So the bad choices of some are the faults of others? The reality that we have to face is that not everyone is smart enough, motivated enough, or capable enough to do the right thing. These are by definition temporary jobs. When you make bad choices that burden you with kids, debt, lazy partners early, you are stuck. I for one feel sorry for you, but you made the choice, you determined your future, you screwed up, not me. I worked really hard to overcome my situation and today I have to bring in more people from other counties to get the work done because these lame brains can't get their act together and get an education. It was bad enough when we were sending jobs overseas that gutted the middle class. Now the jobs remaining (engineers, IT, high-tech mechanics/technicians, etc.) that are still here are going to non-citizens as we can't find trained people here. Sad, but take some f'ing accountability for your self and stop blaming others, trying to demand more rather than work for it, and crying in your corn flakes due to your situation that is totally in your control. Punks.

Gardening is different, because you are not really paying them what the actual job is worth, you are paying them what it is worth for you not to have to do the job.

The other factor is time. Most of the time the gardeners can do in 15 minutes what it would take the average homeowner a couple of hours.

Never understood paying somebody to do something so satisfying as gardening. I can see it if you have a big spread and not enough time, though.

I started out in pizza-after college, worked my ass off and finally fired the company. Developed and marketed a fail-safe, two-pronged get rich financial system*, moved on to publishing an idiot-proof three legged landscaping protocol** currently in early development is a universal step-by-step, daily retirement calendar***.

I owe it all to what I learned in pizza. I learned I do not want to work in pizza.



*Earn More; Spend Less
**Make a Plan; Stick to the Plan; Use What You Got
***Assume every day is Saturday

What industry are you in? I am a new graduate (ME) looking for a job and so far it is either software engineers or senior level mechanical engineers that I see. But I want to stay in CA and preferrably not the desert so I haven't looked too far beyond that.

Medical devices.

Yes, they are worth their weight in gold. I am always more then happy to pay the gardener instead of having to do it myself. I hate gardening work.