9 ms·

A person in our family is a specialized nurse. Two years of school, then some more training. $60hr any hour they "wish" to work. Saturdays/Sundays are $90hr,

A person in our family is a specialized nurse. Two years of school, then some more training. $60hr any hour they "wish" to work. Saturdays/Sundays are $90hr, so is any hour after 8 hours. The demand is so high he just rejects work. If he wants to work in American Samoa or Miami: hired. I hired a person to install a garage door. $900 for an hour of work. My plumber wont show up for a 30 minute $300 job. I will call again, tomorrow fingers crossed. Get your brakes replaced - look at that bill. Try outsourcing that. Everyone I meet that works at starbucks has a masters AND 90k in student debt. Bankruptcy doesn't make student loans go away. I think things are about to start swinging in the "non-college" direction.

anoplus 7y ago
> The demand is so high he just rejects work. I think as we advance in the information age, maybe degrees are less about helping you actually get the job done, and more about serving as a mean for companies (and countries) to roughly filter high surplus of candidates. Add the fact its easier today to apply for job posts, its very hard for recruiters to filter intelligently at reasonable time. My guess is if everyone would have first degree, the recruiters will require a second degree. This has less weight on jobs short in candidates (i.e specialized nurse, plumber, welder, proven AI expert, or whatever is hot right now).
- vasilipupkin 7y ago
  There is a reason there is a shortage of nurses. Not everyone finds excitement in dealing with sick people all day. Also, most highly paid nurses do have a B.S. in Nursing.
  - Nasrudith 7y ago
    Nursing is also a field which is infamously feast or famine for demand and willingness to pay.
jayd16 7y ago
>I hired a person to install a garage door. $900 for an hour of work. My plumber wont show up for a 30 minute $300 job. For those prices just do it yourself. Is this hyperbole or did you really pay $900 for an hour job? How complicated could it have been if it only took an hour?
emodendroket 7y ago
It seems doubtful that your guy spends 40 hrs/wk installing garage doors.
amiga_500 7y ago
Skilled manual work. Cannot be outsourced.
- monoideism 7y ago
  > Skilled manual work. Cannot be outsourced. But it can be dramatically diluted through lenient immigration policies (and that's exactly what happened). Bottom line, you have to be clever stay on your toes to make it in today's economy, and even then you need lots of luck and excellent health. UBI would result in a much more just society.
  - thatfrenchguy 7y ago
    > But it can be dramatically diluted through lenient immigration policies (and that's exactly what happened In the US ? Where you can’t immigrate legally as a skilled manual worker ?
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - amiga_500 7y ago
    UBI would just feed directly into rents because that's how prices are set. UBI would require land value tax to ensure the public value is capture for public spending. UBI alone is a land speculator wet dream and Yang is totally wrong to be pushing it without LVT. Yes in the middle of nowhere it can help, but most people are in cities and rents will rise there to current rent + UBI amount.
    - halfjoking 7y ago
      Yang is willing to adjust policy positions if the data supports it. If property prices are being raised due to UBI, then I'm sure he'd support something like LVT. That's the difference with Yang. He's the most data-driven politician I've ever seen. Other politicians seem mostly ideological, and I don't think they'd adjust their policies even in the face of overwhelming data it's not working. Like if Warren used Antitrust law to break up Amazon and it didn't change any relevant metrics, I think she would still call the policy a success. Ideological politicians like that are way more dangerous than someone who wants to try new ideas and is willing to adjust if they don't work.
prepend 7y ago
