Being a tradie can be a lucrative business in many ways. In a survey of over 600 tradies it was revealed that the average wage across all trade types was $90,246.55 per year, which is $5,236.55 above the national average wage of just over $85,000.
Especially in times like these (due to Covid-19) there has been a significant increase in demand for tradies in Australia and worldwide.
Specialize and keep your skill relevant
But while some tradie jobs that have risen in demand, demand for some has been a little less. While no specific trade might show such metrics. But there are sub-categories of trades that have gone up and some sub-categories that have went down.
This difference of classes and sub-categories in trades is very important to consider for every tradies in Australia. And not only because demand for classes and sub-categories of the same trade differ.
Advantages of niching down
Tradies in Australia can find jobs but not all trades jobs pay equal. Almost all trades have subcategories or specializations that a tradie can pursue.
And that’s where the difference between salaries of Australian tradies of the same trade come from. For Instance, replacing a kitchen drainage pipe and replacing a toilet are both jobs for a plumber. But the pay for both these jobs is drastically different.
Then comes the difference between the fields they choose. A tradie in Australia that works on commercial jobs gets paid much different than a tradie that works on residential ones and one that works with a construction company has a different paycheck than both.
To get an idea, here are some comparisons between different specializations of the same trade in Australia:
Electricians:
Industrial Electrician: $60,000 – $80,000
Solar Installer (Fully Licensed Electrician) $80,000 – $120,000
Qualified Electrician for Upgrading Lighting: $90,000 – $110,000
Plumbers:
When it comes to job opportunities in plumbing, it’s not all just fixing pipes and dealing with drainage. In fact, you might be surprised at how varied your options can be.
As a plumber in Australia, you can get work across a number of different classes.
Fire protection, Gas fitting, Irrigation(non-agricultural), Drainage, Mechanical service, Sanitary.
These are all different jobs with wages as different as the names. If you put all these classes under a general one like plumber, the average salary for a tradie in Australia in the plumbing business would be $39,718 – $85,410 per year. That’s a range with a high and low difference of nearly $45000. All due to either experience or the subfield the tradie works in.
The case is similar for all tradies of all trades in Australia.
Air conditioning technicians: $75,804–$92,723
Carpenters: $64,147–$89,066
Tilers: $57,262–$83,444
And the list goes on for every trade and tradie in Australia.
A tradie after going through this data on “tradies in Australia and their average yearly incomes” will probably have a bunch of questions.
But perhaps for any tradie, the most important on would be
“How do I choose the best specialization/sub-category/sub-class for me?”
The ideal job
Start with determining the type of job you want. Finding a job won’t be that difficult once you know the type of job you want.
Where to start?
Tradies in Australia have always been in short in supply. Finding the right job for you is just a matter of looking in the right places. Once you’ve determined exactly what type of jobs you’re looking for and you’ve read this article till the end, I guarantee you’ll find the best trades jobs in Australia without wasting time or money.
Are you
- The kind of Australian tradie that’s a family guy and loves to spend as much time as he can with the wife and kids
- Tradie with financial goals and want to utilize your trade skill to make as much money as you can
- Really passionate about your trade and love solving the most complex cases of their trade
If you’re A, you probably shouldn’t go for the commercial or Industry jobs. Instead stick to the domestic and residential jobs that will keep things running smoothly without taking too much of your personal time.
If you’re B, don’t do go for the higher tier jobs that take time, effort and skill but also pay good sums. Not only this, but you should try to take courses to become certified in more categories and start taking steps towards building your own team/company
If you’re C, get highly certified so that employers and service seekers always bring the most complex cases to you.
The problem
In any of these cases, the best place to find your ideal job is online. As an Australian tradie, you’re probably familiar with the biggest platforms for getting trades jobs in Australia. But you’re probably familiar with the shortcomings of these platforms as well.
Now if you search for “Jobs for Tradies in Australia” some big names are surely to pop up. But there’s a problem with that.
The problem is that although there may be thousands of trade jobs available on these platforms, these platforms are not tradie friendly at all. These platforms will have you spend money and time to find jobs that you may or not get. And the reason you find so many tradies unhappy with their service yet still using them is that there wasn’t a way around this till now. Competitors only aimed at being a little less inconvenient than the competition and tradies would jump at them.
A solution
FIXEZI (Fix-eezy) is as much for the Australian tradie as it is for the service seeker. For the service seeker, Fixezi only signs up certified tradies for any trade to guarantee quality of experience. For the Australian tradie, Fixezi advertises their service for free. Gets them jobs and charges nothing till they get the job. And after a tradie finds a job, Fixezi only charges $9 to the tradie regardless of how much the job paid. All this is making Fixezi the new favorite among Australian tradies as well service seekers.
