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wages working for a company

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DZineGraphX

New Member
I was reading the thread in here about employee retention and new applications and decide to start this as i was talking with some people i work with a couple days ago regarding wages etc.

I used to do run my own sign shop both back home and after moving to another city 8 years ago continued to run it as well just working from home. In sept i started working at a large print/sign shop that has 13 locations throughout southern ontario canada. I was brought on as an installer as the sign -wide format part of the business grew - but also as 1 of 3 guys producing signs in one of 2 large format shops. Each of the 13 locations has a "graphic designer" so when we get sign-large format jobs it more so load the file and send it to the printer, flat bed , laminater or what ever to get the job done. More and more im going off to other citys to do installs - frosted windows, signs , decal vehicles - what ever needs to be done where ever.

i just curious as to wages or what people are getting. I realize we are all in different markets and things wont be "standard" throughout but just curious as to what is the going rate perhaps.
With my job im getting:
Benefits - sure im paying $50 a month but i have full coverage - life insurance, dental, glasses, ciropractor, massage - pretty much anything i could possibly need - the girlfriend is also on my benefits package as well and gets the same.
get an hourly rate of $ X an hour - work an 8 hour day - 1/2 hour unpaid lunch 2-15 minute paid breaks
Being there 7-8 months so far i get 2 paid weeks vacation
being and installer and having to travel 1-2 hours some days to another city to install im getting a $500 a month car allowance. in addition to my regular hourly rate from the time i leave home to the time i return home - always get my 8 hours a day and if i happen to be home early - still get the 8 hours.

the 2 guys i work with - one has been there 5 years gets the same hourly rate as i do - the other guy been there 3 years not sure if hes getting the same amount as we are but perhaps he is.

Just curious to what the rest of you are getting. Im quite happy with what ive getting - and really i love the job thus far and its nice to get out and about to do the installs. Meeting with customers etc. Its nice to be done at 4 and leave work at work. I still do my thing some evenings and on weekend - but its nice to not have to do something that might be a headache and not worth it in the end. Those headache clients etc.

Sure working for someone still has the odd problems and headaches - driving 1/2 hour to do a site check - all because the sales guy doesnt know how to use a tape measure and cant take a measurement - or the "funny" color of white is because its matt vinyl and not shinny like gloss. Once we train some of the sales guys -hopefully things will be alot smoother and pricing will be consistant and not all over the board.

Just wondering what you guys are getting out of your work/or paying your employees. Like i say we dont do any designing or pricing - basically just production and in my case installation if needed
 
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ikarasu

Active Member
Careful. Talking about wages in Canada can get you fired, it's not like the us.

That's why I'm kind of cryptic and give a ballpark figure when I mention mine.

The average pay in Vancouver for an installer is $15-20 an hour. Doing car color changes I've seen some adds for $30 from one shop...another shop is $25 with experience. Ive spoken to them shops, and they don't guarantee 8 hours a day though.. so while they're above average, they have more installers than they need and call them in based on workload.

We so get paid the moment we leave our house, and until we get back when doing offsite work... Its actually law In Canada. If you're going into work the clock starts when you arrive at work, but if you're going somewhere that's not work it starts the moment you leave.. kind of nice, and why I love installs

I can't speak for Toronto.. but if you were in Vancouver, you'd be at the higher end of wages. You could make more, but it's rare. Were almost exactly the same wages.. except I have a few certificates like OFA2 / forklift that bump me up a bit.

Your car allowance is a nice perk. Our company pays us per km we travel - the rate hasn't changed in 10 years though. .25 cents per km... With gas being $1.62 per liter.. it costs me more in gas than they pay. 90% of the time we're taking the company vehicle though.

I'd say your jobs doing good pay wise, so if your happy... Hold onto it!
 
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DZineGraphX

New Member
Your car allowance is a nice perk. Our company pays us per km we travel - the rate hasn't changed in 10 years though. .25 cents per km... With gas being $1.62 per liter.. it costs me more in gas than they pay. 90% of the time we're taking the company vehicle though.

I'd say your jobs doing good pay wise, so if your happy... Hold onto it![/QUOTE]

Ya out west i have seen the insane pricing for gas - and im certainly happy with the job other then the odd little thing - sure beats. I could also have the option of a company vehicle but then again since i also do my own sign thing on the side i know the tools and what ever i need is always in my vehicle - plus i being a smoker - (not a good thing i know) i can have one on those long drives to a site.

and certainly as someone mentioned cost of living is a factor - also what market will bear and what the pricing on work is in the area - i have friends in other parts of the county that cant get or dont charge what we charge here - all about overhead - obviously higher if your running out of a location rather then running from home.

Certainly not upset with the job and dont plan on going anywhere just more so starting a conversation to see what others are getting "roughly" in different parts ot the world
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
ikarasu said:
Careful. Talking about wages in Canada can get you fired, it's not like the us.

That's why I'm kind of cryptic and give a ballpark figure when I mention mine.

The average pay in Vancouver for an installer is $15-20 an hour. Doing car color changes I've seen some adds for $30 from one shop...another shop is $25 with experience. Ive spoken to them shops, and they don't guarantee 8 hours a day though.. so while they're above average, they have more installers than they need and call them in based on workload.

We so get paid the moment we leave our house, and until we get back when doing offsite work... Its actually law In Canada. If you're going into work the clock starts when you arrive at work, but if you're going somewhere that's not work it starts the moment you leave.. kind of nice, and why I love installs

I can't speak for Toronto.. but if you were in Vancouver, you'd be at the higher end of wages. You could make more, but it's rare. Were almost exactly the same wages.. except I have a few certificates like OFA2 / forklift that bump me up a bit.

