Unpopular opinion: The trades are underpaid

[jwitten82]

The trades are still a good move if you’re looking for a career without college.

And what are we talking about here? At what point in someone’s career are we talking? A journeyman electrician can start his own business and make good money in the Bay Area.

The price of living of there is high, in Texas you need a master electrician license to start your own business, and it's not that easy to just go on your own

 

[gtb1943]

Obviously you're not picking up what im putting down. Im making the case for people who do live in cities

And I am saying if its too expensive leave and find a better place. It is what Americans have done since its founding; if the situation where they were at was not good they left to find better
suffering just to stay there is simply not a smart thing to do

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

The price of living of there is high, in Texas you need a master electrician license to start your own business, and it's not that easy to just go on your own

Anything north of $120-130K annual salary is good/livable money in California.

I had an old high school buddy that didn’t go to college (only had a GED if I remember correctly). He worked as an apprentice electrician, did the time became a journeyman and runs his own business now. He makes more money than I do with masters degree…and I make good money.

Trades are a much better career pathway than working gig jobs that lead to nowhere. They are also AI proof.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too; if you live Biloxi, Mississippi, you aren’t going to make $100K as an electrician.

 

[Creeper]

I have a Sub Zero refrigerator, couple of months ago the power went out on it. Did some research and found that the on off switch tended to be the problem. Sub Zero no longer makes the on off switch by they sell a bypass wire, I order that and meanwhile go shopping for new Sub Zero’s just in case. $19k would have gotten me into a new replacement model! Thankfully the bypass wire fix worked out to be the perfect solution.

This is another problem. Once a machine is a few years old, they stop making replacement parts. Fortunately, some companies will sell stocked parts or cheap knockoffs from China so you don't have to buy the new machine right away. My microwave is part of a dual oven combo and it is designed to fit above the electric over in a cabinet that had to be built around the oven combo. When the microwave broke and I got the estimate for the repair I looked into buying a new microwave but the company, Bosch, no longer made that same microwave or another with the same dimensions. I would have had to get a new oven and microwave, ka-ching, AND get the cabinet replaced too, which of course would not match the finish of the other cabinetry. Screwed! I was forced to shell out for the repair of the microwave, where they used a different part to repair it because Bosch no longer made the old part. Now my microwave doesn't work right. For some reason the first 20 seconds of operation it just turns the turntable but doesn't actually heat anything.

 

[Creeper]

Anything north of $120-130K annual salary is good/livable money in California.

I had an old high school buddy that didn’t go to college (only had a GED if I remember correctly). He worked as an apprentice electrician, did the time became a journeyman and runs his own business now. He makes more money than I do with masters degree…and I make good money.

Trades are a much better career pathway than working gig jobs that lead to nowhere. They are also AI proof.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too; if you live Biloxi, Mississippi, you aren’t going to make $100K as an electrician.

I agree. But I also think that not everyone is capable of being a good tradesman. My contractor had an awful plumber do my bathroom plumbing when we renovated and I can't tell you how many mistakes he made. I made the contractor fire him. I've had good tradesmen work on my house and some awful ones. I will gladly pay for the good ones because the mistakes the bad ones make can be really expensive to fix.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I agree. But I also think that not everyone is capable of being a good tradesman. My contractor had an awful plumber do my bathroom plumbing when we renovated and I can't tell you how many mistakes he made. I made the contractor fire him. I've had good tradesmen work on my house and some awful ones. I will gladly pay for the good ones because the mistakes the bad ones make can be really expensive to fix.

Trust me. We just finished a home remodel and we’ve seen piss poor work. We got most of it rectified but one of the common sentiments I relayed to our GC and the subcontractor is “what were you thinking/doing here?”

That said, laziness/incompetence exists in every field, white- or blue-collar jobs.

 

[rags747]

This is another problem. Once a machine is a few years old, they stop making replacement parts. Fortunately, some companies will sell stocked parts or cheap knockoffs from China so you don't have to buy the new machine right away. My microwave is part of a dual oven combo and it is designed to fit above the electric over in a cabinet that had to be built around the oven combo. When the microwave broke and I got the estimate for the repair I looked into buying a new microwave but the company, Bosch, no longer made that same microwave or another with the same dimensions. I would have had to get a new oven and microwave, ka-ching, AND get the cabinet replaced too, which of course would not match the finish of the other cabinetry. Screwed! I was forced to shell out for the repair of the microwave, where they used a different part to repair it because Bosch no longer made the old part. Now my microwave doesn't work right. For some reason the first 20 seconds of operation it just turns the turntable but doesn't actually heat anything.

That’s not so bad, you just have to do a little Math prior to cooking!

 

[Nova]

I agree— trades are underpaid if we’re talking about laborers.

When people advise youths to pursue trades, there seems to be an insinuation that trades strictly equate to labor.

But there are so many jobs that support trades that don’t involve crawling into an attic.

I’m an HVAC buyer for a wholesale distributor in Dallas— we sell parts/supplies/equipment to AC contractors out of a dozen locations.

The highest paid positions I’ve seen in this industry are almost all sales positions. $100-$200k depending on which company you work for and which segment.

Most of the people in those positions do not have any education beyond a HS diploma.

 

[Nova]

Down payment has nothing to do with escrow.

Yeah and in TX, taxes are a significant chunk of your mortgage.

 

[Nova]

Oh it most certainly does. Again, I have never ever had money held in escrow for taxes and insurance. I have always paid those 100% myself without any outside entity handling that for me.

That’s fine and all— actually good for you, no sarcasm.

But are you not also calculating that into what you’re paying to live in your house?

 

[rags747]

That’s fine and all— actually good for you, no sarcasm.

But are you not also calculating that into what you’re paying to live in your house?

At the end of the day my first comment in this thread was strictly about a mortgage, not taxes and no insurance. I also did not speak to heat or ac, maintenance, cost for Chuck to cut the lawn Etc.

 

[nightrain]

I'd think a plumber would be better off working independently. He could make good money, while not charging as much as the bigger companies.

Very true. It's difficult to get a Plumber of Electrician out for small to medium work. Of course, you would need a license and insurance.