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Question Regarding Salary

2.3K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  SNKRHLC  
#1 ·
:confused: Hello, can anyone give a hint on what's the average wage for a screen printer, and a graphic designer? I am located in Victorville California.
I was planning to offer $13.00/hour to a screen printer and $18.00/hour to a graphic designer on a full time job, no benefits though. Is this reasonable? Maybe more? maybe less?
I want to offer a good salary, in order to have good workers.
I will appreciate your help.:)
 
#2 ·
I guess it depends on where you are at. Here in the Peoples Republic of California the minimum wage will soon be $8/hr and in some cities it is even higher.

Given that a local screen print shop that we looked at buying last year paid their screen print shop manager $15/hr. Everyone else got less. They did get health care insurance though.

You can also look at the classifieds to see if you are offering enough. One final thought is if no-one will show up at the door for your price, you are too low. If you have an avalanche of people, you are too high.

I heard this thought a few months ago, 'Everyone is paid exactly what they are worth. If they were worth more, they would move to the higher paying job'. Sounds reasonable to me.

Hope this helps.
 
#3 ·
My theory on paying employees is very simple. Pay them as much as you can possibly afford to pay them!

Once we are able to afford actual employees, this will be the model we use.

I will definitely be willing to pay a premium to employees that have premium skills. For example, if the market for a particular position is $10/hr, we'll probably paying $12/hr, or 20% more.

binki said:
I heard this thought a few months ago, 'Everyone is paid exactly what they are worth. If they were worth more, they would move to the higher paying job'. Sounds reasonable to me.
Sounds completely unreasonable to me!

There are plenty of people that aren't getting paid what they are worth. Some don't even know it! Some know it, and choose to stay where they are, because the pay isn't everything.

I know I would be much better off in a position that paid less, I enjoyed what I was doing, and the atmosphere was great. Rather than if I was in a position that paid more, but I hated the job, even though I would be qualified for it.

I work for a rather large health insurance company in my "regular" job, and I have the authority to hire employees in my department. Human Resources sets the pay scale.

There are close to 80 people in my department, all doing the same basic functions. But the pay ranges from $12/hr to $18/hr. There are even employees with less experience making more than some with more experience. This is not my decision, but just the reality of the situation.

Fred you said that if they have an avalanche of people show up for the position, then they are too high. I disagree.

If you have an avalanche of people show up, AND you can afford to pay what you posted, that's the best possible situation in which to be.

You have a larger pool from which to choose! I'm sure there are plenty of excellent workers that would be willing to leave their current place of employment, and give that same excellent work for more money!

Javier, my advice to you is to find what they going rate is in your market. See if you can afford to pay more than what the market is, and do that.

Your company can only be as good as your employees. More money attracts the better employees. Find the best ones you can, and pay them as much as you can!
 
#4 ·
18/hr for graphic design without benefits sounds kinda low to me, but i dont know your skill set, education.

i was always told to calculate my monthly bills and use that as a payscale guide, obviously within reason. you can't be like "i want $2k/wk!"... but you should definately be able to pay whatever bills you've got, and save some money, too.

sign,

mom
 
#5 ·
Mom always gives good advice ... :D
zagadka said:
18/hr for graphic design without benefits sounds kinda low to me, but i dont know your skill set, education.

i was always told to calculate my monthly bills and use that as a payscale guide, obviously within reason. you can't be like "i want $2k/wk!"... but you should definately be able to pay whatever bills you've got, and save some money, too.

sign,

mom
 
#6 ·
zagadka said:
i was always told to calculate my monthly bills and use that as a payscale guide, obviously within reason. you can't be like "i want $2k/wk!"... but you should definately be able to pay whatever bills you've got, and save some money, too.
Could not disagree more!

Your bills are not your employer's responsibility. Your skills and abilities will determine what you get paid along with market conditions for your industry.

Your bills should be based on your income after you get the job.
 
#7 ·
no, your bills are not your employer's responsibility,but it is your responsibility to be smart and make sure you can cover yourself financially.

what i was trying to say is why would you accept a job that doesn't pay you enough to pay your bills? bills based on income after the job? hmmm... for most people to get a graphic design job, they need a BA...which in turn, spells bills before employment. good ole student loans don't pay themselves, unfortunately.
 
#9 ·
18hr is fair ... as a start up company unless you are already a rich person and have some big financing behind the project a person cant afford to pay a graphic designer what corporate America will pay them ...

look if you dont want to go bust in a few years ... find the most talented designer that will work for that rate as a contract employee , so you don't have to deal with work comp, health insurance and all that ... then when biz is doing well you can look at that the other stuff...

there is such a wide range of design talent out there , some don't even seek work , u got to find the, some think there are worth way more then what there work shows, and some are super talented and just looking for work...and its different in each area .. so get out there and survey the field before you make the move...
but again you rate is a very fair price for a start up small company ...

keep your overhead as low as possible in the beginning .
 
#10 ·
peacegod said:
look if you dont want to go bust in a few years ... find the most talented designer that will work for that rate as a contract employee , so you don't have to deal with work comp, health insurance and all that ... then when biz is doing well you can look at that the other stuff...
being a contract is beneficial to the employer, no doubt. i think it's really crappy for the designer, though. you literally get nothing but a paycheck, and you're responsible for taking out your own taxes. which also means setting aside X amount each month so at the end of the year you're not scraping to pull together a few grand to pay into the government.

That's just my viewpoint of it.