Was just now watching the news. Want to make a pile of money quick? Go to Ukraine and help locate and remove land mines.
No college degree required.
No college degree required.
I agree. These workers earn their money too. The temperature outside can be freezing cold or 100 degrees and they have to be outside working or driving heavy equipment and many times without air conditioning. The workers deserve to get paid well.No disagreement here.
Basic point stands - don't assume they aren't making good money. There isn't a construction job anywhere here that starts at minimum wage these days. Not even close.
LOL, this is so ironic because my dad, VERY angry at my career choice, preached to me decades ago that he witnessed people with my career ending up digging ditches along the roadside!True but if you were to take a survey of shovel workers you might be surprised at how many have a college degree. Same goes for so many blue collar jobs these days.
down scale housing/lifestyleWhat happens if high tech workers making six figures are no longer a "hot commodity"?
Very true, at least around here. In fact, the good ones are pulled from one company to another. Make your mark, and you will not need to look for a job. That's why there are "Golden Handcuffs". In some cases, if you have requisite (and rare) skills and are in charge of a process deemed "mission critical" by the C level staff, you will be pushed even harder and rewarded very well for your efforts.I do have to chuckle a little bit at the thread title, considering Technology is one of the fastest growing fields necessary to practically every organization. With that said, usually people in technical fields making six figures are doing so because they have skills to offer. If they lose that job, they can likely get a similar one somewhere else, even if for slightly less money, since the skills they have are still valuable in some form.
Temporary gigs where people make lots of money in a short time as a contractor are more volatile. I see some of those youtube channels or social media influencers quitting their jobs to do it full time, and part of me hopes they are really investing what they make, because something like that isn't long term.
I have had friends that refused to work at any job where it was necessary to spend more than a short while indoors. Something about being confined and all that. OTOH, none of these friends was performing hard labor in 100F heat.So why would anyone work a job outside in 100F heat for low pay when they could work inside for higher pay?
Can you pull a guy off a roofing crew and set him in front of a computer and write software?I never understood how or why people who sit in an air conditioned office all day and sit behind a keyboard make low six figures, while someone laying asphalt or digging trenches in 100°F heat all day make just above minimum wage.
sometimes, yes /Can you pull a guy off a roofing crew and set him in front of a computer and write software?
Most times. no.sometimes, yes /
What happens if high tech workers making six figures are no longer a "hot commodity"?
I have two nephews that live in Phoenix, in their late 20s, that make low six figures per year. Neither has a college education. Both are homeowners in the greater Phoenix area. Both are in the high-tech arena, and work remotely. Both are employed by different firms investigating on-line fraud/ issues. I assume they know what they are doing, yet neither are formally educated in cyber.
What happens to people like my nephews if they are laid off? Maybe cyber-crime professionals are immune- but I recall in the 1980s and 1990s programmers were vulnerable to being laid off. And if people like my nephews are laid off, no advanced education and no other known skillsets- are they still able to earn low six figures?
I agree that there's a problem with trying to do heavy physical work after some age. But I'm not so sure it's because of a lifetime of heavy work.You can make a lot of money doing physical jobs, the problem is when you get to be 50 years old you can no longer do them. I have several family members who worked construction, and while they made a lot of money they are basically disabled because of the toll years of physical labor took on their bodies.
Can you pull a guy out of his air conditioned office where he sits all day in front of a computer writing software and put him with an asphalt paving crew when it's 100°F? Most times no. He won't last an hour.Most times. no.
It the worker is willing to do what it takes to learn, then why not?Can you pull a guy off a roofing crew and set him in front of a computer and write software?
I'd be crying...Can you pull a guy out of his air conditioned office where he sits all day in front of a computer writing software and put him with an asphalt paving crew when it's 100°F? Most times no. He won't last an hour.
Without any schooling, I am doubtful they are pulling down 6 figures in their late 20's. But even assuming they are, these are the people most at risk to losing that job and not finding another one of equal pay. People that have degrees in engineering have a basic education that separates them from the kid that walks in during periods of low unemployment. In other words, someone with no school is at a disadvantage when times are tough or the technology changes. Basic science and physics education is always in short supply. Some kid that learns a bit of programming does not have that basis.What happens if high tech workers making six figures are no longer a "hot commodity"?
I have two nephews that live in Phoenix, in their late 20s, that make low six figures per year. Neither has a college education. Both are homeowners in the greater Phoenix area. Both are in the high-tech arena, and work remotely. Both are employed by different firms investigating on-line fraud/ issues. I assume they know what they are doing, yet neither are formally educated in cyber.
What happens to people like my nephews if they are laid off? Maybe cyber-crime professionals are immune- but I recall in the 1980s and 1990s programmers were vulnerable to being laid off. And if people like my nephews are laid off, no advanced education and no other known skillsets- are they still able to earn low six figures?
Hafta disagree UD. It takes both.Their industry either has a market for their skills in like or equal positions, or they will need to seek employment in another vertical market.
Their industry always need smart guys and 100K just isnt that much money anymore for someone that can earn 3-300X their salary for a company.
College is meaningless in more occupations that not.
A successful history and domain knowledge are often way more valuable.
Agree, but depends on programming task and location. Google pays $300K right outta school for Data Scientists. Plus a piece of the pie...Without any schooling, I am doubtful they are pulling down 6 figures in their late 20's. But even assuming they are, these are the people most at risk to losing that job and not finding another one of equal pay. People that have degrees in engineering have a basic education that separates them from the kid that walks in during periods of low unemployment. In other words, someone with no school is at a disadvantage when times are tough or the technology changes. Basic science and physics education is always in short supply. Some kid that learns a bit of programming does not have that basis.
Tell them to save their money as life is quite uncertain.
I feel personally offended....the docker wearing, clip-board carrying office worker who smells of cheap cologne.