My 20 year old, since the age of 16 or 17, has been operating bulldozers and other equipment. He has also learned to drywall, do tile work, lay hardwood floors, lay sewer lines and septic fields, pour concrete driveways and garages, blah blah blah. The machinery that he first operated was not large enough to be considered "heavy equipment".
He changed jobs in February, and came highly recommended from his previous employer who couldn’t give him enough hours. When he began his this new job, they knew that he had experience with equipment, but they already had operators. He did mostly grunt work, but he arrived to work on time and worked hard. Occasionally, when I guy was sick or on vacation, he got an opportunity to operate the heavy machinery and did well. As time moved on, he gets more and more time on this equipment.
More often than not, he still does manual labor, but each month he gets more jobs as an operator. His pay breaks down like this. Non-prevailing wage grunt job, $16 per hour. Prevailing wage grunt job, $34 per hour. Non-prevailing wage equipment operator job, $30 per hour. Prevailing wage operator job, $53 per hour. He's trending quickly towards the higher paying jobs. I’m guessing that over the last month, his average pay has been $30 per hour. He works hard and is being rewarded with more "prevailing wage" jobs and more equipment operator jobs. His company does not give him insurance, but he does have medical insurance through me. The managers at this company do receive medical insurance.
I've suggested that he do a couple of things within the next year. He should get his CDL, which will be easy since he’s driven large trucks on farms. They also work with various chemicals which require a license to handle, and I've suggest that he become licensed. Maybe the company will pay for some of this, and maybe not, but he becomes more valuable once he gains these skills. He becomes more valuable to his current employer and, even more importantly, he becomes more valuable to potential new employers. He is proving an eagerness to work hard and learn.
Again, he has done nothing that takes exceptional talent, but it does require an eagerness to grow, learn, and work hard. I’m quite proud of my boy.
He changed jobs in February, and came highly recommended from his previous employer who couldn’t give him enough hours. When he began his this new job, they knew that he had experience with equipment, but they already had operators. He did mostly grunt work, but he arrived to work on time and worked hard. Occasionally, when I guy was sick or on vacation, he got an opportunity to operate the heavy machinery and did well. As time moved on, he gets more and more time on this equipment.
More often than not, he still does manual labor, but each month he gets more jobs as an operator. His pay breaks down like this. Non-prevailing wage grunt job, $16 per hour. Prevailing wage grunt job, $34 per hour. Non-prevailing wage equipment operator job, $30 per hour. Prevailing wage operator job, $53 per hour. He's trending quickly towards the higher paying jobs. I’m guessing that over the last month, his average pay has been $30 per hour. He works hard and is being rewarded with more "prevailing wage" jobs and more equipment operator jobs. His company does not give him insurance, but he does have medical insurance through me. The managers at this company do receive medical insurance.
I've suggested that he do a couple of things within the next year. He should get his CDL, which will be easy since he’s driven large trucks on farms. They also work with various chemicals which require a license to handle, and I've suggest that he become licensed. Maybe the company will pay for some of this, and maybe not, but he becomes more valuable once he gains these skills. He becomes more valuable to his current employer and, even more importantly, he becomes more valuable to potential new employers. He is proving an eagerness to work hard and learn.
Again, he has done nothing that takes exceptional talent, but it does require an eagerness to grow, learn, and work hard. I’m quite proud of my boy.
Quote
Originally posted by: jatki99
I applaud boiler and his kids, it sounds like you did a good job of raising them( I am curious how a 20 yr old w/o a degree makes 25 an hour, but that's neither here nor there) and we're trying to do the same with our son.
Something really interesting happened on our way home from visiting family in WVa this past weekend. We stopped at a Burger king in Romney wva for a bathroom break and a drink and my wife came out saying she had ran into someone she went to high school with, I assumed she meant while waiting in line. No. Turns out she was working there and it reminded me of this thread. My wife had moved away, went to school, went to school, married me(for better or worse), and gone on to rise in the ranks and has been very successful. It's such a night and day comparison.
Back to the OP, I already mentioned it, but I think it's a fantastic idea for grade bonuses, maybe not so much for the money but perhaps it will instill a measure of confidence, a little more pride in oneself for achieving something. Much more than grinding away, flipping burgers ,paycheck to paycheck, week in week out. More power to the workers who go for the grades and maybe they'll go on and try to achieve more than just the good grade bonuses.
Originally posted by: jatki99
I applaud boiler and his kids, it sounds like you did a good job of raising them( I am curious how a 20 yr old w/o a degree makes 25 an hour, but that's neither here nor there) and we're trying to do the same with our son.
Something really interesting happened on our way home from visiting family in WVa this past weekend. We stopped at a Burger king in Romney wva for a bathroom break and a drink and my wife came out saying she had ran into someone she went to high school with, I assumed she meant while waiting in line. No. Turns out she was working there and it reminded me of this thread. My wife had moved away, went to school, went to school, married me(for better or worse), and gone on to rise in the ranks and has been very successful. It's such a night and day comparison.
Back to the OP, I already mentioned it, but I think it's a fantastic idea for grade bonuses, maybe not so much for the money but perhaps it will instill a measure of confidence, a little more pride in oneself for achieving something. Much more than grinding away, flipping burgers ,paycheck to paycheck, week in week out. More power to the workers who go for the grades and maybe they'll go on and try to achieve more than just the good grade bonuses.
