Plumbers now outearn engineers as skills shortage bites
Plumbers and electricians in Spain are raising their rates amid a shortage of skilled tradespeople, but high earnings depend on having your own clients and bearing the costs of…
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The shortage of skilled trades is tightening the labour market
A viral video claims that a plumber or an electrician can earn more than an engineer or a doctor. The claim, spread by a training account on TikTok, has reignited the debate over whether a university degree is still the most profitable route into skilled employment. The core argument is textbook economics: when something is scarce and everyone needs it, the price goes up. Spain's public employment service (SEPE) lists plumbing and electrical work among occupations with difficulties filling vacancies, and the generational handover threatens to worsen the shortage in the coming years.
The fine print appears when you dig into the details. A salaried worker in the sector is paid according to the collective agreement, not according to the Land Rover fable. High earnings are concentrated among the self-employed with their own client base, who bear the social security contribution, the van, the tools and late payments. The honest comparison is not plumber versus engineer, but self-employed versus employee.
How much does a plumber in Spain actually earn?
The video talks about starting on between €2,000 and €3,000 a month after about three months of training. The figure needs context. A first-grade skilled worker in metalwork or construction earns around €1,700-2,100 gross over fourteen payments, a bit more with overtime and travel. It is not poverty, but neither is it the windfall the headline suggests.
The high figure does exist, but it has an owner: the self-employed professional with a regular clientele. There you do see €3,000 or €4,000 net, with the caveat that from turnover you must deduct self-employed social security contributions, vehicle, fuel, tools and liability insurance. And that clients do not always pay the first time. A salaried engineer earns less in the best month, but earns it every month.
The generational handover nobody wants to take on
The age of those working in these trades today is the factor that generates the fewest headlines and carries the most weight. A large share will retire in the coming years and the arrival of new professionals does not offset the outflow. The SEPE identifies the lack of new entrants and the shortage of qualified labour among the main challenges for construction, with bricklayer, plumber and electrician among the occupations with the best prospects.
There is a nuance the windfall narrative hides: the real training is not three months. A good electrician, carpenter or bricklayer is not improvised in a term. There are courses that provide specific skills in a short time, but certain activities require formal training, certifications or licences. The entry barrier is low at the basics and high where the real money is.
The diagnosis shared by those on the inside
The experience of those who have worked the trade tempers the enthusiasm. A self-employed plumber of more than thirty years recounts that he was earning €1,600 a month and tried working as an employee for €1,400 plus bonuses, before ending up in a factory with no responsibilities. Demanding clients, unpaid invoices and the administrative burden eat up a large part of the margin.
On the other side, engineering is not living the paradise the degree promised either. Some argue that the engineer's potential salary is far higher, but that in practice few reach it: high salaries are concentrated in earlier generations. The expansion of engineering schools and the oversupply of graduates have diluted the return on the degree.
The argument that falls apart: comparing the self-employed with employees
The underlying confusion is statistical. The plumber who goes into business for himself is compared with the engineer on a payroll, two figures that do not compete in the same league. A self-employed plumber is a business owner; an engineer who owns a business earns several times what a salaried plumber does. The comparison only makes sense between equals.
Some also recall that these trades already took a notable dip around 2010, when construction collapsed. Today's shortage is real, but it is not a law of physics: supply can respond if the wage differential holds. And the ageing housing stock guarantees work, not necessarily margins.
What has really changed in the labour market
Beyond the anecdote about the off-road vehicle, there is substance to the phenomenon. The self-employed have adjusted their rates to the cost of living; salaried workers have spent decades with stagnant wages. That gap explains why a well-run manual trade can outperform a degree-qualified salary. It is not that the plumber has become rich: it is that the salaried engineer has become relatively poorer.
The provisional conclusion is uncomfortable for both camps. A university degree remains a reasonable bet, but it no longer by itself guarantees the salary differential it once promised. And the skilled trades offer real opportunities to anyone who can stomach the dirty side of the business: clients, unpaid invoices and weekends. If the generational handover does not come, prices will keep rising. If it does, the trades bubble will deflate just as the construction bubble did.