Your car allowance is a nice perk. Our company pays us per km we travel - the rate hasn't changed in 10 years though. .25 cents per km... With gas being $1.62 per liter.. it costs me more in gas than they pay. 90% of the time we're taking the company vehicle though.

I'd say your jobs doing good pay wise, so if your happy... Hold onto it!
Click to expand...

What's up with Canada and talking about wages?
 
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OADesign

New Member
Not the answer to your question but, your deal is pretty nice. I haven't seen a deal like that in a long time, in my years in the biz.
I find that in my local market (US, West Coast) employees (on the lower end of the skill sets), tend to be somewhat nomadic, following the money.
But the deals get a little better with proven skills. And these guys usually stick around for years and years. Actually that part make sense. And it used to be anyone that was worth their man hour (low end OR high end) stayed employed. And more often than not, there was a specific reason a sign person was unemployed, that quickly manifests itself.
But I have seen a bit of a trend where owners/employers are paying entry level wages/benefits (if any) yet requiring skills (and work ethics) of veteran sign industry pros.
Causing a large increase in nomadic/freelancer/broker activity. And a MASSIVE decrease in work ethic and worker loyalty.
I think its making my local market a really weird place. But that is just my opinion. We all the world through our own prisms.
But I digress. Sorry OP, what were we talking about again?
 
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ikarasu

Active Member
Texas_Signmaker said:
What's up with Canada and talking about wages?
Click to expand...

In America your allowed to talk about wages. I think the supreme Court said so or something... I remember google employees were passing aawage list around and google could do nothing about it.

In Canada... We don't have that right. So while all employees frown upon it, they can fire you for it ( most provinces are a at will work place) so they can fire you without cause for anything, except protected stuff like gender/race.

I know what everyone at my work makes. Its not like employees keep it a secret from eachother..it's just not something you advertise, since it's frowned upon.
 
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JCinNY

New Member
Isn’t there a Universal health care system in Canada? Are the premiums based on earnings or are they tax based?
 
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AKwrapguy

New Member
While cost of living and area seem to be a huge factor, there are also factors such a shop size, and what they do. I also see where shop that have a more acute focus on services tend to offer lower wages on average.

I know that this next comment might bother some people and it's not a dig, insult, or meant to be aimed and anyone, and it's just my own observation, but I have also noticed that sometimes older business owners tend to offer lower wages than younger business owners on many occasions. After speaking to some of them, there is often a disconnect, with the excuse of 'When I started out...' , 'When I was that age..." or something to that extent.
 
JTBoh

JTBoh

I sell signage and signage accessories.
I just got a raise, and with my commission structure, and my average job price, I'm happy now. But I've always been curious to what I'm worth, to other professionals. Now, assuming all of this is true, and proven - what would you pay me on a base + commission structure?

8+ years in trade.
Have worked as installer, production, designer, sales, project management. Not just floating - I've actually done all of those as primary job one point or another during my career.

For design, I focus on monuments, channel letters, and other big Sh*t. If I take on a design/build project, I'll turn it out faster than putting it in queue for our GA, AND nail what the customer wants from my interview/recommendation with them. The drawings are scale, and accurate enough that our engineer signs and seals with no changes needed (except maybe a footer).

For sales/project management, I have a 50% conversion ratio, and an average job of $3000+, including multiple 30k projects in the last 8 months. I can, and often do, handle an entire project up until production. I still build em occasionally too. I run outside sales, social media, and site photography.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
In my opinion..... someone is worth more, if they can produce more. However, if the company cannot fabricate or keep up, what's the sense of overpaying someone ?? It's all relative. If a company is sailing along quite successfully, they can afford to pay just about anything and give out whatever benefits they can. Supposedly, your location has a lot to do with this number, also.

Years ago, fabricators, installers and electricians got passed around from shop to shop, as a shop got a large order in. They just promised the workers at another shop the moon and when the job was finished, they tossed them aside. You'd see this guy or that guy with a different sweatshirt on every couple of weeks or months.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
In this area, most people start around $12 an hour with no shop experience, then generally get bumped up to around $14 with training. People who focus on one aspect of the job generally cap out around $16-18 depending on how good they are. People who are multi-faceted and can do multiple things in a shop can get $20+ pretty easily.

Cost of living is pretty reasonable here, so I would imagine the pay rate in this area is a little lower than most places.
 
rjssigns

rjssigns

Active Member
At school I was looking at the jobs posted for students. An offset shop not far from me has starting wage set between $18 and $28 per hour. Matching 401K, medical, the works.
 
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equippaint

Active Member
AKwrapguy said:
While cost of living and area seem to be a huge factor, there are also factors such a shop size, and what they do. I also see where shop that have a more acute focus on services tend to offer lower wages on average.

I know that this next comment might bother some people and it's not a dig, insult, or meant to be aimed and anyone, and it's just my own observation, but I have also noticed that sometimes older business owners tend to offer lower wages than younger business owners on many occasions. After speaking to some of them, there is often a disconnect, with the excuse of 'When I started out...' , 'When I was that age..." or something to that extent.
Click to expand...
With age comes more pessimism so you end up focusing on the potential bad in people and young people are optimists so they try and see the good while ignoring the bad. I believe that this explains what youre seeing. Nothing wrong with it but I think bad people suck that drive out of you slowly throughout your working life until youre that crotchity old dude youre thinking of.
 
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