JimmyBFC

Hiya fellas, and ladies.

Im currently employed by what used to be the old Transco (gas emergency servce) under Northern Gas Networks here in Yorkshire.

Tbh, of late Im getting a little frustrated and agitated at the lack of stepping up the ladder and learning new skills within the business.

The job is quite a good one, good pension, decent holidays and time off, and its really steady away, lucky if I see the gaffer once per week as we work from home and are pretty much self suffcient and make our own decisions.

The thing is, theres little room for climbing the ladder and advancing money and career wise, its one of those jobs that ppl seem to stay in for all their life, many of the lads on my area are near retirement age and happy to trundle on....me...I don't really want to become a "plodder"

What jobs are out there with a good income that are attainable through either training or experience? I can earn around 35k per year via call-out/overtime etc but even a good few HGV drivers earn money like this....not taking anything away from them, but my training took a hell of a lot longer and involves actually keeping ppl safe from very real threats etc.

Just a bit downhearted and considering my options tbh.

p12mem

stay in the job, the grass isn't always greener

Get A Grip

I should join the army and study law.

Then you can be a barrack room lawyer like loads of people on here!!!

dunx

iTrader: (3)

With energy costs looking good for business....

Stick with a VERY profitable company !

(Says the Council employee LOL ! )

DunxC

big daz2

i felt the same as you 4years ago and started my own business and as said the grass isnt greener 30k worth of debt and had to sell my type r and just kept my house by the skin of my teeth later im now in a paid career in sales and its going good but i wish id stayed plodding as id be better off now.all the best with your choice.

dan83590

I was similar to you. I'm a chippy and was working for a large international company. Started at the bottom and finally got promoted to a site supervision role. This involved travelling countrywide. After a few years of that I realised that making the next step would be very difficult. The final kick in the **** was the threat of redundancy due to my part of the company being sold off.

Last year I went self-employed and started my own small business. I've not looked back. This years takings aren't as good as my previous wage but things are looking up, my customer base is slowly but surely growing. I find that I just need to be honest and fairly priced, and above all do the job well.

Hopefully my venture will continue to grow and who knows, maybe next year we'll be millionaires Rodney! I love it, best thing I ever did. I think if I hadn't have done this I'd have always been thinking 'what if'..

JimmyBFC

Fellas, thanks for the responses, food for thought

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

U thought about offshore??
what exactly do u do??
Plenty of work offshore just now with the current oil price.
I work 2 weeks on 3 weeks off so plenty time off and a decent wage not such a good pension but you can set up your own.

JimmyBFC

Hi mate, it had crossed my mind, would you be able to PM me some facts and figures etc, the time off etc is what id enjoy most tbh matey

nixxon

Self employment ain't for you then squire! In the first year, you'll be lucky to get a tea break .

black ctr

sorry mate im missing something taking tax out of it you take home approx £550 per week and your comparing to hgv drivers get a grip paramedics ect earn far less and they do save lifes the grass is not always greener

shogo10

iTrader: (1)

I have heard that it is very hard graft offshore. Is it true that for the 2 weeks you are on the platform you work 12 hour shifts every day 7 days a week for the 2 weeks?
(Basically no days off)

urdad

In the same sort of rut m8.
Like the job,love the time off,money is ok,but at the moment the chance for advancing is minimal,dead mans shoes so to speak.
The situation could change here @ anytime,prolly the same with your place,you don't know what's round the corner or what might change.
Many people left here through redundancies 18 months ago drawn by the very good lump sum and pension,many regret it,a few were leaving anyway so benefited
I don't think I'd consider leaving due to the wages,pension benefits,healthcare,holidays,bonuses and as you say the days off,4x12hrs,4xoff .
All the above are important to me and prolly to most other people on here.
There's a lot to consider with a massive change like this,hope you chose well,good luck.....p.s can you fit a cooker for me

JimmyBFC

lol...if you were closer mate yeah

Thanks for the advice fellas.

My only bugbear is really the chances of promotion, there are 18 lads that work our area, id say about 5-6 are 25-35 yrs old, the rest are all maybe early 50's id say, Transco didn't actually recruit for nearly 10 yrs at one point so the industry is an aging one, id like top think at some point ill have the chance to make the a higher position etc.

Im obviously not into rash decisions because I have a family to support etc etc like most of us do, but looking at most replies id be foolish to just up and leave.

urdad

I think a lot of big companies did this @ the same time,the younger ones better learn before the older ones leave,we suffer from the odd"lack of experience".
Don't worry about the cooker I fitted her into a cupboard,mexican illegal she's only small....

