Can't decide which is better: janitor or sewer worker. While the San Francisco janitor only made $271K, he did get to sleep on the job and claim he worked 20 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The streets of New York aren’t paved with gold, but the sewers apparently are.
An employee in the city’s Department of Environmental Protection walked off with an astonishing $539,098 paycheck last year, according to records released by the Empire Center think tank.
Bhavesh Patel, a stationary engineer, clocked 1,992 overtime hours on top of his 2,086 regular hours, the city confirmed Friday.
That means he worked an average of 78 hours a week for 52 weeks, assuming he never called out sick or took a day of vacation.
His pay was also bolstered by back pay from a new contract settled after a 10-year dispute.
“New York’s sewers run 24 hours a day with more than 1 billion gallons of wastewater and these engineers protect public health by ensuring it all flows in the right direction,” said DEP spokesman Ted Timbers, trying to explain the eye-popping figure.
An official said the department’s overtime needs were driven by a staff shortage, which it has worked to address this year.
The official added that the positions require a state operator license and proficiency with high-voltage equipment — “an extraordinarily high skill set.”
Records show overtime was rampant among engineers.
Of the 207 stationary engineers, 99 clocked more than 400 hours of OT and 37 made $100,000 or more.
The streets of New York aren’t paved with gold, but the sewers apparently are.
Hahaha look at the bureaucrat squirm as he tries to justify the absurd pay of this government employee.“New York’s sewers run 24 hours a day with more than 1 billion gallons of wastewater and these engineers protect public health by ensuring it all flows in the right direction,” said DEP spokesman Ted Timbers, trying to explain the eye-popping figure.
Wow that's nuts. Do that job for a couple years, buy a nice acreage property and live like a king.
I wonder what kind of long term health risks are associated with that kind of work though.
The article doesn't reveal how much of the $530k was money owed to him from work done in previous years. It's kind of important to the story. "City worker finally gets $XXXk in wrongly withheld wages after 10 year battle" doesn't make nearly as interesting a headline.His pay was also bolstered by back pay from a new contract settled after a 10-year dispute.
About the same as working in a cubicle.Wow that's nuts. Do that job for a couple years, buy a nice acreage property and live like a king.
I wonder what kind of long term health risks are associated with that kind of work though.
An official said the department’s overtime needs were driven by a staff shortage, which it has worked to address this year.
The official added that the positions require a state operator license and proficiency with high-voltage equipment — “an extraordinarily high skill set.”
That's... That's not how it works. At all.You kidding?? He probably has the best health of anyone in his household. My plumber and sewer guy (I have a bad underground line that requires snaking 1-3 times a year) who both routinely work with sewage and waste systems have their immune systems bolstered by their everyday work. These guys have way more antibodies for more illnesses than normal people. Both of them have separately told me they haven't been sick in years even when everyone in their households are coughing and sniffling with colds/flus etc...
The article doesn't reveal how much of the $530k was money owed to him from work done in previous years. It's kind of important to the story. "City worker finally gets $XXXk in wrongly withheld wages after 10 year battle" doesn't make nearly as interesting a headline.
Staten Island-based stationary engineer Bhavesh N. Patel brought home $237,389.73 in over time pay during fiscal year 2018, which ended June 30, according to the data. That's on top of the $234,407.25 in regular pay he grossed for the fiscal year. And on top of that, he earned another $67,301.34 in what the city calls "other pay," like differentials.
So he lives in New York and is effectively working two full time professional jobs. The pay doesn't strike me as unreasonable.Here's the breakdown:
The $67,301 in "differentials" refers to his back pay. He still makes close to half a million a year.
That's... That's not how it works. At all.
I'm just pointing out that getting exposed to hep c in the sewers isn't going to stop you getting flu!You might be surprised. A lot of recent research in immunology has found counter-intuitive results. Chief among these is identifying our overly hygienic modern environments as being the trigger for the development of a lot of allergies and even possibly autoimmune diseases. Having a little "stimulation", especially early in our lives can lead to stronger immune function with fewer allergies.
For example, exposure to cats and dogs in childhood reduces the risk of allergic sensitization and developing atopic disorders:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2783630/
While I don't think working in sewer systems is likely to have the same effect, I also haven't been able to find any studies done on the topic so it would be interesting to examine "dirty jobs" and the immune systems of those who work in such occupations to see if there is any link there.
I'm just pointing out that getting exposed to hep c in the sewers isn't going to stop you getting flu!
This is true! Although I like to get vaccinated against both!For sure. But PPE and good hygiene practices will prevent you from getting either one.
Since they are union, I bet he gets double time on at least Sundays. And I know a lot of trades like linemen and airline mechanics start getting 2.5 or 3x after so many hours straight. When I worked for an airline (as an engineer) and traveled with mechanics we basically never slept so they could stay on 2.5x time. Got the planes back in the air quicker, so the company was happy. They got big paychecks so the mechanics were happy. I got a "Why isn't your real work done?" from my boss when I got back to the office.Isn't that like less than minimum wage in NYC? Only enough for a 10x10 loft?
Also, that's a shit ton of overtime. I worked about half that last year and almost doubled my pay for the year.