I don't buy the numbers on dog walkers. I live in NYC, which is probably at the high end for this and many other things, and I don't know anyone who's paying $2

I don't buy the numbers on dog walkers. I live in NYC, which is probably at the high end for this and many other things, and I don't know anyone who's paying $25/day to walk a dog with up to 7 other dogs. People will pay more to have their dogs walked by themselves or in small groups. I don't think I see groups of more than 4. The theater/opera carpenter one really surprised me. I wonder why they are paid so much? Unions? Construction I totally understand. I come from Perth, Western Australia, which is in the midst of a resources boom that has been going on almost unabated for 15-20 years. The scope and scale of what is being dug up from the ground or drilled from the sea is probably unprecedented. This puts an incredible amount of pressure on construction. So much so that in 2000 you could buy a house for ~$100k in Perth. 5 years later that same house was $350k+. Most of that was just increased construction and materials cost, not land appreciation. The problem with such massive increases in the cost of construction is that it feeds into virtually everything else. If you've ever been to Perth, you'll know it's an incredibly expensive city now. Back in the 90s I lived comfortably as a student in a 2 bedroom apartment and all expenses for <$200/week. I often wonder if Australia will suffer (or is already suffering) from Dutch Disease [1]. It's a place now of the haves (those in mining/construction) and have nots (everyone else). Even if you're one of the lucky ones, the standard of living is not great. I say this as someone who lives in Manhattan. But New York City has way more options for the whole income spectrum. Less than $200k can get you a 1 bedroom in Sunnyside, Queens that's <30 minutes to Midtown. In Perth, there are no cheap options anymore. Even 5 years ago, 40-50 year old crappy apartments were being rented out for $300/week sight unseen. Anyway I don't begrudge any of these jobs their good fortunes (I am a software engineer after all). I do worry about construction in particular however because of the on-flow effect into everything else. Construction really is a mixed bag too. Highly paid crane operators? That's a stressful/demanding job. No problem there. 6 figure incomes for guys who stand on the street with a stop sign wearing a hard hat? Well, that's just a racket. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease