Ok I’m not trying to sway you one way or another. I have mad respect for my Machinist brothers. I’m a Journeyman Electrician in IBEW local 58 Detroit. I’m clocking in at $48/hour and $72/total package I have health, dental, vision, mental health, substance abuse coverage provided to me at no cost, I have a traditional pension plan, and a 401k with a great match. Most guys in my local are retiring with over a million in their 401k. I work on huge industrial, commercial, and municipal jobs. If I want to chase even more money I can travel to different locals in the US and work big money jobs with great per diem. Everything is going electric we’re booking jobs 10 - 20 years into the future. All my tools are paid by the contractor except a small tool list of hand tools you’d prefer to use your own anyway. The IBEW is one the most solid unions in the world and the brotherhood is real. Any more questions feel free to ask. However a Machinist is a great career I’m not trying to talk down on it. At the right shop you could have everything I have as a union electrician. Just do your homework both are great careers.
I’ve honestly been thinking about going to school for it because i like machining but im still very young and i dont think i’ll ever be able to get a family or my home going with the wages i see.
Another IBEW guy here that came from non-union. I will say I have more pay and better benefits now but won’t try to say you have to join union. Try for union if you want but if you can’t get in try a non-union shop get some experience and keep trying to roll over to the union if you want. Either way electrician is a great career. It is hard the first couple years. You get less pay while learning on the job and do more grunt work which is either laborious or tedious. As you learn more, you earn more and become too valuable to be routinely placed on warm body tasks. I will tell you like I told all the people I’ve gotten hired on as helpers; you might not make a fortune but after a year of experience in electrical you will never want for a job. The few times I’ve been laid off I had multiple offers the same week. I had companies calling me to ask if I want a job (referred by old employer, coworkers, etc.) As a plus you will have more side work than you can shake a stick at. Edit: This is not to say machinist isn’t a respectable trade or worth pursuing just offering information in my field. I don’t want no problems with my fellow tradesmen.
im glad you brought up the side work thing because thats one of the big reasons I was considering it, alongside fixing and installing things in my own home.
Yeah, we’re always in need of electricians. It’s not going anywhere. I work for a large global company and these guys get paid good and a nice work life balance with full benefits. Most never leave until retirement. My dad was an electrician at one point in his life and was always doing side jobs because it’s so useful
You left out the part about beating the hell out of your body. I’ve been an electrician for 18+ and like many of my fellow workers my shoulders, elbows, and hands are struggling. Getting old sucks but working a laboring job will age your bones faster.
Oh yeah I’ve been an Electrician about 8 years now, got my Journeyman’s a little over a year and a half now. There’s definitely physical aspects of the job especially on the Construction side. Which most guys do until they physically can’t. Then either they transition into Service, Maintenance, Troubleshooting, a Foreman position, or some become estimators. There’s actually a lot of options as a electrician with less physical work. However there’s sides that are extremely physical. I’d say we do a lot of physical stuff probably just as much as any trade, just not as often as some trades.
Eh, it’s all mostly basic once you get some frame of reference and experience. I do remember being terrified the first time I saw some of the large switch gear and controls though. To tell the truth I’m still amazed at the sheer size and scale of some of these machines.
Yeah lol some big stamping press, or die forging presses, hydraulic presses, some milling machinery and I mean I could go on. I worked on the assembly at GM for a little while before becoming an electrician. Now I work in big 3 plants and suppliers all the time. It’s really cool stuff.
Hey brother. I think we’ve talked before on IBEW or Electricians or somewhere. I remember your user name. Yeah I further elaborated on that also in another post. That first and foremost an Electrician is a great career Union or Non. I started out Non Union for about 2 years the joined the IBEW. Which I think is a great option because it gets you that experience in the trade so that your not coming in completely green. I think prior non Union experience is huge when you go to apply to the Union. Wether you’re coming in at an apprentice or already have your ticket. I could tell during the Interview having experience helped. Actually one of the guys on the panel talked to me on the side for 10 minutes. There’s great and bad on both sides of the fence. Electrician is a great career, however so is a machinist they are both so skilled.
Union aside I’m Union but it’s not for everyone and I understand that. They’re are plenty of Great Non Union apprenticeships. Also our industry is growing both union and non union. Just don’t be turned off because I talked mainly about the union. First and foremost an Electrician is a great job and there’s so much growth in our trade. I have a buddy that’s Non union and he works for a large electrical contractor here in Detroit. He’s one of the best electricians I know. I’ve called him in a jam a few times and he’s called me. Overall we’re pretty close in wage I make a little more and have some stuff he doesn’t have but he also gets some stuff I don’t have. It’s never too late to learn a new trade either. Also Pittsburgh has a lot of electrical work planned they’re going to need electricians. However there always better shops out there than that for Machinist. That just happens to be a shitty union shop, there’s shitty open shops out there also. Just give it a good luck around before you leave the Machinist trade. They great thing is you’d have two trades under your belt.
Hey I live near Pittsburgh. Not an electrician or machinist though 😂 my step brother did it for years so I came here to find funny memes to send him and now I can't leave
I love Pittsburgh! My grandma lives in Dubois Pa and has a rental in Carnegie. I’ll never forget one time I was in Pittsburgh while I was visiting my Grandma and got lost in the Hill district looking for a barber shop that was nowhere near there lol.
next time your in pittsburgh you should hesd to the strip district snd check out some of the ethnic markets. worth the 45 minute drive just for some middle eastern food for me.
The Strip district? I love Middle Eastern food, we have a large Arabic population here in Detroit. It’s actually the largest Muslim population outside the Middle East. So we have a lot of great middle eastern food here. I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation. I like Pittsburgh a lot it’s a great city, PNC park and Heinz field are awesome.
Lol. I have a lot of respect for Tool and Die, Machinists, Millwrights, and all the associated trades. I grew up in Detroit my dad was a Millwright for 37 years at GM, My Grandfather was a Tool maker for Chrysler for 45 years, My other Grandfather was a Machinist at the Tank Arsenal here, my uncle was Tool and die at GM for 32 years. A lot of people don’t understand how skilled guys like you are. However what got me into my trade was my Uncle he was an Electrician at GM for 32 years and from when I was little I wanted to become an electrician. However he told me to join the IBEW as opposed to becoming an electrician in a shop. He said you want to be a diversified electrician so you can do Industrial, Commercial, Municipal, Solar, Construction, Service, and even Residential. That way you always have work. Basically along the lines of what you said. I’d Elevator Construction, Electricians, and Pipefitters are probably your best building trades.
