PL
I have been there and I am there now. I did not create the survey market in Alabama. nor in California, I am just trying to survive in it. It is important to note that law firms in San Francisco offer stating salaries of $167,000 to recent law school graduates. The median icnome in San Francisco is around $75,000. So you can see that there is a big difference in compensation in different parts of the country.
So if the market where you are supports a $300 fee for a lot and block survey, then that is what it is.
I hope that you did not take my comment to be a put dwon or something, because that was not my intention.
I worked for couple of firms that contracted "us" out on occasion. We had a PLS on board and the firm we did the work did as well. I guess in that case it's no biggee.
Didn't you even contact me about taking one of your crews out in NC several years ago? I'm no PLS and wouldn't consider myself a PC although many say I'm selling myself short on that.
However, the case mention is way different I suppose.
E
I contacted you about being a rodman on one of our crews out in North Carolina.
I don't necessarily have a problem with contract crews. We've occasionaly hired someone elses crews for a time and we've "rented" our guys out a time or two, but it was always on a pay per hour basis. I just think that there is a line in there somewhere and it just seems to me that giving an unlicensed crew a lump sum per job causes conflicts.
PL
No worries, mate.
Tommy - At first I didn't see the problem that you were having with that arrangement but if the company is bidding a job at $300 and telling the crew they get half, it might just end up being different from a boss telling a crew to go out and do this job and the crew (employees) coming back with their tail between their legs and telling the boss they couldn't get it done in 5 minutes after they drove half a day to get there and back. These are sad times when we are even talking about survey jobs for $300. I understand that to some solo surveyors $300 will make or break their week, but with as many cuts as I've made in my overhead, a $300 job won't even keep me in business until lunch time.
Contract Cad
I did business last year with an engineer who outsourced all his cad work to India. He complained every time I requested any additional data, and would bill additional time for his involvement. I ended up exchanging emails directly with the cad company, their rates were about 8 dollars a day per person involved. A finished set of plans probably cost him less than two hundred dollars to generate.
His bill? Seventeen thousand dollars.
Contract Cad
Affirmative action at it's finest, got the same type situation and used the old "Sorry, not in direct supervision clause", wonder how many of our structures are actually designed by an 8 dollar a day, contract cad....
was working for a firm in new orleans for a few years then the work died. now i commute an hour out to baton rouge for under 20 an hour. work has started in no again but i like to finish what i started so i will continue to build a road for crap pay
