Is $20/hr still a 'good' wage for a cnc setup guy???

Mike1974 · Feb 28, 2019

I always look at machinist job ads, even though I am not looking. So per the title, is $20/hr still good or decent money for a cnc setup guy? Really?

Just thinking when I started my first job I made $5/hr (not machining fwiw) and minimum wage was $4.75 in my state. Now in FL the min is $8.46/hr,* that is 1.78X what it was. $18-20/hr was pretty good money back then, so why isn't it $35-40/hr now?? :confused:

Am I totally out in space with this? Also, I paid about $40/wk then for health insurance, which is about a 1/3 of what I pay now!! :angry:

*IN minimum is only $7.25 which is "only" 1.52X which makes a $20/hr job then 'worth' $30 and change now, still a LARGE gap (imo) from what is offered.

cnctoolcat · Feb 28, 2019

Manufacturing is an international activity.

The reason the wages are what they are in the US is mostly because of cheaper foreign competition.

What few realize is that job availability could be less, and wages could be a lot lower due to that foreign competition! So in a way, we're lucky.

Most Americans have a pretty "high view" of themselves and what they are worth in the workplace. But, since we are in a capitalist system, the always-fierce competition determines what a company can sell it's products for, and that ultimately determines what companies can pay for wages.

Capitalism is great, but it is ruthless!

With so much manufacturing capacity worldwide in lower-cost countries, I say again that we're pretty lucky to be getting the wages we are, and having the job opportunities that we do.

And as far as $20 an hour for a cnc setup guy, it all depends on what part of the country you are talking about. Rural areas down south, that's a pretty good wage. High-society areas like California and New York, not so much....

ToolCat

toolsteel · Feb 28, 2019

No it isn't.
Lots of reasons it isnt $35-$40.......no reason to discuss them here....half the people will agree ...the other half will accuse you of being a "fill in pejorative here"

Fancuku · Feb 28, 2019

Wages seem to vary a lot depending in what area of the country. $20/hr for someone who can setup and operate (no programming) is a decent rate in most areas.
Now if you also program, then you should not settle for less than $25/hr no matter where you live.
Also, there is a lot more than just the hourly rate. The benefits package weighs heavy in the decision to accept a job offer. To me anyway.

Bill D · Feb 28, 2019

California minimum wage is now 10.50/hr, since new years.
Bill D

Mike1974 · Feb 28, 2019

cnctoolcat said:
Manufacturing is an international activity.

The reason the wages are what they are in the US is mostly because of cheaper foreign competition.

What few realize is that job availability could be less, and wages could be a lot lower due to that foreign competition! So in a way, we're lucky.

Most Americans have a pretty "high view" of themselves and what they are worth in the workplace. But, since we are in a capitalist system, the always-fierce competition determines what a company can sell it's products for, and that ultimately determines what companies can pay for wages.

Capitalism is great, but it is ruthless!

With so much manufacturing capacity worldwide in lower-cost countries, I say again that we're pretty lucky to be getting the wages we are, and having the job opportunities that we do.

And as far as $20 an hour for a cnc setup guy, it all depends on what part of the country you are talking about. Rural areas down south, that's a pretty good wage. High-society areas like California and New York, not so much....

ToolCat

I get cost of living per region, but the lower on average wages compared to 20 years ago seems everywhere...?

toolsteel said:
No it isn't.
Lots of reasons it isnt $35-$40.......no reason to discuss them here....half the people will agree ...the other half will accuse you of being a "fill in pejorative here"

I don't follow or really understand your post, but ok.

I know if you are the wage earner, you feel your value is higher than the wage payer in general! :Ithankyou:

Fancuku said:
Wages seem to vary a lot depending in what area of the country. $20/hr for someone who can setup and operate (no programming) is a decent rate in most areas.
Now if you also program, then you should not settle for less than $25/hr no matter where you live.
Also, there is a lot more than just the hourly rate. The benefits package weighs heavy in the decision to accept a job offer. To me anyway.

