making more money is not as easy as just 'doing realestate'.
If you have money to begin with, say at least a few hundred extra k, then you can invest and even conservatively, you'll make extra money.
As they say, if it were easy everyone would be doing it.
The difference between most people that have investments and those that don't (beyond a few stocks) is that they've inherited money. This is why the rich keep getting richer.
Could be wrong, but most of the time that is the case.
i completely disagree. The major percentage of people considered wealthy have made their money through owning a business or real estate. Most of these businesses were starting with little or no money, and slowly built up.
My own parents and several of my good friends' parents all started from poor families, now through either business ownership, consistent, investing (dollar cost averaging over 35 yrs), or real estate (mostly only thru principal residences, and selling/buying every 2+ years), now they've got 7 or more digits to their name.
If you want to be one of 'those people that have investments', simply invest! take 10% or 20% of your paycheck and slap it into investments. Over time you be one of those people that has a sizable investment.
At the current money supply growth (inflation) in the USA, $200k could soon be the starting pay for intern architects. My father started his career making under $10k, which was a lot of money in its day. I'm working in a much less lucrative career and making equal to what he did at retirement, i.e. don't get hung up on numbers. They mean nothing.
Can you live very comfortably as an architect? Depends on how you define it. I'll be the first to admit that it'll be tough for me to ever match the lifestyle I grew up in, primarily because of my chosen career path. The pay, benefits, bonuses just aren't there, so I'm forced to make up the difference with savvy investing, frugal living and enjoying what I do have, which in some ways is less than I grew up with. Not sure there is a pay level where I'll feel the accomplishment of matching my father's success, but if I get there I'll let you know.
I have problems when people say single family residential real-estate is the path towards riches. Hacks that sell tapes on Saturday morning infomercials scam people into that mess.
Historically residential real estate has only grown at about the rate of inflation, or less. If in 1950 you put $25k into a solid blue chip stock and reinvested dividends you'd have far more money today than you would had you flipped your house every couple years.
Granted, recent history gave us a huge bull run in real estate and one could get very rich off flipping their house every few years. However, this was a temporary run up brought on by a very easy money policy from the Fed. That blew up and look where it got us. If you think you'll make it big on residential real estate take a look at the current markets in Miami, SoCal, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
As for getting rich, most millionaries get there very slowly, don't own their own businesses and don't dabble in real estate outside of their primary residence. Most millionaries just live within their means and keep socking away money in stocks & bonds. It's not all that hard to become a millionare these days. Just takes patience and dicipline.
Most people forget that real estate is alot like stocks, you need to do your due diligence prior to investing. If you don't research the neighbourhood, the property, the town's economy etc don't be surprised if the value decreases or you don't get the sale price you were counting on. For instance a dump next to the highway is not going to rise as much as a house in the middle or the arts district no matter what average price increases the town is experiencing.
Unfortunately most ppl are lazy and follow the herd. I doubt whether most people research their home purchase as thoroughly as they fret over their golf stats.
Note that this applies to stocks as well, I spend quite a bit of time researching mitre saw purchases, you can bet that I'm going to research a $1000 stock purchase with diligence too, and a $300000 home purchase will be something I spend weeks if not months researching. Any less and you deserve any losses you encounter.
i was talking about real estate. like donald trump. houses are dificult to make money on, as architect and investor. but they may be a start, if lucky.
: you probably should qualify your posts if you're not going to check your facts. While it may be true that a few construction workers earn $50 per hour, that's not the norm for most of the trades. Hell, the avg. project superintendent makes only about $78k.
I know a few architects who make (not bill) $200 per hour - but that's not the norm for the profession, either.
sorry gracy, but construction workers don't earn nearly that kind of money, a union craftsman like a welder, with many years of experience can earn that much but the average construction worker makes around $10-15 an hour, even union laborers have a hard time besting $15 an hour.
but I can see blueG already covered this so i'll shut up now
XgracyX, It may be true that construction workers make quite a bit.... However, they have to bare the risk of getting injured. This can be a down turn, as they might have to stay out of work for a while. Insurance would not pay a lot, as being a construction worker is a risky job.
This is a similar case for my dad, as he has to go help test drive new boats, and sailing boats.. he is in his 50's and this can pose to be a problem, as sailing takes a lot of energy for an old man like him..
However, I have learnt that if you like your job, the income you get doesn't really matter.. This positive attitude will help you excel in your field of work... This seems to be the case for my dad, and my uncles..
"in his 50s" and having trouble? really?
