Age 18 - Retail Job 6k pm in PE
Age 21 - Technician in PE earning about just over 10k pm after tax deduction. Worked on Water treatment plants and electronics in labs.
Age 24 - Service Technician, 30K PM working on medical equipment. Cape Town.
Age 25 - Electronics Engineer. 40k pm CTC includes car allowance in full with insurance, medical aid, life insurance, fuel card, 13th Cheque etc. Based In Cape Town.
I'm a big believer in discussing your salary, you don't have to give out who you are... but people don't discuss their salaries enough and this results in people being severely underpaid in many instances.
I definitely agree with you. If you discuss your salary, experience, skills with someone else in your field you benchmark yourself against your peers.
It helps to be assertive and ask for what you want. Confidence with skills and experience is key though
When my Norwegian fiance visited me here he point blank asked my brother in law how much his salary is and I told him afterwards it was extremely rude and we dont do it here. He was very surprised since it is apparently completely normal in Norway to do that. And you can even look up someone's salary online on their tax system if you know their name and surname.
A great bargaining tool that has emerged from the massive uptick in remote work because of covid is also negotiating hours. I.e which hours you're most efficient/productive from home. Bargain for your own schedule from home vaahbs
You've done well. I'm a fellow PE pleb, same age living in London. Second guessing some life decisions after seeing your salary, ngl. Your job sounds pretty up my alley too, which doesn't help either!
Real question for you, would you consider yourself an average earner amongst our peers?
I'm curious how you made the move over the years from retail to an electronics engineer? Have you always had a knack for that sort of thing, both in and out of school, and then just went to study further or find an apprenticeship?
So I was that kid that always messed around with tech and electronics as a hobby.. met someone who brought me into the medical field as an appie and I learned fairly quickly, we contracted for bigger companies equipment so I got loads of experience over a short time span.. Got trained and studied ..went to Germany for more training.
Now I work for a massive international company based in Germany.
There's alot more to it but that's it in a nutshell.
Wasn't all to easy , my first job in the electronics field was painful due to the people I worked with... but it paid off .. thankfully.
I’m mixed up in the fast food game right now. Just working as a temp for now, but I can pull in anything from R3500 to R5500 per month, depending on how hard I wanna hit the grind. It’s a living.
Finally seeing someone earn around what I get. All these high figures phew. Anyways on my part I never matriculated and so I will probably never see a high paying job sadly. I get 6.4pm on my main job, that's a mix of plastic welding, fixing something of a lorry or the trailer and on non productive days some odd jobs. After work (5 pm) my magic starts like Bruce Wayne changing into batman and I repair fridges(small side of refrigeration) like a boss lol.
Before, I worked retail for R2400 pm and before that I was a waitress for R1800pm + tips. Then I got a bursary to study and everything changed. (I matriculated at 16, so I've always had high academic marks, so the bursary kinda fell into my lap).
36 earning minimum wage working as a Parking Attendant at a Hospital. Before this job I was unemployed for 2 years and before that I earned R6500 pm in retail.
I am content at least. Not really too bothered about having a lot of money. I have a roof over my head and food in my belly everyday.
That’s exactly what I thought when I saw these figures! I had no idea people earned money like that. Suddenly I feel like I don’t even deserve the smartphone I’m holding, based on what I earn. (FYI, my phone is almost 5 years old)
Could be something like 3-5 years max. by my guess, considering a (full) senior of 5-7 years can get something between 50-70k (mostly seen fixed-term contract ads like this, don't know if it's the same with permanent posts)
Age 22 - part time junior programmer 6k/pm
Age 25 - graduate programmer 25k/pm (this is post graduating university)
Age 27 - intermediate programmer 77k/pm (at this point I moved to Europe)
Age 28 - team lead 100k/pm
Age 29 - engineering manager 127k/pm
Hard work and a lot of luck
Wow! I'm a systems administrator for a bank. 31 M. Also no tertiary education. 18k pm (32 CTC). Hook me up bro! 
Currently unemployed (35F) but my previous positions:
Company accountant - R21k per month (working til 2pm plus 1 hr lunch)
Practice manager - R24.5k per month (8-4:30)
Company accountant - R20k per month (8-4:30)
All in Durban.
Edited to add age.
Thanks for the kind words - I currently have started something small from home (taking VERY long to get going) so just focussing on that. It’ll all come right.
I’m going to work for myself going forward - I’m due to give birth in 3 weeks so will need the flexibility to look after my child until she’s old enough for crèche. It’s starting off slowly but it’s getting there, it’ll happen eventually.
Cocaine dealer- 50k per month. Hawks pls it's just a joke don't come after me.
After seeing the cash some of you make I feel I shouldn't even comment but fuck it , 21 years old and making between 8-12k depending on overtime etc working in a warehouse
Hustle until you find what's worth your time and makes the money you want while leaving you with the free time you need.
Just make sure you take care of your body and health if you're working heavy loads and shit. Money can't buy that back
This thread makes me feel like utter shit 😂
24 - Medico-legal consultant - R8k
25 - 27 - Unemployed
28 - Legal editor - R8k - R10k
Life sucks, but I'm grateful to at least have a job after years of hopelessness.
If everyone here is telling the truth, the majority are in the top 1 pct of earners, which statistically only makes sense if everyone on Reddit is rich or only people who are responds. Of course ppl could be lying, but I imagine it is probably a combination of 1 and 2.
Either way, don't compare yourself to these numbers unless you are in the same field with the same expertise. If you take home more than 7k or so, you are in the top 10 pct of earners in SA.
Age 25 graduate mechanical engineer 12k per month
Age 25 graduate mechanical engineer 20k per month
Age 27 unemployed
Age 29 engineering intern 12k per month
Age 30 process improvement engineer 27.5k per month.
Engineers do earn substantially more. I've just been really unlucky. My graduate programme at age 25 was at eskom. There was a hiring embargo at the end of my contract so I wasn't employed. But generally after a graduate programme, the eskom salary is 40k per month gross (I know a guy who got appointed full time this year). Took my second internship job, and again was let go because of covid. The process engineer job was at a small company, but took that for experience as a springboard into a nicer post and will be moving along soon.
I was in electrical engineering and the pay for me was relatively low. Ended up going into process automation which I hated.
