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Is it really that bad? Where I live, I earn about $50 an hour as a dev. The McDonald's here pays around $20/hr. Hopefully bike mechanics don't earn less than fast food...?

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Depends. If you are your own boss, with no store front or inventory, and have word of mouth advertising, and do quality work, it can be a good living. But if you work in someone else's retail bike shop you will be getting paid in the 20-25$/hr range if you're in a big city in the US.

My perception is that very few specialized hourly jobs start above $20-25, and when I hear business owners talk they seem to feel that's robbery (it isn't).

Without any research or context, I'd expect a first-time bike mechanic job to pay $18-22 depending on the city. The ski shops nearby are advertising ski tech jobs around $16 and calling it "better than competitive pay"

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