From Software Engineer to Electrician: Millie’s Inspiring Career Transformation

In this episode, we explore the inspiring journey of Millie, whose upbringing instilled in her a deep sense of discipline and a strong work ethic that continues to guide her career. From a young age, she learned electrical skills from her mother, planting the seeds of a passion that would later shape her professional life. 

Now self-employed, she opens up about the determination required to navigate the unique pressures of working for herself, emphasising how vital the support of family and friends has been throughout her journey. 

Education and safety remain central to Millie’s philosophy, as she highlights their importance in the electrical trade. She also discusses the role societal perceptions play in shaping gender dynamics within the industry, acknowledging the obstacles while encouraging others to pursue their passions, no matter the barriers. 

Driven by a genuine love for electricity and a commitment to her craft, Millie credits much of her success to the unwavering encouragement of her partner and son. Her story serves as a motivating reminder that passion, resilience, and a strong support system can power any career path. 

Key Takeaways 

• Millie's background as a Gurkha shaped her strong work ethic. 
• She learned electrical skills from her mother at a young age. 
• Transitioning from software engineering to electrical work was a significant change for Millie. 
• Self-employment comes with unique challenges and requires determination. 
• Support from family and friends is crucial for success in self-employment. 
• Millie emphasises the importance of education and safety in electrical work. 
• She believes gender dynamics in trades are often influenced by societal perceptions. 
• Millie's passion for electricity drives her to excel in her field. 
• She encourages others to pursue their passions despite challenges. 

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Chapters 

00:00 The Importance of Practical Knowledge 

01:31 Discovering a Passion for Electricity 

06:45 Finding Passion Early 

08:01 Self-Sufficiency and Parental Influence 

09:38 Career Aspirations and Parental Expectations 

10:51 Journey into Software Engineering 

13:04 Reconnecting with Electrics 

17:20 The Path to Becoming an Electrician 

22:24 The Reality of Self-Employment 

25:30 Valuing Your Work and Learning from Mistakes 

27:37 The Importance of Commitment and

Transcript

Millie (00:25)

Hi I'm Millie and I am a domestic electrician in London. I work in all the areas of London from north to south to east to west. It's just that I have to like the customer and the projects that I do. So I'm actually ethnicity wise I am a Nepalese, Gurkha. So specifically Gurkha, why? Because my great-grandfather was in the British Army.

and he was an officer. Both my grandfathers were also serving the Queen and my father was also an army officer. He died as a colonel. yeah, complete soldiers daughter.

People call us spoiled brat. That's what they call us because we're more like macho instead of more feminine. It's just the way we are. yeah, we're quite spoiled. We don't know how to cook. We don't know how to clean or do laundry. I hadn't been near a washing machine till I was like 17. So I didn't know how my clothes are washed or ironed. Never seen an iron in my life.

Laura (01:31)

Hahaha.

Millie (01:33)

I did see it but I had nothing to do with it kind of thing and but then the fact that my father was super busy all the time and sometimes yeah we do have orderlies in the army that do various stuff like somebody is good at gardening so they will do mow your lawn somebody is good at cooking so they'll be your chef or your cook so there a lot of people to help but time to time army has to go away

doing exercise because they constantly need to train for the war. They have to be 24-7 ready if there's a war. So for that purpose they have something called exercise and my father was always away on exercise. They go into the jungles and glaciers and mountains. God knows where I've never been there. Thank God for that. But yeah, what I did is basically I was with my mum all the time and at that time there's no man around. Yeah, there are few

Laura (02:30)

Okay.

Millie (02:31)

but they can't be available for everybody. So you have to do certain things yourself. So my mum knew how to do electricals. Now the thing is that I never... she's no more... but I've never asked her why did you know electricals and why did you fix your own electricals? Because of that I would be holding the torch. I'd be her apprentice basically.

Laura (02:42)

Wow.

Millie (02:57)

watching her change the MCB, she would change the MCB not not just change the light bulb or something yeah people think that's an achievement but yeah my mom would change a whole circuit breaker and she taught me in the olden times we had to we had a different kind of circuit breaker they didn't flip they had copper wires wound around them

Laura (02:58)

Okay.

Wow.

Millie (03:26)

and they'd be connected by copper wires. They were a little more complicated and then you press them in. Yeah. So yeah, you press them into the bar. So that's how it works. So she taught me how to do that. Amazing. And I was just 10. So my mum taught me all that and I was because of...

Laura (03:27)

Okay.

Right, okay.

Wow.

Millie (03:48)

Being away from public, basically, I've not ever in my life lived in a metropolitan city like other people have. Because of my father's job, you know, the nature of his job was secretive.

Laura (03:58)

Okay.

