> You will always have the nagging guilt of passing by the janitor, whose job exists because cleaning bathrooms is dirty and time-consuming, and wondering why your work has more value than theirs.
I wouldn't necessarily say that it does. Janitorial service contracts can be lucrative.
"Four years later, Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to privatize services at more than 100 schools was defeated by a lawsuit filed by the Local 891 custodial union, which has 850 members."
Not all the time. Sometimes the guy cleaning the toilets actually did negotiate the contracts. Don't be surprised if he's taking home more than you are.
Negotiating the contract, maintaining the business relationship, organizing and scheduling the labor, cleaning the toilets. These are all things involved in janitorial service. If you're only doing one of these things, say, cleaning the toilets, then sure, your labor isn't all that valuable.
Contrast this with software development. There are thousands of people in this field who are just starting out, don't know much, and can only work on tasks, they cannot organize and manage. They do what you tell them to and not a lick more. They won't be making much more than the janitor. When I was a full-time tech guy doing support and building linux-based backend services, I made $10 an hour, wouldn't be surprised if the janitor made more.
Now I make a lot more, but I have a lot more responsibility. Labor by itself isn't valuable, whether it's technical or not. You're looking at one tiny piece of one job market, and comparing it to one tiny piece of another job market.
Average income or wages for janitors are available. The rates are considerably below those of software developers and other technical IT staff. There are exceptions to averages, but it's absolutely fair to say that the typical janitor is making far less than the typical software developer.
I wouldn't necessarily say that it does. Janitorial service contracts can be lucrative.