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So I am sick of california....been here 2 years and its miserable. I am currently a heavy duty rv diesel mechanic and make 70k a year 40 hr week. I am looking into mechanic jobs up there but very limited pay info available. I understand 80hr weeks are the norm but for a tech with 16 yrs experiance 22 hr. Won't cut it with high living expenses of nd.... 100k would be ok for 60 hr week.....what do you all think
Thanks rob...
Ps I'm not trying to be greedy but I've put in 80 to 100 hrs a week for 16 years.....I only work 40hrs at work but run my service truck a min. Of 30 hrs a week on the side. Havnt taken a day off since christmas....a 60 to 70 hr 6 day week or 3/1 rotation would be a relaxing dream for me...lol
"name you own price" isn't exactly what I'd call the marketplace up there right now even though demand is strong for techs ... and diesel techs are in high demand. Diesel techs with current factory training will get better/faster offers than techs without the credentials.
You can find jobs paying hourly wages which will look good, but you will still need to put in a lot of hours for the overtime pay to add up to enough money to have a decent place to live and discretionary income money for the time you do take off.
I've got friends who are certified weldors with job offers that would get them to $65-80/hour who have passed on the job opportunities there in the patch ... due to the high costs of living there in the "boom town" areas, especially if their work was to be in remote locations. Something about the money wasn't worth living in the boonies with nothing else to do but work and the climate up there can be brutal for many months of the year.
I would advise you to come on out to the area to visit and check out the housing and other aspects of living there before deciding strictly on what appears to be a good hourly wage. There's a lot of factors to consider .....
Thanks for the replies.......I. make a bit over 31 an hour presently....hoping for high 40s at least. The cost of living here in socal is high but quite a b it lower than nd....as far as the boonies go that doesn't bother me....I'm 30 miles from nearest grocery store and have a 70 mile commute to work.....but the 450 gallon diesel and my service truck are killing my budget.....
It just seems like a gamble to walk from a good paying job in this economy to better my familys future. Just hoping for real experiances.... I'm still researching.....
How's the mobile stuff there? Extreme weather aside is there a big need for it? Considering just workin for myself again. The last year of a steady paycheck has been nice. But if there is a surplus of work self emploment may be the way to go.
Thanks all.
Ps sorry for typos....using touch screen phone and mechanic fingers make it difficult.
Thanks for the replies.......I. make a bit over 31 an hour presently....hoping for high 40s at least. The cost of living here in socal is high but quite a b it lower than nd....as far as the boonies go that doesn't bother me....I'm 30 miles from nearest grocery store and have a 70 mile commute to work.....but the 450 gallon diesel and my service truck are killing my budget.....
It just seems like a gamble to walk from a good paying job in this economy to better my familys future. Just hoping for real experiances.... I'm still researching.....
How's the mobile stuff there? Extreme weather aside is there a big need for it? Considering just workin for myself again. The last year of a steady paycheck has been nice. But if there is a surplus of work self emploment may be the way to go.
Thanks all.
Ps sorry for typos....using touch screen phone and mechanic fingers make it difficult.
I may be wrong but i have never seen a high 40's per hour job for a mechanic in Williston and the surrounding areas. Most people make their money on over time here. $25-$35 per hour is more the norm for diesel mechanics. Average 70 hour weeks. Those jobs are for working on semi tractors. RV mechanics are not in great need here. Most have 5th wheels or travel trailers. Not a big enough market for coach mechanics. I don't know that I'd venture this way in seek of those kind of wages. You may find it but you surely won't be starting at that high end wage. Good luck to ya.
I should be more specific. The rates I previously posted are working directly for a fleet. (trucking company, service company, heavy equipment company) If you were to bring up a service truck and charge based on a truck rate you'd be easily above the high 40's. More like $60+ per hour. BUT there are 50 service trucks running around Williston looking for work. There is more of a demand for fleet mechanics that independents trying to fight for the next breakdown on HWY 2. Many of the larger companies supply some sort of housing. There is normally a charge of some sort but they don't expect you to live in a tent.