My mom and dad in law are in their late 50s and work on a horse farm, they get hoofed and bounced around by horses all frickin day, they seem ok.
Site supervisors and lead framers make $50/hr around these parts. They are on top of their game and make Architects look good. They are the kind of guys who can draw a line with a ball point pen then cut it down the middle with a circular saw. Really good carpenters are not over paid in my estimation.
well, i guess my dad has bad posture, therefore he has back pains every so often.. Being an Architect requires less outdoor works than many other professions.
I've heard of $50/hour for union construction workers doing commerical type work. Residential framing of course is lower paid. Believe that figure also included benefits.
The $15/hour rate seems awfully low, even for residential work. Remember that rates are regionally set. In a place like Texas where you can exploit an cheap (and probably illegal) immigrant population construction labor is much less.
At any rate, there are plenty of places in the US where the skilled trades are earning more than all but senior architects. Actually I've found that quite common on projects in IL, WI & MN. They're union strongholds where the prevailing wages are high. It's not uncommon for a plumber to make $100k or more in Chicago. Granted, a good portion of that may be OT pay, but that's something architects rarely realize, but still are required to work similar long hours.
Still, the perception is that the architect is making a lot more.
aqua ... what you say may be true about what plumbers earn, but I as an architect, I almost never have to spend part of my day standing in the effluent from a sewer line or snaking out a clog in a toilet.
and the plumber didn't have to drop $50k on an education, spend 3 years interning, and take the licensure tests. Its all relative to what a person desires or wants to do.
actually, i've always figured that electricians had it best...they don't have to deal with any shitty water or floods...and everyone who isn't an electrician is scared shitless of electrocution and would happily pay a professional rather than risking it themselves. just my two cents.
$200,000 a year?
making more money is not as easy as just 'doing realestate'.
If you have money to begin with, say at least a few hundred extra k, then you can invest and even conservatively, you'll make extra money.
As they say, if it were easy everyone would be doing it.
The difference between most people that have investments and those that don't (beyond a few stocks) is that they've inherited money. This is why the rich keep getting richer.
Could be wrong, but most of the time that is the case.
trace-
i completely disagree. The major percentage of people considered wealthy have made their money through owning a business or real estate. Most of these businesses were starting with little or no money, and slowly built up.
My own parents and several of my good friends' parents all started from poor families, now through either business ownership, consistent, investing (dollar cost averaging over 35 yrs), or real estate (mostly only thru principal residences, and selling/buying every 2+ years), now they've got 7 or more digits to their name.
If you want to be one of 'those people that have investments', simply invest! take 10% or 20% of your paycheck and slap it into investments. Over time you be one of those people that has a sizable investment.
At the current money supply growth (inflation) in the USA, $200k could soon be the starting pay for intern architects. My father started his career making under $10k, which was a lot of money in its day. I'm working in a much less lucrative career and making equal to what he did at retirement, i.e. don't get hung up on numbers. They mean nothing.
Can you live very comfortably as an architect? Depends on how you define it. I'll be the first to admit that it'll be tough for me to ever match the lifestyle I grew up in, primarily because of my chosen career path. The pay, benefits, bonuses just aren't there, so I'm forced to make up the difference with savvy investing, frugal living and enjoying what I do have, which in some ways is less than I grew up with. Not sure there is a pay level where I'll feel the accomplishment of matching my father's success, but if I get there I'll let you know.
not a hard day at all. this is classic oedipal behaviour. i must earn more than daddy i must show daddy.
I have problems when people say single family residential real-estate is the path towards riches. Hacks that sell tapes on Saturday morning infomercials scam people into that mess.
Historically residential real estate has only grown at about the rate of inflation, or less. If in 1950 you put $25k into a solid blue chip stock and reinvested dividends you'd have far more money today than you would had you flipped your house every couple years.
Granted, recent history gave us a huge bull run in real estate and one could get very rich off flipping their house every few years. However, this was a temporary run up brought on by a very easy money policy from the Fed. That blew up and look where it got us. If you think you'll make it big on residential real estate take a look at the current markets in Miami, SoCal, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
As for getting rich, most millionaries get there very slowly, don't own their own businesses and don't dabble in real estate outside of their primary residence. Most millionaries just live within their means and keep socking away money in stocks & bonds. It's not all that hard to become a millionare these days. Just takes patience and dicipline.
