Salary question, always been with one shop

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IrishFast
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Salary question, always been with one shop

Post by IrishFast »

Hello, please excuse me if this topic has been raised and answered recently, but I'm new to this board.

I am a printer and production manager for a small shop (4-7 employees in my crew), and I'm looking to move a few hundred miles to a new location. For economical travel reasons, I'd like to be able to define realistic salary requirements on my resume. The following is a brief overview of my experience so as to help any respondents to this post better narrow the salary range they suggest I should expect. I am not posting a job resume at this time; I am only looking for help defining what pay my capabilities (or lack thereof!) should command in the current job market.

6 years experience part-time as production help
-screen cleaning/reclaiming
-automatic press loading, unloading, folding
-preproduction shipping, sorting

4 years additional experience full-time as printer/production manager
-as above, also
-production schedule (daily/weekly)
-all aspects of job preparation from screen stretching, coating & shooting, ink preparation, press setup, and troubleshooting
-press maintenance & repair
-embroidery production, machine maintenance & repair
-simple artwork for screen printing, embroidery and vinyl cutting- mostly names and numbers

I can easily operate, maintain and repair a single 6-color automatic, an Antec manual press, and a Barudan multi-head embroidery machine, as well as schedule upcoming jobs for all of the above and manage the crews working on them.

Please forgive me if this post ran a little long; if anyone has a suggestion as to where I should set my salary expectations, please respond to this message or feel free to send me an email.

Thanks!
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d fleming
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Re: Salary question, always been with one shop

Post by d fleming »

I've been in this business for thirty years now and if I had to get a job at any of the shops in my area in the production dept. I know about 12 bucks an hour is all I can expect. In this economy be happy if you're not laid off. I have the advantage of being an owner and right now I can't afford very much in the way of labor in screenprinting compared to my past record. Luckily I do much more than just "push ink through a rag" as one of my past mentors used to call it. If you must move, do what you have to do. Best of luck.
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taboot
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Re: Salary question, always been with one shop

Post by taboot »

It might be a good time to consider striking out on your own... It sucks going from making a good wage to getting $12/hour, especially if you have been doing it for many years. Why not take the plunge and open your own shop?
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