So I am sick of california....been here 2 years and its miserable. I am currently a heavy duty rv diesel mechanic and make 70k a year 40 hr week. I am looking into mechanic jobs up there but very limited pay info available. I understand 80hr weeks are the norm but for a tech with 16 yrs experiance 22 hr. Won't cut it with high living expenses of nd.... 100k would be ok for 60 hr week.....what do you all think
Thanks rob...
Ps I'm not trying to be greedy but I've put in 80 to 100 hrs a week for 16 years.....I only work 40hrs at work but run my service truck a min. Of 30 hrs a week on the side. Havnt taken a day off since christmas....a 60 to 70 hr 6 day week or 3/1 rotation would be a relaxing dream for me...lol
The days of 80-100 hour weeks are probably also a thing of the past. There has been such an influx of workers that companies can now hire 2-3 guys where in the past they'd be lucky to get 1 "good" guy. More people, more possible employees = less overtime and more number crunching by the suits.
I may be wrong but i have never seen a high 40's per hour job for a mechanic in Williston and the surrounding areas. Most people make their money on over time here. $25-$35 per hour is more the norm for diesel mechanics. Average 70 hour weeks. Those jobs are for working on semi tractors. RV mechanics are not in great need here. Most have 5th wheels or travel trailers. Not a big enough market for coach mechanics. I don't know that I'd venture this way in seek of those kind of wages. You may find it but you surely won't be starting at that high end wage. Good luck to ya.
I'm a rv chassis mechanic....sure I work on the whole coach but I was hired for the chassis end....99% of my job is chassis end.......its the same as he avy duty class 8 trucks but much harder to acess engine. Instead of opening hood I'm laying in a closet or bed to change injectors or detroit series 60 liners...... and yes I have done the fleet gig for year....35 may not be bad if the overtime is there. But 2 to 3k rent makes it a little hard to justify
I should be more specific. The rates I previously posted are working directly for a fleet. (trucking company, service company, heavy equipment company) If you were to bring up a service truck and charge based on a truck rate you'd be easily above the high 40's. More like $60+ per hour. BUT there are 50 service trucks running around Williston looking for work. There is more of a demand for fleet mechanics that independents trying to fight for the next breakdown on HWY 2. Many of the larger companies supply some sort of housing. There is normally a charge of some sort but they don't expect you to live in a tent.
Thanks for info and replies. Kinda strange, the shops I've talked too are 2 to 3 weeks behind. If there are 50 service trucks that shouldint be hap pening.....of course it could be the trucks are glorified lube techs....heck 80% of techs I've worked with are just parts changers.....not much of us skilled mechanics left....the industry took a crap when electronics came into play....these "mechanics" are lost when there is no codes.....I just fixed a local catapiller screw up...it was in and out of the shop for weeks and 12k bill....they kept throwing parts at it for a misfire with no codes.....it got injectors,huei pump and ecu.......it was a peice of carbon wedges in a valve stem keeping exh valve open .060........ even the dealers are highering parts changers cause its cheaper......sorry for rant....
Thanks for info and replies. Kinda strange, the shops I've talked too are 2 to 3 weeks behind. If there are 50 service trucks that shouldint be hap pening.....of course it could be the trucks are glorified lube techs....heck 80% of techs I've worked with are just parts changers.....not much of us skilled mechanics left....the industry took a crap when electronics came into play....these "mechanics" are lost when there is no codes.....I just fixed a local catapiller screw up...it was in and out of the shop for weeks and 12k bill....they kept throwing parts at it for a misfire with no codes.....it got injectors,huei pump and ecu.......it was a peice of carbon wedges in a valve stem keeping exh valve open .060........ even the dealers are highering parts changers cause its cheaper......sorry for rant....
I have a CAT engine in my tractor and asked the cat dealer in Williston how long of a wait is there to get work done on the engine. The service manager's words were '3 weeks for an oil change'. Now that was a few months ago, but I don't think things have changed much.
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