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Advice on what qualifications I need

Hi there, I'm thinking about training to become an electrician. I already have a HND in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and a degree in Electronics. What other qualifications would I need?

Advice is much appreciated.

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0 Roy Bowdler over 5 years ago

Ohm,

Rob’s response picked up by Chivers is really the most important issue. You will find courses if you look, although you also need someone to give you real world experience.

I don’t know anything about your situation or motives, but if you understand why you want to be an Electrician, then it is a perfectly good career pathway. You might for example want to become self-employed, or build up an electrical contracting business? You might be a young person who didn’t have the opportunity to follow an apprenticeship and found themselves steered into full -time education? I assume in this case that you have been unable to gain employment as a graduate trainee engineer and/or are not enjoying what you have found. Many people just enjoy more an active job with a practical skill element, rather than sitting behind a desk.

For many of a previous generation good apprenticeships were more plentiful, but university attendance was rare. So it was quite common for someone to discover after leaving school that they had an aptitude for something more “intellectual” and would perhaps like to wear a collar and tie, work mainly in an office, design and/or manage electrical installation work rather than carry it out. Many will have struggled through part-time, often “evening only” courses after work to improve their qualifications, perhaps to HNC level, getting a degree by part-time study was rarer, with limited courses available. Having a degree, or even an HNC also created a “social class transition”. Sociologists have classified people by formal qualification level and the term “blue collar worker” is often used.

I fit this second pattern, I gained an excellent apprenticeship in the Electricity Industry. Of around a dozen apprentices who started with me, I remember one had A levels and was going to be sent on a university “sandwich” course, the rest of us thought “what a flipping swot”. Of the rest, some had long careers “on the tools” or as a supervisor, with good earnings and had happy successful lives, some like me became “restless” seeking further qualifications and/or “promotion”. I became a senior manager eventually, but whether that was “better” than those who were happy in their “hands on” roles is highly debateable. I should note that my next door neighbour was a craft apprentice (mechanical) for the company where I was a manager, another neighbour isn’t “qualified”, but builds film sets, both seem "comfortable" and successful.

Be clear about what you want in your life and go for It!
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0 Roy Bowdler over 5 years ago

Ohm,

Rob’s response picked up by Chivers is really the most important issue. You will find courses if you look, although you also need someone to give you real world experience.

I don’t know anything about your situation or motives, but if you understand why you want to be an Electrician, then it is a perfectly good career pathway. You might for example want to become self-employed, or build up an electrical contracting business? You might be a young person who didn’t have the opportunity to follow an apprenticeship and found themselves steered into full -time education? I assume in this case that you have been unable to gain employment as a graduate trainee engineer and/or are not enjoying what you have found. Many people just enjoy more an active job with a practical skill element, rather than sitting behind a desk.

For many of a previous generation good apprenticeships were more plentiful, but university attendance was rare. So it was quite common for someone to discover after leaving school that they had an aptitude for something more “intellectual” and would perhaps like to wear a collar and tie, work mainly in an office, design and/or manage electrical installation work rather than carry it out. Many will have struggled through part-time, often “evening only” courses after work to improve their qualifications, perhaps to HNC level, getting a degree by part-time study was rarer, with limited courses available. Having a degree, or even an HNC also created a “social class transition”. Sociologists have classified people by formal qualification level and the term “blue collar worker” is often used.

I fit this second pattern, I gained an excellent apprenticeship in the Electricity Industry. Of around a dozen apprentices who started with me, I remember one had A levels and was going to be sent on a university “sandwich” course, the rest of us thought “what a flipping swot”. Of the rest, some had long careers “on the tools” or as a supervisor, with good earnings and had happy successful lives, some like me became “restless” seeking further qualifications and/or “promotion”. I became a senior manager eventually, but whether that was “better” than those who were happy in their “hands on” roles is highly debateable. I should note that my next door neighbour was a craft apprentice (mechanical) for the company where I was a manager, another neighbour isn’t “qualified”, but builds film sets, both seem "comfortable" and successful.

Be clear about what you want in your life and go for It!
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Advice on what qualifications I need

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