How well paid are trade careers in the UK in 2024?

jaybee

jaybee

jaybee

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Got a lad contemplating a trade career path like an apprenticeship for Electrician, Carpenter, Plumber, Bricklaying. He like's the idea of carpentry but I am hearing that this is probably the least well payed of the typical trade roles?
Would you agree with that? As much as we brits complain of very high trade quoted prices for work, do you know people in the trade and how well they are doing in terms of rough annual salary? What was it like for them starting out? How much did they earn compared to now? Has it been hard on their bodies? Regrets?

My son will get good enough grades to do A levels, and is being pushed in that direction by school, but ultimately doesn't like the idea of just doing further general A level subjects potentially coming out after 2 years still not knowing really what he wants to do. Like's the idea of working in a more hands on role so was thinking to go down the apprenticeship path where he can start earning earlier. I find there is still a stigma around people doing trade apprenticeships. We have been to some open evenings this year and the first questions are always "will you be likely to get level 4 in English and Maths". When he tells them he is predicted 6/7s in most subjects, they are shocked and tend to ask why he is not doing A levels. He doesn't want to go to Uni ever so arguably A levels are less relevant. I'm not sure how much they help nowadays. Tough to know how to help steer them in this day and age. Trade roles seem quite robust thinking of the future of AI as well. Thoughts?
 
Let him do what he wants, they pay plenty fine to live on. If he finds he wants to do something else later it's simple enough to do other courses across a few months.
 
Very well paid, and you don't even have to be in one of the skilled trades or do a good job.

I know of some absolute charlatans pulling in close to six figures a year who've done **** poor work and refused to come back and sort it out. These are people who have been called out on social media etc and in reviews, but many people don't care and just want someone who can come out asap and do the work for a bit less than what some company has quoted.
 
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Electrician would be a good one as i feel there's more scope to expand outside of working for residential customers and into fairly specialised electrical engineering roles should he ever want to in the future. If he's relatively academic then it might also appeal that there's some maths etc involved so a little more brain power used.

Carpentary would be a bit more creative and needs to be generally more precise. I enjoy it as a DIYer more than say electrics/plumbing but unsure if i'd want it as a job
 
jaybee said:
Got a lad contemplating a trade career path like an apprenticeship for Electrician, Carpenter, Plumber, Bricklaying. He like's the idea of carpentry but I am hearing that this is probably the least well payed of the typical trade roles?
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They can all pay very well, from what I've seen and paid they all can charge 150-250 day rates when fully qualified with experience.

From friends experience first few years aren't fun but if you start at 18 you will be qualified by 21/22 and probably be earning more than a fresh grad and also not have any student loans to pay down

If my son doesn't end up academically inclined I'd be happy for him to get into an apprenticeship
 
Unless you are completely **** 50-60k as a baseline.

I see even reasonably inexperienced sparkies on contract work getting £60k+ p/a.

If you get as far as running a company or employing staff etc then a lot more.

It's a state as the moment as when were kids (I'm 40) everyone was basically told not to get into trades, that they were low paid jobs for idiots, so most people didnt go down that road, now there is a shortage of those people, and even more so now a lot of foreign trades people have packed up and gone back to their respective original countries.

Now its a high paid job full of idiots.

Unfortuantely there is a scenario where there is such a demand, you really dont need to be any good and can charge a fortune, this will change of course. My step kid is 17 and doing engineering A levels and physics and wants to get into some kind of apprentiship, and 20 years ago this was seen as some kind of cop out, or lower standard then going into further acedemic education but I think the attitide has very much changed now, so give it, 10 years maybe and that gap should be filled.
 
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BUDFORCE said:
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It's a state as the moment as when were kids (I'm 40) everyone was basically told not to get into trades, that they were low paid jobs for idiots, so most people didnt go down that road, now there is a shortage of those people
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This was the case for me, 41. Getting an office job was the peak achievement apparently
 
Yeah a couple of mentions of engineering courses. There seem to be a load of different ones. :O

Engineering Manufacturing Technician
Embedded Electronic Systems Design and Development
Transport and Warehouse Operations
Supply Chain Warehouse Operative
Motor Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician
International Freight Forwarding Specialist
Gas Engineering
Aircraft Maintenance
Engineering Technician
Engineering Operative
Engineering Fitter
Automation and Controls
Autocare Technician
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
Engineering apprenticeships?
Our basic mech/elec technician salary is ~£54000/year plus overtime and bonuses etc based in the East Midlands.
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Would love to hear more about what it involves and what kind of work day to day. I'm out of my depth here. When I think of an engineer, I think of working in an office doing a lot of diagrams/drawing/design using computers? Is that simpleton rubbish? I'm not knocking the career in any way and don't mean to cause offense. I simply don't know.
 
jaybee said:
Would love to hear more about what it involves and what kind of work day to day. I'm out of my depth here. When I think of an engineer, I think of working in an office doing a lot of diagrams/drawing/design using computers? Is that simpleton rubbish? I'm not knocking the career in any way and don't mean to cause offense. I simply don't know.
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It gets as complicated as you like really. Basic industrial maintenance on pumps conveyors, gearboxes, valves etc up to steam tables, pump curves, weld maps, PSSR or CBM with vibration analysis, motion amplification etc etc. the scope for finding your niche is huge.
 
Yes you can make good money from the trades if you are actually any good at something.

Some of these young lads find out a harsh truth when they try a trade and quit.
 
What hasn't been mentioned is that trades can be hard the body, and unfit people typically end up knackered in some way, but it's certainly not a given or a life stopper, just something that i've noticed from working along side them at various places.

Also retraining trades when older isn't as easy as something academic like IT for example as the experience is difficult to gain.

Trades give a good insight to other on site works, and a general builder can learn a lot.

I'd say they're a secure direction to go down for your boy as he's switched on which will benefit him if he chooses to go self employed, or do up a house. Even if he's not 100% on the idea, it's worth a punt for the insight.
 
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