Employees few and far between.

[Bright Raven]

I recently googled..average wage of a epa field agent. I was glad to find out I am not pecking shyt with the chickens.... :cowboy:

Fence, federal pay scales are not that simple. I retired in the Denver Locality pay area. I retired at a GS 13 Step 10. Here is the scale:

GS 13 92969 96068 99167 102265 105364 108463 111562 114661 117759 120858

In today's dollars, my salary was $120,858 per year. I was a Remedial Project Manager over the Clean-up of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver where the Department of Defense conducted deployment tests for chemical and biological weapons. Mostly, sarin and mustard gas.

When I retired, I had 33 years of service. My high three was about $120,000 per year. Rolling my unused sick leave into the equation, I retired with appropriately 60 % of my salary.

Well I certainly don't get sick leave.

Would you believe I worked 33 years and never used hardly any sick leave? I had enough sick leave to add over a year of service.

 

[callmefence]

Fence, federal pay scales are not that simple. I retired in the Denver Locality pay area. I retired at a GS 13 Step 10. Here is the scale:

GS 13 92969 96068 99167 102265 105364 108463 111562 114661 117759 120858

In today's dollars, my salary was $120,858 per year. I was a Remedial Project Manager over the Clean-up of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver where the Department of Defense conducted deployment tests for chemical and biological weapons. Mostly, sarin and mustard gas.

When I retired, I had 33 years of service. My high three was about $120,000 per year. Rolling my unused sick leave into the equation, I retired with appropriately 60 % of my salary.

Well I certainly don't get sick leave.

Would you believe I worked 33 years and never used hardly any sick leave? I had enough sick leave to add over a year of service.

Yes. I believe it

 

[Bright Raven]

I work with the Local Home builder association that promotes trade schools to the tri states 8th graders every year we have several thousands come thru the 3 day event. Its time for people to understand that wasting 4 yrs at college to get a min wage job is not how its supposed to work.

I recently googled..average wage of a epa field agent. I was glad to find out I am not pecking shyt with the chickens.... :cowboy:

Are you saying the paper with all them letters and degrees is only valuable once you use it to wipe yo azz.

M-5, you are 100% correct on the value of some college degrees. Basically, humans are unmotivated. A guy once told me that humans are motivated by 3 things - gut, crotch and back pocket. So most college students look for an easy path and graduate with worthless degrees. There are some who pursue studies that have value. Some even reach so high they end up with PhDs in cancer cell biology or molecular chemistry and get high paying rewarding jobs with drug companies like Eli Lilly.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

I disagree with all of you. There's no shortage of skills or ability. There's a shortage of desire to use them.

Looks like we have a winner.

 

[M-5]

I recently googled..average wage of a epa field agent. I was glad to find out I am not pecking shyt with the chickens.... :cowboy:

Are you saying the paper with all them letters and degrees is only valuable once you use it to wipe yo azz.

M-5, you are 100% correct on the value of some college degrees. Basically, humans are unmotivated. A guy once told me that humans are motivated by 3 things - gut, crotch and back pocket. So most college students look for an easy path and graduate with worthless degrees. There are some who pursue studies that have value. Some even reach so high they end up with PhDs in cancer cell biology or molecular chemistry and get high paying rewarding jobs with drug companies like Eli Lilly.

I know way too many grown adults with Masters degrees making 30 to 40 k a yr. It's not cases of I love what I do it's they don't know how to do anything

 

[Bright Raven]

Are you saying the paper with all them letters and degrees is only valuable once you use it to wipe yo azz.

M-5, you are 100% correct on the value of some college degrees. Basically, humans are unmotivated. A guy once told me that humans are motivated by 3 things - gut, crotch and back pocket. So most college students look for an easy path and graduate with worthless degrees. There are some who pursue studies that have value. Some even reach so high they end up with PhDs in cancer cell biology or molecular chemistry and get high paying rewarding jobs with drug companies like Eli Lilly.

I know way too many grown adults with Masters degrees making 30 to 40 k a yr. It's not cases of I love what I do it's they don't know how to do anything

Yep, seen that. And they have themselves to blame.

 

[bbirder]

When I retired, I had 33 years of service. My high three was about $120,000 per year. Rolling my unused sick leave into the equation, I retired with appropriately 60 % of my salary.