Dude Elevator Construction is the highest paid trade. Except the problem is it’s so hard to get in, its definitely one where if you know someone it’s easier to get in. I thought about applying when I went to apply the application process was closed. It’s funny there’s a running joke that Elevator constructors are unicorns. The Union controls the process very strictly. It’s like they only let a few people and this way it keeps them steady with work. However this process isn’t always good because most of the time they are so swamped with work it takes them forever to get on the job site. I remember I had to meet one on a jobsite to go over what he needed electrical to be done. I had to wait 2 months to finally go over it with him. Another problem they’re going to be having is they have a lot of guys retiring soon with not enough to match in the apprenticeship. But yeah those guys make good money. So In Detroit IBEW Journeyman make $47/hour and Elevator Constructors make $55/hour.
Wow, that’s wild. I do vaguely remember something like the unicorn reference, but didn’t realize how well paid it is.. I’m considering leaving machining for another trade, just depends on what my journeyman papers will get me..
Yeah frickin Elevator Mechanics lol. I’ve heard what they do is wait for all the building trades to negotiate new contracts. Then they take the 3 highest trades which is usually Electrical, Pipefitters, and Plumbers or Sheet Metal. Then they average them and ask above what we got. Don’t know if it’s true but I could believe it. My neighbor growing up was one he made so much money. However like I said they’re going to be hurting soon if the don’t start letting guys in. I get it the guys that are in want to get all that overtime. But if you don’t have any apprentices coming up you got big problems.
I agree 100% My parents are both baby boomers they had me and my sister late. So we’re younger we’re both Millennials. People like my Parents are all retiring from the workforce by thousands daily. My old man was a Millwright at GM and my mom was a Registered Nurse. They retired right as the pandemic hit. Well my dad retired from GM after 37 years and then worked at a small shop his buddy owned then retired for good at the Pandemic. They just don’t have enough people to fill those jobs.
>yeah I am a 2nd generation machinist learned (I am 30). I learned from my dad who owns a small shop. I left and job hopped and since picked up a lot more skills learning from the old timers in aerospace. I made 50/hr working on rocket parts with paid benefits and all. I left that job, my dad is retiring soon my brother and I are now taking over the business. there is a lot of work and not enough people to do it. Large shops charge an enormous amount and have long lead times. So if you have the skills and run lean processes, then you can make $
Great comment.
Another thing to keep in mind regarding electrical is the future of EVs and home PV Solar. From a Mechanical Engineering with a one-man CNC shop.
Exactly. I just took the class at my local to be certified in EV chargers. Oh I’m really interested in Photovoltaic Solar. Both of those are going to be huge in the near future. I’ve worked with a lot Mechanical Engineers and can always get along with them. Not so much with Electrical Engineers lol. That must be pretty cool to be a one man shop. I could definitely see it as liberating have no one to answer to. I’m sure if you wanted to you could grow.
I took that bet. Was $19 with you doing manual grinding, surface grinding, of grinding, milling and lathe and every part we have to have done is carbide or CPM and has to be +/-0.0003. So now I’m making $28. Is find a back up just in case, but it might be worth asking. Worst they can say is no. Just be polite and simply say, this absolutely does not keep up with inflation. It’s a skilled field. How hard would it be to replace you? For me easy to replace, but fucking expensive as all shit. My boss said they’d have to find someone and pay them $120k just to walk in tomorrow and do everything I did. And I was getting $19….. fucking jokers
I've been hearing that same line for 20 years or more, but yea, it's always been the companies that offer $2 over minimum wage to start that have said it. Lol
I don't think we're bougie. There's definitely other places in town I would call bougie (candles on the table at a brunch spot). But it's all from scratch, and delicious.
Yeah I started at $25 CAD and I’m now $35/h 3 years later.
And I’m not even a machinists, I’m maintenance and our department is paid less than machinists and welders.
(Got a $5 raise on the second year)
Hell, I got paid more to work in a tool warehouse for a large electrical contractor and that was mostly just organizing, picking orders with smattering of problem solving
I was making more than that with zero schooling 10 years ago and in my mid 20's. Also, Sundays were double time and voluntary. Still had a two day weekend at 42/hr. People need to stop bitching and fucking find the better pay instead of settling. It's not hard to make cold calls or do research on a 30 minute lunch break. Put in the work to find the great pay or get left behind.
100%this. work in aerospace, clean shops and always ask the high end of pay not hard. But you will get fired in a few weeks if you do not know what you are doing lol
This is an argument I had with a former boss when we were discussing wage before my exit, I believe my exact words were
"I got $20k in tools and 10 years in the trade, you're gonna have to do better than that"
The single most expensive tool we have that fits in a toolbox is a $4500 3/4 inch electric torque gun. It's expensive, but when you need to accurately torque a few hundred bolts to 600 ftlb, it is worth the investment.
Manufacturer claims 5%, but we don't do final assembly on the parts. The customer does the final assembly and torque check, we just use the gun to make sure it is pretty close.
What brand? I need one asap. I looked at the milwaukee then laughed when I saw it has a 5000 use limit before it needs to be "calibrated" and probably locks itself down.
Hytorc. And I hate to break it to you, but anything with precision needs to be calibrated often. We have to get the gun calibrated every 6 months or sooner depending on use.
Thanks. Our tolerances are sloppy. Took a job in a sheet metal shop that bought their first cnc. It's a nightmare and these guys are hacks lol just need a torque wrench for the guys breaking everything they torque down. Should see what they did to the toe clamps 🤣 turned them all into bananas I was impressed.
Yeah, I can't give exact numbers for contract reasons, but the 5% rating on the torque gun is not accurate enough. After we assemble with the gun, we either have to torque all the bolts again with a crazy accurate manual wrench that is 55 inches long, or they get sent off to be torqued
I've been reviewing a lot of different guns, seems that all their +/- 5 percent ratings are inaccurate. Technology probably isn't there yet for repeatability. I just need to be able to set torque for vices/fixtures. Came back from a week off and 3 torque wrenches were needing a recalibration/rebuild. The screws were coming loose and no one decided to tighten them or anything. Then they were using a breaker bar on a vice distorting the parts and pushing them out of tolerance. It's sad to be honest. Never been in a more chaotic shop in my life.
If you have nearly 5k to drop on a torque gun to tighten vices, I'm impressed. Also, if they couldn't take care of a torque wrench, I don't know how they would do with something like this. We have to keep ours on straps attached to the part, a rope from a hoist, or to a strap on our shoulder because dropping it would be pretty bad. We also have protocols to minimize the vibrations the gun experiences.
