Re: Technician Wages

[Red <RedNick@xxxxxxxxx>]

There is no apprentice program within the industry, and it's probably
too late to get one going.

The way I see it(practical experience, not vaporware) is that too many
of the big box companies need just to put bodies on the job, so they
hire the very minimally experienced, really knowing little to nothing.
The starting pay is shit, but they quickly advance in $'s and all the
benefits of a big corp are offered as standard procedure.  That's the
beginning of the spoiling.

The company trainers, if they're even a bit qualified, try to put
together a plan to teach the younglings.  Many of these trainers are
unfortunately merely book techs!  I personally know of a former
national trainer who was hired right out of the Navy flight program
when he retired.  Never installed an alarm, maybe even never knew to
remember his password.  Big companies and CFO's running business.

Operations managers may try, but they can can't spend every minute
training every tech. The minute production starts to slip, the branch
manager jumps his ass and that's the end of any desires for quality.

Now that's where it gets greasy.

If the quality is not cared for (and please, no bullshit about the
company being qualified for the NBFAA quality program, that's a farce)
then the rank and file start caring less and less.  The ones that do
care are taken out of the field and made managers so that stunts his
skill level and he quickly learns to bend over for that paycheck and
status.

Finally, when a tech is either canned or made to quit because he's a
total dork, he goes to any one of the supply houses, spends 15 minutes
hanging around and gets hired by some little guy who just needs the
help and is willing to match the stupid salary the bum was getting but
didn't deserve.  Still the same tech, with the same habits due to his
incredible rote learning of the past.  Still does as he pleases, fucks
things up and drives the company truck wherever he pleases.

Just interviewed a candidate who had 10 years experience and is making
$24.00 an hour + bene's, pay stub verified.  I handed the guy three
resistors and the color chart.  Couldn't tell me the values.

He won't get the job even for helper's pay not because he wasn't able
to read a resistor, but because in 10 years he never saw the need to
advance himself just an iota.

We have seen the enemy and it is us.



On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:56:06 GMT, "David"
<daknutsen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Hello everyone. I am  an installation supervisor for a large midwest
>security company and I have some question.s First, are there any other
>managers or supervisors here that are having problems hiring experienced
>techs? If there are, is it due mostly to wages?
> The reason I ask is I have been looking to add technicians to my staff but
>I am stymied by the wage scale that my company has put together. They tell
>me that it is compaetitive but when I make an offer to a prospective tech,
>they either decline or quite often, just don't respond. I have been hiring
>tech assistants in hopes that someday they will become more but I need some
>techs that can hit the ground running.
>That having been said, I am going into an operations managers meeting next
>Tuesday and although I have compiled statistics from the Bureau of Labor as
>well as others, I could use some real hard evidence that we are in fact not
>competitve. What I would like to know is how long you have been in the
>busines, where you are located and what you make an hour. According to my
>bosses, we are in line with other SNA partners.
>I made a promise to the other techs when I was promoted to this posistion
>that I would not forget where I came from and would fight for them to my
>fullest capacity. I am asking for your help, not for me, but for my
>technicians and their families.
>Thank you for any help you can give me.
>David Knutsen
>