Most bike mechanics in this area make $10/hour or so. I was on salary making $30K/year. Of course, I was the manager also, not just a mechanic. At my previous employer, where I was just a mechanic, I was making $13/hr.

The only people I've ever worked with who made less than $10/hour were indeed high school kids. We let them sweep up, vacuum the showroom, take out the trash, and work as sales people. We also taught them how to work on bikes - on their own bikes. "Kids" weren't allowed to assemble bikes until they had gained a sufficient level of experience and maturity to perform a task that might put someone's life in danger - like a bike assembly.

Obviously, I'm sure this isn't the case in all bike shops. I can think of one shop in Indy that is very lax in this regard. But it has been my experience that many bike shops hire older, more experienced mechanics and the "kids" are more like assistants. Sadly, based on economics, I'm sure that there are many unqualified people assembling bikes. Look at Wal-Mart, for example. Or some of the people who assemble new bikes at the factories.