Hey all, I've been here for a while now, though haven't been posting as much as I'd like to (usually because what I've wanted to say has already been said).
The whole time I was here I struggled to justify spending more than $100 on any individual part for my bike. Sometimes even a cylinder had to wait a month before I could afford it. I've worked at the pork plant in my area for over a year and with a second child on the way now I've decided I cannot afford to liveon such a measly income ($14.45/hr @ 40hrs/week with 40% deductions, yikes!).
I decided it's time to progress in life, as I determined the maximum I would ever get there would be about $19/hr, which isn't much of an increase with all those deductions. So I quit, I stopped working there 2-weeks ago (on the 15th) and joined a 'class' that helps people find jobs and get skills for jobs. But I have a target job in mind that will set everything up for me. The class I'm taking started immediately after my last day (Monday the 18th). Thankfully, it does provide me some income (though less than my actual job), but it also provides me some certifications, as well as a police academy diploma (as well as my first time ever firing a real gun) and volunteer work, all of which will look great on my resume.
My target job? Oil rigger. I've done a lot of research into it and I think I can handle it. It's the only job I can think of where my less-than-adequate schooling wont hold me back. 2-weeks on, 1-week off, 12 hour days, no breaks, 7 days a week. Leasehands (Roustabouts) start at $23 an hour here. Doing some quick calculations, thats not really all that much... until you factor in overtime. Here, in Saskatchewan, overtime pays 1.5x time (so 4 hours is paid as 6 hours) and times where OT overlaps, it's 2x time. Over 8 hours a day = overtime (so I get paid 8 hours normal pay, then 4 hours OT, for a total of 14 hours paid). Over 48 hours in a week = overtime (so after the first 4 days of a week, I get OT for the first 8 hours, then 2OT for the last 4, resulting in a whopping 20 hours paid). So 14x4 = 56 hours + 20x3 = 60 hours = 116 hours equivalent paid in a single week. Which is $2668. But that's not where it ends. They also pay $150 a day living allowance which is untaxable, which stacks another $2100 on top of that. Not unionized (but under extremely strict Health and Safety laws and inspections) I estimate 20% deductions from tax, which results in a weekly pay of $4300 (roughly).
Being that I dont get paid for the first 3 weeks, I wont see anything on my first week off, but the second week I have off (after working another 2) I'll see an incredible $12,900. I calculated it out earlier today and figured it came out to around $121,700 a year net income.
Why did I bother posting this? Well aside from a great sense of pride, I plan on using the extra income to experiment with our bikes. Disposable income means I can screw up a cylinder, and be able to have another one ready to play with without having to wait. This also means that I'll be able to (finally) see you guys at the races in SoCal with my completed projects. It means I'll be able to test the turbo I've been wanting to for a while now. Find a way to have sustained fuel injection (woo! no more jet guessing games!), probably even produce performance parts that actually make more power (not pointing fingers, but I know the aftermarket for these engines is chock full of useless money-grabbers, hiding the real gems).
So, you can bet you'll see me at some races this year. You'll see what a ridiculously light weight piston can do for vibrations. I'll be able to see and compare the 9hp monster to my tinker toys (and get a rough gauge of if my engine is actually fast). Have a dedicated workshop complete with bench dyno. Life for me is going to be a whole lot more fun, and I'll for sure make sure you guys see some rewards as well
The whole time I was here I struggled to justify spending more than $100 on any individual part for my bike. Sometimes even a cylinder had to wait a month before I could afford it. I've worked at the pork plant in my area for over a year and with a second child on the way now I've decided I cannot afford to liveon such a measly income ($14.45/hr @ 40hrs/week with 40% deductions, yikes!).
I decided it's time to progress in life, as I determined the maximum I would ever get there would be about $19/hr, which isn't much of an increase with all those deductions. So I quit, I stopped working there 2-weeks ago (on the 15th) and joined a 'class' that helps people find jobs and get skills for jobs. But I have a target job in mind that will set everything up for me. The class I'm taking started immediately after my last day (Monday the 18th). Thankfully, it does provide me some income (though less than my actual job), but it also provides me some certifications, as well as a police academy diploma (as well as my first time ever firing a real gun) and volunteer work, all of which will look great on my resume.
My target job? Oil rigger. I've done a lot of research into it and I think I can handle it. It's the only job I can think of where my less-than-adequate schooling wont hold me back. 2-weeks on, 1-week off, 12 hour days, no breaks, 7 days a week. Leasehands (Roustabouts) start at $23 an hour here. Doing some quick calculations, thats not really all that much... until you factor in overtime. Here, in Saskatchewan, overtime pays 1.5x time (so 4 hours is paid as 6 hours) and times where OT overlaps, it's 2x time. Over 8 hours a day = overtime (so I get paid 8 hours normal pay, then 4 hours OT, for a total of 14 hours paid). Over 48 hours in a week = overtime (so after the first 4 days of a week, I get OT for the first 8 hours, then 2OT for the last 4, resulting in a whopping 20 hours paid). So 14x4 = 56 hours + 20x3 = 60 hours = 116 hours equivalent paid in a single week. Which is $2668. But that's not where it ends. They also pay $150 a day living allowance which is untaxable, which stacks another $2100 on top of that. Not unionized (but under extremely strict Health and Safety laws and inspections) I estimate 20% deductions from tax, which results in a weekly pay of $4300 (roughly).
Being that I dont get paid for the first 3 weeks, I wont see anything on my first week off, but the second week I have off (after working another 2) I'll see an incredible $12,900. I calculated it out earlier today and figured it came out to around $121,700 a year net income.
Why did I bother posting this? Well aside from a great sense of pride, I plan on using the extra income to experiment with our bikes. Disposable income means I can screw up a cylinder, and be able to have another one ready to play with without having to wait. This also means that I'll be able to (finally) see you guys at the races in SoCal with my completed projects. It means I'll be able to test the turbo I've been wanting to for a while now. Find a way to have sustained fuel injection (woo! no more jet guessing games!), probably even produce performance parts that actually make more power (not pointing fingers, but I know the aftermarket for these engines is chock full of useless money-grabbers, hiding the real gems).
So, you can bet you'll see me at some races this year. You'll see what a ridiculously light weight piston can do for vibrations. I'll be able to see and compare the 9hp monster to my tinker toys (and get a rough gauge of if my engine is actually fast). Have a dedicated workshop complete with bench dyno. Life for me is going to be a whole lot more fun, and I'll for sure make sure you guys see some rewards as well
