-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
Just on PBS News Hour - Per Mr. Rooter Plumbing in Seattle, plumbers are making $200,000/yr. In Ithaca, NY electricians are paid $90/hr.
- Thread starter Boondocks
- Start date
Crawl spaces freak me out, you don't know what has been down there or might be still down there.
OP
OP
Sounds like you need to look around or go in business for yourself.
But how much does your father make? š¤
Sounds like you need equity in the family business
The pay is definitely going to vary by region, and you will typically not make that much starting out, but yes, I know several people who have done very well in the trades.
It's certainly not easy work, and over the years, it will take a toll on the body. However, it is something to consider if you're not sure what you want to do.
It's certainly not easy work, and over the years, it will take a toll on the body. However, it is something to consider if you're not sure what you want to do.
All of them are physically strenuous. Maybe plumbing, but even so that's got about 15 asterisks next to it. It depends on what you specialize in for a trade though.
OP
OP
Actually I believe truck driving may be the one.
"You probably asked yourself: how much can I make as a trucker? ... Although you might not be able to make $100,000/year off the bat, but given the truck driver demand, and with experience, specialization, CDL training and the right company, you can make $80,000+ on a trucker salary."
Jun 1, 2020"
:(
plumbing is the least scary/dangerous one? god
aren't truck drivers being replaced by self driving trucks though (or will be soon?)
Depending on what you're doing, electrical is the safest/cleanest. New commercial construction is nice, and there's so man safety requirements you have to be ignoring them to get hurt.
Plumbing maybe, but it's a lot of melting pipe or plunging water and more crawling around.
OP
OP
Not soon, truckers haul all kinds of stuff. Can you imagine a robot filling up the gas tanks in a convenience store? Or unloading groceries at a Publix?
plumbing seems awful to me - small, dark, dank spaces filled with literal shit. like...idgaf how much that pays i'd rather work at a call center or something for like $2 hour
yes! i think that dog one from boston dynamics would be good with groceries
Yes.
But don't just focus on what the most successful guys are making.
You won't get any money by doing nothing. You will have to earn every cent.
You can make a 100 grand a year driving trucks. Thats not even a skilled occupation. But you are going to earn it and pretty much live in your truck.
There is no easy way to make a lot of money.
OP
OP
This isn't exactly news. There is an old joke that goes something like:
A lawyer hires a plumber to fix a clog in his kitchen. When presented with the bill, the lawyer is aghast and outraged.
Lawyer: "$300 per hour?!?! My lawfirm doesn't even charge such an outrageous rate!"
Plumber: "Yeah, that's why I quit practicing law."
A lawyer hires a plumber to fix a clog in his kitchen. When presented with the bill, the lawyer is aghast and outraged.
Lawyer: "$300 per hour?!?! My lawfirm doesn't even charge such an outrageous rate!"
Plumber: "Yeah, that's why I quit practicing law."
You can make great money in the trades but the hours are long, the weight is heavy, and your body will eventually wear down.
Depends...what are your thoughts on poop? You know, like digging in it, cutting open pipes that are clogged with it, having it possibly plop on you from overhead...that kind of thing?
Yep, you can do very well with driving a truck. My uncle drove a truck for a local paper products company, and recently retired with a full pension and medical benefits at like 55. Worked his ass off though; lots of long hours, and he had to wake up at about 3:00 AM to start his shift at like 4:00. 20 years of that can get pretty old.
It can be nerve wracking, though, depending on your route. I live near-ish to Philadelphia. Couldn't imagine having to drive a big-ass truck through the streets and then having to back into a loading dock and shit with people up your ass.
Manual labor jobs like that tend to make a shit load because the works is excruciating. At 17 I was on 3 times the money everyone else my age was and I didn't stick with it because the boss told me I'll be set for life and spending all of it and pain management.
Just a couple years ago the neighbours builder split a pipe putting up a fence and the water company wanted nothing to do with it. So well below 0c this dudes out in the back garden on Christmas eve for 5 hours with his hand in freezing water trying whatever he can to seal the pipe. Me, my wife and his colleague all begging him to take a break and have a hot drink since he's clearly on the cusp of hypothermia. Yeah I hope they get paid good for that shit.
