Non-Domestic BER Assessors

barndancer

Hi all,

I am a structural engineer who was made redundant 5 weeks ago. I am trying to think of different ways to find an income as I don't expect to get a new job anytime soon.

One angle I have been looking at is becoming a Non-Domestic BER Assessor. There are approx. 290 non-domestic assessors registered at the moment. The domestic assessor (about 2900 registered) market apprears to be totally over subscribed at present so therefore I would not even bother with this. The ND assessor is only open to people with level 8 degrees and who are members of professional bodies such as Engineers Ireland as far as I know.

I would be interested to hear your comments on this.....Do you think it is good idea? The course costs in the region of €1000 and it costs €750 to do SEI exam and a further €100 to register with SEI.

Even if I didn't get that much work from the qualification at least it might be worthwhile to have on the CV, a future employer might be interested in having someone capable of carrying out this sort of work.

Thanks in advance.

drunken_munky52

Found this link on "Commercial BER"

http://www.bst.ie/non_domestic_BER.php

SEI do not issue BER certs for non-domestic yet as far as I know. Commercial BER is in a league of its own at the minute. If you can find a course that suits, go for it. Most of the thousands of BER assessors wouldn't be able for commercial BER... its much more complicated than domestic.

holdfast

If you are interested in going for it do. but dont really expect to make money at it. I am one, its a part time job at best. A lot more empty shops now than been taken up. The course is grand the soft ware is poor to tell you the truth otherwise you should have no problems. PM me if you have questions. I would say it worth doing in respect to CPD but not to make money.

fat__tony

I became a quailfied assessor myself in June of this year with my former employer. The SBEM software is not user-friendly by any means and also I really wouldn't recommend doing the course unless you have a decent knowledge of Mechanical & Electrical systems (building services).

It takes a lot of practice and study to get proficient with the software.

barndancer

Hi Fat Tony,

Thanks for the reply. What was your own background when doing the course? Were you building services....I'm just trying to gauge if I'll have a lot to learn being from a civil area.

Thanks.

fat__tony

barndancer wrote: »

Hi Fat Tony,

Thanks for the reply. What was your own background when doing the course? Were you building services....I'm just trying to gauge if I'll have a lot to learn being from a civil area.

Thanks.

I have a mechanical engineering degree and I've worked for a building services consultancy for over 3 years as a mechanical design engineer (and energy assessor). I'm not trying to scare you off doing the course but I wouldn't advise doing it for two reasons;

1) There is enough assessors to deal with the market at the moment, SEI will probably tell you that also.
2) The SBEM software will be quite challenging to use without any prior knowledge of mechanical and electrical services as this is the fundamental basis upon which a building is rated.

I've been qualified since June although I've been using SBEM since February this year, it's only now that I'm fully confident with the software. This is only my opinion on the matter so apologies if I sound negative.

barndancer

fat__tony wrote: »

I have a mechanical engineering degree and I've worked for a building services consultancy for over 3 years as a mechanical design engineer (and energy assessor). I'm not trying to scare you off doing the course but I wouldn't advise doing it for two reasons;

1) There is enough assessors to deal with the market at the moment, SEI will probably tell you that also.
2) The SBEM software will be quite challenging to use without any prior knowledge of mechanical and electrical services as this is the fundamental basis upon which a building is rated.

I've been qualified since June although I've been using SBEM since February this year, it's only now that I'm fully confident with the software. This is only my opinion on the matter so apologies if I sound negative.

I visited my local FAS office and they said they would pay for the course with a private trainer (I had invoice already) in the new year. So if that is the case I'll give it a lash. If after doing the course I don't think it is for me I won't pursue it any further with regards to doing the exam and getting registered.

Thanks for your comments all.

Low Energy Eng

barndancer wrote: »

I visited my local FAS office and they said they would pay for the course with a private trainer (I had invoice already) in the new year. So if that is the case I'll give it a lash. If after doing the course I don't think it is for me I won't pursue it any further with regards to doing the exam and getting registered.

Thanks for your comments all.

I'm quite impressed FAS are welcoming & covering this. Best of luck with it

pamweld

Hi, I am qualified in a bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Technology and an AMIEI member of the IEI, not sure if my qualification is good enough for registration, I have always worked in the structural engineering field since I qualified in 2003. Am wondering if this is worth doing now as the market has changed quite alot since this post was originally started. Am looking for possible ways to further my career in the structural side as I have no interest in the manufacturing, working for a consultant engineers at the moment basically having the same responsibilities but without the ability to sign off on projects. Its a small company so thinking if I was trained in this I could bring something to the table in my own right if I make sense?!