On: Ask HN: Generalist contractors, what is your hourl...

[hollywood_court]

You should probably charge more. Automobile repairs techs in Alabama charge more than that.

But I’d like to know where you find work because I haven’t found many clients in the SE that wish to spend money.

[jononomo → hollywood_court]

Repairing an automobile is a more difficult and valuable skill set, however.

[hollywood_court → jononomo]

Absolutely and the tools required often cost far more than a developer will ever spend during the course of their career.

But $100 per hour is too cheap. I charged more than that for carpentry repairs to homes and commercial buildings.

The local PepBoys charges $122 per hour and they’re aren’t capable of much more than oil changes and tire repairs.

[sarchertech → jononomo]

I’m not going to debate the difficulty but looking at the median and mean salary for both, it’s certainly not more valuable in a monetary sense.

[lostboomerang → hollywood_court]

> Automobile repairs techs

Is that a different term for "mechanics"?

[hollywood_court → lostboomerang]

In the repair industry, technician is reserved for folks that can properly diagnose and make any and all repairs.

A mechanic is someone who can throw parts at a car but isn’t likely to be able to perform in-depth diagnostics or advanced repairs especially on newer cars with complex electrical systems.

A mechanic in Alabama should expect to earn $50k-$60k while a tech is closer to $110k or so.

I know at least 9 guys in my county who never finished high school and couldn’t compose a proper sentence if their lives depended on it yet they earn $150k+ per year repairing automobiles.

[lostboomerang → hollywood_court]

Thank you for the explanation.

[motoboi → lostboomerang]

Yeah. Mechanics charge 50, automobile repairs tech charge 100.