Why is it so hard to find decent employees in SOMD?

jp71

New Member
We own a business here and week after week we post on Indeed, Craigslist (yeah I know), SOMD.com classifieds, and Facebook looking for an automotive technician. IF we happen to get a call back, then one of two things happens: they don't show up for a face-to-face, or if they make it through a phone call, they don't show up for the first day of work. We pay more than minimum wage (starting $12.50-$14.00 depending on knowledge level), we aren't looking for rocket scientists, we have so much work that we have to turn jobs down. Someone enlighten me. What am I missing? It feels so hopeless. :killingme
 

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
It's hard to convince someone to work for a low wage when the gubmint pays them to sit at home all day and do nothing but make more welfare babies.
 

black dog

Free America
You want to pay a tech 12.50 to 14.00 per hour. That is why you can't find anyone to work for you.
You might want to triple what you are offering, a tech can work at a Midas or Monroe shop and make 26 to 32 bucks a hour.
Most guys I know that work on cars for a living make well over 80 grand and up a year.
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
You want to pay a tech 12.50 to 14.00 per hour. That is why you can't find anyone to work for you.
You might want to triple what you are offering, a tech can work at a Midas or Monroe shop and make 26 to 32 bucks a hour.
Most guys I know that work on cars for a living make well over 80 grand and up a year.

Midas or Monroe is not paying techs that much. Techs at Midas average around $28k/year. District Managers for them only get around $70k per year.

Maybe your friends work for Ferrari.

OP, your pay rate is inline with the average. Indeed and Glassdoor give you a gimplse of what companies are paying.
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Midas/salaries
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Midas-Salaries-E6986.htm
 

hitchicken

Active Member
I believe your thread touches on a subject that saddens me.

I apologize in advance to those who may have noticed I have been getting a bit chatty and opinionated lately. It happens with age. I’ll try to cut back in the near future.

I’ve lived in many locales in St. Mary’s County for over 50 years. I was here when the base was smaller, there were lots of watermen who owned their own waterfront property and the one murder that happened after several years shocked and gripped the area for a long time.

Now, the base is huge, the watermen are largely gone, their property sold to wealthier people and crime has risen. Growth has been massive.

The problem seems to me to be income and salary inequality. Base personal are paid way North of $85K a year. (That figure is several years old). I know of a few approaching $200K.

Take a look at this article from Kiplinger Magazine. Please note: you might have to click through a few slides to get to Lexington Park. Note also the average salary county wide.

http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/...onaires-live-in-america-slide-show/index.html

I pretty sure the same mag rated LP City as number 4 a few years early. We’re moving up.

You may think your salary offer is good, but even a mediocre mechanic can do better by looking around, schmoozing the right people and checking the contractors.

I’m just sayin… Let the fireworks commence. Sorry.
 

black dog

Free America
Midas or Monroe is not paying techs that much. Techs at Midas average around $28k/year. District Managers for them only get around $70k per year.

Maybe your friends work for Ferrari.

OP, your pay rate is inline with the average. Indeed and Glassdoor give you a gimplse of what companies are paying.
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Midas/salaries
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Midas-Salaries-E6986.htm

Automotive Technician
NTB - NATIONAL TIRE & BATTERY 19 reviews - Silver Spring, MD
$35 an hour
Apply from your phone
2 days ago



Automotive Technician
Monro Muffler/Brake - Towson, MD
$30 an hour
26 days ago

Automotive Technician
Pepboys 0343 - Annapolis, MD 21401
$30,000 - $70,000 a year
Apply from your phone
11 days

Automotive Technician Mechanic
All Tune Total Car Care - Glen Burnie, MD
$50,000 - $90,000 a year
Apply from your phone
4 days ago

And that's just at car care centers, you can do much better and luxury import dealer.
Do you believe that repair centers charge 98 bucks a hour and only pay mechanics 14.50.... Lol..
 
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jp71

New Member
You might want to check those numbers: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Midas-Salaries-E6986.htm

No way in heck a technician at Midas is pulling down $62k per year ($30/hr). At least not in Lexington Park. A mid-level program analyst at NAVAIR can barely pull that $$ (source: am HR for a local contractor). I'm talking about hiring a (probably young) person who has some knowledge of cars and is willing to learn. Not someone that's been in the business for 10 years.
 

jp71

New Member
Midas or Monroe is not paying techs that much. Techs at Midas average around $28k/year. District Managers for them only get around $70k per year.

Maybe your friends work for Ferrari.

OP, your pay rate is inline with the average. Indeed and Glassdoor give you a gimplse of what companies are paying.
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Midas/salaries
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Midas-Salaries-E6986.htm

Thank you Chris. I was hoping for someone else to pipe up with a reality check.
 

jp71

New Member
I believe your thread touches on a subject that saddens me.

I apologize in advance to those who may have noticed I have been getting a bit chatty and opinionated lately. It happens with age. I’ll try to cut back in the near future.

I’ve lived in many locales in St. Mary’s County for over 50 years. I was here when the base was smaller, there were lots of watermen who owned their own waterfront property and the one murder that happened after several years shocked and gripped the area for a long time.

Now, the base is huge, the watermen are largely gone, their property sold to wealthier people and crime has risen. Growth has been massive.

The problem seems to me to be income and salary inequality. Base personal are paid way North of $85K a year. (That figure is several years old). I know of a few approaching $200K.

Take a look at this article from Kiplinger Magazine. Please note: you might have to click through a few slides to get to Lexington Park. Note also the average salary county wide.

http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/...onaires-live-in-america-slide-show/index.html

I pretty sure the same mag rated LP City as number 4 a few years early. We’re moving up.

