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RDTroja:
--- Quote from: Beer Court on Jul 27, 2005, 06:12 ---What's so funny about paying you what you're worth? Your job description sounds like a Senior Health Physics Tech. Not counting benefits, you should be looking at hourly rates upwards of $30. If you're working year round, your annual should be between $70k and $100k depending on the amount of OT and geographical factors. In Florida or Southern California, the numbers would be about two thirds of what you should expect in Illinois. It all depends on labor costs in your part of the country. New Jersey would be about the same as Illinois depending on your distance from NYC. If you're in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, or Tennessee, expect about $25 - 29 per hour. Unionized techs make boatloads more money than non-union, and house techs make about twice the rate of contractors plus better bennies.
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A lot of the points BeerCourt makes are spot on, but I have to disagree with a few of them. The pay rates (for contractors at least, and I believe for house techs as well) I have seen in Illinois were not any higher than I see in Florida and the amount of overtime is being drastically reduced in most areas which makes achieving $100K ($70 to $80 is pretty close) a whole lot harder than it used to be. The last sentance is, in my experience, not true at all except for the bennies. There is a slight price advantage to being union in some cases, but I have seen others where it really didn't make a difference, and I have never seen a house tech that made twice what a contractor made. If that was the case there wouldn't be any 'former house techs' or vacant slots in utility HP organizations and there would be waiting lines at every utility HR office. A house tech by virtue of working more weeks during the year will probably come out ahead, but to say the rate is twice what a contractor gets is way off base.
volfireman07:
The funny thing about pay rates is what does that rate include. Beer Court specified no benes in his view. I have hired contract and direct, salary and hourly. The rate for direct hire is usually based on applicable experience, while the rate for contract is based on what the market will bear. Sometimes the rate I offer a contractor includes OT and per diem in one hourly rate. Of course this rate is a lot higher. If benefits are offered, you may still need a higher hourly rate to cover co-pays for insurance or lower matching funds in 401Ks.
I recommend you look at the total package. I agree that everone should make what they are worth, but as a small company it is hard to always do that in straight up cash. I came to my current position at a 10% cut. The intrinsic value made up for the $$ loss though. What kind of other benefits do you get out of your job? Flexible schedule, comp time, bonuses, education assistance? I try not to look at the dollar per hour as much as I look at the work (do I enjoy it), the management (do I like them), basically the total package.
Several years ago I left a job in search of "what I was worth" because I felt I was unappreciated. I like my current job, but still I wish I could go back.
Even thought you have a parachute when you jump - where will you land?
halflifer:
--- Quote from: volfireman07 on Jul 28, 2005, 10:46 ---Even thought you have a parachute when you jump - where will you land?
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that is probably the best piece of advice you will ever receive !!!!
cincinnatinuke:
First off thank you for the responses. I just hope this in no way sparks a debate between union and non-union and so on.
The bennies here are pretty good. We saw a 10% bonus last year which is pretty unheard of and uncommon for our company. We had a lot go right to get that and may see 3-5% this year. Insurance is so so, but like I said its a small company. We have a 401k, life ins which varies in price based on your wife's desires when you pass away (I see it as paying her to be with another when you're gone :)), and other standard items for any company. The bonus system though is probably the big difference between most companies and ours since everyone pockets from ownership to custodians. We have tuition assistance but there is a ne for that and you still gotta justify your goals to match the companies so no phys ed majors just lots of MBA's which everyone and there mother wants and that really drains the pool quickly.
No comp time. Other field techs are paid hourly so when I hit the road I get the same for12 to 15 hours as I would for 8. And good luck asking for monday off when you are on the road all weekend or you logged 70 to 80 hours that week. The hourly guys get that time off, but what is the sense of paying a guy 8 hours of ot on a Friday to finish his travel forms and shoot the breeze.
I am getting off key here. There are likes and dislikes just as I am sure you guys all have. I am young, for the most part, and have 2 young kids, a wife, and a mortgage. I only see $$$ as far as take home. Maybe when I am nearing retirement I'll wish I had a better 401 or a pension or something else. I hope that doesnt sound too jaded.
If you guys see anymore salary calculators let me know.
kwicslvr:
--- Quote from: Beer Court on Jul 27, 2005, 06:12 ---Unionized techs make boatloads more money than non-union,
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I would think this would depend on the plant in particular. Our plant is not union and our annaul bonus alone is ~10x higher than our union counterparts at another one of our plants. Our base salaries are almost identical and we do not pay union dues. We also get an individual performance bonus here which our union counterparts are not offered.
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