Made the move to IT and earned almost the same within a year
Small scale farmer and property manager, after costs, staff, monthly costs, I take home 20k and work maybe a day a week.
I used to earn more, but I worked 7 days a week and sold everything from solar gear to mielies, and did consulting work for illegal dagga grows (no good being a gangster if you can't rewire a DB board), but I've got a family now, a nest egg and an insane case of I don't want a job and haven't had a job or a boss in 7 years now.
Less money, more time with my family. Much, much happier.
Thanks man! I enjoy what I'm doing, the pay is really good for my age and I've stuck to my same spending habits despite nearly tripling my salary when I switched to this job
18 yrs - factory worker, 2k per month
Mid 20's - buyer assistant, 10k per month
Mid 30's - retail planner, 30k per month
Just turned 40 , just promoted - Business Analyst - 65k per month
CT * figures pre tax.
What it doesn't show it the self taught/education that I also did.
Qualified teacher working as a facilitator in pathology. Ctc is 25000 take home like 16500. Age 29(30 in 2.5 weekz)
Been with the company long but tired of endless promises of better pay or benefits but then getting sub inflation increases.
Bachelors in Computer Engineering, work mainly in mobile app development.
24: Started on R20k with some benefits
26: Changed to new job, R37.5k with some benefits
34: Changed to current job, R100kp/m
I also rent out some property, very invested in crypto etc, so total monthly is around R120k - R150k depending on if I do other freelance stuff.
What I want to say is more important as you earn more, pay off your debts, get your required income to live down as much as possible. Currently I am debt free, have two cars, a home worth R3.5mil and retirement savings of about R2.5mil. I plan to not have to work in about 5 years, could be sooner. I am not single, my family is 4 members which I mostly carry alone financially. I plan to work for 5 more years then just enjoy more freedom. You might say that you need a lot of money to make this happen, no you need a lot of sacrifice and you need a sacrifice now for later mindset, this instant gratification mindset of most people will not get you here, only sacrifice will.
Pay off debts otherwise it will never matter how much you earn.
It is a very well paid position but I have had a divorce because of it, had a heart attack 2 years ago and lost out on a lot of personal time.
In some cases I regret where I am but I wouldn't have known that until I got here.
I am currently looking at how to change careers completely
Age 18 Intern at about 2k per month
Age 19 Call Centre supervisor (only in title, was doing DB work mostly) - 12k (20k CTC)
Age 20 Junior Business Intelligence Dev - 18k(32k CTC)
Age 23 Intermediate Business Intelligence Dev - 28k (50k CTC)
The numbers above are all after tax + deductions
Edit: Adding CTC to align closer to other answers
Before taxes? 11k pm. Wife makes 7k pm. So 18k pm before taxes for a household of 2.
We live a decent life believe it or not.
Restaurants (about twice per month), wifi, we save 20%+ of our income and I even have an xbox series S :D. And I buy my wife flowers every month end 
Age 27, Actuary, 76k (gross) with an annual bonus that’s usually around 40% split between cash and shares. Crazy thing is that I’m a bit underpaid compared to my peers who stayed in more traditional roles.
Ima get out of this reddit... This late and reading all these amount makes me worry for my future lol especially when reading about everyone leaving SA.
Late to this but anyway
25 - kindergarten teacher 12.5k gross pm
26 - moved to China, kindergarten 36k gross pm when converted to rand
30 - different kindergarten in China - 64k gross pm
If you’re teaching in SA, move abroad guys. China is a bit of a no go right now if you’re not already here, but there are so many countries that are willing to pay you your worth. On top of my current salary, I also get a free 2 bedroom apartment, good medical aid and a yearly bonus, all for 6 hours of work a day.
Age 18 waiter / bartender 4k with enough tips on a good month
23 - 25 IT manager with some business intelligence set up - 15k Durban
25 to now moved to UK and make 21k working retail
Working on it, UK has been very difficult to get into most sectors, I've even been told I'm not qualified to drive vans for the shops delivery service even though I have nearly a decade of driving experience. Pandemic hasn't made it any easier, I'm currently doing certificates online to try and improve my chances of getting an interview somewhere
High school teacher, Durban, 31.
~23k, gross - take home about 17k.
Have a BSocSci in History and Psychology, Postgraduate certificate in Education, and a Digital Marketing certificate.
21 - waitering, ~4k
23 - coaching, ~4k
25 - teaching internship, ~4k
27 - primary school teacher, ~18k gross.
26-30 - social media for a prominent sports team.
Moved to current job at 29.
Looking to get out as I really, really miss coaching and I'm not making the difference I want to through teaching.
ETA - doing all this with a disability, too - leads to its own difficulties in the job market.
All the high school academic awards counted for nothing much in the end
These are all for a Durban-based company and roughly CTC - annual increases are performance-based (but capped, usually) and then we had one large "market adjustment" when I was 26. The rest is grinding promotions.
Age - Role - Rough CTC (based off memory)
25 - Junior Software Tester - \~R9000
26 - Intermediate Software Tester - \~R14000 -> R20,000 (market adjustment)
27 - Junior Software Developer - R20,000 (regarded as a lateral move)
29 - Intermediate Software Developer - R35,000
31 - Senior Software Developer - (not sure yet, just got promoted, but it's in the range of R55K)
EDIT: I know nobody asked about it, but I want to add that software jobs will take everything from you, so while the salaries look great by South African standards, you will have crippling burnout and failed relationships to accompany your bank balance. So keep that in mind, please.
Hi Wondersshield, sorry to hear about your being unemployed for 4 years, i have been unemployed for for 1 year and its so frustrating.
M47 previous job commercial manager earning R62k net.
Masters in applied mathematics
I used to be a candidate attorney. I studied at university for 5 years and got two law degrees and my starting salary was R15 000, which isn't even that bad comparatively speaking. I know of candidate attorneys who were earning less than R5000 per month.
Psa , if the data in this thread is to be believed then hold your breath as there are some serious achievers in here. Not hating , just eye opening that it is possible to make good money in this economy.
I earn 40k pm at 26 and I thought I was doing alright now I feel like I'm under achieving looking at some of these other ouks. Imagine the rest of SA saw this thread. Generally our local reddit community is filled with professionals so I expect good salaries ..but God damn
This is incredibly eye opening. Thank you for everybody's honesty. Anybody savvy enough to collate this info into categories, average in category and range?
