This has got to be one of the more interesting topics I have heard when it comes to getting paid for the work that you do. The conversation originated from a lawyer who was expressing his opinion on how a lot of people in his field use big words to explain details to people in an effort to confuse clients into believing that they can never handle any legal cases themselves as it is too complex. Essentially, he expressed that if they did just use simple language it would make it more difficult to justify a high price. The conversation then even dived to other professions such as a doctor as well.
It’s kind of safe to say that most professions and fields have people who use these types of techniques as it isn’t industry specific. I remember one time I was just over hearing a conversation about someone telling a person that installing software yourself on a computer is very dangerous and used all these irrelevant technical explanations of it to warrant a $100 fee to do so.
The easiest test I usually use to see if the person is over embellishing the work or difficulty involved in something is if they are reluctant or cynical in informing you upon request on how you can learn more about your needs/issues for personal knowledge. Especially if they resort to belittling you for asking them that is sure a good sign that they are hiding something.
In my opinion, every profession is actually pretty straight forward once you understand the basic concept and theory. It’s how the person is able to apply that knowledge which is what I personally focus on whenever I need to pay someone to do something. I rarely seek for third party advise/services without having some form of knowledge of my needs. I usually find that it makes the other person’s life a lot easier too as at least you understand where all the work is coming from.
As always, in the end you are paying for results and if the person can do that then they can justify high prices for their offerings. That doesn’t mean you should just trust anyone blindly though.