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If you’ve ever spent your morning commute daydreaming about starting afresh with your career, this feature is for you. Each Monday, we speak to someone from a different profession to discover what it’s really like. This week we chat to plumber and gas engineer Leah Carney.
Apprentice plumbers typically earn… between £18-19k, but this goes up closer to £28-29k once they’re newly qualified. At the top-end, those running a limited company can earn more than £70k. Specialist certificates have an impact on what you can charge too, like whether or not you’re Gas Safe.
I don’t believe many plumbers would appreciate haggling… as the price is going to so many unseen costs, planning and sourcing. Fixing a problem before it becomes bad is a good way to reduce parts and labour. Also, if it is a small job or quite common, buying some products themselves can save on time charged.
I sometimes do work for free... for charity, disabled or elderly clients who are financially in need or who have paid someone to do work that was done poorly but then had no means to pay a new person to fix that work.
I am often asked what made me choose plumbing as a female… Although I don’t mind this question, it continues to highlight that people’s perceptions are yet to be changed by seeing a female in a physical, sometimes unglamorous, role. I’ve had to overcome misconceptions about what I’m capable of. It’s a sad fact that I have experienced sexism and racism at times. But I’ve never looked at it like I’m the odd one out. When I’m on a job, I know that I can do anything the next guy can because I trust my knowledge and experience.
New builds do suffer from a lot of issues… not just with plumbing. The plumbing is installed with a rush, things are forgotten by plumbers and installed without care or thought of longevity due to high demand on creating homes quickly, and sometimes cutting cost of materials and skilled labour. I encounter these issues mainly in larger new build…
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