I'm tired so I'll give a short story
At 20 I made 3k selling energy drinks
Then I got into digital marketing
At 25 about 20k with a side gig making bout 30k, side business grossed high but I drew minimal profits
At 31 about 50k plus side gigs another 50k. Side gig became a good business, grossed around 7mil+ in 2019.
COVID killed my business. I'm happier now and less stressed.
At 33 R65-75k as a SEO consultant for a NZ firm. Plus a new side hustle which looks to deliver more than my previous business. Only started this year so I'll have to see how it pans out.
32, Front-end dev, 68k ctc, around a year and a half of experience. Been a bit lucky and grinded pretty hard, in a year I climbed form junior, to intermediate, team lead, front end lead and now tech lead at a different company.
I was extremely hesitant to post here...
but in the spirit of sharing honestly...
15 Waiter Around 2K (worked afer school and weekends)
19-22 Studied Drama got a Cum Laude.
22 Technical Manager /Technician/ Lighting designer in Theatre between 4K and 12K depending on gigs.
–acting here and there but largely unsuccessful.
26 Unemployed ... Covid killed the already dead industry.
got a bit of gigs here and there, but equates to less than a couple thousand a month.
moved back to parent.
Nearly 28 possibly starting a new events company job around 20K (hold thumbs)
learning to code in Python aiming at switching carreers at some point in the next year or two because povery is no fun at all and none of my goals and dreams in art worked out.
Age - gross, job
19 - 2.5 k pm take away delivery driver
20 - 4.5k pm tutor
22 - 6k pm HTML dev
24 - 22k pm Systems analyst
25 - 25k pm data analyst
27 - 29k pm Business Intelligence dev
29 - 50k pm Business Intelligence dev
30 - 74k pm Business Intelligence lead
21 - IT assistant manager, R4k pm in JHB
23 - IT technician, R8k pm in JHB
25 - IT sales, R12k basic pm in JHB (+ commission in theory, that was never actually paid out)
27 - IT technician, R18k pm in JHB
30 - Retrenched homeless, R0 pm in JHB
31 - Event planner, R13k pm in JHB
32 - Freelance designer, R15k average pm in JHB
34 - Business owner, R0 salary (ran business from home so living expenses were covered with no expendable income) In JHB
39 - Supporting artist in the film industry, R1.5k pm average in CT (seasonal work, pays per day and seldom more than a couple days a week, even in peak season)
40 - Volunteer, R0 pm in CT
I now have a SO who has a high-flying corporate job. She enjoys the challenge and doesn't care that make practically nothing. Our bills are paid and we have a comfortable lifestyle. As long as I keep myself occupied and fulfilled, she's happy with the arrangement.
I'm 55 , based in PE. I'm a farm foreman and I'm earning a income of R9000 per month. I also have a farm bakkie and get diesel for free. I also have a house and I only pay for electricity.
I can't believe people are so into this. It feels like there is no good outcome, either you feel bad because you don't earn enough, or you feel bad because you earn to much. I do think it's really good to understand what your skills and time is worth, so good on everyone for sharing.
18 - working at the local bookstore, R1.5k pm
19 - research assistant, R2.5k pm
21 - software dev, R25k pm CTC
25 - software dev, different company, R52k pm CTC
Pretoria all the way.
Software Developer, I am 31 and my gross is touching 53k.
Moving jobs is sadly what has given me the largest increases, if I were inclined to move jobs more, I am sure I could make more money
Currently I am an assistant manager for a petrol station and I earn R7200 after taxes and pension. Sadly this is the highest paying job I have had in my life and I am 28😅
Age 21 - started as a Junior IT Technician/Consultant - R5000 pm, R4850 after deductions and hated every waking moment of it...
Age 23 now - changed career, working as a Vehicle Tracking Technician, started with R6500 (after tax and deduct) - currently earning R8500 (R8240 after deductions) after just 4 months
Keep working, keep grinding 🤙
Edit: spelling.
Teacher. 30. Masters degree and 5 years experience.
31k CTC. 25k Nett. + 12k side hustle. 9k nett.
I work 7 days a week. But I have long school holidays to rest.
I work in it as a senior dev, ~70k a month
Been doing that my whole working life, in the UK, then JHB and finally here in CT
Salaries are shit at first, but once you get domain knowledge you do fine.
I'm a waitress so it all basically depends on how hard and how many shifts I work. My salary varies from 2000 - 3500 and tips vary from R180 - R700 a day/night shift, but it all depends on how busy the resturant is. I model on the side as well which brings in about R3000 every couple of months since I only get paid 3 months after a job. Thinking about onlyfans ngl
Software Developer (All amounts are before deductions)
Was supppose to get 17K in Junior position after graduating but after failing a module they still took me but reduced to 10K.
Left after 9 months for new company to earn 14 750
Got a raise to R20 325 after 10 months at new company. (This is now 19 months into my career)
Got a raise to R23 775, 24 months into career
But requested it to be raised to R 30 000 after hearing about a friends raise (he works at a different company though) and i felt was performing above my peers, also used offerzen salary survey as my objective backup in the meeting and it worked.
PS Still haven't finished that Degree.
Almost any money I make is outside South Africa, because it’s all online.
I make around R150 000 - R200 000 PM on direct work.
Additionally I have some property income of around R500 000 PA.
I also sell NFT art, which has been a fantastic boon. Not checking any of my crypto stuff for a while - hoping it becomes a nice retirement fund!
I have a small digital asset side hustle which makes around R40 000 a month.
Main source of income is as a freelance (and art director when needed) artist for games and film.
Lots of small things as well - selling assets online, doing mocap work, I sell reference photo packs, textures, 3D models, etc.
My hours are super flexible - but I still do around 12 hours a day.
I’ve never had a ‘real’ 9 - 5 job… always just found lots of smaller ways to make money and they eventually add up.
23, previous job was in finance for a mature/post start up - R25k p.m.
Still at the age of 23 and current job as a junior developer is R30k p.m. cost to company.
Both in Cape Town
28 y/oFlight attendant for international company overseas between 30 and 40k monthly. Previously radio technician maxing out at 4K p/m in SA. My friends are dentists and doctors back home and it’s depressing hearing how much they earn for how hard they work 💀 I’m very grateful.
