• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Finding an Honest Employer

Camshawn

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Messages
585
Location
Langley BC
Occupation
retired
Another overlooked avenue is water/waste water. Any town with a water/waste water system has mechanical staff. Our region had marine engineers, then heavy duty mechanics, and now is hiring millwrights. The work is the same and all 3 trades have similar skills. Pumps, motors, engines, large valves, standby power. The demographics of our workforce was getting towards retirement age 10 yrs ago. It is a growth industry and there is fairly good job security. Cam
 

mekanik

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2015
Messages
943
Location
Canada's Northwest
I put in 15 years at an electrical utility. It was a good job plus I was able to get a small pension out of it. There was lots of training and a good benefit package. The wage was a bit lower than the private shops but the benefits made up for it.
 

Zewnten

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
553
Location
Earth
All the municipal jobs here are way under payed think $20-25/hr vs $3000/mo mortgage. As for the "retirement" money tomorrow doesn't feed my family today and maybe I'm also a pessimist but with the way the economy is and going further I have a hard time seeing a pension when I'm ready to retire that's kept up with inflation.
 

JD955SC

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Messages
1,349
Location
The South
All the municipal jobs here are way under payed think $20-25/hr vs $3000/mo mortgage. As for the "retirement" money tomorrow doesn't feed my family today and maybe I'm also a pessimist but with the way the economy is and going further I have a hard time seeing a pension when I'm ready to retire that's kept up with inflation.

I left a state job. Very low pay ($11/hr) and the retirement was 60 percent of your three highest paid years. I would have topped out at 32k per year so…60 percent of damn near nothing, let me do the math is…nothing.

Even more damning is I was starting in the last year of the “good” old retirement plan. New plan is very akin to a 401k with minimal input from the employer side.

Let’s just say I have never looked back.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
When I worked for the first equipment dealer back in 79 the word was there would be no social security and the union pension would be the only thing for us. Union pension went broke in 2008 and 2009 and there was little left to pay retirees. The only reason I get some of that pension is because when I quit that job after I vested the pension, the union bought an annuity to cover me. It isn't near what I paid in for. The only thing still around is Social Security and I'm real glad I paid into it even though I didn't have to.

If you aren't making enough to feed the family and put a dollar or two away for when you can't work, you need to go somewhere else or do something else.
 

Truck Shop

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
16,544
Location
WWW.
An old cattle rancher I did work for years ago told me about some range land he bought after WWII,
.75 and acre. That was in the early 80's that he told me, those days are long gone he said then.
That same land, sage, rocks and range grass has houses on it now 350k living on a rock pile. The lots
sold for 80k a piece. Pretty tough to make a living, pay for a house, two cars and raise a family.

Living the dream.
 

Zewnten

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
553
Location
Earth
Bruh, move outta there and gain better pay, lower costs, and most likely more freedom. My insurance is $160 a month and my house is $700 a month

Move east 400 miles. Pretty much every place is hiring mechanics. Yellow Deere, Green Deere, Cat, they all seem to have signs out. There are livable houses that sell for under 20K if you get away from the big cities, The biggest downside is its 70 miles to a acceptable doctor, and 160 miles to one you actually want to allow to operate on you. If you are healthy its not a problem.

First off, you live in one of the most expensive areas of the country outside of California. I would get away from the big city areas as fast as I could........
The midwest and the south seem to be the most affordable areas to work and live......and mechanics/techs are in extremely high demand.

Moving is the plan. Although Kansas City wasn't the first thing that came to mind all the places we did look at had a rather high cost of living to the local wages. Right now I'm talking with two equipment dealers in the area about moving out. The plan is to have my own service company but the COL of Denver and surrounding areas has hindered that and even set us backwards. The recent used truck prices, along with commercial property rents have made it impossible here. Sometimes I'm desperate enough to get out of here I think about bugging Vtech haha.
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,274
Location
sw missouri
The scale for the union operators in Kansas city is good wages (I think). Its certainly not the scenery you're used to, but like you've found out, Colorado is pretty tough to afford. I didn't think our housing was that high, until the wife and I started looking at local listings the other day. I may not be able to afford the house I live in. I think that may change in the next year, but who knows.

I think a change of job and location is a good thing, and it can change your outlook on things. Good luck!
 

Zewnten

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
553
Location
Earth
Alright first job offer is in and it's good. Not a ton of money for relocation but it's better than anything offered by companies trying to get me to move up into the mountains here. Now I've got to figure out moving, do I move out first and find a place for the family? Or do we do it Beverly Hillbilly style? Or dump it all and rebuy it and move bag of clothes each?
 

colson04

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
2,057
Location
Delton, Michigan
Dump the personal possessions and rebuy what you need. Pay to move the tools and related equipment for work.

I moved from Colorado to Michigan in 2012. We packed everything and moved into our first house. In 2015, we sold that house. The move was frantic as buyers required immediate possession on close. We rush moved into storage while building a house. Moved into that house in 2017. Going through boxes during move in, we found stuff that had been packed in Colorado, and never opened until 5 years later. Much of that stuff got tossed or donated. Why we held on to boxes of crap that we thought we needed for so long, I'll never know. If I could go back, I would have ditched way more in Colorado, and gotten a smaller vehicle to move my stuff in.
 

Truck Shop

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
16,544
Location
WWW.
A great place to settle is ND, SD, Mont, NEB, OK, WY. Wide open, cheap housing
and the best of neighbors, they will even help you unload your stuff and provide
a free first dinner.
 

Vetech63

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2016
Messages
6,362
Location
Oklahoma
Moving is the plan. Although Kansas City wasn't the first thing that came to mind all the places we did look at had a rather high cost of living to the local wages. Right now I'm talking with two equipment dealers in the area about moving out. The plan is to have my own service company but the COL of Denver and surrounding areas has hindered that and even set us backwards. The recent used truck prices, along with commercial property rents have made it impossible here. Sometimes I'm desperate enough to get out of here I think about bugging Vtech haha.
Come on down! There's plenty of work, good cheap living, and plenty good looking women with daddy issues. LOL its paradise!!
 

Zewnten

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
553
Location
Earth
Come on down! There's plenty of work, good cheap living, and plenty good looking women with daddy issues. LOL its paradise!!
haha wife might have an issue with moving for available women.

She came up with a plan to shove all of the things we want to keep, that are worth keeping, into a storage unit. Pack the basics in out travel trailer and stay at a KOA place while she house hunts and I work. Biggest issue right now is fitting my tool boxes into the move, trailer door is only 23" wide and my boxes are all 30" deep, oops.
 

Zewnten

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
553
Location
Earth
So back on the topic of employers. Anyone have an opinion on Foley Cat vs Roadbuilders Komatsu? They're both making similar offers, but Foley is field and Roadbuilders is shop to start with an eye on me going to the field. The field manager at Foley seems straight forward. The issue with Roadbuilders is other than "hi" I never heard a word from the shop manager, so I've got no idea on his temperament. Any experiences or rumors?
 
Top