To think that tradesmen take the piss with their rates?

My parents voted to remain purely because they were terrified my father's carers wouldn't be available anymore. They were all Eastern European.

I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher

This is a weird way to look at it. Those 5 years you spent at university, they spent training and learning the skills they needed. They would have worked with another tradie, done courses, got accreditations, set up by themselves. All of this takes skill, work and training.

You can't have it both ways. Either their jobs are so easy that anyone could do them and you don't need to hire them, or they have particular skills and knowledge that take time and practice to acquire.

I was a teacher (now retired) and it really annoys me when people who claim to be teachers say things like this, exposing their ignorance and snobbish prejudice.
Previous posters have already explained the situation with regard to overheads, planning and logistics, so I won’t.

Fit your own light pull then? Oh right... you haven't got the skill have you.

Many trades have spent years in college training as well as regular updates to the their training and or courses for the cards required to do the job. All courses cost money.

They have business insurance. Costs money.
Fuel and vehicle wear and tear to get to you plus the time that took as well. Costs money.
Vehicle tax, insurance, mot etc etc
The tools have spent years collecting. Some even only needed for one particular job but would be impossible to do it without. Costs money.
Silly little sundry items like a spritz of WD40 the spritz itself didn't cost much but you've got to buy the whole bottle. Or a broken screw etc.

All of this before an hourly rate.

You've paid £75 for a job and everything it entailed. You've not paid £75 for 45 minutes of his time.

If we broke down our invoices to include the spritz of wd40 people would kick off like hell about it so it gets absorbed by the hourly rate. So a £45ph rate actually works out at much less to the actual person and its only worse if its a larger company with more overheads like a secretary eg as opposed to a one man band.

You're not paying him, you're paying his business.

You're also paying for the years of expertise in knowing how to do a job in just ten minutes. You could have watched a you tube video, bought the tool you didn't have, got it wrong twice, had a row with your husband, bought more of something because you used the first lot up in ballsing it up twice and finally completed it( but never quite as well as the professional). Or you could save your nails and your marriage and paid a man to do it. That man needs to be properly paid

If anyone wants to know what a loaded post looks like this is one.

It is just supply and demand and what the culture values.

Teaching takes more education than hanging a shelf or replacing a light pull. But teaching isn’t valued in the UK. Despite some small pay incentives, no one wants to do it because the working conditions stink. And, I suspect education isn’t that valued that much in the UK anyhow. Teachers are seen largely as paid baby sitters and looked down upon. Hanging shelves is seen as much more important than children being taught to read.

And, there aren’t enough tradesmen who are in demand, so they charge pretty much what they want. So, arm yourself with knowledge, and do it yourself. That way you don’t have to deal with tradesmen for minor jobs.

I asked a guy to cut some hedges, and after being faffed, just bought a hedge trimmer and did it myself. It took me a while, but now I know how, and I don’t have to deal with him. My mantra is don’t hire a tradesperson unless it is a skilled big job, get several quotes, get a contract and check out his business. If you don’t, you are going to be in for a world of hurt.

What a bizarre post. Surely you had a quote and accepted their rates?! Comparing them to your salary is very strange indeed it is almost like you are saying they should not earn a decent living because they are just tradies?

270 quid for 6 hours work
Minus parts
Minus insurance
Minus labour
Minus travel
Etc etc
I'm sure you'll be pleased to know the tradie only took home about 15 quid, if that makes your ego feel better.

As if you paid someone to replace a pull light 🤣🤣 we've just replaced ours, for the princely sum of 7.99 on amazon for the new pull cord and fitting.

Maybe put your extensive knowledge to use and learn how to do basic DIY yourself 🤷🏼‍♀️

Why? Paying tax is the responsibility of the tradesman himself (or indeed herself!) People prefer cash for other reasons, not just to avoid paying tax on it.

The snobbery from your post!

You’re paying for their skills, skills that you don’t have. They can charge whatever they like.

And six hours is effectively a full day’s work, as they are unlikely to be able to fit another job in around it.

