Wages?

[trichosirius]

Hi guys, I'm curious about what I can expect to make in this field. I'm fairly new at this, but wondering what the future could hold.

I currently work for a company that has decided to branch out into the sign business and I've taken on the job of running the CNC router, along with my other duties.

In the year that I've been doing this I've become fairly competent at creating dimensional signs, mostly of HDU. I of course have much to learn, but so far customers have been happy and I'm having a blast learning this trade.

So far I'm designing and creating the jobs for the router, operating it, fabricating, painting and installing the signs. I haven't had any training, but I've learned so much just by hanging out in the background around here.

I love this work and get paid a decent enough wage considering the minimal income this new venture is bringing in, but I have a feeling my boss is going to cut his losses and sell this equipment off, leaving me with a wasted set of skills.
I'm considering bringing my resume to local shops, but I'm having a hard time finding what average wages look like in my area.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Wild guess would be whatever your starting manufacturing wage would be in those parts. $14-$20 till you prove your skill.

 

[Gino]

Don't know what your other duties are ??

Anyway, can you design your jobs ??
Do you understand sign theory ??
Do you know the fundelmentals ??
In other words....... other than pushing a button and putting some substrate on the proper X-Y, what can you do, in your new found job ??

Honestly, if a shop doesn't have a CNC, you just narrowed your possibilities quite a bit, along with your salary.

 

[trichosirius]

Don't know what your other duties are ??

Anyway, can you design your jobs ??
Do you understand sign theory ??
Do you know the fundelmentals ??
In other words....... other than pushing a button and putting some substrate on the proper X-Y, what can you do, in your new found job ??

Honestly, if a shop doesn't have a CNC, you just narrowed your possibilities quite a bit, along with your salary.

I'm still performing my usual job at this company, which is totally unrelated to the sign business. The original plan was to manufacturer our own aluminum highway signage instead of drop-shipping as we've always done (which is a dumb idea IMO, economy of scale and all).

Although my job was originally to simply cut .08 aluminum sign blanks on the CNC, my boss gave me free reign to explore and experiment with the machine, and out of that came the idea of dimensional signage. I don't claim to be to be highly skilled at this point, as I've had to teach myself not only how to run the machine but to design jobs, toolpath the artwork, and everything else about working with multiple substrates on the CNC.

My question of wages isn't about what I can make right now as I still have so much to learn, but what I can possibly earn in the future if I further my knowledge and skill set. I know my skills and limitations and at this point I've proven to myself that I have the potential to excel in this industry if I had training, which has me considering applying at sign shops.

And no, I don't have any knowledge of sign theory, but do have an art background. Thanks for mentioning this because I do see there are lots of resources for it online.

The thing is, I love this so far and I'm afraid my company is going to reconsider this whole venture, but instead of simply keeping my old job I'd rather pursue this trade further.