CABL Forum - Is anyone still making good money contracting?

SO, I read plenty about how Comcast pretty much cut out all contractors, and the company we sub for here (Mediacom) gave us 2 pay cuts last year to end up where we are now, which is ridiculous that any of us are even still doing the work... I'm just wondering, is there anyone out there still paying a good, fair price for cable? Or is the industry of cable contracting for good money just a thing of the past and only getting worse?

It's pretty bad here. Mediacom treats the contractors like the enemy (which I had no problem with when they were paying decent). Then last year they handed out 2 pay cuts a few months apart from each other, and on top of that there is something new every and I mean EVERY week that they want us to start doing, or that we're not doing good enough, or that they want us to change. But the one thing that never changes is the pay (not for the better, anyway).

The latest thing they started enforcing is that every single job must be drop certified. This means that if I go for a digital box upgrade that pays me 12 dollars... and there are not proper tags on the line at the pole, I gotta go up and tag it. Or, if at the same job, there are no tags, no ground block, old fittings, and a radio shack splitter, then I have to fix all of that... for the same 12 dollars.

We also dont get paid for the first 3 outlets at any job. We also only get paid for one digital box at a job. So if I go to a digital reconnect with one outlet with a box on it, I get paid for the reco and a box. 21 dollars. If I go to a dig reco with 3 outlets even if I had to run them, and each one has a box on it, I get paid for a reco and a box. 21 dollars. We do get paid for any outlets after 3, but prewired outlets pay 3 dollars and postwired are 8. Catch is, that we have to put the postwireds first... so if a job has 4 outlets on the order and you get there and there are already 2 there, and you have to run 2, the 2 you run are included in the free ones, as well as one of the ones that was there, and you get paid for the prewired one thats left. 3 bucks. the only way to get paid for a postwired outlet is if you have to run 4 or more.

So since we dont get paid for the first 3 outlets, I could go to a job that's HSD only... get paid for a reco and HSD... then go to my next job and its a expanded basic with 3 tv's and HSD... so I get paid for a reco and HSD... same as the last job, but I mightv had to run 3 video outlets.

I could go on and on with the bullshit that we are dealing with... so I'm just wondering if anyone out there is still doing good or what. I've worked all over the country for some good ones and some bad ones, and I've been here for about 2 years now and this is my home where I grew up so I'm really not wanting to move anymore and that's why I've been putting up with it, but it's getting close to the end of me doing that.

Thanks in advance for any input!

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Is anyone still making good money contracting?