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Hi,
Brand new here, and hoping this is the right place to post this question.

I talked to a local Wild Blue installer that is looking for a couple guys to possibly sub work out to, and I'm considering doing it. I cold called the guy one day to see if he was hiring, and he told me he was getting really busy, and would probably be needing some help soon, and that it's piece work(obviously) that he would sub out. He told me I'd have to get certified, online, and hands on, have liability, etc. etc. Told me what tools are pretty much required and all that as well.

Now to the pay. I rode with him the other day, just to watch what he does and whatnot. I've done a little of this kind of work on my own house, but not for a living, so I told him I'm go with a few days to see what he does, and sort of get trained, and basically see if feels I could do it, or to see if I really want to do it.......things of that nature. Anyway, did that the other day, and how much I would get paid came into the conversation. I know it's by the job, and he told me a standard install, which is basically the dish, mounted on the house, and one wall penetration, to one modem(something like that) would pay $60 to $80. He didn't say what could make it $60, or what could make it $80, or anything in between. He also said that any materials, like cable, ground block, connectors, etc. come out of that. Once you have the necessary tools to do the job, the only thing coming out of that $60 to $80 is the materials I just mentioned, and he said that would be roughly 5-10 dollars per job. Obviously, gas comes out of whatever I make, and most everything he gets is in remote areas, so there is quite a bit of driving.

He also mentioned that there is a lot of opportunity to get "extras", like pole mounts, maybe a wall fish, etc. etc., and that really helps a lot. So, I gave him an example of driving to an area that he frequently gets work in, that would easily take a half tank of gas, which is a minimum of $40. If I did two $60 jobs in a day, with no extras, and used $10 in materials on each job, and a half tank of gas, I'd make $60 for the day, give or take a couple bucks. Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone that it wouldn't be worth it to do that, and I can't see too many people wanting to do that. I know more than two jobs can be done in a day, but everything in my area requires some pretty significant driving, so I can see it taking 3 or 4 jobs to make a decent amount in a day, but with all the driving, that can make for some pretty long days, and again, will it be worth it for the time spent?

That leads to my question.........does anyone have any idea if the rate he is telling me is fairly accurate for someone that is having this work subbed out to them by a Wild Blue contractor? I don't know this guy....he seems like a straight shooter, but hey, I think it's wise to do my homework. Obviously he has a contract with Wild Blue, and he is going to make something on every job he gives me....I get that. I'm just trying to make sure I'd be getting the "going rate" in this situation.

If anyone has any input or feedback they can provide on this, I'd greatly appreciate this. There is a significant investment I would need to make in needed tools, a netbook/laptop, liability, the fee for the hands on license, some other license he told me I'd need, etc., so I want to make sure the pay rate is about right, if I can. Like I said, just doing my homework. Even sending me a pm would be great, if this is maybe something that shouldn't be discussed openly, for whatever reason.

Thanks in advance!