Printer Friendly Forum Posts - salary, pay, need opinions

I work for a car stereo shop. Im pretty new to this business, having been in it for about 6 months now. I dont know how to do it all, but what I do know ive been getting better at as time progressed.

The problem is I think my boss is ripping me off.

Its car starter season over here and we are doing tons of starters every day, and i get em done in around 1.5-2 hours each (except for chryslers because as we all know they are much more of a pain in the a**).

Im getting paid $7.00 an hour, which is really crappy money.

Can anyone tell me what i should be making for the experience that i currently possess?

thanks

Why don't you check out the going rate for shops in your area, if you find that what you are getting paid is substantially less than what someone with the same skill set you possess is making in the other shop approach your boss with that information. If your boss does not want to offer you what you think you are worth, apply at the other shop. $7.00/hr seems more like a rate you would pay the person who pushes a broom at the end of the day, not an installer's wage.

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Installer, IT support, and FFL. I need less hobbies.

7.00 per hr. is not even minimum wage.

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That is true....7 is not even minimum wage in NYC....where abouts is the shop at????

Unless your working under the table....... (you know, no taxes....etc.) Plus some labor money....

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when i worked, i made good money. per hour, remote start is 25. i usaully whip them out in about 3 hours or so. some cars are crazy sometimes and it requires troubleshooting. but 7 is not that great to be honest. Last year when i did part time, i made almost 200 per day - from alarm/RS and basic audio.

25-45% of charged labour in Alberta, Canada is fair!

I personally would not stick around for $7 an hour but at the same time I have a ton of experience. If you thing you should be getting more, what are you bringing to the table? You are new to installing, I would bet you aren't MECP certified, can you solve your own problems without asking for help?

I think the shop is taking a risk on you. Nothing personal but you are getting 7 an hour, if you mess the wrong car up the shop is looking at a few grand they would have to pay, or insurance.

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Cris

Your getting ripped off!

Good advise earlier about checking with your other installer shops. I think you will find that you should be making more $. There are also many better paying oportunities for people with your electro mechanical skills. Go talk to your electrical or communcations union for an appreticeship program. Apply for positions with your utilities etc.

Good Lck

your getting ripped off. People in mcdonalds make more than that. find another shop

Agree with all the others here that $7.00 per hour is totally ricoculous, and you could easily make the same money or more doing pretty much any type of unskilled labor.

The only thing that would make it more acceptable, would be if you started with no experience, and received on-the-job training.

I work straight commission, and I'd find hourly pay to be just plain boring.

If you're doing remote starters in under two hours with only six months' experience, that's great! Also, Chryslers are easy, it's just that the tech sheets are loaded with timewasters......try to see if your co-workers are doing them differently.

But I wouldn't go and quit just yet. There's plenty of money in this business. Hourly pay gives you a good opportunity to hone your skills, increase your speed, and learn from your mistakes.

I would stick it out through remote start season, where you'll learn a lot. Then start looking around, and see what opportunities are out there. You might talk to your boss about a raise or a commission-based pay structure, and if he doesn't listen, take your skills somewhere else.

When I got my first "professional" car stereo job I was making more then that, and I had no tools and no real shop experiance. I had performed several custom audio installs, but that was all (fresh out of high school).

That was back in 1999. If you calculate a 3% rate of inflation for 8 years, and the fact I was in Ohio, where I'm positive the cost of living is lower, you arn't doing very well.

Of course, there are always factors - do you have all your own tools? A manager isn't going to be big on the idea of giving some new guy a big raise if the new guy is constantly borrowing tools from everyone in the shop. Have you ever caused damage to a car that cost either yourself or the shop money? In your 1.5-2 hour installations do they look professional when you are done, with all safeties tested and working? Do you constantly have cars coming back for installation problems?

I could see a shop paying someone a low rate just to keep them around to help with the busy season if they don't see a future with that individual, but if your shop wants to keep you around they need to give you a decent pay increase.

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Kevin Pierson

This dosen't sound right to me, if you are new and only doing it for 6 months that means you started in the summer when not many remote starters are installed, so how can you in be so fast seeing that you have maybe 2 months experience with starters.

I have been doing it way way wayyy longer and I can't do em that qick on average.

Unless you have left out some information about prior experience, if you are smart enough to be able to do a remote start so quickly, you should be smart enough to know $7.00 an hour is total crap, and your boss does not care about you or his customers.

