When I recieved my CWI I was fortunate enough to already be in the inspections dept and I recieved 30 an hour. This was in Texas. I think that I was fortunate because I was able to start getting documented experience right away and I thought the wage was very fair considereing that I was also getting perdiem although the job was 10 minutes from the house.
I believe that gaining certain experience is a key to future compensation. Currently I am working in an office 40 hours a week for a salary that equates to just a little more than what I was making on that rookie CWI job. I am taking a calculated risk that the experience that I am gaining working at this Engineering company will help me in the long run. I understand that if i was in the field working mad overtime that I could easily double or maybe even triple what I am making now. I have been here for over a year now and I think that I have made the right decision. I have learned alot about Risk Based Inspection and fitness for service and I dont believe that I would be learning as much if I was out in the field. It is nice to have paid vacation and not having to wear a hardhat every day. My company foots the bill for tons of training and they want me to gain as many API certs as possible. And I dont plan on leaving if a better offer comes up. The money will come later with more experience.
Sorry to ramble on but I just wanted to point out that you may want to take a more comfortable job that may not pay as well in order to gain the experience that will be invaluable in the future. Just a thought.
I don't even own a pair of steel toes anymore. :)
John