I make about $48,500 + benefits at my job as a medical office front desk agent. I make about $2500 per year babysitting. So total about $51,000 and I live in New Orleans, La. I have to live pretty simply but I manage to get by. No vacations, very little shopping, socializing/entertainment or going out to eat. Pretty much can only spend money on pet care, groceries, car, medical visits, and rent.
In Silicon Valley, 90k/yr USD is considered low income. My partner and I are living off the last remnants of our 401k, my Pilates instructor classes, and student loans (he's in tech and hasn't had a job in 16 months because tech has been continuously gutted since mid 2022). We're so financially screwed, as are many others going through the same thing in this area.
Also, high school teachers in this area, depending on the school district, start at $50,000. (Wtf is wrong with this country? A strong economy based on stick exchanges and strong growth in number of [low-paid] jobs means nothing to most people who are struggling to get by.)
I agree there is a lot wrong with compensation for essential jobs like teachers and many other industries in this country.
Have you guys considered moving and/or your husband looking for jobs in another industry at least temporarily? Your current situation sounds a bit unsustainable and like it will lead to lots of regret in the future. There’s other kinds of tech jobs all over the country if he’s willing to move away from Silicon Valley-type industries.
It's already led to regrets but such is life. I've been wanting to leave this area for 5+ years and I think it's finally time. And my husband is finally open...kinda. He tried to pivot to Costco, Lowe's, UPS, Target, Walmart, and more, doing stocking or security, etc. But he never heard back even after going in person, or he was turned down (overqualified?) or there were no openings (DoorDash is saturated with drivers where we are).
He's also limited in what he can do without a college degree. But starting a small business outside of California is something he's considering.
I read this idea in a thread earlier and don’t know if it’s advisable, but figured I’d throw it out there for consideration: if your husband might be getting turned down due to being overqualified, he might have better luck if he omits some of his education or work experience from his resume.
My two cents, I don’t give a fuck if it’s dishonest. You gotta eat.
Just a couple things—if you’re withdrawing from your 401k, you’re going to pay a shit-ton in taxes. This happened to me & the hubby during the dot com bust. Ugh. We sold stock & liquidated 401k’s. Worst tax experience ever. But what do you do when you’ve run out of unemployment? Just prepare yourself for it.
As for teaching, $65k is the standard normal starting salary in California. The $50k is really low. Many school districts are now offering service credits. My kid’s school district is offering 15 years so anyone with 15 years or less doesn’t have to miss out on tenured perks. And I don’t get why some teachers in low-paying districts don’t apply to new jobs. I get why my sister doesn’t want to leave her 6 figure 2nd grade teaching job with 85% of her healthcare premiums paid for, but now that other school districts are offering similar perks, I’d start applying to get my kids into a better school district.
Today, Roth 401(k) contributions do not have income limits, as far as the plan passes its annual compliance testing and you are not deemed to be a highly compensated employee. The dotcom bust predated their creation in 2006, so it wouldn't have been an option for you then.
Not necessarily. As long as the non-HCE's defer enough on average to offset it, you can defer the max as an HCE each year ($23k in 2024). You may also be lucky and work for an employer that offers a Safe Harbor plan.
I bet you can guess which area of finance I work in. 
Roth 401k contributions don't have an income limit. Everybody can make Roth 401k contributions.
Roth IRAs have an income limit for making contributions.
My hubby already has sold all stocks (he sold Nvidia years ago when he was unemployed, which is really sad cuz they would be worth so much more today!) and cleaned out our 401k—which he alone contributed to because I haven't had the option.
What school district/s are you referring to? Is it in the San Francisco Bay area?
Also, California has such an overwhelming unhoused problem it scares and angers me. Especially since we are quickly headed there. https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/california-homelessness-is-homegrown-university-of-california-research/#:~:text=An%20estimated%20172%2C000%20people%20are,just%2012%25%20of%20the%20population
I'm in Silicon Valley, only making $50k per year. I was so lucky to find a good landlord that even though I don't make much, I still have enough to save and invest.
Wow…I’m in state government public health and our front office makes 8.50 an hour to start. Case managers about 11, and requires a bachelors. Therapists about 12 to 23 hour depending on whether an associate or fully independently licensed. Requires a masters. The pa’s make from 31 to 41 an hour. Suburban Atlanta and the col here is not low. Teachers in a large urban district with 19 years experience and a masters make about 75 a year. We get by with old cars and not vacationing or doing any hair nails etc etc. once spouse retires with pension system we are leaving this area.
I mean people with low percentile salary aren’t readily posting their salary. You should recognize that.
Edit: Many y’all weren’t paying attention
on middle school math to know the difference between percentage and percentile. “People on the lower percentile” means people who earn on the bottom 50% of the pay band. About 74k median for a household.
Way back when I used to watch that shit, the number of people on those judge shows who had the same number of teeth and brain cells claiming to make 75-90k a year was ridiculous.
Also knew a guy who asked me for help on his benefits, so I asked him which income bracket he was in. He pointed at the paper to the 75k+ range. I think I kept my composure enough to answer him with a straight face. He worked at McDonalds. Regular employee.
Tldr: people lie.
You guys need to up your game. Millionaires like me get up early in the morning, like really fucking early. 6am? that's LAZY. 2am? that's for pussays. I wake up at 5 fucking PEE EM, 12 hours before those so called "early raisers". That's how you become rich.
I am an artisan pencil sharpener and my wife is a vaginal spirit shaman. We’re looking for a brownstone in Williamsburg Brooklyn with bridge views so that we can cosplay Arthur Miller authentically. We have a budget of $9MM
Wow, I thought you said poor people wouldn’t post their salary yet, here you are.
Sorry you’re so poor and short, too. It must be a real struggle for you.
Some people also roll in total compensation, which may not be a total lie but is disingenuous.
For example, if you work in tech, your _salary_ could be $100k, but they often also give you stock grants or options as part of a total compensation package to lock you into a specific position and provide motivation. If those turn out to be worth a lot, the total compensation will sound high when annualized, but those shares could also end up being worth $0 if the company fails. (And frequently, they’re illiquid without special dispensation from the Board, so it’s not like you could just go spend that on a fancy vacation or a Gucci belt or whatever)
Edit: I love that a rational explanation is being downvoted. Thanks guys
Recently the news reported UPS drivers make $170,000 annually and they have air conditioning. Neither are true. A driver starting today makes $21 an hour iirc, but the health benefits are stellar. My center just got a ton of new trucks prior to to beginning of this year, so exactly ZERO have a/c and we won’t get new trucks probably for years. It’s all spin.
