Moving to Ft Myers. Florida electricans help

[pauls371]

Im moving to Ft Myers from Buffalo NY in spring 2006. I plan to get my Florida state license sortly thereafter. I hope to get a job as a elcetrical forman or master electrican. I have 16 years experience in electrical construction and troubleshooting. What can i expect to earn? Apartments are quite high as well as home prices how do you guys make it? :cool:

[bphgravity]

Most of the affordable homes and apartments in the Lee County area are places most people would not choose to live. The housing is totally not affordable where most of the work is taking place which means you may have to consider living some distance from the good work which is generally at waterfront and in gated golf communities.

Lehigh Acres and other locations east of the Interstate are your best bets. Just realize that what looks like a 20 min trip on the map will be 2 hours on a typical rush hour work day.

An electrician with your experience is in very high demand but will only fetch up to $20 an hour for high end residential and commerical projects. It will require you to do some searching though. Most contractors will try to low-ball you right away.

Good luck, Fort Myers is the new Miami.

[hardworkingstiff]

Originally posted by bphgravity:

Good luck, Fort Myers is the new Miami. That sounds like reason enough to not go. No offense meant to anyone! My brother is selling out and leaving Naples, says he's had enough. Moving to the hills of Tennessee (culture shock for him I think).

[jimwalker]

I left Naples 6 years ago because it was becoming Miami.Guess what,it followed me to Tampa.Fort Myers is not a place i would want my kids to grow up in.Wages will likely be far under $20 more like $15 to start.Think this move out some more.As of 6 years ago Northport seemed ok but no idea what it's like now.Bonita Springs has turned into Mexico several years ago.If you can find a nice place left in Florida please share the info.

[augie47]

My brother is selling out and leaving Naples, says he's had enough. Moving to the hills of Tennessee (culture shock for him I think). I beg your pardon! :-) (from a TN hills inspector) long as he moves a couple of junk cars for lawn ornements and can spit 'backer juice..he'll be welcom' to join us :D

[ November 21, 2005, 05:04 PM: Message edited by: augie47 ]

[hardworkingstiff]

Originally posted by augie47:
long as he moves a couple of junk cars for lawn ornements and can spit 'backer juice..he'll be welcom' to join us :D augie,

He's looking at a place that is 100' above the road, long steep driveway. I think he is going to wonder "what was I thinking?" when he gets that 16" of snow and can't move. He'll be in the mountains NW of Asheville, NC and a few miles from VA.

[cwsolo]

C'mon guys, before I was a contractor just 7 months ago I was making $21.56 as a foreman at a company I was only with for 9 months. The wages aren't great but a master electrician should easily get more than I was getting prior to being a master.
I know that many companies will pay a per diem amount for masters since it takes so much to get the FL EC license. One company was and may still be paying a FL EC $15K per year per diem just for carrying the master license.
With housing where it's at you will struggle but should make more than is being told here.
PS my work was in fort myers and I could turn you on to the contractor I worked for, I know they are looking for lead guys and ther are based in Albany, NY, you could probably go interview with them before moving.

[jimwalker]

Ok so now your an EC in florida.What would you pay a man like this ?

[roger]

I second Jim's question, what would you pay him? ;)

Roger

[hurk27]

By CWSolo: One company was and may still be paying a FL EC $15K per year per diem just for carrying the master license.
Why in the world would someone go through all the Schooling and work to get a Florida master's and go to work for another contractor, just to get paid an extra $15k a year when you know this contractor will make millions off it????

I know that there are some who don't posses the skills needed to run a company, But it's part of the Florida test, And what about the Credit evaluation, that also a requirement, I think I heard it's now up to $200,000 value of credit you have to have?

I'm I missing something here?

[cwsolo]

I have no employees as of yet, but when I do hire some help I will pay them above the average guaranteed as I have seen and worked for less than top dollar and that inspired no loyalty out of me. I believe you get what you pay for, and I know what you get if you pay them bottom dollar.
As far as your info Hurk27, some of it is very wrong when I tested just in March of 2005 you needed a net worth of only $10K and that can be equity in a house, a far cry from $200k. If that was the requirement I would never have been able to qualify.