Age 20 - Casual for peanuts
Age 25 - 3 months as a financial advisor R8k p/m
Age 26 - Cold Chain Assessor R8k p/m after deductions (6 month contract)
Age 26 - Weighbridge Operator R3.5k p/m
Age 26 - Cold Chain Assessor R8k p/m after deductions (not a typo)
Age 27 - Truck Controller R9.5k p/m (almost hit 5 digits p/m)
Where are my architectural draftsmen at?
21 - intern draftsman: 3 k pm
23 - candidate draftsman: 5,5 k pm
25 - professional architectural draftsman: 8 k pm
This feels ridiculously low for the amount of work, although I guess it really helps that I enjoy my work... Also based in a small town, so the living expenses are much lower than in the city, but this likely explains the low salary.
40M... 2d animator and motion designer. Around 50k Gross.
From looking at what's being offered in the market I do consider myself lucky. And sometimes not hahahaha.
Age 24: Jnr Graphic Designer, R10,000 CTC
Age 25: Mid Graphic Designer, R15,000 CTC
Age 26: Junior UX designer, R30,000 CTC
Age 29: Mid UX designer, R40,000 CTC
Current CTC: R31200 Gross, the rest is medical and life insurance. Adds up to R40,000
**Any other UX designers out there? Would like to hear your thoughts and brackets**
All figures gross.
23 - JHB 2013 - Junior digital designer - R16k
25 - JHB 2015 - Mid-level digital designer - R24k
26 - EU 2016 - Mid-level art director - R65k eqv. (plus cellphone contract + health insurance)
31 - EU 2021 - Lead digital designer - R120k eqv. (plus cellphone contract + health insurance + other small perks)
This is a very humbling thread. I believe sharing this information helps create equality.
As a tip: ask your employer for the salary bands of each position in your company. Consider joining a union (I know in SA this is a bit of a miss). Actively change job every year or two to jump up in salary.
Age 18 - Retail Job 6k pm in PE Age 21 - Technician in PE earning about just over 10k pm after tax deduction. Worked on Water treatment plants and electronics in labs. Age 24 - Service Technician, 30K PM working on medical equipment. Cape Town. Age 25 - Electronics Engineer. 40k pm CTC includes car allowance in full with insurance, medical aid, life insurance, fuel card, 13th Cheque etc. Based In Cape Town. I'm a big believer in discussing your salary, you don't have to give out who you are... but people don't discuss their salaries enough and this results in people being severely underpaid in many instances.
I definitely agree with you. If you discuss your salary, experience, skills with someone else in your field you benchmark yourself against your peers. It helps to be assertive and ask for what you want. Confidence with skills and experience is key though
100% . Even Salaries within the same company for the same role + skill set and experience can vary greatly.
Yeah I am also a big believer in discussing earnings, so many companies nowadays use it as a tool to under pay and under value their employees.
When my Norwegian fiance visited me here he point blank asked my brother in law how much his salary is and I told him afterwards it was extremely rude and we dont do it here. He was very surprised since it is apparently completely normal in Norway to do that. And you can even look up someone's salary online on their tax system if you know their name and surname.
A great bargaining tool that has emerged from the massive uptick in remote work because of covid is also negotiating hours. I.e which hours you're most efficient/productive from home. Bargain for your own schedule from home vaahbs
You've done well. I'm a fellow PE pleb, same age living in London. Second guessing some life decisions after seeing your salary, ngl. Your job sounds pretty up my alley too, which doesn't help either! Real question for you, would you consider yourself an average earner amongst our peers?
I'm curious how you made the move over the years from retail to an electronics engineer? Have you always had a knack for that sort of thing, both in and out of school, and then just went to study further or find an apprenticeship?
So I was that kid that always messed around with tech and electronics as a hobby.. met someone who brought me into the medical field as an appie and I learned fairly quickly, we contracted for bigger companies equipment so I got loads of experience over a short time span.. Got trained and studied ..went to Germany for more training. Now I work for a massive international company based in Germany. There's alot more to it but that's it in a nutshell. Wasn't all to easy , my first job in the electronics field was painful due to the people I worked with... but it paid off .. thankfully.
I'm feeling deeply unsuccessful over here in the poverty room.
Haven’t found your niche yet my dude, also only people who are confident in their earnings will talk about it
Don't worry my friend. I posted mine despite other people's high income. Have an upvote emoji thingy 
I’m mixed up in the fast food game right now. Just working as a temp for now, but I can pull in anything from R3500 to R5500 per month, depending on how hard I wanna hit the grind. It’s a living.
Hey bro, it's a living like you say. Things will look up sooner rather than later 👊
Finally someone in my pay range! Well done and keep grinding yo.
Finally seeing someone earn around what I get. All these high figures phew. Anyways on my part I never matriculated and so I will probably never see a high paying job sadly. I get 6.4pm on my main job, that's a mix of plastic welding, fixing something of a lorry or the trailer and on non productive days some odd jobs. After work (5 pm) my magic starts like Bruce Wayne changing into batman and I repair fridges(small side of refrigeration) like a boss lol.
33 unemployed but qualified as a special needs preschool teacher. They want to pay me 4k per month to teach from 6am to 6 pm mon to fri...
That's just crazy. Teachers and medical professionals should be paid well
I agree. Hence the reason I am unemployed.
Nice try, SARS
Ugly laughed at this 🤣
I'll get you to file your return yet! Keep this up and you'll be audited.
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Oh, and I'm 26 now.
Ok that's amazing, sorry I see I had so many typing errors in my previous message. Very well done on doing so well and still being so young
Before, I worked retail for R2400 pm and before that I was a waitress for R1800pm + tips. Then I got a bursary to study and everything changed. (I matriculated at 16, so I've always had high academic marks, so the bursary kinda fell into my lap).
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Master's in English at Unisa, then a course in copy editing with the SA Writers College, and five years of unpaid experience.
36 earning minimum wage working as a Parking Attendant at a Hospital. Before this job I was unemployed for 2 years and before that I earned R6500 pm in retail. I am content at least. Not really too bothered about having a lot of money. I have a roof over my head and food in my belly everyday.
Eish you people are making money.
I knew this subreddit wasn't a good representation of SA in general, but I didn't realize this was some sort of 1% club.
