Um excuse me??
Real world?
Mate I'm sorry but I'm amazed at how ill informed you are!
I'm 38yrs old and finished my Boilermaking trade at 22. I work for a US conglomerate with a mrkt cap of $38Bil.
ALL....... (read that) ALL of the boilermakers, fitters, machinists, spraypainters, CNC operators are on SUBSTANTIALLY less than $30/hr. That's a FACT. (Sad but true)
Your comments are rather insulting to the guys who put in a lot of hard work but take home less pay than quoted in that bogus graph. You need to get out from under your rock and talk to people with trades.