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Comment by joesmo | Hacker News Reader

They aren't good jobs. The average salary for plumbers is around $50-55k or so, right around the median for the US. Ok, but certainly not good. For roofers and mechanics, you're significantly below the median around $35k, basically in poverty especially if you have a family. I don't think encouraging people away from education is the problem when salaries are this low (poverty levels).

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Here is the thing: A lot of jobs after college are bad jobs if you go by income only. The average teacher's salary is around 40-45k, beginners make much less. Preschool teacher with degree? Barely over minimum wage if you are lucky. Sure, you get summers off, but you also don't have a paycheck during that time.

Business degree? You might be a retail store manager because that is what you found that you actually have experience in... because you worked retail through school.

It is bad all around.

The median you quoted is for a household (usually more than one person). 55k is well above the median individual income.

not to split hairs, but that's median household income... usually made of 2 incomes these days.

plumbers, electricians, and plenty of other blue collar vocations do pretty well imo.

Hah, i bet its way higher. Anyone that owns their own business like that is probably fudging their income numbers and writing off as much as they can. I wouldn't be surprised if the income was 2-20x higher for established self employed people.

The owners are a minor percentage of the workers in these fields and therefore what they make is irrelevant.

35K is def not poverty. I managed to get by in Manhattan on less...

pray tell how you managed to do that

Not too complicated an equation— one can find a basic room in a share for $1k a month uptown or in Chinatown, plus $110/month for a Metrocard or $10/month for Citibike, plus a reasonable amount of money for food like $300/month (cook a big pot of something a couple days a week, pack lunch from that, and have a few meals out for a $10/day diet).

That's about half of $35k for basic expenses while living in Manhattan, which leaves plenty of room for taxes/savings/going out/travel/etc. And there are a lot of great free events in NYC, too.

Almost exactly this. Cheapo room in a two bedroom up near the 125 A stop, monthly metro card, not eating out too much and once a week stocking up on staples from Trader Joe's. Left plenty of overhead for hitting up bars with friends on the weekends, travel for the holidays, etc. I wasn't living lavish by any means, but I also wasn't struggling to make rent.

Magic. See his username.

Most of these jobs are not salaried and can have significant opportunity for overtime at time and a half or more.

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