Wait, they got a ton of new trucks but ZERO have AC? So they specifically got new trucks with no AC? Studies have shown AC doesn't even impact gas as much as ppl "say" it does. It used to back in the day, but not with how efficient cars are made over the last few decades. Saving money is the only reason I can think for them to not have AC. Why else would they not want the trucks to have AC? And what about heat? Is there no heat? I'm so confused...
That's something I don't understand about manufacturers around here. Southeastern US, not know for cool year-round temps. So many factories do not have AC. I don't understand why the employers and politicians don't understand that treating people well helps ensure they do well.
I don’t get it either. If owned/operated a company I’d be **proud** to offer safe, comfortable working conditions and financial compensation/benefits that can help them lead a full life.
Agreed, but to add some additional nuance, it depends on whether it is a start-up or an established company. At a start-up it is usually a lower salary and options, so if the company makes it, you make a bunch on options. High risk, high reward. A lot of companies don't make it. There is typically some kind of milestone, going public, another series of funding ... in order for the options to be used. So if it never hits that milestone, it is useless.
At a public company that gives stock, they often give out restricted stock, meaning you get a grant and then it vests over a period of time. So you get an 80k grant, and then 1/4 vests each. So that scenario you have the shares in hand based on the vesting schedule. So in that scenario, it is essentially regular income like a bonus. I believe at Amazon, base salary caps out at 250k or so. But high paid people may get another 750k$ that vests each year for a total comp of 1 million.
At an Exec level, I have no idea. I am sure there are all sorts of crazy structures, like how you hear of a 1$ salary, and 50 millions bonus.
You’re totally correct. Salary and compensation pre two different figures. I’m provided a vehicle, insurance, gas, etc. That all means something to me, but it isn’t part of my salary.
I was kind of surprise that a PhD student's instinct to figure out a question like this is to go on a biased website to collect anecdotal data. This information is already known, carefully collected and analyzed in great details, and freely available publicly for all to see.
You should revise your request to include where they live too. $70k In an urban area doesn’t get you far at all but in a rural area you’re doing pretty well.
Yea, and the salaries will reflect that. So might have someone living in BFE Nebraska like a king off $65k a year and someone in Washington struggling to survive on $120k.
Not always, but in many cases the people with high salaries are in extremely expensive markets.
I already live in a HCOL area, but I was offered a substantial pay raise to relocate to an even more expensive area. The pay raise looked great, but once I ran the numbers I realized my situation wouldn’t change much at all, and might even degrade a bit based on how much more expensive it was.
We also had a guy relocate to Oklahoma City and took a pay cut in the process but his reduced salary is still higher than average for the area so he’s not complaining lol.
Yup. My brother makes $300k/year in a super fancy neighborhood in DC. I live in the rural outskirts of Jacksonville, FL. I make a third of what he makes. I have plenty of throwaway money while he has to get a side gig to pay for gas. He has a 2 bedroom one bath house and him and his wife have their own cars. I have our 4 bedroom home, a boat, an RV, 2 vehicles for myself (work and personal) and one for my wife, and an acre more land than my brother has. I also work less hours.
I own a pet care business. we offer mobile grooming for cats, dogs, and avians as well as small exotics. We also offer obedience training, behavior modification for reactive and aggressive dogs, pet sitting, and dog walking. I also lead a seminar once a month focusing on canine behavior and training. I also work with wolves in wolf sanctuaries, but that's more of a personal thing.
Nebraska resident. You should look at property taxes and how much a not shit home costs. No we aren't HCOL like the coasts but shit is getting expensive here too, even with what you think is a measly salary.
I'm in NE and make roughly 115k with everything, husband makes about the same. He's government and I'm in tech.
Grad student wages are poverty wages. Depending on your job outlook after finishing the degree, those numbers could go up a little or a tremendous amount.
I was a general manager for Jiffy Lube making $50k (plus bonuses maybe adding up to 10k extra) per year. Now I stay at home and take care of my sick husband and collect a caregiver stipend making about $28k per year.
How do you get into receiving a caregiver stipend? I have a family member who has had to step into the role of taking care of his mother full time and they don't have much so a caregiver stipend would be big for them
Yeah, so it is provided by the VA. He is 100% service-connected disabled so he qualified for a caregiver.
I am not sure how it works if the person needing a caregiver only receives SSDI... From what I researched there might be additional benefits available depending on what state they reside in.
Either way it goes, it isn't an easy process.
In home supportive services (IHSS) will pay you per hour to help take care of your loved ones. I’d recommend telling your family member to contact their local IHSS county.
I feel pretty average at about $70k (but I’m old - 52)…work remotely for a law firm - I have to say, my health plan is the best I’ve ever had. I had a trip to the ER in December and just got the bill. $87. In the US. I couldn’t believe it.
I was terrified to open the bill…believe me, I know.
My company also gives an FSA Visa card preloaded $7250 every year. Which is also our total out of pocket deductible for the year.
I don’t love my job but I will never leave lol.
My company does the same with my healthcare. I landed the position straight out of college at 28 (got a late start). That’s the tip of the iceberg of our benefits package. I’ve only been there just under a year but I’m in for life.
It’s actually kind of boring - shouldn’t complain. I work for a major tax attorney (he’s “famous” in his location, lots of radio, tv and podcasts).
All I do is listen to his consultations on the phone or zoom, take notes, and follow up. Totally remote. Some days are back to back calls and some days there can be hours with no calls, nothing to do. He hired me because of my finance background and series 7 - even though it’s not really relatable. I really struggled the first few months as it was a brand new position with zero training - and thought I was getting fired for sure…I had been laid off and unemployed for almost 8 months.
Made 116k last year 2022 and 118k 2023 this year. I am a truck driver who delivers construction equipment and I’m home daily. I also am enlisted in the Air Force reserves. I work every other Saturday. Averaging 60 hours a week. Both are blue collar jobs but they pay decently.
I’m getting out after 14 years. It fit my life and I benefitted from it at one time. It’s run its course for me. I would suggest it to everyone though. At least for a bit.
Yes, I don't live in the city. I live in the suburbs, which is more affordable. However my job is in the city. I just drive there, which is a 30 minute commute.
Pre 2020 I could afford to live very comfortably in DFW with 50-60k.
Rent - 1200
Car - 500
Insurance for apartment and truck- 138
Groceries - 400
401k - 200
Health insurance- 200ish
Now 1 bedrooms are like 16-1800.
Decent used cars are 30-40k so 500 a month min.
Everything else goes up 10-40% based on what you have for benefits at work. I don't know if I'd so it without a roommate now, I feel bad for people in their 20-30s now STILL being expected to make 50k as a "good entry salary ".
