Farming is undergoing a similar talent crunch right now. If you are in the right parts of the world and have a little skill behind your name, you can easily make $50/hr as a farmhand.
Food and tech is where investors are piling all their money right now. As both a software developer and farmer, I do fear what will happen when investments start going elsewhere.
> If you are in the right parts of the world and have a little skill behind your name, you can easily make $50/hr as a farmhand.
I would be interested in more information about this. Which parts of the world, farming what, what skills make a good farmhand, and is there any public data that I could look at to look at trends?
I am a software developer and farmer too. I wish I could say I get most of my money from farming, but not yet. However, the fact I can do both is a testament to the flexibility of my career in software dev. And if investments start going elsewhere, I'll always at least have an excellent source of food.
I don't know what to make of this. In New Zealand, a farm hand will probably earn a bit more than someone working at McDonalds, and they'll work a lot more too.
I cannot speak to the economics of New Zealand specifically, but there is a huge difference between a skilled farmhand and a farmhand. I referred to the former in my earlier post.
A skilled farmhand is someone who has, well, skills. They probably have a commercial drivers licence, background in mechanical work or dealing with animals, and have spent a lot of time operating heavy equipment. Those kind of people are rare, but can be paid well when you find them.
Someone without skills on the farm will probably be paid as you describe no matter where the location.
Food and tech is where investors are piling all their money right now. As both a software developer and farmer, I do fear what will happen when investments start going elsewhere.