Millie (04:02)

So yeah so because of that my dad was like he was not there but we we were like forced into doing so many stuff ourselves so I had to...

Laura (04:02)

Wow.

Millie (04:16)

I had to learn how to fix the two-wheeler because we had a scooter, the Lambretta, you know the Lambretta? Okay, I love the Lambretta. That's the two-wheeler I learned my scooter on. So I learned in five years straight away. I was 11 years old and yeah. I learned, imagine for an 11 year old to drive a scooter as heavy as Lambretta. So yeah, I had lots of stuff like that.

Laura (04:22)

Yes, yes. They are cool. Awesome.

Wow.

Wow.

Millie (04:45)

But my best friends were books.

Laura (04:47)

Were they? Okay.

Millie (04:47)

Yeah, because

I had to change so many places. I just lost the interest to make friends anymore.

then I forgot all about it So because of that I used to be found in libraries the whole time But to me after fairy tales and it and Enid Blighton fairy tales You know

Laura (04:56)

Pleasure.

Okay.

Millie (05:12)

What was it Fantastic Four or something? the typical ones. I got fed up and I wanted something more exciting so I turned towards practical books that give you practical knowledge. I found a physics book in the library and I saw that there were things that you could do with the home stuff. I took it home and started making things, you know.

Laura (05:22)

Okay,

Ooh!

Did

you?

Millie (05:34)

Yeah,

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is not in my school curriculum or something. I just started doing it because I liked it. Imagine I learned what a magnet can do if you wound a copper around it and how many times you wound it. So all of that I learned like, my God, I can make my own mortar. Then I was like, wow, this is amazing. So theoretically, I didn't know.

Laura (05:39)

Wow.

Yeah.

Goodness.

Hee hee.

Millie (06:02)

because those books were for kids so obviously they were not about theory so much but they were more about the practical aspect of it. So yeah so from there see you can see like how much I was interested in it so I did pick subjects like science all of the science I picked physics biology and chemistry I didn't pick maths for I don't know

Laura (06:10)

Okay, yeah.

Millie (06:26)

for whatever reason. It's not that I don't like it, I do like it but there's so many aspects to it like geometry, algebra, algorithm, trigonometry. So I didn't know what I would make use of it in but I like physics because of electricity. I just loved electricity.

Laura (06:38)

Yeah.

Fair enough.

And

that's amazing that you found that passion so young and you found it from a book as well. initially from your mother showing you bits and pieces and how to fix things. then you, yeah, there you go. And then you just instantly got drawn to a book that then expanded that love for electrics. I love that journey story

Millie (06:54)

Yeah, yeah. It came naturally because of that.

Yeah

but my parents were like really see army life as a very different life yeah.

So anyways another thing is that my parents were like so self-absorbed they didn't notice the skills I have. So they never noticed. I'm good at painting. I'm good at sewing. I'm good at...

Laura (07:24)

Okay.

Are you? Love that.

Millie (07:30)

Yeah, yeah. Yeah,

so...

Laura (07:33)

you're a very hands-on person then, very practical based person, would you say?

Millie (07:38)

To tell you the truth Laura, I never thought that there are different people who do your jobs. I thought all your jobs have to be done by yourself. Including your carburetor and electric and your clothes. You see? That's what I don't understand. Like people need different people to do the different jobs. That never was told to me by my parents.

Laura (07:58)

So.

So you were taught to be very self-sufficient then, would you say, from a child?

Millie (08:04)

Yeah,

yeah, as my father used to treat me like a soldier.

Laura (08:06)

Yeah.

I

can imagine that, yeah, there was that kind of regimented discipline driven aspect from your father being in the military like that.

Millie (08:18)

Do know what is PT shoes?

PT shoes is physical training shoes. Okay? Yeah, so in army they call it the PT shoes. Okay? So I was like, oh no, I think I'll go temperature. My father said, wear your PT shoes and go out for a run, you'll be fine. I'm like, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's my dad for me.

Laura (08:23)

gotcha, yeah, yeah.

Okay.

Really? Sweat it out. Yeah.

Wow.

Millie (08:44)

I'm telling you the

Laura (08:44)

⁓ bless him.

Millie (08:46)

truth, it's not even an exaggeration. This is how he was, okay? But he never stopped me saying, oh you're a girl, you shouldn't be doing this. You're a girl, go in the kitchen and cook. You're a girl, why are you wearing short dresses? I would have laughed if my dad said that ever, because that wasn't normal. It would sound like a joke if he said that ever.

Laura (08:52)

He sounds like a

Okay.

Yeah?

Okay, so we encouraged you to do anything and everything.

Millie (09:15)

He put it this way, he said whatever you do, you have to live with the consequences. That's it.

Laura (09:22)

That's fair, yeah.