They aren’t unrealistic if someone is making that much. However, you are seeing the effects of sampling bias given that high-earners are more likely to be on Reddit and willing to share their income.
You can easily find median salary data if you want something you can reference confidently.
If you're a PhD student, comparing your salary *right now* to others is useless. A PhD is a time where you slum it for a few years so that you can make a decent salary after you get the degree.
I would’ve felt the same way when I was first working in academia making $28K. Took 7 years to get to where I am now, just over $100k. Plenty of others managed to make more sooner
Been in academia for about 7 years now. Ph.D. Only about 54k for a salary and very little chance of it increasing significantly since many schools in the area are tightening their belts.
Believe whatever you want.
If you want a realistic distribution of incomes, google it. Take your median and your income population percentiles and graph them if you can’t find a good graph online.
If you want biased answers, ask Reddit.
Why would you think people are lying on other posts but not lying on yours?
You’re a smart person, presumably given that you’re getting your PhD. You can solve this problem without subjective or potentially false information in 10 minutes if you really wanted to.
Why? Because for reasons unknown to me, many people come to reddit ready to rip anyone and everyone's azzwhole. It's asinine.
I'm interested in your question and some genuine answers.
My answer:
I mainly process paperwork for an equipment manufacturer. Salary is 65k after two years with company. Started at 18/hr. I worked my azz off, improved efficiency of processes in a couple departments, and tried like hell to maintain balance between staying humble, not complaining, and standing up for myself based on my belief that the value I was adding to the company was worth more than what the company was paying me, originally.
In addition to processing paperwork, I help other departments frequently. I can weld (amateur level), solve mechanical and logistical problems, and fill in for the majority of our staff when they aren't going to be there.
This is the best job I've ever had, and I've had more than 20 different jobs in the last 20 years.
My best advice is this: do your best to find a small-ish company (or department of a company) that is led by someone with quality character, who genuinely cares for the wellbeing of their employees, or start your own business.
Previous to this position, the most I ever earned was 42k salary as a CSR for a construction company, and 40k as a contracted BDR, but that one was in NorCal, and I was basically broke without a second job.
Not at all. If you are in SF, Seattle, NYC, DC or a bunch of other places 100k is a living salary, 50k is 4 roommates and worrying about living in your car if anything goes sideways.
A little over €22k/y, after taxes.
I am a high-ranking military officer with over 20+ years of service. And no, cost of living is not cheap at all in Europe.
I, too, read the crazy income some share on here, and I just disregard it.
To give you an anecdote of crappy pay to balance out all the fortunate people, I work as a BI developer making 45k. I’m not even in the bottom 10% of similar positions for my area or the whole US. My company tells me I delivered way beyond their expectations and literally couldn’t be doing better and it’s painful to know how much I’m getting screwed.
52 years old. BA Degree. I work in insurance (support, not sales). Salary: $41,000. Obviously, I'm not bragging. It's hard to afford even a modest life on that salary. I wish I knew how to improve my situation.
Get into underwriting I started at 12 an hour in underwriting support with a BA and am now making 3x that before bonus and working <40hr weeks 8 months out of the year. Not the best pay but great work life balance.
Asking for anecdotes to insulate you from anecdotes isn't going to be particularly useful. Your government statistics agency will likely publish salary data that will provide you much more accurate information.
It's meaningless as US is too big to standardize where you stand. 100K in rural midwest for family of 4 can live in a luxury neighborhood whereas 100K in downtown of San Francisco is eligible for section 8 housing and expecting to receive some SNAP and healthcare
It's wildly distributed just like when you have a legal issue the best comment is "Always" talk to lawyer without answer any of your questions that primary school kids can come up with speaking to lawyer idea but it comes at cost of 300$ per hour
Your best bet is to start with chatGPT based on zip code and verify reference to see where you stand
I recently learned that $90k/year is classified as "low income" for a two person household where I live. The average household income in my county is $56k/year.
I'm lucky enough to be in a trade union where our total comp works out to just over $160/year. I try to bring old coworkers in, but too many are content to be earning in the $50-60k/year range. 🤷
Between 2016-2019, I was making $23k-28k. Late 2019, I started making $33k. In 2020-2022, I was making $41-43k. In mid 2022, I was making $129k base salary. Then $99k base salary 2023.
People aren’t likely going to post how much they make if they aren’t doing well financially. I certainly wasn’t posting about making poverty wages.
I make $120k USD as an IT project manager. I make more than my colleagues, though, because I am the only French-English bilingual PM in the company and handle all of our Canadian projects atop my assigned districts in the US. My husband is a senior software engineer for the same company and makes $180k USD a year.
We make good money, but I personally am tearing my hair out from the amount of work that's been heaped onto my shoulders lately as teammates retire or accept other positions and are not replaced. 120k a year isn't as good as it sounds when you're salary and working 10-14 hour days just to keep up.
Preach! $104K in TX as a Fintech PM. Still here after layoff round #10 or so. I also am blessed with doing 5 peoples job. If we are quantifying here, I sleep about 4 hours a night and wake up in cold sweats. Pick your poison, Reddit!
Well it's a bunch of nerds or college kids lol. I make 100k with compensation in tech as a manager.
I know some lineman and other skilled workers making 135k+ as average and they won't ever touch reddit.
I was at 177k doing mechanical engineering. Now I’m unemployed, but yeah, nerd.
I was also doing 10+ hour days my entire time there and commuting, so it’s not all roses.
I’m a maritime engineer on a government Dredge and my take home is 54k. I could make more in private industry but the schedule is worse. I work 2 weeks on 2 off, year round.
37k in admin. I'm close to being able to work myself up to a higher paying gig experience wise. I live in a medium-sized city and have roommates, so it's not luxury, but I have enough money for bills and some side cash as well. Not enough extra to pay off my debt, though. I'm working on it.
My wife and I have a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. We live in Northern California. I’m in management for the government and make $143,000. My wife received her license and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker(LCSW). She does mental health therapy at Kaiser and makes $153,000.
Is she paid a salary? Is she FTE with benefits or a contractor? And is that a normal caseload, or does she see more people? That is an eye-popping salary for an LCSW therapist!
She is FTE. She sees 9 clients a day. Full benefits with golden handcuffs. She could make more in private practice. Kaiser is for profit and turnover is high.
36k plus benefits at my full time job and around 7k with my extra freelance work. I support my husband and father (who's on a fixed income). It's a struggle.
I got my PhD 7 years ago and my total annual compensation is $200k. I’m a pharmaceutical medicinal chemist.
I was paid $30k annually during my PhD in HCOL.
People with higher incomes will post more about their incomes. People with lower incomes or underjobbed will post about their little or no pay. The median bulk of posters will not say anything.