You may think your salary offer is good, but even a mediocre mechanic can do better by looking around, schmoozing the right people and checking the contractors.

I’m just sayin… Let the fireworks commence. Sorry.

Point made hitchicken. We have one phenomenally awesome employee that has a work ethic that is unrivaled for someone his age and is happy with his $15/hr plus bonuses. Maybe we got spoiled.
 

black dog

Free America
Point made hitchicken. We have one phenomenally awesome employee that has a work ethic that is unrivaled for someone his age and is happy with his $15/hr plus bonuses. Maybe we got spoiled.

I would suggest you give him a huge raise.
 

ASBrooks88

New Member
Honestly, I for one work on base, and make upwards to $70 grand a year, Retired Military, and Part Time at Advance Auto. The PT job pays me $9.61 an hour (raises, woo hoo). The pay that your offering is equivalent
to what Wal_Mart service Techs make. And that is Tires and Oil / Batteries. If you want a recent grad from Lincoln Tech, you might be able to start them off with that for a year, so they can get the experience, but, why would you want to be a stepping stone for employment. Not to mention, the other places that pay well, also offer benefits, and 401K options. These are things to consider.

Working at an Auto Parts store, I know of plenty of mechanics that have experience, but no credentials to back it up. So, "shade tree" mechanics can make $400 - $500 a day depending on the job. Hell, you can $100 just doing a brake job. Its way less than what any franchise place charges.

And in the area for which we live, it is expensive to live and maintain a decent quality of life.

That is why, your struggle is real. You need to UP the Anty, and pay for quality.
 

jp71

New Member
Honestly, I for one work on base, and make upwards to $70 grand a year, Retired Military, and Part Time at Advance Auto. The PT job pays me $9.61 an hour (raises, woo hoo). The pay that your offering is equivalent
to what Wal_Mart service Techs make. And that is Tires and Oil / Batteries. If you want a recent grad from Lincoln Tech, you might be able to start them off with that for a year, so they can get the experience, but, why would you want to be a stepping stone for employment. Not to mention, the other places that pay well, also offer benefits, and 401K options. These are things to consider.

Working at an Auto Parts store, I know of plenty of mechanics that have experience, but no credentials to back it up. So, "shade tree" mechanics can make $400 - $500 a day depending on the job. Hell, you can $100 just doing a brake job. Its way less than what any franchise place charges.

And in the area for which we live, it is expensive to live and maintain a decent quality of life.

That is why, your struggle is real. You need to UP the Anty, and pay for quality.

Excellent points thank you. We will be adjusting the rate - I don't want to be a stepping stone.
 

pbotz

Member
You want to pay a tech 12.50 to 14.00 per hour. That is why you can't find anyone to work for you.
You might want to triple what you are offering, a tech can work at a Midas or Monroe shop and make 26 to 32 bucks a hour.
Most guys I know that work on cars for a living make well over 80 grand and up a year.

Ive been fixing cars professionally over 18 yrs now and that number per year would be hard in somd. Its possible but there will be many extra hours working and weekends and so on. If you made that Mon-Friday 8-5 than you have done well if your local and dont have a 2 or 3 hr a day commute. His pay scale is a starting amount and will attract younger guys looking to get into the field or someone with limited automotive experience. Because its a lower wage you get a lot of Tire kickers so to speak vs a job that has good benis and pays $25 to $30 hr. At that level you start getting seasoned mechanics looking for better opportunities and so on. I do not work locally but have researched a little of what mechanics make locally. Ive been around long enough to have a good idea of the going rate base off experience.
I feel his frustration of not finding anyone reliable. In somd in general a good portion of the working class is govt, military or supporting the military. Those jobs are secure, pay well and have very good benefit plans and will attract more skilled people. Automotive based jobs typically have really poor benefit and retirement plans along with usually bad holidays, vacation time and sick time. Its night and day difference between the benefit plan in the automotive field vs a county or govt type job. I worked at one shop i paid almost $1k per month plus a $6k yearly deductible for family medical, and had to work memorial day for regular hourly pay and no bonus, or Overtime. Paying medical costs like that and barley making $60k per year does not make you feel too highly about the profession.
I feel because the area we live has a lot of govt and civil service type opportunities its taking away from the candidates interested in his job.
 

hitchicken

Active Member

catlingirl

Active Member
Can I make a suggestion? How about looking at the high school tech schools that teaches the kids how to fix cars. Maybe you can put a notice up in one of the schools and say you are hiring. You might be able to find someone that way. I don't know what St. Mary's has as far as Tech Schools but Calvert County has the CTA where the kids are taught how to fix cars. Just an idea
 

jp71

New Member
Can I make a suggestion? How about looking at the high school tech schools that teaches the kids how to fix cars. Maybe you can put a notice up in one of the schools and say you are hiring. You might be able to find someone that way. I don't know what St. Mary's has as far as Tech Schools but Calvert County has the CTA where the kids are taught how to fix cars. Just an idea

Oddly enough we tried that in St. Mary's County -- NO ONE responded! NONE! I thought the high school kids would love some extra money on the side, learning while on the job.. apparently not. I didn't try Calvert though - I'm going to do some research on that now - thank you.
 

catlingirl

Active Member
Oddly enough we tried that in St. Mary's County -- NO ONE responded! NONE! I thought the high school kids would love some extra money on the side, learning while on the job.. apparently not. I didn't try Calvert though - I'm going to do some research on that now - thank you.

Good Luck
 
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