Why Going Self-Employed as a Gas Engineer Might Be the Best Decision You Ever Make

You Keep What You Earn

This is the big one. When you're employed, you might be charging customers £60-80 an hour while taking home £15-20. The company takes the rest for overheads, profit, and everything else.

Go self-employed and that changes completely. Yes, you've got expenses – van, insurance, tools, training – but you're still keeping the lion's share. Most self-employed gas engineers who were earning £30-35k employed find themselves clearing £50-60k within their first couple of years. Some do considerably better.

That's not just extra money. That's holidays you actually want to take. A newer van. Maybe even getting the mortgage paid off early. It's life-changing money for a lot of families.

You Choose Your Own Jobs

No more being sent to jobs you don't fancy. No more awkward customers that the office keeps booking you in with because "someone has to do it." No more working for builders who have paid late.

When you're self-employed, you decide. If a customer's difficult, you don't have to go back. If a job doesn't feel right, you can turn it down. If you want to specialise in certain work and avoid other stuff, that's completely up to you.

This might sound small, but it makes a massive difference to your day-to-day life. You're not just earning more – you're enjoying the work more too.

You Control Your Own Diary

Want to take your kid to their first day of school? Do it. Need to pop out for an hour in the middle of the day? No problem. Fancy a long weekend? Book it.

When you're employed, you're asking permission for everything. When you're self-employed, you're in charge. Obviously you need to be professional and look after your customers, but the flexibility is incredible.

Loads of self-employed engineers say this is actually bigger than the money. Being able to show up for your family, take time off when you need it, and not have to justify yourself to anyone – that's worth a lot.

You Build Something That's Yours

Every job you do, every customer you look after, every good review you get – it's all building your business. Your reputation. Your asset.

When you're employed, you can graft for years and walk away with nothing.

When you're self-employed, you're creating something with real value.

Some engineers eventually take on other lads and scale up. Others just build a solid customer base that keeps them busy and well-paid for decades.

Either way, it's yours. Nobody can take it away from you.

Your Reputation Pays Dividends

Do good work, treat people right, and word spreads fast. One happy customer tells their neighbour. That neighbour tells their mate. Before you know it, you've got more work than you can handle, and you didn't spend a penny on advertising.

When you're employed, you can be the best engineer in the company and it makes no difference to your pay packet. When you're self-employed, being good at what you do – and being decent to people – directly translates into more work and more money.

The engineers who get this right barely have to advertise. Their phone rings because people want them specifically.

You Can Grow With the Industry

The heating industry's changing fast. Heat pumps, renewables, new regulations – there's opportunity everywhere if you're positioned right.

When you're self-employed, you can jump on these opportunities. Get trained up in heat pumps and you're looking at £500-800 per installation, with demand going through the roof.

Add F-Gas and you can cover air conditioning too. The engineers making serious money are the ones who've invested in these skills.

When you're employed, you're stuck with whatever the company decides to do.

When you're self-employed, you can pivot, specialise, and go where the money is.

But Let's Be Honest – It's Not for Everyone

Before you hand in your notice tomorrow morning, there are some genuine downsides you need to think about:

The admin is relentless

Invoicing, chasing payments, quoting, ordering parts, managing your diary, keeping your books straight. You'll spend hours every week on paperwork instead of earning. Some people dislike this side of it and end up going back to employment.

Your van costs a fortune

Budget £500-800 monthly just for the van. Finance, insurance, fuel, servicing, repairs. When it's off the road, you're not earning. It's a massive ongoing expense that employed engineers never see.

Quiet periods are scary

January's dead. Summer can be slow. When your phone's not ringing and you've got bills to pay, it's genuinely stressful. You need a financial cushion to get through these gaps, and not everyone can build one.

You're on your own

No sick pay. No holiday pay. No guaranteed income. If you're ill, you're not earning. If you want a week off, that's a week with nothing coming in. The security of employment is real, and some people need that.

Bad customers can't be avoided at first

When you're starting out, you'll take jobs you shouldn't because you need the money. Late payers, difficult customers, jobs that aren't worth it. It takes time to build up enough work to be picky.

So Should You Do It?

Look, for most gas engineers who are competent, professional, and willing to put the work in, self-employment is brilliant. The money's better, the freedom's real, and the satisfaction of running your own show is hard to beat.

But if you hate admin, you're not great with money, or you need the security of a regular wage, then maybe employment's the better option. There's no shame in that. Not everyone's built for running a business.

The engineers who thrive going self-employed are the ones who go in prepared. They've got their qualifications sorted, a bit of money saved, proper insurance and Gas Safe registration, and a plan beyond "I'll just wing it."

They also keep learning. The industry's moving towards renewables and new tech, so getting qualified in things like heat pumps and keeping your F-Gas current isn't optional – it's how you stay ahead and keep earning good money.

Get Qualified Without Breaking the Bank

Here's something most engineers don't know: thanks to government funding, you can take your Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) qualification COMPLETELY FREE at Gas Training & Assessment. No forms to fill in, no hoops to jump through. Just book on, turn up, and we'll claim the funding for you. Zero cost, full qualification.

And if you're serious about maximising your earning potential, add F-Gas air conditioning to your skillset. GTA's pass rates are currently the best in the country. Our purpose-built F-Gas training facility has been recognised as one of the finest around, and the training speaks for itself.

We're not just about heat pumps and F-Gas either. Whether you need your full range of Domestic Gas qualifications, LPG, Ground Source Heat Pumps with Design, or Oil, we've got you covered.

Plus there's a whole range of one-day courses that can add serious value to your offering – Unvented Hot Water Systems, Water Regulations, Legionella, Energy Efficiency, Essential Electrics for central heating wiring, Boiler Fault Finding, Underfloor Heating, and plenty more.

The self-employed engineers pulling in the big money aren't just good at the basics. They're the ones who've invested in their skills and can offer customers more than the next bloke.

Final Thoughts

If you're thinking about going self-employed, talk to other engineers who've done it. Ask them the difficult questions. Work out if you're actually ready. And if you are? Take the leap. Most engineers who do it say they should've done it years earlier.

Just make sure you're properly qualified first. The work's out there, the money's real, and the freedom's worth it. You just need to be ready to grab it.