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Author Topic: Average wage of a projectionist with tech responsibilites? Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 09-24-2005 01:37 PM                    I was just curious if anyone cared to share what the average projectionist with some tech responsibities would make? What I mean by SOME tech responsibilities is swapping out the occasional bad component, rebuilding old parts, ordering new parts, bulb changing, booth supervision/training as well as being called at home when something breaks. I'm not looking for anyone to tell me what they make, but maybe just an average figure. Would you charge milage to your theater if you lived a substantial distance away and were called during your off time? I'm trying to get a feel for what a position of this type should be paid. Thanks..  |  IP: Logged Mike Babb Master Film Handler Posts: 250 From: Norwich UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 09-24-2005 06:24 PM                        How about $15 an hour if the person is qualified to do the things you listed, and no mileage but possibly door to door hourly wage if called in during off time? That's off the top of my head, I suspect the pay would be less at least to start and a person is probably worth more than that in the long run but good luck getting it...many theatres don't respect and will not pay well for projection skills.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-24-2005 06:49 PM                     Thats only $31,200 per year. Not bad in the rust belt, but poverty level in other places. In my opinion, a good projectionist should match a competant manager's yearly gross.  |  IP: Logged Mike Babb Master Film Handler Posts: 250 From: Norwich UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 09-24-2005 07:27 PM                        True but I'll bet you won't find many managers below the general manager making much more than that either. Not in the midwest anyway...  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 09-24-2005 08:52 PM                    Well, I'm all for paying for good help, as it is now, they get under $9/hr. Talk about poverty...  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 09-24-2005 09:12 PM                        Here a couple of years ago I had a job with duties like that for $14 an hour to start. So $15 sounds/feels about right, for here anyway.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 09-25-2005 12:03 PM                     kinda curious....what part of the country that $32K/yr is poverty level...? Brother, if that area's average salary in then $64K to stay afloat, sounds like the cost of living is tremendous (is this California...?). -Monte  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-25-2005 12:41 PM                     Monte, I know in the DC Metro area that $32K is going to make life pretty miserable...not that it isn't doable but it is going to be slumming unless you live with others and don't want/need too much in life. Better not have a family with that income either.  |  IP: Logged Dominic Espinosa Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1172 From: California, U.S.A. Registered: Jan 2004 posted 09-25-2005 01:21 PM                     Heh. Last year I grossed around $18000 but I've since gotten a raise so it should be more so long as our new managers keep my hours full I do lamps, maintenance (cleaning, oil change, lamp rotation, etc.), platter timing (AW3's), some troubleshooting, and whatever other odd jobs need getting done around the booth and fit my scope of knowledge/experience. Previously I've filed aperture plates and helped install TA10's at other theaters. I live in Merced, CA. in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley. While that income isn't much with low bills it can be lived off of here. Of course, costs are going up, and if you manage more screens you really should be compensated well over $10/hr. Hope that help. --Dom  |  IP: Logged Olivia Coleman Film Handler Posts: 53 From: Bend, OR USA Registered: Jun 2005 posted 09-25-2005 02:22 PM                        I already know I'm underpaid to a point... Even though I got a raise this year. I'm lucky that my husband makes good money and we have a roommate. I get just under $9/hr. Which for my company is pretty good. I am the booth manager's assistant so when she's not there I'm her... (I do bulb changes. Platter timing and the like are done monthly and I do this with the booth manager.) Other projectionists/managers who do minimal maintenance get just under $8/hr.  |  IP: Logged Kurt Zupin Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 989 From: Maricopa, Arizona Registered: Oct 2004 posted 09-25-2005 07:27 PM                     As the booth Super/shift manager of a small 5 screen, I make $9.60/hr now but my company has a good raise program.(I can change bulbs, Run the film-guard fix non major repairs, diagnose problems, time plattes, and vacuum the booth ) Every 2 months your eligible for a raise. Its up to you how much your going to get. If your doing well in all areas and your going to get a nice raise. If not well, you got no one to blame but yourself. I will be capped out in less then a year though. Which will be $10.50/hr. I also work a second job loading FedEx trucks in the mornings, and that pays $8.00/hr for 4-5 hours of work every morning tues-sat. Last year I brought in $22,500 That was also before I got a few raises so that should be up a little this year.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-25-2005 07:53 PM                     You'll do okay with a $32K annual salary in my area of the country. Living costs in Oklahoma are pretty low. Still, you better not have a family to support on that income -at least not one without two incomes. Single parent families in my area often endure some bad financial ordeals. On the bright side, for the long term that is, one of the fastest growing segments of our population is single people without kids. The medical industry and child care and products industry (along with the higher education industry) is pricing parenthood beyond the reaches of many. I have no kids (or ex wives either). A few years ago I thought about being a father very seriously. Now I think such a move would bankrupt me. What does that have to do with salaries and dollar buying power? Our economy is eventually going to have to adjust high prices of all sorts of things back down within reach of single income houseolds. We'll either see some serious levels of inflation where salaries are forced upward to adjust with costs of living. Or we'll see serious levels of price deflation. And that may be more likely. I think a housing price bust is going to nail more than a few coastal markets.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 09-26-2005 12:59 AM                     Almost kinda points to that this industry isn't the greatest place to earn a decent living, unless you're young and free. The only exception is either being a qualified tekkie, or a megaplex manager - and job that is outside of the home office. Is it a sad and unfortunate thing if some of us love what we do and not get the bucks deserved? -Monte  |  IP: Logged Wolff King Morrow Master Film Handler Posts: 490 From: Denton, TX, USA Registered: Feb 2004 posted 09-26-2005 02:14 AM                        I have to do ALL tech service at my location with the exception of A-chain PMs. What I make is considerably lower than the quotes mentioned here, but I am getting excellent experience out of the deal, so I guess its a matter of trade-off. [ 09-26-2005, 08:23 AM: Message edited by: Wolff King Morrow ]  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 09-26-2005 03:44 AM                     quote: Aaron Mehocic In my opinion, a good projectionist should match a competent manager's yearly gross Course, I could "accidently" fester up a healed wound of a topic on this statement real bad (and not meaning to), and I don't want to get in trouble for this, but when I was in the IA, we were getting paid almost DOUBLE than the managers of certain theatres. I really was "under the gun" with some of this after the IA contracts had expired and the theatre circuit, that I was working with, allowed me to keep my union scale wage and working agreements, of 6hr, half-day shifts and overtime-as if the contract was still in effect. I made some fat dough doing this since I worked mainly the doubles each day, plus whatever there was to do before noon and after midnight to get the overtime. I only took one day off at the time-hey,I was free and single and no social life to worry about (LOL), so why not be constructive and make some dough while I had the chance? Then, one year, a new manager came into our town to take over on a transfer and he raised holy hell to the home office due to that I was making almost twice as much as he was, and I fought back with my boss on this mentioning that this pin-headed of a manager didn't know an inkling on what I knew. He tried to crank me out of the agreement that I was allowed to have and take away the overtime thing as well. He tried to limit my working time down to 35hrs/wk, but I fought him hard on this. It took a couple of months to absolve this problem, but I won out since that pin-headed manager hated our area anyway and the assistant manager took over duties. He really appreciated me of my skills, since he didn't want those kinds of responsibilities anywho. He was glad that I was there to run the place...totally from the roof down to the basement-to fix the swampcoolers to the coal furnace. Fun days those were - Monte  |  IP: Logged

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