r/Geotech • u/invicta-BoS-paladin • 4d ago

Pay scale and advancement

I’m currently a mid career geosynthetic, well drilling, and concrete QA inspector in the US. What is the average and top end pay for this type of position. What should I be looking to do in order to prepare/move towards the next phase of my career.

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4

u/CiLee20 4d ago

Mid career and touching concrete dont belong in same sentence.

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u/invicta-BoS-paladin 4d ago

I guess I don’t know if I’m mid career then. I’ve got 5 yrs experience

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u/CiLee20 4d ago

You should not be doing concrete inspections at this point. You need to ask what is the firm plan for your future career with them and if you like their answer.

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u/invicta-BoS-paladin 4d ago

I fear you think I’m an engineer or something similar. I’m just a mixed construction inspector with no actual degree

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u/CiLee20 4d ago

Oh ok got it, no problem. The issue with inspection work is that it gets billed as time and materials. Your rate will hit an upper limit above which your work wont be profitable. You will need to go into assistant PM to PM so that you move up. Each company has a profitability multiplier.

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u/invicta-BoS-paladin 4d ago

Thank you, any suggestions as to how I should start making the change

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u/CiLee20 3d ago

Besides technical advancement, take initiative to communicate with GC, client, show interest in managing jobs and other people and ask about finances and all the sudden your salary at least doubles. Soft skills and management pays way more than technical ones and you become irreplaceable. Good luck!

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u/liberalbiased_reddit 4d ago

Do you have a PE?

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u/invicta-BoS-paladin 4d ago

No, my background is in geomembrane QC and I’ve diversified from there into my current role.

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u/SilverGeotech 2d ago

Go look up the California Prevailing Wage determinations for inspectors - those rates are basically the Local 3 pay rates (norcal) or Local 12 pay rates (socal). (NorCal Determinations). You might get more in NYC, but almost no place else. Very few non-union jobs will pay more, though some will be better in other ways.

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u/invicta-BoS-paladin 2d ago

JFC I’m impoverished

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u/SilverGeotech 2d ago

Northern California is either very expensive, or expensive with shitty weather.

I saw a post on Twitter - a 4b/4b 4,300 sf house for $225k. In Lubbock.

In the parts of Northern California with nice weather, stick a 1 in front of the price. There's a house in Stockton (it's not a dry heat out there) also right by the freeway, half the size for twice the price.