Advice please :-(

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Pierre C Belarge said:
We are all discussing this. From discussions will come ideas that you choose to use or discard, that is your choice.
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I got the impression that his statement was directed more at his boss, not the people giving opinions.

Brady Electric said:
Just because you have your license it doesn't make you worth more money.
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Well, it should. He's worked for the same boss for five years - generally, employers are pushing their guys to get licensed, so they can work unsupervised.

It sounds as though in this case, the employee is not worth more to the master with the license, because the master wants to only have one employee to start with, which eliminates the value of the license to the master.

It sounds like he's gonna need to move on and let another apprentice join the master, with no hard feelings on either's part, hopefully.
 
Are you bringing in additional work to the business because of your reputation? There is more to salary that a small business can pay than just the number of years that you have been working. Is your boss struggling to find enough work to keep you busy and employed? Is the reason you have no benefits that there is little profit being earned? Or is the boss making a ton of money and abusing you because he does not think you will leave or does not care if you do? You will need to decide which is the case. If the business is struggling, perhaps there are things that you can do to bring in extra work. Things like selling extra services to your existing customers. Almost every home/business could use some electrical upgrades, yet electrical workers never seem to try to sell them. We just fix what is broken or wire what is on the plans and move on to the next job. Have you ever suggested to the owner of an older home that it would be a good idea to install some GFCI receptacles? Or lets get real radical and suggest the installation of Arc Fault protection in an older home. Or sell the homeowner on the idea of replacing the old fuse panel with a nice new circuit breaker panel! When my business was failing and I was cleaning out my kids college fund in order to make payroll, not only were my employees NOT bringing in extra work to the business, they were spending their weekends doing "side work" most of which was recruited from my customers.
There is the strong possibility that your boss is a "jerk", but there is also the possibility that you do not know the full story.
 
I understand what Pierre was trying to ask.

I worked for my first boss for 7 years and he treated me fair, we were good friends and I thought I was making big bucks ($9 hr). Two weeks after I got married and we got our first apartment, I spent two weeks at home because worked slowed down.

A friend of mine told me that a huge computer manufacture was looking for a maintenance electrician so I applied. I was offered $11 an hr, stock options, insurance, sick pay, etc. I jumped all over it.

Being married and having other responsibilities made my decision more so than the money and benifits.

It's the same reason that I became an inspector instead of contracting. I know exactly how much I'll make this week.
 
Based on a hourly rate of $20 per hour, your cost to the owner, with workmen's comp, taxes, etc, is probably around $30 per hour.

FYI: My 3rd year apprentice is making $22.50, w/ paid vacation and I'm also paying his appenticeship tutition and books (@$600 per trimester)

I'd find another job, then give the old boss an opportunity to match or better the offer.

My 2 cents
 
LarryFine said:
Suggest to him that it's time he hire two helpers, one for each of you, so there will be two crews instead of one.
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I like this idea, Tell him you want to move forward in your career. You want to run work. If he is busy then great if not you most likely will be stuck there. Having a license doesn't mean a lot. Having the ability to solve problems and make money means a lot. I think one poster told you to try to sell more meaning suggest that the HO needs other items or just suggest how you install ceiling fans if you notice they do not have one or even an outside rec. $20/hr is not good money I honestly don't know how people can live off that. I feel for the guys coming out of college that want to buy a house.
 
dSilanskas said:
Okay I just passed my J Man's exam on the 17th of this month. Now the company that I work for is small it is my boss and myself. Well when I got my license I was so excited because that meant more money or so I thought.... Well I haven't gotten a raise or any insurance of any kind what so ever.
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Getting your license is not like winning the lottery, it will get you more money but maybe not in the first day or two. If I were you I would calm down a bit and assess the situation. It can be hard for your boss to give you a raise on day one of your getting your license. I would do as others have suggested and talk to him about how you can make more money for the company. This will take a bit of an investment on your boss's part, more advertising, another vehicle, more tools, two more paycheck each week if you both get helpers. If he's in a position to grow then he will probably jump on the chance to expand but if things are tight then you will probably have to find another job.

You can already legally increase you income by getting insurance and doing side work ( I'm against it if illegal but so long as the rules are followed I think every man has the right to better himself ). If your boss can't afford to expand he may even let you have some of the jobs that he can't get to. Try to deal with him and see if you can find something that is mutually advantageous. If not, screw him. :grin:
 
"You can already legally increase you income by getting insurance and doing side work"

In Maryland a Journeyman may NOT contract work, you must be a Master for that. Check on the rules where you are. A j-man must still work under the supervision of a master, but they are allowed to run jobs. There may not be as much to the J-man card as you expect.
 
haskindm said:
In Maryland a Journeyman may NOT contract work, you must be a Master for that. A j-man must still work under the supervision of a master, but they are allowed to run jobs.
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In VA, only a business, not an individual, may be a contractor, and must also emply a Master of the trade. You can be a sole proprietor, but you must have a business license and federal tax ID number.

Plus, there are classes that determine the maximum gross dollar amount per job, each class determined by the liability and assets of the individual, and you can't divide a large job into smaller ones.
 
Maybe it?s the union employer in me but yes obtaining that license does typically mean an immediate raise.

It?s a free market and you have a choice as to whether you are willing to accept the $20/hr or seek more money. Maybe you enjoy working with this guy and that is kind of hard to put a value on, because not everyone is a joy to work with.

Personally, I would start looking now and be honest about it; if he wants to keep you he like the rest of us have to pay skilled labor a fair wage.
 
haskindm said:
"You can already legally increase you income by getting insurance and doing side work"

In Maryland a Journeyman may NOT contract work, you must be a Master for that.
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This guy stated up front that he is not in Maryland but in MA. Iwire has stated quite often that it's legal for a journey to do work in MA ( I have checked it out and it appears to be correct ). It's better and safer if they have insurance.
 
the only way that the license is worth a pay raise is if it means more income for the company...whether it be a higher rate or more productivity...but if on thursday you are unlicensed and friday you are...and nothing else has changed...well, then we have a problem...
 
Hey,
I've offered George and others...
If you want to move to DE, let me know.
With 5 years experience and license, you'd be getting your money, vacation, room for advancement, etc.
 
emahler said:
the only way that the license is worth a pay raise is if it means more income for the company...whether it be a higher rate or more productivity...but if on thursday you are unlicensed and friday you are...and nothing else has changed...well, then we have a problem...
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The day I got my J'man card, everything changed. We have a 2:1 apperentice/Jman ratio here, so as soon as I got the card, the boss was able to send me to jobs I previously couldn't be on because there weren't enough J'men on the job. With my card, he could add another crew of 3. Then they were able to back to 8-hour days.
 
480sparky said:
We have a 2:1 apperentice/Jman ratio here,.....
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Just where exactly is this "here" that you speak of?









( Think you could at least add what State in your profile? :) )
 
Hey, the one question I haven't seen is whether or not his boss has his Masters. When I was about to get my license my old boss told me that he wasn't really going to be able to afford me anymore. After I got my ticket I worked to finish up the the largest job he had ever had and we went our separate ways business-wise.

dsilanskas: Does your boss have his Masters License? Is his first and last name printed on the truck or is it a business name? If he's a journeyman he can't hire another helper for you and he probably doesn't have the ability to move forward with you.

It sounds like my situation when I got my license. The only difference was there was no question about how things were going to be handled. We were to finish that big job and then I was going to go out on my own.
 
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