Low wages?

[rocko2527]

I have been seeing welding job ads and they are like 9.00 to 12.00 an hour. If I go to tulsa welding school or Hobart are these the type of wages Im going to get at first? I hope not, the wages just dont seem right to me for a skilled trade.

[Boostinjdm]

The reason those ads are always out there is because they keep hiring mr. shadetree mechanic that claims to be a weldor and then after a week they have to fire him because he can't weld worth a ****. Good weldors get good wages. The employers just have to realize it's a pay to play type of game. Offer a decent wage and they will get a decent weldor.

If you are any good then maybe negotiate a guaranteed raise after a trial period to prove yourself.

[transit]

I know the felling; with the way the state of economy, everyone’s wages are being low-balled.

[Burnit]

There alot of those ads out in the Milwaukee area right now. Lots of places are slow right now and with all the heavy fabrication shops in S.E. Wisconsin there is no shortage of guys that have the needed experience.

I saw an ad last week looking for someone who could TIG weld "very well" and also run a manual mill/lathe 25% of the time, I got stoked, right up my alley, sounds like fun. Then I saw they were offering $12.50 an hour. :rolleyes:

But somewhere in Milwaukee there is a guy that needs that job, and they know that....it sucks

[transit]

Not only is there a wage freeze, but the governor is giving us FURLOUGH DAYS OFF. But my taxes haven’t gone down. I applied for a principal position and was told at the interview am not qualified, Two engineering degrees, 40 years, NASA, IBM, two patents.
Next week I’m scheduled to go to the New Brunswick Train Station run by the city of New Brunswick, we keep losing power at the station, always at the same time of day. No one has been able to identify the problem. Now I’m qualified.
NYC Penn Station loses half its power, can’t sell tickets, computer operated signs don’t work. Friday rush hour is starting and there are 10,000 commuters all pissed off. Now I’m qualified.
The city of Newark loses utility power twice in the past two weeks; the HQ data center is on backup generator, the building was evacuated 1,800 people. Now I’m qualified.
Port Authority of NY & NJ is having problems with a fiber optic link. Their fiber contractor can’t find the problem; the problem escalates to the governor’s office. And whom do they send for?
I’m also working on the new tunnel project [one billion $$$$] under the Hudson River.
Funny, I do a lot of work I’m not “qualified for”.

[joethemechanic]

Not only is there a wage freeze, but the governor is giving us FURLOUGH DAYS OFF. But my taxes haven’t gone down. I applied for a principal position and was told at the interview am not qualified, Two engineering degrees, 40 years, NASA, IBM, two patents.
Next week I’m scheduled to go to the New Brunswick Train Station run by the city of New Brunswick, we keep losing power at the station, always at the same time of day. No one has been able to identify the problem. Now I’m qualified.
NYC Penn Station loses half its power, can’t sell tickets, computer operated signs don’t work. Friday rush hour is starting and there are 10,000 commuters all pissed off. Now I’m qualified.
The city of Newark loses utility power twice in the past two weeks; the HQ data center is on backup generator, the building was evacuated 1,800 people. Now I’m qualified.
Port Authority of NY & NJ is having problems with a fiber optic link. Their fiber contractor can’t find the problem; the problem escalates to the governor’s office. And whom do they send for?
I’m also working on the new tunnel project [one billion $$$$] under the Hudson River.
Funny, I do a lot of work I’m not “qualified for”.


Your post touched a nerve for me. Doesn't it seem funny that the people who they think are "qualified" are always BS artists? They are all "large and in charge" but as soon as they open their mouth you start to think to yourself, this guy doesn't have a grasp on 6th grade physics.

You know what is fun? Hand the ball to the "qualified" guy and stand back and watch the carnage. Lights go out, Critical systems running on 45 minute UPS batteries because first back up systems failed. So who cares, the clock is ticking. 911 system in danger of total failure? So what do I care? Let the "qualified" guy handle it.

For 10 years I handled Emergency power for police and fire for a major US city. Not to mention sewage and storm water pumping stations all over eastern Pa and NJ. I have flown all up and down the east coast for emergencies as the technical consultant for a manufacturer of water and waste water treatment equipment. for municipal and industrial.

Here is what I think, "F" it. Let it all crash. Let the big mouths and the BSers have the ball. Stand back and laugh inside as they screw everything up and try to invent BS stories to cover for their incompetence.

Let the power go out, the sewers back up, and the 911 system fail.

Don't savve the BSers because they will only take credit for your work and throw you under the bus the first chance they get.

Everything needs to fail. Let it all crumble. Because that is the only way we are going to change the mindset of those who believe that the ability to "play well with others" totally trumps technical ability.

