Which Trade Is Better - Plumbing Or Electrical?
The Pros & Cons Of Each
However, not everybody is going to have
the same opportunity as me, and some might not even take the
opportunity if it were presented to them. But for those who are stuck
wondering what are the benefits and cons of each trade, then let me give
you my tips.
Electrician Pro's:
Very clean job,
you won't have to get digging down in dirt very often - if at all.
Especially if you are working in a maintenance electrician role.
Endless
amount of learning. With the pace of technology, there's always
something new to learn. Whether it's testing out new wireless
multimeters, or learning how new german safety scanners work, you'll be
feeling like an apprentice (learning a lot) at most new jobs you go to.
More
opportunities to earn big dollars. I know quite a few electricians who
work in the oil fields and earn well over $200,000 per year.
Electrician Con's:
Can
be highly dangerous. Depending on what type of electrician you become,
you may end up working with equipment that runs on voltages into the
tens of thousands of volts. There are numerous deaths each year due to
electrical accidents, and it's not just the high voltages that can kill
you.
Expensive equipment and tools. Again, this will all depend on
what field of electricity you get into, but you may need to purchase
multimeters and testing equipment such as insulation testers, that will cost hundreds of dollars.
Plumber Pro's:
Working
in different places. Some days in my plumbing career I would work in up
to 5 or 6 different places in a single day. This is great for keeping
things interesting.
Job security. With these uncertain times in the
economy, some industries are experiencing a downturn in business. But
plumbing is of the lucky industries where they will always be work
available.
Independence. Becoming a professional plumber allows you
to start your own business, the sky is the limit when it comes to how
big you want to grow your company.
Plumber Con's:
Dirty
work. Let's face it, plumbers have to some dirty work. If getting your
hands dirty isn't your idea of fun, then plumbing definitely isn't for
you.
Irregular hours. This can be the same for an electrician, but I
found I was getting a lot more emergency call outs when I was a plumber
compared to when I was an electrician.