Well I certainly don't get sick leave.

Would you believe I worked 33 years and never used hardly any sick leave? I had enough sick leave to add over a year of service.

That seems to be the standard for all public employees be it Local, County, State or Federal. They can't find bookkeepers that can keep track of time correctly. "Fringe benefit" that used to be overlooked by the public because the wages were lower than civilian jobs.
Now the pay scales have surpassed the civilian jobs in some cases, but the extra benefits remain. This extra is also used to calculate retirement pay in most cases which is raping the taxpayers.
I won't say most but many could never hold down a civilian job for 30 days. It would offend them to find out that "work" means more than being employed.

 

[TexasBred]

Are you saying the paper with all them letters and degrees is only valuable once you use it to wipe yo azz.

M-5, you are 100% correct on the value of some college degrees. Basically, humans are unmotivated. A guy once told me that humans are motivated by 3 things - gut, crotch and back pocket. So most college students look for an easy path and graduate with worthless degrees. There are some who pursue studies that have value. Some even reach so high they end up with PhDs in cancer cell biology or molecular chemistry and get high paying rewarding jobs with drug companies like Eli Lilly.

I know way too many grown adults with Masters degrees making 30 to 40 k a yr. It's not cases of I love what I do it's they don't know how to do anything

It's not always about the money. Hopefully they are doing what they "want" to do and are very happy at it.

 

[Bright Raven]

Well I certainly don't get sick leave.

Would you believe I worked 33 years and never used hardly any sick leave? I had enough sick leave to add over a year of service.

That seems to be the standard for all public employees be it Local, County, State or Federal. They can't find bookkeepers that can keep track of time correctly. "Fringe benefit" that used to be overlooked by the public because the wages were lower than civilian jobs.
Now the pay scales have surpassed the civilian jobs in some cases, but the extra benefits remain. This extra is also used to calculate retirement pay in most cases which is raping the taxpayers.
I won't say most but many could never hold down a civilian job for 30 days. It would offend them to find out that "work" means more than being employed.

Some would struggle. It is like any cross section of the population. During my three years with Tesoro Coal Company, I saw more deadwood than I did in federal service.

 

[Ol' 243]

The best thing that could ever happen to this country is, if everyone was an independant contractor in their field. If you didn't make the grade you lose your contract and a new contractor was hired. No benefits, no unemployment, no sick days, no retirement. It would change productivity like nothing else could.

 

[Caustic Burno]

M-5, you are 100% correct on the value of some college degrees. Basically, humans are unmotivated. A guy once told me that humans are motivated by 3 things - gut, crotch and back pocket. So most college students look for an easy path and graduate with worthless degrees. There are some who pursue studies that have value. Some even reach so high they end up with PhDs in cancer cell biology or molecular chemistry and get high paying rewarding jobs with drug companies like Eli Lilly.

I know way too many grown adults with Masters degrees making 30 to 40 k a yr. It's not cases of I love what I do it's they don't know how to do anything

It's not always about the money. Hopefully they are doing what they "want" to do and are very happy at it.

Horse shyt it is always about the money.
Money doesn't buy happiness but the lack sure buys misery.
Nothing in job spells fun, job supplies money to buy fun.

 

[callmefence]

The best thing that could ever happen to this country is, if everyone was an independant contractor in their field. If you didn't make the grade you lose your contract and a new contractor was hired. No benefits, no unemployment, no sick days, no retirement. It would change productivity like nothing else could.

I agree somewhat. the hourly wage and salary destroy productivity. I believe in paying on production.I

 

[greybeard]

I know way too many grown adults with Masters degrees making 30 to 40 k a yr. It's not cases of I love what I do it's they don't know how to do anything

It's not always about the money. Hopefully they are doing what they "want" to do and are very happy at it.

Horse shyt it is always about the money.
Money doesn't buy happiness but the lack sure buys misery.
Nothing in job spells fun, job supplies money to buy fun.

Depends on the person I suppose.

 

[ddd75]

big article in the paper this week about local companies.

one place says they'll hire 10 people on monday and if they are lucky, they'll have 1 guy show up the next monday.

