Money ?

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I have been a welder for 15 years, I worked for a small custom machine manufacturer and got to learn alot, running lathes, bridgeports, tube bendinghydraulics, I started a job last year bench welding stainless steel, 15 hr,My review was up last week and before I left the manager came to me and said what a great job I was doing. I said thank you and I need money . he said that is why he was there and told me they are willing to do what ever it takes to keep me there, my position is welder , backup cnc tube bender and I run bridgeport and lathe, to make parts i need for weld shop or whatever? I feel this is going to be my break but how much should i settle for, I want to ask for 55k and does this sound about right? my last job I was making 20 per hrany hints as to what to ask for would be greatly apreciated, TIA                                                                                           Company stats    70 Employees 1.2 -1.5 million in sales per month
Reply:What does the $20 per hour workout to? And how many hours a week average?Edit to add: Is there other sweeteeners that would suit you both ie: a company vehicle.Last edited by wirehunt; 12-31-2005 at 06:31 PM.
Reply:I dont think the 55K is unreasonable.  I would think 60 would even be acceptable in my humble opinon,  but thats a I think like a 10 dollar jump...hmmIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Well, let's just do a bit of math here.  At 55k you would be making $1100 per week with two weeks unpaid vacation per year.  If you work 40 hours a week that's $27.50 an hour (adjust for actual hours worked).  I'd think if they are impressed with your work, your work ethic and your likelihood of being a long term asset, they would be fine with that.  My guess is that if they keep you busy, they would more than double their money on you (most shops charge two to three times that per hour of labor).  The idea is to hire a worker until the last (least productive) worker juuuuuuust pays for himself in revenues.  If you can do more than 55K in work a year (including the estimated depreciation on their equipment), they would be stupid not to give you that and make the profit....else, you go into business yourself and reduce their profits even more.When you sit down with them, just have a few numbers like hours worked, billing rates, and your estimate of how much your work brought in this last year down on paper.  Right out yourself an outline so you stay on topic and argue your point based on the numbers.  Don't bluff and say you'll quit if you aren't really prepared to walk, because they may call you on it.  And, before you say what you have to have, ask them what they are offering.  They might surprise you, besides a low offer might seem unreasonable to them if you have some hard numbers there to back you up.  Good luck.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Not knowing where your from, you'll have to understand my rational is based on being in North East Ohio.Unless you're certified, or have some formal training in the machining fields you described, I doubt an employer will offer you more than $20 an hour (40k/yr).   There are 12 welders at my company, all have aluminum and most have stainless certification.   I can confidently put any one of them in the machine shop if needed.  The one with the most years in (12 years) just got a $1 bump in pay to $17.00/hr.   I had to make a creative and emotional plea to the brass to get him (and his family) a raise.   The explanation against the raise was that it would cost the plant less over a 3 month span to train and certify a $12 rookie to do the same job.    What got the approval was that I pointed out he had a valid CDL and was showing hints of supervisory skills, both issues the company needs to address soon.    Before pressing for a raise, think about what the company needs as well as what you need.There are no small projects
Reply:imagineer PAY YOUR CREW MORE. I pay a good T/A 15-17 an hour, other guy's I know who have been in the game for four to five years and are not trade certified are getting 17-18 plus overtime rates of time and a half to double time.  Good guy's that have got trade papers are getting around the 25-30 an hour plus overtime rates.Real good trade certified guy's are getting 30-35 plus OT rates and maybe a vehicle as well, and flexi hours on some jobs.You've got to pay the ones that work and work hard. That's what keeps them in YOUR workshop. Remember one good worker is worth three or four bums.Stephen
Reply:360, I guess you have to know 'what the market will bear'. At $55K you are basically asking them to double your pay. Do you have any idea what the machinests make in the shop? Is your town's economy going gangbusters or are decent jobs hard to find? do you get paid for overtime? work much overtime? If the shop normally just pays a couple of percent in yearly increases (or none at all) then maybe a 10-15% raise is what they are considering when they say 'whatever it takes to keep you'. Sit back and think about what you want to be doing in this company 5 and 10 years from now (assuming you want to stay). Do you still want to be in the welding shop and just fill in part time on the machine tool side? Do you want to move to the machine tool side full time? become a supervisor/foreman/boss? Do others notice that you 'go the extra mile' to get a job done right? Do you get along with everyone and easy going? Can they really 'plug you in' on the bridgeport/lathe work to do production if the regular guys up and quit one day?Make yourself some cryptic notes to take with you to the pay interview. Short term, long term goals, salary options, etc. Make them fairly cryptic so in case the boss asks to 'see what you have there' and you are forced to show him it doesn't make him terminate the interview by saying you/he are worlds apart.If you do ask for $55K and the boss tells you he was thinking more along the lines of a 15% raise (or even less) what is your comeback going to be? What if he tells you ok but you are now salaried (which to me implies 50 hour weeks at a minimum)? Tread lightly. Asking to almost double your pay is a move you need to put a lot of thought in to before proceeding.Hobbiest hack
Reply:Thank You so much for your replies, I would like to  alaborate a little more aerospace certified tig welding, brazing, orbital welding and programming, they have been telling me they have not had a weld department run so effectively, I weldon a rotator most of the time and instead of purging thru the tube and fitting, I made alexan box and the parts are night and day, I also came up with radial brushing the partsinstead of wire brushing, and the parts look polished. [radial brush is a 3m product]they were going to trash a 50k order that was done outside, I radial brushed them and theysent them to customer, they have hydraulic tube reducing machine that is junk, so I builtone from a small lathe chuck and 3 cam follower bearings on top of another rotator,another thing is when its slow in the weld shop I get scrap titanium tubing and fittings then weld inside lexan box I made so I can get certified and bring those jobs back to our weld shop.I am the only welder and I plan on staying for min 10 years, Average ot 6 hours a week I go back to work on tuesday and will post result of outcome,   yearly Raises are usally a percentage of your pay.                   Again Thank You so much for your Replies and Happy New Year!
Reply:360, What part of the country are you located?
Reply:360,  if I was you I would go for a basic hour rate of 22-25 plus an overtime rate if the overtime is done most weeks. Salary can be a trap unless it's done salary plus OT.Stephen
Reply:Originally Posted by wirehuntimagineer PAY YOUR CREW MORE.