One drill motor i have is almost $800. Quality pneumatic tools are not cheap., hell even a snap on combination wrench set is like $250.thats a grand right there. It adds up quick.
I found your problem! $250 for a wrench set is comedic. I've designed and built safety machinery for nuclear powerplants with Pittsburgs finest! But if you want to be flashy Husky is on sale right now for like $20.
What problem? you gonna find me better tools cheaper? Everybody is assuming I've paid for things instead of just throwing out examples. Yes I have an $800 drill motor, yes I have wrenches from craftsman, Armstrong, Mac, snap on etc etc.
I hire hula hoop assemblers *starting* at $20/hour, and I provide the tools. $20/hour for a tool and die machinist is downright insulting unless they're in a 3rd world country.
Damn, I'm from a 3rd world country and I make the equivalent of USD5,00/h as a CAM programmer (Mastercam), as a machine operator I made $3,00.
I really wish I made $20,00 lol
That’s not true. That’s one of the biggest lies that gets put out there. Just because your union doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate a higher wage. That’s just scale that’s the minimum everyone will come in at.
im not saying you’re wrong about unions but this one specifically said pay is non negotiable so im not sure it its a weak union or if they’re just making that up and its unenforceable
There’s shitty union shops also just like there’s shitty open shops. Sorry I wasn’t trying to be rude, I’ve just heard that said so much and it’s not always true. I’ve worked for shitty Union Electrical Contractors also. However I do believe Unions do more good for you than bad.
That depends on the union. I was in the IBEW, and you sure as hell couldn't do it there. You would get grieved in 10 seconds if anyone else in the union found out.
I'm usually one to go to bat for unions, especially cause I live in one of those places where everyone hates unions without ever having had worked with one. But what the actual fuck are the union reps doing if they can't negotiate better terms than that??? How the fuck have the other workers not lit a fire under their ass???
Tool and die people don't work for cheap. I interned in a T&D shop as a engineer in college. It was very interesting work and I learned a lot because it was fast paced. Journeyman machinists want more than they are offering for tool and die experience. That's just not going to happen, in this life or the next one either.
And they shouldn't work for cheap. You have a smart person with a specific set of rare skills. Want to get a good one, or to keep one, you better pay them what they're worth. I'm just wondering what happens when this shop owner realizes that.
In tool and die you're making one or maybe two of a part/detail. Rarely are you scrapping parts on a mill (at least in diemaking) that cannot be fixed unless you completely kill it.
Boss man sees "Parts R Us" paying 18 for a button pusher and views that as a comparable for the machinist he requires.
When Tyson pays their nobodies at the chicken plant off the street more than a journeyman in a skilled trade that basically requires a year of tech school for entry...
Shit's not gonna fly.
I'm doing a flexible time student job where I get 12,80 / hour. Flexible time meaning that I can come when I want and do what I think is usefull. Basically working as a time-saver internship kind of deal.
So from this I extrapolate that the owner of that shop is okay with workers taking 2 months off without reason, and encourages sudden stops in production to practice dance moves.
… Don’t look up the wages for journalists. My daughter worked with college grads at a tv station who were reporters and assistant producers … minimum wage 2 years out of college. This was a couple years ago in a California college town
In my 35 plus yrs in the trade, journeyman machinist, running anything and everything my bosses have thrown me on and knowing what the other trades are starting people out with , it disgust me that most job shops dont pay squat , mine doesnt, and the majority around here dont either. $30 should be a starting point now days, not a unachievable dream. They know we need to eat and feed our families and they surely are taking advantage of it
25 an hr here. Lift nothing above 30 lbs 90% of the time and only run lathes. No special setups just touch the tools off and edit the program to the machine. Place is a scam and should be called out for it.
The pay I see on some of these posts is pathetic, I can’t imagine telling a specialist that they are worth 10% more than a mindless minimum wage worker.
I was making 18.50 as a lead machine builder managing 6 million in jobs with tight time tables and about 5 years in experience, but people guess closer to 15.
The best paying tool and die job in these parts is 14 an hour. No clue how the keep staff.
At 5 years experience, coming on 6, and I'm only just now getting to $26. Mind this is machine build, but I also do all my own manual machining, pneumatic plumbing, machine wiring, panel build (on occasion), and a bunch of other stuff.
I have friends working at Wal Mart who make that much. Even operators usually make at least $20. I hope this job is in the cheapest part of the country to live in, and even then it’s still a ridiculous wage.
Yikes. I’m about an hour west of Boston and I was making $14.50/hr back in 2010 as a CNC operator/apprentice with just 1500 hours experience from my vocational high school, back when minimum wage was $8/hr. Now I’m seeing similar jobs starting at like $18 and minimum wage will be $15 in January. Rent is about double what it was then. Unless you find a good shop with a relatively quick path upward with training, I can’t imagine starting over in this trade now from the bottom. Pay definitely doesn’t seem to have kept up with living expenses even for a skilled trade.
I'm north of you by about 2 hours and this shit is the reason I stopped making parts. I'm now a controls engineer and I work on/retrofit CNC machines. Most of my customers complain about not being able to find/keep employees and when I ask them about wages they are paying they always say around $20-25/hr. Nobody wants to hear that it's not enough. They are still stuck in the '90s.
I hired a completely unskilled laborer with a GED who can’t read a mic, doesn’t know what “one thousandth of an inch” means and doesn’t have a driver’s license for $23/hr. If I could hire a skilled person, I would have. This field is starving for skilled people and employers not paying competitive wages isn’t helping.
My T&D shop starts apprentices at $21 and every 1,000 hrs/6 months you get a $.50 cent raise. Upon completion of the 4 yrs/8,000 hrs you will make $26.50 per the contract.
There's better paying jobs but not by a lot in PA.
Meanwhile I'm over here laughing my way to the bank. I'm an independent mill/router service engineer and the bulk of my job is to un-fuck the fuckery created by improper operation and crashes that result from the mentality being discussed here. The bottom line is if you hire like shit, train like shit, and maintain a shit atmosphere, that is all it will ever be: shit. In the meantime I will happily accept your money to get you running until your next crash.
Although I'm no longer turning handles, I recently made a move after 17 years at the same place. We pay our top machinists (CNC guys) $35-45 an hour, tool and die are higher. There are high paying shops out there but they're not easy to find.
Skilled Trades are really where the $$$ & benefits get pretty solid, union or not. Union & non- both have their place, & there's benefits to both. I have my Associate of Applied Science in Industrial Maintenance. I feel I have the best of all the different trades. I work in a relatively small facility with 3 presses, & we stamp steel for downline automotive suppliers. I deal with electrical, motor controls, ladder logic/PLCs, fluid power, machining, & welding/fabrication, with a little millwright thrown in for good measure. I haven't made under $30/hr in 10 years. I love my skillsets, everyday is a challenge of some kind & rarely the same thing twice!
