there is a serious shortage of truly qualified technicians
yes pay will be dependent upon skill and experience

good pay depends where you move to
here in NY good pay is high 20s to low/mid 30s (US$) an hour plus benefits or a percentage of benefits
but its very expensive to live here

other parts of the country its cheaper to live but the pay is less

and yes
you can be fired on the spot
but thats unlikely if youre good at what you do
and jobs are a dime a dozen for good techs

i have family in england and from what they tell me i should be asking you how it is to come work there lol