Job Scammers
January 21st, 2009With the state of our economy today many people are finding themselves on the receiving end of a pink slip. Thus increasing the traffic on job seeking sites that are full of scam jobs to begin with. Hopefully you do not find yourself in this position but if you do, you need to be aware of these scams.
Lets take a look at a job that was recently sent to me off on of the popular IT job sites:
XYZ Company is currently recruiting for a Client warranty field technician in your area.
This is an open-ended contract opportunity to work as a consultant to repair desktops, laptops, and printers. The Candidate will perform desktop computer “Break/Fix” support and Simple to Complex Installation, Add, or Change requirements of peripherals & Device Drivers. This is a great opportunity for the right individual.
The troubleshooting has already occurred through the Client help desk support line. That support line has determined the problem is hardware related and ordered the components for replacement.
Your job will be to pick up the hardware and take it to the client site (home, home-based business or small business), swap the part(s) out and return the warranty part(s) to Client.
This contract pays $27.00 per ticket within 50 miles and $35.00 per ticket from 51-75 miles, and you will be assigned an average of 4-8 tickets a day. The mileage is included in the price per ticket.
Does not sound too bad. No troubleshooting, just pick up the part and take it to the customer. No sitting in an office with a manager breathing down your neck. Just you, your favorite podcast and the open road.
Since you would have to provide your own car, you would hope the employer would reimburse you for mileage, correct? Wrong. The fee per ticket includes mileage.
Let’s see why this job is such a scam by the numbers.
The current federal mileage rate is 58.5 cents per mile. This was set July 2008 right when gas was creeping on $4.00 a gallon. So lets factor our current gas prices and take the rate down, lets conservatively say 48.5 cents per mile. I am factoring in gas, oil changes, tires, maintenance and wear and tear on a relatively new car.
Now, lets do the math assuming maximum jobs per day at maximum travel distance for each job:
Jobs within 50 miles
- 8 jobs per day * $27 per job = $216 per day
- 5 days per week * $216 per day = $1080 per week
- $1080 per week * 52 weeks = $56,150 per year
Jobs within 51 – 75 miles
- 8 jobs per day * $35 per job = $280 per day
- $280 per day * 5 days per week = $1400 per week
- $1400 per week * 52 weeks = $72,800 per year – not bad you are thinking, right?
Lets factor in the mileage for the jobs within 50 miles:
- 50 miles per job * $0.485 per mile = $24.25 per job
- $24.25 per job * 8 jobs per day = $194 per day
- $194 per day * 5 days per week = $970 per week
- $970 per week * 52 weeks = $50,440 per year
- $56,150 per year salary – $50,440 per year mileage = $5,710 per year
What? Under $6 grand per year? That is terrible. Think of what other work you could do for $2.75 per hour!
How about the long jobs, those have to pay better, right?
- 75 miles per job * $0.485 per mile = $36.38 per job
- $36.38 per job * 8 jobs per day = $291.04 per day
- $291.04 per day * 5 days per week = $1455.20 per week
- $1555.20 per week * 52 weeks = $75,670.40 per year!
- $72,800 per year salary – $75,670.40 per year mileage = -$2,870.40 per year
Well, at least the -$2,870.40 per year is before taxes! It’s a good thing they added must like driving to the job description!
Now, I know this is is the best/worst case scenario for the job, but seriously, how can you sleep at night knowing you are hiring employees that pay to work for you. We are not talking used car salesmen here.
If you are in the market for a new job, please be weary of what is sent to you. If something sounds too good to be true, then it most likely is.
Wait a minute… What if the distances traveled for each job in the description are one way? I do not want to know those numbers!
Good luck and hang in there, the economy cant stay bad forever.