Many people start their electrical apprenticeship because they want to work in a hands-on job. The opportunity to earn a good living is a side benefit. You may have read articles about electricians earning as much as £100,000 a year. However, these are exceptions, not the rule, though there are things you can do to increase your pay. If you want to earn more money as an electrician, here’s what you can do.
Keep Learning
Continue learning and taking continuing education courses. If you’re an approved electrician, you’ll be eligible for another pay raise. Your pay will be capped at that point; however, you could get paid more for more dangerous work. You can be paid more for doing high-voltage electrical wiring, for example.
Ask for More
Don’t be afraid to ask for a raise. Just be ready to explain why you deserve a pay increase. You might be able to get a pay raise because you can show that you’ve taken on more responsibility or handled much more difficult jobs. If you’re supervising several other electricians, you can argue that you should be paid more for the additional responsibility. The alternative is switching jobs and starting with a company that pays you more.
Work More Hours
Electricians may be paid a day rate or hourly. If you’re paid hourly, you’ll earn more if you work more hours. However, this is limited by the fact that there are only so many hours in a day.
Some electricians are paid to do a specific task. If you’re paid per job, you can try to complete the job more quickly so you can move onto something else. However, you’ll run into problems if the work is of poor quality. Consider doing a higher level of work and charging more for it.
Start Your Own Business
Another thing you can do is to start your own company. If you start your own business, you’re going to have to take on tasks like marketing and managing the money. The business will take off once you start bringing in additional electricians.
However, you need to be careful about who you choose to hire. Unfortunately, qualifications and experience don’t necessarily translate into competency. You have to ensure that they do a good job because your company’s reputation is on the line. Once you have assembled a good team, you can start taking on large projects.
You can also increase your overall profits by managing your expenses. One of the ways that you can do this is by buying supplies wholesale instead of paying retail, for instance. Wholesale suppliers like Powerpoint Electrics will be able to sell you everything you need at a reasonable price, and they can give you bulk discounts. You’ll save time and money when they deliver the supplies to the construction site instead of sending your electricians to the store.
Working as an electrician allows you to earn a decent income. However, there’s a lot you can do to earn an even better income for yourself and your family.