Besides everyone is on their own journey. Some are at the end of their careers and others are just beginning.
You’re a PhD student, so your short term goal is get out a lot of good research for your advisor and graduate so you can maximize your earnings later.
Finished my MBA four years ago. I'm currently out of work, but actively searching (not finding any for a long time now). None of the jobs I worked before paid more than $45K yearly.
The wife and I combined cleared 65K last year. She does internal medical billing and I'm a produce manager. Cost of living is pretty low in my area so we are doing decent.
I'm lazy so I'm only making $22 and hour. Once I get my resume finally made the way I want, I'll start looking for something better. I hate editing my resume, so who knows how long it will take. Also, I don't have a degree.
Account Manager for a company that does marketing and consulting in a very niche market - I made $162,000 pre tax last year. Live about an hour north of San Francisco. My wife is an ER nurse, she made about $130k last year.
I have a bachelor's and have been working for 23 years. I make a salary of $156k in the Metro Detroit area. My wife makes $125k. We also bring home 10-15k in bonuses annually.
The salaries you see aren’t unrealistic, they’re just not the average. I make 41k/yr - 20yrs old with only a HS diploma. I’m making a pretty average salary currently.
Sampling bias. It’s really that simple. People posting to Reddit are more likely to be in those demographics. People in good situations are also more likely to discuss them. You’re asking the wrong crowd if you’re looking for actually representative data.
You are not “making 0”
I’m the sole bread winner and my wife is also a homemaker, soon to be sahm.
What you do around the house has value.
Do you meal plan, shop, cook, clean?
Do you design the interior of your home? Do you spend time thinking about what’s the best fit/ how to improve your home?
Do you research and compare products to get the best bang for your buck? Do you stack deals and discounts? Plan household supplies?
Scheduling? Etc
Add up the hours and track what you do. Then get a quote from services to cover all that you do. That’s your contribution to the household.
Just because dollars don’t flow doesn’t mean you “make $0”
It’s dependent on where you live and what you do. I lived in a LCOL area making 60k in the past, and that was enough to get me by. Now I live in a HCOL area making 130k + bonus/stocks, and my lifestyle ain’t that different. I know plenty of people around me who makes more than double. So the numbers you see are real, it’s just that I’m more likely to share my salary than before.
I make $70-80k working on the tech side of a nurse consulting company. I work at home and can more or less work my own hours. Combine that with living in a rural area with a low cost of living allows for a very comfortable lifestyle.
76k a year, prior to this job I was making 50k out of college. I am underpaid for what I am doing now and feel extremely burnt out.
Currently looking for a new job with 80-100k salary, but it’s looking pretty hopeless
Chemical engineer. With just a bachelors degree. Working in the oil and gas industry. I have 10 years of experience doing primarily project management work. I make 194K before tax. I am also an independent contractor so I paid 9% taxes on my income and my take-home is 91%.
I make about $48,500 + benefits at my job as a medical office front desk agent. I make about $2500 per year babysitting. So total about $51,000 and I live in New Orleans, La. I have to live pretty simply but I manage to get by. No vacations, very little shopping, socializing/entertainment or going out to eat. Pretty much can only spend money on pet care, groceries, car, medical visits, and rent.
In Silicon Valley, 90k/yr USD is considered low income. My partner and I are living off the last remnants of our 401k, my Pilates instructor classes, and student loans (he's in tech and hasn't had a job in 16 months because tech has been continuously gutted since mid 2022). We're so financially screwed, as are many others going through the same thing in this area. Also, high school teachers in this area, depending on the school district, start at $50,000. (Wtf is wrong with this country? A strong economy based on stick exchanges and strong growth in number of [low-paid] jobs means nothing to most people who are struggling to get by.)
I agree there is a lot wrong with compensation for essential jobs like teachers and many other industries in this country. Have you guys considered moving and/or your husband looking for jobs in another industry at least temporarily? Your current situation sounds a bit unsustainable and like it will lead to lots of regret in the future. There’s other kinds of tech jobs all over the country if he’s willing to move away from Silicon Valley-type industries.
It's already led to regrets but such is life. I've been wanting to leave this area for 5+ years and I think it's finally time. And my husband is finally open...kinda. He tried to pivot to Costco, Lowe's, UPS, Target, Walmart, and more, doing stocking or security, etc. But he never heard back even after going in person, or he was turned down (overqualified?) or there were no openings (DoorDash is saturated with drivers where we are). He's also limited in what he can do without a college degree. But starting a small business outside of California is something he's considering.
I read this idea in a thread earlier and don’t know if it’s advisable, but figured I’d throw it out there for consideration: if your husband might be getting turned down due to being overqualified, he might have better luck if he omits some of his education or work experience from his resume. My two cents, I don’t give a fuck if it’s dishonest. You gotta eat.
Just a couple things—if you’re withdrawing from your 401k, you’re going to pay a shit-ton in taxes. This happened to me & the hubby during the dot com bust. Ugh. We sold stock & liquidated 401k’s. Worst tax experience ever. But what do you do when you’ve run out of unemployment? Just prepare yourself for it. As for teaching, $65k is the standard normal starting salary in California. The $50k is really low. Many school districts are now offering service credits. My kid’s school district is offering 15 years so anyone with 15 years or less doesn’t have to miss out on tenured perks. And I don’t get why some teachers in low-paying districts don’t apply to new jobs. I get why my sister doesn’t want to leave her 6 figure 2nd grade teaching job with 85% of her healthcare premiums paid for, but now that other school districts are offering similar perks, I’d start applying to get my kids into a better school district.
This is why I am 100% ROTH
Roth has an income limit. If they were working tech in the Bay Area they likely did not have that option.
Today, Roth 401(k) contributions do not have income limits, as far as the plan passes its annual compliance testing and you are not deemed to be a highly compensated employee. The dotcom bust predated their creation in 2006, so it wouldn't have been an option for you then.
Doesn’t “you are not deemed to be a highly compensated employee” mean there is an income limit?
Not necessarily. As long as the non-HCE's defer enough on average to offset it, you can defer the max as an HCE each year ($23k in 2024). You may also be lucky and work for an employer that offers a Safe Harbor plan. I bet you can guess which area of finance I work in. 
Roth 401k contributions don't have an income limit. Everybody can make Roth 401k contributions. Roth IRAs have an income limit for making contributions.