Just a couple years ago the neighbours builder split a pipe putting up a fence and the water company wanted nothing to do with it. So well below 0c this dudes out in the back garden on Christmas eve for 5 hours with his hand in freezing water trying whatever he can to seal the pipe. Me, my wife and his colleague all begging him to take a break and have a hot drink since he's clearly on the cusp of hypothermia. Yeah I hope they get paid good for that shit.
The school I went to was technically a trade school, although I was in the IT program. It was a lot more hands on than a traditional college course, and I loved it.
No matter what trade they went into tho, virtually everyone who graduated ended up making pretty good money. A lot of those trade jobs are in high demand, even if many of them involve hard work.
No matter what trade they went into tho, virtually everyone who graduated ended up making pretty good money. A lot of those trade jobs are in high demand, even if many of them involve hard work.
Nope, neither do I. I considered it for a time some years ago, when I wasn't sure what I was going to do.
...But then I was told about the poop. That was the end of that.
Oooh, working on movies is considered a trade job?
Mario had us fooled :/
I traded working as a logistics and warehouse manager (and treating people like numbers instead of people, which I hated) to doing lightning rod installation. It's a little dangerous at times, easy to plan out and execute, all the while making over $75 an hour and at times $100+ an hour (prevailing wage)
Non union , leave at 7:30am and home by 2pm.
I'm out and about all day and usually love every minute of it.
Non union , leave at 7:30am and home by 2pm.
I'm out and about all day and usually love every minute of it.
$17/hr is a bullshit wage for a plumber.
You should definitely talk to your dad about paying more or looking elsewhere if not.
I was a welder for about 5-6 years and boy am I feeling it and I'm only 28 lol. Have all kinds of problems with my neck and back
It's true. My sister is an electrician and she works 40+ hours a week solely at new constructions. She only did housing during the first years before she even got to level 3. Not every plumber and electrician is crawling through dank areas.
$17 is probably on the high end for a younger guy (presumed based on 10 years experience) in a non-unionized low cost of living area. Those bonkers salaries don't exist without unions. In a vast majority of the country tradesmen only earn slightly more than service workers (retail, restaurants, etc...). The least desired labor is paid below even that cause the work force is dominated by the most desperate (illegals, convicts, substance abusers) who can't get a job anywhere else. Are you guys really that divorced from reality that you watch a PBS show and believe plumbers/electricians in Mississippi/Kansas/Kentucky are earning $50-$100/hr and $100k-$200K+/year? Do you envision 28yo plumbers are riding around in Ferrari's with million dollar mortgages? Do you think areas with nice sized new homes in $150k-$300k range exist by paying the framers/roofers/plumbers/electricians $90/hour?
Last edited:
Apparently elevator repair is another trade that apparently pays well depending on location.
No. No. No. And no to answer your questions.
No. No. No. And no to answer your questions.
I work mostly in sheet metal/hvac the few jobs i noticed that are "easy, safe, not hard on the body "
Project Manager you actually don't need to be a trademan for this job. Your pretty much the eyes and ears of the boss making sure the tradesman get the information/material they need to do the job and keeping the boss informed about the progress of the joband reporting to the GC of completed work, requires a degree in construction and lots of general construction knowledge. You never have to actually have done any of the physical work its mostly book smarts. Its pretty much meetings, calls, and paperwork. The only danger you can get doing this is you have to go out to the field often so just practice safty on the job like anybod else in the field.
Supervisor roles in any trade really but at minimum you need 5 ears experience to land that job and a degree in business or construction will help a lot, you pretty much the in between guy that coordinates the trade guys in the field, shop, boss and general contractor. sometimes you may actually need to do some physical work but that is only if a job needs to get done and the men need the extra man power and there is nobody but you.
A Non-working foreman usually on big construction jobs pretty much the guy who is telling everybody what to do and making sure the job gets done. You still need at least 5 years experience of actually doing the trade, and occasionally you may need to work.
A sheetmetal Draftsman/Detailer 99% of the work is in front of a computer and your getting paid over scale and lots of overtime, if your good at it your pretty much set for your career, your just waiting for retirement. This is a job I'm currently in training for.
