Just to clarify, the AVERAGE salaries quoted in the survey were in the $30K to $90K range. That was also for a span of businesses from the annual earnings under $5M range to a company with annual earnings over $30M. I am sure that the $141K listed as highest had a special circumstance to justify it being so high. Also, I am sure that it helped pull the average up also since it was part of the group being averaged.
I do not know what the job description elsewhere is for a QA/QC Manager, but here, I am responsible for ALL aspects of the quality of all steel that leaves our shop. In other words, if there is a call from the field, I am probably the first person responsible for any error that left our shop and made it to the field. No back charges attributable to the steel shop is my goal (I am sure I am jinxing myself by boasting, but none for almost 2 years now except detailing errors which I cannot control). I am to assure we meet all job specifications, codes, etc., as well as train and oversee other people performing any inspections. I also try to find ways for us to do things easier and more profitably as long as we still meet the applicable codes and standards. I also perform NDE and any other jobs or projects my boss calls for. Additionally, I continually am learning (from you guys and other sources) to keep up to date on any new codes, etc. that will affect the future of structural steel fabrication at our shop. I do travel some as I am looked at as the structural steel representative for our division of our mother construction contractor firm (we are a division of a design/build contractor which owns its own steel shop; in other words, the mother is 99% of our business). I have just broken into the bottom of the $45K to $75K salary range. Considering the upper hourly guys in our shop easily make more than I do when we work any overtime (about half the time) with a lot less responsibilities, that can be depressing since they just hit the clock when the day is over with no more cares for our company until the new day comes. I am working hard so that I may earn a higher salary in the future as I look at my job as very important to the profitability to our division. I think that you other guys in the same position as I ought to be earning in that range also. No, we do not directly contribute to production, but without us doing our jobs efficiently and competently, the efforts of production would be partly wasted. Our job is no less important than any project manager or production manager that also has their important place on the team. Our value to the bottom line is to assure, verify and document that production has done their job as profitably as they can and still meet the minimum requirements of the client. The better we do our job, the more profitable the effort. Our field is a specialty that, when done properly, is hard to fill. Simple supply and demand says that we should be worth more than bottom rate pay.
Brande,
Forum
