We don't get paid for what we do. We get paid for what we know.

AMservices

https://youtu.be/y-uK1c5Jyfs
Short video, music's a little intense, but makes a good point.

retiredguy

I was in the commercial/industrial steam business as a service tech and trouble shooter for a non union company in Pittsburgh, Pa. Any time I was asked, " why do you get paid as much as you do" , my answer was always that I get paid a lot for what I know and a little for what I do. If you are good at what you do you are worth every penny and probably much more.

I was called out to a coal fired boiler system for a high school on Christmas Eve and when I arrived I was met by the police, fire company, paramedics, etc. since steam was pouring out of the building. I was told that no one was allowed near the building because it was about to BLOW. I just laughed and drove up to the building, entered and did my thing. A couple hours later I said that everything was OK, the heat is back on, but more work was needed. We will be back. I joked about all the support people "on scene" since none of them would approach the building. They wanted to know if I was scared. My answer was no, I knew just what valve to turn.

I can say with out a doubt that many of the guys on this site probably don't get paid enough for what they know and they know a lot.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

psb75

I wonder if this "nuclear meltdown averted" video is real? I surmise that it is just an elaborate re-make of the old joke I once heard:
A tradesman is called out to fix a malfunctioning heating system by a distressed homeowner. Tradesman examines the situation, takes out a hammer and "whacks" a "device" (let's say a Taco Flo-check). Fixes the problem. Gives the customer a bill for $$$. The customer exclaims, "$$$! You were only here for 10 minutes! Can you please give me an itemized invoice!?" Tradesman says "Sure. $ for the hammer, and $$ for knowing where to use the hammer to get you some heat again."
I'd be interested in a citation of the actual "other nuclear plant" the narrator is talking about. This might just be re-working an old joke at the expense of the Russian engineers, and inflating the Germans. Though the Germans ARE good heating engineers, and the Russians DO have a nuclear "history."

neilc

doesn't someone here have a signature to the affect of,
"you're not paying me for the 30 minutes it took to do the job,
but for the 30 years of experience to get the job done"
I love this one,
and Merry Christmas

Dan_NJ

I'm going with psb75's elaborate re-make theory. The concept is valid nonetheless. Along the lines of "you get paid for what you know", someone might want to let our narrator know that Chernobyl and similar reactors are fueled with Uranium, not Plutonium.

psb75

Here's what made me suspicious: "music's a little intense". Ya think?

unclejohn

When I started in the trade my brother in law was already working in it for about 8 or 10 years and I was sitting in on a discussion with him my father and my uncle. My dad and uncle both wanted to know why service rates were so high. I think the co. I worked for was 45 and hour and Jack and Ben both thought that was high and could my brother in law justify it. And thats when Karl said we have to get paid for our knowledge as well.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

They could have hired someone else for much less money, but they probably would have taken longer to find the problem and could have done damage along the way.

Most of us installers and technicians that know what we're doing are old and we've spent most of our lives in mechanical rooms. Speaking for myself, I didn't earn much when I was a rookie. Now that I know something, I'm making up for it.

I think most of our customers know this. They're the ones that say, "Don't ever retire."

HomerJSmith

I hate to break the news to you, BUT YOU GOT IT BACKWARDS!

One always get paid for what one does. You can have all the knowledge in the world, sitting in your mothers basement, not putting that knowledge to use and it will avail you nothing nor will it avail another. That's why I always say knowledge without application is sin (I also add sharing). You get paid for the application.

Merry Christmas to all you great and wonderful people out there that are making my life and others better. Whether I get paid or not, I want to add my contribution to the mix, too. This site proves there are many good people in this world.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Merry Christmas to all you great and wonderful people out there that are making my life and others better. Whether I get paid or not, I want to add my contribution to the mix, too. This site proves there are many good people in this world.

Merry Christmas!

nicholas bonham-carter

This might be it:--NBC

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charles-proteus-steinmetz-the-wizard-of-schenectady-51912022/#ixzz2lRMjrfit


Ford, whose electrical engineers couldn’t solve some problems they were having with a gigantic generator, called Steinmetz in to the plant. Upon arriving, Steinmetz rejected all assistance and asked only for a notebook, pencil and cot. According to Scott, Steinmetz listened to the generator and scribbled computations on the notepad for two straight days and nights. On the second night, he asked for a ladder, climbed up the generator and made a chalk mark on its side. Then he told Ford’s skeptical engineers to remove a plate at the mark and replace sixteen windings from the field coil. They did, and the generator performed to perfection.

Henry Ford was thrilled until he got an invoice from General Electric in the amount of $10,000. Ford acknowledged Steinmetz’s success but balked at the figure. He asked for an itemized bill.

Steinmetz, Scott wrote, responded personally to Ford’s request with the following:



Making chalk mark on generator $1.

Knowing where to make mark $9,999.

Ford paid the bill.

GW

I dig the contrasting view points. Let’s just simplify things a bit-

if you’re just getting by and looking for money to pay the bills every month: you are either under-skilled or under value yourself. If you’re struggling with both, then that’s a real bummer. 

if you’re the opposite, financially: you’re obviously skilled and/or your self value is high. If you possess both, good for you. 

deyrup

If a customer is balking at the price of something telling him that he isn't placing enough value on your knowledge isn't going to be very convincing. I see this response often when a question is asked about pricing, along with the responses along the lines of quality = price, when the two often have little correlation. It is not hard as an expert to be able to explain the tradeoffs and the value you provide. Questions around pricing are reasonable questions, and can help both the provider and the consumer. You don't write blank checks when you buy things so don't expect that of your customers.

A good technician can save you thousands of dollars in reduced utility costs by fine tuning your system to make it more efficient , reduced maintenance costs by helping you choose the right products and installing them correctly, and extending the life of your systems so that you don't have to replace your system, and knowing what maintenance and upgrades are worth doing and which are a waste of money.

STEVEusaPA

neilc said:

doesn't someone here have a signature to the affect of,
"you're not paying me for the 30 minutes it took to do the job,
but for the 30 years of experience to get the job done"
I love this one,
and Merry Christmas

Who was that? I use that in my signature on the other site.

neilc

STEVEusaPA said:

neilc said:

doesn't someone here have a signature to the affect of,
"you're not paying me for the 30 minutes it took to do the job,
but for the 30 years of experience to get the job done"
I love this one,
and Merry Christmas

Who was that? I use that in my signature on the other site.

well, then you're the guy that I read over there,
it's a good line.

unclejohn

I got a referral from a customer, her neighbor needed her A/C fixed. I called the lady and during our talk found out she was having some remodeling done and that the system worked fine until they left. I suggested she call them back that they had probably left something off. Was told in no uncertain terms that she does not hire shoddy workman and that I needed to get there right away. As soon as I walked up to the furnace I saw the tile cutting saw next to it and it was unplugged, and so was the condensate pump. Plugged in the pump and charged her my normal hourly rate.