Looking for a change of careers, preferably a higher paying job (~£25,000 a year). Don’t think I could survive in an office environment, I need outdoors or physically demanding work to keep my active.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

26 comments

  7. Most physical outdoor jobs will pay way more than £25k a year, you could potentially earn twice that bricklaying for example, but its worth thinking about the toil it will take on your body.

    I have always thought that tree surgery seemed like a cool job and you could easily make £40k if you worked for yourself.

  9. My mate is a head gardner for a very rich family’s estate ( they have pictures of their kids hanging out with the royals on their walls). Earns close to 50k plus has a lovely house included. His wife is the house manager and earns very good too.

  12. Rope access pays well and is pretty physical.

    Training is quite demanding and – I believe- expensive, but there’s always demand

  13. Thatching is apparently a good one to go into as it’s a dying skill so they’re increasingly in demand

    Not sure where you’d start in terms of learning the trade

  15. Builder here. I make £60k working about 30 hours a week. £100k is achievable.

    But it’s not a ‘job’ it’s running a small business

  16. Shunter, try and get a job on the railways especially in freight, companies like DB, GBRF or Freightliner.

    Shifts are all over the place but you can easily pull 32k a year, taking 20 handbrakes off a train is a great workout.

  18. Scaffolding is a pretty quick way to good money you can get your tickets in 18month and if your lucky get offshore day rates are £300+

  19. Any trade – electrician, brick layer, plumber, etc. I know a few people that make good money (50k+) doing these trades working on building sites and the UK has a shortage of homes so I know what I would be doing now if I was starting out a new career or changing careers.

  20. Asbestos Removal Operative

    I’m on around 35k a year, but you can earn a lot more of you chase the money. Either work on the books with a company or go self employed (subbie). I’d recommend trying to get in with a company as a new starter as they’ll pay for your training and tickets you’ll need.

    Training is a 3 day course and pretty simple. The jobs physically and, to be frank, mentally draining at times. You’ll be working all over and job se unity is pretty decent.

    There’s the health hazard to think about to, asbestos fibres will fuck you right up of you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing. Aahhh, the good ol “spicy dust”.

  21. I work in the water industry and there’s lots of well paid outdoor jobs. We have environmental, logging, repairing, maintenance jobs which are all outdoors as you drive site to site in the van.

  22. Steeplejack pays better than a bricklayer for example if you’re not afraid of heights.

    On the theme of heights I have a lot of roofers in my family. The unqualified ones do alright but my brother who has gone on leadwork courses and presents himself very professionally is now so in demand that he’s being put up in hotels around the country to work on heritage buildings. He’s earning good money. So roofing, if you’re willing to go on lead courses and be self employed.

  23. Ex tree surgeon here….. don’t do it, the kit is expensive and breaks often, the work is very physical and your body breaks often. Self employed rates for climbers are around £200pd and Paye rates are around £140pd.
    The trade really suffers in times of recession, due to it not being regulated. Great fun most of the time, but don’t get into it for the money.

  24. Be a reliable, honest multi-skilled tradesman.

    Do a bit of painting, decorating, bit of electrics, bit of plastering, some basic carpentry, bit of garden landscaping – the sort of bloke that you give a week’s worth of jobs to a couple of times a year because your wife is nagging you and you just haven’t got round to it all year.

    Charge £200/day. Work a very casual 200 days/year and you have £40,000 in your pocket. By the time you’ve got 25 customers who have your name saved in their phonebooks, you have more work than you know what to do with, even though they keep giving your number to their mates and neighbours.

    The next level is being a builder where you take on e.g. an extension do some yourself, but also have to employ people to have the manpower to do the groundworks, a proper electrician, a proper plasterer, a kitchen fitter etc. Start out doing small jobs and see how your skills and contacts grow.

  25. If you’re already a fork lift operator, look at getting CPCS/NPORS for an all terrain forklift; you see them in demand everywhere on building sites. You might be on circa £20 an hour.

  26. As an Archaeologist, this thread just makes me depressed. We’re out here getting paid £23.5k and told to like it 😭

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