Millie (09:22)

So that's it. He said

whatever you choose is not my responsibility. It's your consequences. So yeah, I was very careful as a child. So very, very nice balance of parents I had who never ever agreed on anything together.

Laura (09:31)

you

Millie (09:38)

So based on that, they never bothered to look at me or what I want to study. So my father wanted to make me a doctor.

Laura (09:45)

Right, okay.

Millie (09:47)

I was supposed to be a doctor but I really didn't want to five years of people in pain coming in front of my face the whole time and then I start earning after another five years that's ten years of my life looking at sad faces

Laura (09:56)

Yeah.

Millie (10:05)

Yeah, you're healing the world. But you know, it would have broken me just seeing people sad. So I'm not the type of person to become a doctor. So for him, I gave the exam. Okay. For him, I gave the interview. For him, I got selected for my medical college. I came home and I said, I've done what you asked me to do. I don't want to be a doctor.

Laura (10:11)

Yeah, I can understand that.

Okay. Yeah.

Millie (10:33)

And then he gave me the tightest laugh. I went flying across the room. He's like, how dare you! What do you want to do then? I said, I don't know. So the thing was that neither did they show me the way. I had to...

go through a long process to actually find electricity as my love.

Laura (10:51)

Yeah, because

I understand you're actually an established software engineer, is that correct? Yeah?

Millie (10:56)

I was. I qualified then because

I like future, Laura. I like future. People like, oh the old times were so nice. Oh the old songs are better. You know, it's like, no even the new are better. You know, it's not like that. You know, everything is like, I don't know, I like it but I don't like it so much to the level where everything old is better. You know. So I understood.

Laura (11:01)

Yeah.

Yeah.

I understand that, yeah.

Millie (11:23)

that this is going to be the future and I want to be a part of how the future is constructed. And that's why I went and got a software engineering degree and then AI entered and I was like, I don't know if I want to do this with so much database of AI, the bugs that it can have. And I was like, ah, this is getting like really uncomfortable for me.

Laura (11:47)

Yeah.

Millie (11:52)

I did predict the AI myself but then everything I predicted as a child came true in the software industry. yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah it did it ⁓ Like when I was 12 years old and I started liking computers in my school where they would even... there was nothing to do like you just...

Laura (11:52)

Okay.

Really?

Can you give me an example?

Millie (12:16)

open the MS-DOS and Windows and something, you know. There's nothing to do basically. And just type and just print, you know. And then the printer would take four years. I'm like, ⁓ Like Morse code. But I got attracted to it because I thought, how is it done?

Laura (12:19)

Yes. Yeah. Bit of typing. Yeah. That's it.

Yeah.

Millie (12:36)

So I told my dad why I wanted to do computers. I said one day you'll be holding the computer in your hands. You will not need a computer. What nonsense are you talking is my dad's response. It's like you have fancy ideas in your head. So yeah, there you go. My father's encouragement for being so informative and knowing where it goes. But then yeah. So...

Laura (12:37)

⁓

There you go.

Yeah.

Aww.

Millie (13:05)

Basically the it's like a full circle of finding the love of your life Okay, so I've gone through a lot of personal problems after retraining I retrain But it got dulled out. Okay, it got dulled out because There was no encouragement from anybody They just looked at you like you're stupid or something. There's something wrong with you and I did start believing I shouldn't do this

Laura (13:26)

Really?

Okay.

Millie (13:33)

And I was going in and out of it again and again because I got a job, not a permanent job, but I started working with this real estate company that takes on another person's house where they cannot afford to renovate it. So they renovated it, okay, and then it's sold at a better price. And then

Laura (13:44)

Yeah.

Okay.

I understand, so it's an uplift. Yep. Okay.

Millie (13:56)

the company gets a cut, yeah, a massive cut out of it. So

this is what I did. And they just looked at me like nobody, you I would walk in there and even though I could do stuff, which I was very confident about, the whole confidence was lost somewhere in the way because people around me, not only the people I used to work with,

But when I would go home or tell any family or friends they're like what a waste of time. What nonsense she's doing kind of thing you know. I wouldn't get wow you know. Yeah I did. This is many years ago.

Laura (14:32)

Really? have you

you ever thought about why that was? Was it, do you think it had anything to do with you being a woman going into an industry, a trade? Do you, do you think that's what it was?

Millie (14:41)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's mainly

because you're a woman and I'm tiny, you know. I'm not tall. Yeah. I'm just  5'4". So I'm really tiny and to think that I could be strong, people don't realise I'm a gurkha lady, you know. I'm very, very strong. Stronger than you think I am. Even my partner wonders. Yeah.

Laura (14:50)

Okay.

There you go. Yeah.

A lot of us are, yeah.