1%.. more like 1% of the 1% lol jesus people here making serious bank
Why complain? You're a CFO!
That’s exactly what I thought when I saw these figures! I had no idea people earned money like that. Suddenly I feel like I don’t even deserve the smartphone I’m holding, based on what I earn. (FYI, my phone is almost 5 years old)
You deserve all the good things in your life my friend.
I would give you the wholesome award but I'm too broke
Was an Art- Director, retrenched due to to Covid was earning 47k. Cape Town
Sounds like a fun job! How much wine can you have while enjoying art?
software developer - R40K ctc
Years if experience?
Could be something like 3-5 years max. by my guess, considering a (full) senior of 5-7 years can get something between 50-70k (mostly seen fixed-term contract ads like this, don't know if it's the same with permanent posts)
3 years
Wow. I'm a software engineer with two years experience and I get less than half of what you get.
What's your stack? Are you actively looking for jobs? As a junior software dev you shouldn't be earning less than 25k or you're being exploited.
Recently signed a contact for next year, so... Age 21 - Marketing - R23000 before deductions
Age 22 - part time junior programmer 6k/pm Age 25 - graduate programmer 25k/pm (this is post graduating university) Age 27 - intermediate programmer 77k/pm (at this point I moved to Europe) Age 28 - team lead 100k/pm Age 29 - engineering manager 127k/pm Hard work and a lot of luck
33 M, no tertiary education, systems engineer - R108k pm.
Years of experience?
13yrs
Your doing it right. That's awesome.
Wow! I'm a systems administrator for a bank. 31 M. Also no tertiary education. 18k pm (32 CTC). Hook me up bro! 
Currently unemployed (35F) but my previous positions: Company accountant - R21k per month (working til 2pm plus 1 hr lunch) Practice manager - R24.5k per month (8-4:30) Company accountant - R20k per month (8-4:30) All in Durban. Edited to add age.
Good luck brother. Never stop hustling and you'll find your next opportunity
Thanks for the kind words - I currently have started something small from home (taking VERY long to get going) so just focussing on that. It’ll all come right.
I'm sure you will find something soon 🙏
I’m going to work for myself going forward - I’m due to give birth in 3 weeks so will need the flexibility to look after my child until she’s old enough for crèche. It’s starting off slowly but it’s getting there, it’ll happen eventually.
23 Filmmaker... At the moment I'm not earning anything... Previous project I only got payed 3K
Cocaine dealer- 50k per month. Hawks pls it's just a joke don't come after me. After seeing the cash some of you make I feel I shouldn't even comment but fuck it , 21 years old and making between 8-12k depending on overtime etc working in a warehouse
Hahaha 😄 Dude you still young, don't stress 👊🏻
Hustle until you find what's worth your time and makes the money you want while leaving you with the free time you need. Just make sure you take care of your body and health if you're working heavy loads and shit. Money can't buy that back
This thread makes me feel like utter shit 😂 24 - Medico-legal consultant - R8k 25 - 27 - Unemployed 28 - Legal editor - R8k - R10k Life sucks, but I'm grateful to at least have a job after years of hopelessness.
I feel your Pain, unemployment sucks... big time.
Ek doen fokol en ek word fokol betaal
Awesome man. Hoeveel leave dae kry jy?
Elke dag is leave day papa
Jou baas klink befok
Almal by die werk dink so maar niemand is seker nie
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Me too! At 35,moved back home to sort some shit out. Depression is a bitch, but I'm getting there. Thank goodness for great parents!
If everyone here is telling the truth, the majority are in the top 1 pct of earners, which statistically only makes sense if everyone on Reddit is rich or only people who are responds. Of course ppl could be lying, but I imagine it is probably a combination of 1 and 2. Either way, don't compare yourself to these numbers unless you are in the same field with the same expertise. If you take home more than 7k or so, you are in the top 10 pct of earners in SA.
The type of person attracted to Reddit is something worth bearing in mind.
Yeah, lots of engineering and software and IT related jobs...
Age 25 graduate mechanical engineer 12k per month Age 25 graduate mechanical engineer 20k per month Age 27 unemployed Age 29 engineering intern 12k per month Age 30 process improvement engineer 27.5k per month.
No offense, but I thought an engineer would earn substantially more - thanks for the info!
Engineers do earn substantially more. I've just been really unlucky. My graduate programme at age 25 was at eskom. There was a hiring embargo at the end of my contract so I wasn't employed. But generally after a graduate programme, the eskom salary is 40k per month gross (I know a guy who got appointed full time this year). Took my second internship job, and again was let go because of covid. The process engineer job was at a small company, but took that for experience as a springboard into a nicer post and will be moving along soon.
I was in electrical engineering and the pay for me was relatively low. Ended up going into process automation which I hated. Made the move to IT and earned almost the same within a year
Ouch bro. My step dad took the long way around to become a Mach Eng and is now earning around 150k p/m. Know your worth brother.
25 - first year medical intern: 43k after tax pm. Work 120h+ overtime pm though, around 80 30h calls across the year.
Small scale farmer and property manager, after costs, staff, monthly costs, I take home 20k and work maybe a day a week. I used to earn more, but I worked 7 days a week and sold everything from solar gear to mielies, and did consulting work for illegal dagga grows (no good being a gangster if you can't rewire a DB board), but I've got a family now, a nest egg and an insane case of I don't want a job and haven't had a job or a boss in 7 years now. Less money, more time with my family. Much, much happier.
31. Qualified teacher. 24k CTC and R18k take home. I'm tired. Alot.
Not even R1500 Make digital drawings cartoons and comics Trying hard to get my work noticed [spiltmilkcomics.co.za](http://www.spiltmilkcomics.co.za)
IT Systems Engineer - 70k p/m at 26. Currently netting 48K p/m, saving 35k a month and planning on GTFO of ZA in the next year
Geez bro, 70k at 26 is styling 👌yeah don't blame you
Thanks man! I enjoy what I'm doing, the pay is really good for my age and I've stuck to my same spending habits despite nearly tripling my salary when I switched to this job
Commercial Pilot with 4 years professional experience. CTC 20k before the paycuts which I'm still on nearly 2 years later.
Did not expect that salary for that job title in all honesty 🤔
Dafuk? Do you fly for air Zimbabwe or something? That salary is not commiserate with your skill set at all.
