General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)Why are surgeons paid more than brick layers? [View all]
Surgeons make gobs of money. Drive nice cars. Live in large houses in nice neighborhoods. They generally work less than 5 days a week and the hours are very reasonable. We praise their knowledge of the human body, their hand eye coordination, and their dexterity. They take plenty of long, enjoyable vacations and retire very well and usually in good shape.
The bricklayer might be paid a middle class income, but he's likely paid a lot less. He drives an old pickup truck covered in dents that's in the shop fro time to time. He works 6 days a week for a minimum of 8 hours a day, often longer. We praise his knowledge of structure, his deft hand, and his eye for detail. He takes almost no vacations and is lucky if he can ever retire. His body ends up worn and broken and he lives in pain constantly.
Many surgeons couldn't dream of surviving the manual labor performed by a brick layer and yet we seem to put a lot less value on manual labor.