Rowan 308 Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 After all , I have nothing to loose apart from a few hard earned pennies , (pounds, ) , by doing a BPCA level 2 course and the online one I believe can work for me as I can fit it in around my other work at present , I know theory does not make me a pest controller , but like any change in career ,or life, you must start somewhere. 1 Quote Link to post
Rowan 308 Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 What I am going to need is practical experience though . Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 After all , I have nothing to loose apart from a few hard earned pennies , (pounds, ) , by doing a BPCA level 2 course and the online one I believe can work for me as I can fit it in around my other work at present , I know theory does not make me a pest controller , but like any change in career ,or life, you must start somewhere. The BPCA are just one training provider Shop around, as there are now many suppliers of training for the RSPH level 2 qualification. The old 'BPCA' qualifications are long gone What I am going to need is practical experience though . Absolutely. As I've said, many times before, passing the RSPH exam will not make anyone a pest controller If you treat your first few customers as a learning exercise to get experience, you are treading a dangerous path I would urge anyone thinking about going it alone to take a step back and have a long hard think about it. If you do want to work in the industry, it's always going to be better to go and work for someone else first Quote Link to post
abarrett 462 Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 Me and a lad I worked with decided we can do this and started our own company That was just over 9 years ago before this we worked for the nationals rentokil Eco lab ......... It was hard work for the first 2 years we did anything to earn a quid We subbed to other firms I even got a rope access ticked and did bird work off ropes Put your self about offer to do things no one else wants I pick sharps bait sewers Collected road kill cats they all pay Do a good job for some one they will tell 5 others Do a crap job they will tell 20 Don't be put off yes you need new tickets every 5 minutes the rsph level 3 diploma is the latest at the moment For how long I don't know The big company's do like a ticket Give it a go it's the best job you will ever have I can say hand on heart I like going to work in a morning 1 Quote Link to post
Mr Muddy 141 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Tell you what: You’ve got to take your hat off to the people who use this forum. I recon if Rowan had asked for careers advice on any other site he’d either get ignored or have the piss taken. Here he’s got 4 pages of semi-sensible advice. :) Good luck then mate, whatever you decide. 2 Quote Link to post
StephenWalsh 73 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 (edited) It was hard work for the first 2 years we did anything to earn a quid Agreed. I got a call once from a Local Council, their own PCO's had said no, the Refuse Collection (outsourced) had said no... The job? Pick a very rotten dead fox out of a ditch on Parish land, all and sundry had said no. I made £50 for 10 minutes smelly work. Edited July 4, 2014 by StephenWalsh 1 Quote Link to post
moxy 617 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 It was hard work for the first 2 years we did anything to earn a quid Agreed. I got a call once from a Local Council, their own PCO's had said no, the Refuse Collection (outsourced) had said no... The job? Pick a very rotten dead fox out of a ditch on Parish land, all and sundry had said no. I made £50 for 10 minutes smelly work. had a few of those. Scooping soup into a bag. Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Me and a lad I worked with decided we can do this and started our own company That was just over 9 years ago before this we worked for the nationals rentokil Eco lab ......... It was hard work for the first 2 years we did anything to earn a quid We subbed to other firms I even got a rope access ticked and did bird work off ropes Put your self about offer to do things no one else wants I pick sharps bait sewers Collected road kill cats they all pay Do a good job for some one they will tell 5 others Do a crap job they will tell 20 Don't be put off yes you need new tickets every 5 minutes the rsph level 3 diploma is the latest at the moment For how long I don't know The big company's do like a ticket Give it a go it's the best job you will ever have I can say hand on heart I like going to work in a morning You've done well for yourselves matey But don't forget that you had bags of experience, and you probably already had contacts with the industry and potential customers. You'd seen good pest control, and you'd seen bad pest control. You didn't need to enrol yourselves on a plethora of training courses, and you knew how to get out and sell the job. Added to that, 9 years ago the industry was different to today. Less regulation, less restriction and more scope Oh, and less competition Now just to clarify; I've had 25 good years out of pest control. I've enjoyed the majority of my time doing the job and met some great folks. I've earned good money and gained the respect of my peers and my customers. Would I do anything differently? Probably not. Would I recommend starting out the way I did 25 years ago? Definitely not Quote Link to post
abarrett 462 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Come on matt You know you miss it It's a bit like an addict you need to stand up and say it out loud My names matt and i miss being the rat man Quote Link to post
Matt 160 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Come on matt You know you miss it It's a bit like an addict you need to stand up and say it out loud My names matt and i miss being the rat man If I missed it, I would say so I do miss working with some good people, and going around some fairly special places.... but do I miss actually complying with all the ridiculous rules and regulations and mountains of paperwork? Do I hell as like.... It's a dangerous place out there these days Everyone is watching your every move, waiting for you to slip up..... One of my (big) contracts demanded I registered with CHAS...... "no thanks".... A site I used to do required 8 forms to be filled in before you even looked around.... "no thanks"..... And now we have the waste disposal nonsense....... register as a waste carrier, register as a site storing hazardous waste, issue transfer notes to customers and pay someone else to dispose of what was until very recently considered pretty inoffensive controlled waste..... all of that to get rid of what is probably reusable spent bait.... My life these days is far more simple. I turn up when I feel like it, put in as many or as few traps as I reckon at that time, go back, remove the moles from the traps, hold my hand out, and get given a cheque for my troubles.... I may now live in penury for some of the year, but I have no stress like you rat boys have. Do I miss it? Do I feck. Quote Link to post
BRY 79 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Come on matt You know you miss it It's a bit like an addict you need to stand up and say it out loud My names matt and i miss being the rat man If I missed it, I would say so I do miss working with some good people, and going around some fairly special places.... but do I miss actually complying with all the ridiculous rules and regulations and mountains of paperwork? Do I hell as like.... It's a dangerous place out there these days Everyone is watching your every move, waiting for you to slip up..... One of my (big) contracts demanded I registered with CHAS...... "no thanks".... A site I used to do required 8 forms to be filled in before you even looked around.... "no thanks"..... And now we have the waste disposal nonsense....... register as a waste carrier, register as a site storing hazardous waste, issue transfer notes to customers and pay someone else to dispose of what was until very recently considered pretty inoffensive controlled waste..... all of that to get rid of what is probably reusable spent bait.... My life these days is far more simple. I turn up when I feel like it, put in as many or as few traps as I reckon at that time, go back, remove the moles from the traps, hold my hand out, and get given a cheque for my troubles.... I may now live in penury for some of the year, but I have no stress like you rat boys have. Do I miss it? Do I feck. i aggree with you 100% Matt, i'm going the same way i think soon Quote Link to post
Rowan 308 Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 many thanks for all your advice , I am definitely going to give it a go , I have heard to many people say , " I wish I had of done,,,,,,,", I know it is not all going to be great , but I would like to try something that I believe I can enjoy , even part of , I have had jobs in the past were I even dreaded going to bed the night before as it meant I was going to work when I woke up, now that is bad. many Thanks once again , the advice has been great and made me think seriously about it . 1 Quote Link to post
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