Why are surgeons paid more than brick layers?

[JoePhilly]

108. Ummm ... When was the last time you needed an EMERGENCY BRICK LAYER????

The surgeon who repaired my totally blown out knees did so on LABOR DAY!!

Are those the "reasonable hours" you speak of??

My father who worked in construction would regularly tell me that I HAD to go to college. His reason was simple. Its better to have a career that is based first and foremost on your mind, and not your physical ability.

You used the brink layer as an example ... but by not the "furniture mover".

The latter is a far better example of straight physical labor. I'd suggest that you picked the brick layer, so you could reference his "knowledge of structure" and "eye for detail". In a sense, you are praising the brick layer for his MENTAL attributes ... or you would have used the furniture mover.

And in contrast to your claim ... the surgeon probably DID think about how they would "survive" the physical labor you describe.

My father the construction worker thought about it. As a teenager, he took me to his job sites, where I would work with him, and come home exhausted. And he used each and every such occasion to remind me that its better to have a career which derives from your MENTAL abilities rather than your PHYSICAL abilities, because your physical abilities DEGRADE more quickly. And so I thought about it specifically because HE did not want me to end up in his shoes.

You also seem to ignore the fact that the surgeon has to keep up with the ever changing techniques and knowledge. Much of brick laying, and most construction for that matter, has become a well defined process .... where one can rely on patterned designs, which reduce the "thinking" aspect.

I'm not a surgeon, but I am in a professional field similar to what you describe. And my best friend is a union sprinkler fitter. He and I have talked often of the differences in our careers.

He likes that at the end of each day, he takes no work home with him. And he can't understand how I am ok with having to travel unexpectedly for 4 or 5 days ... or how I am ok with conference calls that are at 5am, or at midnight, depending on which geography my colleagues are in. Or that after the kids go to bed, I might go on-line and do some more work ... or that I take my computer with me on vacation, and often work remotely while on vacation.

I like projects that have no simple solution, and that might take many months or even years to complete. He likes being able to complete a project in a few days or weeks.

He likes watching a building go from nothing to functional. He likes being able to curse at work.

Bottom line ... any effort to pit blue collar and white collar folks against each other is ridiculous.