Testing and Balancing, these guys just check if the airflow in the hvac system is acceptable their is other aspects of the job that require physical work but its few and far between also pays more than the average sheetmetal worker salary but harder to get in that line of work.
non sheetmetal jobs I can think of
Operating Engineer those guys working an elevator and working cranes, etc. this can be dangerous work but safety is often prioritized in this work because lawsuits and even jail time is huge if you fuck up. Extremely hard to get in one guy i talked to waited 7 years to get in and he had a connection. So I cant imagine how long it would take somebody with no connections to get in that Union..
I work mostly new construction its not clean at all. I do notice electrician try to work as clean as possible and often are the ones that complain about having a clean job site the most, but it can still get dirty.
Last edited:
I've got a buddy who owns a sewer and drain cleaning business in Lansing Michigan, clears about 150k a year but it's tough,dirty,physical work and he has to be on call sometimes if the guy he has working for him isn't on call because they are available 24/7.
Part of what he does is sewer system camera inspections for home buyers to make sure there's no issue that's going to cost them thousands of dollars to repair, definitely something people overlook many times when buying a house.
Something I learned when working with him for a few months was if there are mature trees anywhere in the front yard where the sewer line might be running out to meet with the main line in the road always make sure and get that inspected before making any kind of home purchase because the tree roots fuck up the pipes.
Part of what he does is sewer system camera inspections for home buyers to make sure there's no issue that's going to cost them thousands of dollars to repair, definitely something people overlook many times when buying a house.
Something I learned when working with him for a few months was if there are mature trees anywhere in the front yard where the sewer line might be running out to meet with the main line in the road always make sure and get that inspected before making any kind of home purchase because the tree roots fuck up the pipes.
My Dad is 81 and has run a wooden toy business for 40+ years (my entire life). He's in incredible shape and not that successful but extremely accomplished and has brought a ton of joy to a great number of people. His work is VERY demanding and his hands are the strongest in the world (seriously).
He was an architect and a city planner and said bye to it all after remembering he loved to sculpt and was quite good (he won a couple national contests in the 50s and 60s). His rough patch is his business sense.
I guess what I'm saying is that you can do trades for money (which seems to be the motivation here) or you can do trades when they fit and find a LOT of joy. My Dad did, and it's netted him a happier life. I love him so much.
He was an architect and a city planner and said bye to it all after remembering he loved to sculpt and was quite good (he won a couple national contests in the 50s and 60s). His rough patch is his business sense.
I guess what I'm saying is that you can do trades for money (which seems to be the motivation here) or you can do trades when they fit and find a LOT of joy. My Dad did, and it's netted him a happier life. I love him so much.
That's pretty accurate really, I've got a few friends that went to work purely on new builds and they love it because you're not really dealing with anyone else's grime and shit.
Yeah you're still dealing with spiders and they aren't making as much but on the side they can pick and choose the private work they want to pick up.
Plumbing isn't all that difficult like many here assume. Most my friends went to trade school and most specialized either in pluming or heating/ventilation since there will always be work. Some times you have be creative and lot of heavy lifting but do it right and you'll be fine physically, even in your old days.
Most works for construction companies and also have their own one man companies on the side. If they are willing to put in hours then you are going to get paid. But if you do 8h days then you are not going to make 200000$ a year.
edit. heating and ventilation is also gold mine these days. Geo-heating is taking off and those projects have huge profit margins and very small overhead cost.
Most works for construction companies and also have their own one man companies on the side. If they are willing to put in hours then you are going to get paid. But if you do 8h days then you are not going to make 200000$ a year.
edit. heating and ventilation is also gold mine these days. Geo-heating is taking off and those projects have huge profit margins and very small overhead cost.
one of my close friends dropped out of high school at 14 and now makes three times my income ($250k AUD) as an electrician. i always tell him i wish i studied a trade, too; 'tradies' are basically treated as gods here.
I've talked to many truckers about this (who deliver to our building) and they say no, it's never going to happen. You can simulate it on some test course with a test building and dock, but it would never work in the real world. Every place they deliver to is so different. Trucks would never be able to find a bunch of places, let alone back up into all these loading docks.
I work with my dad as a tile installer and some masonry, and we're booked out for at least 6 months. Though I'm personally making $23/hr, my dad makes about twice that. One guy was so desperate to hire my dad that he offered $100/hr
My dad has two metal knees and can barely grip anything.
He started a manual labor job at 18.
Be smart and take care of your body.
He started a manual labor job at 18.
Be smart and take care of your body.