If the office 9-to-5 life isn't for you, you're probably looking for a career that offers you diversity and a chance to get out and try your hand at new tasks. For this reason, you may have decided that you would be well suited to a job in the trade industry. However, with so many to choose from you may be having a difficult time pinpointing which to specialise in. You may be set on going into the trade industry but be asking yourself, what trade should I learn?
In general, trade jobs are appealing; they can result in good salaries and a chance to be your own boss, learn useful manual skills and a whole other range of opportunities. Of course, every job has pros and cons and your personal preferences will determine what trade you are best suited to learning. To help you make that decision, we've come up with a few key things you should consider before diving into a trade.
Whichever trade you decide to learn you will be able to find a course that suits you at Access Training, take a look:
Click here to browse all of our trade courses
Are you more interested in building something, or fixing something?
Manual work is great because it teaches you skills that you can use in your life as well as that of your client's. But some things may interest you more than others, perhaps you're a problem solver, who upon seeing a task is set on working it out and fixing the problem. On the other hand, you may not want to fix problems; you may be interested in creating things from scratch.
Building something: If you want the chance to create something then carpentry is a good move for you. From small projects to buildings, you'll be constantly creating with your ability to turn materials into something else entirely.
Fixing something: Plumbers and electricians are often called out when something goes wrong with someone's plumbing or electrical systems. It'll be your job to find out what is wrong and fix it.
Do you prefer working on one project for a while or a new one each day?
If you like the stability of working in one place for an amount of time then you may be more interested in a job in carpentry and other jobs that are needed in construction work. If you are working on a building site these projects can last a varied amount of time and you are likely to see your creation grow over time.
In comparison, electricians, plumbers and gas engineers often work on multiple jobs over the course of a single day. Moving from project to project offers you the opportunity to solve new problems in a short amount of time. Although you may be asked to work on bigger projects like wiring a house or constructing the plumbing system for a building.
Would you rather spend time working indoors or outdoors?
This will depend on what kind of job you are carrying out, as most of the trades will have jobs that are outside or indoors, so hopefully, you don't mind either! Of course, there are some trades where you are more likely to work inside more than others, such as a kitchen fitter. However, locations for electricians, plumbers and gas engineers will depend if you're involved with domestic work or industrial work - but again, this will depend on the job!
If you prefer working outside then you may enjoy construction work. Construction workers are often working outside building houses or other buildings.
Browse Our Construction Courses >
Do you get claustrophobic working in tight places?
Some trade jobs will require working in tight spaces more than others. Electricians for instance often will have to crawl into tight areas such as ceiling spaces to access wires and other electrical systems. Plumbers are also sometimes required to work in confined spaces to access pipes and drains and other tighter work areas.
If you know this isn't for you, then you are less likely to come across this when working in carpentry, plastering and kitchen fitting as you are often in larger areas. These trade jobs give you more opportunities to stretch your legs in general. However, you may then need to consider how you feel about working at heights and other factors. Our advisors are more than happy to discuss this with you further so contact us today.
Are you colour blind?
If you are colour blind, one trade you may want to rule out is a career as an electrician. If you have trouble distinguishing colour then working with colour-coded wires will be a problem, and this could be dangerous. Wiring mistakes can damage what you're working on or even lead to electrocution.
Luckily, this is less of a problem with the other trades, so you should still be able to find one that you'll love learning!
Here are links to some of the courses we offer:
DISCLAIMER: Of course, we've listed some things you may want to consider when choosing a trade to learn, but your daily works will depend on the type of job you end up doing - e.g. whether you are working on domestic or industrial projects. Once you begin learning your trade, you will learn more about how you can specialise and what these roles will involve.
If you are still unsure about what the benefits of learning a trade are, you may be interested in our two helpful infographics:
If you are still unsure which trade you are most suited for, get in touch with one of our expert course advisors. We pride ourselves on being able to help people find the career they love, so feel free to get in touch!
Contact Us >
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now offering live online training sessions that allow you to start learning your trade from home. Join our virtual tutorials, interact with your instructor, and ask questions just as you would in a classroom setting; then, when you attend our training centre in person, you will be ready to focus on developing your practical skills. Click here to learn more about our online training packages.