What should I ask for??? $$$

[R12rules]

had an interview yesterday afternoon. I walked into this mind blowing plant! 32,000,000 WATTS! Rows of back up gens, rows of York 1700 ton chillers...

its a major US computer manufacturer and this office is in Austin.

They're looking for in plant facilities maintenance personnel.

A lot of monitoring. Grease some bearings, change some belts. Do some maint stuff.

Electrical, HVAC, controls, fire systems, security, ... all sorts of good stuff.

The benefits are unreal.
12 hours shifts, 3-day weekends and one 4-day a month. (Three days this week, four the next)


You can eat off the floor in the motor room.

What should I ask for?



for those of you who might now know this, I have never seen a centrifugal that big before, cept in pictures.
Largest systems I have worked on were 100 tons recips.

And the manager knows that.


whats your advice on a starting point to ask for in wages?



Thanks

[cg2]

Was there a wage range in the ad?

Doesnt sound like a job that will pay like field work, but who knows?

[isitfixedyet]

75 k,,,
remember its The grate staate of texass!

[R12rules]

after all these days and 230 reads ... only two replies?!


I'm asking for $20 an hour to start. I'll see where this goes from here.

[neophytes serendipity]

Is there any way to find out what other people are making in a similar position? Don't sell yourself short and good luck.

[novato1]

R12 -

I have two years of field exp......I'm now a stationary engineer with a well known company in Los Angeles.....3 Trane CenTraVac chillers.....main chiller is 450 tons, second chiller is 250 tons and the third is 150 tons....and 28 Liebert units, 25 tons each. When I went for the interview I asked for $24.00 and hour.....I got offered more and took the job. Throw a high number at them and take from there.

[cracker]

Those are los angels wages, higher cost of living out there and that even sounds low, for that area.
Great benns and working hours, I think your wage is in line.
See if they need any more help, let me know.
Good luck:D

[cg2]

What happened here R12?

[gtt]

Mr. R12,

Sounds like your dream job!!

I'm testing units at a plant down in Selma. Hope to get out in the field in '07.

Keep us posted!

GTT

[Green Mountain]

Didn't they give you a chance to ask questions during the interview? That was a time to get an idea what they were offering. I'm sure the interviewer had a dollar figure in his head. You should of asked, " The benefits seem quit generous. Would you mind telling me what this job pays?."

Texas what a mess. Y'......alllllll......talk.....so...sloooowww..dow n .......dare.....that y'............alllllll........can......not .......get ....mucha.......con---ver---sat---ion...ina.....ow....er. :D

[R12rules]

The guy was waaay younger than I.

I was overwhelmed by the plant. I didnt even get a full grasp of what the job entails.

He said his crew of 30 does EVERYTHING from locks to the gen-sets. The fire, security, alarms, networks... AND the cooling systems.

I imagine that if a guy knew the mechanical side of the cooling systems and was computer savvy, he could spend his 12 hour shifts sitting in the comfort of an office monitoring big screens. And never have to get his hands dirty.

On the other hand, if someone didnt know com cable but was a great mechanic, he'd spend his shifts turning wrenches.

[chiller mekanik]

Keep in mind I work in the field & I always have so my opinion mat not count for much in this case.

I think it all depends on how much of the work you will do & how much the contractors will do.

If your going to be an operator, to the point that you log the machines several times a shift & when your not logging them your doing other maintenance type things as well as trouble or comfort calls, i think that yeilds a modest salary, maybe a little less than what you get now.

If your going to be performing the annual services, that should yeild a little more.

If your going to do the repair work as well, then that would yeild even more, probably close to what your getting now.

Remeber, no matter how many different ways you think about this, you are now crossing over into that dreadful side of the industry of saving money not making it.
No matter how much you save them, you will still be considered "overhead".

You will no longer be a "profit center", which in my opinion henders ones ability to get "top pay".

Try to sell your many years of expertise as to how mechanically inclined you are & since you've been on the contractor side of the biz for so long, you will have a leg up when it comes to dealing with the evil contractors because you know what makes them tick.

When you put it like that, they should try to buy you at this point, make it worth your while to make that transition.

Hope this helps.

[mark beiser]

Texas what a mess. Y'......alllllll......talk.....so...sloooowww..dow n .......dare.....that y'............alllllll........can......not .......get ....mucha.......con---ver---sat---ion...ina.....ow....er. :D

You must have talked to a transplant from Georgia, or one of those other states where they talk with an annoying southern drawl. We talk faster in Texas, more of a southern twang. We tend to chop letters out of words and mash em together, not draw them out longer than needed. ;)

[alpha480v]

R-12,

So did you get the job?

[chiller mekanik]

after all these days and 230 reads ... only two replies?!


I'm asking for $20 an hour to start. I'll see where this goes from here.

You grilled us for a lack of replies & now you leave us hanging.:D

[cg2]

You grilled us for a lack of replies & now you leave us hanging.:D

I think we're going to have to wait for the book!