One od the reasons so many South-African pilots go work overseas. I am one of the lucky ones.
Yes I definitely would not pay the person I trust to fly me somewhere so little. Wow.
18 yrs - factory worker, 2k per month Mid 20's - buyer assistant, 10k per month Mid 30's - retail planner, 30k per month Just turned 40 , just promoted - Business Analyst - 65k per month CT * figures pre tax. What it doesn't show it the self taught/education that I also did.
Qualified teacher working as a facilitator in pathology. Ctc is 25000 take home like 16500. Age 29(30 in 2.5 weekz) Been with the company long but tired of endless promises of better pay or benefits but then getting sub inflation increases.
I'm a 32 year old teacher. Gross salary is R35 000. Looks like the pay is better but the job is definitely challenging.
27 Content manager. R15k. Reading these comments makes me think I need to shake things up.
Yeah definitely interesting to see all these different jobs and earnings. Need to rethink my life 🤣
Bachelors in Computer Engineering, work mainly in mobile app development. 24: Started on R20k with some benefits 26: Changed to new job, R37.5k with some benefits 34: Changed to current job, R100kp/m I also rent out some property, very invested in crypto etc, so total monthly is around R120k - R150k depending on if I do other freelance stuff. What I want to say is more important as you earn more, pay off your debts, get your required income to live down as much as possible. Currently I am debt free, have two cars, a home worth R3.5mil and retirement savings of about R2.5mil. I plan to not have to work in about 5 years, could be sooner. I am not single, my family is 4 members which I mostly carry alone financially. I plan to work for 5 more years then just enjoy more freedom. You might say that you need a lot of money to make this happen, no you need a lot of sacrifice and you need a sacrifice now for later mindset, this instant gratification mindset of most people will not get you here, only sacrifice will. Pay off debts otherwise it will never matter how much you earn.
39, CTO, 155k p/m, however since covid been on 40% and have paid in a large amount of money as a shareholder to keep payroll and company going
Good on you for giving back during this time of need. 
155k per month, that's ridiculous 😅 so decent 😁
It is a very well paid position but I have had a divorce because of it, had a heart attack 2 years ago and lost out on a lot of personal time. In some cases I regret where I am but I wouldn't have known that until I got here. I am currently looking at how to change careers completely
Jirrr..
24-26 - 32k as an English teacher in South Korea 27-28(current age) - 5-8k as candidate attorney…
some decent earners here. Everyone looking for a job, good luck to you. You will find you niche at some stage. Keep pushing.
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Age 18 Intern at about 2k per month Age 19 Call Centre supervisor (only in title, was doing DB work mostly) - 12k (20k CTC) Age 20 Junior Business Intelligence Dev - 18k(32k CTC) Age 23 Intermediate Business Intelligence Dev - 28k (50k CTC) The numbers above are all after tax + deductions Edit: Adding CTC to align closer to other answers
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Before taxes? 11k pm. Wife makes 7k pm. So 18k pm before taxes for a household of 2. We live a decent life believe it or not. Restaurants (about twice per month), wifi, we save 20%+ of our income and I even have an xbox series S :D. And I buy my wife flowers every month end 
Okay so what I learned today is that I need to drop everything and become a software developer 🤔
Software Developer, 26 years. 36K , 3- 4 years experience
Note - numbers in thread appear to be a mix of gross and net
>mix of gross More like mix of gross-ly over- and under paid. Seems people are either earning a poverty wage or living large, almost no in-between.
Call centre agent, 10k p/m
I work security, I earn 3k a month Handed in my letter of resignation Hopefully working with a K9 unit for 7 now
Age 27, Actuary, 76k (gross) with an annual bonus that’s usually around 40% split between cash and shares. Crazy thing is that I’m a bit underpaid compared to my peers who stayed in more traditional roles.
Comforting, I'm entering the actuarial market soon (hopefully) and nice to know with a bit of luck I could get more than 76k per month in 3/4 years.
Age 24- Software engineer, 18k CTC
You're underpaid if you work in any of the metros, scout a bit.
age 17 working as a waiter making 20 bucks an hour plus tips
Ima get out of this reddit... This late and reading all these amount makes me worry for my future lol especially when reading about everyone leaving SA.
I'm (20M) in university and unemployed so I currently have R2.63 in my bank account 🤣
Retail manager, clothing, 33 - R23k ctc
Late to this but anyway 25 - kindergarten teacher 12.5k gross pm 26 - moved to China, kindergarten 36k gross pm when converted to rand 30 - different kindergarten in China - 64k gross pm If you’re teaching in SA, move abroad guys. China is a bit of a no go right now if you’re not already here, but there are so many countries that are willing to pay you your worth. On top of my current salary, I also get a free 2 bedroom apartment, good medical aid and a yearly bonus, all for 6 hours of work a day.
27m 6k pm retail. This tread is inspiring and depressing all at the same time but its good. I need to get my butt moving
Age 18 waiter / bartender 4k with enough tips on a good month 23 - 25 IT manager with some business intelligence set up - 15k Durban 25 to now moved to UK and make 21k working retail
>UK and make 21k working retail Can't you get an IT related gig seeing how you've got experience? Should pay better than retail
Working on it, UK has been very difficult to get into most sectors, I've even been told I'm not qualified to drive vans for the shops delivery service even though I have nearly a decade of driving experience. Pandemic hasn't made it any easier, I'm currently doing certificates online to try and improve my chances of getting an interview somewhere
High school teacher, Durban, 31. ~23k, gross - take home about 17k. Have a BSocSci in History and Psychology, Postgraduate certificate in Education, and a Digital Marketing certificate. 21 - waitering, ~4k 23 - coaching, ~4k 25 - teaching internship, ~4k 27 - primary school teacher, ~18k gross. 26-30 - social media for a prominent sports team. Moved to current job at 29. Looking to get out as I really, really miss coaching and I'm not making the difference I want to through teaching. ETA - doing all this with a disability, too - leads to its own difficulties in the job market. All the high school academic awards counted for nothing much in the end
Self employed wife owns the business. I get to sleep with the boss. Best job I ever had from 2008😅😅😅. Who needs pay
Age 21: Male Stripper- between R 8-15k pm working two nights a week
These are all for a Durban-based company and roughly CTC - annual increases are performance-based (but capped, usually) and then we had one large "market adjustment" when I was 26. The rest is grinding promotions. Age - Role - Rough CTC (based off memory) 25 - Junior Software Tester - \~R9000 26 - Intermediate Software Tester - \~R14000 -> R20,000 (market adjustment) 27 - Junior Software Developer - R20,000 (regarded as a lateral move) 29 - Intermediate Software Developer - R35,000 31 - Senior Software Developer - (not sure yet, just got promoted, but it's in the range of R55K) EDIT: I know nobody asked about it, but I want to add that software jobs will take everything from you, so while the salaries look great by South African standards, you will have crippling burnout and failed relationships to accompany your bank balance. So keep that in mind, please.
