Originally Posted by
Gerald Boggs
Yes, he's charging you $120, but he's not putting very much of that in his pocket. He has equipment cost, insurance, workman's comp, vehicle purchase and maintenance, etc. To top all that, a lot of his workday are taken up with non-billable work. I'll use myself as an example: I generally make well over a $100 an hour forging, but half of my days is taken up by the things that need to happen outside hammer time.
But yes, the trades are generally good jobs and have good job security. And thanks to the riots, fires and storms, business is great! If I was going to do it all over, firefighter wold be my choice. A professional firefighter in my area works 7 days a month. I know two that are also running full time businesses on the side.