Millie (15:08)

Even I amaze myself.

Laura (15:10)

were you the first person in your family and potentially initial friends circle that went into a trade? Were you? Okay, it was a new concept for the people around you to understand then.

Millie (15:20)

Yes, yes, yes, I was the only person.

They, first of all they thought it was stupid, second they thought I needed money this is why I'm doing it, third they thought that it's not gonna last.

Laura (15:37)

Wow.

Millie (15:37)

But the

problem is that there was nobody around me to share that I love electricity. That's it. That's the bottom line. I don't know how else to say this. Because when you love somebody like you love your child, you say I love my child. Why? You can't say why you love your child. You just love your child. So just like that, I don't know. People ask so many questions and everything about it.

Laura (15:57)

Yeah, just do. Yeah.

Millie (16:04)

Like why do you love electricity? I'm like I don't know, it excites me when I fix something and you know it comes to fruition and I see it in front of my eyes and people are using it, they're gonna be using it what I fixed. It just makes you feel very happy, you know. ⁓

Laura (16:23)

Yeah,

so there's an act of service in that as well, isn't there?

Millie (16:27)

but the Act of Service is just like you could be a handyman and try to fix somebody's switch or something but this is not that. This is different. This is we are educated in the regs you know. We are educated for safety and health. We doing things with information. We are not just doing it if you thinking I am just a handyman. I am not a handyman.

Laura (16:33)

Yeah.

Yeah, which is very important.

Millie (16:54)

I'm actually a properly qualified, studied every little bit of it that you don't even think about matters, which does matter, yeah? And then I've worked around that to get your desirable things, whatever you've stated for me to do. And that's why it is not that easy as you think it is. But I made sure that you use it for years and years to come. You know? Yeah.

Laura (17:05)

Yep.

There you go. There you go.

And when you reconnected with electrics and becoming an electrician, what was your path? Did you do an apprenticeship? Did you go to college or did you study alongside working as well? Another type of job.

Millie (17:32)

No, no, I didn't.

I was alongside working, I

retrained, I retrained. ⁓ But I didn't do it all the way. I did it in massive parts and massive gaps because I wasn't sure. I was still stepping around and I didn't understand why people value a man doing it and why is it that me is not valid. So maybe I'm doing something stupid. I actually got

Laura (17:41)

Okay, okay.

Okay.

Millie (18:04)

Convinced by the people around me the way they were functioning, you know, so The full force came in about two years ago when I felt like okay, you know what enough Yeah, that's how I felt I was like this is this is not that I can't do this like just this I need to decide what I want in life and I came out one day came out

Laura (18:08)

Really?

Okay.

I'm gonna do it.

Yep.

Millie (18:31)

stood infront of my partner I said I'm going to be an electrician till the time I retire because he was also not very sure what I'm doing you know so that's that's it and I knew that's it and still my partner also felt like maybe she will step out of it because I did have problems at attempting the exams for the 18th edition

Laura (18:36)

Brilliant.

Millie (18:55)

So he felt like one failure or setback will make me feel upset and that's it I'm gonna leave but I'm not... See if you love something that's not how it works. You just pursue it no matter what happens.

Laura (19:06)

No.

Millie (19:09)

if you give me my 18th edition book today, I'm so good I don't have to look at anything. I can tell you in which section it'll be there. Which is the hardest thing to do? That is the problem with the 18th edition. It's an open book exam for two hours, 60 questions. So it is an open book exam in which you can fail. Imagine that! So imagine how tough it is because

Laura (19:18)

Really? Wow.

Wow.

Millie (19:36)

They don't tell you from which section this answer will be. There's a whole thick book and you need to know where that section will be answered. So yeah it's a...

Laura (19:41)

Okay, goodness me.

Millie (19:48)

That's determination. I studied and I restarted everything and I said, no, I'm going to do it right. That's it. No stepping stones, no going left and right and center and bullshit. So sorry for that. Then I was also after after working with that company for about a year, I worked with a company that is a clearance company.

Laura (20:03)

100 % in. That's alright, you carry on.

Millie (20:17)

Yeah, yeah, house clearance company. So they appointed me because I was good at software. They said, you would be able to list it on eBay, our websites and everything. And we're going to resell them and we're going to give this money to charity. I even found antiques in that. Antiques, literal antiques. So my job in that one was to sort the electric stuff also.

Laura (20:17)

Okay, so house clearance company. Yep.

Okay.

Ooh, wow.

Millie (20:45)

there was like the oldest Game Boy that you've ever seen. Yeah the first Game Boy. So I had to make it work if it wasn't working. Yeah so there were computers like the CPUs that are really really old. had to find out what to do with them and I had to see if they work. So yeah it was very electronic but it was appliance electronic.