You need some better contractors. I have multiple plumbers with same day service for $95 service calls. My garage door was installed for $400 and it took an afternoon. Obviously prices vary. I can make a living with a trade skill, but data shows I’m more likely to make a lot more with a college degree. You have billionaire dropouts and baristas with phds. But on average, degree nets you a lot of lifetime income. Maybe that will change.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- mch82 7y ago
  Interesting that billionaire dropouts often send their children to college & donate heavily to public education
  - robotron 7y ago
    Their kids aren't going to have the same motivation to work as hard as the previous generation moving from whatever class they were in to the elite.
    - barry-cotter 7y ago
      Zuckerberg and Gates would have been elite if they’d never worked a day in their lives. Lots of people who come from money do something that doesn’t pay that well, like working in acting or the arts. Others don’t, and work as executives or found their own businesses even though there’s no danger of running out of money.
      - vonseel 7y ago
        Zuckerberg and Gates would have been elite if they’d never worked a day in their lives. Perhaps it's just me, but in the Zuckerberg case specifically, I'd think quite a bit of luck and timing had to do with it. If Zuckerberg had been born 10 years later after the obvious social network ideas were already created? Or if he had gone to a no-name college (or none whatsoever) and Facebook had never taken off the way it did at Harvard? Or maybe you meant they were born elite, in which case, I don't know anything about that.
yters 7y ago
What prevents the MSc baristas from picking up a trade? Then they'd be highly educated and making some money.
- war1025 7y ago
  Pride I'd guess. Or possibly coming from a background where they don't realize that skilled labor is an option. Many people seem to think that doing physical labor is "below" them. Nevermind the fact that being a barista / waiting tables / etc. is no walk in the park either.
seanmcdirmid 7y ago
$60 or even $90/hour isn’t that great if its all 1099 income. It isn’t bad either, but the extra payroll taxes and the need to buy an individual plan (if your partner doesn’t get you into a group plan) make it pretty normal.
- vonseel 7y ago
  Suddenly makes you feel very bad for all the people out there making $15-20ish an hour.
  - kortilla 7y ago
    Not sure you understand. 1099 income means they aren’t an employee. That’s not the arrangement for people making $15-20. Those folks are regular employees so they receive that income after benefits, payroll taxes, etc. As a 1099 employee you need to be clearing at least double the equivalent employee hourly wage because there is so much overhead. Remember, a contractor doesn’t get a single day of paid vacation.
    - achenatx 7y ago
      benefits only run about 30%. So a contractor wage should be about 130% of a salaried employees wage. This does not count when a salaried employee works more than 40 hours. My plumber charges 150/hour. Contractors around here bill by the job. I had bids for $5000 for a 1 day job for 2 people when incorporated into a GC bid. The GC was getting 25% on top of the 5000.
      - oogali 7y ago
        I’m sure I’ve missed a few things, but 30% doesn’t begin to cover the costs that are normally borne by a larger company and factor into the “house” premium. You have to factor in not only benefits, but also: * federal-level taxes (there’s no employer to pay the other half, so the contractor bears the whole portion) * tools (you buy your own tools, stock your own spares, do your own maintenance on your dime — non-billable) * learning and mandated certifications (same as above — non-billable) * liability insurance (non-billable) * vehicle maintenance, taxes, tolls, and fees (non-billable) * transit time to and from not only contracted job sites, but also estimates that may ultimately result in no revenue (non-billable) * marketing/lead generation (Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor are free to you, not to contractors — non-billable) * material storage (you have the keep the customer’s plywood dry if the weather changes, or if the customer has a family emergency and needs to reschedule)