Going back to the stone age, I started work for a large firm, initial work was at the bench rebuilding starter motors, dynamos (!) alternators, window lifts, aerial motors etc. This gave one a grounding (I brush-slipped that one in) in the basics, motors switches relays etc. Then we helped out (remove these three screws etc) with auto-electrical rectification work, finally we were allowed on to car stereo, remember these were Lear-Jet days. IT WAS CALLED AN APPRENTICESHIP.

The part I don't understand is 6 months work and on to R/S work, how do you learn the complexities of by-pass, what to wire as an ignition, 2nd ign etc etc, checking, proper jointing (I'm having fun teaching my 9 year old grandson how to make decent solder joints which he can now do but does any one think he understands the reasons for what he is doing?) Is this 1.5 hours an alarm? An alarm + R/S or just an R/S.? I've discussed this at length with Kar Tune Man amongst others and our conclusion is that if this is dealer work with the same vehicles time after time fine, if it's regular retail work with different makes and models, I just don't believe it. One week last month we had a 1955 Bel Aire for an immobiliser followed by an Audi R8 for a Blackjax. Today we have an argument over 08 v 07 3 series BMW. The "perm 12v" at the radio shut down on 07's. We now find on 08's that it stays on but:- That's an hour waiting for a DMM to stop reading! This I why I find 1.5 hours hard to believe.

I am betting you guys are only seeing part of the story. 6 months expereince and 1.5 to 2 hrs to install a remote start hmm?

meh, sounds kinda true. well winter has only been about a month. so before i would assume its audio and alarm only. start is a differant story.

I am MECP certified, even though it doesnt mean anything

i can do your basic system in about 2 hours

remote starts it depends on the car, i usually pump out a remote start in around 1.5 to 2 hours, alarm and starter is closer to 3.

I dont think im the most experienced on earth, but i know im better than the worst.

if you dont believe me on the time thats fine

i did an '07 starter with a key'd bypass yesterday in 56 minutes.

I know where my skills are at and I know that what the time takes. My average is 1.5 to 2 hours like i said, and this is for a remote start only, with a bypass. Most modules are easy to hook up, they have self-explanatory insrtuctions, and i dont see where the hard part is, and I dont even use modules when it comes to bypasses involving the key. i know the wrap the key method

i went to school for this stuff so i know im MECP certified.

Again if you dont trust me, thats fine, but for the past 3 months ive been doing 3 or 4 starters a day 6 days a week, so it should be normal for me to be getting faster and faster each day.

And in response to the one post, Chryslers arent that hard, they just suck because of the way they all need to do be done. However the module is easy to work with as the rest of them are.

If he does the job in that time, he's to good to be working there for that sort of money maybe Chris or Eric should take him on as their senior partner!

Last week I did a Golf IV in 3 hrs, icluding the nasty DEI bat back-up siren, awful to get at ign and starter cuts and getting into the driver's door for lock/unlock and total close. Meanwhile an E46 3 Series BMW takes me about 11/2 hrs up to 2 with R/S, why because everything you need is under drive side dash except left hand brake light cable. The only extra time is to make up 2 x 3 1N5400 diode branches for the indicators (Europe = flashers not side lights). Directechs etc will point you all around the car for the pick up points but I'VE TAKEN THE TIME TO ELIMINATE DEAD ENDS BUT HOW LONG TO MAKE UP DIODE BLOCKING AND JOINING? HOW LONG TO REMEMBER TO DIODE BLOCK the power feeds for the trunk illumination on the E46, how do you time all the extra diodes and relays An E36 BMW, to give it normal lock on ign + deadlock on alarm + total close requires 6 x 1N 400 series diodes, 2 x relays and 2 spare timed outputs! HOW LONG TO MAKE UP?

howie, your too experianced ahaha. you gotta teach me more ! =)

xxajohnsonxx, just a question, does you intalls come out clean and look factory?, because what howie would say, " if it looks like spaghetti, its probably cooked"

well back on topic, yes you would for sure need to make more if u can whip out cars that quickly, your boss is messing with you. be staright up and ask why ur pay is bad, or go job searching within your area and ask if u have xx amount of isntall time, how much they pay.

I don't know. Again with the 6months and doing them 1-2 hours. Ive been doing them about 3 years and I take about 3 for rem start keyless bypass and into the door for something just because I like to make mine completely neat. I mean, you don't see one wire, everything and I mean everything is soldered. Brain is hidden extremely well. So someone with only 1-2 hours is still kinda like what aren't you doing.

yeap, well as other post and fellow members mentioned, look around at other shops, see how they pay.