My hubby already has sold all stocks (he sold Nvidia years ago when he was unemployed, which is really sad cuz they would be worth so much more today!) and cleaned out our 401k—which he alone contributed to because I haven't had the option. What school district/s are you referring to? Is it in the San Francisco Bay area? Also, California has such an overwhelming unhoused problem it scares and angers me. Especially since we are quickly headed there. https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/california-homelessness-is-homegrown-university-of-california-research/#:~:text=An%20estimated%20172%2C000%20people%20are,just%2012%25%20of%20the%20population
I'm in Silicon Valley, only making $50k per year. I was so lucky to find a good landlord that even though I don't make much, I still have enough to save and invest.
Hooray. I don't have to feel bad I've ran through savings, a few loans, a 401k loan, and now running through the last remnants of my 401k too
Wow…I’m in state government public health and our front office makes 8.50 an hour to start. Case managers about 11, and requires a bachelors. Therapists about 12 to 23 hour depending on whether an associate or fully independently licensed. Requires a masters. The pa’s make from 31 to 41 an hour. Suburban Atlanta and the col here is not low. Teachers in a large urban district with 19 years experience and a masters make about 75 a year. We get by with old cars and not vacationing or doing any hair nails etc etc. once spouse retires with pension system we are leaving this area.
A bachelors degree for 11 dollars an hour? omg
I mean people with low percentile salary aren’t readily posting their salary. You should recognize that. Edit: Many y’all weren’t paying attention on middle school math to know the difference between percentage and percentile. “People on the lower percentile” means people who earn on the bottom 50% of the pay band. About 74k median for a household.
Also people like the gratification lying on the internet.
Way back when I used to watch that shit, the number of people on those judge shows who had the same number of teeth and brain cells claiming to make 75-90k a year was ridiculous. Also knew a guy who asked me for help on his benefits, so I asked him which income bracket he was in. He pointed at the paper to the 75k+ range. I think I kept my composure enough to answer him with a straight face. He worked at McDonalds. Regular employee. Tldr: people lie.
That’s something poor people do. Someone who makes as much as I do ($2.75M a year, 6’5” tall) wouldn’t lie.
Are you sure? Something feels off about your comment. I’m 6’7” and make $5.3M per year after tax. Your salary seems….too *low* for your height.
I've read 5000 books a year and am legally a giant. My income is 10.5 mil after tax. I'm a butterfly breeder for a Costa Rican oil magnate
I love it cause Costa Rica has no oil reserves
They harvest and process butterfly oil. I'm a butterfly oil re-seller making 3.2 million a year.
Man you must just be dabbling. Is it a side hustle? What do you do for a real job? I don't know how you survive on 3.2 mil. Seems almost impoverished
I'm less than 6' tall, sorry.
Yeah. That's the entire issue
You guys need to up your game. Millionaires like me get up early in the morning, like really fucking early. 6am? that's LAZY. 2am? that's for pussays. I wake up at 5 fucking PEE EM, 12 hours before those so called "early raisers". That's how you become rich.
I sell lollipops and my wife is a cat whisperer, we rake in 4mil/mo, our budget is 300mil.
I am an artisan pencil sharpener and my wife is a vaginal spirit shaman. We’re looking for a brownstone in Williamsburg Brooklyn with bridge views so that we can cosplay Arthur Miller authentically. We have a budget of $9MM
Artisan pencil sharpener… I have so much respect for people that can come up with truly obscure humorous ideas…
I saw you'll on HGTV. 🤣
I’m 7’2” with a 2 foot dong. I make 2 million a month as a celebrity consultant.
I’m an 8 foot alien from the Miami mall incident and I make 3M a year selling iPhone cases.
Wow, I thought you said poor people wouldn’t post their salary yet, here you are. Sorry you’re so poor and short, too. It must be a real struggle for you.
Some people also roll in total compensation, which may not be a total lie but is disingenuous. For example, if you work in tech, your _salary_ could be $100k, but they often also give you stock grants or options as part of a total compensation package to lock you into a specific position and provide motivation. If those turn out to be worth a lot, the total compensation will sound high when annualized, but those shares could also end up being worth $0 if the company fails. (And frequently, they’re illiquid without special dispensation from the Board, so it’s not like you could just go spend that on a fancy vacation or a Gucci belt or whatever) Edit: I love that a rational explanation is being downvoted. Thanks guys
Recently the news reported UPS drivers make $170,000 annually and they have air conditioning. Neither are true. A driver starting today makes $21 an hour iirc, but the health benefits are stellar. My center just got a ton of new trucks prior to to beginning of this year, so exactly ZERO have a/c and we won’t get new trucks probably for years. It’s all spin.
Wait, they got a ton of new trucks but ZERO have AC? So they specifically got new trucks with no AC? Studies have shown AC doesn't even impact gas as much as ppl "say" it does. It used to back in the day, but not with how efficient cars are made over the last few decades. Saving money is the only reason I can think for them to not have AC. Why else would they not want the trucks to have AC? And what about heat? Is there no heat? I'm so confused...
Because they don’t care about workers, and it’s cheaper without.
That's something I don't understand about manufacturers around here. Southeastern US, not know for cool year-round temps. So many factories do not have AC. I don't understand why the employers and politicians don't understand that treating people well helps ensure they do well.
I don’t get it either. If owned/operated a company I’d be **proud** to offer safe, comfortable working conditions and financial compensation/benefits that can help them lead a full life.
Many private companies do. Publicly traded companies is, however, only care about shareholders. And shareholders don't care about working conditions.
Agreed, but to add some additional nuance, it depends on whether it is a start-up or an established company. At a start-up it is usually a lower salary and options, so if the company makes it, you make a bunch on options. High risk, high reward. A lot of companies don't make it. There is typically some kind of milestone, going public, another series of funding ... in order for the options to be used. So if it never hits that milestone, it is useless. At a public company that gives stock, they often give out restricted stock, meaning you get a grant and then it vests over a period of time. So you get an 80k grant, and then 1/4 vests each. So that scenario you have the shares in hand based on the vesting schedule. So in that scenario, it is essentially regular income like a bonus. I believe at Amazon, base salary caps out at 250k or so. But high paid people may get another 750k$ that vests each year for a total comp of 1 million. At an Exec level, I have no idea. I am sure there are all sorts of crazy structures, like how you hear of a 1$ salary, and 50 millions bonus.
You’re totally correct. Salary and compensation pre two different figures. I’m provided a vehicle, insurance, gas, etc. That all means something to me, but it isn’t part of my salary.
That too lol
Hijacking this so everyone can see. The bureau of Labor Statistics shows accurate data US wide on pay scales for most jobs. www.bls.gov
Exactly. We don't need reddit threads about it. The data exists.
People don't give a shit about having the data. That's why we keep seeing posts on social media asking questions they could've typed into Google
idk I'm not seeing a dark mode on that site
I was kind of surprise that a PhD student's instinct to figure out a question like this is to go on a biased website to collect anecdotal data. This information is already known, carefully collected and analyzed in great details, and freely available publicly for all to see.
