I fix lots of things and there is no experience like doing something, there is also this weird cross-pollination thing going where knowledge acquired in one domain helps you in another. So while I am well aware that most of my repair jobs are net negative in terms of actual material value generation for me, the gradual increase in my capabilities in many different domains ends up helping me even in my chosen specialisation. By this point I am just generally at an advanced beginner stage of anything after some basic research (which I have naturally becomes quite good at).
There is also a skin in the game effect that even a paid random plumber is not actually that invested in doing a good job and, while you cannot compete in terms of speed of executing a fix, or possession of special tools, you can compete - and exceed - on final quality simply because you really care about the final outcome.
> There is also a skin in the game effect that even a paid random plumber is not actually that invested in doing a good job and, while you cannot compete in terms of speed of executing a fix, or possession of special tools, you can compete - and exceed - on final quality simply because you really care about the final outcome.
I have experienced this recently, as I have been making the rounds through various lawn care companies. I'm on my fourth one in the past four years, and I just have not been able to find one that truly cares about the lawn with the same love and detail that I would. And why should they? I am just one of many lawns they take care of each month.
Although I still generally lean towards the parent commenter's philosophy of paying the experts to do what they are good at, there are just some areas where the extra level of care and attention is worth the decrease of efficiency in getting the thing done.
One thing to add is that if you value the learning from trying a repair job, doing it on a problem in front of you is close to free. Taking a class would cost money.
There is also a skin in the game effect that even a paid random plumber is not actually that invested in doing a good job and, while you cannot compete in terms of speed of executing a fix, or possession of special tools, you can compete - and exceed - on final quality simply because you really care about the final outcome.