Mike Rowe
Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 19,460
Likes: 0
From: carter lake ia.
so am i matt. he's a real good sport about it. i wouldn't do it, but he is the spokesman for ford. and dude tuck your man ***** in its a real turn off. i wished he'd get on the forum sometime that would be fun. just to talk to the guy would be great..
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
Tradesmen aren't respected, and that is best shown in pay. Right now my work is mostly mechanical assembly, skilled labor. I get $13.50 an hour. This is more than I got when I started this job, and typical for this area. My highest pay in this town has been $15/hr, which is a bit above average for welders here. The highest I ever made was $21/hr.
The engineers I work with start at $45k/year, most make $60k plus. They sit in an air conditioned office and design stuff that I then have to figure out how to build. One in particular is horrible in his "flair", and I have told him several times that just because he can draw it and the computer says it's ok doesn't mean it's buildable or even a good idea. But I'm just the worker so nobody listens to me. It's been that way in lots of places, no respect in pay or knowledge since I don't have some little slip of paper that says I passed a test. I just have ten years of professional experience.
The engineers I work with start at $45k/year, most make $60k plus. They sit in an air conditioned office and design stuff that I then have to figure out how to build. One in particular is horrible in his "flair", and I have told him several times that just because he can draw it and the computer says it's ok doesn't mean it's buildable or even a good idea. But I'm just the worker so nobody listens to me. It's been that way in lots of places, no respect in pay or knowledge since I don't have some little slip of paper that says I passed a test. I just have ten years of professional experience.
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,066
Likes: 4
From: Rogue River, Oregon
Don't even get me started on engineers. Our company started hiring engineers a few months ago, and they are all well educated, nice guys and completely clueless. I mean 100% without value. But by God they have a degree! I love it when they come over and watch me program the CNC stuff. They have no clue how MasterCam (the software I use) works and without fail, within 10 minutes they start making "suggestions" on what I should do and how I should do it. I recently stuck a small, official-looking sticker on the CNC machine I run next to all the other warning stickies that came on it. It reads: "Avoid Serious Injury, Don't Tell Me How To Do My Job!" Now if I could just find someone to read it to one of the engineers...
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
If you weren't in CA, I'd offer to come work and carry on the tradesman life there. But, I have a few vehicles that I really like that CA wouldn't like, plus I like my take-home pay being more than the state's share.
9 ECHO 1
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 12,467
Likes: 58
From: Missouri
You learn to pick your battles here...
