Aprentice that needs adivise

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fragman565

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sicklerville nj usa
Hi my names josh not sure If I'm posting in the thread but I have 6 months experience in the field plus some school I have been working with this company doing commercial and residential and I'm only making 8 hour in new jersey . I want to start shopping around for a better job making more moeny but I feel I can't because of my experience and I live on my own and I Barly have enough moeny to eat I'm 21 what company's would be could to apply to and could I make more moeny with the experience I have thanks
 
It must be diffucult to get by on $8 per hour but with only 6 months experience it might be hard to find a replacement in this economy. Look for a better paying job but with your limlted experience you should consider your current job part of your education. You will be worth a whole lot more when you have a couple of years experience
 
fragman565 said:
Hi my names josh not sure If I'm posting in the thread but I have 6 months experience in the field plus some school I have been working with this company doing commercial and residential and I'm only making 8 hour in new jersey . I want to start shopping around for a better job making more moeny but I feel I can't because of my experience and I live on my own and I Barly have enough moeny to eat I'm 21 what company's would be could to apply to and could I make more moeny with the experience I have thanks
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Hello Josh Welcome to the forum.:)

At $8 an hour you're getting ripped off and your boss should be ashamed of himself,you should check to make sure that the minimum wage is $8'an hour or less it may be more in your state but I don't know.

In my opinion you should be making at least $12-15 an hour after all you're working in a professional trade , not at McD's. look around and get an offer from a professional electrical contractor and when you do make sure the creep your working for signs for all the hours you worked so it can go to your license requirements.

I'll bet your boss is charging more than $100 an hour for your work.

Good luck Josh I hope you land a better spot.
 
Yes he does charge 125 hour and journey men I work with make 16 to 25 max and all the materials we use are cheap and we do everything cheap and quick as possible but my boss is making more moeny then I could count and people seem to love till you work for them lol
 
mkgrady said:
It must be diffucult to get by on $8 per hour but with only 6 months experience it might be hard to find a replacement in this economy. Look for a better paying job but with your limlted experience you should consider your current job part of your education. You will be worth a whole lot more when you have a couple of years experience
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They keep saying there is a shortage of skilled tradesmen ,them you hear story's like this , it's just embarrassing , I would not want my clients to hear that my help only makes minimum wage, what's the incentive for them to pay my rates if I was doing such a thing.:happyno:
 
fragman565 said:
Yes he does charge 125 hour and journey men I work with make 16 to 25 max and all the materials we use are cheap and we do everything cheap and quick as possible but my boss is making more moeny then I could count and people seem to love till you work for them lol
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So there you go he could be paying you a lot more,if you can make it to one year you'll do much better on your job search .
 
fragman565 said:
That's how they are making thier money and it makes me feel worthless when some who works at McDonald's makes more then me and I work twice as hard
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I have a young man that helps me from time to time on the weekends. He was working full time, so called, for an electrical contractor who was doing him like your boss. Paying him low wages and only working him 20-25 hrs per week. He got a job at Chick-Filet starting at $4.00 more per hr. than he was making, 35-40 hrs week, no crawling under old houses, working in the A/C and all the girls he could talk to and free food. He loves it.
 
NJ minimum wage is $7.25/hr.

Are you on the books or cash?
Is the boss paying your medical?

having a clean drivers license is often a plus
having your own basic hand tools is a plus
on time all the time is a plus
not calling in sick is a plus

Personally, I think you should be making more.

How often does the owner give reviews? Yearly?

It sounds like you've decided that you are going to be an electrician (you're already going to school and working in the electrical field).

You can go to work for a few bucks more at the fast food joint, but I don't think the long term is to your advantage.

you gotta start somewhere.
 
fragman565 said:
That's how they are making thier money and it makes me feel worthless when some who works at McDonald's makes more then me and I work twice as hard
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It should not be that way,however , in a few short years all of a sudden you'll be worth a lot more so hang in there.

See if you can get into a motors and controls class with PLC's and you'll be worth top dollar one day..:thumbsup:
 
Josh I moved to nj 3years ago all the experience I had was schooling to. The first company I started with had me at 12 per hour .i know companies that are hiring that would start you off at 12 .my advise to you is learn as much as you can and make a move after you have a good solid year under your belt then you can say you have year in feild year of schooling . Also go onto craigslist to find weekend work to help bring up your income .if you want mesg me and ill give you some companies that are hiring for 12ph first year.i know what it's like to struggle even at 12 it's was very hard to survive but I would work on weekends and at nites and that helped me out alot .if you u learn fast you'll be worth more money each year . Try and pick up pipe bending I recently got hired to a company and the boss pays me more money bc I'm able to bend conduit.but your boss is taking advantage of you common layborers make at least ten .
 
Fragman, I really doubt your boss bills you out at $125 but even if he does in my opinion that is none of your business.

If you are unhappy with what you get paid that is your business, you are getting low pay so if it were me I would move on to a new job.

That said, many of us had to work two jobs while being apprentices and even if you get $15 per hour you will have a tough time living on it.
 
A lot depends on what you are actually doing. If the work you are doing is basic labor, you may well have hit the max he is willing to pay.

If there is skilled labor involved, maybe you have some leverage.

Are you in some kind of formal training program?

People will give you all kinds of advice, but the reality is that only you know your real situation. Some jobs are worth $8/hour and some jobs are worth more.

It might be that he can find all kinds of people to do the work you are doing currently for the same wage. If that is the case, your leverage is limited.

In any case, there is very little in the way of correlation between the wages paid for a job and what it costs someone to actually live. Or what might be "fair".
 
To the OP: Yes, while I don't know the market in your area, 8$/HR is out of line in my view. You'll have to check around and see what 1st year apprentices are commanding in your area. That said, make sure you are working "on the books" for a legal licensed EC and always save every bit of documentation and pay stubs and guard them with your life. I've seen too many young guys not realize how important this can be years later when they are trying to become licensed and the folks he worked for are gone, dead, etc.
 
fragman565 said:
I want to start shopping around for a better job making more moeny but I feel I can't because of my experience and I live on my own and I Barly have enough moeny to eat I'm 21 what company's would be could to apply to and could I make more moeny with the experience I have thanks
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If you are 21 and on your own with no dependants I would look around for a company that travels. They normally pay better and put you up in a hotel and give an allowance to eat on. Not only that but if you are working out of town you can normally work lots of overtime and that's where you make your money.

If you are in a depressed area there is no reason to stay there.
 
iwire said:
What planet are you on that you are assuming a contractor is billing out a six month apprentice at $100 an hour?
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And I think I know enough about the business on what contractors are charging out for their help,if the business you are working does it differently that's fine.

What planet I live on has nothing to do with this discussion.

The fact that a contractor would pay such a low wage to someone who wants to be a professional electrician is a sad statement about his charicter and pulling down the Electrial trade to the level of a McD'worker.

The OP stated that he works part time elsewhere and he does not live at home with his mom,I'm sure the contractor he works for knows this and choose to take advantage of the kid instead paying the kid a wage that he is worth.
 
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