What do you do?

R

Railin_sl

shitlord
33
0
Age/Education? 29/Some college/Only an A+ Cert.

Where do you work? A Hospital

What do you do? Desktop Support

What field/industry? IT/Health Care

Wages? 40k this year, with a lot of OT... I'm through an IT staffing firm, I make less than most my co workers =(

Benefits? 5 days PTO after my first year, co workers get 2 weeks vacation plus 2 weeks personal with paid holidays. I get offered all benefits, I have all but health, its too much money.

Just happy to have a job, previously I was on unemployment for 99 weeks...
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,893
4,274
Noodleface_sl said:
Fianc? just got a job as a mail carrier... $22.15 an hour. I had no idea those guys made so much.
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I've got 5 relatives who work for the postal service in various capacities, 2 of whom are mail carriers. They've all been in for 30+ years and their salaries and benefits are insane for the amount of work they do. My job lets me accumulate up to 80 hours of PTO, while they are able to accumulate 400? What the fuck. It's no wonder the postal system is going to shit.
 
S

Sirocco

Molten Core Raider
28
0
Age/Education? 27, Master's degree

Where do you work? Texas

What do you do? Technical Director at a theatre. I oversee the construction, lighting, and design aspects of all the plays. We also have an education program that I run.

What field/industry? Entertainment

Wages? 50kish, increases slightly every year.

Bonuses/SEP? Nope.

Benefits? Freeish healthcare. Theatre pays for just about everything. I also get to build furniture for my place with scarp wood we have. And free tickets of course.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

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McCheese_sl said:
I've got 5 relatives who work for the postal service in various capacities, 2 of whom are mail carriers. They've all been in for 30+ years and their salaries and benefits are insane for the amount of work they do. My job lets me accumulate up to 80 hours of PTO, while they are able to accumulate 400? What the fuck. It's no wonder the postal system is going to shit.
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She got emailed a little after she accepted the job that the USPS just re-negotiated contracts. The TE position (she accepted) is being eliminated in April and being replaced by a job called CCA. The good news is it's exactly the same job, except instead of making $22.15/hr they make $15/hr. Also, she has to take a test and then get re-hired into this position.. meaning there is absolutely no job security here. Also, and not that I necessarily disagree with this, but veterans automatically get 5-10 points added to their scores meaning that they are placed at the front of the queue for these new jobs if they so choose. I can understand why, and I can respect it, but it still seems a bit backwards to me.

Basically she has a guaranteed job until April and then who knows after that. The most bullshit part about it is she signed for the job and everything, cut her other job down to no hours (for health insurance, did I mention CCAs don't get it until after 1 year?), and generally re-planned our living situation for this. She signed on 1/19, but they signed the new contracts on 1/10.. so they knew the whole time this would happen and never told her.
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,893
4,274
Noodleface_sl said:
She got emailed a little after she accepted the job that the USPS just re-negotiated contracts. The TE position (she accepted) is being eliminated in April and being replaced by a job called CCA. The good news is it's exactly the same job, except instead of making $22.15/hr they make $15/hr. Also, she has to take a test and then get re-hired into this position.. meaning there is absolutely no job security here. Also, and not that I necessarily disagree with this, but veterans automatically get 5-10 points added to their scores meaning that they are placed at the front of the queue for these new jobs if they so choose. I can understand why, and I can respect it, but it still seems a bit backwards to me.

Basically she has a guaranteed job until April and then who knows after that. The most bullshit part about it is she signed for the job and everything, cut her other job down to no hours (for health insurance, did I mention CCAs don't get it until after 1 year?), and generally re-planned our living situation for this. She signed on 1/19, but they signed the new contracts on 1/10.. so they knew the whole time this would happen and never told her.
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Sounds about right. I talked to my dad (postal service worker) just after making my last post and he said that yeah, new people joining the postal service now are pretty much getting fucked because of the incredibly sweet deals the old timers got. Like you said, benefits don't kick in until you've been there a year, so new people are working their asses off while my dad is taking several paid time off days a month just because he has so many hours to burn and they won't get paid out if he doesn't use them.
 