Blueblaster

Could it be that the reason no one gets promoted is because everyone is a "plodder"? Why not go and see your manager or maybe even his manager and say that you are ambitious and want to progress in the company. If the company can't afford/won't give you the necessary training then ask what qualifications they would be looking for if they employed someone direct into the management role. Then look very hard at paying for it yourself.

FWIW after 4 years at university I gave up a city job and now enjoy a lot more time off, less stress and a lot more money. WHEN IT WORKS it is so worthwhile. The key is knowing what you want to do and what your REALISTIC expectations should be. Don't forget that you'll be giving 40% of everything you earn above your current package to the Government. A extra 10 grand sounds a lot but is only 500 quid a month. Enough to make life more comfortable but not life-changing.

Good luck.

JimmyBFC

andy_s37

At the moment the Electrical Generation industry are screaming for Plant Operators. I work for E.On and they seem to be taking people on every five minutes. I work 4 on 6 off (2 days, 2 nights) and am on the plant on my own (I'm here now) so am my own boss. It can be hard sometimes but i've done alot worse jobs. Within the first 18 months i've been offered 4 different jobs internally with a view to climbing the ladder, they just didn't suit me (days).

Andy.

JPF

iTrader: (1)

In the same boat myself , I'm a CG artist in the games industry, sounds great don't it? and it is to start with, but its just a nine to five office job now, the projects are boring( we are doing a zoo game at the moment zzzzzz and I've got some rocks to make on Monday oh joy)
I get paid a good wage and was lucky to join the company when there was only about ten of us, in the last three to four years we have shot up to 160 people! so on the surface to an outsider wheres the problem, an easy job, pays quite well(though pay rises over the last years have been about 1% if that) I'll soon have shares too, though they aren't any use until the company floats or is bought by Sony or someone, be abt two year before that happens, but on the whole you would think I had much to moan about.

The grass is rarely greener it is true, a lot of mates left my company and been moving round the industry ever since, two have been made redundant twice and still don't earn as much as me doing the same job, one has made it big though, but then he is that sort of person that you know will make it big.
I'm a plodder been with my company 12 years now and yeah its dull its the safe option, but if it wasn't for plodders companies wouldn't last long and industries would simply collapse. I would like to be my own boss one day, all but a few of my bosses have been any good, most middle management in this country is **** and I'm sick of it. I will be my own boss one day but for now I'll just plod along. My job is boring and frustrating at the mo but most jobs are, its very rare to find a job you will always enjoy and if you do I bet it doesn't pay well. Me? I'm going to keep plodding coz plodding has given me a house a fun car a nice TV and lots of other things I wouldn't have, sometimes I think we need to look at what we have, not have not........man I go on!

superstar1

Hello Mate,
If you work in the gas industry, you must have a wealth of experience, have you ever considered moving into training. As you are probably aware there is a lot of rehabilitation work necessary on the infrastucture of the gas network. Since privatisation (weather you think that good or bad) utility companies are desperate for trained personnel.
I currently work for a training provider based in Manchester and deliver GNO Levels 1 & 2 training nationwide including the Yorkshire regions.
Worth thinking about mate because you will remain in the occupational area that you are familiar with and where your expertise lies, but in a different aspect. That may give you the motivation, job satisfaction and perhaps an improved career path with different prospects, using your experience without a massive change in direction remaining in the industry that you know.

Regards Wayne.

JimmyBFC

Hiya mate,

Yes mate I have, but the one major hurdle is that Barnsley had one opened a long time ago and have totally saturated the area, theres also one in York and Rotherham, and it really basically covers a large catchment area, I think its one of those things that would have worked well being done 5 years ago.

Just out of curiosity Wayne, what training is it your providing? Basic met 1, appliances etc, CCN1?

superstar1

We are mainly involved in the delivery of NVQ Levels 1-3 in the construction and utilities industries including Gas Network Operations Level 1 & 2, which used to be the old GD 1-5 qualification.
GNO Levels 1 & 2 includes the on site assessments of operatives working on the district, ie installation and repair of mains/services and meter installations/testing etc. All the major players such as Northern Gas Networks, United Utilities etc only want qualified personnel working on the districts for obvious reasons. So all utility companies such as Carillion, Morgan-Est, Balfour Beattie are desperate for trained competent personnel, and thats where we come in.

GazTheHat

I'm wandering the same.....Whether i still enjoy IT and am not blinded by the money. I've been building poker tables the last year and really like it. Unfortunetly the money is nowhere near my IT wage.

I'm immigrating to Oz soon, so i may just go for a career change as well.

Change is good sometimes.

Think if you stick with the job for another 3 years and come back to this conclusion. You'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner.