10 most overpaid jobs in America

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-11-11 10:47pm

You know who should be payed the most? Engineers. The people that design your skyscrapers, cars, bridges, etc. The people that design shit to keep you alive, they're the ones who should be compensated most.

Alan Bolte · Post by **Alan Bolte** » 2003-11-11 10:56pm

*chuckles* Yeah, we wish. Middle class is an engineer's lot, and there it shall stay.
Well, I'm not one yet, but anyway...

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-11-11 10:58pm

Engineers fall into that unfortunate class of people known as the middle class, which expects an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

The only way to get rich is to get paid much more than your work is really worth; that is the American Dream, and that is exemplified in the top-ten list I linked to in the first post.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-11-11 11:08pm

Darth Wong wrote:Engineers fall into that unfortunate class of people known as the middle class, which expects an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

The only way to get rich is to get paid much more than your work is really worth; that is the American Dream, and that is exemplified in the top-ten list I linked to in the first post.

Correction: the only way to get rich by working for someone else is to be overpaid. Successful small business owners can be worth several million dollars (IIRC, they represent the vast majority of America's wealthy). If my catapult rental business ever takes off, I'm in greenback heaven.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-11-11 11:24pm

RedImperator wrote:Correction: the only way to get rich by working for someone else is to be overpaid. Successful small business owners can be worth several million dollars (IIRC, they represent the vast majority of America's wealthy). If my catapult rental business ever takes off, I'm in greenback heaven.

Actually, even a successful business is really nothing more noble than the art of selling things for more than they're really worth. Bill Gates did not get where he is by giving people what they need for what it was worth; he got where he is by manipulating the market so that people had little choice but to buy his product for whatever the market would bear.

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2003-11-12 05:44am

The only thing I disagree with somewhat is the statement regarding Tiger Woods and Serena William's salaries based on their performance. while its true they make more money from tournaments by placing higher, they make the majority of their money from endorsements, which requires them to stand in front of a camera and look pretty. For seven or eight figures.....shoulda kpet playing past high school it would appear...

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-11-12 11:06am

Darth Wong wrote: Actually, even a successful business is really nothing more noble than the art of selling things for more than they're really worth. Bill Gates did not get where he is by giving people what they need for what it was worth; he got where he is by manipulating the market so that people had little choice but to buy his product for whatever the market would bear.

No, a successful business is the practice of selling things for as much as the market is willing to pay for them. Capitalism 101. The reason engineers are paid comparitavely little is because there are actual more engineers then are needed (with a few small exceptions). Since employers don't need to pay much in order to attract them, they can pay middle class wages for engineers, despite their importance.

Bill Gates is actually a terrible example of market pricing since Microsoft is dealing with a market that will pay basically anything for its products as there is no reasonable alternative (gee, could this be why it is called a monopoly?).

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-11-12 01:25pm

kojikun wrote:You know who should be payed the most? Engineers. The people that design your skyscrapers, cars, bridges, etc. The people that design shit to keep you alive, they're the ones who should be compensated most.

Yeah, and people in the medical community as well given a nice shiny skyscraper needs ignorant masses to live in it.

But then a case could be made for almost any field of work to be paid more than the other, this is why demand assures how much a person is paid and why, in this sick world, football players earn more a week than a nurse or engineer in a year.

Death from the Sea · Post by **Death from the Sea** » 2003-11-12 01:54pm

I would agree with that list with the exception of the Airline pilots. You think sitting in coach is crowded? take a look at some of the cockpits of the airplanes, alot of them are not the spacious cockpits seen in the movies. They do tend to work odd hours and such and their job is pretty damn important.
Aside from what someone said about engineers needing to be paid more I would toss in teachers, police, firemen, and EMT's that also should be paid more. Teachers should be paid alot more than they are currently.

0.1 · Post by **0.1** » 2003-11-12 04:43pm

Wong, you don't honestly think the democrats who are out there wooing the labor unions are stupid and only doing it for the votes. In the end it's all about money.

These unions are extremely powerful with their votes and their ability to raise money, think about how many people are in the UAW or AFL/CIO. If each of them "contributes" $20, you'd have a coffer that is damn near impossible to match.

If you think influence peddeling out of major corporations are bad, the unions are far more powerful. If they weren't or didn't have money, do you think anyone would give a rats ass about them?

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-11-12 11:29pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I don't see Mad Scientist on there.

Mad Scientists are never over paid.

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2003-11-13 02:48am

Death from the Sea wrote:Aside from what someone said about engineers needing to be paid more I would toss in teachers, police, firemen, and EMT's that also should be paid more. Teachers should be paid alot more than they are currently.

