Is anyone here a Smart meter installer?

Jem8472

I have seen a few companies advertising for trainee smart meter installers and I was wondering if anyone on here does it or has done it for a living and what it is like?

Two of the biggest companies I have seen advertising is SSE and British Gas.

SSE is offering about 18K while training then 25-29K once doing the job.

Is it a decent job? Is there lots of pressure to hit targets?

Any downsides to the job that should be considered?

Thanks in advance.

mac.d

While you wait for any feedback from someone currently employed as a meter fitter, I'll pass on my old second hand knowledge from knowing a couple of guys who started off reading meters and then moved onto installing them (and bear in mind this is from a few years back either pre-smart meters or the very early stages of the smart meter roll-out).

One really enjoyed it, it was a better job and better paid than being a meter reader. He at least got into most of the houses he was supposed to visit. Meter reading is very target driven, so the targets of installing a set amount of meters per day wasn't really an issue for him either. As far as I'm aware, he's still doing the job today.

The other guy didn't enjoy it, said his knees were killing him from spending so much time kneeling in cupboards fitting meters, and felt there was too little training for him to do the job properly, which consequently had a knock-on effect of him struggling to keep up with the jobs he was given.

Jem8472

Thanks for your reply. It seems to be really hard to find anyone that does this job.

It is hard to know what to do with regards to moving jobs like this as it would be a big pay drop for the training period which is about 21 weeks.
But in the long run being a meter installer could be a more secure job as there will always be a need for electricity and gas meters.

agrinnall

The guy who came to fit mine seemed to enjoy what he was doing, and he appeared to have no issues fitting either the gas or electric smart meters (I have solar panels so the electric set up is more complex than in a normal property) and he spent time demonstrating the various modes on the display to me.

Hetty17

Take a look on the Energy board: there are meter installers who post there.

mattcanary

Jem8472 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. It seems to be really hard to find anyone that does this job.

It is hard to know what to do with regards to moving jobs like this as it would be a big pay drop for the training period which is about 21 weeks.
But in the long run being a meter installer could be a more secure job as there will always be a need for electricity and gas meters.

But not for them to be fitted in the same quantity as currently required, (as supposedly everyone is meant to have a smart meter by 2020).