Laura (20:45)

I don't know.

Really? wicked. Yep. wow. Yeah.

Bye.

Millie (21:11)

then we used to get like hedge cutters, hedge trimmers, I don't know what not. There was like, you know the one that you drive and you mow the lawn, the one that you drive, yeah yeah yeah yeah. So that wasn't working so I had to fix it because nobody would buy if it is not fixed you know.

Laura (21:23)

Yep, like a ride on mower Yeah.

Millie (21:33)

had a worktop table. It was a big warehouse. I had a worktop table and all my tools there and Yeah, with such a company finding tools was the easiest job in the world. They had so many things on. I've got so many tools. It's really very fascinating. The worktop bench and God knows what not things that you haven't seen of Black and Decker anymore. They've been discontinued.

Laura (21:45)

Yeah, I bet.

Millie (21:59)

So it was really really fascinating to work for them and that's why that was not a full-time job so I decided to start training during that and I was like okay I'm going to do it right this time and that's it then I said also I decided that I'm not going to work for anybody I'm going to be a sole trader till the day I die that's it

Laura (21:59)

Yeah.

Okay.

⁓

Love that. Yeah. I'm a soul trader myself and I've dipped in and out of working for people and working for myself. And now I can definitely say I won't work for anybody else again. It's the best thing, isn't it?

Millie (22:25)

Yeah.

Yeah,

I actually get alot offers on my LinkedIn and everywhere so I was like okay, you know, I look at the job, I find it very interesting and look at the money, wow nice, then I forward it to the person I know that can do the job. So that's what, that's what it is. I don't take it myself but I encourage other people to take it. self-employment...

Laura (22:54)

Okay, that's nice, yeah.

Fair play. not? Share the opportunities.

Millie (23:04)

is

not for everyone, okay?

Laura (23:06)

No, I was going to say that. Yeah, it is important to realize that self-employment doesn't suit every individual and there is nothing wrong with that. There is no right or wrong. It literally is what works for you as an individual in the trades slash construction industry, isn't it?

Millie (23:13)

No.

Self-employment is very heartbreaking and it's a very crushing job to do because first of all you're alone. You're very very lonely. You have nobody to talk to. Only you know what you're doing and only you know your own plan. There's a lot of discipline that you need to endure and you need to hold on when it feels like it's slipping away from your hands.

Laura (23:34)

Yeah.

Millie (23:50)

It's a lot of willpower actually. Trust me, how many times I feel like I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. I've had it on several, like you meet different kinds of customers that actually test your patience. The fact that what will you do is what happens in self-employment, which doesn't happen much in an employed area. You can just run to HR. Now here you your own HR.

Laura (24:19)

You're everything, aren't you? You're a counter, yeah.

Millie (24:20)

So you just look at the mirror and start talking like

you are your own encourager, you are your own supporter, you are your own critic.

You're your own teacher, you're your own mentor, you are the worst customer to yourself basically. You're the worst apprentice to yourself as well at the same time. So there's a lot of things that are happening which you need to, it's like lots of demons inside you. Are you fighting with all of them? That's what self-employment is and that's why it's not for everybody to do.

Laura (24:48)

Yeah, you-

Absolutely. It is a roller coaster, like you say, having to be all the things and manage all of the things along with all of the feelings and making your business work and function because at the end of the day, your customers on the books are relying on you. So you have to make sure that you're getting that money in the bank.

Millie (25:13)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (25:17)

to support you and your family, et cetera, and support the household, don't you? So there is a lot of pressure that comes with self-employment, but at the same time, a lot of freedom comes with it, I think, because you can manage your own diary. You can literally take on what jobs you want. Obviously, as long as the workflow is coming through enough.

Millie (25:31)

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Laura (25:43)

But I do feel like there is an element of freedom still with being self-employed and I think that's what attracts a lot of people to being a soul trader, a self-employed person.

Millie (25:55)

It needs a number one I think is the determination. You need to be determined to start with. If you're like I'm just going to try and dabble in it you're gonna you're definitely gonna fall flat because there's a testing phase. It will come to you earlier, sooner or later and it's gonna catch up on you. So that's when it will be the point of break for you. For me it was about a year ago.

Laura (26:01)

Mm-hmm. Yes.

doesn't work.

Yeah.

Millie (26:21)

I had this customer and I quoted him less than what I should have quoted. See there's a learning curve again There's nobody who appreciates you more than you who's doing the job properly as it should be done. That's it. That's the bottom line. Customer will never know otherwise he'll be an electrician. Why would he hire you? You know?

Laura (26:30)

100%

Mm-hmm.

Absolutely.

