[gperkins1973]

Hi chaps,

I need a change in career as I a hate the job I do now. I have loved AV for many years and never really had much thought into getting a career out of it. I would be interested in either working in a shop as a seller/giving advice/demos etc.. or actually doing installs and setting up.

The later would interest me the most.

How easy is it to get into and how do I do it.

I am 35 years old and have been working as a colour retoucher in the print trade now for many years and need a change.

What courses would I need to do and what is the salary roughly to start of with.

Any advice would be great.

cheers

Graham

[crestron boy]

if your going the install route as a trainee then maybe 18-23k if your lucky

As a junior installer it would be lots of pulling cable,hanging plasma's and cutting speaker wholes in ceilings. Then there's the actual termination ie soldering and crimping rcas/bnc's

its a very physcial and repetitive job at first ie having to punch down 200 cat5e to krone blocks!!

its only really after you've been doing it a while that you'll be trained up in rack wiring and then finally system commissioning. Commisoning and setup is usually done by the programmer and project engineer though

its a general rule in the high end custom install sector that it takes about 3 years to fully train a installer. After that you can expect to earn above 30k

it all depends on what dealer you work for and also what area of the country your in

[gperkins1973]

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply. What sort of websites would I need to search for installer jobs and do companies offer in house training etc.. while you are are working.

Are there any good companies in kent you could suggest?

I live in sittingbourne, kent and would prefer something local. I work in london at the moment and am spending 4 to 4.5 hours a day travelling. Really fed up with it.

Any other advice would be appreciated

Cheers

Graham

[crestron boy]

soundideas are one of the largest high end custom installers in the uk they are based down in faversham

Sounds Ideas - Specialists in visual and audio integration systems, UK and Europe

there is also clarke automation i dunno if there still around though


failing that try creative personnel they are a dedicated av recruitment company


a thing to keep in mind. 90% of high end residential work is carried out in london so although the companys are based in kent you'll find that all the tech staff have to commute into london to do the installers. If your lucky you might get a van/company car!