How much money do you make?

[D_L_P]

I look online at places like job.com, salary.com, etc..and see the AVERAGE wage is like $40k per year. Some even higher.

I live in a very rural area but still don't make that. I've been doing this for 15 years and trained on 50cpm Color and the ir150, 6weeks school for that one (never understood why u'd make more for that but w/e).



I currently make $17.64/hr ~ $36k per year.

How much do you make?

[banginbishop]

simple, not enough

[KenB]

I know that at my dealership that once you hit what seems to be a magical number of about $40k/year, raises seem to be harder and harder to get anything above 1 to 2% annually. Fortunately, we're all hourly, so if the call load is high enough (and it frequently is), overtime is fairly common.

It seems that more dealers are pushing a form of commission: bonuses paid for leads on contracts, supplies, etc... and print studies done at larger dealerships who are getting on the MPS bandwagon.

Looks as though more and more dealers are trying to get more sales through techs. After all, we're the ones the customers see every day, and have (hopefully) good relationships with.

[Rob Sandberg]

Money?

Rob S

[Si@danwood]

Shed loads!!! But contray to my nic i aint at Danwood anymore

[gwaddle]

We're supposed to get paid? I'll have to look into that.

[KEVIN900]

I get $65,000 a year as a field tech. But that includes commission, and I far surpass all the other techs in my company, due to my ninja customer service skillz. Note I spelled skills with a Z. Cause that's how I roll. Haven't gotten a raise in 3 years, but my commission is great, and improving every quarter. Got my customers right where I like them. They depend on me for every little thing. Most won't even install toner without calling me. And when I tell them it's upgrade time, they call our sales team , and usually allow me to pick out the model. Took years to build it up like that, and now I've been recession-proof thus far.

[D_L_P]

Must be nice, glad to hear at least someone is making good money. I guess your the one who throws the average off some .

I'm trying to move closer to family and have been going on some interviews. When I tell them how much I make you'd think I just slapped them in the face. They get uneasy and tell me that's more than most of their techs make or just can't go that high, or they could start me lower and possibly work back up to that. I had one guy tell me they can't go higher then $24k. I guess I'm stuck where I'm at unless I take a pay cut.


Oh, and salary.com, jobs.com, and glassdoor.com are full of crap.

[KenB]

Unfortunately, this isn't exactly a high paying profession.

A pet peeve... I remember 20 years when our service management made a big deal out of a $25 bonus. OK, back then it was, but they make the same big deal out of it today! Definitely better than nothing, but barely enough to cover lunch for a week.

Seems the only way to make good money is to specialize - high volume, color, or connectivity. (Or get yourself into a good niche, like Kevin900 did. Good job, Kevin!!)

While working a lot of overtime can help you financially, you're cheating yourself and your family if you work too much of it. It's also bad financial planning to depend on it to pay the bills, as OT can go away in a heartbeat, especially if your company in trying to scale back on expenses.

[10871087]

Note I spelled skills with a Z. Cause that's how I roll.

I think thats what I need to get me over the top, something catchy like that Z thing. How about a cool K thing like, "Yo, Baby, I'm the Kopier TeK, I'm here to bust a move on your xerographic processes". I bet that gets me at least an extra $250 a month.

[KEVIN900]

Thanks, KenB, I spent years, honing the customer skills, and it has been paying off. There are common sense steps any tech can take. Like ALWAYS checking their toner inventory, then offering to order it for them, instead of telling them to make a call. Learning, and using their names, keep a list. Use your name," I'm your copier guy, Kevin.". Be cheery, and clean, and consider bringing in some doughnuts to a call on Friday morning. Wear a tie, even if your company only requires a collar shirt. Be the extra mile guy. Turn off the annoying beeps on the control panel. Don't say "You're doing it wrong.", try; "Here's what works with other customers". I could go on. Perhaps I should start a ninja customer service thread. P.S. I have my customers trained to never call on Friday afternoons. Let me know if you want the key to that one.

[KEVIN900]

"Yo, Baby, I'm the Kopier TeK, .

I'm afraid "Baby" may get you in trouble with some other company's H.R. Perhaps "Yo, Customer, I'm your Kopier TeK, I'm here to bust a move on your xerographic process" And I think "bust a move" needs an update. What do you think ? "on your Xerographic Process" is priceless.

[RRodgers]

Honestly, I'd rather not say. But I will say I love driving my Benz.

[Rorschach]

Honestly, I'd rather not say. But I will say I love driving my Benz.

Heh. Before I got my company Race-Ready Technoforce Clown Car, I'd roll up in my X5 and could just tell that my customers would look at each other and say, "We're paying them waaaaay too much."

[OMD-227]

Well, I rock up to the customer wearing a Louis Vuitton tie everyday. I have several of them. Certainly makes the chicks take notice of you. And yes, I am the winner of the best-dressed tech award... 15 years running now. You have to at least look the part.
Oh, and on the weekends, I pull my jetski around with my company car. I too have been told that I'm paid way too much with that in tow........How true indeed