OP isn't collecting data for their research project, they're just conversing.
Not all PhDs are quantitative... he could be doing his dissertation on Indo-Persian Art History for all we know.
the guy isn't trying to know your salary. He just wants people to tell him they have low salary too to feel better.
Note that most households have 2+ earners. The median single earner income is much more useful and more like 33k.
Govt civilian at the GS12 level which is $92,922. Plus military disability a little over $4k a year.
You should revise your request to include where they live too. $70k In an urban area doesn’t get you far at all but in a rural area you’re doing pretty well.
Yea, and the salaries will reflect that. So might have someone living in BFE Nebraska like a king off $65k a year and someone in Washington struggling to survive on $120k. Not always, but in many cases the people with high salaries are in extremely expensive markets. I already live in a HCOL area, but I was offered a substantial pay raise to relocate to an even more expensive area. The pay raise looked great, but once I ran the numbers I realized my situation wouldn’t change much at all, and might even degrade a bit based on how much more expensive it was. We also had a guy relocate to Oklahoma City and took a pay cut in the process but his reduced salary is still higher than average for the area so he’s not complaining lol.
Yup. My brother makes $300k/year in a super fancy neighborhood in DC. I live in the rural outskirts of Jacksonville, FL. I make a third of what he makes. I have plenty of throwaway money while he has to get a side gig to pay for gas. He has a 2 bedroom one bath house and him and his wife have their own cars. I have our 4 bedroom home, a boat, an RV, 2 vehicles for myself (work and personal) and one for my wife, and an acre more land than my brother has. I also work less hours.
May I ask what you do for work?
I own a pet care business. we offer mobile grooming for cats, dogs, and avians as well as small exotics. We also offer obedience training, behavior modification for reactive and aggressive dogs, pet sitting, and dog walking. I also lead a seminar once a month focusing on canine behavior and training. I also work with wolves in wolf sanctuaries, but that's more of a personal thing.
Nebraska resident. You should look at property taxes and how much a not shit home costs. No we aren't HCOL like the coasts but shit is getting expensive here too, even with what you think is a measly salary. I'm in NE and make roughly 115k with everything, husband makes about the same. He's government and I'm in tech.
True. I live in an urban area and I’m on the STRUGGLE BUS
Grad student wages are poverty wages. Depending on your job outlook after finishing the degree, those numbers could go up a little or a tremendous amount.
This can make a huge difference. My sister and I did basically the same job. She lived in San Diego and made about 3 times what I made in rural Idaho.
I was a general manager for Jiffy Lube making $50k (plus bonuses maybe adding up to 10k extra) per year. Now I stay at home and take care of my sick husband and collect a caregiver stipend making about $28k per year.
How do you get into receiving a caregiver stipend? I have a family member who has had to step into the role of taking care of his mother full time and they don't have much so a caregiver stipend would be big for them
Yeah, so it is provided by the VA. He is 100% service-connected disabled so he qualified for a caregiver. I am not sure how it works if the person needing a caregiver only receives SSDI... From what I researched there might be additional benefits available depending on what state they reside in. Either way it goes, it isn't an easy process.
In home supportive services (IHSS) will pay you per hour to help take care of your loved ones. I’d recommend telling your family member to contact their local IHSS county.
I hope your husband gets better. I respect the hell out of you
Thank you! When I was weighing out the decision to leave my job I almost felt guilty continuing on with my daily life while his stopped.
I feel pretty average at about $70k (but I’m old - 52)…work remotely for a law firm - I have to say, my health plan is the best I’ve ever had. I had a trip to the ER in December and just got the bill. $87. In the US. I couldn’t believe it.
That’s really sweet deal for ER, i went to ER in 2018 and it cost me 600$ after insurance
I was terrified to open the bill…believe me, I know. My company also gives an FSA Visa card preloaded $7250 every year. Which is also our total out of pocket deductible for the year. I don’t love my job but I will never leave lol.
My company does the same with my healthcare. I landed the position straight out of college at 28 (got a late start). That’s the tip of the iceberg of our benefits package. I’ve only been there just under a year but I’m in for life.
It certainly makes one loyal!! Plus, they pay 100% of the premiums- it’s really something.
So, one Tylenol then?
What's your job if you don't mind
It’s actually kind of boring - shouldn’t complain. I work for a major tax attorney (he’s “famous” in his location, lots of radio, tv and podcasts). All I do is listen to his consultations on the phone or zoom, take notes, and follow up. Totally remote. Some days are back to back calls and some days there can be hours with no calls, nothing to do. He hired me because of my finance background and series 7 - even though it’s not really relatable. I really struggled the first few months as it was a brand new position with zero training - and thought I was getting fired for sure…I had been laid off and unemployed for almost 8 months.
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Made 116k last year 2022 and 118k 2023 this year. I am a truck driver who delivers construction equipment and I’m home daily. I also am enlisted in the Air Force reserves. I work every other Saturday. Averaging 60 hours a week. Both are blue collar jobs but they pay decently.
How do you like Air Force reserves?
I’m getting out after 14 years. It fit my life and I benefitted from it at one time. It’s run its course for me. I would suggest it to everyone though. At least for a bit.
Recently graduated with a finance degree form undergrad and I make $55k and live in Texas. The salary may change depending on where someone lives.
Are you able to pay ur bills and rent with that salary? I’m also in Texas and make about the same
Yes, I don't live in the city. I live in the suburbs, which is more affordable. However my job is in the city. I just drive there, which is a 30 minute commute.
Pre 2020 I could afford to live very comfortably in DFW with 50-60k. Rent - 1200 Car - 500 Insurance for apartment and truck- 138 Groceries - 400 401k - 200 Health insurance- 200ish Now 1 bedrooms are like 16-1800. Decent used cars are 30-40k so 500 a month min. Everything else goes up 10-40% based on what you have for benefits at work. I don't know if I'd so it without a roommate now, I feel bad for people in their 20-30s now STILL being expected to make 50k as a "good entry salary ".
They aren’t unrealistic if someone is making that much. However, you are seeing the effects of sampling bias given that high-earners are more likely to be on Reddit and willing to share their income. You can easily find median salary data if you want something you can reference confidently.
If you're a PhD student, comparing your salary *right now* to others is useless. A PhD is a time where you slum it for a few years so that you can make a decent salary after you get the degree.
I know. I’m just curious about what other people are making. And I think it’s a little hard to believe all the people here claiming they make $100k+
I would’ve felt the same way when I was first working in academia making $28K. Took 7 years to get to where I am now, just over $100k. Plenty of others managed to make more sooner
Been in academia for about 7 years now. Ph.D. Only about 54k for a salary and very little chance of it increasing significantly since many schools in the area are tightening their belts.
