4 ms·

Because they are professionals who do work that can be dangerous to them and the general public?

kome 3y ago
Eh, it doesn't work like this unfortunately; pay is never a mirror of the dangerousness, the utility, or the dirtiness of the job. I would say that usually it's the contrary: the more essential a job is, the less it is paid.
- FredPret 3y ago
  It's all supply and demand. Dirty and dangerous work attracts fewer workers. High-utility work is worth more to the employer so there will be more job offers. When you see dirty, dangerous, high-utility work that pays poorly, it's because there's a ton of people who are willing to do it.
- Infinity315 3y ago
  No, pay corresponds with the skillset and how replaceable you are (moreso how replaceable). Walmart truck drivers are highly compensated because trucking is a lonely and relatively uninteresting job to do. Doing that for many hours requires a certain type of person and would mentally wear down most people. Walmart requires a consistent level of output which they hope can be maintained by keeping truck drivers happy with high pay. Other trucking companies can afford to have some drivers leaves and thus pay them less because they have some leniency for delays which Walmart cannot/will not tolerate
bdcravens 3y ago
True, but that begs the question of why every trucking company doesn't pay as much as Walmart.
- randomdata 3y ago
  Because they operate under a different business model that is willing/able to risk hiring amateurs. Not dissimilar to why FAANG will pay a software developer many hundreds of thousands of dollars each year all while Mom & Pop are hiring some kid to develop their software for $10 per hour.
  - bdcravens 3y ago
    Trucking is a massive industry. Most trucks you see on the road aren't mom-and-pop operations. If we want to just limit the conversation to giant retail operations, Amazon pays roughly 25% less than Walmart.
    - randomdata 3y ago
      Amazon has a completely different business model to Walmart. If a truck doesn't arrive and the shelves are left bare, you're never going to know. They'll just ship the product off to you later when they can finally get the truck there. They can easily take the amateur hour risk. Costco, which is likely the closest analog to Walmart in terms of scale and logistical requirement, pays the same.

kome 3y ago

Eh, it doesn't work like this unfortunately; pay is never a mirror of the dangerousness, the utility, or the dirtiness of the job. I would say that usually it's the contrary: the more essential a job is, the less it is paid.

FredPret 3y ago
It's all supply and demand. Dirty and dangerous work attracts fewer workers. High-utility work is worth more to the employer so there will be more job offers. When you see dirty, dangerous, high-utility work that pays poorly, it's because there's a ton of people who are willing to do it.
Infinity315 3y ago
No, pay corresponds with the skillset and how replaceable you are (moreso how replaceable). Walmart truck drivers are highly compensated because trucking is a lonely and relatively uninteresting job to do. Doing that for many hours requires a certain type of person and would mentally wear down most people. Walmart requires a consistent level of output which they hope can be maintained by keeping truck drivers happy with high pay. Other trucking companies can afford to have some drivers leaves and thus pay them less because they have some leniency for delays which Walmart cannot/will not tolerate

bdcravens 3y ago

True, but that begs the question of why every trucking company doesn't pay as much as Walmart.

randomdata 3y ago
Because they operate under a different business model that is willing/able to risk hiring amateurs. Not dissimilar to why FAANG will pay a software developer many hundreds of thousands of dollars each year all while Mom & Pop are hiring some kid to develop their software for $10 per hour.
- bdcravens 3y ago
  Trucking is a massive industry. Most trucks you see on the road aren't mom-and-pop operations. If we want to just limit the conversation to giant retail operations, Amazon pays roughly 25% less than Walmart.
  - randomdata 3y ago
    Amazon has a completely different business model to Walmart. If a truck doesn't arrive and the shelves are left bare, you're never going to know. They'll just ship the product off to you later when they can finally get the truck there. They can easily take the amateur hour risk. Costco, which is likely the closest analog to Walmart in terms of scale and logistical requirement, pays the same.