OP
accordfire
Hey everyone, was just wondering what the going hourly rate is for a 3rd year?
Any idea's of an appropriate hourly rate?
JIB puts it at around £9 an hour, am paid £6.80 before tax.
Fair?
Thanks, Chris.
Fair is a subjective question - there's a number of things to look at before anyone can say it is fair or not, to be honest.
You've also, IMO, got to look at what you get out of it, other than purely financial. Skills and qualifications, for one, I would imagine.
Bide your time, is the advice that was given to me as an apprentice earning around £35 a week, watching some of the guys at college roll up in company vans, shouting about their £80 a week pay packets.
Thing is, a lot of them went from an £80 quid a week apprenticeship, to a £25 a week dole queue. Some of them just didn't pass, and others felt they should qualify and suddenly be earning hundreds a week.
What I'm trying to illustrate, like others have said, is that there's a time and place - get your qualification, and THEN have a chat with your boss. At least that way, if he's not willing to pay, or can't, you have a qualification that is bankable to another firm.
Jump now, or get pushed......who's going to want to take on a third year who's not quite qualified, pay for the rest of his college, and so on, when they can quite easily employ a qualified lad from the dole queue at the same, or similar rates?
Seems to me, if you do this wrong, you've just handed yourself a life as an electrician's mate, if you're lucky.
I don't mean this to sound harsh - I mean it to be well meant advice.
In simple terms, to employ you, and pay you £6.80 an hour, or £14k a year, your employer is probably paying another 25% on top in taxes, insurances, training costs and so on. It ain't free to employ someone.
I don't know how well you get on with your boss, all that said - it might be that you can sit down with him and ask the question of him yourself - I guess not, as you're on here asking - but if you can, do, in a gentle, enquiring way - not as a demand! If not, then the advice I was given seems best - bide your time, get your ticket, then look around.