I agree with the whole argument about academia being trash. But the construction jobs situation is what happens with big economic shifts where the industry has failed to adjust - or prevented from adjusting by some other forces - by offering much larger salaries and finding adjusted business models that make that work. Just because it was a fair salary 20 years ago, or they can find some number of people willing to work for the old salary, means nothing. At some level of higher salary, an industry will find workers for any job.
Remember in the tech boom around 1999, companies were hiring students straight out of college for 100k. These were new jobs, new technology, so they didn't have ideas stuck in their heads about a "reasonable" salary for the job. Of course, it was quite the bubble, but that happens.
I agree with the whole argument about academia being trash. But the construction jobs situation is what happens with big economic shifts where the industry has failed to adjust - or prevented from adjusting by some other forces - by offering much larger salaries and finding adjusted business models that make that work. Just because it was a fair salary 20 years ago, or they can find some number of people willing to work for the old salary, means nothing. At some level of higher salary, an industry will find workers for any job.
Remember in the tech boom around 1999, companies were hiring students straight out of college for 100k. These were new jobs, new technology, so they didn't have ideas stuck in their heads about a "reasonable" salary for the job. Of course, it was quite the bubble, but that happens.