A viral video claims that a plumber or an electrician can earn more than an engineer or a doctor. The claim, spread by a training account on TikTok, has reignited the debate over whether a university degree is still the most profitable route into skilled employment. The core argument is textbook economics: when something is scarce and everyone needs it, the price goes up. Spain's public employment service (SEPE) lists plumbing and electrical work among occupations with difficulties filling vacancies, and the generational handover threatens to worsen the shortage in the coming years.
The fine print appears when you dig into the details. A salaried worker in the sector is paid according to the collective agreement, not according to the Land Rover fable. High earnings are concentrated among the self-employed with their own client base, who bear the social security contribution, the van, the tools and late payments. The honest comparison is not plumber versus engineer, but self-employed versus employee.
How much does a plumber in Spain actually earn?
The video talks about starting on between €2,000 and €3,000 a month after about three months of training. The figure needs context. A first-grade skilled worker in metalwork or construction earns around €1,700-2,100 gross over fourteen payments, a bit more with overtime and travel. It is not poverty, but neither is it the windfall the headline suggests.
The high figure does exist, but it has an owner: the self-employed professional with a regular clientele. There you do see €3,000 or €4,000 net, with the caveat that from turnover you must deduct self-employed social security contributions, vehicle, fuel, tools and liability insurance. And that clients do not always pay the first time. A salaried engineer earns less in the best month, but earns it every month.
The generational handover nobody wants to take on
The age of those working in these trades today is the factor that generates the fewest headlines and carries the most weight. A large share will retire in the coming years and the arrival of new professionals does not offset the outflow. The SEPE identifies the lack of new entrants and the shortage of qualified labour among the main challenges for construction, with bricklayer, plumber and electrician among the occupations with the best prospects.
There is a nuance the windfall narrative hides: the real training is not three months. A good electrician, carpenter or bricklayer is not improvised in a term. There are courses that provide specific skills in a short time, but certain activities require formal training, certifications or licences. The entry barrier is low at the basics and high where the real money is.
The diagnosis shared by those on the inside
The experience of those who have worked the trade tempers the enthusiasm. A self-employed plumber of more than thirty years recounts that he was earning €1,600 a month and tried working as an employee for €1,400 plus bonuses, before ending up in a factory with no responsibilities. Demanding clients, unpaid invoices and the administrative burden eat up a large part of the margin.
On the other side, engineering is not living the paradise the degree promised either. Some argue that the engineer's potential salary is far higher, but that in practice few reach it: high salaries are concentrated in earlier generations. The expansion of engineering schools and the oversupply of graduates have diluted the return on the degree.
The argument that falls apart: comparing the self-employed with employees
The underlying confusion is statistical. The plumber who goes into business for himself is compared with the engineer on a payroll, two figures that do not compete in the same league. A self-employed plumber is a business owner; an engineer who owns a business earns several times what a salaried plumber does. The comparison only makes sense between equals.
Some also recall that these trades already took a notable dip around 2010, when construction collapsed. Today's shortage is real, but it is not a law of physics: supply can respond if the wage differential holds. And the ageing housing stock guarantees work, not necessarily margins.
What has really changed in the labour market
Beyond the anecdote about the off-road vehicle, there is substance to the phenomenon. The self-employed have adjusted their rates to the cost of living; salaried workers have spent decades with stagnant wages. That gap explains why a well-run manual trade can outperform a degree-qualified salary. It is not that the plumber has become rich: it is that the salaried engineer has become relatively poorer.
The provisional conclusion is uncomfortable for both camps. A university degree remains a reasonable bet, but it no longer by itself guarantees the salary differential it once promised. And the skilled trades offer real opportunities to anyone who can stomach the dirty side of the business: clients, unpaid invoices and weekends. If the generational handover does not come, prices will keep rising. If it does, the trades bubble will deflate just as the construction bubble did.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (119 replies).
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