“Give trades a go”: Sparky reveals insane six-figure salary

Jarrod Brown
By Jarrod Brown
3 Min Read

A sparky has revealed his insane six-figure salary in one tradie niche that’s “screaming out” for workers. 

The Gold Coast tradie was stopped on the street by employment app GetAhead for one of their now-infamous social media interviews on worker pay. 

Asked what he did and how much he earned, the man shared that he was an instrumental electrician working in the oil and gas industry and bringing home a whopping $178,00 a year.

“I just started off as a normal sparky and then got my instrumentation ticket after that, that’s another sort of ticket on top of certificate four and certificate three,” he said.

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How much does he make as an Instrumentation Electrician ⚡️📍Gold Coast, Australia

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While this isn’t the first eye-watering figure we’ve heard tradies give on the street for a bit of social media clout, this sparky’s salary seems to be on the level. 

According to talent.com, the average instrumentation salary in Australia is $109,733 per year, with entry-level positions starting at about $93,500 per year and more experienced workers bringing home closer to $158,870 per year.

The role is responsible for the smooth operation of measurement and control systems across industries, including oil and gas, manufacturing, chemical plants, pharmaceuticals and power.

With the impressive pay far outpacing most professional careers that require university degrees, the tradie said more young Aussies should try and make a living on the tools. 

“I think there is definitely money to be made in trades,” he said.

“You don’t necessarily have to go to university or anything like that to have a good career.”

‘They’re always screaming out for instrumentation electricians.”

One nurse who watched the video would agree, commenting that she had made nowhere close to that amount of money in her 20 years on the job.  

Another person said they had clients with adult apprentices who were earning about $120,000 working 40 hours per week.

“Always heaps of jobs in the trades and so much easier to do (renovation) and flipping,” the person commented.

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Jarrod Brown combines his background in journalism, copywriting and digital marketing with a lifelong passion for storytelling. He has a strong passion for new and emerging consumer technology within the building sector. He lives on the Sunshine Coast - usually found glued to the deck of a surfboard.