I wrote most of my post many hours ago, but had to leave. A bunch of the other posts had similar great points.
I'm sure sparky takes some shortcuts as well and he gets to hide 90% or more of his work behind the finished surfaces of the building.
I did plenty of electrical work as a pro and did some HVAC work as well. Paint, finish, and trim was my primary trade. I wouldn't call myself a finish carpenter, but I did plenty of basic trim work as we used to flip houses that we updated, did much of the work to update interiors for customers, and I got into the commercial side and TI work where I had to fix and update whatever was in the building or build out new areas. We also did HVAC change outs and new installations, as well as service work.
If the final product looked good, I would have considered doing the same thing you did, OP. A pro knows where shortcuts are acceptable. Many customers want quick and cheap and something that looks good to their non professional eye. For the first half of my time in the construction business, doing mostly residential, we did a lot of higher end work and when the houses were new they would have quality finish carpenters. As painters/finishers, usually had to do all of the caulk, fill nail holes, sand, prime, etc. We always joked that we cleaned up after everyone else and made sure their work looked good. Finish guys often have many steps to go through and most of the work is on display, so you can't get away with as much as the other trades. When I got into commercial work, it was less about the high end work, but that is what comes with restaurant work, warehouse/storefront business parks, etc.
Some of the buried electrical hack work I had to repair was just crazy. Some of it was from the renters, some from hired crews that may have even been illegals, and sometimes just sloppy electricians.
Some people in general are just idiots and they always look for a way to put down others. Being a pro doesn't mean you are perfect. You should be very good at the job, but pros know how to fix a problem, where they can save time, and what their customer expects. Working for people who wanted fast and cheap was not fun, as my work didn't look as good and I expected criticism, especially if the viewer didn't know what was expected of the job.
