Hey kids...are ya gittin' my room ready or just goofing off as usual?
Jack
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
Anyone here that "thrives under pressure"? Posted by Patrick Whatley (Member # 2008) on :
not for $8 an hour.
Posted by George Perkins (Member # 156) on :
Very telling on what has happened to the sign industry. Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
Heck, I'd do it if there were one close by. Health bennies and not having to deal with some of my sign customers? Doesn't sound that bad. Love....Jill
Posted by Dawud Shaheed (Member # 5719) on :
No way, I need at least $8.50 or no dice.
Posted by Joey Madden (Member # 1192) on :
As a bonified pinstriper my question is. Is that $8.00 for a minute's work or an hourly wage?
Posted by Russ McMullin (Member # 5617) on :
One of the links says $8 to $10 an hour. That is about right for the amount of experience they require, but it's still hard to see someone thriving under pressure for that kind of money.
Posted by Carole Bersin (Member # 5710) on :
When I was super slow and broke this winter I actually went out to apply for the Trader Joes job in Minnesota, which BTW is still being advertised, thinking that a few days a week of guaranteed work wouldn't be a bad thing. Their "part time" was 30 to 35 hours a week and you were to be spending a significant amount of time not making signs but being out on the floor stocking, checking prices and even cashiering.
Needless to say when they offered me the job I decided to wait it out until work picked up and I haven't starved yet. And they were offering $10 to $12 an hour here.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Jack, You come on down anytime...we've got a room for you!
Posted by bruce ward (Member # 1289) on :
NOPE I need at least $8.25 per hour to support my upper class lifestyle. thats a little bit on the demeaning side for a professional dontcha think? I mean for the pay I wonder if they will let you play with some of those big ass markers they had back in the 80s for grocery stores and you get to play on butcher paper
but you know some idiot will take that job and save trader hoes a good bit of money OR the quality of their look will diminish.....mmmm Im thinking the latter
Posted by Ricky Jackson (Member # 5082) on :
Chump change for someone with those qualifications. Rotsoruck suckahs!
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
I love these ads.
"Yes, you too can make chalkboard signs for our deli departments in between stocking shelves and changing price tags!!! We'll pay you based on your experience the same amount as a dishwasher!!! We'll also give you a minimal discount on food so you don't starve AND give us some of the money we gave you on payday back. Heck, you don't even have to have a high school diploma, but it would be nice if you did know how to spell "pomegranate" when we put them on sale.
By the way, how well do you handle pressure?"
Yeah, here's a career move... Rapid
Posted by Bill Lynch (Member # 3815) on :
quote:You paint 160 signs and whaddaya get?? another day older and deeper in dept Saint Peter don'tcha call me 'Cause- I can't go...I owe my soul to the Company Store
It's an OK job for a high school or college kid. Less offensive than the ad I just saw for a sign franchise job, three pages of qualifications,basiclly capable of doing everyhting on your own, and you make $12/hour
Posted by Dana Bowers (Member # 780) on :
OK... so lose your job tomorrow, what are you going to do?
Apply at sign shops? Doesn't work, everyone tells you that you are overqualified because they are looking for a production worker at $10 an hour.
Now what? How long do you go before that Trader Joe's job actually looks good, because you need a JOB period??
Be careful the things you say about stuff like this, how many people here are totally safe in the jobs they are in?!
Posted by Dana Stanley (Member # 6786) on :
Sit in an ac office designing and printing simple signs for the man at $12.00 an hour plus the health bennys. Sounds better than; Hi welcome to Wal Mart, if you are retired and need to stay busy while paying for your meds. All the alligator meat you can eat!
Posted by Dale Feicke (Member # 767) on :
Shoot! I'd do it! But the commute would kill me!!
.....wonder if they have a fuel allowance?
Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :
Personally, I wouldn't think of belittling anyone who chose to take such a job as their "entry portal" into the sign business. There is a certain and sure dignity in earning one's daily bread through honest work, however humble.
Case in point: Didn't the late Mike Stevens once hold a very similar job of making the signs for a similar retail operation ? I believe it was there that he applied and honed his skills in making the banners & cards for "store specials" and in-store promotions. It was in just such a situation that remarkable speed and "eye for spatial relationships" developed.
Who knows if some youngster may come along and find that making signs is something he or she will develop a lifelong passion for ? Everyone starts on the bottom rung in this business, and if we all stop to have a laugh at the expense those starting on that bottom rung,we might find that one of those might keep on climbing until they begin surpassing OUR BEST EFFORTS.
Any job is what you make of it, and it isn't necessarily only about the pay scale.
Posted by Dana Bowers (Member # 780) on :
Amen, Ken!!
Heck, if I could hand letter well and Maple Grove wasn't something like 60 miles from here... I would love to make $12 an hour with benies!!!
The economy the way it is, so many people losing their jobs, taxes and everything else going up, its tough out there!
Bruce and I were talking tonight... I think too many people get too comfortable in their little spaces, and don't really appreciate what they have.
Until you lose it.
You wanna talk about thriving under pressure? Heck, sometimes its really more like surviving under pressure.
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
I see the signs and murals in the TJ's around this part of the country and they are not done by entry level labor, they're very well done.
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
ya,, go from 6 figs a year to zero and see how long it takes to think a job like that looks good....
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
I thought it looked good, guys. There is nothing better than a dependable weekly (or bi-weekly) paycheck. When I had my "real" job at the hardware, I made signs there all the time. It was fun and I loved it. I didn't even mind stocking shelves. But I hated being a cashier. I guess I'm not a people person. After the week I've had, this little job sounds even better. Love....Jill
Posted by George Perkins (Member # 156) on :
When I read in the job discription, "good lettering skills" I think of that classic Bob Parsons cartoon about "the nice sign"
The closest store to me would be the one in Georgia. For a part time job, the wages are higher than what they pay around here. How does the pay rate compare to where you are?
