I own the mill, a vf3, but I am also the machinist that runs it. And the guy that does the cad work and peripheral welding that may be required. The least I will work for is $55.00 per hr and that is only if I have nothing else to do. Average earnings per hour are around $65 I would guess and top out at $120.00 on a number of items where developing better methods of production improve my yield over the origional quote parameters. And of course the improvements are my cash in pocket as the customer still has the price he wanted per my origional bid. Now before you all get excited about what my "wages " are remember that I have significant investment over 20 years in skills aquiring and equipment/building purchases. Here in the southeast there is a shortage of skill, and so it is I hear most everywhere else, and if you are good at cad-cam and welding you can hire on at $30 to $35 per hr. If you are foolish enough to live in a place like California I would expect more for wages as your cost of living is way to high. This requires a very good skill set obviously. Most really good operators I find are not satisfied with that and go into business for themselves. Skill is a dwindling resource and if you look you will find companies that are glad to get a problem solver. My specialty is machining and fabricating for food manufacturers and restaurants and is not dependent on a stupid CPA bean counter CEO whose only ability to manage seems to be to export jobs to china. I choose my market carefully and profit accordingly. And I will not compete against the starving wannabe machinist down the street on price just to get the job. And most importantly, I NEVER DO ONLINE BIDDING. All my work is referal or door knocking. It is a huge mistake to compete against shops that are desperate for a job, any job just so they can keep the doors open for another month in hopes that things will improve. My two cents worth on this topic anyway.