Welders wages

[Mma man]

Why do welder fabricators get such a poor wage?
I bumped into a lad I trained up years ago the other morning skilled guy with god work ethic and he's DELIVERING DOMINO'S PIZA because it pays the same 12 quid h and the work is a lot easier. No wonder there is a problem with getting skilled staff.

 

[Domdom]

Not just welders, many (far too many) skilled workers get paid a pittance.

 

[Ubique]

That's about the same as Dealer service tech's, just over £2k before tax a month, most young 'uns are still living at home, I think it's the lack of will to do 'hard' work that's the problem TBH.

 

[keithski122]

Only just under what I earn.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

That's about the same as Dealer service tech's, just over £2k before tax a month, most young 'uns are still living at home, I think it's the lack of will to do 'hard' work that's the problem TBH.

I see a lot of people working bloody hard for next to nothing.

I think it's the maximising of profits regardless of the ethics that's the problem TBH

 

[8ob]

You get paid for what you know, a well rounded engineer will earn a lot more than a mig monkey doing what is basically the same job.

Bob

 

[Ubique]

I see a lot of people working bloody hard for next to nothing.

I think it's the maximising of profits regardless of the ethics that's the problem TBH

Most of the people I see working for next to nothing are doing long hours but low effort, Most big companies are very careful of the effort/reward balance, possibly it's the SME's that are the slave drivers these days?

 

[Richiew]

Skilled work and profitable work don't always overlap sadly.

 

[Ubique]

Skilled work and profitable work don't always overlap sadly.

I know I'm not in welding / fabrication in my day job, however, I think there are similarities,my role is not profitable but necessary - anything over 70% productivity puts me on the monthly bonus ladder, some dealerships (Marque dependent) it's closer to 50%, that's all down to experience, knowledge and accreditation, things that require effort and time from me to acheive, not all of it was on company time.

 

[Richiew]

There's a bit of an unsocial hours premium to the pizza delivery wage too. A welding job is pretty much 9 to five or thereabouts. He wont be delivering pizza to people at 9am, I hope. Must be doing lots of evening work if he is doing full time hours.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Most of the people I see working for next to nothing are doing long hours but low effort, Most big companies are very careful of the effort/reward balance, possibly it's the SME's that are the slave drivers these days?

It's that worth thing again.

How worthy would the bin men seem when they stop coming to collect your waste.

Or when your supermarket shelves are empty

Or you can't use your toilets because the sewer mains are blocked and nobody's fixing it.

What it's worth to the people making the money is the deciding factor

 

[Ubique]

It's that worth thing again.

How worthy would the bin men seem when they stop coming to collect your waste.

Or when your supermarket shelves are empty

Or you can't use your toilets because the sewer mains are blocked and nobody's fixing it.

What it's worth to the people making the money is the deciding factor

I disagree, all the services in your example have reputational damage, drop in profits or regulator 'interest', none of which is wanted, whether a private or public concern. Currently there seems to be a surge in wages in industries that are wage-sensitive (i.e. no-one wants to do the job unless the money is OK) purely because 'better' jobs are available for less effort, even if the money is the same as they're getting in a 'harder' job. Some of it is down to the lack of foreign workers, most, IMO is down to the lack of willingness to do something that people feel is 'below' them.

 

[highseas]

Well for 7 months I weld, I’m a little one man band (and who ever I can rope in for the very rare day I need a hand) now I don’t work a lot of hours a week some weeks ile do 20 hours some weeks ile do 100, but I do spend a lot of time at home with the misses and kids and my work fits around my life not the other way but that’s not the topic hear.

I get offers of work quite a lot as a lot of folk are looking for skilled welders and fabricators (or it seems someone who can work a grinder and tell a wood drill bit from metal) and their always around the £10-12 a hour, I can work in Mac Donald’s for £11 a hour and get a free burger!
If I was to leave my £22-£34 a hour one man band it would be to do agency work for £36 a hour 12 hour days for a year and that would be to buy more gear to set myself up better!

 

[mtt.tr]

Up. Skilling is the answer

 

[Richiew]

Chinese haven't found a way to compete with the British service industry yet. That's why manufacturing pays less than delivering stuff.

 

[Ubique]

Chinese haven't found a way to compete with the British service industry yet. That's why manufacturing pays less than delivering stuff.

I used to work overseas, a lot. All the skilled trades were UK tradesmen, money was good, especially in Chechnya for example, there was a lot of competition. trade tests were done in UK and only those that passed and had the personality, commitment and motivation were took on. Unless there is the motivation to become skilled and 'worthy', no-one will do it. We need another Falklands...

 

[Trevorleach]

I have always liked a bit of welding, and whilst doing some welding on a steel boat, thought to myself I wonder what the pay is? so googled a few jobs ha ha they muct be kidding, half what I earn now!

 

[8ob]

The biggest threat to a welders wages has to be automation/robotics. A mate of mine was at a show a few years ago and there was a machine/system there that could make steel buildings, that could pick the material, cut it to length make/punch plates and weld them to the bottoms of the columns, little to no labour in that set up and they are selling them.

Bob

 

[Ubique]

Automation is a 'threat' to all industries, the thing to look for is where automation cannot work - site or one-off work for example. If you can find a niche, vertical market, you can make a nice living at it with no more effort than it would take to do the job 'normally', it just takes a bit of thinking and commitment. Yes, it can be risky and you need initially at least, another income stream as a backup to cover your living costs. But it can work.

 

[mtt.tr]

Automation is a 'threat' to all industries, the thing to look for is where automation cannot work - site or one-off work for example. If you can find a niche, vertical market, you can make a nice living at it with no more effort than it would take to do the job 'normally', it just takes a bit of thinking and commitment. Yes, it can be risky and you need initially at least, another income stream as a backup to cover your living costs. But it can work.

Servicing them is a good field, but does require a lot of learning