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What do you value yourself at?
Im curious to know what you guys/gals put on your head value wise.
Im a fitter.
Ive worked with my company 2.5 years and started as an apprentice.
I also have my own apprentice.We have dealt with pretty much every type of signage available, if it isnt we’ve made it.
I can paint, i can fabricate, i can wrap to a pretty high standard and i can do electrics.
Not so good as design however!Im curious to know what i should be aiming for wage wise, and if im in the ballpark.
Currently im between £7-10p/h -
15 Replies
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Do not take this wrong, but "your" perceived value may be well off the mark!
You will also get a wide range of responses from UKSB on rate of pay.
i.e. working in Glasgow will get you less £ per hour than the same guy working in London.Apprenticeship time served is about 4+ years is it not?
Because you may think you have a decent range of experience over your 2.5 years in this industry. Actually limits what experience you have in each element. by that i mean, 2.5 years as a wrapper should/would make you a much better wrapper than wrapping occasionally for 2.5 years. if you see what i mean?I have been working in this industry 27+ years and I learn something new every day. I am very good in many areas of it, though i regard myself as limited in some areas and actually crap in others areas by comparison. even though i have been doing these same elements for the past 27 years, they just aren’t my thing.
If you are questioning what you should be getting paid, your employer is really the one to speak with.
Just because you want more doesn’t mean you are worth more. Just because you maybe worth more, doesn’t mean your current employer will or could afford to pay more. Sit down and speak with him, outline your position, but actually "listen to his reasons" if he does not agree to give you more. -
Thats fair enough robert.
As far as im aware, everyone weve talked to about apprenticeships has said 1 year, even the college we are currently with says this.
I dont claim to know everything by far, but have a good understanding of the majority out there.Main reason for asking is im wanting to know if there is a comfortable future in this game. Whether that be working for someone or by myself.
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As an apprentice/employee are you not having regular performance meetings with your employer? (say every 6months) so help you work on different areas and see how they view your performance.
If you don’t already do it, then maybe suggest it because this will allow you both to communicate your concerns, talk about future in the business, career progression etc in a structured meeting.
If you aren’t doing it and suggest it, then it will also show your employer that you are committed, are serious about your job and are thinking further ahead than tomorrows/next weeks job etc
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quote Chris Tennant:Thats fair enough robert.
As far as im aware, everyone weve talked to about apprenticeships has said 1 year, even the college we are currently with says this.A module for an NVQ type apprenticeship lasts a minimum of 12 months. Not 100% on terms but NVQ level 1 for example.
I have several staff currently doing them, some now completed levels 1 & 2.
What I will say is that modern day apprenticeships are nothing other than gathering information and putting it into a step by step and you pass section by section. there is "no training" as such. the training part comes from the "employer" so the apprentice is always only going to be as good as those he works along side, or his employer.
Because i am saying this is not to rubbish off apprenticeships. i am not, and they do have benefits or i wouldnt put my staff through them. But the benefits are more for the staff than anything. Anyway, simply obtaining a modern day apprenticeship paper is not, in my eyes, a qualification as such. It is just confirming some experience in certain fields whilst at a company.
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quote Chris Ranner:As an apprentice/employee are you not having regular performance meetings with your employer? (say every 6months) so help you work on different areas and see how they view your performance.
If you don’t already do it, then maybe suggest it because this will allow you both to communicate your concerns, talk about future in the business, career progression etc in a structured meeting.
If you aren’t doing it and suggest it, then it will also show your employer that you are committed, are serious about your job and are thinking further ahead than tomorrows/next weeks job etc
Very good point Chris, awesome idea.
At the minute there are currently only 5production/fitting staff and we never get a rest, 8-10 most days currently which we cant complain about.
Defo something i will put forward! -
quote Robert Lambie:quote Chris Tennant:Thats fair enough robert.
As far as im aware, everyone weve talked to about apprenticeships has said 1 year, even the college we are currently with says this.A module for an NVQ type apprenticeship lasts a minimum of 12 months. Not 100% on terms but NVQ level 1 for example.
I have several staff currently doing them, some now completed levels 1 & 2.
What I will say is that modern day apprenticeships are nothing other than gathering information and putting it into a step by step and you pass section by section. there is “no training” as such. the training part comes from the “employer” so the apprentice is always only going to be as good as those he works along side, or his employer.