I suppose you are right, but it seems alot of job ads are setup AND programming (to a limited degree), I was not clear with that in my initial post. BUT what I was really driving at is the fact the wages have not changed much in 15-20 years (in the machining world) ....

rbregn · Feb 28, 2019

wages pretty much suck for machinist everywhere, unless you work for a power company.

Hodge · Feb 28, 2019

Mike1974 said:
I always look at machinist job ads, even though I am not looking. So per the title, is $20/hr still good or decent money for a cnc setup guy? Really?

Just thinking when I started my first job I made $5/hr (not machining fwiw) and minimum wage was $4.75 in my state. Now in FL the min is $8.46/hr,* that is 1.78X what it was. $18-20/hr was pretty good money back then, so why isn't it $35-40/hr now?? Am I totally out in space with this? Also, I paid about $40/wk then for health insurance, which is about a 1/3 of what I pay now!!

*IN minimum is only $7.25 which is "only" 1.52X which makes a $20/hr job then 'worth' $30 and change now, still a LARGE gap (imo) from what is offered.

I would say you have answered your own question. Wages have not kept up with the cost of living and the value of a dollar has fallen to new lows. I remember when i thought $10 an hour was a great wage, nowadays i would not consider it a decent minimum wage.

litlerob1 · Feb 28, 2019

Per Socio-economic Inflation, no I don't think it's very good. Per the Industry it's normal. $20.00 is about normal for Utah. $23-26 for a killer.

R

JS · Feb 28, 2019

Since the wage discussion has come up again.

I’ll be the first to suggest , that it’s time to buy a hotdog cart...

jrmach · Feb 28, 2019

Idaho,I don't think you will get that as just a set-up guy.But then cost of living is a heck of a lot different than most parts.

Scruffy887 · Feb 28, 2019

JS said:
Since the wage discussion has come up again.

I’ll be the first to suggest , that it’s time to buy a hotdog cart...

Be real here. Cart can work well but buy half of your food for cash, sell half for cash. Pretty sure that is how they do it here. Half gets reported, half not. Your results may vary.

JS · Feb 28, 2019

I’ll use real numbers.

2008. $20 hr

To

2019. I’ll need $23.92 hr ,to in theory have the same buying power as $20hr from 2008.

From

Dollartimes.com

So if your getting nickel and dime raises, you are not gaining ground.

Hodge · Feb 28, 2019

JS said:
I’ll use real numbers.

2008. $20 hr

To

2019. I’ll need $23.92 hr ,to in theory have the same buying power as $20hr from 2008.

From

Dollartimes.com

So if your getting nickel and dime raises, you are not gaining ground.

just getting nickel and dimed......

CarbideBob · Feb 28, 2019

Yup, it's real.
If I look at wage inflation over many years as a shop manager, my pay simply sucks.
Whine as you care to or go be a nurse.

You can not look back on numbers like this.... therein lies sheer madness. You will just make yourself unhappy.
Today is what it is. If you can get a better ship to sail on then go.
Bob

Delw · Feb 28, 2019

CarbideBob said:
Yup, it's real.
If I look at wage inflation over many years as a shop manager, my pay simply sucks.
Whine as you care to or go be a nurse.

You can not look back on numbers like this.... therein lies sheer madness. You will just make yourself unhappy.
Today is what it is. If you can get a better ship to sail on then go.
Bob

Butt Butt Butt the shop is making xxx amount of dollars per hour and I'm doing the work I should be getting at least 75% of that.. thats the answer/reasoning I heard all the time.