Cutlery

Cutlery

Kill All the White People
<Gold Donor>
6,445
17,955
The postal system isn't going to shit because of what it pays it's workers, fyi. It's going to shit because it's literally not allowed to do anything to change it's business model without an act of congress.
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,893
4,274
Cutlery_sl said:
The postal system isn't going to shit because of what it pays it's workers, fyi. It's going to shit because it's literally not allowed to do anything to change it's business model without an act of congress.
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I think it's a combination of both. The fact that the USPS can't be nimble enough to adapt to a changing marketplace is certainly a big reason it is failing. UPS and FedEx are able to keep pace with how people ship packages and send letters nowadays, while the USPS seems like it's stuck in a timewarp.

However, the retirement and benefits packages that the Postal Workers Union was able to get in the past is combining with the above issues to cause some massive problems now. I know I've read about it much more in-depth, but here's ashort articleI just googled up real quick. Here's the relevant part quoted:

Congress, in a 2006 law, required the Postal Service to make annual payments to fund 75 years' worth of future retiree health benefits in 10 years. So far, the agency has paid more than $21 billion into a special fund for these obligations.
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and

Personnel costs, including compensation and benefits for more than half a million employees, worker's compensation and the prefunding obligation, accounted for about 77 percent of USPS operating expenses in 2011.
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The amount of money the USPS spends on its employees is insane. Granted, having so many employees is going to necessitate a pretty high expenditure, but as the article says, much of that is the benefits and retirement obligations the USPS is locked into paying.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
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I also read (and can't cite this) that a lot of the new CCA positions are being created because Amazon is making a deal with the USPS for same-day delivery. I guess they are hiring a bunch of these CCA's just to deliver Amazon shipments same-day, even on Sundays. I think it's just a rumor at this point, but it would make a lot of sense.
 
Cutlery

Cutlery

Kill All the White People
<Gold Donor>
6,445
17,955
McCheese_sl said:
I think it's a combination of both. The fact that the USPS can't be nimble enough to adapt to a changing marketplace is certainly a big reason it is failing. UPS and FedEx are able to keep pace with how people ship packages and send letters nowadays, while the USPS seems like it's stuck in a timewarp.

However, the retirement and benefits packages that the Postal Workers Union was able to get in the past is combining with the above issues to cause some massive problems now. I know I've read about it much more in-depth, but here's ashort articleI just googled up real quick. Here's the relevant part quoted:



and



The amount of money the USPS spends on its employees is insane. Granted, having so many employees is going to necessitate a pretty high expenditure, but as the article says, much of that is the benefits and retirement obligations the USPS is locked into paying.
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Yeah, but in your quoted part is the part that's killing them. They need to fund 75 years worth of retirees in just 10 years. No other company does that. UPS and Fedex sure as fuck don't. And it was enacted by congress, and they can't change it.

Lets just be serious here. Going through this thread, $22 an hour is not an exorbitant wage.
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,893
4,274
Cutlery_sl said:
Yeah, but in your quoted part is the part that's killing them. They need to fund 75 years worth of retirees in just 10 years. No other company does that. UPS and Fedex sure as fuck don't. And it was enacted by congress, and they can't change it.

Lets just be serious here. Going through this thread, $22 an hour is not an exorbitant wage.
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Haha, well yes, I'm agreeing with you. The fact that they need an act of congress to get out of paying for these ridiculous benefits is one of the big reasons the USPS is in trouble. I never said they paid excellent wages. Hell, even after 30+ years in the USPS my relatives aren't making salaries that would be anything special. My uncle has been a mail carrier for over 30 years and he just recently started making 70k/year. His PTO, benefits, and retirement package, however, are extremely good.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
37,961
14,508
Cutlery_sl said:
Yeah, but in your quoted part is the part that's killing them. They need to fund 75 years worth of retirees in just 10 years. No other company does that. UPS and Fedex sure as fuck don't. And it was enacted by congress, and they can't change it.

Lets just be serious here. Going through this thread, $22 an hour is not an exorbitant wage.
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Far from exorbitant. To be honest I don't care what my wife makes. The only reason I want her to even work is she gets all couped up at home and is crazy all the time. I literally just want her out of the house during the week.. She's starting to get a skewed sense of reality about what I should be doing everyday while I am working full-time and going to school full-time. The fact that she got a new job is great. The fact that she'll contribute now making $22/hr is even better, it takes a lot of pressure off of me. Her paycheck will just be "extra" for whatever we need, so it's good. She has a BA in English, so as you can imagine no one is really knocking our door down to hire her - even with a 3.98GPA. Seems like the USPS is going south fast though, so hopefully she can hold on for awhile.
 
