That's because it's not easy to find workers in the business. Nationwide, wages for trash workers have grown 18%, which is a lot faster than the 14% average for all workers since the recession ended in June 2009. Not only do they earn a good salary, their wages are growing faster than the average too. Guys who go to college might not make the kind of money "(I make) on the back of a garbage truck, picking up trash," says Sankar. Molina and Sankar are aware that they outearn many people with a college degree. Across all professions, high school dropouts earn about $24,000, while high school graduates make $30,000 annually, according to the U.S. Nationwide, the annual salary for a garbage truck driver is $40,000, according to the Labor Department. Not everyone makes six figures, but most trash workers are doing better than high school dropouts and even graduates. He says his starting salary was about $80,000. Sankar too dropped out of school before migrating to the U.S. Molina dropped out of high school in the 10th grade and he's worked at Crown for 10 years. Their wages have grown in eight of the last nine years, according to their bosses, brothers David and Jerry Antonacci, owners of Crown Container, a waste management company. Molina made $112,000 last year as a garbage truck driver and Sankar made $100,000 as a helper, riding on the back of the truck. "Your trash is my money," Molina, 32, says with a baby-faced grin. Part of the reason is they get paid well for their hard work. rain or shine, ice cold or burning hot.Īnd yet, they love their job. And yes, one time Sankar saw a human leg in a dumpster. Stale fish, footlong rats, dead pigs and cows. Molina and his co-worker, Tony Sankar, have been picking trash together for a decade in New York City. When Noel Molina smells trash, he smells money.
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