[iso1631]

Clearly it's not simple, but superficially you wouldn't think it was that complex.

Think of the old "I could write twitter in a weekend" adage. Sure it seems simple at first glance, but once you get into it it's far more complex.

A layman would think "It's a plastic box with a couple of wires in, surely it can't cost more than $200" and take more than an hour".

[PaulDavisThe1st]

I think that's a poor analogy.

Most residential wiring really is as simple as it appears at first glance.

The problem is that there are a few cases where it isn't, and the issue is being able to know when that's true. This is where the skills and experience come into play.

In case I need to cite some authority, I've been wiring my own homes (with permits) for > 25 years, and was licensed by New Mexico to install my own 6.7kW solar array a couple of years ago. I'm not an electrician, however.

[dboreham]

Concur. I have an electrical engineering degree, and a copy of the NEC. However, in many situations I end up deciding that it will take me so long to figure out the correct interpretation of the code for my situation that I may as well pay someone who takes one look and says "ok this needs to be done like that...".