As someone in the trades, 85% of trade jobs are not any more difficult or require any more skill or amount of knowledge or experience as these other jobs. So I find it pretty messed up when people put these other jobs down as unskilled and use that to justify shit pay and conditions because that means most trade jobs are only slightly better off due to temporary social views.
What do you think the barriers are between the two? Why would anyone pick items off a list for minimum wage when they could make six figures in the trades? Is it simple credentialism and gatekeeping?
Someone just quoted me 60k to renovate by backyard. I have been doing it myself and there is certainly a lot of skill to doing even simple tasks like seeding a lawn effectively
> Why would anyone pick items off a list for minimum wage when they could make six figures in the trades?
Because there aren't enough high-paying jobs, and who gets which job often comes down to luck (in the best case), and favoritism (in the worst case). Sometimes jobs require expensive prerequisites that reflect access to finance rather than just skill or merit
It's obviously more complicated than that—the situation involves the whole pipeline from child to working adult—but not by a whole lot.
Well how many people are actually making 6 figures in the trades? Because the vast majority are not, and most of those who do are working 80 hour weeks in expensive locations where the value is way inflated above the rest of the country.
And residential trades prices are based on how much they think they can get you to pay, not what the work is actually worth. Part of it is because people living in a nicer areas can require extra hand holding and change their mind on things 20 times throughout a project which inflates costs, but a lot of it is just "He drives a really nice car and lives in a neighborhood with property values 4x the average of what we typically serve, so we will quote him 4x as much, and that will help make up for the other jobs for poorer people we do that we only earn tiny margins off of or tried to stiff us on pay and required us to go to court for."
Also, trades are largely boom-bust industries. You make money when the market is hot, but that has got to cover enough for the 5-10 years later when the market is trash. And if a market is hot, customers are bidding against each other for their time. Maybe they already had a $30K project, but then someone else wants the same thing too that they would have to work overtime for, so they quote $40K. But then someone else comes along and also wants it too, but now it is crazy amount of work to get all these things done on time, so they quote $60K. Maybe they don't want or need the work and are hoping you turn them down, but if you agree to pay some outrageous price then they will of course make the time. Just like if someone offered you 3x your normal wage for crazy overtime you would probably take it too, but if someone offered your normal wage for crazy overtime work you would likely decline. That doesn't mean your normal wage is actually worth 3x as much, it just means someone is willing to pay a premium for you at that exact fleeting moment in time.
Also jesus, $60K for backyard renovation? Either they didn't want your work, or you are wanting an ass ton of soil moved in, or wanting multiple years of pre-established trees and plants, or they are pegging you as a sucker. Seeding grass is not any more difficult than picking orders and stuffing boxes, but lawn and garden care industries were one of the scummiest and scammiest industries ive ever worked in.
Re the yard, no dirt moving or mature plants. Just some brush removal and grass and taking down some about 30 ft of chain link. Ended up doing it over several weekends. I think they were just looking for suckers, and most people in the bay area are suckers when it comes to that kinda thing.
The guy down the street from me just paid 250k for two exterior foundation walls on his Craftsman home to be replaced.
I have come to the realization that I can't afford Bay area tradesmen prices after having several jobs quoted by different contractors and ending up doing them myself.
