technician

field technician

meter reader

warehouse associate

project manager

Texas Meter & Device

A Meter Reader consists of all-day driving, including bad weather days. Here in West Texas there were many rural areas we went to on our routes that turned into muddy roads everytime in rained. So many people got stuck because the supervisors want you to get every Meter, or at least attempt to.
Each meter reader is assigned their own routes, and everyday of the month you traveled to a different location, until the next month and you start the cycle all over again doing those same routes each month.

Residential (house) meters can be easier sometimes because they're usually all closer together to help you finish your route faster. The few things about it is that you have to constantly get in and out of your vehicle repeatedly, sometimes you will have customers who do not want you in their property, and sometimes you have to jump gates, look over fences with a ladder and binoculars, knock on doors if you can't get to it, or worst of all DEAL WITH DOGS, and/or even call the customer if no one is home.
All these things are easy, but the more you run into those little problems, the more time-consuming your route becomes. Keep in mind each route is average over 100+ meters per day that you have to put into a device. Not to mention when you first start, you have no idea where these routes are exactly, so you have to find them with only a GPS or iPad or even just paper drawn out map. Plus when first starting out when you get to the location of your route, even though you know which meter on the gps/iPad/paper map you're supposed to read, that's only half the battle. Many times the meters will not be pin-point accurate and can be way off the location it says. Many times meters will also be hidden and will require you to walk around searching for it for a little while. 

REASON FOR LEAVING:
Our local TMD area was a sub contractor for Sharyland Utilities to read all their meters. But then Sharyland got bought-out by Oncor electric. And Oncor requires all of their meters to be AMI "smart" meters. So Oncor asked TMD to help change all of the old meter on our routes to the new meters (over 57,000 meters)
That was when I made the transition to becoming a Meter Technician the last couple of months of working there. Once we were finished installing the AMI meters, they laid us all off since Oncor no longer needed us to read their meters.
They let us know months in advance we were going to be laid off though and offered us a bonus a little over $4000 after taxes, to stay with them because they still needed us in the meantime to finish.

PERKS:
Weekends off. Great pay. Overtime pay. Health insurance available. Work by yourself. 

SUMMARY:
If you don't mind driving all day, dealing with dogs, using GPS coordinates that may not be accurate at all times, walking long distances sometimes, climbing over gates, Than this would be a great job for you. I loved it.

Just make sure you figure out how permanent the job will be for in your area, or if they only have a temporary contract.

Pros:
Pay is (mostly) uncapped. The more you work the more you’re paid especially if you need it at the time.
Quite literally this is a Cash for Labor job.
Work outside all day.
Minimal micro management, freedom to do things your way.

Cons:
It’s hard work, if you never worked a real job before you won’t last.
Being a Cash for Labor job there is zero career advancement or room for growth.
They’ll lie about helping you get your foot in the door for the utility companies to keep you around. (Nepotism is rampant in the utilities, they already have the people they want and it isn’t you!)

Overall: I really did enjoy the pros of the job. The company could have set up some guide rails for career advancement if they didn’t only care about the bottom line. Instead of using it as a lie to keep people around. If you’re aware it’s just a Cash for Labor job the cons won’t bother you too much.

My typical work day: Drive around all day and changing out smart electric meters.

What I learned: Nothing really. Pretty easy job,

Management: They do not tell you anything until you keep hounding them about it. Some project managers will lie to your face, They did me.

Co-workers: My co-workers are great. We crack joke all the time when were not working.

Hardest part of the job: The drive. Your driving all over the metroplex. Dealing with dogs in backyards, 

Most enjoyable part of my job: Well is having a job but also working outdoors. I enjoy being outdoors.

If you’re a great employee, be prepared to be taken advantage of. Lazy employees get overlooked and when their work doesn’t get done, you’re expected to pick up the slack and do it for them. If you’re single with no life outside of work, this may be a good fit for you as they are not family friendly either. No opportunity for advancement. No raises and most entry level employees with no knowledge start out making the same as people who have been there for years. Supervisors have favorites who can get away with things that others cant. 

Drug tests are "required" for employment and if you're suspected of using any substance you will be tested again, that is unless you're a "Good Ole Boy" in the eyes of management. Plenty of employees were using substances to alter their mental state, and only a handful are ever called out and retested. Management is ornery and childish, I remember distinctly the whole crew being called,"Incompetent Fu*ks" by a manager for a problem that 1 supervisor caused. Texas Meter & Device claims to be the best in the industry, but in my opinion, they are one of the worst. Steer clear of TMD if you enjoy your own personal sanity. 

Management shows partiality to only a few particular individuals.  If you disagree with management you might get yelled at or cursed at!  The workload expectations are unrealistic because they refuse to hire extra help and just keep putting more work on the worker bees!  While the worker bees are stuck in the office the management is out enjoying quite a bit of time off.  If you are a man in this company you might do ok, but if you are a woman, you may not be heard.  Good luck!

At first training is not bad you get paid by the hour but after is when it stops being good. You stop getting hour pay. You go house to house it super hot outside or super cold the weather doesn’t matter have to keep working. Gates make it very difficult to change any meter and since your getting paid by the meter you can work 40 hours and still on make $300 a week .They keep adding more work and hiring more people but not taking care of the employees who have been there the longest.

Upper Management is terrible to their Employees, despite their loyalty and willingness to Work in adverse Conditions. The Coworkers were great and supportive of each other, but the VP and most of the Higher-Ups lack any ability to show support or understanding for any adversities through which the Employees may be going.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing was the best part of working here 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The whole place had negative energy a lot of erie people 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Negative workplace Thera only one good boss there and she takes care of her people 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Repetitive and boring most of the time

What is the best part of working at the company?
Quitting and not having to deal with bad management

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working for hours and not getting paid well enough for the work

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Hard workers got more put on them while lazy workers got their way

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Work long hours and no recognition

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Technician 9 salaries reported	$169 per day
Field technician 7 salaries reported	$28.07 per hour
Meter reader 3 salaries reported	$21.67 per hour
Warehouse associate 2 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour
Project manager 2 salaries reported	$80,000 per year

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