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phil_c

Hi all i am new here.
i have spent a lot of nights on here researching but nothing really relates to my situation.
so i want to retrain as a sparky at 24 but heres the problem, i have multiple sclerosis, a 3 year old and house so college/apprenticeship isnt really for me due to financial & family commitments & also with my ms i can have really bad days where i wouldnt be able to attend college or go to placement. I am currently a mechanic but it is very very hard work. So the only viable option i can see is to train through olci and become self employed so i can just work at my own pace. olci claim that with their qualifications i would become fully qualified and be able to set up my own business as a sparky, i understand that nothing compares to good old experience but is it a really viable option?
Thanks phil
 
Sparkying can be pretty hard work at times as well, you'll know about it if you've spent the day with a grinder and breaker chasing in concrete and wielding a lump hammer all day. If physical work could be an issue then you perhaps might consider a more desk based design type job which would probably involve studying to near degree level.
 
Hi Phil. In all honesty do you think pursuing becoming an electrician and having MS would be the right choice to make? The job involves standing up all day, going up steps/ ladders, crawling through lofts and even the most able bodied people struggle sometimes. You'd end up being a danger to yourself and others on site.
My dad has MS and worked as a sparks, his condition quickly deteriorated so he is now unable to work on the tools as he just doesn't have the energy or balance to be on his feet all day.
 
You could perhaps look for maintenance jobs withing large corporate businesses.

A guy I know is a maintenance worker at Fidelity in Kent and says it's ridiculously easy etc.

He can't wait to leave and get back to what he knows, however something like this may suit you?
 
thanks for the reply. its not so much the physical side that hard its the fact that i am constantly bent over an engine or got a cricked neck trying to fight under lifts and in pits. i understand that its not easy but i really want to do it even if its just light domestic work. a desk job is not for me i would go mad being stuck in 1 place all day!
 
No offence mate and I feel for your situation but this is not the job for someone with ms, and I can pretty much asure your it's more physical work than mechanics sorry buddie. Plus with out proper training you will be a danger
 
thanks for the replies, i am also looking at other aspects within construction as i started out as a ground worker then onto a digger driver. i understand what everybody is saying and i dont want to even start if its going to be a waste of time but its something i have always wished id done straight from school.
 
If electrics really strikes you mate look into a hnd electrical eng course that's office

Sorry but honestly good luck mate
 
Well a pal of mine also has MS and he like yourself has good/bad days. Although not an electrician, he works as a security installer, intruder door access, cctv.

You could also look into Fire, installer or designer.

I wont talk about discrimination in the work place that is for another time, and would take off topic in hand.

Best of luck to you in what ever direction you take.
 
Last edited:
Hi all i am new here.
i have spent a lot of nights on here researching but nothing really relates to my situation.
so i want to retrain as a sparky at 24 but heres the problem, i have multiple sclerosis, a 3 year old and house so college/apprenticeship isnt really for me due to financial & family commitments & also with my ms i can have really bad days where i wouldnt be able to attend college or go to placement. I am currently a mechanic but it is very very hard work. So the only viable option i can see is to train through olci and become self employed so i can just work at my own pace. olci claim that with their qualifications i would become fully qualified and be able to set up my own business as a sparky, i understand that nothing compares to good old experience but is it a really viable option?
Thanks phil

what about training as a repair sparky? you can repair electrical equipment in a small workshop of your own and maybe start doing computer repair etc as well? then you really can work for yourself whenever you can get time where you won't be pressured by anyone else....

you could repair electrical panels, fix power tools, do PAT testing, go round building sites doing temp lighting, do odds and ends in terms of vehicle electrics, fix computers etc....maybe do fire alarm testing etc....
 
again thanks for the replies.
i do like the sound of electrical repair/ pat testing. could anybody tell me what quals i would need & where to get training, the closest i have found so far that seems to be a proper course rather than just a hobbbie course is in ireland!
 
I wouldn't dismiss an office job, at my work I organise the work for the guys day to day up until 2pm-ish and then I organise all of their gear for those jobs.

It's harder work than being on the tools!
 

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