meter reader

collector

payroll coordinator

senior systems administrator

utility line locator

Olameter

Now I worked two separate jobs with this company so I'll be brief. POLE TESTER - Work alone, drill poles. Now I actually preferred this job to the meter reading honestly. Work outside, making maybe 20$ an hour most days. EXCEPT the equipment is literally garbage and you can't work in the rain. That taken into account I made bad money given the drill broken literally on almost a weekly basis. Since you get paid per pole when the tablet inevitably messes up and the Bluetooth doesn't connect and you have to re-do a pole it's endlessly frustrating. 

NOW meter reading. Mind you I've only been at this for 3 weeks but from what I've gathered. The first week is literal pain if you don't walk a ton already. You get paid per meter obviously and get paid more per meter for rural routes at the cost of your own gas and abusing your own vehicle. A good day, you can make lets say 30+ an hour, a bad day probably closer to minimum wage. I don't have my own routes so it's completely random how much you'll make on a weekly basis. The annoying part is "Good" and "bad' days aren't based off of your own performance but on what route you get. 

Have an easy route with easily accessible meters in a sunny upscale neighborhood? 30$ an hour. Get 700 meters in the hood with a bunch of dog doodoo, garbage, syringes, barking dogs and locked gates where every meter is in the backyard? there's your 15$ an hour. 

I can't really recommend either job because it's VERY inconsistent and stressful. If you're teachers pet and get all the good routes you're probably laughing but I wouldn't count on it.

This job does make really great money. I don't think I'll ever have a job that pays this well ever again, HOWEVER, that doesn't mean it's worth keeping.

Firstly, the training I received was minimal and did not prepare me very well... I was even told to "not bother buckling up my seat belt" when driving house-to-house in rural areas, because it'd "take up too much time"... I did not know how to work many buttons on my handheld, I wasn't even properly trained on how to load my routes at the end of the day, so I messed up on that a couple of times, which I think is a super essential thing to teach. Overall, my supervisor is really terrible at doing their job well, but it doesn't matter because they'll only receive a slap on the wrist for it all anyways. 

Second, the winter months are awful. I bought a whole new vehicle just so I could drive through the snow with lots of clearance, so this job technically put me in debt rather than paying my bills. Then walking through thigh-high snow for 6 hours a day was exhausting. You're never thanked for a job well done, but instead asked to provide $20-$40 doctors notes each time you're sick because they don't want to trust you, even if you're working your a** off every other day. 

I am very excited to find a new job in the future. 
This job might be better in areas with less snow and different supervisors. 

Also, have fun worrying, "am I going to get attacked by a dog today?" each time you enter a yard/property with any dog on it.

Super fun, no two days are the same. Different area every day. You walk long distances (15-30km)  but if you like being outdoors you will find this rewarding. You make around 300-400 $$ a day that’s
No Cap! You will get rewarded financially but it’s crucial you do every part outside of work to take care of yourself, or you will not last long. Pay is insane in a good way but benefits are basically useless and only 2 weeks maximum of personal vacation 😔😕, and u max out at 3 weeks after 5 years… so yeah u can see u sacrifice benefits/vacation for $$. The hours are pretty darn good though, u can start as early 6am in some places and latest u can work is 5:30-6pm. As u need to get back to the office at 6:30pm the latest to upload ur readings to be billed the next day. And u never have to finish ur work. You just have to walk a minimum of 6 hours. So theres room for slack some days. Although they usually give you a day with 6-6.5 hours worth of work for the average person. When you first start dont expect to be walking average speed. It’ll
Take you around 1-2 months of building up ur stamina and strength. Did this for a year. Awesome experience bing outside, being my own boss, pushing myself, sleeping in when I needed to, & being somewhere new everyday. 

Money is good if you’re willing to bust your butt to get it. Work life balance is awesome once you get knowing your routines, as you can take time off for appointments or kid stuff when needed and just work harder or longer the day after to accommodate. The hardest part is the first few months when your’re slow because you don’t know where the homes are or what the best route optimization can be. If you make it pst the first two months, it’s gravy after that!
Classic case of too many managers, and head office not knowing what environmental challenges you face. 
Wear and tear is hard on your personal vehicle but if you save your vehicle(maintenance, car wash, oil change, insurance gas, new tires, ect) receipts and do proper mileage reporting(I got audited- do your mileage log!!)  you get a good chunk back at tax time (I averaged 2000-5000 depending on vehicle depreciation costs).
Also, they didn’t pay for work shoes at the time I was there, but they had a list of approved footwear which can cost $150-$200. Yes it’s great for non slippage and proper ankle care, no workplace injuries is the goal- but that’s a lot to get started or to have to replace every year (you walk a lot and I needed a new pair each years season changes -summer and winter).