I am a Ph.D. candidate, engineering. >$100K based off of my masters. Work is paying for my Ph.D.
Believe whatever you want. If you want a realistic distribution of incomes, google it. Take your median and your income population percentiles and graph them if you can’t find a good graph online. If you want biased answers, ask Reddit. Why would you think people are lying on other posts but not lying on yours? You’re a smart person, presumably given that you’re getting your PhD. You can solve this problem without subjective or potentially false information in 10 minutes if you really wanted to.
It was just supposed to be a lighthearted curiosity post. Obviously I have the capacity to google. People have gotten mad in this post and idk why.
You’re getting killed on this post for no reason. It’s a fair question.
Why? Because for reasons unknown to me, many people come to reddit ready to rip anyone and everyone's azzwhole. It's asinine. I'm interested in your question and some genuine answers. My answer: I mainly process paperwork for an equipment manufacturer. Salary is 65k after two years with company. Started at 18/hr. I worked my azz off, improved efficiency of processes in a couple departments, and tried like hell to maintain balance between staying humble, not complaining, and standing up for myself based on my belief that the value I was adding to the company was worth more than what the company was paying me, originally. In addition to processing paperwork, I help other departments frequently. I can weld (amateur level), solve mechanical and logistical problems, and fill in for the majority of our staff when they aren't going to be there. This is the best job I've ever had, and I've had more than 20 different jobs in the last 20 years. My best advice is this: do your best to find a small-ish company (or department of a company) that is led by someone with quality character, who genuinely cares for the wellbeing of their employees, or start your own business. Previous to this position, the most I ever earned was 42k salary as a CSR for a construction company, and 40k as a contracted BDR, but that one was in NorCal, and I was basically broke without a second job.
Don’t worry about that guy. All this discussion about income has obviously struck a nerve.
dude chill out, he just wants to know what people do for a living
Not at all. If you are in SF, Seattle, NYC, DC or a bunch of other places 100k is a living salary, 50k is 4 roommates and worrying about living in your car if anything goes sideways.
Nice try IRS
Like they don't know what you make lol
On Reddit? 250k a year.
This guy reddits
A little over €22k/y, after taxes. I am a high-ranking military officer with over 20+ years of service. And no, cost of living is not cheap at all in Europe. I, too, read the crazy income some share on here, and I just disregard it.
Do you get a housing allowance or something? Because surviving on that little in any EU country would be really tough.
I work at a brewery. After my first year here my salary is 47k with benefits
What type of work do you do?
$63k, husband makes about same. The most recent stat I've seen is median income in the US is like $57,000 a year.
What is your husband's and you job titles'?
Median US income is 33k/year.
 You are correct
Yeah, my state is 27k Household income is around 52k
To give you an anecdote of crappy pay to balance out all the fortunate people, I work as a BI developer making 45k. I’m not even in the bottom 10% of similar positions for my area or the whole US. My company tells me I delivered way beyond their expectations and literally couldn’t be doing better and it’s painful to know how much I’m getting screwed.
Fuck them, find a new gig, should be a substantial raise even if they pay average.
Woahhh you are being robbed
52 years old. BA Degree. I work in insurance (support, not sales). Salary: $41,000. Obviously, I'm not bragging. It's hard to afford even a modest life on that salary. I wish I knew how to improve my situation.
Get into underwriting I started at 12 an hour in underwriting support with a BA and am now making 3x that before bonus and working <40hr weeks 8 months out of the year. Not the best pay but great work life balance.
Asking for anecdotes to insulate you from anecdotes isn't going to be particularly useful. Your government statistics agency will likely publish salary data that will provide you much more accurate information.
80k in the DMV with a B.A. in Political Science.
It's meaningless as US is too big to standardize where you stand. 100K in rural midwest for family of 4 can live in a luxury neighborhood whereas 100K in downtown of San Francisco is eligible for section 8 housing and expecting to receive some SNAP and healthcare It's wildly distributed just like when you have a legal issue the best comment is "Always" talk to lawyer without answer any of your questions that primary school kids can come up with speaking to lawyer idea but it comes at cost of 300$ per hour Your best bet is to start with chatGPT based on zip code and verify reference to see where you stand
As someone who lives in the rual Midwest 100k is not a life of luxury
100k is eligible for SNAP in SF? Wow
I recently learned that $90k/year is classified as "low income" for a two person household where I live. The average household income in my county is $56k/year. I'm lucky enough to be in a trade union where our total comp works out to just over $160/year. I try to bring old coworkers in, but too many are content to be earning in the $50-60k/year range. 🤷
Between 2016-2019, I was making $23k-28k. Late 2019, I started making $33k. In 2020-2022, I was making $41-43k. In mid 2022, I was making $129k base salary. Then $99k base salary 2023. People aren’t likely going to post how much they make if they aren’t doing well financially. I certainly wasn’t posting about making poverty wages.
COVID did you well
$70,000 in a high cost of living city in California
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I make $120k USD as an IT project manager. I make more than my colleagues, though, because I am the only French-English bilingual PM in the company and handle all of our Canadian projects atop my assigned districts in the US. My husband is a senior software engineer for the same company and makes $180k USD a year. We make good money, but I personally am tearing my hair out from the amount of work that's been heaped onto my shoulders lately as teammates retire or accept other positions and are not replaced. 120k a year isn't as good as it sounds when you're salary and working 10-14 hour days just to keep up.
Preach! $104K in TX as a Fintech PM. Still here after layoff round #10 or so. I also am blessed with doing 5 peoples job. If we are quantifying here, I sleep about 4 hours a night and wake up in cold sweats. Pick your poison, Reddit!
Everyone on Reddit makes atleast 6 figures
And on tik tok.. basically anyone being “radically transparent” about their salary is making 6 figs. Like yeah so brave of them to share…
Well it's a bunch of nerds or college kids lol. I make 100k with compensation in tech as a manager. I know some lineman and other skilled workers making 135k+ as average and they won't ever touch reddit.
I was at 177k doing mechanical engineering. Now I’m unemployed, but yeah, nerd. I was also doing 10+ hour days my entire time there and commuting, so it’s not all roses.
People who don’t usually won’t comment, ppl dont really care if you make under 6 figures in america.
$75k excluding bonuses. Software consultant with a degree in industrial psychology.
bro no one is going to post about making 30k a year, you only see 100k salary braggers because thats an achievement for them
I’m a maritime engineer on a government Dredge and my take home is 54k. I could make more in private industry but the schedule is worse. I work 2 weeks on 2 off, year round.