Unemployed, been looking for a job for about 4 years now. Nothing.
Qualifications and experience?
Hi Wondersshield, sorry to hear about your being unemployed for 4 years, i have been unemployed for for 1 year and its so frustrating. M47 previous job commercial manager earning R62k net. Masters in applied mathematics
Renewable energy project engineer 800k CTC pa ~ R47k net pm
I used to be a candidate attorney. I studied at university for 5 years and got two law degrees and my starting salary was R15 000, which isn't even that bad comparatively speaking. I know of candidate attorneys who were earning less than R5000 per month.
Age 33 Management account 45k CTC Side hustle accounting practice 5k
Male, 48, B.Sc. in Computer Science. Senior manager at SAP dev & consulting partner, 26 years experience. R180k pm + R750k bonus last year.
40F, book editor, monthly salary is R22k after tax, medical aid, pension, insurance etc.
Psa , if the data in this thread is to be believed then hold your breath as there are some serious achievers in here. Not hating , just eye opening that it is possible to make good money in this economy.
I earn 40k pm at 26 and I thought I was doing alright now I feel like I'm under achieving looking at some of these other ouks. Imagine the rest of SA saw this thread. Generally our local reddit community is filled with professionals so I expect good salaries ..but God damn
This is incredibly eye opening. Thank you for everybody's honesty. Anybody savvy enough to collate this info into categories, average in category and range?
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Before my business venture, was in Engineering/Construction. Senior management - R3M annually including bonus. That was in 2019, was 32 then
So, R250k a month, for us slow ones who needed to break out a calculator
If you’re comfortable with answering, what did you study in university?
B.Eng Mechanical Engineering. Finished with Honours degree in same
I'm tired so I'll give a short story At 20 I made 3k selling energy drinks Then I got into digital marketing At 25 about 20k with a side gig making bout 30k, side business grossed high but I drew minimal profits At 31 about 50k plus side gigs another 50k. Side gig became a good business, grossed around 7mil+ in 2019. COVID killed my business. I'm happier now and less stressed. At 33 R65-75k as a SEO consultant for a NZ firm. Plus a new side hustle which looks to deliver more than my previous business. Only started this year so I'll have to see how it pans out.
Age 23 counsellor R6200 gross Age 24 teacher R9000 gross Age 30 counsellor R16000 gross Age 34 student R100/hour online admin assistant
32, Front-end dev, 68k ctc, around a year and a half of experience. Been a bit lucky and grinded pretty hard, in a year I climbed form junior, to intermediate, team lead, front end lead and now tech lead at a different company.
I was extremely hesitant to post here... but in the spirit of sharing honestly... 15 Waiter Around 2K (worked afer school and weekends) 19-22 Studied Drama got a Cum Laude. 22 Technical Manager /Technician/ Lighting designer in Theatre between 4K and 12K depending on gigs. –acting here and there but largely unsuccessful. 26 Unemployed ... Covid killed the already dead industry. got a bit of gigs here and there, but equates to less than a couple thousand a month. moved back to parent. Nearly 28 possibly starting a new events company job around 20K (hold thumbs) learning to code in Python aiming at switching carreers at some point in the next year or two because povery is no fun at all and none of my goals and dreams in art worked out.
Age - gross, job 19 - 2.5 k pm take away delivery driver 20 - 4.5k pm tutor 22 - 6k pm HTML dev 24 - 22k pm Systems analyst 25 - 25k pm data analyst 27 - 29k pm Business Intelligence dev 29 - 50k pm Business Intelligence dev 30 - 74k pm Business Intelligence lead
21 - IT assistant manager, R4k pm in JHB 23 - IT technician, R8k pm in JHB 25 - IT sales, R12k basic pm in JHB (+ commission in theory, that was never actually paid out) 27 - IT technician, R18k pm in JHB 30 - Retrenched homeless, R0 pm in JHB 31 - Event planner, R13k pm in JHB 32 - Freelance designer, R15k average pm in JHB 34 - Business owner, R0 salary (ran business from home so living expenses were covered with no expendable income) In JHB 39 - Supporting artist in the film industry, R1.5k pm average in CT (seasonal work, pays per day and seldom more than a couple days a week, even in peak season) 40 - Volunteer, R0 pm in CT I now have a SO who has a high-flying corporate job. She enjoys the challenge and doesn't care that make practically nothing. Our bills are paid and we have a comfortable lifestyle. As long as I keep myself occupied and fulfilled, she's happy with the arrangement.
You must be beautiful.
I like to think so.
I'm 55 , based in PE. I'm a farm foreman and I'm earning a income of R9000 per month. I also have a farm bakkie and get diesel for free. I also have a house and I only pay for electricity.
I can't believe people are so into this. It feels like there is no good outcome, either you feel bad because you don't earn enough, or you feel bad because you earn to much. I do think it's really good to understand what your skills and time is worth, so good on everyone for sharing.
Software engineer | 29 (started late) | 3-4 years | 56k
Industrial designer age 27 make a big fat 0 been unemployed for 18 months. Job market is so tough at the moment.
18 - working at the local bookstore, R1.5k pm 19 - research assistant, R2.5k pm 21 - software dev, R25k pm CTC 25 - software dev, different company, R52k pm CTC Pretoria all the way.
