California Surveyors Forums

What is the going rate (non-union) in Northern California for a rod man with several years of experience?

In this economy? Minimum wage +$1.

Seriously, it will depend on what region of N. CA you will be working in. If you do most of your work in the East Bay, the rate will probably be higher than if you are working in the foothills or mountain counties.

In some places, m.w. + $1 probably isn't far off reality these days. In other areas m.w. x 3 might be more realistic.

The question for you should be what can you afford to pay and what skills and knowledge will the rodman bring to your organization. Offer to pay what you will be able to cover and still make some profit from. If he's "worth" $25/hr, but you end up making less per job by having hired him, then he may be "worth" $25/hr to another company doing a different kind of work or working for different kinds of clients, but he may only be worth $15/hr to you because that's the most you can pay and still see some measure of increased profit for having hired him.

Sorry, that may not have been much help, but hopefully it gives you an angle to think on.

I start guys with a machete and a bottle of Technu at 15 for the first week. They return the next Monday I give them two bottles of Technu.

I'm suspicious of "experienced rodman". Either immune to PO or the dullest tool in the truck. My experience is that anybody willing to do this type of field work has at least enough ambition to become an instrument person so as to leave the PO hacking behind. At minimum!

I tend to look for those who can show up on Monday morning with eyes swelled shut ready to do it again, while still having the interest to ooze over the field plots and maps to get an idea of what is going on...

My guys learn quick or quit quick.

Funniest thing I ever saw was when I watched an engineer student totally immune to poison oak swing a machete like a little girl
Frightened of a moth. His resume showed he lettered in three sports in high school, football included. He became chief asphalt breaker for the summer. He's graduated now working for a structural firm now...

Clark, you wrote: "I'm suspicious of "experienced rodman". Either immune to PO or the dullest tool in the truck. My experience is that anybody willing to do this type of field work has at least enough ambition to become an instrument person so as to leave the PO hacking behind. At minimum!"

Probably in the majority of cases, your observation holds true, but I have met and worked with a few "professional chainmen" over the years who could outsmart and outsurvey many so-called chiefs that I've met. Ambition doesn't necessarily equate to intelligence or work ethic.

LS_8750 wrote:I start guys with a machete and a bottle of Technu at 15 for the first week. They return the next Monday I give them two bottles of Technu.

I'm suspicious of "experienced rodman". Either immune to PO or the dullest tool in the truck. My experience is that anybody willing to do this type of field work has at least enough ambition to become an instrument person so as to leave the PO hacking behind. At minimum!

I take great offense to this post, especially in this economy. I'm more than willing to work as a bottom man machete swinger. My work history would label me as a "experienced rodman" though.

Whoa, beer talk. Sorry, I did not mean to offend.

I work with guys who can set the whole job up before I get out of the truck, even prefer me to stay in the truck, or in the office for that matter.

I get it. I don't call them "rodman", or "chainman". I call them surveyors. Guys that can hold a plumb bob 6-feet up, smoke a cigarette and wave traffic through all at the same time, or run the instrument and take all the field notes, while I hack through the poison oak.

The term "experienced rodman" sounded strange to me. Is that a union term?

And in this economy I too am happy to have a reason to hack through the thickest dripping poison oak that exists.

The mere mention of poison oak makes me itch, and the reference to "eyes swelled shut" brings back extremely unpleasant memories. I simply couldn't work where some of you guys do.

.

Jim Frame wrote:The mere mention of poison oak makes me itch, and the reference to "eyes swelled shut" brings back extremely unpleasant memories. I simply couldn't work where some of you guys do.

.

I've had identical experiences, Jim. When I worked for Ian Wilson we had a project that required cutting line through a bunch of PO over many days. Ian had the brilliant idea of the [allergic] field crew wearing Tyvek protective suits and thick gloves. It was a hot, uncomfortable way to pack equipment and cut vegetation, but drastically reduced the amount of Poison Oak I got.

@ NickL: WIMP!

Just kidding...

Seriously, though. We have a major boundary project in the same area. I had three guys from the client cutting line for me. Two of the guys ended up in the emergency room being treated for PO. The project is now on hold until cooler weather when we can get back in wearing suits.

PO is serious trouble. And for those who believe in the old wives tales about gaining immunity through continued small exposure: think again. Do some online research into the actual mechanism of PO action on the human body. It's nasty stuff that actually stimulates the immune system into combating body tissues tagged with Urushiol, the oil in the leaves, stems, bark and roots of the PO plant. It gets WORSE with repeated exposure, NOT better!

WOOPS! </hikack> (hijack off)