<prompt> Human: My husband and I are in our early thirties. Neither of us completed high school; we both have GEDs. We both come from very financially and emotionally unstable backgrounds. We have a lot of reasonsexcuses to fail in life. And we did, for a while.Then we found plumbing. My husband went through his apprenticeship first while I financially held down the fort driving 18 wheelers, which is a great short term way to earn a good amount of money. He still made between 12-15hr throughout his two year apprenticeship, which is a lot better than no dollars per hour, and now he is paid commission and nets about 60k year. That is low for this company and he will make more as he gains confidence and experience.I have now decided to follow in his footsteps and got lucky with a 15hr position as a completely green apprentice. As a female, it was VERY hard to break in with no previous labor experience, but I found a female-owned company that gave me a shot. Im 3 months in, 21 to go for my Tradesman license.So, for now, we have a combined net income of about 85kyear, and no debt of any kind. Within two years, that income should rise to 120-150k very realistically. More is entirely possible as half the plumbers at the company we both currently work for bring home 90k or more. Also, this is for service residential plumbing, not commercial or union. You can make great money in both of those arenas as well especially union if youre in a good state for it.I think that most states do not have a Tradesman license, so in that case, your apprenticeship would be 4 years to get your Journeyman. I still think it would be well worth it for a lot of people. I just thought I would make a post giving some people a first-hand, real world example of making it without a college degree or any student loan debt. And the job prospects are fantastic. There are no plumbers in my city that look for a job for more than a few days... and they have multiple offers to choose from. The fact is that there are not enough plumbers to go around, and that is true of a lot of trades. The job growth in plumbing over the next 20 years is double the national average.Unless you are disabled, there are no excuses. And yes, ladies, you can do it, too. I do. Im 51 and weigh 118 lbs and I do it. I have trouble helping lift water heaters into and out of attics, and the company tries to keep me off water heaters when possible, but I still do it. Yes, it will be harder. But no one ever got anywhere by whining about fairness or difficulty.x200B;I will try to answer questions if there are any.Assistant: At least once a month usually sooner, there is a highly upvted rpersonalfinance thread talking about how well paid the trades are and how people in them are making large amounts of money. The median pay for plumbers is 52k a year. Thats fine money, but you arent going to get rich from it. And it comes at a significant cost in terms of the physical effects on your body. Its highly unlikely OP and her husband will ever earn 90k each as plumbers, as that would put one in the top 10 of the profession. What I cant figure out is why does rpersonalfinance have such a obsession with this issue? Because anytime I or anyone else point out the real data on pay, we get downvoted into oblivion. Then someone comes in and replies with how they are a plumber and make 200k a year argument by exception and thus these kinds of salary expectations are somehow reasonable. And can we please stop it with this false narrative about how everyone is discouraged from going into trades and people look down at them? If anything, as this thread shows, they are idolized and fetishized. Human: I have no idea where those lists get their numbers, because I dont know a SINGLE licensed plumber who makes less than 52kyear, and thats supposed to be just the median? I dont know of a single union chapter that pays that low, even the laziestnewest service plumbers I know make more than 52kyr, and even newly licensed commercial plumbers make 24-25hr, and the raises come pretty quickly. Sooo... okay, maybe my area and all unions just pay extremely high?And you can take that highly unlikely BS about our income potential and kick rocks. I see the paychecks in our company... literally my eyes see the numbers... and 90k each is entirely doable... more even, if one or both of us get into a sales position. Out of 16 licensed plumbers, theres one that makes 200kyr, three that make 150kyr the sales guys, probably 3-4 more that make 100kyr, and almost all make at least 75k. My husband and a couple of other new guys are the only ones making less than that. His income is very low for that company, and as he learns the company way he will come more in line with the average earnings there. Hes only been there as long as I have he switched companies to the one that hired me as a show of support.But Im sure you know better.  <response>: I have no idea where those lists get their numbers, because I dont know a SINGLE licensed plumber who makes less than 52kyear, and thats supposed to be just the median?The data doesnt lie. Most likely you live in an area where the plumbers are paid more than median. Hence, everyone you know makes more. Or, as put, you lucked into a high paying company in that case, congratulations. Its not all random.If I stated the salaries of the people I know here, then they are all going to be well above average in any occupation you name. What does that actually mean? It tells you where I live... and thats about it.And you can take that highly unlikely BS about our income potential and kick rocks. I see the paychecks in our company... literally my eyes see the numbers... and 90k each is entirely doable... more even, if one or both of us get into a sales position. Out of 16 licensed plumbers, theres one that makes 200kyr, three that make 150kyr the sales guys, probably 3-4 more that make 100kyr, and almost all make at least 75k. My husband and a couple of other new guys are the only ones making less than that. His income is very low for that company, and as he learns the company way he will come more in line with the average earnings there. Hes only been there as long as I have he switched companies to the one that hired me as a show of support.Well, like you, I hope that youre correct. Just be aware that being late to a party can mean that you wont actually end up as well as the best off -- past performance doesnt guarantee future results in career pay just as much as in investing. 