Electrician v plumber

squiddy

Strongly thinking of picking up a trade but I'm unsure which to do iv an equal interest in both.
In your opinions which trade is better (which will I be more likely to get more work from down the road) I know pay wise both are in or around the same.

Thanks

eurokev

Electrician. Cleaner, not as heavy, able to move in to far more different areas, more travel options, and just more money the better you are at it generally. It's no contest in my opinion, although I have no problem with the plumbing trade, I find a lot of it quite interesting. Currently serving my time in E&I myself

2011

Electrician IMHO.

The college element is a bit more challenging and overall it is much more interesting and technical. Working on domestic installations never appealed much to me, but working on large industrial projects can be fascinating. There are lots of different directions to go in too. Being an electrician can open a lot of doors. Purely on the basis of being a qualified electrician I worked in Ireland and mainland Europe as an electrical foreman and instrumentation technician. I made some good money too particularly in the petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors. Since I started as an apprentice electrician in 1991 I haven't been out of work.

I made a career change and gave this sort of work up over 10 years ago. However what I learnt while "on my tools" still helps me in my current role, so no regrets.

Gumbo

I like the idea of electrician, but it depends on which area of plumbing you go into, gas or bathrooms or both.

I'm neither, but I have mates that are both, my sparks mates moved into electrical engineering, got qualifications from DIT and secured very good jobs during the recession, and my plumber mates, haven't had a down day in years.

I haven't met a plumber that wasn't busy over the years.

Elemonator

One element that previous posters haven't mentioned is danger. It's probably a very small factor but I'd imagine that being an electrician could turn you into a Sunday roast if you were careless enough. I'm open to correction though.

Charlie19

Elemonator wrote: »

One element that previous posters haven't mentioned is danger. It's probably a very small factor but I'd imagine that being an electrician could turn you into a Sunday roast if you were careless enough. I'm open to correction though.

There was no Sunday roast at the ESB power plant in Inchicore and correct me if I'm wrong but i dont think any of the copper wire thieves had any training.

brightspark

Elemonator wrote: »

One element that previous posters haven't mentioned is danger. It's probably a very small factor but I'd imagine that being an electrician could turn you into a Sunday roast if you were careless enough. I'm open to correction though.

Not being careless is an important part of both trades.

Plumbers may end up working on gas systems etc.

And it's a foolish electrician who works on live equipment unnecessarily and without adequate precautions.
its my opinion that a properly trained electrician probably gets fewer shocks most people expect.

2011

Elemonator wrote: »

One element that previous posters haven't mentioned is danger.

To be honest there are risks associated with all trades.
Remember it is not just electricians that are exposed to the risk of electric shock during construction / commissioning.

However I accept your point that there is an increased risk once electricity is added to the mix.
This is why it is important to be properly trained, qualified, not to allow yourself become complacent and in general to act like a professional.

squiddy

thanks for all the replies lads yous couldn't be anymore clearer.
Quick question though if I done domestic electrician apprentice is there anything stopping me from transferring over to industrial? Or even the other way around?

The Mulk

squiddy wrote: »

thanks for all the replies lads yous couldn't be anymore clearer.
Quick question though if I done domestic electrician apprentice is there anything stopping me from transferring over to industrial? Or even the other way around?

As far as I remember its the same trade, your off the job training is thae same and your exams are the same. There's a lot more in industrial to get experience in though compared to domestic. I served my time in industrial in late 90s/00s, always hated domestic work!
If you keep up the studies its easy to move into other industries and you gain a lot of transferable skills too.

2011

Correct, it is the same qualification on paper.

However in reality a "domestic electrician" would be likely to struggle working in the industrial sector or even getting a job in this area in the first place.
It's a different ball game (generally).
The reverse can apply, but not to the same extent.

squiddy

it seems a lot more difficult to get an industrial apprenticeship there's not as many advertised anyone know off hand any companies or anything to try? I have a domestic apprenticeship starting up in June in a site nearby it's supposed to be nailed on but I'm not counting on it until I actually start.

squiddy

it seems a lot more difficult to get an industrial apprenticeship there's not as many advertised anyone know off hand any companies or anything to try? I have a domestic apprenticeship starting up in June in a site nearby it's supposed to be nailed on but I'm not counting on it until I actually start.

Gumbo

squiddy wrote: »

thanks for all the replies lads yous couldn't be anymore clearer.
Quick question though if I done domestic electrician apprentice is there anything stopping me from transferring over to industrial? Or even the other way around?

