26 March 20243 April 2024

Smart metering: a smart career move

Careers in smart metering are picking up pace within the energy and utilities industries. So, what makes becoming a Smart Meter Engineer a smart career move?

What a Smart Meter Engineer does

Becoming a Smart Meter Engineer means you’ll be trained to fit new and exchange and maintain/repair existing, gas and electricity meters.

A typical day will see you visiting various premises, removing existing (usually non-smart) meters, fitting (and testing) new smart meters and explaining the meter and its features to customers.  However, your day-to-day duties can vary depending on the specific skillset that you have/develop, and your chosen career path.

You could go from taking a little extra time in a customer’s building to help them fully understand how their new meter works, to working on a building site installing meters on new supply points.

How much can a Smart Meter Engineer earn?

Most Smart Meter Engineers work a typical Monday-Friday week of 35-40 hours, with the occasional weekend on a stand-by basis. Salaries for those with no experience start at £25,000 (location dependent) and will rise to £29,000 once training is completed. An experienced engineer can expect to earn up to £37,000 (plus territorial allowance).

On top of this, there’s a wider benefits package and excellent career progression opportunities.

Why now is a good time

The UK Government’s target to be carbon net zero by 2050, and specific targets around smart meter installations are significantly increasing demand for investment, training, and jobs in the sector.

According to data from EMSI UK, the demand for Smart Meter Engineers is expected to rise 3.4% between now and 2028. That equates to over 210,000 new job opportunities!

Why Energy Assets?

A key strand to our corporate mission is to provide colleagues with high levels of job satisfaction, recognition, and personal development opportunities. Working with us you’ll benefit from…

• A competitive compensation package – you’ll receive a competitive salary, with on-target earnings (OTE) potential of £33-55k dependent on the engineering role  plus the opportunity to receive an annual performance-based bonus.
• Work-life balance – 30 days holiday, which increases each year to a maximum of 35 days.
• Critical injury scheme – we take safety at work very seriously. There are high levels of risk mitigation in place to keep everyone safe and we take pride in the fact our safety statistics are excellent. However, you can rest assured that in the event a serious injury occurs, you’ll receive support and financial assistance.
• Down to earth and welcoming culture – you’ll be part of a friendly, welcoming, and diverse team who are looking forward to receiving the next intake of new starts.
• Future career opportunity – as we’re a large organisation covering end-to-end, meter-to-main solutions, there’s lots of opportunities to grow and progress your future utilities career further.

What it’s like to be a Smart Meter Engineer

You’ll receive your own company van and, once fully trained, you’ll be self-sufficient – travelling from home to your planned jobs each day, with the radio or a podcast for company. While much of your work will be carried out alone, there will also be occasional jobs that require a two-person team.

When you arrive at each job you’ll install, exchange or fix issues with, communications devices on our automated gas or electricity meters.

You’ll be given high levels of autonomy in your role and be responsible for your own:

• personal stock management – re-stocking your van and returning old stock via a personal drop-box facility, or local stores
• timekeeping – making sure you turn up to planned jobs in plenty of time
• safety and the safety of those around you – this is really important to us – you’ll receive full ongoing training and support in relation to all aspects of health and safety on the job – and you’ll be responsible for continually ensuring this, including reporting any unsafe situations found during your day
• customer service approach – representing and protecting our strong Energy Assets brand name.

How do I become a Smart Meter Engineer?

Whilst being technically minded is a plus, it’s not always a necessity. Interpersonal, problem-solving, and communication skills are just as important as technical prowess.

Since full training will be provided, no experience is necessary – although we’d naturally welcome applications from experienced Smart Meter Engineers too.

You’ll need a full UK manual driving license, so you can get about in your own van, and you’ll need to be comfortable using a mobile phone too – since all the logistics for your day will be coordinated using a company-provided mobile.

You’ll need good communication skills too as you’ll have short interactions directly with customers at each job and be required to liaise with colleagues across our wider business.

The role requires no heavy lifting, generally, we find it’s well suited to candidates who have some basic DIY skills, or who enjoy fixing or building things.

You can check out our current vacancies and apply for our live roles here.

If you’re unsure, reach out to us for an informal chat about your situation and expectations, and we’ll take it from there.