I suppose if your english teacher was paid a bit more, he/she could have taught you that "a lot" is two words.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-11-13 02:54am

I think that everyone should be paid hourly. This would eliminate the "unpaid overtime" syndrome and it would also make the pay discrepancies between the workers and the bullshitters more obvious. Here in Canada, the federal legislature just started their Christmas vacation (yes, it's not even halfway through November and their Christmas vacation has started), from which they won't return until well into the New Year. When you add up the number of days that these fuckers actually work (and the short hours of those days), it's unbelievable how high their effective hourly salary really is.

PROMETHEUS · Post by **PROMETHEUS** » 2003-11-13 03:04am

Death from the Sea wrote:Teachers should be paid alot more than they are currently.

Teachers, in my opinion, should be paid to the extent of their abilities. If they suck at teaching, they shouldn't be raking in 6-digit salaries--which is what some here in the LAUSD do.

Of course, a lot of that has to do with the corrupt, moribund mass of bureaucrats and paper-pushers that run the LAUSD.

Macross · Post by **Macross** » 2003-11-13 03:50am

I disagree with number 2, ALL athletes are overpaid, not just the wasjed up ones. These guys make millions for playing a game.

Also add actors and actresses to that list. Some of those TV and movie actors are ridiculously overpaid.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-11-13 05:46am

Politicians are overpaid, that much is certain. Canada isn't alone with the gov't officials taking long and unnecessary holidays, I believe the Irish had an uproar over officials coming back after a summer break only to give themselves another paid week off. I'm sure the same occurs all too often with Parliament and the Senate in London and Washington D.C. respectively.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-11-13 07:55am

Macross wrote:I disagree with number 2, ALL athletes are overpaid, not just the wasjed up ones. These guys make millions for playing a game.

Also add actors and actresses to that list. Some of those TV and movie actors are ridiculously overpaid.

They aren't really overpaid when you consider the amount of money that they personally make for their team/movie. Think about it this way: Barry Bonds draws millions upon millions of dollars to the Giants each year through ticket sales, TV ratings, merchandise, etc. He more than justifies his salary on that level.

Take Jim Carrey as another example. Sure, it may seem like overpaying to give him $20 million a movie, but when his presence is what sells $100 million of the tickets, his cost has been justified.

I think this list is more about people being paid more for services then even the market demands through quirks (the Longshoremen) or monopolistic practices.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-11-13 07:57am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Politicians are overpaid, that much is certain. Canada isn't alone with the gov't officials taking long and unnecessary holidays, I believe the Irish had an uproar over officials coming back after a summer break only to give themselves another paid week off. I'm sure the same occurs all too often with Parliament and the Senate in London and Washington D.C. respectively.

I'm afraid that's what happens when you are your own boss, you set your own salaries/holidays and you answer to no one but the moronic public that put you in office.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-11-13 09:00am

Tsyroc wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:I don't see Mad Scientist on there.
Mad Scientists are never over paid.

Actually, scientists are not paid particularly highly IIRC.

The Kernel wrote:No, a successful business is the practice of selling things for as much as the market is willing to pay for them. Capitalism 101.

But certain executives live entirely off profits and the occassional stockmarket speculation - thus making it necessary in a capitalist economy to sell things for more than they're worth. (Unless, of course, if there's a very large surplus)

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-11-13 11:14pm

Simon H.Johansen wrote:
Tsyroc wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:I don't see Mad Scientist on there.
Mad Scientists are never over paid.

Actually, scientists are not paid particularly highly IIRC.

True most scientists are probablly under paid but I was only commenting on the "Mad" variety.

I would like to add a job that is way overpaid. That is college football/basketball coach. The football coach that Arizona fired this year was to be the hightest paid coach in the state. Now that he's fired Arizona will be paying off his contract in installments. He will be getting $225,000 a year for the next four years.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-11-14 12:08am

Darth Wong wrote:
RedImperator wrote:Correction: the only way to get rich by working for someone else is to be overpaid. Successful small business owners can be worth several million dollars (IIRC, they represent the vast majority of America's wealthy). If my catapult rental business ever takes off, I'm in greenback heaven.
Actually, even a successful business is really nothing more noble than the art of selling things for more than they're really worth.

Example? How does this fit with most small business owners?

Darth Wong wrote:Bill Gates did not get where he is by giving people what they need for what it was worth; he got where he is by manipulating the market so that people had little choice but to buy his product for whatever the market would bear.

What does Bill Gates have to do with "the vast majority of America's wealthy" being "successful small business owners" which are worth "several million dollars"?

Entrepreneurs take the greatest risk and have the biggest ambition and have the most to lose. I don't see what's the great shame in them enjoying the profits and fruits of their self-made livelihood.