If you’re just here for the list, here you have it.
The top 5 highest paid local jobs in Australia.
(Find average salaries in the dedicated sections)
- Boilermaker
- Plumber
- Electrician
- Concreter
- HVAC technician
Now you probably spotted a trend here. All 5 are trades jobs. Well that’s because tradies are one of the highest paid professionals in Australia. If I continue the list to add 5 more entries, they would also be tradies.
As the world becomes advance, the young people opt for careers in the fields that are more popular like IT, Finance, & Law. And these are prestigious career fields to follow and well paid as well. The only problem is that there are too many young people all interested in the same fields. Getting these high-end jobs is very difficult because of the fierce competition in these fields.
Then there are local jobs like waiter, receptionist, driver, assistant etc. These jobs are on the low end of the paying scale. This is because these jobs don’t require that much formal education and certifications to qualify. Anyone who can’t make it in the popular fields can always come back to these. So there is a good supply of resources to fill these positions.
The formally educated go for the high-end jobs, the rest go for the local jobs.
Where do Tradies come from then? You don’t have to have another birds and the bees talk with your parents.
The reason that tradies are paid so well is because in today’s world especially in first world countries like Australia these skills are hard to find.
The more we advance in the popular fields of the modern world, the fancier our bathrooms get, the more unique tiles we have on our floors, the more we require the skills of tradesmen. Hence over the past couple of decades, tradies have slowly climbed to the top of highest paid local jobs.
This increase in demand and shortage of supply is what has caused a plumber’s hourly rate in Sydney to reach $100+. The average quote for a plumbing trades job in Sydney is near $500.
But the demand is not the only reason Tradies are paid so well. While all work has its hardships, Tradies have the most physically demanding profession of us all. The heavy lifting, grinding, screwing, hammering, tightening all takes a lot of effort. Add in the learning and experience you need to lift, grind, screw, hammer in the right places so you don’t actually make it worse like you do when you try it for yourself before calling the plumber.
Now we know why they earn what they earn andwhat it takes, let’s see how much a tradie really makes. (Does that rhyme?)
Plumber
The average salary for a plumber in Australia is $40. But that’s the average taken aggregating Plumbers from end to end of Australia. A plumbing trades job in Sydney is $100+/hour. And the yearly average income of Plumbers in Sydney is well above $100k.
The variations in the incomes of the same trade can be due to a number of reasons. In major cities like Sydney, the younger population is even more focused on the high-end careers. Making supply of tradies in these cities even more scarce. Another one is the skill level. An entry level plumber doesn’t make the same as a Journeyman, the Journeyman does not make the same as a master plumber.
Electrician
Or Sparkyas they’re more commonly known in Australia. This is one of the highest paid trades even in the tradies community. An electrician’s job is as physically demanding as others but also includes the technicalities of wirings, circuits and the added hazard of electricity. This job requires a lot of experience and serious skill to master. This is the reason that for an electrician’s trades job in Sydney, you can expect to pay over $100/hour. A sparky takes well over $100kper annum.
The variation in the income of this trade is due to experience, location and level. A level 1 Electrician is one who is most suited for repair work and small installations. A level 2 Electrician is qualified for large systems installations such as whole wiring systems (commercial and/or residential).
Concreter
Every structure you’ve ever seen has had this guy work on it. This is the trade that has helped make the most iconic sky scrappers to the little dream house of a small family and everything between. The other trades, they make those structures function and of course usable. But a concreter makes structures stand, they make the floor you’re standing, sitting, laying on right now. You can probably imagine the demand of this trade now. A concreter’s work is both physically demanding and requires artist level precision when it comes to leveling. A concreter charges near $50-60 per hour. This is the expected hourly rate for concreting trades jobs in Sydney. Other cities pay less than this, this is because Sydney has the highest average salaries for tradies in all of Australia.
Boilermaker
A boilermaker welds/fabricates iron, copper, or steel into boilers and other containers to hold liquids or gasses. This work is very physically demanding and requires working with high temperatures, temperatures that make it unbearable for the average person or even tradie to stand by. Their work requires a high threshold of physical endurance as well as serious skill. And these are the reasons that boilermakers are rewarded handsomely for their efforts. A boilermaker makes well over $100k/year and are probably the one of the highest paying trades in all over Australia if not the one.
HVAC Technician
A Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning technician is responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing Heating and AC systems. The systems they work with range from single room AC units to Central Heating and Cooling systems in multi-story commercial buildings. The pay range is different across these different sub-categories. But the highest paid of this profession makes up to $147k/year, whereas the professionals at the other end also take home $100k+/year.
If you’re a tradie and want more trades jobs in your local area, sign-up on Fixezi where you don’t have to pay any subscription fee nor do you have tot pay for quotes or cancelled jobs. You only pay for the jobs that you get.
Thank you for reading.