High paying jobs that DO NOT require a degree (Phoenix: construction, wages)

[brittstea]

I am posting this on behalf of my husband. He is a welder currently making $70-80K a year. He is considered a skilled tradesman. We live in eastern wa state and are looking to relocate to the Phoenix area. As of now all he has been able to find that pays close to what he makes now is the Palo Alro nuclear facility. I know the wages in AZ won’t be as high as WA state. His wage is in the mid 30’s per hour now. It just wouldn’t make sense to take a job making less than $30 an hour. Any suggestions?

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by brittstea

I am posting this on behalf of my husband. He is a welder currently making $70-80K a year. He is considered a skilled tradesman. We live in eastern wa state and are looking to relocate to the Phoenix area. As of now all he has been able to find that pays close to what he makes now is the Palo Alro nuclear facility. I know the wages in AZ won’t be as high as WA state. His wage is in the mid 30’s per hour now. It just wouldn’t make sense to take a job making less than $30 an hour. Any suggestions?

That's high for this area. You should know that AZ is a Right To Starve (aka Right To Work) state. I'm a local truck driver, and I make $18/hr, which is well above the counties median wage of $13/hr.

[LBTRS]

A high paying job that doesn't require a degree is going to require experience.

I would think his most promising opportunity to make a decent wage would be to find a good paying welding/fabrication job.

I work in healthcare and we pay much better than the average wage posted above. I have lots of no degree folks working for me that are north of $20/hour for administrative work (HR and finance).

[brittstea]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

That's high for this area. You should know that AZ is a Right To Starve (aka Right To Work) state. I'm a local truck driver, and I make $18/hr, which is well above the counties median wage of $13/hr.

Thanks for your reply. Yeah the right to work thing is kind of silly IMO. There’s the boilermakers union local 627 but unless your buddy buddy and in the “in crowd” you’re not going to get much work. He already knows how that goes. He’s been there, done that. Can anyone here provide any “inside” intel on the Palo Alto generating station? He has worked in a nuke facility before.

[brittstea]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

A high paying job that doesn't require a degree is going to require experience.

I would think his most promising opportunity to make a decent wage would be to find a good paying welding/fabrication job.

I work in healthcare and we pay much better than the average wage posted above. I have lots of no degree folks working for me that are north of $20/hour for administrative work (HR and finance).

He would love a welding/fabrication job that payed well. Problem is, said industry is dying (as far as shop work goes) because owners/clients are constantly trying to find cheaper ways to get the same thing done.

[LadyKatie3]

Good luck to you. It’s sad the way wages have been depressed overall for while now. Degreed, trades, non skilled. It’s reallh sad. Seems like you have an ok situation where you are with low cost area and good paying job. Hoping the best for you!

[KurtAZ]

I am guessing you are referring to the Palo Verde plant?

[Bungle]

Look into places such as specialty fab shops. For example Magnum. They fabricate many different things from sculptures to decorative railings. I took a tour of their shop a few months back and looked like a great place.

Magnum Companies | Design + Fabrication + Installation + Project Management + Construction Management

[kitshipp]

My father is in a similar field and I can tell you that skilled welders are very much in demand, especially in the HVAC sector. $70-$80k is probably not the range for Phoenix, though. He is probably looking at $45-$60k.

[ddandano]

HVAC plumber