Due to the exciting choices available, the electrical industry offers jobs that many people choose. For simplicity\’s sake we will use the phrase Electrical Industry to cover off the more accurate term of \”Electro-Mechanical Engineering\”. Also, due to a wide variety of qualifications and standards throughout the world, we\’ll focus on those that fit the UK domestic and commercial market. Due to the huge list of opportunities available for a career in the electrical industry, we have to begin by focusing on the main areas and look at the \’add-ons\’ later on.

We consider that there are two ways to enter the electrical market. Initially there\’s the more traditional apprenticeship approach, but equally there is now an alternative, suited to those who are keen to enter later in their life. To clarify, we\’ll label each of them as the \’Mature Entrants\’ and the \’Junior Entrants\’.

Mature Entrants who join the industry later on do so with the aim of working for themselves, usually as a one person business. Whereas the \’Junior Entrants\’ train alongside regular electrical employment to pick up practical work place skills as they gain their qualifications. Upon leaving school many apprenticeships provide a fast learning curve for young adults looking to boost their auxiliary skills.

The different ways into electrical work have two distinct types of training: It is the involvement with NVQ\’s (or SVQ\’s for Scotland), that differentiate the Junior Entrants. The training itself is similar to non NVQ training, but completion of the full programme means getting the actual qualifications. Often, this means that students have to gain an apprenticeship in order to be able to realise the course work and testing requirements of the job.

Many mature students gain entry into the market without the NVQ element, and simply choose the most commercially practical route to self employed work. 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. This system, although appearing to reduce the attributes laid out, does allow for a faster and more solid entry into the domestic market.

We should differentiate the prospective earnings into the two categories of employed and self-employed. 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. It is recognised that competence and qualifications add to income levels as well as experience and information gained.

Basic salary for Junior Entrants can start at around 12 thousand per annum, often going above 35 thousand after several years in industry. Mature Entrants are more difficult to assess, and incomes up to and above 70k are regularly reported within the UK Press. Regardless of all that is the need to cover off additional costs such as tools, clothes and even a vehicle and all that goes along with that. Earmarked within this is the need to cover additional expenses such as accountancy or insurance. However, the driving force remains the UK skills shortage and this means that there\’s a load of work available. Without a doubt, the market would allow for some people to work a full seven days a week. Although by working very long hours and having assistants to help, the figures of 70-100 thousand advertised in newspapers might be achieved, it wouldn\’t be easy.

In light of the above, it is often understood that there is wild variance between the working expectations of Junior and Mature Entrants. Most of the work for Junior Entrant electricians will be on a simple 9-5, Monday to Friday basis. That aside the Mature market is equally affected by when their clients are available – this is especially so within the domestic sector, where evening and weekend work predominates. Although by testing and installing various business systems, many self-employed electricians manage to work during a normal working week.

If a Junior Electrician chooses an electrical career, then the main business actions of their company often dictate the type of expertise that they gain. Then again, the mature entrant can even go outside of the electrical field to gas work or plumbing work for example. Certainly if they are employed within the domestic sector this makes it easier to take on work without having to rely upon other people.

An up to the minute angle – involving a new level of skills – is that of the so called \’Green Engineer\’. The curiosity of both Junior and Mature Electricians to this new industry is well founded especially when considering the power of the UK and the EEC markets in areas of growth and governmental projects.

Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Look at CareerChangeJob.co.uk/icachjo.html or Electrical Certificates.