Wage Watchers : How much does a shoemaker earn?

What do you do?
I’ve worked as a shoemaker for the last 30 years. My first two years starting out I was a paid apprentice for a shoemaker who taught me the tricks of the trade. When my apprenticeship came to an end, I took full management of one of the shoemaker’s shops.

You may be surprised to find out that a shoemaker’s work depends much on many external factors, such as street construction, holiday periods and even the weather. For example, rainy or unseasonal weather – warm winters or cold summers – tend to bring in more clients for shoe repair.

Do you enjoy the work?
Of course! Having a job that you love doing and which allows you much social contact is a treasure. In addition to my many clients, I have people in the community paying me visits daily just to chat. Also, my friends always manage to stop by near closing time so that we can go have a beer after work.

What do you think of the pay?
I’m lucky because my property is already paid off, and so with the rent income from the first-floor apartment I can pay for work costs. This makes my net salary of €1,400 more or less the same as my gross salary. I would not be able to continue my work without this setup. After all, shoemakers are a dying breed; we have consumer culture to thank for that. In the early years, I had an assistant, an apprentice and my wife helping me out. Now I work alone. Also, my salary is not constant month-to-month; for this article I took my year salary and divided it by 12.

Would you change jobs if it meant making more money?
Never! You can pay no price for the freedom that comes with my job: I determine my own hours, have no stress and get daily social contact … I wouldn’t be true to myself if I caved in to do a different job.

Do you manage to save?
I have a retirement plan and life insurance. During the busy business months I try to put a little aside for the quieter months. But the larger part of my savings went towards buying my property, which will serve me greatly in my older days.

Has the financial crisis made you more money-conscious?
I have always been frugal with my money, so the crisis had no impact on my spending habits.

What do you not like to spend money on?
On high-tech toys – I just don’t see the point of it. Nor, generally speaking, on luxury products.

What would you do if you won the lottery?
I’ve already won the lottery. I’m healthy and happy with everything that I have in life: a lovely wife and kids and a great job. The only thing that I can think of is perhaps upgrading to a new truck.