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Those days are long gone. Back when I was a kid living in the Rochester, N.Y. area Kodak was THE factory job to have. There were a few other large factory employers but Kodak paid well enough to live a nice middle class life. I remember every year the newspaper was filled with "Kodak bonus sales" advertisements. Now Kodak is on its death bed.
I currently live in middle Tennessee. There are quite a few large factory opportunities for people BUT they aren't what they used to be. Nissan recently expanded its factory but nearly ALL of the new hires they brought in are temps making 13 dollars an hour. The GM plant in Spring hill has been hiring but starting workers at 15 dollars an hour. Bridgestone shut down its passenger tire production in 2009 and reduced the workforce during the downturn in its truck tire operations. They started hiring new production workers starting at 13 dollars an hour. The workers USED to start at 20+ dollars an hour.
Looking at the auto suppliers in the area the typical unskilled factory job is paying between 12 to 8 dollars an hour.
Back when I was a kid a man could go to work at one of these factory jobs and his wife could stay home and raise their kids. The family could afford a home and two cars on one income. You can't do that now.
Cry me a river. What's so bad about starting out at 13-15 an hour? Those jobs typically have a lot of overtime. That means you can easily start out making $45k a year with no education.
Cry me a river. What's so bad about starting out at 13-15 an hour? Those jobs typically have a lot of overtime. That means you can easily start out making $45k a year with no education.
Yup, its just wonderful. These jobs used to pay 20 dollars an hour or more to start. People DIDN'T HAVE TO work overtime to earn 45k a year.
The work was boring, physically difficult, tedious, and some times dangerous. absolutely no skills or training or specific aptitude, no extensive pre employment tests, complex background investigations, or employment verifications. no skills or post high school training/education?
Is he willing to work for minimum wage? Is he willing to compete with illegal aliens for work?
If location isn't an issue then he can consider General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton Conn. They do take the inexperienced and train them. It's a defence contractor so he will have to keep his nose clean. Get this from my understanding they still have a pension along with another plan he can contribute to. Not a bad deal starting out at such a young age.
There are still a few jobs here and there like that, but they don't pay what they used to. Many prefer or even require Spanish. Pretty sad. This particular sector has been hit by two forces... Jobs leaving the country, and illegal aliens scoping up the remaining jobs. America and it's workers have been packaged and sold off to the lowest bidder.
If he really wanted to do that work... He will probably have to start off making little. $10/hr, but those jobs often include benefits like paid time off and health insurance. It still a better deal than retail. Is he relatively smart and capable of learning new skills? The skilled trades always pays better. Some companies offer assessment exams for unskilled workers. If they do well, the company will hire them at a halfway decent wage and teach them the skills needed.
Fabrication, welding, machining... The manufacturing trades are still needed, and their workers are fast closing in on retirement. If he is not cut out for college, it may be wise to consider these types of professions. You still need a brain, but these jobs are often geared towards a more hand on type learner. There are several skilled tradesman in my family, and they have all done well. Many of the younger ones like myself followed the same path, and all seems well.
Nobody can say for certain what the future holds, but these careers are still vital. Though companies require fewer skilled tradesman thanks to automation and other technological advancements, there is but a tiny fraction of young people considering these jobs. Worse yet, many of these young folks are not cut out for the work. Unskilled labor perhaps, but skilled tradesmen were always cut from a finer fabric.
It's not a bad idea to start off in an unskilled labor position. That's how many have done it. If he's smart, he will chase bigger and better opportunities in the future. They are there if you look for them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wartrace
Yup, its just wonderful. These jobs used to pay 20 dollars an hour or more to start. People DIDN'T HAVE TO work overtime to earn 45k a year.
No sense whining about the past. Most young folks like me have to compete in the environment we live in today, not the one enjoyed 30 years ago. There's enough sadness and despair to drive on to drink. Since I'm trying to keep my alcohol consumption in check, I just worry about the cards that were handed to me.
Yup, its just wonderful. These jobs used to pay 20 dollars an hour or more to start. People DIDN'T HAVE TO work overtime to earn 45k a year.
So? Most professional positions regularly feature 45-60 hour weeks as salaried, exempt positions.A 48 hour average per week allows 120 hours for other activities.
Back in "my day" when I graduated from High School in the 1960s, many of the kids I had gone to school with went straight from High School to the factory and made enough money to bring up a family. There were factory jobs for everyone who wanted to work. The work was boring, physically difficult, tedious, and some times dangerous. But it was steady work for good pay.
They started at the factory with absolutely no skills or training or specific aptitude, but the company did not care. They just wanted workers. There were no extensive pre employment tests, complex background investigations, or employment verifications. If you wanted to work, they wanted you!
Maybe my 19 year old nephew was born 40 years too late, but he would be a perfect person for that era. He wants to work for a company doing work in a factory and or an assembly line.
In your hometown is there any factory jobs available for a recent High School Graduate with no skills or post high school training/education? What type of job would it be and how much would it pay? And is it hard to find a job like this?
Factory jobs, no. However, there are a lot of service jobs in the restaurant, pub, and bar industry that does not require skills or post high school training. It is not uncommon for a waiter, bus boy, or even bathroom attendant to earn several hundred dollars in cash per night here in Chicago.
Most factory jobs around here are unionized, so it is also not uncommon to have blue collar workers earn more than white collar workers.
Most factory jobs around here are unionized, so it is also not uncommon to have blue collar workers earn more than white collar workers.
In Chicagoland? I've seen very few unionized plants still standing. They simply can't compete with the overwhelming majority of shops and plants that pay a pinch of sawdust an hour and require Spanish. Pretty soon, their going to have to print the signs in Spanish.
Here's a good one though... I was doing my grocery shopping in a Mexican grocery store (best prices in town) and I heard an ad on the radio. I knew enough to know it was a job ad. Buncha Spanish, buncha Spanish, something about dinero... General Motors. No crap... General Motors was advertising positions in their union Chicagoloand plant... In Spanish!
This country has a new slave class, Americans need not apply.
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