What do you expect in terms of wages/celery

[casey]

I know this has may been beaten to death in various threads.But i seem to get a feeling that every AME should(Think) should start at a certain wage,and progress to the grand sum of a docter,lawyer,plumber etc.Therefore i would like to inquire as to what everyone thinks should be a comfortable wage with the type of experience and general Kizbist that you have aquired during you careeer.The only reason i ask is because it seems alot of AME on this site have a Extremily negative attitude to the biz and i wonder if the reason is because they have not been able to cut it .
PS i have a brother inlaw who is Class A makes sh-t
PS I also have a brother inlaw who is havac and it is not that great
So what do you think is fair(Without ot )
Kizbist is sort of do you have any intel/balls/etc/.
Also i know that salary is not sp celery so no sp police please

Started 1983 7.05 an hour

[tca]

[flyinggreasemonkey]

Some companies probably would try to pay you in celery if they could.

[crankedup]

Some companies probably would try to pay you in celery if they could

[Pat Richard]

I have'nt had celery and cheez whiz forever........

[SeptRepair]

Good question. I have been in this game for going on 22 years. I started back in 1988 at 1000.00/month before taxes, working 10 hr days 5 days a week for a shit hole of a flying school in Saskatoon. What is fair depends on the location of the job. If I'm living in Vancouver or Victoria then trying to survive on less than 35/hr trying to raise a family is dam near impossible. That same wage living in Halifax could allow me to live like a king. There really isn't a one wage structure that fits all.

[log sheet]

It took a few years but I think I've earned a pretty good wage. Could always be more!
I really don't think you can equate wages with geography, where you live is a personal choice.
Like the song says." If you don't like what you got why don't you change it, "
Cheers!

[Ballsssssss]

I like my celery in a gin caesar; spicy and with a pickle, too. Or sliced thinly with blue cheese dip. Celery is also a good thing to eat a lot of if you are in the porn industry and/or just plain looking for a fantastic money shot.

[AKIPA]

What is fair depends on the location of the job. If I'm living in Vancouver or Victoria then trying to survive on less than 35/hr trying to raise a family is dam near impossible. That same wage living in Halifax could allow me to live like a king.

The cost of living in Halifax isn't as cheap as you think. I agree it's easier to get by on less here compaired with Vancouver, I moved here from there 10 years ago. It's also refelected in the wages. You'll get by on it but if your family only has one income you'll have to pass on the moat around your new castle!

[azimuthaviation]

You can compare AME wages to the region, to similiar trades, to other professions, but no matter how you quantify it, AME wages are low. Now does that mean theres people getting rich off AME's labour? Probably not. Do employers take advantage of the fact that theres low industry expectations for pay? Definitely. I think the best thing to do is to refuse any wage not acceptable, dont sell your time cheap. Eventually operators will have to realise that maintenance is going to be expensive and to adjust their rates to cover that expense. No they wont go bankrupt if they give you a raise, no they wont have to lay anyone off. Airplanes and helicopters are still going to fly in canada, dont fall for any scare tactics. And dont let the operators be AME wages the place where they can make up their bottom line.

[azimuthaviation]

Some companies probably would try to pay you in celery if they could

And if employers offered to pay with celery they would fund AME's willing to work for celery

[Fox 3]

Wow, so far only two people bothered to attempt a serious answer. I've been thinking the same thing as you Casey, for a while now. People seem to do nothing but bitch and complain about how they should be making more money, blah blah blah. It's growing old.
Is it obvious to anyone else, other then me, that most of the people that stand around and complain are doing just that...standing around? Maybe it's time for some people to take an honest look in the mirror and ask what they're really worth.
I'm not going to tell you what my wage is, but I'll tell you it isn't $50.00/hour. I get compensated fairly for my services, simple as that, and I'm not going to let anyone make me feel bad for it. I didn't get into aviation because I thought I was going to get rich from it, and in my opinion, anyone who did is a fool.

Started 1998 $8.00/hour

~FOX~

[AME 283]

Until the flying public realizes that one can not fly for nothing, we will have an issue -pretty bad when most of the taxes on the airfares are more expensive than the tickets !!, and yet I can fly most places in a mult-million dollar aircraft cheaper than I can drive my $10,000.00 car

[acidgambit]

i just started out in the industry.....

but my first job was with an airline...their starting wage was 20 bucks for starters in the industry which i find surprising and the benefits were great.

my second job was with another airline but a much smaller one...i was considered a mech 3...so my wage was at 18 bucks starting...which i find ok since i consider them a general aviation company, plus they have pretty good benefits...so i'm not going to complain. Comparing it to other general companies their pay is pretty good...above average.


i guess i got lucky. I had friends that were only getting paid 12 bucks per hour at helicoptor companies...i don't know how they survive on that wage...

[motox415]

Times are definately not getting better. $12.00 hr was my starting wage twenty years ago when I first got into the industry as an Apprentice AME.

[qa guy]

In order to increase our wages we need to make earning a license more difficult. simple supply and demand. we need to join together through associations...or any other way, and simply limit the number of licenses issued annualy...by increasing the difficulty of earning a license...we will all see more money. thats how other professional industries do it.

[qa guy]

i dont think we are too poorly paid....but certainly could be better. in the past few years it has become easier to become an ame...this is going to screw us!