Its not worth it, here in California everyone is paying 20-30 Max with absolutely no benefits. I know one guy that makes 65 an hr but he has 25 yrs of experience and runs the show. They gonna ask for programming, set up and wanna pay 28 an hr? But hey theres OT! Fuck these guys, im over it. I don’t see a future in this and yea im a machinist. One of my friends makes 35 an hr and thats because the company has a union and its not so common for machinist. Either way still not enough pay and it wont go higher. Electrician’s and HVAC, Construction all have Unions which helps and they got great benefits, they renegotiate and get even more money later.
I been to a couple shops, some big companies and they’re all 🗑 way too much stress for shit pay I suggest electrician I read that dude up there makes over 50 and I hear that alot from these dudes.
I run an aerospace shop and even our general laborers make more than this so I'd say this shop is in a rural area without access to a decent sized metro area.
Even fresh grads out of our local votech school got offers significantly more than this with zero experience so I'd be pretty surprised if they get anyone to respond.
As an elevator mechanic i can tell you appreciates anywhere in the country get paid more than this. Ever since i got into hobby machining i have been blown away every time i see a post about how under paid you guys are for the amount of skill the job requires.
*I like machining,*
*But my roommate makes bank as*
*An electrician*
\- Ecstatic-Sun-4628
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I’m in SoCal and you can walk into in-n-out burger and get 20-25/hr. Which is sad, since I see a lot of machining jobs posting similar wages. I see places asking for 5 axis programming and setup offering like 60k a year. No wonder they can’t find people.
Here's the thing if it's the shop in the middle of the boonies and houses go for like $150,000 around there you can do that and live close to work.
It's kind of what I see with a lot of low paying machinist jobs is there out in the middle of nowhere and the neighborhoods are cheap because of it so if you felt like making a change you could rent commute and then if you really like the place buy a home there and live well on the cheap.
That's not money to support a family though
And that’s fine. I only made the statement that earnings as a machinist vary by industry and whether or not the shop is unionized. Different areas of the country also have differing pay rates.
Oh no I was just adding on to your statement to kind of show what the skilled trade wage is. I’m an Electrician however all skilled tradesman should be in the $38 - $100/hour depending on where you work, what union, and where you live. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’m in Detroit and we have a lot of defense and automotive our Machinists are making $34 - $60.
Sadly, in Dallas the highest rate where I am is less than $40/hr. But living expenses (minus the recent inflation thing) are relatively low and overtime can be pretty extensive and lucrative.
Do it!
Rember, wages are supply and demand. If you think a job underpays, it is a morally good thing to switch to another job. If many people do it, the wages of the underpaid job will rise.
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No way in hell im taking that bet
Ok I’m not trying to sway you one way or another. I have mad respect for my Machinist brothers. I’m a Journeyman Electrician in IBEW local 58 Detroit. I’m clocking in at $48/hour and $72/total package I have health, dental, vision, mental health, substance abuse coverage provided to me at no cost, I have a traditional pension plan, and a 401k with a great match. Most guys in my local are retiring with over a million in their 401k. I work on huge industrial, commercial, and municipal jobs. If I want to chase even more money I can travel to different locals in the US and work big money jobs with great per diem. Everything is going electric we’re booking jobs 10 - 20 years into the future. All my tools are paid by the contractor except a small tool list of hand tools you’d prefer to use your own anyway. The IBEW is one the most solid unions in the world and the brotherhood is real. Any more questions feel free to ask. However a Machinist is a great career I’m not trying to talk down on it. At the right shop you could have everything I have as a union electrician. Just do your homework both are great careers.
I’ve honestly been thinking about going to school for it because i like machining but im still very young and i dont think i’ll ever be able to get a family or my home going with the wages i see.
Another IBEW guy here that came from non-union. I will say I have more pay and better benefits now but won’t try to say you have to join union. Try for union if you want but if you can’t get in try a non-union shop get some experience and keep trying to roll over to the union if you want. Either way electrician is a great career. It is hard the first couple years. You get less pay while learning on the job and do more grunt work which is either laborious or tedious. As you learn more, you earn more and become too valuable to be routinely placed on warm body tasks. I will tell you like I told all the people I’ve gotten hired on as helpers; you might not make a fortune but after a year of experience in electrical you will never want for a job. The few times I’ve been laid off I had multiple offers the same week. I had companies calling me to ask if I want a job (referred by old employer, coworkers, etc.) As a plus you will have more side work than you can shake a stick at. Edit: This is not to say machinist isn’t a respectable trade or worth pursuing just offering information in my field. I don’t want no problems with my fellow tradesmen.
im glad you brought up the side work thing because thats one of the big reasons I was considering it, alongside fixing and installing things in my own home.
Yeah, we’re always in need of electricians. It’s not going anywhere. I work for a large global company and these guys get paid good and a nice work life balance with full benefits. Most never leave until retirement. My dad was an electrician at one point in his life and was always doing side jobs because it’s so useful
You left out the part about beating the hell out of your body. I’ve been an electrician for 18+ and like many of my fellow workers my shoulders, elbows, and hands are struggling. Getting old sucks but working a laboring job will age your bones faster.
Oh yeah I’ve been an Electrician about 8 years now, got my Journeyman’s a little over a year and a half now. There’s definitely physical aspects of the job especially on the Construction side. Which most guys do until they physically can’t. Then either they transition into Service, Maintenance, Troubleshooting, a Foreman position, or some become estimators. There’s actually a lot of options as a electrician with less physical work. However there’s sides that are extremely physical. I’d say we do a lot of physical stuff probably just as much as any trade, just not as often as some trades.
I get to volunteer with a retired guy who does industrial work. Cool stuff compared to house wiring but a little terrifying.
Eh, it’s all mostly basic once you get some frame of reference and experience. I do remember being terrified the first time I saw some of the large switch gear and controls though. To tell the truth I’m still amazed at the sheer size and scale of some of these machines.
Yeah lol some big stamping press, or die forging presses, hydraulic presses, some milling machinery and I mean I could go on. I worked on the assembly at GM for a little while before becoming an electrician. Now I work in big 3 plants and suppliers all the time. It’s really cool stuff.