Millie (26:45)

So, ⁓ another problem with this is that people don't start with determination. People start with, okay let me try, if it works it'll be good. I have a lot of electrician mates who do this. They went, it self-employed, okay one month they got 800 pounds and next month they didn't get anything. They are in a little bit of debt. Little bit, again I will say little bit because I've seen people being in debt way more struggling in

Laura (27:11)

Okay.

Millie (27:14)

comedy, struggling in acting. Okay come on you're an electrician you still have hope. There's light everywhere, there's sockets everywhere, they'll need you. There's not everywhere, every corner, there's not a comedy club, as many sockets are there. So come on for goodness sakes you can't give up that so soon.

Laura (27:20)

Mm.

Nice as it, yeah. Yeah.

Millie (27:38)

So but then the third thing is that you should have some support structure, okay. If you don't have a support structure, I can't say that I did this all on my own. Yeah, I'm so sorry to say I didn't. I didn't do this all on my own. I have a very, very amazing partner.

He has been so super supportive. Had he not been my pillar and had he not stood through my ups and downs that I went through, oh my gosh,

So yeah, I'm not against

Laura (28:13)

bless him.

Millie (28:14)

men or any kind because I've always been educated in schools that boys I've not ever gone to all girls school ever, you know, so I'm not that type of a person I don't discriminate I feel Everybody's got their own place. Yeah Every person is not the same and you can't because we're very very unique as a human being as a female as a male

Laura (28:18)

No.

Okay, yeah.

No.

Absolutely.

Millie (28:40)

transgender or whosoever. We are very unique in our own way you know. So we have to accept that fact instead of generalizing men are like this men are like this. Yeah so my partner has been like the biggest pillar. I will say if I'm self-employed today is because he supported me.

Laura (28:52)

That's true. Yeah.

Millie (29:04)

And the second man in my life is my son, who is about to be 21 now, this year, end of the year. He's been so proud of me ever since I started this officially, like properly as a sole trader. He's been so, he's been saying, mom, that's so cool.

Laura (29:05)

No.

wow,

I love that!

Millie (29:25)

You know that

that word from your child to your parent that means the world. That means that's the highest degree that you're preached. yeah, it's like yeah, he's really proud of me about that. And because of that, yeah, I think these two people are men. Yes, the education started with my mum who was a female.

Laura (29:30)

Yeah. ⁓

Amazing.

Millie (29:51)

who didn't tell me in any way that this is a man's job ever. ⁓ So that's also good. But I feel that this inequality thing that woman, man thing, this is all in the heads of people, I swear I'm telling you. It's just in the heads of people. There's certain things men cannot do, there's certain things women cannot do, but there's certain things that we both can do, you know? So we should be allowed

Laura (29:56)

Okay, that's good.

Millie (30:22)

everywhere.

Laura (30:23)

Absolutely. think if it's obviously a hot topic, being female in what society has put out there as a male structured world, construction, trades. And I think it is down to the individual to

Millie (30:34)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (30:43)

See that, see that, like you say, see the similarities in and the differences and accept them and not constantly look for a negative. Yes, there will be the odd time where you are faced with a barrier, a comment, a look of some sort. But again, it's how you react and build yourself from that, isn't it? It's. Yeah.

Millie (30:52)

Yeah.

Yeah, so my mate Sushant, she used to

work for Lewisham Homes. So she was sent to do a survey in one of the houses. So she went there. She's a very qualified electrician again. We work together on house rewiring together because it needs a big team. One person cannot do rewiring. It's like the death of them.

Laura (31:08)

yep.

Nice.

It's a

big job, isn't it? Yeah.

Millie (31:24)

It's gonna be the death

of them. They're be lying there with a wall chaser. So that's why, you know, that's like things ⁓ one shouldn't do. Yeah, so there's, you know, Sushant goes there to the door and that says, okay, I'm the electrician and I've come to do the survey. So the lady opens the door. She's like,

I don't know how old she was like quite old and she opens the door and says no you're not and she closed the door on her face. I laughed so hard when she told me recently she'd told me that. I what? And then Sushant went back ⁓ and knocked on the door

Laura (31:47)

Okay.

Really?

No!

Wow.

Millie (32:06)

She told her off. Yeah, she went back and she told her off.

Laura (32:07)

Okay.

Wow.

It just goes to show, doesn't it? Like some of my other guests have said, it's always the guys that are, like, yeah, or judgmental or have that element of, no, you can't do that. It's.

Millie (32:19)

condescending.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Laura (32:29)

It's us females that do it to each other as well. And when I first realized, not realized, but when I first heard that, because I haven't come across that myself, when I first heard that, I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. And it, you're like the second or third person to have told me of an instance where the barrier has come from a female. Wow.

Millie (32:31)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. I had recently I got a customer.

