Large job (for me) question

[gitrdun_climbr]

$6.00 per hour?!?!

Isylvian is that for real? That blows my mind for anywhere in America...I know and understand there are various costs of living from one part of the country to another but that just seems drasticly low for what we do. So after taxes a guy who reliably works 40 hours every week can expect to make about $600 per MONTH working for you? That's less than $40 for a hard, 8 hour day!

You have to realize that this is arboristsite and we are loggers and arborists. These professions can be pretty tough and hardcore in the trenches. Our field incorporates skills, knowledge, risks, toughness, etc. which far exceed that of a lawnmower/weedwhacker/blower operator and I just can't see how the pay could even closely compare. As a climber my job can be pretty technical and the risks can be up there but even these guys on the ground have an awesome skill set...for example if my groundie on the other end of my rigging line snubs off the tree top I just cut rather than let it run, I could be crushed or die. These guys are working under major amounts of weight and all too often get killed by it. They need to reliably understand a handful of knots and good communication skills (not learned overnite). The list goes on. It is disturbing to me that you proposed to pay so little and expect so much from your men and women unless you yourself truly don't understand the dynamics of our work and their duties...which is likely the case.

That said, you did come to the right place for information, believe us or not. I noticed in the thread you asked...but when answered you didn't like the truth. Now you're pissed at us because one job slipped by you which, in the world of arboriculture happens all the time as competition can be fierce. Many of these guys on here really, really know what they're talking about regarding this industry and possess information you will never learn at business college. If you're truly interested in getting into tree work I'm afraid you're gonna have to go work for someone else's tree service for a while...take some arboriculture classes so you can learn the basics about tree biology and such...get involved with ISA because without that good industry information you won't likely be infomed enough to keep you and your crew safe.

Not trying to scorch you just calling it the way I see it. Keep coming back.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Six dollars per hour sucks anywhere!!!

My 13 yr old deserves more than that babysitting!

 

[Husky137]

Six dollars per hour sucks anywhere!!!

My 13 yr old deserves more than that babysitting!

Didn't think of that. Our babysitter wants $8 an hour and thats tax free.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

$320.00 mortgage

What is that house/shelter made from for $320 a month..............soup cans???

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[Husky137]

What is that house/shelter made from for $320 a month..............soup cans???

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A van down by the river......

 

[daddieslilgirl]

large job?

ok i havent been here in a very long time and i didnt realize this post started in 2003 but i was reading it and got irate. dont mean to offend anyone but 6.00 an hour? is that for real? im a female i work logging dont cut and dont drive skidder that much anymore and i average 13.00 an hr! yes i bust my butt! we dont usually work more than 6 hours a day, unless me and my brother decide to go later, my dads older so we try to take care of the longer hours when hes not there or driving. 6.00 an hour just.. i dont know flabberghasts me!!!! again no offense to anyone!

 

[lsylvain]

Daddieslilgirl your profile says that you are in NY the median house hold income in NY is about $44,000 a year. The median income my Mercer County WV is about $28,000. The average home value in the county is $63,900 and in NY $148,000. You realize though that you could easily earn $15.00/hour sitting in a dentist office answering the phone?

$6.00 per hour is 12k a year, 43% of the median income, 19% of the average home price.

$13.00 comes to 26k a year, 59% of the median income, 18% of the average home price.

Pretty darn close as I said, and I have also stated that $6.00 is a starting Salary today, not what I would say pay my Daughter who I could trust.

Don'y believe my home price figures, or average incomes. They came from the US census http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ don't believe that do a search for yourself on say realtor.com for homes in WV vs your area.

$320 per month is about a $50,000 mortgage with down payment that is the cost of the average house in the county.
I think the average home price in my area in FL was about $350,000 last month.

Your $50,000 in WV puts you in an average neighborhood. The $200,000 I have in my house in FL puts me 4 blocks away from Driveby shootings, 2 blocks away from the kid who wiped out his whole family, and smack dab in the middle of about 200 sexual preditors within a half mile of my house. I don't suppose you watched the news the last few days about the guy that shot yp the school? Is probably hideing in my neighborhood.

 

[gitrdun_climbr]

I have a degree in Business administration and I am 3 classes away from a second degree in accounting with a 3.8 GPA.

