To think about quitting my WFH job to re-train as a plasterer?

[confusedlady10]

Would I be stupid or unreasonable to consider quitting my job and re-train in a new field as a plasterer? I am a 29 year old single mum WFH in a dead end call centre job. It’s quite niche as it involves investigating specialist fraud cases but is still mainly a customer service job. The pay isn’t that great (£2k pm after tax living in London) and I’m fortunate to be able to live in cheap accommodation through family, but it’s not sustainable.

I’ve had applied for hundreds of jobs to try in earn more money and elevate, even paid someone to re-write my CV and do an extra qualification in my field within finance. But I don’t have a degree and regardless, I’m struggling to stand out. Hundreds of applicants, countless ghosting's and unfortunatelys after an odd interview. Finance, admin and banking sectors seem to be too saturated whether remote, hybrid or office.

So I was thinking to quit my job, apply for universal credit of some sort (started doing research on what they can support me with) and then hopefully retrain as a plasterer in a course to try and better myself as I heard that there’s good money if you are a skilled labour and could hopefully work for myself or another company. I would hopefully be able to work it around my son and less competition for the jobs I am not getting. Am I wasting my time and dreaming? (I have no experience in this and trying anything to earn more at the moment, whilst still applying for jobs like crazy, pls be nice!) 😣

I think you’ve missed my point- AI has nothing to do with trades. He is clueless about trades. He thinks his son should be a trade because they are apparently untouched by AI (not actually true) but he doesn’t know that trades have been subject to automation (not AI) for decades, and are in no way secure from technology.

The reason we can’t see trades declining rapidly is because there is also a severe shortage of them. However, overall we still need many less than we did 10 years ago.

I'm applying on the apprentice site as we speak! Looking into re-training. Wish I had done it earlier for sure.

The Civil Service is notoriously hard to break into - people either seem to crack it first time, or it never happens!!!

Have you considered becoming a tiler? I used one recently who had amazing recommendations locally. It turns out he was a single dad who retrained a few years ago. He's grown the reputation he has by acting professionally, turning up when he says he will, communicating well and paying attention to the work he is doing. He starts a little later than most trades as he takes his child to school before he start work, but tells his customers this so they expect it.
I thought at the time it would be a great way of working for a mum.

My DH is a plasterer and my God it is hard work. He constantly has sore shoulders and a sore back, and regularly comes home and falls asleep in front of the TV as he is so exhausted, and he’s been doing it since he was 14, so hardly inexperienced or unfit.

It’s also a very hard job to do well, day in, day out. Weather, humidity, room size, height from land etc. all change how fast the plaster sets and how much time you have to work with.

You also need to be able to lug plasterboards up and down stairs and ladders, carry huge buckets and bags of plaster around - it’s really, really tough.

I really, really would recommend looking at something else.

I would say plastering is a lot more flexible than some other trades, in that you often go in and do a bit, then have to wait for it to dry before you do the next coat, so if you get the timings right it will work well for school pickups etc. A good plasterer is worth their weight in gold, and will soon get referrals from other tradespeople for quality work.

If you want something self-employed and hands on that can work around your child have you considered childcare?

There is a chronic shortage of nursery staff and childminders, schools are struggling to find TA's too.

Far more appropriate for a ladydee 🙄

(and, as a female dominated profession, much worse paid than the trades).

Get over yourself.

I wonder how many of the posters trying to discourage OP from the trades because " it's sooooo physically tough, my hubby said so, he works sooooo hard!" would discourage a woman from going into care work, where you are regularly lifting adults who are heavier than you?

Also: women are tougher than men. Less strength, more stamina. More likely to work smarter. More likely to look after themselves to mitigate injury...

Well, that's insightful!

Care to explain why the first career you could think of for the OP was one of the worst paid there is??And in a field that she has expressed zero interest in?

My nephew is a plasterer, it's really hard graft but very satisfying when I watched him replaster my front room, for me 😁.
His body is knackered though, knees, arms, shoulders etc.
He complains "this isn't a job for old men" he's early thirties!
It takes a toll on you, it's heavy work but if you want to go for it I take my hat off to you.

Tbh I would discourage it because it’s quite a shit job, and would personally rather the physicality of ie being a postie and enjoying my pension contributions and sick pay.

i don’t get the fawning of the trades and suspect it often comes from people with no experience of it. It’s a tough route to go down.

Lifting heavy adults (with help from other people, and with suitable equipment) is not remotely comparable to lugging plasterboards, plaster and buckets up and down stairs and ladders, balancing on stilts and working within a limited amount of time because otherwise the plaster will set and you're screwed.

It's not about what my "hubby says" - I see him when he gets home from work. He is exhausted. His back is knackered. His knees are knackered. He's only 41 and is already struggling. His dad was a plaster too and can now barely walk because of the toll it took on his body. His older brother (also a plasterer!) has recently had to go into site management instead as he couldn't hack it anymore.

It is not an easy job. At all.

I started in branch, (work for a bank) and then got my foot up the ladder into a remote fraud position. My job are making people come in now hybrid and they are hiring for £4k less than when I started however. Also, they have you on stressful lines (they now want you fully trained in all whereas when I started only on a few) for low pay with back to back abusive customers.

If you don't mind then I'd say look for a branch role, or something entry level like a water or energy company as a call centre job (assuming you have customer service experience or can re-word your CV like that). The pay won't be good (£22k-£29k before tax), but depending on the company you can find a hybrid or remote job and work your way up. I've reached a dead end at my company now and feel overworked and underpaid (don't we all!)

Also check out credit cards and loan companies who are good too for remote positions. I just don't want to look for another wfh/hybrid role myself if the pay isn't much better. I am looking at the apprenticeship boards as we speak. Thank you though and good luck if you are looking in my area!

All low paid roles.

We need to be encouraging women into trades or skilled roles. Gives freedom, independence and choices.

I've worked on building sites, and would say it offers: camaraderie, an opportunity to use your brain (there are constantly problems to solve and chin scratching and brainstorming going on), an opportunity to use your body rather than rotting behind a desk, and a sense of tangible achievement ("I made that!"). As well as decent pay for the level of training required. Oh, and knocking off at 4.00 pm!

Although it's definitely physically tough, I do suspect some of the husbands on here are exaggerating just how tough it is for sympathy. also they didn't go for parts until 5.30pm on Friday afternoon, they knocked off at 3.30 and went to the pub

OP Might be worth looking at housing associations - the offer apprenticeships in trades working for maintenance teams.

As a woman in construction, we need you!

Two things are evident from this post. You've never plastered a room. You've never worked in a modern care setting.

You don't think childcare is a skilled role?

Wow.

What a kick in the teeth for all the childminders, nannies, nursery staff and TA's out there.

Not very well paid for a skilled role, is it?

Thank you! 😊

It does, if you’re lucky. The other sides of building sites (and the bit that would mean I would do pretty much anything to prevent my sons going on site) is the drug culture, amount of crime associated with the sector and a dose of toxic masculinity- although, granted, plasters tend to be on site towards the end and work alone more.

it’s a very variable career path really. My company employee plasters for day to day maintenance on £25k (that’s in London) but they have to pay enormous amounts to get some trades on a day rate to site.
as a newly qualified you’d have to thinking about where you want to work, how you’d make the contacts to get work, your flexibility to work (ie on site 100 miles away or low pay with a mitie etc close to home?) it’s not a sausage factory that spits people into jobs.

I don’t think- in terms of the definition of a skilled role- it actually is though, to be fair?