My father is a licensed electrical contractor and owns his own business. I have an electrical contractors license also and I am his right hand man. I run pretty much all of the jobsites. He is a fulltime employee with the local power company therefore he rarely is ever on a job site other than to talk with me about the work that needs to be done. We have 3 other fulltime employees that i supervise. I call all of the shots on the job site. I do basically everything except getting the jobs, pricing, and billing the customer. I am located in Southeast Georgia. I have been working for my father for going on 7 years now but have only had my contractors license for the past 2 months. I am just curious what you guys think I should be making. I have been working for the same wages for a little over the past year and I think that the job i do is worth much more than I make. Up until the last 2 years I just done the manual side of the job. These days I do much more supervising and planning. My latest project was a 12 suite hotel/restaurant/bar that I handled almost completely on my own. What do you guys think?
How much should I be making?
- Thread starter kyled86
- Start date
- Status
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
Four.
Did I guess right?
Your worth in the labor market is highly variable with your region. If I was you, I'd get on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and find out what foreman pay is averaging for your area. That will give you an idea of where you could be. The boss's son is seldom worth a plug nickel, but you might be an exception.
Did I guess right?
Your worth in the labor market is highly variable with your region. If I was you, I'd get on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and find out what foreman pay is averaging for your area. That will give you an idea of where you could be. The boss's son is seldom worth a plug nickel, but you might be an exception.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
I think it does not matter what we think. If you feel you should make more money than approach your dad. Others will give you numbers but they are meaningless unless they know the market in your area.
Talk to Dad
Talk to Dad
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
mdshunk said:
I was thinking the √78 was the correct answer.
masterinbama
Senior Member
- Location
- Huntsville Alabama
According to Davis- Bacon not much. I was shocked that the scale in the West Point area was this low.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=Davis-Bacon&docid=GA20080072
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=Davis-Bacon&docid=GA20080072
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
Wow. The local convenience stores here pay almost double the electrician rate on that list.masterinbama said:
brian john
Senior Member
- Location
- Leesburg, VA
EWWWWWW Kyle might be getting a cut in pay?
tonyou812
Senior Member
- Location
- North New Jersey
The longer you stay in the buiss youll soon realize that your father acually has the harder job. There are many times that I wish all I had to do was run jobs. That my friend is acually the easy part. With that said maybe he should make you a partner. But as with most places you dont just become partner beacause of your sparkling personality
tonyou812 said:
He wants me to take over completely and i am definitely planning to do so its just that at this point I want to make more money. When I mention it though he acts as if I am saying something ungodly and he preceeds to tell me that people already think we charge way to much. It makes me wonder if I really do care to take over the business. If the lead man cant even get any higher pay than I currently do. Ill put it this way...I make 2 dollars more on the hour and the guy under me and have been doing it for 3 years longer and I make 4 dollars an hour more than the lowest man whos only been working for 3 months. That was my arguing point.
tonyou812
Senior Member
- Location
- North New Jersey
maybe your dad dosent want to loose his cut?
brian john
Senior Member
- Location
- Leesburg, VA
What happens to the business if you quit?
What happens to the family if you quit?
What happens to the family if you quit?
brian john said:
The business wouldnt be able to continue without me. No one else has the field experience to make things happen without some oversight. And as Ive already said my dad works 50 hours a week already at his power company job so he doesnt have time to oversee things. As for the family thing....I havent started one yet...Im 22...just havent gotten to that point in my life yet.
alfiesauce
Senior Member
Your 22 get over it.
You have an amazing opportunity to have the potential to own an established electrical company, by the sounds of it, when you want to take on that responsibility.
Don't worry about money, take the time to learn all you can from your father and from everybody else you can tap into for knowledge.
Fretting about the paycheck is not what you need to be doing at this moment in your life.
You have an amazing opportunity to have the potential to own an established electrical company, by the sounds of it, when you want to take on that responsibility.
Don't worry about money, take the time to learn all you can from your father and from everybody else you can tap into for knowledge.
Fretting about the paycheck is not what you need to be doing at this moment in your life.
growler
Senior Member
- Location
- Atlanta,GA
kyled86 said:
After 7 years in the trade you should make more than $4 an hour more than someone with only 3 months of experience. That doesn't mean that Dad can afford to pay more. He may not be making money on the jobs that you are doing.
If I were you I would look for another job. It's not good to just work for one company unless it's a really prosperous company with very varied experience available. Get out in the world an see what else is going on.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
No sure Brian John meant about your married life. I assumed he meant your relationship with dad.kyled86 said:
You are only 22 and since I have no idea how much you make it is hard to gauge. The fact that you are unhappy is what matters. Again Have a talk with dad.
triplstep
Member
- Location
- Aurora, Illinois
Originally Posted by brian john
"What happens to the business if you quit?"
kyled86
"The business wouldnt be able to continue without me......"
Well, I'm not so sure. We all like to think that.
You are between a rock and a hard place, imo. You live at home, pay rent, pack your lunch, do your laundry? Why do you deserve more money, because of what the others are making? What if Pop cut their pay, would you be happy?
Yea, you are in a tight spot. The family business is a tight rope act at times, and sometimes without a net. However, in today's economy, you will be the last man standing when cuts are made.
What I advise is to make a decision as far as pay is concerned, and live with it for the next year. Keep your head clear so you and your men can work safely, and so you can keep the business as profitable as possible. Bad attitudes have a way of being contagious, and vise-a-verse.
"What happens to the business if you quit?"
kyled86
"The business wouldnt be able to continue without me......"
Well, I'm not so sure. We all like to think that.
You are between a rock and a hard place, imo. You live at home, pay rent, pack your lunch, do your laundry? Why do you deserve more money, because of what the others are making? What if Pop cut their pay, would you be happy?
Yea, you are in a tight spot. The family business is a tight rope act at times, and sometimes without a net. However, in today's economy, you will be the last man standing when cuts are made.
What I advise is to make a decision as far as pay is concerned, and live with it for the next year. Keep your head clear so you and your men can work safely, and so you can keep the business as profitable as possible. Bad attitudes have a way of being contagious, and vise-a-verse.
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