Awkward..

Plumbing is good business.

Just watched that programme on 4oD.  Apart from the managers swanning about looking like utter twonks, I've got a real issue with asking staff to correct the company's mistakes.  You can paint it as a happy ending with twinkly music if you like, that process will leave resentment festering between employees.  How long until one plumber has a go at another for not taking a cut for the call centre?  How long until the £56k manager makes the £14k canteen lass feel like she owes him something?  Also, it's all very well and pod saying the company won't increase it's wage bill, but how about the boss himself takes a pay cut?  He poke as though the comany's money and his money are one and the same.

Best quote: "They're too smart to be mechanics, they should be plumbers."  Fucking idiot.

I'd love to be able to walk into my boss's office and explain why changing people's conditions so that they take home less than they did is morally wrong, but he's an idiot.  Asking for any pay rise is nuts.  Not that I would, mind.

It depends how you are talking about pay rises, obviously there are very few comppanies raising pay across the board, tbh that wasnt even happening pre-2008.


Ive never been afraid to ask for a pay rise based on my own merits however. The worst they can say is no.

This country is still stupidly obsessed with going to university, and seems to view teaching kids according to their skills as some sort of evil.  Setting up more vocational schools and sending the kids with the right skills there is seen as robbing them of their chance to go to uni.  How about the fact that when I was at school, I was pushed to go to uni and get qualifications of little or no value?

I remember at 6th form they asked all to seperate into two groups, those that do and those that don't want to go to uni. At the time I wanted to take a year out so went in the 'don't' group.

They took all us 'don'ters' into a room and told us in no uncertain terms that we were wasting our education and lives. A couple of the lads said they wanted to start low and work their way up in Media, which got an even worse re-action. One lad is now juniour editor of a local rag and the other does sound for live TV shows, so not really wasted.

I ended up working in retail for a year just exploring avenues, much easier when you have your results and can make educated choices. It also meant I felt no pressure during my exams and I think I did better for it.
I did go to Uni, studied Animation, which I didnt even know you could do and my school definately would have steered me away from.
It has been a hard slog getting a job in the field I wanted and I don't get paid much really but I love what I do, I could never imagine going into a totally new field.

The one thing I would say is that more than half the people on my course were there because they had been funneled into the whole uni thing. No interest in the course or a career, doing the bare minimum to scrape through every semester and now work in Superdrug, Boots or un-employed drawing furries and putting them on deviantart.

It hasn't been much of a secret that plumbers have been earning shit loads for the last 5-10 years. They keep a lid on it though because they don't want the public to question the costs.

There are decent reasons why the goverment have been pushing people to go to uni for the last twenty years. Just it's become an issue where the courses at uni have become out of touch with subsequent employers and businesses. I think the uni's have realised this now and things should be improving.

No real facts on the abov other than my experiences and bits an pieces I've read over the last five years or so. The evening standard talks about this kind of thing a fair bit.

Does anyone think any particular jobs are overpaid?

Does anyone think any particular jobs are overpaid?

It depends largely on the company and field but I would say sales can be vastly over inflated. I understand the skill set needed, it's no cake walk but I think it can get a bit out of hand.

Estate adgents being the worst, what the fuck do they even do all day to earn that commision?

Footballers... they serve no purpose.

Anyone earning over £100k is probably overpaid, anyone earning over £250k is definitely overpaid.

It would be interesting to see the disparity in certain specific jobs.  The mechanics in that programme were just seen as guys who keep the plumbers on the road while the plumbers, being the primary function of the business, were earning five times as much.  If there was a garage with premises big enough to have a resident plumber (or general handyman with plumbing skills) would the pay be the other way around?  Any answer to that seems mental.

Area managers in jobs often seem to be overpaid for the actual value they bring to a business. It seems to be th promotion for lots of years of hard service. Just comes across as a bit of a doss though. Speaking from experience in the bartrade in this instance.

Also quite a few farmers are on a kushdie one.

tigerswiftly wrote:

Overpaid jobs? I'd argue sales isn't overpaid in the sense that they get paid a minute amount of what they draw in. Seems fairly fair, frankly, and it's not an easy job to do well in unless you're a massive cunt.

Hi there!

During my stint at a retail bank, a chap got promoted above me due to being able to push products on all and sundry and brown nosing the management with his laddish charms. Then he managed to mis-sell loans and fuck up continually until he was fired. He genuinely didn't understand half of what he was doing but just pressed people into sitting down for appointments time and time again.

Retail banking. Fuck that.

Fuck Banking. Retail that.