. Another one I know struggled badly and ended up fitting meters full time. Nothing wrong with that but BORING.
The point is trying to find mentors. Search here and on the other well known DIY site and you will find dozens of posts offering free labour for mentoring and no one is interested. In my 2 cases, I only agreed as one is a friend's son, and the other a friend of a very good friend. I use to fun a heating shop and turned down requests almost weekly. There was a big local training centre. Strangely, I NEVER had an appt OK each from the centre themselves. In my opinion the centre should be arranging the mentors - but they know there will never be able to find enough without paying them. Free labour actually does us down, and we are responsible for any cock ups.

FWIW, my son in law is a NQT so I know the sacrifices that good teachers make. But a lot of the comments from others ARE valid.
All the best
 
Dont teachers get a 'hands off' day per week?
Maybe he could do plumbing work or college then?
 
'Mummy' hasn't steered him into teaching or anything for that matter. In fact, 'mummy' tried to talk him out of it!

Life isn't Disney. We know.

I asked a perfectly reasonable question. I got a load of negativity to put it mildly. You have NO IDEA of my sons abilities, circumstances or anything. You just pour scorn on someone for only lord knows why. I came on this forum for a simple bit of advice as I figured it would be best to go to those in the know.
I didn't expect to come across so many small minded individuals who make assumptions about others.
If you think teaching is so bloody marvellous, why don't you go and do it?
gmartine said:
I suspect mummy steered him into education which is why he doesn't like it anymore so time to tell your son to grow some and stick it out, enjoy the numerous holidays and or find another school where the conditions are better. The fact that you are here instead of him stipulating all the preconditions he requires demonstrates to me he really doesn't have the gumption or determination to change careers. Assuming he doesn't have a family he could rent the house, rent a room, live cheap, save some money for a year or three to get qualified but we really know that ain't going to happen because he's been coddled all his natural life.
Click to expand...
 
Sam D said:
'Mummy' hasn't steered him into teaching or anything for that matter. In fact, 'mummy' tried to talk him out of it!

Life isn't Disney. We know.

I asked a perfectly reasonable question. I got a load of negativity to put it mildly. You have NO IDEA of my sons abilities, circumstances or anything. You just pour scorn on someone for only lord knows why. I came on this forum for a simple bit of advice as I figured it would be best to go to those in the know.
I didn't expect to come across so many small minded individuals who make assumptions about others.
If you think teaching is so bloody marvellous, why don't you go and do it?
Click to expand...

No one is being negative with you we are just telling you how it is in this industry ! at 26 years of age he has only just started in his chosen career & not really given it a far chance, You mention that he cant take a large drop in earnings, is this because he has a mortgage and family to support ? Some have asked what is the minimum wage he could get by on and this question hasn't been answered !! starting as he is without any experience at all in the plumbing industry he is going to find it almost impossible to understand how systems work, doing the ACS will not teach him anything about how systems work, (in fact it will teach him very little other than the gas safety rules,) and this knowledge is required to do gas engineering work, most on here started doing plumbing work then after a number of years trained to do gas work, as with any job if you don't understand the basic's then you will never get anywhere, at the moment he is looking at a min of 10 years and by then if he is lucky he may have caught up with what he is earning now , Please don't think that by doing the ACS course within 2 to 3 years he will be earning the same or more than he is now ! It will not happen, will get disheartened, give it up and wish he had never left teaching ! with the education he has had he could do something better with his life, this is not an easy job to do, it involves long hrs., working in some disgusting conditions, a lot of heavy work and out in all weathers, its not all about working in customers homes drinking tea all day, We Proberly have to do more training & attend more courses than he did wile training to be a Teacher, He needs to think long & hard B4 jumping into the building industry, Don't be misled by what these training schools tell you ! they only want your money.
 
I was certainly wanting to be negative about a teacher trying to become a gas plumber - and also doing that while not dropping in wages too much while training.
I have no idea what your son is capable of, but I will assume he is brilliant at learning and also great with working with his hands. But there is no doubt that a 20 year old plumber is already way ahead in experience and qualification, to put it into perspective.
Your son would be best to consider doing bathroom installs, using different trades. That way he needs no qualifications.
 
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