I know many teachers who have advised their children to take up apprenticeships as joiners, etc. (I'm a retired teacher who occasionally does supply. Certainly from the point of view of a supply teacher, you'd be much better off having a trade.)

What's the old adage? Something about the pay not being for the job that you do, but knowing how to do it?

Maybe the OP should set herself up a small business, look at the income she would like to take home in a year and then calculate the hourly rate she would like to be on.

Then do a cash flow forecast, with all the expected income, the expected overheads and see where that leaves her with actual income.

(A lot of people who say they run "small businesses" should do this to get a more realistic expectation of their actual income)

I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

This says it all. You’re suffering from elitism. You look down on tradesmen because they chose to spend time learning a skill rather than partying away their young years at uni writing essays.

It’s quite simple. They learned a trade. A skill. Something which you’re not capable of. They specialise in something that you can’t do yourself and they charge you the appreciate rate to provide that skill for you.

It’s incredibly arrogant to state that you’re wondering why you spent 5 years at uni. Are you saying you could have used that time to learn a trade instead? What makes you think you’d be capable of it even with training? Not everyone has the basic skills you know-just like not everyone has what it takes to become a teacher. Attending uni doesn’t make you or your time more valuable

Absolute snob. Are you just looking down on trades because the rest of your university mates look down on you for being a teacher?

also, if we take in your actual capitation you get paid far far more - your capitation includes employers pension contributions, a portion of the cost of the school building, the whiteboards, continuous prof development, OFSTED and the textbooks etc. how much do you think all of that is???

You are paying for their skills, their public liability insurance, their tools, materials, their van plus van maintenance, tax and insurance and their hourly rate.
I used to do a lot of tailoring, dressmaking, alterations and repairs but packed in because people didn't want to pay the going price. One customer came to me with photo of a dress she had seen in a shop - she asked me to make it because she "knew it would be cheaper than buying it"! I told her to leave and don't come back!
I never "worked cheaply", my designs and craftsmanship were exemplary although I do say so myself. If you want 'quality' you have to pay for it.

Wow you paid cash on request. Not a good look for someone getting paid due to the UK tax take.

When people think about hourly rates, do you think about:

Time to the job / the next job
Time when not working - waiting for jobs
Admin time
Time to get materials
Holiday time - self employed don't get paid holidays so they have to increase pay so they can take holidays
Pension contributions
Overheads
Advertising
Training costs
Certifcation
Trades bodies
Insurance

Or do you just look at your pay versus their pay?

OP, you’ve spent more time venting about the guy who dared to take a lunch hour (who was charging you £45.00 per hour) than the plumber who charged you £173.00 per hour (although he probably also charged you for parts) and the electrician who charged you £450.00 per hour (although a light fitting probably formed more of the cost of that 10minutes in that case)
I am guessing that your five years at University didn’t teach you any respect for the people who do jobs that you can’t do yourself, because of lack of knowledge, lack of practical skills and seemingly, an inability to determine how much a job should cost upfront, while getting quotes from more than one independent trader to get the best deal?
I’m always reminded of the late, great Lawrence Olivier, who, when praised by a fan for his “important” work, responded something like “my dear, my work isn’t important - plumbers are more important than me”
A little humility required here, I think…

I think training as a trades person is now just as good option as university, although you do need to find the right apprenticeship. Also finding a good tradesman you can work with is like gold dust.

I mean this nicely, but I don't think going to university or training in an area that isn't well known for its pay is comparable to people who have hands on skills that there are is a lot of demand for.

Do you think a trained professional working on vital utilities in your home should be on minimum wage? Or do you think they should make a decent living after paying insurance, travel, tax etc? I hope you aren't teaching your pupils that university is more worthy than apprenticeships...

My DF is a specialist electrician, his day call out rate is £2k not including parts. Anybody could do it but there is a massive shortage because it isn’t particularly interesting or well thought of.

My ex window cleaner ( he got got so busy he just stopped doing out street) has his work van, two new cars (owned not least) & bought a £400k+ house he is 26. He didn't go to uni but seems to be doing alright for himself.
I know his mum, she can't believe his well he's doing, when at school he was basically told he wasn't bright enough for uni.