anoplus 7y ago

> The demand is so high he just rejects work. I think as we advance in the information age, maybe degrees are less about helping you actually get the job done, and more about serving as a mean for companies (and countries) to roughly filter high surplus of candidates. Add the fact its easier today to apply for job posts, its very hard for recruiters to filter intelligently at reasonable time. My guess is if everyone would have first degree, the recruiters will require a second degree. This has less weight on jobs short in candidates (i.e specialized nurse, plumber, welder, proven AI expert, or whatever is hot right now).

vasilipupkin 7y ago
There is a reason there is a shortage of nurses. Not everyone finds excitement in dealing with sick people all day. Also, most highly paid nurses do have a B.S. in Nursing.
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  Nursing is also a field which is infamously feast or famine for demand and willingness to pay.

jayd16 7y ago

>I hired a person to install a garage door. $900 for an hour of work. My plumber wont show up for a 30 minute $300 job. For those prices just do it yourself. Is this hyperbole or did you really pay $900 for an hour job? How complicated could it have been if it only took an hour?

emodendroket 7y ago

It seems doubtful that your guy spends 40 hrs/wk installing garage doors.

amiga_500 7y ago

Skilled manual work. Cannot be outsourced.

monoideism 7y ago
> Skilled manual work. Cannot be outsourced. But it can be dramatically diluted through lenient immigration policies (and that's exactly what happened). Bottom line, you have to be clever stay on your toes to make it in today's economy, and even then you need lots of luck and excellent health. UBI would result in a much more just society.
- thatfrenchguy 7y ago
  > But it can be dramatically diluted through lenient immigration policies (and that's exactly what happened In the US ? Where you can’t immigrate legally as a skilled manual worker ?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- amiga_500 7y ago
  UBI would just feed directly into rents because that's how prices are set. UBI would require land value tax to ensure the public value is capture for public spending. UBI alone is a land speculator wet dream and Yang is totally wrong to be pushing it without LVT. Yes in the middle of nowhere it can help, but most people are in cities and rents will rise there to current rent + UBI amount.
  - halfjoking 7y ago
    Yang is willing to adjust policy positions if the data supports it. If property prices are being raised due to UBI, then I'm sure he'd support something like LVT. That's the difference with Yang. He's the most data-driven politician I've ever seen. Other politicians seem mostly ideological, and I don't think they'd adjust their policies even in the face of overwhelming data it's not working. Like if Warren used Antitrust law to break up Amazon and it didn't change any relevant metrics, I think she would still call the policy a success. Ideological politicians like that are way more dangerous than someone who wants to try new ideas and is willing to adjust if they don't work.

prepend 7y ago

You need some better contractors. I have multiple plumbers with same day service for $95 service calls. My garage door was installed for $400 and it took an afternoon. Obviously prices vary. I can make a living with a trade skill, but data shows I’m more likely to make a lot more with a college degree. You have billionaire dropouts and baristas with phds. But on average, degree nets you a lot of lifetime income. Maybe that will change.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
mch82 7y ago
Interesting that billionaire dropouts often send their children to college & donate heavily to public education
- robotron 7y ago
  Their kids aren't going to have the same motivation to work as hard as the previous generation moving from whatever class they were in to the elite.
  - barry-cotter 7y ago
    Zuckerberg and Gates would have been elite if they’d never worked a day in their lives. Lots of people who come from money do something that doesn’t pay that well, like working in acting or the arts. Others don’t, and work as executives or found their own businesses even though there’s no danger of running out of money.
    - vonseel 7y ago
      Zuckerberg and Gates would have been elite if they’d never worked a day in their lives. Perhaps it's just me, but in the Zuckerberg case specifically, I'd think quite a bit of luck and timing had to do with it. If Zuckerberg had been born 10 years later after the obvious social network ideas were already created? Or if he had gone to a no-name college (or none whatsoever) and Facebook had never taken off the way it did at Harvard? Or maybe you meant they were born elite, in which case, I don't know anything about that.

yters 7y ago

What prevents the MSc baristas from picking up a trade? Then they'd be highly educated and making some money.

war1025 7y ago
Pride I'd guess. Or possibly coming from a background where they don't realize that skilled labor is an option. Many people seem to think that doing physical labor is "below" them. Nevermind the fact that being a barista / waiting tables / etc. is no walk in the park either.

seanmcdirmid 7y ago

$60 or even $90/hour isn’t that great if its all 1099 income. It isn’t bad either, but the extra payroll taxes and the need to buy an individual plan (if your partner doesn’t get you into a group plan) make it pretty normal.

vonseel 7y ago
Suddenly makes you feel very bad for all the people out there making $15-20ish an hour.
- kortilla 7y ago
  Not sure you understand. 1099 income means they aren’t an employee. That’s not the arrangement for people making $15-20. Those folks are regular employees so they receive that income after benefits, payroll taxes, etc. As a 1099 employee you need to be clearing at least double the equivalent employee hourly wage because there is so much overhead. Remember, a contractor doesn’t get a single day of paid vacation.
  - achenatx 7y ago
    benefits only run about 30%. So a contractor wage should be about 130% of a salaried employees wage. This does not count when a salaried employee works more than 40 hours. My plumber charges 150/hour. Contractors around here bill by the job. I had bids for $5000 for a 1 day job for 2 people when incorporated into a GC bid. The GC was getting 25% on top of the 5000.
    - oogali 7y ago
      I’m sure I’ve missed a few things, but 30% doesn’t begin to cover the costs that are normally borne by a larger company and factor into the “house” premium. You have to factor in not only benefits, but also: * federal-level taxes (there’s no employer to pay the other half, so the contractor bears the whole portion) * tools (you buy your own tools, stock your own spares, do your own maintenance on your dime — non-billable) * learning and mandated certifications (same as above — non-billable) * liability insurance (non-billable) * vehicle maintenance, taxes, tolls, and fees (non-billable) * transit time to and from not only contracted job sites, but also estimates that may ultimately result in no revenue (non-billable) * marketing/lead generation (Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor are free to you, not to contractors — non-billable) * material storage (you have the keep the customer’s plywood dry if the weather changes, or if the customer has a family emergency and needs to reschedule)