[billy ray valintine]

In order to increase our wages we need to make earning a license more difficult. simple supply and demand. we need to join together through associations...or any other way, and simply limit the number of licenses issued annualy...by increasing the difficulty of earning a license...we will all see more money. thats how other professional industries do it.

i dont think we are too poorly paid....but certainly could be better. in the past few years it has become easier to become an ame...this is going to screw us!

qa guy....stop waffling.
your all over the place with you views.
increase wages?....we're not to poorly paid?.....what the hell are you trying to say?
oh!.......................now i get it........Q.A.!

brv

[Quick Disconnect]

I think acidgambit has some not to bad ball park figures for wages ( page 6 Maint Eng Thread )
But the only problem i see is that some licensed guys should not even be making what a apprentice would start at.
Geograpiclly we are spread all the F--K over the place. Work for small,large and medium size companies.
Some companies are doing well others not so well.
How would we ever come to a consencies and agree to a fair and equitable wage structure.
Could the exsisting AME associations be made into a national one in order to form one large progressive group to pressure the industry for change.
Are would that ever work because as an AME we tend to be some what seculiar in are work IE we like the independance and tend to be free thinkers as evidence has proven in solving the snags/sqawks that come are way.
I know myself i negotiate my wages as i am comfortable to as what i can bring to a company and have done quite well in this biz.
Would it be fair to try too group eveyone together in terms of bringing wages to a more exceptable level.
I have been in this biz since 1982 and have always felt that we need something done on a national scale but i think it maybe dam near impossible.

[planemikey]

Virtually impossible to give a fair comparison of wages and benefits unless you have perameters .
Northern Location ?
Isolated Location ?
Major southern City ?
Heavy Jet ?
turbo Prop ?
12,500 lbs and down ?
Structures , mechanic , Avionics ?
Hangar , Bush ?
Polished floor corporate enviroment ?
Licensed ? Endorsements ? years of experience ?
I think it all comes down to the individual and his family situation . This is the same in any trade or industry period . And every industry has its share of bitches and gripes. The bottom line if you do not what you are doing or where you are doing it then change it to be happy. Employers have constraints and will avoid running in the red at any cost ( unless your Air Canada ) this is or should be the same for any trades person and his or her family .

Lets look at a M1/ M2 engineer licensed , Dash 6, 7, or 8 endorsement or and experience on min 6 other types . 10 years total experience minimum. Full time not contract
Tell us where you work ( location not company) and what you make all in before taxes and benefits if any including OT .

Later you can do this for Structures or avionics in much the same way .

Compare this to say ... an auto mechanic , heavy equipment operator and you might get some answers . One thing to ask yourself though is compared to other industrys do you get as much quality family time as that is priceless or at least it should be .

[Meecka]

In order to increase our wages we need to make earning a license more difficult. simple supply and demand. we need to join together through associations...or any other way, and simply limit the number of licenses issued annualy...by increasing the difficulty of earning a license...we will all see more money. thats how other professional industries do it.

Just out of curiosity there guy... how would making it harder to become an AME increase our wages? As far as I know TC doesn't pay my wages, or those of most others (excepting the TC maintainers).

[qa guy]

In order to increase our wages we need to make earning a license more difficult. simple supply and demand. we need to join together through associations...or any other way, and simply limit the number of licenses issued annualy...by increasing the difficulty of earning a license...we will all see more money. thats how other professional industries do it.

Just out of curiosity there guy... how would making it harder to become an AME increase our wages? As far as I know TC doesn't pay my wages, or those of most others (excepting the TC maintainers).

Like I said simple supply and demand.....If the number of licenses were limited to a certain number, then supply of AME's would remain low. This could be done by making it more difficult to get a license, or only accepting the top x number of students into the program. In turn, it INCREASES the value of the AME license.....because we are not so easily replaceable. Now, companies would have to pay well, in order to hang on to these hard to find skilled people.

[qa guy]

In order to increase our wages we need to make earning a license more difficult. simple supply and demand. we need to join together through associations...or any other way, and simply limit the number of licenses issued annualy...by increasing the difficulty of earning a license...we will all see more money. thats how other professional industries do it.

i dont think we are too poorly paid....but certainly could be better. in the past few years it has become easier to become an ame...this is going to screw us!

qa guy....stop waffling.
your all over the place with you views.
increase wages?....we're not to poorly paid?.....what the hell are you trying to say?
oh!.......................now i get it........Q.A.!

brv

My views are not too difficult to comprehend......the 10 people I showed this thread to, all thought my position on the subject matter was quite clear!

I personally dont think AME wages are piss poor.....but yes, there is room for improvement. For example have you seen what an a&p gets paid...even with IA? However, even if an AME is making a decent 70k/yr........it can be better....NO??? Especially when you consider some of the shitty shifts and working conditions some of us are exposed to? I dont know the cost of living outside of the T.O. area, but anyone who is licensed, and making less than $25/hr. should go elsewhere. There are jobs out there....if you are worth it!
Oh........ and your comment on QA is a typical display of ignorance, and is exactly what is wrong with this industry. Are we not supposed to be proffessionals, working together???Is this how we perceive our colleagues??? What is waffling anyway???

[iflyforpie]

What is waffling anyway???

There is always room for improvement. Most guys I know making over $70k/yr at a full-time regular job are baby sitters or shit shiners, working terrible shifts or locales.

Not having to deal with any of those is worth $20K to me, but I still would love to have that extra cash...

[billy ray valintine]

Oh........ and your comment on QA is a typical display of ignorance, and is exactly what is wrong with this industry. Are we not supposed to be proffessionals, working together???Is this how we perceive our colleagues??? What is waffling anyway???

you got some nerve buddy,you call ME ignorant and say this is what's wrong with this industry?,then you ask what waffling means!!!
you call yourself a professional ,but yet you don't know how to spell it!
so you showed it to ten of your friends and they all agreed with you ,did they?
i think they were just humouring you {Or trying to keep their jobs}.
ame's should be at 90k-110k /per year to START,then it goes up from there.
Q.A. should be paid around 40k-50k/per year and top off at maybe 55k.
that's all Q.A. is worth.

brv