If you’re bored with your current employment or are currently unemployed then train to be a plumber and earn £80,000 per year. Just enrole on a fast-track programme, pay a company around £6000 for their trouble and you could potentially be on the road to riches within a few months…. Sound too good to be true? Well it is!!

We’re in the second dip of this painful recession that we have the misfortune to be living / surviving in.  The coalition are no better that the previous government in my opinion but have just as many excuses.  Its all our fault because ‘we borrowed too much in the past and are now paying for it.’  Give us another load of crap excuses and try looking at the greedy bankers and MPs Mr Cameron.  Times are hard and purse strings are tight in the vast majority of cases.  Good plumbers with a sound reputation, a strong customer base and competitive pricing will survive.  The rest will fall by the wayside. The Rogue Traders will start somewhere else cushioned by their excessive prices.

The people who run these training companies and make wild claims about how much you COULD earn are no better than the bankers and MPs.  They band about these unrealistic figures tempting people who are not really suited to the trade and fleece them for what minor savings they may have accrued.  Here’s some facts provided by Salarytrack for employed plumbers based around the Andover area:

1. 21% earn less than or up to £20k per annum
2. 38% earn £25k per annum
3. 26% earn £30k per annum
4. 10% earn £35k per annum
5. 1% EARN GREATER THAN £40k PER ANNUM.

Now it doesn’t take a great amount of brains to work out that the 1% earning greater than £40k per annum are seasoned pro’s who are invaluable to their companies and what they don’t know about plumbing just isn’t worth knowing.  The majority percentile earn £25k and are qualified and experienced in their trade easily being able to work alone.

So stop and smell the coffee.  DO NOT spend your savings on these courses expecting to earn unrealistic wage claims. There are plenty of night courses out there where you can train for realistic money and may have a small chance of getting taken on by a company.

Become a self-employed plumber! you may then realise your potential and earn these kind of wild claim salaries…But….Be warned…. The roads are littered with self-employed business start-ups.  It’s a fact that currently 50% of business start-ups will fail within the first 3 YEARS. Those that make it beyond the 3 years will have done the following during this recession.

1. They will have worked far in excess of the average 40 hour week; many working 7 days a week.  The work doesn’t stop when you walk through the door.  Think about written quotes, returned phone calls, financial returns, invoicing etc etc!
2. They will have sacrificed holidays, family committments and worked many nights ‘burning the midnight oil’.
3. They will have ploughed £1000’s of their own money into marketing, tools and making the business succeed.
4. They will have given up any dream in the short term of getting a mortgage, due to the ‘Senior Underwriter’ turning down mortgage application at the very last minute! …..Well ok, that’s just my personal experience so I’m slightly bitter and twisted 😉

So to sum up, think carefully before being lured with these wild claims.  The plumbing industry is extremely hard to crack.  BUT, if you’re committed, astute, proactive, learn quickly, can market yourself and are willing to take a calculated risk you just might realise your dreams?