Because i am saying this is not to rubbish off apprenticeships. i am not, and they do have benefits or i wouldnt put my staff through them. But the benefits are more for the staff than anything. Anyway, simply obtaining a modern day apprenticeship paper is not, in my eyes, a qualification as such. It is just confirming some experience in certain fields whilst at a company.
Yeah i understand Robert, i dont know too much about what my boss has enrolled them into but knew it was walsall college and a year long.
Theyve had very little to no contact as of yet so not very good service!
Old school apprenticeship are by far the best as you become properly time served as they say. Now it almost feels like a cheap way to take on staff
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If you think it’s only a cheap way to take on staff and that you may feel you are a little under paid at times, or asked to do a little much now and again.
Go self employed, fly solo, it won’t take long to appreciate what you had, how easy it was, how little responsibilities you actually have being an employee,
people think it’s tough, that their boss works them hard, Wait until your the guy footing the bills, calling all the shots, making it work and keeping it together,
£7-£10 an hour for showing up, doing your job, and heading home , that’s easy street.
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Couldn’t agree more David…
This was why at the end of my first reply i said
quote :Sit down and speak with your boss, outline your position, but actually “listen to his reasons” if he does not agree to give you more. -
14hr days suck but that is £700 a week @ 10ph, I don’t know how old you are but if you;ve done 2.5yrs apprentice then you can’t be more than 20/21? thats nothing to shake a stick at
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If you’re taking £700 pw home, stick with them, thats nore than I was getting in RN, deployed at sea.
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quote David Hammond:If you’re taking £700 pw home,We all want your job 😉
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This is quite an interesting thread which I feel most are reading but few are commenting.
Rob has a good point regarding the geographical area you are in, London will pay far more than say Manchester or Glasgow but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t money to be made.
I also agree that the conversation between yourself and your employer is needed, sooner rather than later as an unhappy worker is not a productive worker.
As a rule of thumb, you will never earn as an employee anywhere near what you could earn as being self employed, but then again, being an employee has far more benefits and securities that self-employment doesn’t.
Training and apprenticeships are great in there own way, but I bet at least half of the members here don’t possess any formal qualification in our field.
I’m a trained and highly qualified mechanical engineer, and I possess no formal training (other than a wrapping course) in the sign and graphics industry, yet I own and run a successful business, not based on academics, but hard work and the desire to succeed.
I think it’s fair to say that there is for and against in this discussion, but ultimately its down to you to decide which path to pursue.Whatever you decide, good luck [emoji106]
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It sounds great when you hear people charging £30+ an hour.
Thing is, that’s not take home pay… before we take a penny home, we’ve all our suppliers & overheads to pay to keep the business going. It’s also nice to have a little buffer for when the quiet times come, as it the landlord won’t care if you’re having a quiet week.
As Iain says, being your own boss can be great (I was cycling round Llangollen Wednesday whilst ‘working’), but I can then struggle to sleep thinking about stuff I need to do, what if a customer goes bust.
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No matter your location, minimum wage will make sure every person is paid properly for getting a job in the first place. In my opinion most of these new starts are "overpaid". (whole other story there)
For those with experience, next comes your ability to the job on the whole, skill level, attendance, attitude and how you conduct yourself amongst other staff and more… that will determine what your true value is to your employer. -
Well to put this into perspective, I have been running my own business for approx 4 years. After the first year, working maybe 80-90 hour weeks I was earning maybe £2.00 an hour I can remember paying the service engineer £350 for a mornings work servicing my Summa(I thought I was in the wrong business). I had to do everything, the design, weeding etc etc.
Was I worth more than £2 an hour those first 12 months? I like to think so, but that was the price of learning and starting a business from nothing, I threw meters of media away, I "lost" meters of work on the weeding table I lost hours of time because I had to learn everything from scratch. But if I messed up it cost me money, and it was money I could ill afford to lose. If I had the experience that you posses now when I started then, although my hourly rate wouldnt have been much better, that experience would have saved me hours of time and maybe £2,000 worth of media and other materials
Is my story unique? I think everyone here who works for themselves can tell of similar "early" experiences. Fortunately I lived at home and there was always food on the table etc etc. But if I hadnt been at home with the lack of experience I had, then maybe I would have lasted 6 months before I ran out of cash, only low low overhead and a roof over my head allowed me to mess up and keep going.
My advice on this topic…keep learning your business, and save as much of the money you earn now as you possibly can, without any cash savings your options will be severely limited in the future.
Oh and my "extra" time over my paid hours now is zero, but I cost that time into the job cost at my going employee rate.
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