Uguessedit · Mar 1, 2019

The fact that many shops have labor rates from $60-$100/hr and huge overheads with tooling, rent, utilities, etc..., $20/hr is probably considered a high wage from their perspective. They have to consider your down time, do you just stand there do nothing when the machinery breaks or do you move over to the next one without instruction and get to work. A lot of factors come to play and I’ve seen guys who made $25/hr not carry their worth in weight so it can be a juggle and employers end up doing the balancing act where a hard worker essentially carries the weight of the guy who says I only get paid to setup and sit on my stool meanwhile he is sweeping the floors, hauling out scraps, cleaning everyone else’s machine hoppers and than still running two himself. Seen it many times. Usually that one ends up being a trainee programmer someday and gets into that $25-$35/hr bracket with a nice health care package and stays there until he runs the entire shop one day. It’s so easy to take a high school kid and have him loading fixtures, pressing buttons, and doing the same job for $15/hr and as happy as can be. I don’t see the industry ever changing much especially as mentioned with overseas competition however a person could look at it as a temporary career while they pursued evening courses to get an engineering degree. Life isn’t easy and hard work pays off. Those that think they can settle into a position and call it a career with a tech degree are in general fooling themselves with exception of the elite few whom are prone to succeed in life.

DMF_TomB · Mar 1, 2019

Mike1974 said:
I always look at machinist job ads, even though I am not looking. So per the title, is $20/hr still good or decent money for a cnc setup guy? Really?

Just thinking when I started my first job I made $5/hr (not machining fwiw) and minimum wage was $4.75 in my state. Now in FL the min is $8.46/hr,* that is 1.78X what it was. $18-20/hr was pretty good money back then, so why isn't it $35-40/hr now?? Am I totally out in space with this? Also, I paid about $40/wk then for health insurance, which is about a 1/3 of what I pay now!!

*IN minimum is only $7.25 which is "only" 1.52X which makes a $20/hr job then 'worth' $30 and change now, still a LARGE gap (imo) from what is offered.

.
1) minimum wage is not tied to inflation rate cannot go by that
.
2)inflation varies fuel or gas some consider better. or cost of food like bread and potatoes or pork.
.
3) technology comes down in price. the computer in todays dollars of $3000 back in 1995 you can usually buy for $800. and it will be much better, faster, bigger screen, etc. cannot go by cost of a car cause they require extra air bags and higher fuel economy and better pollution controls. nothing is free even if government requires it.
.
4) cost of living varies on where you live and what you buy. obviously if you buy electronic caliper for $15. at HF thats far cheaper than they were 30 years ago. many things are not only cheaper they are better.
.
5) you want higher wages it has and always been set by what boss is willing to pay. what you will accept and whether boss can find others willing to work cheaper. was at place where 53 others applied for one job and many near retirement age were willing to work cheaper a few years so they could collect full retirement. any job you apply for you are competing with others and what wages they will accept.

Guest · Mar 1, 2019

It depends on location. If you made $20 an hour in New York City you would have to sleep in an alley. If you made $20 an hour in Amboy California you could buy the whole town.

litlerob1 · Mar 1, 2019

Uguessedit said:
The fact that many shops have labor rates from $60-$100/hr and huge overheads with tooling, rent, utilities, etc..., $20/hr is probably considered a high wage from their perspective. They have to consider your down time, do you just stand there do nothing when the machinery breaks or do you move over to the next one without instruction and get to work. A lot of factors come to play and I’ve seen guys who made $25/hr not carry their worth in weight so it can be a juggle and employers end up doing the balancing act where a hard worker essentially carries the weight of the guy who says I only get paid to setup and sit on my stool meanwhile he is sweeping the floors, hauling out scraps, cleaning everyone else’s machine hoppers and than still running two himself. Seen it many times. Usually that one ends up being a trainee programmer someday and gets into that $25-$35/hr bracket with a nice health care package and stays there until he runs the entire shop one day. It’s so easy to take a high school kid and have him loading fixtures, pressing buttons, and doing the same job for $15/hr and as happy as can be. I don’t see the industry ever changing much especially as mentioned with overseas competition however a person could look at it as a temporary career while they pursued evening courses to get an engineering degree. Life isn’t easy and hard work pays off. Those that think they can settle into a position and call it a career with a tech degree are in general fooling themselves with exception of the elite few whom are prone to succeed in life.

I had no idea that Uganda was doing so well, and had such a predictable history in manufacturing.

Is $20/hr still a 'good' wage for a cnc setup guy???

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