[transit]

We had a power-hit 9:28 last night at the New Brunswick train station. I just returned to the office, I wanted to see that we captured. We’ve been thinking that the power problem is due to a brownout or a complete loss of voltage and yet it doesn’t add up with other symptoms. At 9:28 to 10:05 the utility voltage went from 120-121 volts to 139 volts peaking at 177 volts. The UPS sensing such an excessively large input switched to by-pass mode disconnecting itself from the ulitility and running on batteries until the voltage returned to a safe level. The current feed to the UPS was 1 Amp and at the time of the switch over dropped to 0 amps for the duration. We’ve always have some power failures with low or no input power, can’t remember the last time seeing a over voltage condition. I’m keeping the monitor at the station till next week to demonstrate a pattern. Yes we had the BS people out at the station. I wouldn’t let them push a cart.:drinkup:

[joethemechanic]

I take it there is no emergency generator. All the systems I handled for the communications department (911 System) would drop utility power at the generator transfer switch and start the generator should the voltage or the frequency go outside of the parameters that I set. Then should the generator fail the UPS batteries would handle the load for 30 - 60 minutes depending on the radio traffic that was being handled by the site.

I take it the power is distributed throughout the station as 480/277? And there are local dry transformers to supply the 120 V loads? Are any other transformers affected?

It should have nothing to do with the rail. I believe that is a 25 cycle ac rail system isn't it?

[transit]

No, this is a simple 120/240 general lighting power at 60 cps from the local utility, nothing fancy. The station is small, part-time station attendant to sell tickets, 6 am to 9. The rest of the time tickets are available at ticket vending machines along the platform.
The UPS is to keep the network equipment from being fried and bridge small outages. The City of New Brunswick operates the park and ride and it is their responsibility to maintain the property. All the “ kings horses and all the kings men” haven’t been able to identify the problem. Now we’ll be handing it to the local utility, they’re doing something.

BTW the trains run at 25,000 volts from the Catenary.

[transit]

You going to really love this. How much progress are we making with the “Stimulus Package” making new jobs. I’ll try to explain this as best as I can.
All the department managers must report the number of people working on new projects that are grounded in Stimulus money. If a person works on a project one hour in a 30 day period, that counts as a “new job”. So we have 6 people in my department and we’re each working on 7 new projects not counting on the load we already have.
Lets see, 6 people X 7 projects are 42 “New” jobs. At that rate we have more people working then there are places to put them. That’s how O’bungler is creating new jobs.
What I want to know is, when do I get these 7 paychecks? :dizzy:

[joethemechanic]

It's a house of cards. I have no doubt it is all going to collapse. They all think that they can consume without producing anything that has a residual value.

They think casinos, parks, and resturants are helping the economy. That is leisure time. You have to wind up with some durable goods in order to produce value or wealth

This is going to look like the German Wiemar Republic soon. Probably even worse.

Think of this, if there isn't a stable currency, how are we going to make contracts? How can a contractor bid on a job that is 6 months or a year out. How can the contractors suppliers give him prices so he can bid the job? If we don't know what value a dollar is going to have,,,,

Well then what?

[DSW]

You going to really love this. How much progress are we making with the “Stimulus Package” making new jobs. I’ll try to explain this as best as I can.
All the department managers must report the number of people working on new projects that are grounded in Stimulus money. If a person works on a project one hour in a 30 day period, that counts as a “new job”. So we have 6 people in my department and we’re each working on 7 new projects not counting on the load we already have.
Lets see, 6 people X 7 projects are 42 “New” jobs. At that rate we have more people working then there are places to put them. That’s how O’bungler is creating new jobs.
What I want to know is, when do I get these 7 paychecks? :dizzy:

Thats sort of like under Clinton where they "saved" billions because they took it out of the original budget proposal.

Hmm... I need a new car, so lets get a $80K BMW. Well thats a bit pricy, so instead I'll just get a used Ford for $5K, LOOK, I Saved $75K :blob1:, Ah no, you spent $5K thats it, How did you save if you spent money? You have to HAVE the money originally to SAVE it. If all you had was $5K you didn't SAVE a thing. Just puting up a number and cutting it is not saving.

I love those credit card adds that tell you, you "save" with them. Lets see you round up the price, take money from my checking account to cover the higher ballance and put the rounded extra in a saving account in your bank. :confused::confused: How did I save? I PAID MORE! If I wanted money in a saving account, you don't think I wouldn't have put it there to start? Save would mean I bought an item at $100 retail, but you only charged me $95 when the bill came. In that way I SAVED over cash. $100 retail then billing me $105 and putting $5 in a savings account didn't save anything.

[STwelder]

Compare them to the other skilled professions you have then weigh them out...... sorry you have not a clue do you........

[farmersamm]

Layoffs in the Tulsa OKC area are at an all time high.

Bottom line, there's more welders than doctors. Guess who keeps his job

It's a downhill slide. The top end people will feel it pretty soon is my guess

[transit]

Sounds like a Gorge Burns and Grace Alien show. Grace saved money buying a dress, saved $10. Spent $ 15 on a hat and shoes.

[transit]

No, this is a simple 120/240 general lighting power at 60 cps from the local utility, nothing fancy. The station is small, part-time station attendant to sell tickets, 6 am to 9. The rest of the time tickets are available at ticket vending machines along the platform.
The UPS is to keep the network equipment from being fried and bridge small outages. The City of New Brunswick operates the park and ride and it is their responsibility to maintain the property. All the “ kings horses and all the kings men” haven’t been able to identify the problem. Now we’ll be handing it to the local utility, they’re doing something.

BTW the trains run at 25,000 volts from the Catenary.

This is what the station looks like.Down at the bottom of the cabinet, that's the FLUKE Power Monitor.