 

[D2Cat]

The best thing that could ever happen to this country is, if everyone was an independant contractor in their field. If you didn't make the grade you lose your contract and a new contractor was hired. No benefits, no unemployment, no sick days, no retirement. It would change productivity like nothing else could.

I agree somewhat. the hourly wage and salary destroy productivity. I believe in paying on production.I

It's a good idea, but what do parents do? They start their kids out on an allowance. Just give them some money because others get it, and they "might" occasionally do some chores, and their going to need some money for something...so try to get them to do something!

The beginning of something for nothing!!

If they only got paid when the actually did something and the payment was based on the activity, they would grow up learning productivity equals income.

 

[hurleyjd]

young person takes a job making $30000 a year really looks good to the person that is just getting started. That equals $2500 a month and about $15 an hour Now take the SS tax out and you have $2325 a month. If buying or renting you will pay around $1000 a month. Now you are down to $1500 Not counting any expenses incurred for getting to work. Even without those expenses you are to $346 dollars a week. Could be the gas for your vehicle for a fill up might be $46 so you are left with $300 divided by 7 equals $42 day. Now you have supported a lot of folks in the food chain along the way.

 

[Rafter S]

Are you saying the paper with all them letters and degrees is only valuable once you use it to wipe yo azz.

M-5, you are 100% correct on the value of some college degrees. Basically, humans are unmotivated. A guy once told me that humans are motivated by 3 things - gut, crotch and back pocket. So most college students look for an easy path and graduate with worthless degrees. There are some who pursue studies that have value. Some even reach so high they end up with PhDs in cancer cell biology or molecular chemistry and get high paying rewarding jobs with drug companies like Eli Lilly.

I know way too many grown adults with Masters degrees making 30 to 40 k a yr. It's not cases of I love what I do it's they don't know how to do anything

...and an alarming number of them took out $100,000.00 in student loans to get that degree.

 

[Allenw]

TG, lots of industry down here has OtJT and internships, where prospective full time employees get trained and paid while getting trained. I know Exxon does it, canvassing high school seniors for people that want to work in the Baytown refineries, tho I think nowadays, they look more at people with 2 years of community college. I went from a diesel mechanic to machinist by taking a job at a machine shop in the 90s when the oilfield went kapuut. I'd never seen a CNC the day I talked my way into that job, but was honest and up front about that fact.

Like you said tho, the prospective employee has to be willing to do the training and learn. Convince the employer you can and want to, and you're 1/2 way there.
Too many want to just walk right in and be making the big $ without having the training or getting some experience under their belts.

I told my son he messed up one day, he stopped at a machine shop to apply for a welding job after he had finished a vo-tech welding class and had his 6G card. They didn't need a welder but were looking for someone to train as a machinist, but he wants to be a welder. He is welding in a shop now. Well right now he has a pipe trailer in his way because they are waiting on parts or trying to make up their mind on what parts to order or something.

 

[greybeard]

I know a guy (brother's son-in-law) that stayed in college so long he ended up with a masters degree so specialized he found the only thing he could find work doing , was in teaching the same thing. Some kind of special oceanographic marine biology.
So...he's teaching college level oceanographic marine biology..in the middle of Arkansas. :bang: :bang:

 

[hurleyjd]

TG, lots of industry down here has OtJT and internships, where prospective full time employees get trained and paid while getting trained. I know Exxon does it, canvassing high school seniors for people that want to work in the Baytown refineries, tho I think nowadays, they look more at people with 2 years of community college. I went from a diesel mechanic to machinist by taking a job at a machine shop in the 90s when the oilfield went kapuut. I'd never seen a CNC the day I talked my way into that job, but was honest and up front about that fact.

Like you said tho, the prospective employee has to be willing to do the training and learn. Convince the employer you can and want to, and you're 1/2 way there.
Too many want to just walk right in and be making the big $ without having the training or getting some experience under their belts.

I told my son he messed up one day, he stopped at a machine shop to apply for a welding job after he had finished a vo-tech welding class and had his 6G card. They didn't need a welder but were looking for someone to train as a machinist, but he wants to be a welder. He is welding in a shop now. Well right now he has a pipe trailer in his way because they are waiting on parts or trying to make up their mind on what parts to order or something.

Machinist live longer than welders.