[ November 21, 2005, 10:59 PM: Message edited by: cwsolo ]

[larryl]

i just left,cape coral,worked in fort meyers,
heres the story,
i'v been a mass. liscenced electrician since 1983,self employed for many years,mostly residential,light commercial,a seasoned veteran,,
my better half wanted to move to the sunshine,so i rented out my place,loaded my harley on a trailer,,and rented a place in cape coral,
let me tell ya,this place was beautifull,on a canal,screened in pool,,dolphins in my back yard,every day,place was great,,,,
thought i would get a job,,bought the paper,and set up some interviews,,
had three interviews,and three offers,,
"CAPS ON"(shouting loudly)
"16.00 AN HOUR"
YOU GUYS MUST BE NUTS!!!
caps off,,
i took the offer that came with the van,for a really good company,down by the airport,
did it for a while,then decided it really was'nt worth killing my self for 100.00 a day,,
so if you can live on a 100.00 a day,,go for it,,
stuff is'nt that much cheaper,,down there,,
not 50% cheaper,,
good luck,,

[jimwalker]

What hurts is that i was getting $100 a day 17 years ago and just slightly more now.Cost of living is anything but cheap here.I drove to Pittsburgh last week and no gas prices were higher than right here in Florida.But it did remind me just how cold and nasty it is up north.No idea where you will find good money in Florida other than work for yourself.Most i ever seen here was $17 and for that i had to run service calls,estimate,run crews.field super,and wire anything and everything that came up.Typical mornings started with 10 pages of " :mad: try to get to all of them today "

[pauls371]

Originally posted by cwsolo:
C'mon guys, before I was a contractor just 7 months ago I was making $21.56 as a foreman at a company I was only with for 9 months. The wages aren't great but a master electrician should easily get more than I was getting prior to being a master.
I know that many companies will pay a per diem amount for masters since it takes so much to get the FL EC license. One company was and may still be paying a FL EC $15K per year per diem just for carrying the master license.
With housing where it's at you will struggle but should make more than is being told here.
PS my work was in fort myers and I could turn you on to the contractor I worked for, I know they are looking for lead guys and ther are based in Albany, NY, you could probably go interview with them before moving.

[pauls371]

Thanks for all your help. I am not looking to get rich working for someone else. I own a small electrical contracting company here in Buffalo. I will get licensed there as soon as possible. As far as a I can tell the cash on hand requirement is $10,000 not $200,000 I hope. You guys complain about Florida try Buffalo No work, no jobs, no investors and city is $150 million in debt. Is $25.00 an hour out of range? Will I be able to hold out for the best wage as there are so many electricians needed there?

[pauls371]

So is it safe to say.... if i am a good electrician and nice to customers, I should have no trouble finding electrical contracting work in the area. ?
I am planning on working for someone else for income but also to learn the the*differences. I am used to building stick builds and commercial with ligher structural building codes.

[bphgravity]

As a contractor, you will not have a problem finding work, you will have a problem finding qualified workers.

As a worker for a contractor it is not likely you will see $25 an hour, especially not for light commercial and residential work. $20 an hour is the top limit unless you forman a large project with a large contractor like maybe a school or hospital.

And you must also undertand that work here is not like work in other parts of the nation. A 30 story condo building will only be a 9 month project. Homes average 90 days out of the ground. The new 76,000 sq ft City Hall and 35,000 sq ft Police Station in my jurisdiction only took 1 yr and 10 months from land clearing. We are moving in next month.

I just finaled a Home Depot that took exactly 8 months to complete. The bottom line is don't expect to be in one place for too long.

[macmikeman]

Some of these threads make me think I might just possibly have made a good career move in bailing out of that area soon after High School.

[bphgravity]

Nah...There are a few areas of Tampa and Fort Myers that are pretty bad, otherwise its a great place to live and work.

I personally live in the best place in the entire state. I'm half way between the two big cities along the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor. Things are alot slower here as compared to those two places. I will never live anywhere else.

