Chimney Technician
Impact: Ensuring safe operation of solid fuel and gas heating appliances
Inspect, sweep, repair, and reline domestic and commercial chimneys and flue systems to ensure safe and efficient operation of heating appliances. Use CCTV survey equipment to diagnose structural defects, install flexible flue liners and cowls, and advise clients on appliance compatibility and carbon monoxide safety. Provide certification for insurance and property transaction purposes.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 20% Team / 80% Solo
- Client facing
- Always
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- 30-50% local travel to customer properties
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 35-45 hours/week
- Stress level
- Low
At a glance
- Median salary
- $46,000
- Entry-level
- $28,000 - $38,000
- Senior
- $65,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 4% (wood burning stove popularity and older housing stock sustain demand)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- High
- Salary growth potential
- Moderate -- 75-120% growth from apprentice to self-employed specialist
- Typical student debt
- $500 - $2,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Chimney sweeping (rotary and brush)
- CCTV flue survey and reporting
- Flexible flue liner installation
- Cowl and pot fitting
- Carbon monoxide testing
- HETAS and NACS certification
Soft skills
- Attention to detail
- Client communication
- Reliability
- Safety awareness
- Report writing
Technical complexity: Moderate
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Certificate or Vocational Training
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 2-4 years
- Years to senior
- 5-8 years
- Career switching
- Easy
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
- Gas Utility Technician
- HVAC Technician
Where you can go from here
- Heating Engineer
- Chimney Business Owner
Typical progression
- Trainee Sweep
- Chimney Technician
- Senior Technician
- Self-Employed Specialist
- Multi-van Business Owner
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 10% -- physical access and inspection in confined flue systems is not automatable
- AI disruption risk
- Very Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 7.8/10
- Meaning
- 6.8/10
- Work-life balance
- 8/10
- Prestige
- 4.8/10
- Social perception
- Moderate