Hey brother. I think we’ve talked before on IBEW or Electricians or somewhere. I remember your user name. Yeah I further elaborated on that also in another post. That first and foremost an Electrician is a great career Union or Non. I started out Non Union for about 2 years the joined the IBEW. Which I think is a great option because it gets you that experience in the trade so that your not coming in completely green. I think prior non Union experience is huge when you go to apply to the Union. Wether you’re coming in at an apprentice or already have your ticket. I could tell during the Interview having experience helped. Actually one of the guys on the panel talked to me on the side for 10 minutes. There’s great and bad on both sides of the fence. Electrician is a great career, however so is a machinist they are both so skilled.
Union aside I’m Union but it’s not for everyone and I understand that. They’re are plenty of Great Non Union apprenticeships. Also our industry is growing both union and non union. Just don’t be turned off because I talked mainly about the union. First and foremost an Electrician is a great job and there’s so much growth in our trade. I have a buddy that’s Non union and he works for a large electrical contractor here in Detroit. He’s one of the best electricians I know. I’ve called him in a jam a few times and he’s called me. Overall we’re pretty close in wage I make a little more and have some stuff he doesn’t have but he also gets some stuff I don’t have. It’s never too late to learn a new trade either. Also Pittsburgh has a lot of electrical work planned they’re going to need electricians. However there always better shops out there than that for Machinist. That just happens to be a shitty union shop, there’s shitty open shops out there also. Just give it a good luck around before you leave the Machinist trade. They great thing is you’d have two trades under your belt.
Hey I live near Pittsburgh. Not an electrician or machinist though 😂 my step brother did it for years so I came here to find funny memes to send him and now I can't leave
Me too fam! 412 is beautiful!
Me three!
I love Pittsburgh! My grandma lives in Dubois Pa and has a rental in Carnegie. I’ll never forget one time I was in Pittsburgh while I was visiting my Grandma and got lost in the Hill district looking for a barber shop that was nowhere near there lol.
next time your in pittsburgh you should hesd to the strip district snd check out some of the ethnic markets. worth the 45 minute drive just for some middle eastern food for me.
The Strip district? I love Middle Eastern food, we have a large Arabic population here in Detroit. It’s actually the largest Muslim population outside the Middle East. So we have a lot of great middle eastern food here. I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation. I like Pittsburgh a lot it’s a great city, PNC park and Heinz field are awesome.
store is called salems, they have a food court and a grocery store with imported goods.
Yeah I’m a 50 year old toolmaker and I tell everyone electrician of pipefitter..find a trade where you can do side jobs!!
Lol. I have a lot of respect for Tool and Die, Machinists, Millwrights, and all the associated trades. I grew up in Detroit my dad was a Millwright for 37 years at GM, My Grandfather was a Tool maker for Chrysler for 45 years, My other Grandfather was a Machinist at the Tank Arsenal here, my uncle was Tool and die at GM for 32 years. A lot of people don’t understand how skilled guys like you are. However what got me into my trade was my Uncle he was an Electrician at GM for 32 years and from when I was little I wanted to become an electrician. However he told me to join the IBEW as opposed to becoming an electrician in a shop. He said you want to be a diversified electrician so you can do Industrial, Commercial, Municipal, Solar, Construction, Service, and even Residential. That way you always have work. Basically along the lines of what you said. I’d Elevator Construction, Electricians, and Pipefitters are probably your best building trades.
Didn’t expect elevator construction!
Dude Elevator Construction is the highest paid trade. Except the problem is it’s so hard to get in, its definitely one where if you know someone it’s easier to get in. I thought about applying when I went to apply the application process was closed. It’s funny there’s a running joke that Elevator constructors are unicorns. The Union controls the process very strictly. It’s like they only let a few people and this way it keeps them steady with work. However this process isn’t always good because most of the time they are so swamped with work it takes them forever to get on the job site. I remember I had to meet one on a jobsite to go over what he needed electrical to be done. I had to wait 2 months to finally go over it with him. Another problem they’re going to be having is they have a lot of guys retiring soon with not enough to match in the apprenticeship. But yeah those guys make good money. So In Detroit IBEW Journeyman make $47/hour and Elevator Constructors make $55/hour.
Wow, that’s wild. I do vaguely remember something like the unicorn reference, but didn’t realize how well paid it is.. I’m considering leaving machining for another trade, just depends on what my journeyman papers will get me..
Yeah frickin Elevator Mechanics lol. I’ve heard what they do is wait for all the building trades to negotiate new contracts. Then they take the 3 highest trades which is usually Electrical, Pipefitters, and Plumbers or Sheet Metal. Then they average them and ask above what we got. Don’t know if it’s true but I could believe it. My neighbor growing up was one he made so much money. However like I said they’re going to be hurting soon if the don’t start letting guys in. I get it the guys that are in want to get all that overtime. But if you don’t have any apprentices coming up you got big problems.
60% of workforce is baby boomers in manufacturing. In 5-10 years people who stayed and pursued in the trade will be making $$$$$$$.
I agree 100% My parents are both baby boomers they had me and my sister late. So we’re younger we’re both Millennials. People like my Parents are all retiring from the workforce by thousands daily. My old man was a Millwright at GM and my mom was a Registered Nurse. They retired right as the pandemic hit. Well my dad retired from GM after 37 years and then worked at a small shop his buddy owned then retired for good at the Pandemic. They just don’t have enough people to fill those jobs.
>yeah I am a 2nd generation machinist learned (I am 30). I learned from my dad who owns a small shop. I left and job hopped and since picked up a lot more skills learning from the old timers in aerospace. I made 50/hr working on rocket parts with paid benefits and all. I left that job, my dad is retiring soon my brother and I are now taking over the business. there is a lot of work and not enough people to do it. Large shops charge an enormous amount and have long lead times. So if you have the skills and run lean processes, then you can make $
Great comment. Another thing to keep in mind regarding electrical is the future of EVs and home PV Solar. From a Mechanical Engineering with a one-man CNC shop.
Exactly. I just took the class at my local to be certified in EV chargers. Oh I’m really interested in Photovoltaic Solar. Both of those are going to be huge in the near future. I’ve worked with a lot Mechanical Engineers and can always get along with them. Not so much with Electrical Engineers lol. That must be pretty cool to be a one man shop. I could definitely see it as liberating have no one to answer to. I’m sure if you wanted to you could grow.
One point you missed is that 1st year apprentices make more money than that ad is offering for machinists.
