What is a good hourly wage for working at a scrap yard?

Industry: Scrap Metal Recycling Median Hourly Rate by Job
Job

Heavy Equipment Operator
$14.27

Office Manager
$14.61
Truck Driver, Heavy / Tractor-Trailer
$17.30
Crane Operator
$14.94
Forklift Operator
$11.00
Equipment Operator
$14.00
Laborer
$11.71
Country: United States | Currency: USD | Updated: 22 Sep 2016 | Individuals Reporting: 398
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You're right ... it varies a lot from place to place. If you live in a place that has a high cost of living then you have to make more to be able to afford to live there.There are some cities where the proposed minimum wage is fifteen dollars an hour.

We have a high cost of living here. I know of a job washing dishes in the kitchen that just came up. It pays 13.00 $/hr plus benefits after your probationary period.

There's a pattern with the scrap yard jobs. The guy working with his hands doing the laborer work is treated more like dispoz-a-help. He's the low man on the totem pole.The guy with the class A semi truck driver's license is the one who is paid the most. The equipment operators fall somewhere in the middle.



If you want to work in a scrap yard it makes the most sense to be able to bring some prior experience operating heavy equipment to the table. Any special licenses that you hold give you more value in the eyes of a perspective employer.

If you have those things, and your perspective employer is in need of someone with those qualifications, then you're in a position to negotiate.

So ... are we thinking 7.25$ - 12.00$/hr for a yard worker job is a reasonable expectation depending on where you live ?