There is a very good possibility that starting around the year 2030 regular trips to Mars will commence every 2.3 years. And while the price for such a trip could be something a great many people could afford this doesn’t mean that they can afford to live there. Food and housing there will be among the most expensive anywhere for the first few decades. The cost will be even more than LEO or Lunar colonies which will also likely start by this time. And while food production will likely commence at once on Mars this will only bring down the retail price slightly below what food brought in from earth will cost. The logistics of the situation will make the cost of living there very very high. Earning enough to live there is going to be extremely difficult.
For people going to Mars a 40 hour work week is likely to be a thing of the past. 6 and 7 day work weeks are almost certainly going to be the normal. 10 to 16 hours a day are also likely to be what it takes to earn enough to live there. That is if you have a skills that can earn you enough at all. With the cost of living being so high Mars colonist are going to be reluctant to purchase goods or services that are not very needed. This will affect what skills can earn a person a living significantly. While a person can likely earn some extra money cutting hair for example it is unlikely that people on Mars are going to be willing to pay enough for a haircut or style that a hairstylist could earn enough to even pay the rent on a tiny apartment. A great many service will fall into this category. Possible extra income and side line but you are going to need a main income.
Other types of services will be contracted earth side. Few if any full time computer programmer or system administrator will be used. Companies can contract most of that earth side far cheaper than what it would cost them to have such on Mars. A technician that installs and maintains computers will also be installing software from earth side . There will be exceptions but in general services type jobs will not earn a person sufficient money to pay the bills. For that you will probably need to actually be producing salable products .
Production of organics will be a primary means of earnings a living there. Turning those organics into useful items will also be significant. In all likelihood 60+ percentage of people will be involved in this for the first few decades. Construction, power production, mining and processing will make up the bulk of the rest. Once the population there breaks half a million then the infrastructure for higher levels of production will exist but until that happens the cost of goods is going to make only the production of goods a viable means of paying the rent for most of the population. Services will be mostly a side line business.
Yet those side line will be a great importance to the people of the Mars colony. Running your aquaponics based farm will often have time where there is enough to profitable keep you working on it. If your main money making endeavor is turning organic into marketable products there is going to be time that they are not available. Your sideline may not pay the rent but will determine how badly into debt you are going to go in the time that your main line isn’t keeping you busy. Not every one will need a side line. In all likelihood most will have enough to do to be working at it 7 days a week 12+ hours but a significant portion will have down time that they are not earning enough to pay for daily needs as those needs cost so very much.
The people providing such services will be very popular with other colonist. Be it a haircut, a massage, a concert or music lesson, or any other service these people are going to be popular even if the colonist can not afford to pay them much. They are very likely to become key ingredient in shaping the social pattern of this society. Possible a second economy different from the production economy many come into existence. No one can say for sure. Assets will be parted with reluctantly services people are likely to more freely offer. Offering services for products is likely going to be a lot of service of a product.
Everything on Mars is going to cost you a lot in terms of man hours. Yet services when and where available not quite as bad. It takes a huge infrastructure to bring down the production costs of goods and services, one that is geared to providing for millions instead of hundreds or thousands. Until that is in place long hours for little pay are very likely to be the norm for the vast majority of people going.
Eptle 