My mate was a domestic electrician, got laid off and went to blanch and got a degree in electrical and sustainable engineering or something along those lines, now works in a large drinks manufacturers looking into the machines and processes and repairing them etc

squiddy

kceire wrote: »

My mate was a domestic electrician, got laid off and went to blanch and got a degree in electrical and sustainable engineering or something along those lines, now works in a large drinks manufacturers looking into the machines and processes and repairing them etc

Thanks.
I don't have to be on the dole or anything like that for an apprenticeship do you know?

aido79

squiddy wrote: »

it seems a lot more difficult to get an industrial apprenticeship there's not as many advertised anyone know off hand any companies or anything to try? I have a domestic apprenticeship starting up in June in a site nearby it's supposed to be nailed on but I'm not counting on it until I actually start.

A domestic apprenticeship is a good place to start as you get to learn the basics of running circuits, switching and generally working in a construction environment. I would not recommend getting stuck doing domestic work as it can get very monotonous after a while. I think a good time to change over from being a domestic apprentice to industrial when you have a little bit of experience. As has been mentioned it would be quite difficult for an industrial company to take you on once qualified because they may not be willing to pay some the qualified rate when they may not be able to do the actual work. The gap in skills between a domestic electrician and an industrial is huge.

Another thing to be aware of in doing an electrical apprenticeship is the maths part of it. I have seen some really good electricians really struggle with the maths and have not been able to finish apprenticeships because of it. If you do decide to do an electrical apprenticeship it would be worth considering doing extra courses on the side as it will benefit you in the long run. The industry is changing and knowledge is definitely power(no pun intended) in this regard.

For a humorous take on it have a look at this. I should probably put a language warning on it so for anyone offended by bad language its probably best not to watch it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mViO9mnCTBo

2011

squiddy wrote: »

Thanks.
I don't have to be on the dole or anything like that for an apprenticeship do you know?

Absolutely not.

2011

aido79 wrote: »

A domestic apprenticeship is a good place to start as you get to learn the basics of running circuits, switching and generally working in a construction environment.

I have a different view. IMHO if you want to be an industrial electrician serve your time with an industrial company. An apprenticeship is 4 calendar years long (not college years which are much shorter). I feel this is enough time to learn enough.
I spent a number of years during the boom times doing domestic work (rewires and new builds). For me it involved a lot of crawling around attics, moving furniture, lifting floorboards and chasing walls. I got fed up with it.

Another thing to be aware of in doing an electrical apprenticeship is the maths part of it. I have seen some really good electricians really struggle with the maths and have not been able to finish apprenticeships because of it.

It is true that some struggle with maths. However I don't think that this should be overstated. I did pass maths in the leaving certificate and I can assure you that there I did not cover anything new while serving my time. I felt that most complicated maths was less difficult than what I covered in secondary school.

aido79

2011 wrote: »

aido79 wrote: »

A domestic apprenticeship is a good place to start as you get to learn the basics of running circuits, switching and generally working in a construction environment.

I have a different view. IMHO if you want to be an industrial electrician serve your time with an industrial company. An apprenticeship is 4 calendar years long (not college years which are much shorter). I feel this is enough time to learn enough.
I spent a number of years during the boom times doing domestic work (rewires and new builds). For me it involved a lot of crawling around attics, moving furniture, lifting floorboards and chasing walls. I got fed up with it.

Another thing to be aware of in doing an electrical apprenticeship is the maths part of it. I have seen some really good electricians really struggle with the maths and have not been able to finish apprenticeships because of it.

It is true that some struggle with maths. However I don't think that this should be overstated. I did pass maths in the leaving certificate and I can assure you that there I did not cover anything new while serving my time. I felt that most complicated maths was less difficult than what I covered in secondary school.[/quote]

Everyone has different experiences during their apprenticeships and it's good for the op hear a few of them. I done my first year as a domestic apprentice and hated it but learned quite a lot from it. The last 3 years of my apprenticeship was spent on large industrial projects which if I hadn't have done I would not have got the opportunities I did after I qualified.

I've come across some very good domestic electricians and some very good industrial electricians. However I have seen one case where a newly qualified industrial electrician struggled to fit off a socket in a house because all he had done through his apprenticeship was metal containment and long cable runs...although this probably said more about him than the apprenticeship he'd done.
In my opinion it's easier to get started with an industrial company as a second year apprentice than a greenie so if the op has the chance to start a domestic apprenticeship then he should take it and keep an eye out for an industrial company to transfer to.

You're right about the maths. It's not overly difficult but it does cause problems for some people.

2011

aido79 wrote: »

Everyone has different experiences during their apprenticeships and it's good for the op hear a few of them.

Agree 100%

kelledy

No need to be on the dole
. I have a few companies names to help you with but am unsure if we are allowed post companies names ??

kelledy

Sorry wrong thread