I had a very, very, very, very complicated... ...switch that took my life. I had to go three times. The customer never told me that she's actually... ...has no idea what this switch is all about. I thought she had all the parts but then she didn't have all the parts. So yeah. So she ordered the parts, the parts were wrong. So I had to so many times. So...

Laura (33:02)

⁓

⁓

Millie (33:20)

She goes... I went to her the first time. I said do you have any kind of manual with it? So she said no there's no manual that's things in the box. I'm like okay fine so second time I go to her and I said I'm sorry this faceplate doesn't belong to this and the modules are completely different they need to send you a different faceplate or something this this switch is not complete so she goes like suddenly

Laura (33:48)

Okay.

Millie (33:49)

The manual appears out of nowhere in her hands. I'm like, wha! And she opens it to tell me I didn't fit the modules correctly. They go from the front to the back and not from the back to the front. I said, madam, if I didn't fix it right, they wouldn't be sitting on the frame. I was like, ⁓ my gosh, this woman.

Laura (34:03)

⁓

Wow.

Millie (34:16)

I for the first time I said if I was a broad like big man you know standing in her living room she wouldn't attempt to say that to me. I was like I was this tiny person who's trying to help her and not charging her for all the time. I'm a very generous person you know when I go I was like okay I'm not gonna charge you for that. Fine because we do make enough money.

Laura (34:17)

Second guessing here.

Mmm, yeah.

Millie (34:44)

But yeah, so I was like, what a thankless person. And I started feeling like I don't want to do a job. Like you were telling me that I don't know how to fit a small dual switch onto a frame. I don't need a manual for that, madam. You know, I know how to fit it.

Laura (34:49)

Yeah.

That would-

Mmm.

That's a killer point, isn't it? mean, that for some people is where you either swallow it and explain or you say, fine, OK, I will leave you with it. You have to find somebody else to do that job. Yeah. Fair play. It's it's up to each person, isn't it? How you deal with it in the situation. And it's. Yeah, it's one of those, where if you know that if you were different.

Millie (35:15)

I did do that. I did do that to her.

Laura (35:32)

in any she have approached you like that?

Millie (35:32)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah if I was a big man, honestly I don't think she would come out with it like that. She would say, here's the manual, maximum. Damn, that's what I expect her to say. Not to start explaining me that the dimmer has to be set from inside and not from the outside of the frame. ⁓ my god. And I just felt in my head so many things to say like, do it yourself then, you know?

Laura (35:39)

Mmm.

There you go.

Hmm.

Mmm.

Millie (36:00)

Like, okay

fine, you know then, do it yourself and why did you hide the module in your house? So many things came to my brain and I just wanted to like really walk out. But yeah, you do... I'm not a teenager. ⁓ so yeah, some people really test you

Laura (36:11)

Yeah.

No, we've got a reputation as well, haven't we, as a self-employed person? Gotta know? Yeah.

Millie (36:24)

There's people being very... Like there's a guy I went to Central London...

So I had to go to a hardware store because her lights were golden and she didn't have any golden screws. So I can't fix it with a steel screw. It's gonna look so bad. So so the Barbican hardware store. I went down. There's only one. So he'll get good out if anybody hears this.

Laura (36:44)

yep.

Millie (36:52)

He's a good person. I went there asked him for the golden screws. He says, ⁓ this lady came with a light and she wanted me to wire it for her and I checked it, it's fine. I was like, yeah, thank you, thank you for doing that and then he said, you're the electrician, she never told me that she's got a female electrician. What's your number? I'm gonna give it to everybody. and yesterday's job that I did was his reference. They're very

Laura (36:53)

Hehehe.

Alright.

Millie (37:18)

sweet customers. I went back to the shop and I said thank you for referring me. He says, no, I'm very fascinated. Are you the only female electrician? I know. I'm very fascinated. I want to refer you more. I said, do you want some kind of commission? He says, no, no, no, that's okay. I don't want anything. I was like really like, see, that's a man, you know, in a hardware store. He doesn't have to.

Laura (37:32)

Aww.

Love

that. Yeah.

Millie (37:44)

That's really

sweet, it's a proof that there's nothing about these gender things that people create. There could be a woman not supporting you, there could be a man really supporting you. Yeah.

Laura (37:52)

Yeah.

This is it,

yeah. Wow. Well, we have come to the point in the show where I like to do a quick fire question round. Okay, so it's a this or that, and if you feel you wanna elaborate on it, please do. start with an easy one. Tea or coffee?

Millie (38:04)

Okay.

Okay.

Oh no! Both! Yeah, sorry, I like both of them. I'm just having coffee right now which my partner made for me.

Laura (38:17)

Bye!

Brilliant. you can have both, fair enough. Installing storage heaters or consumer units.

Millie (38:31)

consumer units.

