This are so bad out here, for a couple bucks more an hour you can get a degreed electrical engineer out of school to clean your monitor. I can only hope the schools stopped telling them all they are going to make 60k a year out here. That only works when there are jobs available and you dont have 20 people that have experience applying for the same position.

So are you saying that it's ok for Businesses to take advantage of the present economic climate by offering exploitative wages to attract people who have already been kicked in the crotch so many times the past few years?

Yep. We have a minimum wage. If you don't like the pay, don't do the job. Businesses aren't charities.

I've done way crappier work than making batteries for much less than $9/hr. My first real job after college just 10 yrs ago paid just 15/hr and I had to work and pay to get a 4yr science degree to qualify.

$9/hr to give some unskilled guy a soldering iron and and heat gun seems like not a terrible deal. For every hour you work, you can go buy Austin's awesome burrito :) Not saying much for the quality, buy hey

So for a $230 pack, you get something assembled by someone on $9/hr. Awesome!

$9/hr for general labor sort of work isn't that bad. Would be a good job for somebody in school, I know I wouldn't mind assembling batteries for $9/hr. I really don't see what's so wrong about offering a job up for $9/hr?

I can certainly appreciate all of the great value RCM provides by taking a hard look at MaxAmps while at the same time buying batteries assembled by people making the same basic wages elsewhere.

I say that not because I know definitively what others charge (minus Asia, it's a given it's less) but rather the skill required for such a repetitive job isn't very high. I know I can find people that will work at $9/hr+ performing this task, with training and decent quality control they would work out great.

Wow, living costs must be relatively low then. I think the minimum wage in Australia now is $13-$14 an hour for a full timer and at present $1 AUD = $1 USD.

The sad thing is that Washington state has the highest minimum wage in the country.

That's what I was thinking too. I wonder how the cost of living compares if someone can live on that kind of income.

I would just like to correct you there. If you frequent RCC it can clearly be seen that the only people running MA are SPONSORED DRIVERS. Oh and the general idiots that maxamps manages to fool. The fact is on a crawler many are running packs smaller than 1000mah in comps for the lowest possible weight. If it isn't a true 35-45c minimum pack they will die. Simple as that.

Kieren

Ee & me wages
 

When I was working at Universal Studios Orlando a few years back (2004) the starting sallary for an EE or an ME was in the $25 to $30 per hour range. Starting pay for basic mechanics was $15.50. Basic meant having about 4 years of experience doing some level of mechanical work and knowledge. Most of what you learned on the job was pretty much a new experience, and most likely out of the ordinary anyway. Some of the senior Engineers were making upwards of $75K to $100K per year. I had a blast working there for 6 years and learned all kinds of stuff. From Animatronics, robotics, industrial speed controllers, hydraulics, pyrotechnics, and tons of show elements that make everything unique from venue to venue. Tearing down and rebuilding rollercoasters was one of the most interesting adventures when you get to see exactly what goes into their designs, and exactly what should be done in order to keep them up to par. Some parks rebubuild during overhauls using the old hardware. BIG time no no. Anyway good luck with finding the right job for you.

My last job (a Senior Design Engineer for a large company) fit right into the middle of the salary ranges noted for Senior Engineers. I make less now but have much more fun working at SPC Racing.

How is that an exploitative wage? 9 bucks to do some menial job soldering cells together and wrapping it with expensive wrap seems fair in my opinion. It's not like they are doing brain surgery.

It's actually $15 p/hr

I have trouble attracting unskilled labourers for $18.50 p/hr

Well maybe its that, but what are you taxes like?

Tax rates 2010–11
<table border="1"><tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="160">Taxable income
</td> <td valign="top" width="340">Tax on this income
</td></tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="160">0 – $6,000
</td> <td valign="top" width="340">Nil
</td></tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="160">$6,001 – $37,000
</td> <td valign="top" width="340">15c for each $1 over $6,000
</td></tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="160">$37,001 – $80,000
</td> <td valign="top" width="340">$4,650 plus 30c for each $1 over $37,000
</td></tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="160">$80,001 – $180,000
</td> <td valign="top" width="340">$17,550 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000
</td></tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="160">$180,001 and over
</td> <td valign="top" width="340">$54,550 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000
</td></tr></tbody></table>

