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How OKC Workers Can Boost Pay Fast · The 405 Payroll

• 0:13
  So the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission just released their latest workforce
• 0:18
  numbers for Oklahoma City, and uh, the split is pretty stark.
• 0:23
  Average hourly technical pay in the OKC metro is hitting twenty two dollars and
• 0:27
  sixty nine cents an hour.
• 0:29
  Wait, twenty two sixty nine?
• 0:32
  While entry level service jobs are still, what, sitting right around fifteen bucks?
• 0:38
  Exactly fifteen dollars an hour.
• 0:41
  That is a twelve hundred dollar a month income gap for someone trying to rent an
• 0:44
  apartment here.
• 0:46
  Man, let us break that down for a second.
• 0:49
  Even if you just get a two dollar and fifty cent an hour raise,
• 0:53
  on a regular biweekly paycheck, after taxes, that is, uh, about three hundred and
• 0:58
  forty bucks extra every single month.
• 1:02
  That three forty covers the average OG and E electric bill plus groceries for a
• 1:07
  local household.
• 1:08
  It completely changes the math on monthly rent.
• 1:11
  But, you know, most people spend weeks throwing resumes into online job boards and
• 1:16
  it just feels like sending emails into a black hole.
• 1:21
  Oh, it totally is a black hole!
• 1:23
  I, I, I remember back in my early morning show radio days, when money was crazy
• 1:28
  tight, sitting behind a screen submitting forms felt useless.
• 1:33
  The moment I started physically walking into places and skipping the middleman,
• 1:38
  everything changed.
• 1:40
  And that shortcut actually exists right now in OKC.
• 1:44
  The OESC runs a direct hire walk in center at twenty six zero one North Lincoln
• 1:49
  Boulevard.
• 1:50
  You can walk in and get same week interviews instead of waiting for an email back.
• 1:55
  And there are specific places hiring right now in the four zero five.
• 1:59
  Take Home Maid Better in Oklahoma City.
• 2:01
  They are looking for daytime residential cleaning technicians,
• 2:04
  sixteen dollars to twenty two dollars an hour plus tips.
• 2:08
  Monday through Friday hours?
• 2:10
  Monday through Friday shifts, four zero one k, employee referral bonuses,
• 2:16
  and direct quick apply options.
• 2:18
  That is solid.
• 2:20
  And if you want security work, TriCorps Security is hiring across the metro right
• 2:25
  now.
• 2:26
  Pay ranges from fourteen dollars and seventy five cents to eighteen dollars and
• 2:29
  fifty cents an hour for armed and unarmed roles.
• 2:33
  Do you need prior experience for TriCorps?
• 2:36
  No prior security experience required.
• 2:39
  They offer flexible eight hour and twelve hour shifts, days,
• 2:43
  nights, or weekends.
• 2:44
  Perfect if you need to work around family schedules.
• 2:47
  And for people wanting to move out of retail or food service into electronics,
• 2:52
  Metro Mobile Electronics in OKC has openings for entry level twelve volt and twenty
• 2:58
  four volt electrical accessory installers.
• 3:01
  What is the pay on that?
• 3:04
  Seventeen dollars to twenty dollars and twelve cents an hour,
• 3:08
  and they provide full paid on the job training.
• 3:11
  Look, if you are coming from food service, you already know how to handle customer
• 3:17
  pressure and solve problems on the fly.
• 3:20
  Frame those soft skills directly when you go in for a walk in interview.
• 3:24
  Now, if you want to jump from sixteen dollars an hour up into that twenty five to
• 3:29
  twenty eight dollar an hour range, you have to talk about technical training.
• 3:34
  Specifically, Metro Tech's Aviation Maintenance Technology program at their
• 3:38
  Springlake Campus at nineteen hundred Springlake Drive.
• 3:42
  Okay, but going back to school costs money, right?
• 3:47
  Most working adults cannot just drop thousands of dollars on tuition.
• 3:52
  That is the best part!
• 3:54
  Metro Tech has the EMPOWER program.
• 3:57
  Financial Support and Tuition Assistance may be available for eligible individuals
• 4:02
  through a grant provided through Oklahoma Human Services.
• 4:05
  Wait, so it can cover one hundred percent of tuition and materials?
• 4:11
  Yes!
• 4:11
  It eliminates out of pocket tuition for qualified working adults.
• 4:16
  You can do a six to twelve month evening program while keeping your daytime job.
• 4:21
  Think about that jump.
• 4:23
  You go from making around thirty three thousand dollars a year to over fifty two
• 4:28
  thousand dollars a year.
• 4:30
  That is life changing money in OKC.
• 4:33
  Did you ever feel intimidated by the thought of going back to class as an adult?
• 4:38
  Honestly, yes.
• 4:40
  The fear of sitting in a classroom when you have monthly rent hanging over your head
• 4:45
  is real.
• 4:46
  But when you realize the classes are at night and designed specifically for working
• 4:50
  adults, that fear shrinks pretty fast.
• 4:54
  While you are building toward that long term career, let us talk about stacking cash
• 4:58
  this weekend.
• 5:00
  If you need money right away, flexible worker apps like Veryable have industrial
• 5:04
  event setup and warehouse shifts near the Will Rogers World Airport logistics hub
• 5:09
  paying eighteen to twenty four dollars an hour.
• 5:12
  And if you have a car, stacking weekend delivery routes across OKC corridors can
• 5:17
  bring in a realistic net profit of one hundred and fifty to two hundred and twenty
• 5:22
  dollars over a weekend, even after gas.
• 5:25
  But you have to be careful with the weekend hustle.
• 5:28
  There is a fine line between doing a strategic one month hustle to build an
• 5:33
  emergency rent cushion and running yourself into complete burnout.
• 5:38
  Right.
• 5:38
  Rule of thumb: pick a target sum, like five hundred dollars,
• 5:42
  hit it, and then pull back so you do not wreck your health.
• 5:47
  Take a look at your weekend downtime right now.
• 5:50
  Can you find eight high value hours this Saturday or Sunday to build that financial
• 5:56
  safety net?
• 5:57
  Beyond earning more, holding onto what you earn is key.
• 6:02
  The Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City, located at three nineteen Southwest
• 6:07
  Ninth Street, offers the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program,
• 6:11
  or LIHEAP, to help with utility payments and weatherization.
• 6:16
  They also do free one on one financial coaching and tax preparation services.
• 6:21
  That keeps you from getting swallowed by high fee traps or predatory loans when
• 6:26
  unexpected expenses pop up.
• 6:28
  Exactly.
• 6:29
  When you combine temporary utility relief with a three dollar an hour pay raise,
• 6:35
  suddenly an unexpected three hundred dollar car repair does not spiral into a high
• 6:40
  interest debt crisis.
• 6:42
  Knowing these community safety nets exist gives you so much peace of mind while you
• 6:47
  are transitioning into a better paying gig.
• 6:50
  We actually saw a story recently of an OKC resident who was working a fifteen dollar
• 6:55
  an hour restaurant job.
• 6:57
  They paired Metro Tech evening classes with emergency assistance from CAA,
• 7:02
  and within nine months, they landed a twenty five dollar an hour technical role.
• 7:08
  That is a massive win.
• 7:10
  And you can start that exact path today.
• 7:13
  Here is your action item: visit metrotech.edu slash empower or call four zero five,
• 7:20
  four two four, eight three two four before five PM today to set up a free career
• 7:25
  counseling session.
• 7:27
  Real financial progress in Oklahoma City is not built on waiting for luck.
• 7:33
  It is built on small, concrete steps every single day.
• 7:38
  Alright, good chatting today.
• 7:39
  Talk soon!