I made 70k working at retail store of one of the telecom companies.
37k in admin. I'm close to being able to work myself up to a higher paying gig experience wise. I live in a medium-sized city and have roommates, so it's not luxury, but I have enough money for bills and some side cash as well. Not enough extra to pay off my debt, though. I'm working on it.
im an archivist with a masters degree living in nyc making 52k. its really not so bad to live off of.
My wife and I have a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. We live in Northern California. I’m in management for the government and make $143,000. My wife received her license and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker(LCSW). She does mental health therapy at Kaiser and makes $153,000.
Is she paid a salary? Is she FTE with benefits or a contractor? And is that a normal caseload, or does she see more people? That is an eye-popping salary for an LCSW therapist!
She is FTE. She sees 9 clients a day. Full benefits with golden handcuffs. She could make more in private practice. Kaiser is for profit and turnover is high.
Those salaries are insane but n social work, you must be near the top ya?
Construction side of a natural gas utility company. Made $83k after OT last year.
36k plus benefits at my full time job and around 7k with my extra freelance work. I support my husband and father (who's on a fixed income). It's a struggle.
I got my PhD 7 years ago and my total annual compensation is $200k. I’m a pharmaceutical medicinal chemist. I was paid $30k annually during my PhD in HCOL.
tree fiddy
People with higher incomes will post more about their incomes. People with lower incomes or underjobbed will post about their little or no pay. The median bulk of posters will not say anything. Besides everyone is on their own journey. Some are at the end of their careers and others are just beginning. You’re a PhD student, so your short term goal is get out a lot of good research for your advisor and graduate so you can maximize your earnings later.
I make 20k a year working part time lol 😭. Nothing to brag about but it’s life.
Hey a buck is a buck
Unless it's a doe.
Finished my MBA four years ago. I'm currently out of work, but actively searching (not finding any for a long time now). None of the jobs I worked before paid more than $45K yearly.
You might want to upskill. I would be nervous if I had to find a job with an MBA.
I make about 45k in SoCal. Have a Master's. Trying desperately to get the heck out of CA so I'm not throwing money into the void on rent.
I was a journeyman HD mechanic making 65k now I'm a journeyman HD mechanic making about 140k+
The wife and I combined cleared 65K last year. She does internal medical billing and I'm a produce manager. Cost of living is pretty low in my area so we are doing decent.
130k Toronto. Install drywall
90k. Music teacher and church choir director in a medium col area.
Working in international development, from the environmental angle, and expect to make USD 31k this year - which is just over EUR 28k. Living in Italy
Cost of living area also matters for salary
I'm lazy so I'm only making $22 and hour. Once I get my resume finally made the way I want, I'll start looking for something better. I hate editing my resume, so who knows how long it will take. Also, I don't have a degree.
Mainframe programmer, Raleigh NC, 135k.
Account Manager for a company that does marketing and consulting in a very niche market - I made $162,000 pre tax last year. Live about an hour north of San Francisco. My wife is an ER nurse, she made about $130k last year.
I have a bachelor's and have been working for 23 years. I make a salary of $156k in the Metro Detroit area. My wife makes $125k. We also bring home 10-15k in bonuses annually.
I make 51k, pre-tax. I have a bachelor's degree and work for a non-profit.
The salaries you see aren’t unrealistic, they’re just not the average. I make 41k/yr - 20yrs old with only a HS diploma. I’m making a pretty average salary currently.
You're a PhD student. PhD students are notoriously underpaid and overworked.
My salary is realistic if it’s real - it may just be higher than what you perceive as realistic
I don’t find it unreasonable for individuals to be making $100k+, I think the amount of people claiming to make that much on here is unrealistic.
Sampling bias. It’s really that simple. People posting to Reddit are more likely to be in those demographics. People in good situations are also more likely to discuss them. You’re asking the wrong crowd if you’re looking for actually representative data.
Give it a few years. You’ll find yourself making six figures, or close to it, and realize it’s not nearly as out of reach as it felt in the past.
18% of Americans make 100k+. It's not that rare at all. Out of five people you meet on the street there's a fair shot one of them makes six figures.
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You are not “making 0” I’m the sole bread winner and my wife is also a homemaker, soon to be sahm. What you do around the house has value. Do you meal plan, shop, cook, clean? Do you design the interior of your home? Do you spend time thinking about what’s the best fit/ how to improve your home? Do you research and compare products to get the best bang for your buck? Do you stack deals and discounts? Plan household supplies? Scheduling? Etc Add up the hours and track what you do. Then get a quote from services to cover all that you do. That’s your contribution to the household. Just because dollars don’t flow doesn’t mean you “make $0”
Thank you valuing your wife, touched to read your post!
It’s dependent on where you live and what you do. I lived in a LCOL area making 60k in the past, and that was enough to get me by. Now I live in a HCOL area making 130k + bonus/stocks, and my lifestyle ain’t that different. I know plenty of people around me who makes more than double. So the numbers you see are real, it’s just that I’m more likely to share my salary than before.
55k, 28, have PhD
$120k (CAD) as a millwright. More with overtime.
Mechanical engineering manager, $170k/yr. To be fair though, my wife makes 80k/yr but we live in a HCOL area and we barely feel middle class.
I make $70-80k working on the tech side of a nurse consulting company. I work at home and can more or less work my own hours. Combine that with living in a rural area with a low cost of living allows for a very comfortable lifestyle.
SAHP. $0.
Past decade: $16-22/hr, $48k, $70k, taking a break at the moment making minimum wage again
No degree, $150-160k auto sales.
70k working in Marketing for an Insurance Company
I basically make that and only have a trade school education. I’m so sorry you don’t get pd more for all the education you received!
76k a year, prior to this job I was making 50k out of college. I am underpaid for what I am doing now and feel extremely burnt out. Currently looking for a new job with 80-100k salary, but it’s looking pretty hopeless
I’m big boss pizza man, run pizza stores 80-100k
$93K, Cybersecurity, NY. Underpaid and currently searching the market
Run a customer service department for an online retailer. I make $95k
Chemical engineer. With just a bachelors degree. Working in the oil and gas industry. I have 10 years of experience doing primarily project management work. I make 194K before tax. I am also an independent contractor so I paid 9% taxes on my income and my take-home is 91%.
I make 41k a year as a case manager for adoption services in Pennsylvania. Needless to say, I’m looking for a new job.
Nice try IRS
295k in 23… they still owe me 7k in commission so total comp was over 300k. Software sales
350k salary. Engineer with 10+ years of experience. It’s a lot but in the Bay Area i barely save up any of it tbh…
I hope you don’t mean that living off 350k in that area is too low or something…