While watching the last in the series of Rip-off Ireland a thought occured to me about the industry that I know best, Information Technology. I’ve paid plumbers and electricians around 60 euro/hour to fix problems during normal working hours. Assuming a dilligent independent electrician working at these rates for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 42 weeks a year (holidays are vital to recharge the batteries) we get yearly earnings of over 100,000 euro. However, I never checked to see that the electrician who came around wasn’t an apprentice charging a a steep rate while remaining on a relatively modest salary. I just wanted my wires uncrossed 🙂. I must admit though, I did feel slightly ripped-off. As a software developer and web designer I meet the same customers who pay over 80 euro an hour to the plumber to come in and fix a leak late at night. However, the big difference is that they think they have some appreciation for what the plumber or electrician does whereas IT is a mystery. Even in this rip-off republic IT is often available for FREE!!! If that sounds too good to be true it’s because it is.
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