Most people forget that real estate is alot like stocks, you need to do your due diligence prior to investing. If you don't research the neighbourhood, the property, the town's economy etc don't be surprised if the value decreases or you don't get the sale price you were counting on. For instance a dump next to the highway is not going to rise as much as a house in the middle or the arts district no matter what average price increases the town is experiencing.
Unfortunately most ppl are lazy and follow the herd. I doubt whether most people research their home purchase as thoroughly as they fret over their golf stats.
Note that this applies to stocks as well, I spend quite a bit of time researching mitre saw purchases, you can bet that I'm going to research a $1000 stock purchase with diligence too, and a $300000 home purchase will be something I spend weeks if not months researching. Any less and you deserve any losses you encounter.
You can make a lot of money in architecture.
Also, my friend has a bridge he'd like to sell you. Hey Nixie?
aqua, i didn't mean single family residence.
i was talking about real estate. like donald trump. houses are dificult to make money on, as architect and investor. but they may be a start, if lucky.
zig-- from your first question ...shOp architects are a great example of the architect as developer
there is an amazing lecture they did on this at GSD
i cant find the link but its posted on there website about midway through the page
one thing that i always find unfair is that whilst the architect earns $25/hr, an construction worker earns $50/hr
but the job satisfaction level are on different ends of a thread.
And architects are more respected in the society.
construction workers make $100k a year?
architect's are a satisfied bunch?
hmmm
: you probably should qualify your posts if you're not going to check your facts. While it may be true that a few construction workers earn $50 per hour, that's not the norm for most of the trades. Hell, the avg. project superintendent makes only about $78k.
I know a few architects who make (not bill) $200 per hour - but that's not the norm for the profession, either.
sorry gracy, but construction workers don't earn nearly that kind of money, a union craftsman like a welder, with many years of experience can earn that much but the average construction worker makes around $10-15 an hour, even union laborers have a hard time besting $15 an hour.
but I can see blueG already covered this so i'll shut up now
become an IT Architect. Building systems is where the money is.
XgracyX, It may be true that construction workers make quite a bit.... However, they have to bare the risk of getting injured. This can be a down turn, as they might have to stay out of work for a while. Insurance would not pay a lot, as being a construction worker is a risky job.
This is a similar case for my dad, as he has to go help test drive new boats, and sailing boats.. he is in his 50's and this can pose to be a problem, as sailing takes a lot of energy for an old man like him..
However, I have learnt that if you like your job, the income you get doesn't really matter.. This positive attitude will help you excel in your field of work... This seems to be the case for my dad, and my uncles..
Well thanks guys for the advice!
... ouch!
ij - I was just saying that it is not as easy as 'just do it'.
No risk, no reward, but there are a tons of folk out there that are wishing they hadn't invested in real estate.
"in his 50s" and having trouble? really?
My mom and dad in law are in their late 50s and work on a horse farm, they get hoofed and bounced around by horses all frickin day, they seem ok.
Site supervisors and lead framers make $50/hr around these parts. They are on top of their game and make Architects look good. They are the kind of guys who can draw a line with a ball point pen then cut it down the middle with a circular saw. Really good carpenters are not over paid in my estimation.
Hmmm.... I can do that. $50 an hour, eh?
Once again, I'm in the wrong profession! hahahaha
well, i guess my dad has bad posture, therefore he has back pains every so often.. Being an Architect requires less outdoor works than many other professions.
I've heard of $50/hour for union construction workers doing commerical type work. Residential framing of course is lower paid. Believe that figure also included benefits.
The $15/hour rate seems awfully low, even for residential work. Remember that rates are regionally set. In a place like Texas where you can exploit an cheap (and probably illegal) immigrant population construction labor is much less.
At any rate, there are plenty of places in the US where the skilled trades are earning more than all but senior architects. Actually I've found that quite common on projects in IL, WI & MN. They're union strongholds where the prevailing wages are high. It's not uncommon for a plumber to make $100k or more in Chicago. Granted, a good portion of that may be OT pay, but that's something architects rarely realize, but still are required to work similar long hours.
Still, the perception is that the architect is making a lot more.
aqua ... what you say may be true about what plumbers earn, but I as an architect, I almost never have to spend part of my day standing in the effluent from a sewer line or snaking out a clog in a toilet.
and the plumber didn't have to drop $50k on an education, spend 3 years interning, and take the licensure tests. Its all relative to what a person desires or wants to do.
actually, i've always figured that electricians had it best...they don't have to deal with any shitty water or floods...and everyone who isn't an electrician is scared shitless of electrocution and would happily pay a professional rather than risking it themselves. just my two cents.
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