Pole testing, definitely for the fit and self driven individual. Pay scale varies depending on the pole asset being tested, wood, fiberglass, concrete- wood pays the best, on or off road. The pml portable densitometer (drill) employed in non destructive testing is prone to frequent malfunction, toughpad field computers are unreliable for required bluetooth connectivity with the pml drill, gps connection is unreliable and no testing can be conducted without it,  especially in vegetation. Work cannot be performed in the rain or in water saturated soil. The result for the person conducting the testing is many days off with no income and you are expected to ship equipment back for repair to them on your own time and in your own vehicle with no reimbursement. My equipment malfunctioned so frequently, I set up a no-sign account with purolator, they were at my house weekly picking up or dropping off equipment.  If the equipment is operating properly and the weather is good it is possible to earn very good money ( 250-300 day for 70-75 poles, 9 hrs straight work), unfortunately the technical department don't know how to properly repair of test equipment and seem oblivious to software issues, so don't count on more than 250-300 week.

As a meter reader with Olameter your expected work time is 6 hours of meter reading daily. You can choose your start time within reason as long as you can complete your assigned workload.

The pay is piece rate and your speed of work more or less determines how much you make per day. As there are differently paying routes, there is a system in place to assure equal distribution between readers.

Usually, my work load does not exceed 40 hours per week (including driving to the work areas and back), with an average pay of about $35 per hours.

In my experience, the management is very accommodating with requests for time off. I never had any issues taking time off for doctors appointments or family events.

What I like the most about this job is the sense freedom. You can go about your work without anybody constantly looking over your shoulder and micromanaging your activities.

Like all jobs, this job has positive and negative aspects. For me, the positive definitely outweighs the negative. 

Especially during the summer time, I really enjoy my time in the field.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working on projects at Olameter Inc. has been a mixed experience. On one hand, the projects themselves are fascinating and provide ample opportunities for innovation and growth. The company is involved in a range of initiatives that are both challenging and rewarding, giving employees a chance to expand their skills and work on cutting-edge solutions.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Despite the exciting nature of the work, there is a significant issue with management. It appears that the leadership team lacks a coherent strategy and often seems unsure of how to effectively guide the company. Decisions are frequently made without a clear understanding of their impact on projects or the broader business objectives.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Sweatshop would be the keyword, the oppressive company culture and lack of effective management severely detract from the overall experience.

you walk every day 6+ hours reading meters in any type of weather. This is a good job for someone that is self motivated and physically fit. You are paid on how many meters you read not hourly. So the faster you get your routes done the sooner you're off. 
 Olameter is a big company and hence tries to safe money everywhere. You are required to use your own vehicle for work but without any compensation. Also the clothing they provide in a work year is never enough to get you through a year without looking like a slop. So you will end up paying for your own pants and shirts. For boots they only provide about 200.- a year. I go through about 4 pair a year so about 5-600 dollars if I can get good sales. Also since it is kind of a part time job there is no benefits.
 I like this job but the rainy winter months can be long.
I only gave it 2 stars because the company really does not value its workers. It is a good job but Olameter needs to rethink its strategies for long time retention of workers. But I guess these days there is enough unemployed people to fill the spots for a few months.

I have been working for Olameter for just over 5 years now, during this time I have found it to be a good company to work for. If you are ambitious, a self motivator and prefer to not have the boss watching over your every move, this is a great place to work, The work allows for a degree of flexibility which is really appreciated, The pay is quite  good and there is plenty of variety in the work day to keep the time flying. I find the management to be accommodating with requests for time off and holidays and they openly listen to any concerns or comments that you may make. The job itself isn't difficult but it does require you to be alert and aware of everything going on around you at all times, you're not just reading the meter but also ensuring the safety of the gas flow to customers as well as your own safety in an ever changing environment. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is the variety of work locations, the interaction with the customers and the freedom to go in early to finish early if you want.....

Work is super easy once your body gets used to it. It hurts for like 2 months. Had routes take as little as 3 hours(rarely, mostly team leads and favorites get those and if not they pay low end) up to 8+ but it avgs around 6ish once you have done them enough times. It's just getting there that is the hard part. Some routes are pure garbage and chances are you aren't going to get a lot of the good routes.

 To be honest, upper management is super incompetent in almost all aspects. They micromanage and complain about everything but yet they do very little work and get paid a lot for it. Then give reasons why they won't give pay increase. This place has a high turn over for a reason and they're one of the main factors at play.

Olameter gave up the gas contract for most of Ontario due to that incompetents and told everyone to hold out to get severance and that it will be based on the last 12 weeks of work (6 pays). Turns out you only get that if you been there for 5 years. They left that last bit out so everyone wouldn't just up and quit on them due to so many people being under that 5-year min.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Meter reader 4 salaries reported	$21.88 per hour
Collector 3 salaries reported	$33.28 per hour
Payroll coordinator 2 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Senior systems administrator 4 salaries reported	$91,500 per year
Utility line locator 5 salaries reported	$26.50 per hour

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