Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-20-2011, 10:07 AM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,223,092 times
Reputation: 73924

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by proudmommy View Post
What percent of "master electricians" make more than doctors and what percent of doctors make more than "master electricians"?
I don't have those stats, but the point is that the opportunity obviously exists to make plenty of money.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-20-2011, 10:12 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
964 posts, read 2,644,415 times
Reputation: 578
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
I don't have those stats, but the point is that the opportunity obviously exists to make plenty of money.
I know but we all know doctors in general make more than most electricians.

However, what is interesting, the number one vehicle driven by millionaires in the US is the Ford F-150. Why? Because your typical millionaire isn't driving a Mercedes living in a $800K home. The typical millionaire is an electrician, plumber, small business owner who lives in a modest home in a modest neighborhood.

The Millionaire Next Door - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2011, 11:26 AM
 
2,687 posts, read 7,396,908 times
Reputation: 4214
Default yup...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dingler View Post
More and more kids today are going to college and not going into a trade. Many of them leave the University $50K in debt without a real skill. They end up working in a job they hate and struggle to pay back the loans.

Why don't more kids go into trade school and learn a real job skill. Blue Collar work is what built America, but few people tend to go to trade school anymore.

Would you encourage your kids to learn a trade? How about being a:

Electrician, Plumber, Drafter, Barber, Baker, Cook, Truck Driver, Auto Mechanic
And the last I heard wedding cakes can fetch $10,000...??? kind of a no-brainer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2011, 12:11 PM
 
8,263 posts, read 12,176,827 times
Reputation: 4800
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
Whatever, dude.

I had a 'master' electrician do some work at my house.

Said he charges $140 an hour, not including materials.

Doctors don't make $140 an hour.
You are looking at this in a way oversimplified manner.

What that electrician is charging you is for the time in your home to complete a project. As an independent contract he/she has way more non-billable time for traveling, having no work, even preparing an estimate etc. it isn't as simple as comparing to someone earning a salary as the time involved in running the business versus actual billable hours can be a big difference.

Either way if you believe your electrician is making over 250k per year, or making more than your average doctor, you are seriously mistaken.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2011, 12:14 PM
 
8,263 posts, read 12,176,827 times
Reputation: 4800
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
I don't have those stats, but the point is that the opportunity obviously exists to make plenty of money.
Agreed, many underestimate how much skilled trades can make, it can lead to a pretty good living often with far less initial education expenses.

However their income isn't calculated by billable hour x workable hours in a year.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2011, 01:45 PM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,223,092 times
Reputation: 73924
Quote:
Originally Posted by proudmommy View Post
I know but we all know doctors in general make more than most electricians.

However, what is interesting, the number one vehicle driven by millionaires in the US is the Ford F-150. Why? Because your typical millionaire isn't driving a Mercedes living in a $800K home. The typical millionaire is an electrician, plumber, small business owner who lives in a modest home in a modest neighborhood.

The Millionaire Next Door - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My theory is that there are some reasons for this:

1. They wouldn't have become millionaires if they had spent their money on stupid sh*t like Mercedes.
2. A million dollars is not as much money as it used to be, so it's a lot easier for people to become 'millionaires' than it used to be...so there are a lot more millionaires.
3. Strangely, the more money I make/have the less I spend on garbage...why? I become more experienced about the opportunity cost of every purchase. I care less and less about what other people think...so every purchase I make is entirely for myself and my own enjoyment = more money in the bank.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2011, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,223,092 times
Reputation: 73924
Quote:
Originally Posted by slackjaw View Post
You are looking at this in a way oversimplified manner.

What that electrician is charging you is for the time in your home to complete a project. As an independent contract he/she has way more non-billable time for traveling, having no work, even preparing an estimate etc. it isn't as simple as comparing to someone earning a salary as the time involved in running the business versus actual billable hours can be a big difference.

Either way if you believe your electrician is making over 250k per year, or making more than your average doctor, you are seriously mistaken.
The average doctor doesn't make $250k a year.

The two most popular specialties (with the greatest percentage of docs, by far):

In 2003 there were 111,990 family and general practice doctors in the United States earning approximately $139,640 per year. In 2009 that number has dropped to 99,000 earning an average of $168,550. That's an increase of $28910 but almost 13,000 less doctors to see patients. The lowest paid doctors earn $82,630 per year while the highest earn over $237,000 per year.
General Internists Doctor Salaries
In 2003 there were 50,140 general internists in the United States earning an average of $160,130 per year. In 2009 there are 48,270 earning an average of $184,990. The lowest paid internists earn over $93,000 while the highest average is over $250,000 per year.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-21-2011, 09:34 PM
 
Location: Ayrsley
4,713 posts, read 9,676,732 times
Reputation: 3824
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
They wouldn't have become millionaires if they had spent their money on stupid sh*t like Mercedes...every purchase I make is entirely for myself and my own enjoyment
So you say you don't care what people think about your purchases as they are for yourself and your own enjoyment...yet you have no problem judging the purchases of others as "stupid s**t"?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2011, 08:07 PM
 
989 posts, read 1,873,499 times
Reputation: 1623
Encourage your kids to find happiness, and everything else will eventually fall into place.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2011, 08:16 PM
 
1,128 posts, read 3,476,748 times
Reputation: 1209
I wouldn't say that few people tend to go to trade school anymore because I know of a lot of trade schools that are alive and thriving. Many high schools even offer programs where juniors and seniors can take several credits at a technical center instead of traditional high school classes.

To answer your question, I wouldn't push my kids into blue collar work, but if they seemed to have a skill they wanted to pursue then I would definitely support their decision if they wanted to go to a trade school. However, if they had no interest in a trade, pushing them to go to a trade school would be just as useless as pushing a kid into law school when they have no desire to study law.

The decision would ultimately be up to my kids and whatever they feel most confident pursuing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:59 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top