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Press Operators, how much do you pay them?

Emd2kick

New Member
In charge of daily / monthly maintenance on a flatbed cutter and flatbed printer. Runs 8hr shifts on both pieces of equipment throughout the day.
 

2B

Active Member
Are you asking because you are the employer and want to keep a good employee or are you the employee who feels is being underpaid

we pay $15.23 hr.
 

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
$15.23 an hour would be slave wages in NYC.

We have a really low cost of living here and operators who are starting out fresh make $15 an hour. Good operators with experience can expect $18-20 in this area, more depending on what else they can do.
 

2B

Active Member
$15.23 an hour would be slave wages in NYC.

We have a really low cost of living here and operators who are starting out fresh make $15 an hour. Good operators with experience can expect $18-20 in this area, more depending on what else they can do.

exactly.
the location plays a MAJOR factor in the rate, cost of living here is low
example, a 2 Bed / 2 Bath, 1089 SF rent house including appliances, with a fenced yard and garage is $525 per month

the experience also plays a factor.
 
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HulkSmash

New Member
We pay based on performance, not where we're located. Not going to pay someone performing well, showing up, and doing an overall great job $15.00
 

FatCat

New Member
Obviously not in the NE, but I will say the actual dollar amount paid also has to take into consideration MANY factors on both sides of the fence;

FOR THE EMPLOYEE:
1. Can he/she work unsupervised and get stuff done (make money) or do you constantly have to prod and babysit them?
2. Are they considerate and caring towards the needs of the business, staff and your equipment? (Some operators will beat the sh#t out of a brand new machine just because they're having a bad day...others treat them like a show car and keep them like new and well maintained)
3. Are they showing up on time, are they doing what they need to do, are they making the company money and actually CARING about the success of the shop?

FOR THE OWNER:
1. Do you offer good, clean, modern equipment - or are you making them operate old junk that is a PITA to work on and hard to produce work with?
2. Do you have pleasant environment to work in? (Neat and clean shop with good lighting, everyone gets along fairly well - or is it a dirty/messy, sh#t-show there with drama and screaming/yelling every day?)
3. Do you offer any benefits other than the hourly wage? (Health care, time off, flexible hours, vacation pay, bonuses, etc.?) You'd be surprised how many people aren't motivated by money only... The reason I point this out is that I have seen several good employees work for LESS money in a better environment with less stress than if they worked at a high production sweat shop paying top dollar but basically working them like a slave all day with little to no thanks or appreciation...
 

rossmosh

New Member
$16-18/hr if you're willing to train and hire people with limited English.
$18-22/hr for someone with experience, does a reasonable job, and has acceptable communication skills.
$22-30/hr for a good quality worker that produces, is reliable, and keeps you out of trouble.
 

equippaint

Active Member
Put an ad out saying pay commensurate with experience and to reply with a resume and salary requirements. That will tell you pretty quickly.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 2B

Emd2kick

New Member
Ignorant because I clarified a key component of my question that was being overlooked? Really don’t care what people pay operators in CO, KY, or Guam. So your post of what you pay I guess was ignorant, or displayed a lack of reading comprehension.

Don’t need luck but thanks
 

morty87

New Member
exactly.
the location plays a MAJOR factor in the rate, cost of living here is low
example, a 2 Bed / 2 Bath, 1089 SF rent house including appliances, with a fenced yard and garage is $525 per month

the experience also plays a factor.
lol here in Vancouver that setup would be minimum $2500! smh
 

ams

New Member
Let's try this again....I'm looking for NYC metro answers only.

There are only a few in NYC on this forum, so you may be waiting a long time for an answer. Instead look at the helpful answers of other people.
I know New York pretty well, a lot of my family lives there, my wife is from there, I visit once in a while. I've seen various prices of many things.

I would vote for $17/hr unless it's a Veteran with like 10 years experience, then it needs to be $19 - $21
 

morty87

New Member
Just look in your local help wanted sites, papers an see what other people are offering in the same market. Our cost of living in vsncouver is extremely comoarsble to new york though and it would be from 18-25 an hour. If they can do everything start to finish 25-30.
 

rossmosh

New Member
He's from NJ. Because he said NYC metro area, that means North Jersey. I posted the prices for New Jersey. Typically you're looking on the higher end for that area. In Southern Jersey you're on the lower end typically.

$17/hr is not a living wage in NJ. A 1 bedroom/studio apartment is about $1-1.5k a month for most of the state but can jump to $3k if you want to live in a higher end apartment across the river from NYC. When you figure everything else in, you're talking about about $2200-2500 to just live without much else. $17/hr doesn't cover it or barely covers it. That's to say you can pay it, but you also can't expect to get a whole hell of a lot for that money.
 
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