5 ms·

Part of the problem is that the people who are able to show up reliably, clean and sober, to do the work tend to be able to find work that pays better. Sure, y

Part of the problem is that the people who are able to show up reliably, clean and sober, to do the work tend to be able to find work that pays better. Sure, your uncle's shop pays ten percent above market wage for the area, but that doesn't mean a lot, because the people he's trying to hire aren't limited to that market. I used to work in a bakery, and my wage went from 9 bucks an hour to 13 within a year of starting; at the time, minimum wage was 7.25. I have absolutely zero doubt that I was making at least ten percent more than the market value for the position I was hired at. A year after I started making 13 dollars an hour, I quit my job and went back to school for computer science, got hired out of school, and now I'm living in California making ~125,000 a year. There's just not enough money in baking to get that kind of salary, even if you own the location.

VLM 10y ago
There should be a continuous pool of young kids, in theory. Similar to your story I went from around 2x minimum wage at a grocery store as night shift manager and going to class during the day, to around about 8x doing software stuff, but the school I attended while working night shift hasn't exactly closed. So where's the kids? There should be another CS department senior student making what would now be $15/hr at that store. Note that $15/hr is more than the steelworks pays new hires. If you can show up on time and sober, there's no point in working at a dirty exhausting dangerous loud steelworks for $12/hr if you can boss high school kids around for $15/hr in a suit and tie.
- Balgair 10y ago
  In CA, minimum wage for a mechanic without tools is 2x the state minimum; that's ~$20/hr now, right? In auto-repair there are no young guns anymore, the High Schools got rid of shop, let alone auto-shop, about 30 years ago. Besides, chicks don't dig grease under the fingernails. Almost no HS grads have the chops to become mechanics, they really need to go to Tech Schools beforehand. Some of those Tech Schools are really bad, but some can be good (Las Modanas in the East Bay). In the end, the pay is shit because the owners can't charge the customers enough. Most shops, like restaurants, close quickly because people won't pay. Also, ~90% of my uncle's business is in credit cards. Pre-2008 it was ~30%. The economy has really never recovered for most people.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago
    the High Schools got rid of shop, let alone auto-shop As someone who values the ability to build and repair things, I'm sure glad I live where I do. HS around here still has multiple shop classes. My kid just finished basic fabrication (mostly bending brake work and riveting) and is now enjoying Welding.
Balgair 10y ago
Bingo! If the kid has any brains, he'll get out of the business or open his own shop within 5 years, typically. That or fall into meth and fuck his life up. The auto business, if you are good with the books, can be very lucrative. Most people are not,so it sucks. My Uncle sent my cousins to college with no loans, owns his house, and rents out 2 others. The current auto-repair business records my Aunt keeps were recently appraised at $5M due to the completeness and rarity of them. He has done well, but mostly because he is smart, hard-working, and got lucky. He has had bad business failures too, but he makes due through his brains and muscle. To me, he is the model of a Yeoman Jeffersonian.

VLM 10y ago

There should be a continuous pool of young kids, in theory. Similar to your story I went from around 2x minimum wage at a grocery store as night shift manager and going to class during the day, to around about 8x doing software stuff, but the school I attended while working night shift hasn't exactly closed. So where's the kids? There should be another CS department senior student making what would now be $15/hr at that store. Note that $15/hr is more than the steelworks pays new hires. If you can show up on time and sober, there's no point in working at a dirty exhausting dangerous loud steelworks for $12/hr if you can boss high school kids around for $15/hr in a suit and tie.

Balgair 10y ago
In CA, minimum wage for a mechanic without tools is 2x the state minimum; that's ~$20/hr now, right? In auto-repair there are no young guns anymore, the High Schools got rid of shop, let alone auto-shop, about 30 years ago. Besides, chicks don't dig grease under the fingernails. Almost no HS grads have the chops to become mechanics, they really need to go to Tech Schools beforehand. Some of those Tech Schools are really bad, but some can be good (Las Modanas in the East Bay). In the end, the pay is shit because the owners can't charge the customers enough. Most shops, like restaurants, close quickly because people won't pay. Also, ~90% of my uncle's business is in credit cards. Pre-2008 it was ~30%. The economy has really never recovered for most people.
- HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago
  the High Schools got rid of shop, let alone auto-shop As someone who values the ability to build and repair things, I'm sure glad I live where I do. HS around here still has multiple shop classes. My kid just finished basic fabrication (mostly bending brake work and riveting) and is now enjoying Welding.

Balgair 10y ago

Bingo! If the kid has any brains, he'll get out of the business or open his own shop within 5 years, typically. That or fall into meth and fuck his life up. The auto business, if you are good with the books, can be very lucrative. Most people are not,so it sucks. My Uncle sent my cousins to college with no loans, owns his house, and rents out 2 others. The current auto-repair business records my Aunt keeps were recently appraised at $5M due to the completeness and rarity of them. He has done well, but mostly because he is smart, hard-working, and got lucky. He has had bad business failures too, but he makes due through his brains and muscle. To me, he is the model of a Yeoman Jeffersonian.