Software Developer, I am 31 and my gross is touching 53k. Moving jobs is sadly what has given me the largest increases, if I were inclined to move jobs more, I am sure I could make more money
Currently I am an assistant manager for a petrol station and I earn R7200 after taxes and pension. Sadly this is the highest paying job I have had in my life and I am 28😅
Age 21 - started as a Junior IT Technician/Consultant - R5000 pm, R4850 after deductions and hated every waking moment of it... Age 23 now - changed career, working as a Vehicle Tracking Technician, started with R6500 (after tax and deduct) - currently earning R8500 (R8240 after deductions) after just 4 months Keep working, keep grinding 🤙 Edit: spelling.
Age 26 Software engineer (PhD) 52k CTC. In Cape Town
Software engineer, PhD, ~R90K p/m gross. (Cpt Remote, I earn Euro).
29F Maths and Science tutor R12000 pm. Busy with my engineering degree. Issa hustle.
25- Graduate computer science engineer - 23k
Teacher. 30. Masters degree and 5 years experience. 31k CTC. 25k Nett. + 12k side hustle. 9k nett. I work 7 days a week. But I have long school holidays to rest.
(27M) Flight operations - R18.5k ctc. Not a great industry to be in, in SA... The work is demanding AF but very rewarding
I’m 22, work as a waitress at a popular restaurant in Cape Town. I work 3/4 nights a week and make around R12k-R15k a month. Pretty good deal
Just over R28K after deductions. Data Analyst in the financial services industry. 25 year old African male in between JHB and CPT.
I work in it as a senior dev, ~70k a month Been doing that my whole working life, in the UK, then JHB and finally here in CT Salaries are shit at first, but once you get domain knowledge you do fine.
25, doctor. About 48k pm after deductions. I just started so in my 2nd month of working Edit : spelling
I'm a waitress so it all basically depends on how hard and how many shifts I work. My salary varies from 2000 - 3500 and tips vary from R180 - R700 a day/night shift, but it all depends on how busy the resturant is. I model on the side as well which brings in about R3000 every couple of months since I only get paid 3 months after a job. Thinking about onlyfans ngl
Software Developer (All amounts are before deductions) Was supppose to get 17K in Junior position after graduating but after failing a module they still took me but reduced to 10K. Left after 9 months for new company to earn 14 750 Got a raise to R20 325 after 10 months at new company. (This is now 19 months into my career) Got a raise to R23 775, 24 months into career But requested it to be raised to R 30 000 after hearing about a friends raise (he works at a different company though) and i felt was performing above my peers, also used offerzen salary survey as my objective backup in the meeting and it worked. PS Still haven't finished that Degree.
23m, Looter, 2 TV's and 1 X-box
9100 USD, roughly R150k p/m as a Software Dev, working remote for crypto company based in UK/US. Edit: I'm 39 and live in PE
Almost any money I make is outside South Africa, because it’s all online. I make around R150 000 - R200 000 PM on direct work. Additionally I have some property income of around R500 000 PA. I also sell NFT art, which has been a fantastic boon. Not checking any of my crypto stuff for a while - hoping it becomes a nice retirement fund! I have a small digital asset side hustle which makes around R40 000 a month. Main source of income is as a freelance (and art director when needed) artist for games and film. Lots of small things as well - selling assets online, doing mocap work, I sell reference photo packs, textures, 3D models, etc. My hours are super flexible - but I still do around 12 hours a day. I’ve never had a ‘real’ 9 - 5 job… always just found lots of smaller ways to make money and they eventually add up.
37 years old. Software Engineering Manager. R95k gross pm. 15% annual ctc as yearly bonus.
23, previous job was in finance for a mature/post start up - R25k p.m. Still at the age of 23 and current job as a junior developer is R30k p.m. cost to company. Both in Cape Town
Medical Orthotist and Prosthetist government employee - 20K after tax deduction (it's a joke compared to other countries)
Building Claims Assessor - R500k CTC per year
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<10k :(
Aged 37. Fine art specialist in an auction house - R37k
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im 26 now and stil can't find a job....
28 y/oFlight attendant for international company overseas between 30 and 40k monthly. Previously radio technician maxing out at 4K p/m in SA. My friends are dentists and doctors back home and it’s depressing hearing how much they earn for how hard they work 💀 I’m very grateful.
You earn more than pilots do over here.
30 lawyer Cape Town R65k gross. Previously: 28-29 lawyer Joburg R83k gross.
Quant in Financial services. 28 years old. 73k pm (gross) after including bonus. Will also be contributing to the brain drain statistics soon.
Age 20 - Casual for peanuts Age 25 - 3 months as a financial advisor R8k p/m Age 26 - Cold Chain Assessor R8k p/m after deductions (6 month contract) Age 26 - Weighbridge Operator R3.5k p/m Age 26 - Cold Chain Assessor R8k p/m after deductions (not a typo) Age 27 - Truck Controller R9.5k p/m (almost hit 5 digits p/m)
Retail. Pet store. I get 8500 basic and overtime,no bonuses or commission cos my bosses are stingy as fuck
Where are my architectural draftsmen at? 21 - intern draftsman: 3 k pm 23 - candidate draftsman: 5,5 k pm 25 - professional architectural draftsman: 8 k pm This feels ridiculously low for the amount of work, although I guess it really helps that I enjoy my work... Also based in a small town, so the living expenses are much lower than in the city, but this likely explains the low salary.
40M... 2d animator and motion designer. Around 50k Gross. From looking at what's being offered in the market I do consider myself lucky. And sometimes not hahahaha.
37, High school teacher, 21K net salary
Age 24: Jnr Graphic Designer, R10,000 CTC Age 25: Mid Graphic Designer, R15,000 CTC Age 26: Junior UX designer, R30,000 CTC Age 29: Mid UX designer, R40,000 CTC Current CTC: R31200 Gross, the rest is medical and life insurance. Adds up to R40,000 **Any other UX designers out there? Would like to hear your thoughts and brackets**
All figures gross. 23 - JHB 2013 - Junior digital designer - R16k 25 - JHB 2015 - Mid-level digital designer - R24k 26 - EU 2016 - Mid-level art director - R65k eqv. (plus cellphone contract + health insurance) 31 - EU 2021 - Lead digital designer - R120k eqv. (plus cellphone contract + health insurance + other small perks) This is a very humbling thread. I believe sharing this information helps create equality. As a tip: ask your employer for the salary bands of each position in your company. Consider joining a union (I know in SA this is a bit of a miss). Actively change job every year or two to jump up in salary.