I have looked around their site quite a bit. They have some team members featured. The sign guy they have featured has a BA in illustration and goes in to work at 4AM
I've been looking for a part time job for a while now. Most places are like TJ here, they want you to way more hours than what I would consider "part time". When I was greeted with the frustration in finding a suitable part time job, I decided to attack things on a different angle. I booked a whole bunch of car shows, bike events and what not in and around the area on weekends this summer. One small job on a bike is equal to more than any part time job would bring in.
Posted by Suelynn Sedor (Member # 442) on :
Jilly, you were the first person I thought of when I saw that ad. Anyone who has seen Jill whip out panels at a letterhead meet would know she'd be perfect. She has an eye for color and layout, can knock em off one after the other, and comes up with clever and fun panels all the time.
I can think of alot worse jobs!!! Suelynn
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
This reminds me of a competitor we had back in the late 1970's when my father first opened up the shop.
Back then, a lot of grocery stores had hand-painted signs made from banner paper or butcher paper taped to the insides of the front windows advertising that week's sale item.
To get his foot in the door, Dad decided to offer a really low price so he could get his foot in the door -- $4 for 4'x6'.
He got laughed at. The other guy was doing them for $1 each.
.
Posted by Bill Lynch (Member # 3815) on :
This is interesting to see the different takes on a an entry level job.... of course when you figure in the value of benefits it increases the attractiveness, many couples in the trades have one spouse work a "real" job just for the benefits (I'm talking in the USA where health insurance for a family can cost $5-12K a year). But putting aside the benefits, what is the difference between taking a low paying job so signs can be created for a company at a cut rate price and doing the same thing as an independent sign maker? If someone says things are slow, I'll take a job making signs for minimal wage that's OK, but then someone else says, things are slow so I'm going to cut my prices, and gets a pep talk on charging what you're worth and cheapening the trade?
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Also, if you look at the listings in CA, they are more like $13 - $15/hr.
I posted this thinking of someone like Jill who made the hard choice to work in the hardware store to bring in some extra cash - would she rather do that or do something like this where she could use her skills and creativity.
Dana is right as well, (and Curtis) - life doesn't always work out the way we plan. $10+/hr plus benefits in a pleasant work environment doesn't sound too bad.
Just for conversation sake, I have never encountered an unpleasant TJ's employee. They always seen genuinely happy to be there. They are small, clean stores that sell quality food products.
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Not really a comment on the job, but doing this type of work is a great way to develop your skills.
Way back there in the old days I did supermarket paper signs (3' x 5') in my garage in the evenings. Usually about 10 or 12 different layouts for five stores - total of over 50 paper signs...all done in one evening. Great way to develop brush and layout skills. And the money wasn't bad either, if you could stand the boredom. Picked the copy up on Wednesday and delivered to one store on Friday - they then distributed them to the other stores.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
...and Raymond knocked Glen's dad out of the business!
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
quote:Originally posted by George Perkins: The closest store to me would be the one in Georgia. For a part time job, the wages are higher than what they pay around here. How does the pay rate compare to where you are?
TJ's wages blow the local payscales to pieces. If you could get $8/hr here you'd be doing well and if you got $12/hr you'd obviously be in management - comparing with similar "entry level" jobs, that is.
That's why I also prefer to attack business in different ways when things get tight. I could work at a job, which I have no problems with, but what I'd get paid for a week's work I can make in an afternoon with one project, and chances are the job will zap my energy so I won't feel like trying to improve my own business. I've been there before.
Although, the TJ's sign job would probably be a fun challenge and diversion for me. Since I don't do a lot of handlettering it would be sink or swim trying to come up with a hundred snappy and unique mini-layouts every day, and I like the challenge.
Posted by Rich Stebbing (Member # 368) on :
I have had a couple of their Sign Artist's contact me and "pick my brain" a little bit about doing Window Promo's. One of them approached me while I was on a job. Nice, a very good artist- type, but when it came to Lettering he fell "way short", although he does dabble in it on the side. I gave him a very critique, nothing too harsh but advised him on seeking out some Lettering Fundamentals etc. He thanked me and I never heard from him again. He was young and eager and should probably stay put for awhile, but hey everyone wants to "spread them wings".
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
As Ken Henry, mentioned about Mike Stevens, doing the paper signs and showcards...That was in San Jose, CA. I had the rare privledge once a week to work with him at Mel Cotton,s Sporting Goods.We would arrange a mess of different size cards for sale pricing on varied items such as lanterns, Tent stakes, Tarps and probably about 80 different things. Mike was extremely fast and would do some layouts for me to follow while he was knockin' stuff out. He was doing ten pieces while I would do three. He probably would not have been there if he didn't need the money. That was around 1963. I would sometimes go to visit him at Payless Drugs, on 1st street which was the main art department for all the stores and that was upstairs above the store. There were about ten sign writers going at it most times. I also worked partime at a display house which did paper signs for a lot of stores in San Jose, where Stevens, would also come to work on occasions. The only sign painters making money were the shop owners and the billboard painters. they were union members.... Every thing was done with brain and hands. It was a lot of work but very rewarding and no IDS crashes.
So...yea TJ's ain't so bad about right now. Maybe 09' will be somewhat better.
Jack
Posted by Joey Madden (Member # 1192) on :
Rich Stebbing, you are one of the few I look up too, you enlighten me through your work and friendship
Not Jack, he's too weird
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Yup, Rich is one of the all time cool letterheads. I'm with you there Joey.
Posted by Russ McMullin (Member # 5617) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kimberly Zanetti: Yup, Rich is one of the all time cool letterheads. I'm with you there Joey.
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