Laura (38:32)

Summer or winter.

Millie (38:34)

Winter because I'm Nepalese.

Laura (38:36)

Meal in or order in?

Millie (38:38)

a meal in

Laura (38:39)

Lovely. First fix. Izzy. Whoa. Yeah. I love that. do you like to cook? Yeah. Do you like to cook traditional Nepalese

Millie (38:39)

My partner is Italian. We have to eat all fresh food. No takeaways ever.

Yeah, we both cook. Yeah.

I know all sorts of cuisine in the world basically I think my pasta is better than his pasta but his pizza is world-class yeah and I cook all sorts of other food anything you want me to cook I'll cook a katsu curry

Laura (39:10)

Amazing.

Just the last couple of questions then. First fix or second fix?

Millie (39:15)

Ooh, I like both of them but first fix is more interesting. Second fix is you can send an apprentice to do it. Yeah.

Laura (39:19)

Do you? Okay.

Fair enough.

Driver or passenger?

Millie (39:26)

Mmm, PASSENGER! I hate driving, I hate driving!

Laura (39:29)

Passager!

Is that because you're in London though? Or do you just not like driving? Have you?

Millie (39:32)

No, I've always hated driving. was forced into

driving and I'm still forced into driving. But yeah, I hate driving as much as people don't know this, but I'm... Yeah. I hate driving.

Laura (39:42)

⁓ bless you.

Fair enough. Passenger it is. Brilliant. So if you could be another trade, what would you choose and why?

Millie (39:53)

Paint! No! No! Wait, wait! another trade!

Laura (39:54)

Would you?

Millie (40:01)

See the thing is that there's many places that an electrician can go. So I would say that I want to be the MCS qualified solar installer. It's altogether a different. Once you get into that then you're not no more this domestic things you know for you. That's what I want to achieve. That's my next. Yeah. Sorry.

Laura (40:14)

Mmm.

Okay.

Awesome,

Millie (40:28)

I'm saluting to all other trades. No, I'm not good at it. I respect you all.

Laura (40:33)

Love

it, love On that note, what trade do you think I should have on the show next? Who would you like to listen to?

Millie (40:39)

Ooh,

I like to listen to a plumber. I like Rachel. Have you heard of Rachel?

Laura (40:44)

Awesome.

Millie (40:45)

She's got a lady on her van like the silhouette of a lady in black That's yeah, she's moved to she's moved to Ireland She's put it on her Instagram

Laura (40:48)

Okay. Yeah.

Have you?

Millie (40:56)

she's really good I've worked with her like yeah yeah

she moved radiators in one of the houses that I worked in yeah so yeah she's I would really like to know more about her but because we were working we didn't talk

Laura (41:05)

Okay.

Fair enough, fair enough. Well, thank you very much for sharing your story and your ups and downs with me today. I've loved it, I've loved it. I love how joyous you are. Yeah, absolutely. And...

Millie (41:20)

I loved it. Yeah. Yeah, thank you so much.

I'm a very private person. For me to come out and talk is kind of like very weird for me. because my job, my things are like a child. How you want your baby to always be protected.

So yeah, I really fiercely protect what I'm doing right now. And I'm very, very possessive about it. I'm very touchy about it. I'm very emotional and sentimental about it. My entire day is regulated in how the job actually. I really care for my customers and really care for the jobs that I do.

Laura (41:47)

Yeah.

can understand that.

I love that. Thank you so much. where can you're welcome. Where can people find you on social media so they can get you some followers?

Millie (42:09)

Thank you, you too.

Instagram,

TikTok, Instagram Millie Electrician London and then the same thing on YouTube Millie Electrician London on YouTube and then on TikTok and then I have my website which is still getting constructed but if anybody needs a call there's a there's a Tradeify link you know because I use Tradeify so there's a Tradeify link that gives you a form so people can

Laura (42:33)

Brilliant.

Okay.

Millie (42:43)

just ⁓ write whatever their problems are and then I can immediately send you a quotation straight away and you know how much it costs to fix a job.

Laura (42:50)

Perfect.

Wow, lovely. All right, Millie, well, thank you so much again for sharing your time with me. It's, yeah, I've really loved it. Thank you.

Millie (43:00)

I love being

with you. We should go out somewhere. I want to invite you for a pizza party! Homemade pizza made by Italian. Yeah, ciao Bella, ciao! That's what they'll say to you when you come over here.

Laura (43:05)

⁓ yeah. ⁓ please, I love pizza.

Absolutely, yes please. In fact, I've just come back from Italy. I love

thank you again.

Millie (43:20)

Take care. Thank you, Laura, so much. I'm really honored. Yeah. Take care. Bye-bye.

Laura (43:22)

You too.

You're welcome.