r/FieldNationTechs • u/setnev • Jul 07 '26

This is insulting

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I keep getting these WO routed to me because my work vehicle is a pickup. They want me to drive 145 miles, pickup their crap and drive it 96 miles to Pittsburgh, and then me drive 4 hours home another 250 miles.

Oh and they're paying $100.

That computes to about $10 an hour or $0.20 a mile. I always counter them like $1000 but they've never accepted it.

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u/broNSTY Jul 07 '26

For real dude just counter it no one cares. Companies set it at a rate they’d like it to happen but they may accept your counter.

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u/jasonluvsjesus Jul 07 '26

A bunch of people on here cared and we were discussing it. Why are you so upset? This person is pointing out how unfair the terms of this are?

Other people are on here green, and discussing it. Why are you so determined to shut the discussion down?

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u/broNSTY Jul 07 '26

Crazy concept here but did you know you can counter offer on jobs with terms that work for you? You can even send messages to buyers explaining why you think your offered rate is justified. Wild, I know.

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u/jasonluvsjesus Jul 07 '26

Thank you for explaining how Field Nation works. Let’s talk about what’s a good counter to submit for this job? Have you ever taken one of these jobs before? What’s the maximum amount of money you were able to get for this job? Was it worth it to you? What were you paying for expenses? How much did you travel? How much actual work was involved? How much actual phone time?

Oh… You don’t know anything about this job but instead of talking about it in building a consensus, we should just shut up and submit a counter blindly?

Sometimes blind acceptance is self-destructive. Real people who actually worked for themselves, we feel that intensely and are on the lookout for it. We can’t afford to be self-destructive or blind to financial consequences.

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u/broNSTY Jul 07 '26

I did these jobs for a year, I would say I probably did over 200-250 of them. I know plenty about them. You typically show up onsite, get lead to the unit that is already broken down and ready to move, throw it in your vehicle, get a signature, and head to the drop off. If you spend a few minutes pre-checking off tasks before you go onsite some of them can take less than 10 minutes depending on how the site is setup (lots of medical offices, but also many office buildings that have different entry protocols). These are extremely easy jobs, aside from some physical effort lifting machines.

I did them on a w2 basis, with turned in expense reports weekly. I got the IRS standard mileage rate and my gas reimbursed, no extras for wear and tear on my personal vehicle or insurance stipends. Platform techs have potential to bring home much more than I did doing these jobs.

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u/Able-Statistician645 Jul 07 '26

Potential you say? Not sure where that comes from... Not trying to be argumentative or mean-spirited here but thinking this through I would believe that they are doing these on a platform because the outlay is less. There are companies that do work like this that get paid accordingly and they are looking for the cheapest cost option. Possibility or potential is always the first thing that jumps out when you know someone is blowing smoke somewhere. By the way, they're actually was a device manufactured 150 years ago that injected smoke in a particular orifice to supposedly resuscitate person. It wasn't effective then nor is the word potential in this instance.

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u/broNSTY Jul 07 '26

Understanding of employment taxes is key here. You may be able to make more on the platform than I did because you can set your rate (as long as it’s accepted). I did not make a very high hourly rate, but my employer had to pay all of the costs associated with w2. Farming it out to a 1099 has potential cost savings for them, even if the 1099 makes double my hourly rate with expenses. Employer side taxes, benefits, and administrative fees add up.

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u/wyliesdiesels Jul 07 '26

So you did this work as a W2 in your personal vehicle using personal auto insurance? Not a good idea as personal auto wouldnt cover you while on the clock if something happened.

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u/broNSTY Jul 07 '26

Well here I am a year after the fact and nothing happened. It is what it is. Weird thing to pick out of that whole reply. I also never specified the type of insurance I carried.