A

Anwyn_sl

shitlord
85
0
Age/Education? 27, High School dropout, no college.

Where do you work? Tampa, FL

What do you do? I own and operate a company with my Father. I put plants in the ground, ensure they look good and don't die, and I cut your grass via hand mower. People love the hand mower. He sells people stuff.

What field/industry? Landscaping / Horticultural

Wages? Hovers around 60k most years, had an exceptionally good 80k last year.

Bonuses/SEP? Family drama all the time.

Benefits? Lots of dirt in my doormat. My cats hate me until I shower. I've gotten good at sewing myself up instead of paying someone else to do it. Good benefits.
 
H

heyholetsgo_sl

shitlord
11
0
Age/education: just turned 27. 2nd year pipefitter in a 3 year apprenticeship.

Where do you work?

Alberta

What do you do? (Title/keywords)

Apprentice Pipefitter

What field/industry?

Oilfield

Wages?

$32/hour. as an apprentice only 60-80k, as a journeyman, ~120k+ depending on how much overtime i feel like working and how much i want to work out of town

Bonuses/SEP?

Not really any great bonuses where im at now, get bonuses based on how many incident free "safety" hours ive worked. stupid stuff like hoodies, bags, etc.

Benefits?

Full benefits, vacation pay, pension, etc. the works
 
Blazin

Blazin

Creative Title
<Nazi Janitors>
6,414
33,669
Rather unscientific obviously but I went through this thread and tabulated peoples responses. Overall from the numbers I don't get the impression some were giving that people are lying and exaggerating their income because it's the internet. There may be a little of that but based on the fields that people are in the average salaries are not far off from those fields. Two fields dominate the list and that is IT and Government so the fact that the results skew higher than the national average pay doesn't seem to be a dis-qualifier.

Stats:
Average Pay: $69,208 (national average in 2011 $42,979.61 a difference of $26,228.39)

So kind of far off from the average, but since we aren't dummies let's consider factors that we know to be true. This forum is overwhelmingly male. The national average includes woman who suck at making money. The national average for men is $47,127 (a difference of $22,081), but we are also a very white group $51,861 (a difference of $17,347), who are mostly college educated $56,700 (difference of $12,508)

Industry Breakdown:
When compared to national averages we are not far off from national averages for the different sectors other than IT which comes in at 22% on the forum but only 3% nationally.
rrr_img_11293.jpg


The top categories of Finance, Medical, Professional Services, Government and IT all have pretty high average salaries according to the BLS
rrr_img_11294.jpg


So other than people who apparently have their e-peen hurt by people predominately making middle class salaries. This thread is at least a fair representation of earning power of the various fields. I'm sure there is selection bias causing us not to hear from the lower paid fields. The people responding that they are in retail or a service trade is very low despite those being major employers in our economy.

Take it for what you will just thought some people might be interested and I was bored.
 
T

The Foler_sl

shitlord
120
1
Bellicose_sl said:
Where do you work?i dont iam unemployed / long time sick

What do you do?absolutely nothing

What field/industry?

Wages?16500$ a year

Bonuses/SEP?270$ a month from the state for having Coeliac Disease
mad.png


Benefits?time for 14 hours of gaming a day ? and the state pays most of my medical bills / doctors wellfarestate ftw

been unemployed since 05 and is currently hovering between a disability retirement and retraining to a low risk flex job
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Another government leach.
 
I

Insomnia_sl

shitlord
263
7
Sounds like what Ford just did, I make $30/hr whereas the new guy next to me makes $15/hr. However though they have full union rights, got benefits I think 6mths in and in about 3yrs will be making $20/hr and after a certain % retire can be eligible for jobs that post at $28+ an hour. You really can still retire from Ford, just more than likely, you wont be retiring where you started now. But besides leaving family and friends, its not too big of a deal if I had to, $30,000 moving allowance ftw.
 
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