Not trying to ridicule anyone here or split hairs, just confused cause you're still calling the $6.00/hr a "salary". Something doesn't fit here. Do you pay a salary or wage?

 

[lsylvain]

Salary/Wage same difference. No I didn't pay them the same amount each month they were hourly employees.

 

[lsylvain]

Dammit, I said I wasn't going to talk about this anymore. lol So if you don't believe me, sorry. If you are that worried about it and are possitive you are right pack your bags and move to WV and try to get a job making $15.00 per hour then message me back. We will see what happens.

 

[Husky137]

Salary/Wage same difference. No I didn't pay them the same amount each month they were hourly employees.

But it isn't chucklehead. A salary means you pay the guy $240 a week whether he works 40 hours, 80 hours or 10 hours. A wage is paid to hourly employees. Where did you get that business degree from? University of northwestern south west virginia online crackerjack course?

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Dammit, I said I wasn't going to talk about this anymore. lol So if you don't believe me, sorry. If you are that worried about it and are possitive you are right pack your bags and move to WV and try to get a job making $15.00 per hour then message me back. We will see what happens.

You bring it on yourself by replying...............take a long walk!!!:jawdrop:

 

[daddieslilgirl]

large lot

first i said i didnt me to offend and i didnt! ive been to wv ny isnt much better. i dont have a morgage, i pay rent, i couldnt afford my own home no matter how much money i try to save! something always comes up and there goes my meager savings! i would starve getting paid 6.00 an hour! and my rent is cheap too. thats all i was saying. im barely making it as it is now, and trust me im a cheapskate. it comes in one hand and goes out the other in the same day! like i said didnt mean to offend but i just cant see a family living on that!

 

[lsylvain]

No offense taken. daddieslilgirl. I'm just sick of having to explain myself to those who just can't seem to understand that the cost of living changes throught the country. You can't live in FL for what you can live on in WV or Ihio, etc. The thread was not called "how much should I pay my employees?" it was a simple question about a job that I had questions about, and I can only assume that 80% of the people that responded to this thread no nothing about pricing a job or estimating time or they would have responded with "answers" to help me. Instead since they themselves did not know the answer preceeded to blast me about my payrol cost which quite frankly is none of their business anyway.

and not to split hairs. lol

Salary is a set amount of money paid for a set amount of time. You can have a Salary of $30,000 a year, or you can have a Salary of $2000 a month, you can have a salary of $500 a week, or you can have a salary of $6.00 per hour.

A wage is an amount of money paid for set amount of time or work. You can be paid $6.00 per hour, $400.00 per week, or a wage can also be for a per item basis. For example a Truck Drive usually get paid by the mile, so his Wage is $0.45 per mile.

get out the dictionary and read for yourself that Wage is a synonym for Salary. Wage and Salary are like a Rectangle and a Square. A square is always a rectangle, but a rectangle isn't always a square and a Salary is always a Wage, but a Wage isn't nessisarly always a Salary.

So Wage and Salary can be used interchangably unless you are talking about truck drivers or other peicemeal employees. Even then it is understood when I say my salary is $6.00 per widget, that I mean that I get paid $6.00 per every widget I produce so they can infact be used interchangibly. Just as I understand what you mean when you don't properly capitalize the first word in a sentance, or tell me for example that you bush hoged a feild. A bush hog is a name brand of equiptment so you could have meant that you drove your Bush Hog ATV around in the feild all day, but I understand that you meant that you mowed the field with a Rotary Cutter.

So again, you are just wanting to argue other than to answer the origional question. And I mean "you" as in everyone in general not as a direct attack towards you.

I also recall that there were several people who were objecting to my wages who wanted to argue so much actually "followed" me around to my other post and would try to instigate the same conversation.

 

[hammer0419]

I can't believe I sat here and read everyone's ?????ing and moaning on this. Who the hell care's who pay's what. If someone is willing to work for $6/hr good for them. But like he stated it is all on location/cost of living. I am up here in NY paying out the A** for EVERYTHING so I wouldn't know what inexpensive is.

 

[Booshcat]

Hell around here, for 6$ an hour, my laborers would have to be ehem ....."undocumented workers"
Let's see, part-time at a supermarket goes about $8.50 and I believe McDonald's is around $10 and up.

It cost ME 15 bucks today to throw out an easychair at the dump!