Hourly AME wage

[qa guy]

seeing that kinda crap makes me happy to be where I am!

[skycharter]

How about just posting a wage wiki?

Skycharter pays $26/hr to an ACA (full time or contract).
$24/hr to Tech (full time or contract).
$12-$15/hr for apprentice (full time or contract).
No benefits, no RRSP or pension.
No formal sick leave policy or entitlement, but can get up to 6 days at the discretion of the CEO.
Vacation etc., is strictly in accordance with the Federal labour code, no more.
Contractors must sign a on the job injury liability waiver.
Everybody must punch time cards, and record their work on them
For ACA's the company only has one per type, unless they happen to hire people already trained on the type.
If you are sent on a course, you must sign a 2 yr contract to reimbuse the company the cost of the course, travel, meals, accomodation and salary if you quit. If you quit even one day before the 2 yrs is up, you still owe the entire sum.

Now - doesn't your job look great?

[markymarkl]

Wow very interesting comments!

I have a great idea, I would love to see all AME's move over to a SKILLED trade like Hair Dressing (their tools are covered by a tax grant at least) and see how the fucking traveling public likes seeing the pilots or the owners fix the A/C in their suits and ties LOL or better yet how the public likes taking the bus! Our wages have always sucked! and maybe its time to form a national association??????? The bad part about us AME's is that we are a migratory work force and are not really organized. Owners and operators believe in the old divide and concur technique and its been that way as long as I can remember.


Bottom line PLEASE join you local AME association and get involved ( and no I am not a member yet but I am going to join and start doing something instead of bitching about it)

Folks there is no better time that I know of to voice your concerns to your member of parliament about the state of the industry. Trust me when I say HRDC is well aware of the current and future shortage of techs and really has no idea how to fix the problem, I suggested get use to taking the bus. ( they didn't laugh!) cheers it time for a beer

[conehead]

For 15 years I worked for crap wages, night shifts, weekends all with one goal in mind.
I'm almost there!!!

And what is that goal, if I may ask?

[avyonx]

2 years E Licensed 6 months M1 Licensed, Calgary, Full time on Turbo Props doing Line Maintenance. $28 before M1 30.50 with M1. Weird and I can survive in Calgary!! So unless you make less than me keep quiet with the Calgary comments!!!

[markymarkl]

2 years E Licensed 6 months M1 Licensed, Calgary, Full time on Turbo Props doing Line Maintenance. $28 before M1 30.50 with M1. Weird and I can survive in Calgary!! So unless you make less than me keep quiet with the Calgary comments!!!

I think peep including me use Calgary as an example because of the extreme cost of living. Please don't take a offense to the comments (everyone has there own ideas and so do you)

I have a few AME friends 20-30 yr vet's that are living in the area and they are finding it had to live. Do you have a family? I can see a single younger person being able to survive but not a family of 4.

I lived out west and I would truly luv to move back but I can't live there for 30.00HR of course its just MHO

[AMOowner]

Wow Im kinda shocked by this poll.. Those are some low rates. I know AMEs are far bellow the automotive mechanics but wow.

My AME charges 50 bucks an hour, up from 40 bucks he was chargine before until last month.

If your AME is charging $50/hr, then he/she is an idiot. The rate at my airport is $78/hr. People have to stop giving in to owners and charge what they are worth.. If you can afford to own it, you can afford to fix it..

Is your AME a company owner? operating a AMO? If so then there is "fixed overhead" insurance HOPFULLY.
at the end of the day he is probaly making much less than $25.00/ hour in his pocket.

If he is not a AMO then you probably are paying to much!! and it's he back yard AME working out of his truck with no Manual's etc. that keeps competing shop rates driven down and therefore AME wages stay down.

[iflyforpie]

Is your AME a company owner? operating a AMO? If so then there is "fixed overhead" insurance HOPFULLY.
at the end of the day he is probaly making much less than $25.00/ hour in his pocket.

