Posted on 10/16/2008 8:53:21 AM PDT by reaganaut1
How much can a good, hard-working plumber earn in a year? I have no idea. Maybe some Freepers do.
What are some other unglamorous jobs, that don't require a college degree, that pay well?
“Founder of Microsoft.”
Touché, Pussy Cat!
http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm
Here you can find out what jobs pay in your area. Build a small company using these numbers and see how big you have to be to hit the $250,000 mark. Don’t forget you need to stash a little money away for capitol outlay and reseve replacement for equipment and such.
when i bid a job, a pipe fitter goes for about 110.00 per hour ( union rate )
One caveat with that: the kid must have been raised with a work ethic and an attitude that honesty is not for suckers. Few are.
Welder. Especially an ASME code certified welder. We pay our top welder $50/hr; he also supervises other welders, though. However, the guys will often work 6 or 7 days a week for 10 hours a day because there’s never a shortage of things to weld. He makes more than anybody in the business including my dad who owns the business and employs him.
There is a shortage of good (legal) welders. It’s just about the most useful fabrication/construction skill one can have, though.
“...its about taking his money and giving it to someone else that is the issue.”
That is the heart of it.
In the beginning, before government welfare programs, an individual could either
work - produce,
go to family, friends or the local church for help, or
starve.
Not a bad formula, it attracted and produced a lot of amazing people.
“When a plumber charges he charges by the hour, not by the minute.
If he fixes your pipes in 2 hours 15 minutes he charges for 3 hours.”
First off that isn’t every company’s policy and more importantly is my point that the “plumber” doesn’t charge you, the company does.
You have never owned a business or participated in the billing process, have you.
I have.
What you sketch is true for one-person companies with no employees, an insignificant minority of all plumbers.
When I started working many years ago, the "multiplier", for billing purposes was 2.2; when I stopped being involved directly with the billing process, that multiplier was approaching 3.
This was due entirely to "benefits" and other costs directly mandated by government. Do I need to repeat that?
OK; that was due entirely to costs, mostly mandated by government.
So, reasonably, using a more likely multiplier of 3, your $156,000 instantly shrinks to $52,000, a most likely figure applicable to my experience here in California.
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
Fishermen frequently make six figures and only work part of the year. And Captains make more. But it is a job of youth. Few in their 50’s and 60;s can crew in that business. If they keep all their fingers and toes they might be a skipper in their later years.
Plumbers are rich. They need to share their wealth with Obamamama.
First, I have never had a plumber come to my house that I wasn't charged by the hour. Things may be different where you live but I have had this experience in 3 states with numerous plumbing companies in each state.
I have had some cut me some slack by not charging an extra hour for 5 minutes or so but anything over 15 minutes I have been charged an hour.
Second, the question wasn't how much can a plumber make working for a plumbing company.
A plumber in my area, working for himself, charging an average amount, before expenses and taxes, working an average year, no overtime, no weekends or holidays would make about $156,000.
I answered the question, I didn't assume anything else, whether he worked for a plumbing company, whether he had others working under him, etc.
Exactly! I have a one person LLC that grosses $300,000 but nets under $90,000
See post 91.
And if a plumber (a plumbing contractor) bids jobs for a construction company, he may earn much more than what he would make on an hourly basis. Or he could lose his shirt.
I wasn’t impying one needs a college degree. I take the initial premise condescending, that was the reason for my statement.
My hubby is a HVAC/R mechanic. Not a bad living, kept me home 18 years to raise my boys. Went in the military (army veteran 40% disabled) for training, been in the field over 25 years now. He works alot of hours to make a comfortable living (refrigeration is a 24/7 calling, if a walk in box or cold case goes down in a store or restuarant, you don’t want THAT food bill because you didn’t want to come out at 3 am to fix it LOL) however, he has never cracked even 80,000 per year, so I guess what I am saying is- if your priorities are straight, and you don’t live to keep up with the McMansion set, if you don’t buy your kids everything they ever wanted but provide for them everything they need, most folks would do ok. I am of the mindset that the reason it costs so damn much to live now as opposed to the 50’s and 60’s is that the feminazis wrongly convinced women they should go out and work. Women competing against men for limited jobs at that time. 2 income households became more the norm, so cost of living increased accordingly. Alot of women now want to stay home, care for ailing parents and kiddies but cant afford to, but their houses and cars sure are nice. I still stay home for the most part, work a little part time with a friend of mine, volunteer in several areas, and get to see my kids every day. Yeah its still tough, and I worry a bit about retirement, but, up until this generation of baby boomers, you pretty much worked til you died, and if that is our fate, I will do so proudly as long as I can, cause the sacrifice was worth it, I raised my kids, not some daycare center, and they are all doing great! Conservative,pro life, devout Catholics (one becoming a priest) and I can say I did my best with those you entrusted to me on Judgement day, even though they went to public schools most of the time. I did homeschool for a bit, but realized that it was better to teach my kids the truth and then send them out to spread it. ( you would not believe some of the stories LOL)
My hubby is a HVAC/R mechanic. Not a bad living, kept me home 18 years to raise my boys. Went in the military (army veteran 40% disabled) for training, been in the field over 25 years now. He works alot of hours to make a comfortable living (refrigeration is a 24/7 calling, if a walk in box or cold case goes down in a store or restuarant, you don’t want THAT food bill because you didn’t want to come out at 3 am to fix it LOL) however, he has never cracked even 80,000 per year, so I guess what I am saying is- if your priorities are straight, and you don’t live to keep up with the McMansion set, if you don’t buy your kids everything they ever wanted but provide for them everything they need, most folks would do ok. I am of the mindset that the reason it costs so damn much to live now as opposed to the 50’s and 60’s is that the feminazis wrongly convinced women they should go out and work. Women competing against men for limited jobs at that time. 2 income households became more the norm, so cost of living increased accordingly. Alot of women now want to stay home, care for ailing parents and kiddies but cant afford to, but their houses and cars sure are nice. I still stay home for the most part, work a little part time with a friend of mine, volunteer in several areas, and get to see my kids every day. Yeah its still tough, and I worry a bit about retirement, but, up until this generation of baby boomers, you pretty much worked til you died, and if that is our fate, I will do so proudly as long as I can, cause the sacrifice was worth it, I raised my kids, not some daycare center, and they are all doing great! Conservative,pro life, devout Catholics (one becoming a priest) and I can say I did my best with those you entrusted to me on Judgement day, even though they went to public schools most of the time. I did homeschool for a bit, but realized that it was better to teach my kids the truth and then send them out to spread it. ( you would not believe some of the stories LOL)
Businesses pay the tax on their revenues. So raising prices doesn’t necessarily qualify your scenario.
I'm ten times richer than my big brother Bob
He's got a haircut, and he's got a real job!
Get a haircut and get a real job
Clean your act up and don't be a slob...
He created wealth where none existed before. The "valued added" by a plumber is beyond dispute. "Spreading the wealth" demonstrably destroys wealth. Look a Zimbabwe, once prosperous and pleasant, today a basket case. That's were the U.S. heading. Even if we dodge this bullet in November the demographic tsunami will eventually swamp us, to mix a metaphor.
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