I don't think Irish industrial workers on 25k-40k are overpaid.
The following are overpaid:
landlords (commercial rents way too high)
bank executives
most other executives
barristers
solicitors (even though many are unemployed)
medical consultants
dentists
judges
teachers + guards (well more like underworked in terms of days)
Really?
Do you think the average 30-40K an architect actually makes [not his sales figure] after 5 years study and seven years learning the ropes is a good return for his years of training.
Does it accuratly reflect the level of design ability, contractual competence, technical ability they have or the vicarious liability and fiduciary responsibility they carry?
Or do you think people who can be sued unto their estate if they "do their jobs badly" should be paid a little extra on top of that?
Look at the ones who have carried big offices aroudn for a decade.
Looking like they're having nervous breakdowns now.
Offices gone from 210 to 10 people, some of them.
And this isn't an unusual event - the cyclical nature of the building industry means that most architects will suffer badly from an economic downturn at least twice in their careers.
And what about Barristers?
They spend several years "deviling" during which they earn very little - assuming they can get attached to a good barrister to learn the ropes in the first place.
They spend on average 10 to fifteen years post grad just learning one or two area of the law to be competent and then they "may" become senior counsel.
They get to work with some of the worst scumbags on the planet every day of the week - their clients.
When they're not giving the performance of their lives to sway the court theyre are engaged in high pressure meetings and negotiations.
They are expected to master a - usually - complex brief and develop a winning strategy for their clients whwo may have no cards to play.
A small percentage of these actually earn high fees, but all have to maintain their offices/places in the Law Library and very few earn much in the first 5-10 years.
While they cannot be sued a officers of the court for doign their job badly, they, like architects have no place to hide - the perform in the spotlight and failure brings its own reward.
That's just two professions I am familiar with.
Of course we've seen what happens when head bankers do their jobs badly - they still get their [reduced] bonuses on top of a salary of over €500,000.
And we've seen what the heads of building companies get - guarantees from the taxpayer.
And we've seen what the politicians who approve of all of this get - across all political parties - pensions while they are still in office.
Some people are definitely getting preferential treatment, but don't assume its the competent, qualified professionals.
FWIW
ONQ.