If he is not a AMO then you probably are paying to much!! and it's he back yard AME working out of his truck with no Manual's etc. that keeps competing shop rates driven down and therefore AME wages stay down.

Well said!

We charge $81/hr at our shop but there is always someone looking to make an extra buck and undercut you at the same time. Then when they skip town and the owner has to come back to a 'real' shop, they are pissed because they have to pay the shop rate instead of $40-50/hr, and they are pissed at all the things you find wrong with their airplane. This is because you can actually do a proper inspection in a hangar instead of out of the back of a pickup in the grass.

I'm sorry but if someone has the wherewithal to buy and fly an aircraft, they should be able to factor in the $1000/year for a proper annual inspection on a single engine fixed gear plane.

[MCRS]

The last three shops I took my 4 . to before I sold it was shop rate of 106/hour and I never saw a bill for under 2,500.
I got rid of that 4X4 in a hurry! Not to mention the Gas consumption driving to Springbank every day from Calgary. I was spending close to 500 a month on Gas not to mention 1000/month rent for a 1 bedroom appartment! I was just making it on 24/hour no overtime! And I mean just making it! Thrifty has some good sales! If you shop right like someone else said at the grocery stores and Bulk places you can eat pretty decently to! So it is possible to live in Calgary sub 30/hour but forget frills like renting your weekly movie at Blockbuster or that Big Mac every other day! Eat at home and imagine all those great ski trips in the mountains and you'll do fine! However, if you actually want to do any of those extras you'll want a good chunck more then 24/hour.

Anyway that's my take.
And I did leave Calgary to find less pay further away and in a heck of a lot cheaper place to live!

[lvh]

First year apprentice $20/hr workin on helis in western Canada.

[arc300dvs]

I do love to earn money but it seems that this is what work is all about for some folks. The bitching that goes on here is detesting. I rather quit and work somewhere else than complaining like that on the open internet. I did my complaining but not in public and it is a lot better just to move on than grow sour.

Food for thoughts.

[pistonpounder]

M1 license small northern alberta operator, 6 turbine, 3 piston, 2 yrs experience 37.00 hr plus benefits after 90 days, working 8 on and 6 off, 10 hr day shifts. crew housing provided for first 3 months.

[Pat Richard]

The saddest part of current ame wages is that, apparently, the industry has never been this good, yet many still struggle to make past 30 a/hr, or have to move into the backwoods to do so.
Yes, they're more job posting's now, but they're all of the same mediocre quality, and more times than not, the same mediocre employers.

Aviation does'nt get any better than this

[Sabrea]

It's sad to think that we all slaved our guts at school and at our trade (at the same time) to be called "grease monkey's, black handers, spanners and wrench", but the sad truth is that we all have a sickness that keeps us in the industry. Many of us have the equivelncy of degrees or higher and are still not even registed as seperate trades from sheet metal workers in some country(s). Maybe we should all take a long hard look around at what other groups have done and become a little more global in our efforts to acheive a good wage/salary/contract. Pilots have done it, doctors and lawyers all talk to each other and adhere to the same codes of practise and expected expertise. While this may not be the perfect world, lets at least make it a bit better for ourselves (screw the B@!&^%$&).
P.S. - An Australian L.A.M.E. with enough ratings to cover a full M1 is about $18.50/hr on the award. I worked in Canada as an unlicensed guy for $25/hr, and when I returned to Australia I worked for $22/hr as a certifying L.A.M.E. on new aircraft (better paid to the maintenance boys next door by $4.50/hr)
P.P.S. - The apprentices were under $12/hr.

[rotarywing]

Below minimum wage, not kidding. 4th year apprentice. License/type and see you later. This is a word to all aviation companies who pay $%&@, which is most of you. Apprentices are not liabilities, they are all you have in the future.

[Airflow]

Don't mean to hijack, but a friend of mine is an AME and he's always asked me, "ever wonder why there's onlt 10,000 licenced ame's in Canada?"... with what you guys do and what you get paid, well, it's not very equivelant.