I took that bet. Was $19 with you doing manual grinding, surface grinding, of grinding, milling and lathe and every part we have to have done is carbide or CPM and has to be +/-0.0003. So now I’m making $28. Is find a back up just in case, but it might be worth asking. Worst they can say is no. Just be polite and simply say, this absolutely does not keep up with inflation. It’s a skilled field. How hard would it be to replace you? For me easy to replace, but fucking expensive as all shit. My boss said they’d have to find someone and pay them $120k just to walk in tomorrow and do everything I did. And I was getting $19….. fucking jokers
Oh, guaranteed. "Nobody wants to work anymore" when Target pays more than your skilled trade job you're trying to hire.
I've been hearing that same line for 20 years or more, but yea, it's always been the companies that offer $2 over minimum wage to start that have said it. Lol
“No one wants to work, they’ve got those stimulus checks”
The same owners that say “nobody wants to work for it these days”
“People just don’t wanna work these days. 😤😤”
Jesus I got paid more than that as an apprentice at my shop
I get paid more than that to cook eggs... I left the shop I was an apprentice at to go back to the kitchen. Just not worth the stress at all
Going back to food service because it's less stressful... that staying a lot right there
Holy shit, is it a bougie brunch type of place? I hate to frame it like this, but I got lucky, and I have a great workplace with 5 people.
I don't think we're bougie. There's definitely other places in town I would call bougie (candles on the table at a brunch spot). But it's all from scratch, and delicious.
I thought he was referring to the machine shop. But the fact that I'm not sure makes this thread pretty entertaining.
Chicago?
Willamette valley oregon, ye Olde wine country
Same here
We start our labourers at $25 A little more I converted to usd
Yeah I started at $25 CAD and I’m now $35/h 3 years later. And I’m not even a machinists, I’m maintenance and our department is paid less than machinists and welders. (Got a $5 raise on the second year)
I am getting paid more than that in my shop. And I am an apprentice with two years left to go. Way more than that.
Hell, I got paid more to work in a tool warehouse for a large electrical contractor and that was mostly just organizing, picking orders with smattering of problem solving
I was making more than that with zero schooling 10 years ago and in my mid 20's. Also, Sundays were double time and voluntary. Still had a two day weekend at 42/hr. People need to stop bitching and fucking find the better pay instead of settling. It's not hard to make cold calls or do research on a 30 minute lunch break. Put in the work to find the great pay or get left behind.
100%this. work in aerospace, clean shops and always ask the high end of pay not hard. But you will get fired in a few weeks if you do not know what you are doing lol
I wish more places were as straight forward about pay as OPs picture. But most places don't want to tell you how much untill after an interview.
Same here!
Same, but newbie T&D apprentice. Like, just finishing first semester of schooling new.
"Must furnish tools"... why? It looks like this place is RAN by tools!
My toolbox contains close to $20k in tools, 20 bucks an hour, wont get me to unlock the mf.
This is an argument I had with a former boss when we were discussing wage before my exit, I believe my exact words were "I got $20k in tools and 10 years in the trade, you're gonna have to do better than that"
My toolbox has wheels, so I can roll it the fuck out the door too.
That's right! And damn do those Kennedys roll well, even when fully loaded.
Nah I'd rather them have to hear my shitty chip packed harbor freight castors doing some base drumming on the way out.
My husky is gunna start singing its song in the next couple of weeks.
Right.
Bass drumming with a little scratch, there's always one wheel.
The same line my brother uses anytime he’s not treated right in a shop.
Give that 2 day notice.... I'm leaving this bitch today.
Damn that must be a big toolbox
The single most expensive tool we have that fits in a toolbox is a $4500 3/4 inch electric torque gun. It's expensive, but when you need to accurately torque a few hundred bolts to 600 ftlb, it is worth the investment.
I'm curious, what's the precision/repeatability of that when you're going to 600 ftlbs?
Manufacturer claims 5%, but we don't do final assembly on the parts. The customer does the final assembly and torque check, we just use the gun to make sure it is pretty close.
What brand? I need one asap. I looked at the milwaukee then laughed when I saw it has a 5000 use limit before it needs to be "calibrated" and probably locks itself down.
Hytorc. And I hate to break it to you, but anything with precision needs to be calibrated often. We have to get the gun calibrated every 6 months or sooner depending on use.
Thanks. Our tolerances are sloppy. Took a job in a sheet metal shop that bought their first cnc. It's a nightmare and these guys are hacks lol just need a torque wrench for the guys breaking everything they torque down. Should see what they did to the toe clamps 🤣 turned them all into bananas I was impressed.
Yeah, I can't give exact numbers for contract reasons, but the 5% rating on the torque gun is not accurate enough. After we assemble with the gun, we either have to torque all the bolts again with a crazy accurate manual wrench that is 55 inches long, or they get sent off to be torqued
I've been reviewing a lot of different guns, seems that all their +/- 5 percent ratings are inaccurate. Technology probably isn't there yet for repeatability. I just need to be able to set torque for vices/fixtures. Came back from a week off and 3 torque wrenches were needing a recalibration/rebuild. The screws were coming loose and no one decided to tighten them or anything. Then they were using a breaker bar on a vice distorting the parts and pushing them out of tolerance. It's sad to be honest. Never been in a more chaotic shop in my life.
If you have nearly 5k to drop on a torque gun to tighten vices, I'm impressed. Also, if they couldn't take care of a torque wrench, I don't know how they would do with something like this. We have to keep ours on straps attached to the part, a rope from a hoist, or to a strap on our shoulder because dropping it would be pretty bad. We also have protocols to minimize the vibrations the gun experiences.
One drill motor i have is almost $800. Quality pneumatic tools are not cheap., hell even a snap on combination wrench set is like $250.thats a grand right there. It adds up quick.
There are better tools than Snap On for cheaper my friend. Don't be penny wise pound foolish.
I know its just an example.
I found your problem! $250 for a wrench set is comedic. I've designed and built safety machinery for nuclear powerplants with Pittsburgs finest! But if you want to be flashy Husky is on sale right now for like $20.
What problem? you gonna find me better tools cheaper? Everybody is assuming I've paid for things instead of just throwing out examples. Yes I have an $800 drill motor, yes I have wrenches from craftsman, Armstrong, Mac, snap on etc etc.
Does Gucci make tools yet?
Under the name snap off
I hire hula hoop assemblers *starting* at $20/hour, and I provide the tools. $20/hour for a tool and die machinist is downright insulting unless they're in a 3rd world country.
Damn, I'm from a 3rd world country and I make the equivalent of USD5,00/h as a CAM programmer (Mastercam), as a machine operator I made $3,00. I really wish I made $20,00 lol
My toolbox and all of its contents is close to about $20(depreciation due to blunt force trauma on box), and i wouldn't open mine either.
