Just curious - what kind of expertise do these people bill that amount of money for?
He is claiming it's different. It's his whole point.
My company charges $110/hr for an entry level engineer to work on your project.
EDIT: This is just offering a data point.
EDIT EDIT: If we assume a multiple of 2.5 (pretty standard), that $80 becomes $200/hr billed rate.
The difference is in who is doing the charging. White collar professionals usually pay themselves and thus keep most of the money.
When it's a trade the company gets 80/hr with the techs making about 20/hr.In California of course more is charged and more is paid but its still a slap in the face. You are literally the kne doing all but administration/dispatch which is the easy part. As soon as tradesmen with can they usually start working for themselves, hire more people, and perpetuate the parasitic cycle.