A brain surgen can only kill one person at a time, an ame can kill 300 or so, at a time! When you guys sign out an a/c, there's quite a bit of responsibility there!!! I heard that automotive mechanics get paid more, less responsibility, less paperwork and no TC!

Bottom line, you guys should be paid more then what your getting!

[platman]

I've been an apprentice for 7 months now in the okanagan (BC) and make $19 an hour, an was wondering what the average wage is for an apprentice. I was going to ask for more $ but wasn't sure if it was agood idea. Its a small place only six employees......

[log sheet]

I've been an apprentice for 7 months now in the okanagan (BC) and make $19 an hour, an was wondering what the average wage is for an apprentice. I was going to ask for more $ but wasn't sure if it was agood idea. Its a small place only six employees......

Your doing pretty good, more than what a 7 month apprentice is making where I am, not alot more....... Got to say it's nice to see though, I sure wasn't making that 12 years ago when I started. Doesn't hurt to ask for more but I would give it a full 12 months under your belt. Just an opinion!
Your making 19 as an apprentice, you should be laughing when you get your Licence!
Cheers!

[DOGGER]

Overseas work.....on rotation....$10,000.00 per month..............$4000.00 a month while resting back in Canada. Nobody here works by the hour.........cant quite figure where I fit into this survey...but here goes anyway. Should start a new topic though.....what are you making overseas?? and do a survey.

[qa guy]

Is your company hiring?......10 years experience over here! Would love to go over seas for the right opportunity!

[bombardierfixer]

Dogger how many months in, and where over seas?

[DOGGER]

6 weeks on........6 weeks off back in Canada homeland.....................................

[vincerp]

Overseas work.....on rotation....$10,000.00 per month..............$4000.00 a month while resting back in Canada. Nobody here works by the hour.........cant quite figure where I fit into this survey...but here goes anyway. Should start a new topic though.....what are you making overseas?? and do a survey.

Is your company hiring? I just got my M2 last Feb 2007. I used to work in Singapore(SIAEC,SASCO), Taiwan(EVA AIR) and UK(KLM) mostly heavy maintenance work.

[qa guy]

Looking at the salary chart...wondering if there are still any licensed AME's out there earning under $20/hr.

[Grease Nipple]

Overseas work.....on rotation....$10,000.00 per month..............$4000.00 a month while resting back in Canada. Nobody here works by the hour.........cant quite figure where I fit into this survey...but here goes anyway. Should start a new topic though.....what are you making overseas?? and do a survey.

Did overseas work for almost 10 years, $40-45CAD per hour, plus hotel, transport, and per diem. That rate hasn't changed since I started
mostly due to the exchange rate with the american dollar. In the same time wages for full time AME's has increased 60%.There are jobs
that pay much more in Europe, 60-75, if you have an EASA license.
Down in the states contractors get $15-25 and have to pay all their own expenses. The EASA license is much harder to get than the
A&P license so is more valuable. Our AME is also harder to get than the A&P so is also more valuable.

There has been some talk of lowering our license requirements in order to meet industry demands. We need to make sure this doesn't
happen. This industry is short of qualified people right now, just about everybody is looking for AME's but the reason is the low wages
that have been paid in the past. Now is a good time to ask for more. There shouldn't be any full time AME's who hold an ACA making less
than $30.00

$40-45 contract may sound good but is actually less than what a fulltime employee costs if you add in the cost of benifits and overtime. This isn't good for anybody as employers will start hiring contractors instead of creating fulltime jobs. Contractors need more to cover the additional expenses they have due to lack of benifits and time between jobs. In other trades contractors make more than that, shouldn't cost less to have someone fix an aircraft than it does to have someone fix your sink.

Becouse contract rates haven't changed I have gone to go back fulltime. I am being paid not much less per hour than I was contracting. Looking forward to paid holidays and free trips to the dentist