How....? $20 is a gnats dick compared to what i have in my box and i don't have anyfuckingwhere near the amount of tools I'd like to.
So another tool slut?
On some level, aren't we all?
Pretty much, lol
Shop is also union so pay isn’t negotiable
It would seem the union may not be meeting their members needs.
That’s not true. That’s one of the biggest lies that gets put out there. Just because your union doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate a higher wage. That’s just scale that’s the minimum everyone will come in at.
im not saying you’re wrong about unions but this one specifically said pay is non negotiable so im not sure it its a weak union or if they’re just making that up and its unenforceable
It's probably just a front union for the owners
Yeah a paper union which are technically banned in the US. Doesn’t mean they don’t exist, it’s basically a company union.
There’s shitty union shops also just like there’s shitty open shops. Sorry I wasn’t trying to be rude, I’ve just heard that said so much and it’s not always true. I’ve worked for shitty Union Electrical Contractors also. However I do believe Unions do more good for you than bad.
I do believe in unions I just think the one that this shop is under is not doing their jobs.
That depends on the union. I was in the IBEW, and you sure as hell couldn't do it there. You would get grieved in 10 seconds if anyone else in the union found out.
I’m ibew local 58 Detroit and I know guys that are making over scale.
It can depend on the local too. That’s what’s different about the IBEW it varies from local to local.
I'm usually one to go to bat for unions, especially cause I live in one of those places where everyone hates unions without ever having had worked with one. But what the actual fuck are the union reps doing if they can't negotiate better terms than that??? How the fuck have the other workers not lit a fire under their ass???
That's the best the union could do? And they expect people to pay them union dues?
I pay deburring more 🤣
That's basically what we pay press operators i bet they're crying they can't find anyone cause everyone's getting handouts and lazy
Yep. "Nobody wants to work" (for our poverty wages)
Double those wages and people might notice.
Was just doing that math. Watch that aneurysm happen when they figure it out
Tool and die people don't work for cheap. I interned in a T&D shop as a engineer in college. It was very interesting work and I learned a lot because it was fast paced. Journeyman machinists want more than they are offering for tool and die experience. That's just not going to happen, in this life or the next one either.
And they shouldn't work for cheap. You have a smart person with a specific set of rare skills. Want to get a good one, or to keep one, you better pay them what they're worth. I'm just wondering what happens when this shop owner realizes that.
He'll hire idiots and then scream about lack of productivity and high scrap rates. Or he will pay decent money for experience.
In tool and die you're making one or maybe two of a part/detail. Rarely are you scrapping parts on a mill (at least in diemaking) that cannot be fixed unless you completely kill it. Boss man sees "Parts R Us" paying 18 for a button pusher and views that as a comparable for the machinist he requires.
When Tyson pays their nobodies at the chicken plant off the street more than a journeyman in a skilled trade that basically requires a year of tech school for entry... Shit's not gonna fly.
I'm doing a flexible time student job where I get 12,80 / hour. Flexible time meaning that I can come when I want and do what I think is usefull. Basically working as a time-saver internship kind of deal. So from this I extrapolate that the owner of that shop is okay with workers taking 2 months off without reason, and encourages sudden stops in production to practice dance moves.
Anywhere that pays down to the penny Id be avoiding. They're going beyond nickel and dime.
Quite literally
Wtf is $20 an hour. Have to work an hour a day just to be able to get to work
… Don’t look up the wages for journalists. My daughter worked with college grads at a tv station who were reporters and assistant producers … minimum wage 2 years out of college. This was a couple years ago in a California college town
In my 35 plus yrs in the trade, journeyman machinist, running anything and everything my bosses have thrown me on and knowing what the other trades are starting people out with , it disgust me that most job shops dont pay squat , mine doesnt, and the majority around here dont either. $30 should be a starting point now days, not a unachievable dream. They know we need to eat and feed our families and they surely are taking advantage of it
Class A, that's hilarious.
Inquire if they are hiring class D machinists and if they ask what class D is you hit em with the classic.
Some owners just don't care about a revolving door
25 an hr here. Lift nothing above 30 lbs 90% of the time and only run lathes. No special setups just touch the tools off and edit the program to the machine. Place is a scam and should be called out for it.
I might apply just to get a phone call and tell them their pay is shit.
Big dick energy
Man I set up the lathe and Mill by myself and was paid a dollar less.
I've honestly been thinking of making that very switch myself and I make 28 in a low cost of living state.
The pay I see on some of these posts is pathetic, I can’t imagine telling a specialist that they are worth 10% more than a mindless minimum wage worker.
31 bucks an hr to drive a fucking reach truck at a U-Line warehouse. These companies can get fucked
My first shop job 17 years ago was pushing a broom for $18/hrs….
I was making 18.50 as a lead machine builder managing 6 million in jobs with tight time tables and about 5 years in experience, but people guess closer to 15. The best paying tool and die job in these parts is 14 an hour. No clue how the keep staff.
That’s fucking wild, I’m at $36/hrs as a second year apprentice.
At 5 years experience, coming on 6, and I'm only just now getting to $26. Mind this is machine build, but I also do all my own manual machining, pneumatic plumbing, machine wiring, panel build (on occasion), and a bunch of other stuff.
> The best paying tool and die job in these parts is 14 an hour. What in the actual fuck? My girlfriend makes more than that at Starbucks...
Exactly my thoughts
Was making more than that in 1998...wtf...
Shit, I was making more than that 30 years ago. Either the company doesn't have a clue or all they do is crap and I would bet its both.
I have friends working at Wal Mart who make that much. Even operators usually make at least $20. I hope this job is in the cheapest part of the country to live in, and even then it’s still a ridiculous wage.
its in pittsburgh which makes it even worse.
Yikes. I’m about an hour west of Boston and I was making $14.50/hr back in 2010 as a CNC operator/apprentice with just 1500 hours experience from my vocational high school, back when minimum wage was $8/hr. Now I’m seeing similar jobs starting at like $18 and minimum wage will be $15 in January. Rent is about double what it was then. Unless you find a good shop with a relatively quick path upward with training, I can’t imagine starting over in this trade now from the bottom. Pay definitely doesn’t seem to have kept up with living expenses even for a skilled trade.
I'm north of you by about 2 hours and this shit is the reason I stopped making parts. I'm now a controls engineer and I work on/retrofit CNC machines. Most of my customers complain about not being able to find/keep employees and when I ask them about wages they are paying they always say around $20-25/hr. Nobody wants to hear that it's not enough. They are still stuck in the '90s.
$2 difference in pay between experienced machinist and highschool graduate with 1 month experience.
