Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
#16
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 224
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
I think it is good to start with and gets your foot in the door once you get PR could earn a lot more maybe $35 - $37 an hour or self employed even morr
#17
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2010
Location: Lincoln, UK
Posts: 82
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
#18
Binned by Muderators
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: White Rock BC
Posts: 11,682
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
There is certainly an opportunity. Whether it is worthwhile depends on your desire to be your own boss, and attitude to risk. In the Vancouver area you can do very well for yourself if you go about it the right way.
#21
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
Not expecting to be living in luxury hopefully I will eventually be able to earn too but want to be sure that if we had to we could survive on one wage really
#22
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
Thats what we are thinking - if we can live on this one wage then if I can also start earning and then look around and see what else is out there then we could build up from there
#23
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
It would depend on whether it's salaried or piece work. Many dealerships (most) not sure about independent garages will only pay you if you are physically working on a job, so if your not working your not getting paid ANYTHING. That said if your OH is a good mechanic and not afraid to do the crap work as well as the good stuff then he could earn almost 30-40% more than what the other posters are quoting
My OH WILL take the crap jobs just so he's not standing around doing nothing BUT he will also fight for the decent ones and fight to get paid for the crap jobs. If he's seeing the other techs getting service after service and he's getting electrical probs after electrical he will complain.
We live very comfortably with one house and a mortgage and bills, two adults and a teen, OH buys whatever cars he fancy's, we have weekends away and are able to save a bit too. Fancy holidays are a luxury we haven't yet mastered, maybe next year, we've been here 6 years, OH is earning far more than he used to in the UK. One thing to consider is the stuff is bigger, therefore heavier, therefore it takes more of a toll, my OH does not want to be doing this until retirement, it's too hard. He would consider going somewhere where there are not too many trucks and UPS vans though
My OH WILL take the crap jobs just so he's not standing around doing nothing BUT he will also fight for the decent ones and fight to get paid for the crap jobs. If he's seeing the other techs getting service after service and he's getting electrical probs after electrical he will complain.
We live very comfortably with one house and a mortgage and bills, two adults and a teen, OH buys whatever cars he fancy's, we have weekends away and are able to save a bit too. Fancy holidays are a luxury we haven't yet mastered, maybe next year, we've been here 6 years, OH is earning far more than he used to in the UK. One thing to consider is the stuff is bigger, therefore heavier, therefore it takes more of a toll, my OH does not want to be doing this until retirement, it's too hard. He would consider going somewhere where there are not too many trucks and UPS vans though
The whole piece work thing is very interesting though my husband has never heard of that before - he reckons if the garage he worked at now worked on that system then they wouldnt be earning much at all at the moment!!
The job is for a large transportation Co so it does look like it will be a lot of buses etc.
As mentioned in another post we are looking at this as an in really, if we can live on it OK to start and I can eventually earn too and then go from there.
BTW when do kids start school over there?
#26
Just Joined
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 4
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
Hi there.
I have just returned from visiting my brother in-law in Okotoks. He said that $60k is ok to start on but to be comfortable $80k is the ceiling to aim for.
He Currently rents a 3 bed house in Okotoks which is $1200. They get paid every 2 weeks so one pay check goes towards the rent. The tax is 5% in Alberta.
If you have any questions about Okotoks then feel free to PM me.
I have just returned from visiting my brother in-law in Okotoks. He said that $60k is ok to start on but to be comfortable $80k is the ceiling to aim for.
He Currently rents a 3 bed house in Okotoks which is $1200. They get paid every 2 weeks so one pay check goes towards the rent. The tax is 5% in Alberta.
If you have any questions about Okotoks then feel free to PM me.
#28
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
By the look of the offer letter it appears that it is a salary for a set amount of hours, no mention of piece work.
The whole piece work thing is very interesting though my husband has never heard of that before - he reckons if the garage he worked at now worked on that system then they wouldnt be earning much at all at the moment!!
The job is for a large transportation Co so it does look like it will be a lot of buses etc.
As mentioned in another post we are looking at this as an in really, if we can live on it OK to start and I can eventually earn too and then go from there.
BTW when do kids start school over there?
The whole piece work thing is very interesting though my husband has never heard of that before - he reckons if the garage he worked at now worked on that system then they wouldnt be earning much at all at the moment!!
The job is for a large transportation Co so it does look like it will be a lot of buses etc.
As mentioned in another post we are looking at this as an in really, if we can live on it OK to start and I can eventually earn too and then go from there.
BTW when do kids start school over there?
As for the Piece work thing, it does get stressful when the shop is quiet or OH just gets no time jobs day after day, but it usually evens out over the year.
I was issued a WP as my OH is a mechanic and it came under the right category.
Last edited by Piff Poff; Jul 12th 2011 at 2:09 pm.
#29
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 12,830
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
Here is an income tax calculator for Alberta. http://www.finance.alberta.ca/calc-script/tax_calc.html
Rule of thumb has it that about 50% of what we earn goes in tax one way or another.
When you get here get a tax professional to file your tax return (by the end of April each year for the year before). This way you should not miss out on any deductions. Personally, I would avoid 'tax preparers' and use an accountant.
The prices you see in the stores, for the most part, add 5% for sales tax to the price you see. Food is not taxed at POS (yet!).
Rule of thumb has it that about 50% of what we earn goes in tax one way or another.
When you get here get a tax professional to file your tax return (by the end of April each year for the year before). This way you should not miss out on any deductions. Personally, I would avoid 'tax preparers' and use an accountant.
The prices you see in the stores, for the most part, add 5% for sales tax to the price you see. Food is not taxed at POS (yet!).
#30
Re: Is $28 an hour a decent wage for Calgary?
Here is an income tax calculator for Alberta. http://www.finance.alberta.ca/calc-script/tax_calc.html
Rule of thumb has it that about 50% of what we earn goes in tax one way or another.
When you get here get a tax professional to file your tax return (by the end of April each year for the year before). This way you should not miss out on any deductions. Personally, I would avoid 'tax preparers' and use an accountant.
The prices you see in the stores, for the most part, add 5% for sales tax to the price you see. Food is not taxed at POS (yet!).
Rule of thumb has it that about 50% of what we earn goes in tax one way or another.
When you get here get a tax professional to file your tax return (by the end of April each year for the year before). This way you should not miss out on any deductions. Personally, I would avoid 'tax preparers' and use an accountant.
The prices you see in the stores, for the most part, add 5% for sales tax to the price you see. Food is not taxed at POS (yet!).