[khixxx]

pauls371 i'm from WV and i was looking to move to FL also in the spring, I would tell you what i found out but this thread will get deleted. Good luck, and let me know what you find.

[jimwalker]

I think i will be checking out Northport myself.If wages are that great it might be a good move.What will a 3 bed 2 bath 2 car garage set me back in a safe hood ?

[hurk27]

Bryan has it right about the fast pace of building down there, I worked for B&R electric in Fort Myers back in 1978 and I was on a condo project on the north east side of the old US41 bridge. We had to work fast as they poured a floor a day on that one. :(

[jimwalker]

In 78 that $9 was worth a lot more.In 76 i bought a house in Naples Park 5 blocks from beach for $14,000.I will gladly take $9 an hour if they roll back the prices to 78.
House can go up easy in 90 days here if they have the right subs.

[macmikeman]

One thing I remember about Fort Myers in 1978 is that if you had a good fishing pole and some fresh shrimp for bait, drive out to Punta Rasa , and a grouper was pretty much going into your take home pail within the first hour of trying. I have heard from my relatives that it isn't so easy any more. I seem to remember cord connected hot water heater installs were the common way it was done in that area back then, and we installed lots of automatic attic exhaust fans, to get the heat out of the attics in summer.

[justin]

Hey man, I wish you the best of luck. There is soooooo much work to get here in Ft. Myers and Lehigh and Cape Coral. As far as a Florida license it may be a bit of a wake up call for someone that is not local. The test is no joke, AT ALL!!!! I personally would work for someone locally and study how things work here and plan to go into business for yourself, no doubt, too much money to be made if you know the local standards and expectations. If not send me a private message and I am looking for top of the line foreman to run things in the field for me but it is a different world here than up there. Not that it is so much more difficult, just different. The area is expensive but will be solid for the next 10-15 years regardless of the housing market fluctuations. Seriously send a PM and I will more than willingly answer any ?'s. There's too much work to not make a killing either way. Contact me!!! Justin

[bphgravity]

If you do make it to Fort Myers, make sure you come by and visit the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. I am there every other Saturday from 9AM to 5:30PM. :cool:

Edison & Ford Winter Estates (http://www.edison-ford-estate.com/)

[pauls371]

Thanks guys for all your info. Ill be sure to visit ya bph in Ft Myers. You guys know anything about low voltage landscape lighting business down there?

[bphgravity]

Landscape lighting can be a tricky sell. The problem is that many of the communities in the SW Florida area are gated / deed restricted and have very specific rules for landscaping and outdoor lighting. Some don't allow it at all.

The best thing to do is team up with a custom curb / landscaping company. Pepole that are upgrading their yards and flower beds may be interested in some lighting done professionally. They can hand out a brochure or business card at the same time they are offering their services.

It would also be advisable to use a specialty supplier and not your run of the mill Home Deopt products. The weather here is brutal on both plastics and metals outside. Most of the junk at the big box stores carry don't hold up or last very long.

[pauls371]

Hi guys, Thanks for all your posts. FYI i was doing some more job research and found employers advertising more than $20 an hour in Palm Beach county. I guess it costs more there to live but worth the look. Click on the link . type in electrician ...68 jobs or so in the past week.
If you have any trouble with the link you can try palmbeachpost.com . search jobs.
http://careersite.palmbeachpost.com/perl/vaui/Search/top/searchentry?pid=242

[jimwalker]

I went thru the first 5 and seen no mention of 20.Just what page did you find it on and how many offered 20.Be carefull that what your not seeing is an ad from a temp service

[pauls371]

job number 7 ,10,11 on first page.
job number 8, 49,51 on third page.

[naplespete57]

Moved to Naples about a year and a half ago from Athens, GA. Would never in a million years do it again if I had it to do over. MAJOR culture shock going from the great southern hospitality to...well... just some incredible rudeness.

If you move be prepared for cut throat tactics practiced by many. Do not expect to take promises that others make to you to the bank.

The cost of living outstrips the above average wages.

I hate being negative but if I can spare someone some of the bull* I have been thru, it is worth it.