Question:

Any plumbers out there? PLEASE HELP! is my hubby being underpaid?

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i asked this once but didnt get many answers last night so here it goes again...and im sorry i know its long. can you please help me?

my hubby started plumbing at the age of 18 (now 26) in residential. he can do practically anything when it comes to plumbing a new house. im really not sure what everything is called so excuse my lack of knowlege here. but i know he can do inside and outside work for the houses. now with the industry the way it is...he has moved on to commercial industrial plumbing and has been in this field for a few years. i couldnt tell you exactly what all he knows but he is very good at what he does i know (ive heard ppl compliment him) and is a very hard and dedicated worker. he is plumbing HUGE jobs alone (example...petsmarts, hotels, apartment buildings, ect). he is doing undergrounds and using equipment. he is working for a man (basically sub contracting but getting paid weekly for the jobs). this is the only man he is working for and he keeps him very busy since my hubby is the only one who subs thru him. he doesnt even have a helper (well on certain days my bro helps but not everyday). again im not sure what all he can do but i know he is doing these jobs alone...dealing with the inspectors, laying out the jobs alone..basically running the show. everything but finding the jobs. HE DOES NOT have any kind of a licence tho. the man who runs the company is the one pulling permits ect. right now we are working on him going to school to get a licence but the thing is...we cannot afford school!!! i think he is underpaid for everything he does. he gets a regular pay of 650.00 per week (not by the job as a normal sub would get). he is also not on salary so days when he has to come home early for things that didnt work out right he loses pay. we also pay for the gas in the van he uses (i know he subs and we are responsible for that but this is ran a bit differently...kinda like an employee). the company provided the van. the way gas is we are definately using a 100 weekly in gas if not more. so basically 550 weekly he is paid. also taxes are not taken out. any thoughts or advice would be great. i think he is underpaid but what do you think? could he go to a company as a regular employee and make more? again he can do it all and if he doesnt know he is a quick learner. outside/inside/escavating ect on commercial and residential he can do. thanks

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  1. I'm not a plumber, but I know a very good website where you can find out whether your husband is being underpaid. I've linked to the page for an entry-level plumber (as your husband is unqualified, I'm afraid that's what he technically is) and it shows that the national US average is 1149 us dollars every 2 weeks, but that includes SS, 401k, etc, etc.

    My personal opinion is that plumbers are in great demand right now and as long as he has the right tools, I would set up a sole-proprietorship and become a sub-contractor who gets paid by the job. This should be more lucrative, as freelancing business is pretty simple to maintain, I do it with Web Development from home, full-time.

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