I made about $7 bucks an hour back in 1999. $60 bucks a day and that was when I didn't have very many tools and 19 yrs old only knew how to swap decks speakers and install amps.It was a year before I started doing basic alarms Thats when I got a raise. if you really can pump out rs in 1.5 to two hours you really need to ask for a raise or look elsewhere.
good luck and hang in there. In this field it takes time to find the right place to work. here is some advice, Money aint everything. meaning
how confortable you are at your work. Jumping around is a headache. If you find a boss that treats you well buys lunch, xmas bonus, bottle of xo for xmas days off when u need it stick with him and try to stick it out. Cheers

Are these quick remote start installs including everything, such as parking lights, hood pin, brake wire, tach, etc. or only the wires necessary to start the car? If you are including absloutely everything and have neat installs with happy customers, you deserve more, no questions asked. Im assuming you also know other basics, like radios, speakers, amps etc. if you can do r/s right? If you do indeed know all of these things you could even go to a big box and make significantly more money.

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It Hz

The quickest install I ever did was in a 1998 Dodge Neon parking lights, hood pin, tach, no keyless or trunk, soldered all connections and factory wrapped all wires, programmed unit and cable tied module under dash in 45 min. Now that was back in 2000, now my average is 2 hours to 3 with anti-theft modules. I should be making more then I do but because I went out of install field for a while I am not, so maybe I am not as fast as I used to be but I still try to do a top notch job by wrapping all wires and soldering all connections that I can.

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The wire I'm test'n isn't doin' what it's supposed to be doin'... I am so glad I printed that tech sheet, with the wrong info.
Do it right the first time... or I might have to fix it for ya

Asked today about my 90 day review that was overdue by about a month and he said today " I put in for a 0.50 per hour increase for your wage. That puts me up to a whopping $11.50/hr. I was disappointed to say the least when I am already not making enough for the job I do. I asked if he was sure due to what I do and he said that is all he can afford to pay at the moment and to wait until March or so when spring business picks up to discuss it then. That is such $h*t.

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The wire I'm test'n isn't doin' what it's supposed to be doin'... I am so glad I printed that tech sheet, with the wrong info.
Do it right the first time... or I might have to fix it for ya

Installers are a jack of all trades. We have a basic knowledge of electronics ( I have an Associates Degree in Electronics). We know how to use bondo, fiberglass. We have good wood working skills. None of us are paid based on what we can do. Most of us are artists. There is nothing that we cannot do to a car. But most employers know that we are a dime a dozen. All they see is the bottom line. And if they can make money and pay someone less than so be it. Get over it.

I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of installers. Those who are not smart enough to find another job or those that are working their way through college ( I graduate this spring with a BS in Mathematics). The two best installers in this town are gone. One manages the local Best Buy ( he got out of installing 2 years ago) and me. I'm just cruising till graduation. The biggest projects I do anymore are rear speakers in Neons or Radios in Chevy trucks. I got my 24 trophies and they are not worth the space they take up in the shop.

My salary will increase 2.5 times the second they hand me my diploma. And I will not have to hard anymore. You would think that as smart as most installers are they would figure this out.

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The moving power of mathematical invention is not reasoning but imagination.
Augustus de Morgan

I wanna add one more thing. In a Car Audio and Electronics Magazine (CA&E 07:06 Page 35) this idiot writer states that "exceptional installers move up the career ladder very quickly, so your favorite installer may not be around forever" Not true. They get out of the business.

He also states that he gets many inquiries from individuals who want him to do custom installs. He then states that he gets more enjoyment out of teaching car audio. The saying that "there are those who teach and those who can do" is true. But I can guarantee you that he makes a lot more as a contributing editor and a teacher at some car audio school. He was smart enough to get out. He is not an installer any more.

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The moving power of mathematical invention is not reasoning but imagination.
Augustus de Morgan

Well, let's see. At $7/hr, you are the lowest indian on the totem pole, so to speak. Your wage structure is usually comensurate upon experience as well. 6 months into a career, and as long as you have accumulated the necessary skills, you should be worth more to your employer. If anything, keep the hourly, and add a percentage of the labor that you do. That way, if it is slow, you still make something.

Mind you, I haven't had a job that paid hourly in over 10 years now, have been salary plus comission for quite some time. At the current place, I am on straight comission, and it has worked very nicely. Of course, after many years in this industry, it is easy to simply name one's price, and generally one gets it (currently at 50% of everything I touch..... not hard to make $500 a day in starter season).

If the employer does not see your worth, or the others in the shop will vouch for that worth to the employer..... well, time to move on I would say.

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Wherever I go, that is where I end up......