Engineer To Tiler? Questions & Advice - TilersForums.com

[J88]

Hi,

I'm currently a desk based engineer but don't particularly enjoy it and would much prefer to get out of the office and get more hands on. Before this job I had previously done manual labor and even though the pay was rubbish actually had a better feeling of job satisfaction.

I'm looking into different trades I could possibly get into and tiling is something I keep going back too but with rent to pay and a baby on the way very soon its a big risk to leave my current job.

I don't mind being self employed (have been previously) but the contradiction trades seem very much to be about who you know and having good contacts for getting regularly work...and I have none so that is the first of my worries if I was to take the leap.

Secondly,a few years down the line will I be able to earn enough money. I don't want to take a pay drop. I need to be earning min. £20k profit, ideally £25k+. Is this achievable. I am reading conflicting messages on income potential. Tradesmen near me always appear to be doing well but then you also hear lots saying they are struggling.

I'm not a fan of these short courses that promise the world are there any decent ones or should I just forget about these all together?

How to get work? No trade contacts,? Big worry. Doing work in evenings and weekends outside of my current job is something I would like to do but how I get these jobs I haven't figured out at this stage.

Any help would be great. I have the ability and the business sense to do this I just have doubts as to taking the first step and what steps this should be. Hard work, sense of accomplishment and financial reward is what I am looking for.

Thanks

 

[White Room]

Courses maybe your first option unless you can work with a tiler in your area but you wouldn't be earning £25'000 a year to start with so a drop in money is inevitable.
To do jobs evenings and weekends you'll need some knowledge, maybe friends and family to start with.

 

[One Day]

Ok, so now to upset all our regulars:
The key to getting going is attitude. A can-do and confident attitude is absolutely key.
Next important thing is WHO you know. As with all areas of life - it's not really WHAT you know as opposed to WHO you know. Can you network well enough to get work passed your way?

This is a really controversial subject I know and I kind of hate to say it, but there are so many very well paid tilers out there who are absolutely rubbish at what they do, but they are charming and well connected and don't care so much about the finished job, as they do about getting paid.
If you can be like that, yes - you can be up and running and netting 25k pretty easily.

If though, you want to "earn" that, then I'm afraid there are no real shortcuts.
I started in 2006 and had a few very lean years whilst I learnt on the job, so to speak.
10 years on and I like to think I know a bit more. My speed has increased along with my profits. My quality always matters more than my income so I'll never be wealthy, but I can pay a mortgage and support my family.
In fact my wife was able to give up work last year.

You absolutely cannot learn the skills required to earn 25k tiling on a course - even if it was 6 months long.
That's going to take a few years on the job.
If it's a route you want to go down, then you will have to accept and budget for some pretty lean years whilst you get going I'm afraid!

 

[J88]

Ok, so now to upset all our regulars:
The key to getting going is attitude. A can-do and confident attitude is absolutely key.
Next important thing is WHO you know. As with all areas of life - it's not really WHAT you know as opposed to WHO you know. Can you network well enough to get work passed your way?

This is a really controversial subject I know and I kind of hate to say it, but there are so many very well paid tilers out there who are absolutely rubbish at what they do, but they are charming and well connected and don't care so much about the finished job, as they do about getting paid.
If you can be like that, yes - you can be up and running and netting 25k pretty easily.

If though, you want to "earn" that, then I'm afraid there are no real shortcuts.
I started in 2006 and had a few very lean years whilst I learnt on the job, so to speak.
10 years on and I like to think I know a bit more. My speed has increased along with my profits. My quality always matters more than my income so I'll never be wealthy, but I can pay a mortgage and support my family.
In fact my wife was able to give up work last year.

You absolutely cannot learn the skills required to earn 25k tiling on a course - even if it was 6 months long.
That's going to take a few years on the job.
If it's a route you want to go down, then you will have to accept and budget for some pretty lean years whilst you get going I'm afraid!

Thanks for that detailed reply. I'm not looking to just quit my job and think I'm gonna be rolling in work, although that would be very nice.

I think the next step for me is to contact some local tillers and see if I come help out on a weekend outside of my normal job.
I'm not the type of person who could do a job knowing it was crap. I sometimes think life would be easier if I was like that but its just not me. I think if I can find away to break into the game part time that would be ideal.

 

[Gabor Nagyhazi]

I've just finished a 5 day wall/floor/natural stone course up at UK Pro Tiling Training (formerly known as NETT) and have to say the course was excellent! You will be surprised how good you can get in a very short space of time. Apart from learning loads on the practical side, where the course really excels is from a business standpoint. Darren has been/still is an extremely successful businessman and teaches his principles of success in a very easy to understand and clear way so that the average tiler can very quickly become a "Businessman working as a tiler" and not the other way around. I've been in the game for 15 years on and off and just felt it was time to re-train hence the reason for doing the course in the first place. But like I said earlier, the business aspect was a real eye opener and definitely feel that if I follow what has been taught down to a tee without deviating from the plan then work will be flowing in within a few short months. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Time's Ran Out]

I've worked for a few engineers and they can be a pain in the.
So you should do well!
Did a Norweigen slate job a few years ago for an 'engineer' and he wanted me to calibrate every 600x300mm tile, lose the joint and butt tile the floor - it was a beautiful job on completion (my way) but I still walked before other work was started.

 

[J88]

So a year after making my original post I'm back!

With my current job frustrating me more and more on a daily basis I haven't given up on getting out of the office. Since that last post I'm now a dad and brought our own house so it's more important than ever to get some decent money coming in.

I have to admit I've looked into lots of trades but tiling is something I keep coming back to. I want to do a basic course just to get hands on before hopefully starting my NVQ in the near-mid future. Does this sound like a good plan?