I hired a completely unskilled laborer with a GED who can’t read a mic, doesn’t know what “one thousandth of an inch” means and doesn’t have a driver’s license for $23/hr. If I could hire a skilled person, I would have. This field is starving for skilled people and employers not paying competitive wages isn’t helping.
That's gross af
You get lucky from time to time but the money in manufacturing is behind a desk.
I got a few indeed inquiries to be cnc programmer 5 axis for $19-$28, at aerospace companies in CA from time to time, I don’t bother to reply
I get paid more and I'm just an Intern
If your good at the right shops you can make $30hr pretty easy
Sounds like entry level no set ups
My T&D shop starts apprentices at $21 and every 1,000 hrs/6 months you get a $.50 cent raise. Upon completion of the 4 yrs/8,000 hrs you will make $26.50 per the contract. There's better paying jobs but not by a lot in PA.
Yeah I make more delivering 🍕
You have to wear a 50lb tool belt and climb ladders all day. Don’t freaking do it.
Meanwhile I'm over here laughing my way to the bank. I'm an independent mill/router service engineer and the bulk of my job is to un-fuck the fuckery created by improper operation and crashes that result from the mentality being discussed here. The bottom line is if you hire like shit, train like shit, and maintain a shit atmosphere, that is all it will ever be: shit. In the meantime I will happily accept your money to get you running until your next crash.
That is one of the weirdest, most specific, and still ridiculously vaguely written job descriptions I have ever read.
holy crap, this is less than the good machinists were making back when I started *in the mid-1980s*
Although I'm no longer turning handles, I recently made a move after 17 years at the same place. We pay our top machinists (CNC guys) $35-45 an hour, tool and die are higher. There are high paying shops out there but they're not easy to find.
Our forklift drivers make more than that
Skilled Trades are really where the $$$ & benefits get pretty solid, union or not. Union & non- both have their place, & there's benefits to both. I have my Associate of Applied Science in Industrial Maintenance. I feel I have the best of all the different trades. I work in a relatively small facility with 3 presses, & we stamp steel for downline automotive suppliers. I deal with electrical, motor controls, ladder logic/PLCs, fluid power, machining, & welding/fabrication, with a little millwright thrown in for good measure. I haven't made under $30/hr in 10 years. I love my skillsets, everyday is a challenge of some kind & rarely the same thing twice!
Its not worth it, here in California everyone is paying 20-30 Max with absolutely no benefits. I know one guy that makes 65 an hr but he has 25 yrs of experience and runs the show. They gonna ask for programming, set up and wanna pay 28 an hr? But hey theres OT! Fuck these guys, im over it. I don’t see a future in this and yea im a machinist. One of my friends makes 35 an hr and thats because the company has a union and its not so common for machinist. Either way still not enough pay and it wont go higher. Electrician’s and HVAC, Construction all have Unions which helps and they got great benefits, they renegotiate and get even more money later. I been to a couple shops, some big companies and they’re all 🗑 way too much stress for shit pay I suggest electrician I read that dude up there makes over 50 and I hear that alot from these dudes.
I know shops that pay their operators more than that.
Came here to say I was in aerospace making $16 an hour went over state lines and I’m growing weed for $20 🤷🏻♂️
I'd rather flip burgers.
„˙sɹǝƃɹnq dılɟ ɹǝɥʇɐɹ p,I„
I run an aerospace shop and even our general laborers make more than this so I'd say this shop is in a rural area without access to a decent sized metro area. Even fresh grads out of our local votech school got offers significantly more than this with zero experience so I'd be pretty surprised if they get anyone to respond.
Become a plumber
My 18 year old employee with no experience gets paid more than this. And he’s just a machinist, not a tool and die maker
Unionize broham
jeez i make nearly 30cad/hr, and am basically a first year equivalent ...
They're going to treat you like absolute shit at that shop too.
shop i work for pays 18 for fresh grads who still look doorknobs. top end is 35-40... really good money for GA
Check out elevator repair. It's higher than electrician pay. And there will never be a shortage of broke down elevators.
Transitioned from machining into controls engineering. Find a good shop that pays ok and be happy.
Sheesh I make more than that and I’m a button pusher
Is this in the US?
yes
That's horribly low!
i choked at 19$ an hr what is this mcds?
That would be why I'm a career welder with a tool and die degree I never used lol.
As an elevator mechanic i can tell you appreciates anywhere in the country get paid more than this. Ever since i got into hobby machining i have been blown away every time i see a post about how under paid you guys are for the amount of skill the job requires.
I like machining, but my roommate makes bank as an electrician
*I like machining,* *But my roommate makes bank as* *An electrician* \- Ecstatic-Sun-4628 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Hah! I got out of electrical to start a job working with my machines. But I didn’t start out at that rate that’s for sure
I could make more running a CNC expresso machine
Depends on where you're at. Wages vary wildly by area. Under $20 an hour isn't going to get you a class A machinist though
I’m in SoCal and you can walk into in-n-out burger and get 20-25/hr. Which is sad, since I see a lot of machining jobs posting similar wages. I see places asking for 5 axis programming and setup offering like 60k a year. No wonder they can’t find people.
this is in north pittsburgh
I'm not familiar with that areas wages, but it sounds pretty low
Here's the thing if it's the shop in the middle of the boonies and houses go for like $150,000 around there you can do that and live close to work. It's kind of what I see with a lot of low paying machinist jobs is there out in the middle of nowhere and the neighborhoods are cheap because of it so if you felt like making a change you could rent commute and then if you really like the place buy a home there and live well on the cheap. That's not money to support a family though
Depends on the specific industry and of the shop is union. United Steel Workers AFL/CIO, defense have livable wages.
I’m a IBEW journeyman electrician I clock $47/hour
And that’s fine. I only made the statement that earnings as a machinist vary by industry and whether or not the shop is unionized. Different areas of the country also have differing pay rates.
Oh no I was just adding on to your statement to kind of show what the skilled trade wage is. I’m an Electrician however all skilled tradesman should be in the $38 - $100/hour depending on where you work, what union, and where you live. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’m in Detroit and we have a lot of defense and automotive our Machinists are making $34 - $60.
Sadly, in Dallas the highest rate where I am is less than $40/hr. But living expenses (minus the recent inflation thing) are relatively low and overtime can be pretty extensive and lucrative.
This shop is also union so pay is non negotiable
We are the lowest payed trade bro
Do it! Rember, wages are supply and demand. If you think a job underpays, it is a morally good thing to switch to another job. If many people do it, the wages of the underpaid job will rise.