versus usa

<table width="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" bordercolor="#e5ecff" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td width="14%" bgcolor="#c3d5e7">Tax Rate
</td> <td width="43%" bgcolor="#c3d5e7"> Married Couples Filing Jointly
</td> <td width="43%" bgcolor="#c3d5e7"> Most Single Filers
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>10%</td> <td>Not over $16,750</td> <td>Not over $8,375</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">15%</td> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">$16,750 – $68,000</td> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">$8,375 – $34,000</td> </tr> <tr> <td>25%</td> <td>$68,000 – $137,300</td> <td>$34,000 – $82,400</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">28%</td> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">$137,300 – $209,250</td> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">$82,400 – $171,850</td> </tr> <tr> <td>33%</td> <td>$209,250 – $373,650</td> <td>$171,850 – $373,650</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">35%</td> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">Over $373,650</td> <td bgcolor="#e8eaec">Over $373,650</td></tr></tbody></table>

$12/hr for a double E? I was making that before I even graduated tech school. After I got my AE I was making more than twice that (16 years ago), and we live in one of the cheapest areas in the country as far as cost of living goes.

$9 an hour to assemble packs is more than fair in most areas, it's not hard and we pay people more than that to solder our circuit boards, and that is a lot harder than packs.

Also isn't the exchange rate for AU a lot lower than the US?

AUD 1.00 = 0.995405 USD

Depends what you call a lot :lol:

I'm an Electrical Engineer working for an MEP design firm in Vegas and I can tell you its bad out here. A lot of guys/gals moved out of state to find work. I know at least 5 ME's out of work right now that are trying to stay in town, and a bunch more EE's.

I've seen all sorts of degreed M and E engineers right out of school and they cant find jobs at all. I've had some offer to work for just for the experience. No one wants to train, especially in this economy.

On topic: Patiently waiting.....

I think Vegas has been hit worst than most other states. I saw my house go from 520k to 450k to 220k. How about 170k for a foreclosure in the neighborhood. Some people start crying over losing 10 percent. Dont come crying at my house. During the peak we had engineers all over 6 figures, and designers making 70-100k range. Everyone that I know has pretty much taken a 40 to 50 percent or so cut in pay when you include benefits (or lack thereof), again thats if you can find a job. If you check the want ads you will see architects offering autocad drafting jobs for 9 bucks an hour.

Yeah 9 per hour isn't bad for anywhere in Alabama. I would enjoy the job. I've worked 4 jobs and never made that much. Only twice have I made more than minimum. I'm only 22 though.

The MA bashing is kinda weird. They overcharge and they make false claims. They get big annoying ads in rc magazines. They burnt a couple of guys years ago on RCM. The biggest(longest) threads on this forum are what? MA bash threads. Its weird. lol

And a couple Maxx build threads..... :whistle:

Just tell them to join the military.

Hmm, that's not too bad. For a married, two-income couple w/ professional degrees, lets say a combined income of 120K. The taxes are almost exactly the same. However, that doesn't acct for all the exemptions, deductions, and other taxes. We also have a payroll tax of 2%(?) on the first ~$100K to fund the gov't pension program for the elderly (social security,) OTOH we get large exemptions for home owners, such as being able to deduct the interest paid on morgages. Alot of the game is hitting these to get taxes down. Sure its the same there, but don't know specifics.

My wife and I both have good jobs and end up in the upper income percentiles (we're not rich by any means, and having two young kids makes us feel broke all the time, lol ;) ) but are federal tax rate ends up close to 20% or so.

Need to add in state taxes and property taxes which I'm guessing are higher in the USA.

You know thats right....!! :oops: :lol::yipi: I should have quit years ago and got a Mugen or Losi 8t. lol

There's more;

-Australian employers are required to make compulsory minimum 9% superannuation payments based on a 38hr week

-Most industry awards require overtime payments (1.5 x hourly pay rate) after 38 hrs worked

-Most industry awards incorporate penalty rates, allowances etc for respective tasks or situations

-Govt income tax rebates calculated on variable criteria

However as BIG-block mentioned cost of living needs to be applied also;

Sydney (for example) is apparently the 17th most expensive city
San Fran is the 95th
NYC is the 33rd

(http://www.xpatulator.com/outside.cfm?page=Locations internet compilation + ranking of 300 international cities)

I know for sure the cost of living will increase sharply in the next few weeks as we pay more for fresh food after the floods. Retailers win - farmers + consumers get screwed

Ps this is now a much more interesting thread...

Not that big of a deal huh...

And BTW, they burnt more than a few of us.

And everyone loves to beat a dead orse, especially here. Where have you been? If you check the number of builds is kinda low on the forum compared to a few years ago. So we have to have something to do, and beating up on MA is kinda fun in a SM kinda way...

As for the crawler guys liking MA packs, just commenting on what I have seen. Maybe they got wise and started buying the better stuff that HC sell.

Alls good in the end.
 

Yea thats my thinking on this to. In the end as people keep getting burned by MA and the markets opens up with more and more options, MA will eventually suffer for the lack of concern for customer support, service, and providing a good quality product. Not to mention false advertising in trying to project an image that their Lipos are so much better than everyone elses. What we know now will sooner or later trickle into the open for everyone to sift through and realize what a waste of money it was investing in their products. At least they will never be able to say that they had no idea that what they were doing was such a bad thing. This thread is a testiment to their sins and an obvious chance for them to repent and fix the problem, and yet they ignored it thinking that they could just keep getting away with poor marketing practices that mirror so many scams seen in our hobby today.

I've seen all the threads. I know its not new. My post is in response to all the mega long threads. You are right I suppose there is not much to do. This is a sad thought, thinking that brushless doesn't have that underground devious feel anymore. It was such a thrill to show up at a track with a "flashlight" and hear "my T-Maxx goes 80mph" that E-Maxx prolly can't do 20!" Backflip Jaw drop. And I'm just talking about V3 release time really. I know alot of you guys were around before the mmm and lipo. When brushless was like really underground and exotic. Now all the RTRs are BL and easy. Not much is left uncharted.

Maybe this MA thing will get somewhere. :na:

Yeah, I glossed over that as they are quite variable from state to state (eg from 0-10%+ state sales tax, some states no income taxes) and I have no idea is if Oz has VAT taxes, fuel taxes, prop taxes or other such little taxes that rack up. Gets to be bit of a mess.

I do wonder what the overall tax burden would be if you added all that stuff up.

There is still plenty of uncharted BL stuff. Like 1/5 scale for example. Mot much going there save for the baja and the newest CC stuff. Anything else and you get to make your own. Bring a converted 4x4 5th scaler that does 60mph to your track and really watch some jaws drop...

True that. I am loving the 1/5 scale BL stuff that is going on around the forums.

Well I get $29/hour for assembling Toyota Camrys all day long. Not what one would call highly skilled labor but you do need certain skills. All in all a good job that doesn't require any education other that being able to speak english. I think it is pretty good. I can afford to make payments on my mortgage (I pay a little extra too) and also enjoy this hobby all on my single income. Not complaining one bit.

I don't pay property tax??? I do pay council rates which are $1200/year. Not sure if that is the same thing???? VAT???? Is that like import tax? If it is then everything bellow AU$1000 coming into the country is free of tax. Fuel is one thing that we get screwed on. We pay lots more for it that you guys in US do. Today I filled up at 134.9 cents and liter. Since a US gallon is 3.78541178 liters then times the 134.9 cents by that and you get $5.10 roughly a gallon of fuel. Just to make it easier for you guys to relate to that. I think that is pretty darn crap. Also food seems to be a lot cheaper in US. I have been looking on the net and seems like there is a fair bit of a price difference there in favor of you guys.

So you're to blame :lol:

VAT = Value Added Tax. It's like our GST except our retail pricing structure incorporates the GST & by law it can't be shown separately

For those that don't know, GST = Goods & Services Tax (10%)

Financial planning
 

Yea I have lieved in many countries and I can assure you that teh USA pays way less for gas than most. Most of Europe has been paying upwards of $5 to even $10 a gallon for gas for quite some time now. Food is somewhat cheaper as well just because of the shear volume of food consumed overall.

Instead of paying extra on your mortgage you may want to think about putting that extra into a savings account just in case you get laid off or the plant shuts down for one reason or another. That would give you something to live off of in case the bottom falls out on you. Auto makers are notorious for paying a lot more than most for labor, because they are making a $hit load of money raping us for the cost of autos in general. We have seen plenty of plants shut all of a sudden without warning, and people get shell shocked when they have to go from making $35 and hour into a normal job making $15 to $20 an hour and cannot afford the level of lifestyle they are used to, because no one else out there is paying anywhere near that amount for an hourly wage. Good for you though, while it lasts.

Don't US residential loans offer what we know as 'redraw facilities'?

The redraw allows you to access the extra payments in times of need all the while keeping the interest component down - win/win for the borrower with spare cash