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Old 07-16-2015, 12:23 PM
 
6,438 posts, read 6,879,094 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOverdog View Post
You'd think someone with a MBA from a top 5 school would be aware of that.
I could quote you the median but it is still very high. The mean includes information about the top of the distribution that isn't in the median. The top of the distribution of a range of salaries is very important because it shows what is possible and what most MBAs aspire to.

The literature on mean vs. median and when each should be used is vast. For incomes, it has become customary to use the median on the pretense that everyone is equal and the median divides the population into two equally sized halves, while the median is skewed. This reasoning is used by left-wing journalists to show that almost everyone is poor when they're not. These same journalists often complain about large numbers of people spending ridiculous amounts of money on McMansions and leased BMWs, but some people can't be pleased.

Both the median and the mean are relevant.
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Old 07-16-2015, 12:55 PM
 
5,342 posts, read 6,140,168 times
Reputation: 4719
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Siegel View Post
I could quote you the median but it is still very high. The mean includes information about the top of the distribution that isn't in the median. The top of the distribution of a range of salaries is very important because it shows what is possible and what most MBAs aspire to.

The literature on mean vs. median and when each should be used is vast. For incomes, it has become customary to use the median on the pretense that everyone is equal and the median divides the population into two equally sized halves, while the median is skewed. This reasoning is used by left-wing journalists to show that almost everyone is poor when they're not. These same journalists often complain about large numbers of people spending ridiculous amounts of money on McMansions and leased BMWs, but some people can't be pleased.

Both the median and the mean are relevant.

when providing the mean you should also always provide the standard deviation. Median is more relevant for income discussions because of the way income is distributed. Incomes of 0 aren't typically reported as incomes. So several low incomes would be in the 5-10k/yr range. If the median is 35-40k the lowest # is fairly close to the median. Contrast that with an income of 25 million, which is much further from the median and thus will skew the #s greatly. If the mean graduate 10 years out makes 400k and there are 10 people from a class of 100 that make 5 million dollars the rest can make less than 158k and you have your mean of 400k.
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Old 07-16-2015, 12:59 PM
 
26,167 posts, read 21,418,528 times
Reputation: 22761
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Siegel View Post
I could quote you the median but it is still very high. The mean includes information about the top of the distribution that isn't in the median. The top of the distribution of a range of salaries is very important because it shows what is possible and what most MBAs aspire to.

The literature on mean vs. median and when each should be used is vast. For incomes, it has become customary to use the median on the pretense that everyone is equal and the median divides the population into two equally sized halves, while the median is skewed. This reasoning is used by left-wing journalists to show that almost everyone is poor when they're not. These same journalists often complain about large numbers of people spending ridiculous amounts of money on McMansions and leased BMWs, but some people can't be pleased.

Both the median and the mean are relevant.


What is the median?
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Old 07-16-2015, 05:37 PM
 
2,189 posts, read 2,594,969 times
Reputation: 3736
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thinking-man View Post
If my calculations are right, you're making just shy of 100k salary....right?
How can you be with a fortune 200 company for 33 years, have an MBA, and still only be at 100k?
How can you with your degrees/qualifications be only making 120k 5 years out of college instead of being a Google/Facebook/Snapchat founder worth billions or an entrepreneur making millions or a consultant making in the mid-six figures? It's great the poster has worked for 33 years at whatever salary he made and is now worth millions and gliding into a comfortable retirement.

Last edited by fumbling; 07-16-2015 at 05:50 PM..
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Old 07-16-2015, 05:43 PM
 
10,075 posts, read 7,486,764 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thinking-man View Post
If my calculations are right, you're making just shy of 100k salary....right?
How can you be with a fortune 200 company for 33 years, have an MBA, and still only be at 100k?
because he may not have gotten the MBA until recently?

And how do you even make a calculation that he makes just 100k? And he didn't even say anything about his job, he might be only working 1 hour a week... you don't know...
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Old 07-16-2015, 07:08 PM
 
4,196 posts, read 6,275,789 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eyeb View Post
because he may not have gotten the MBA until recently?

And how do you even make a calculation that he makes just 100k? And he didn't even say anything about his job, he might be only working 1 hour a week... you don't know...
True. those are assumptions i didn't make.
If you read his post carefully, you can easily figure out his salary based on the tangent info he's given about his 401k/ira contributions and other things.
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Old 07-16-2015, 07:11 PM
 
4,196 posts, read 6,275,789 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fumbling View Post
How can you with your degrees/qualifications be only making 120k 5 years out of college instead of being a Google/Facebook/Snapchat founder worth billions or an entrepreneur making millions or a consultant making in the mid-six figures? It's great the poster has worked for 33 years at whatever salary he made and is now worth millions and gliding into a comfortable retirement.
you silly goose.
if it's true, yes, good for the poster.
my point was that something is off.....maybe we're missing some facts....but given that he's at 100k towards the end of his career, i just thought it would be hard to accumulate that much in the time he's had. Of course i don't have all the facts and any knowledge about his investments/etc.
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Old 07-16-2015, 09:16 PM
 
5,342 posts, read 6,140,168 times
Reputation: 4719
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thinking-man View Post
you silly goose.
if it's true, yes, good for the poster.
my point was that something is off.....maybe we're missing some facts....but given that he's at 100k towards the end of his career, i just thought it would be hard to accumulate that much in the time he's had. Of course i don't have all the facts and any knowledge about his investments/etc.

How did your calculations get just shy of 100k? The max for that person is 24k and that is after social security and Medicare/Medicaid. So if that's true it's closer to 110-115k. We also don't know where the individual works. What if he lived in Des Moines, Iowa? That would be the equivalent of about 160-180k in The DC area.
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Old 07-16-2015, 09:29 PM
 
4,196 posts, read 6,275,789 times
Reputation: 2835
Quote:
Originally Posted by mizzourah2006 View Post
How did your calculations get just shy of 100k? The max for that person is 24k and that is after social security and Medicare/Medicaid. So if that's true it's closer to 110-115k. We also don't know where the individual works. What if he lived in Des Moines, Iowa? That would be the equivalent of about 160-180k in The DC area.
Yeah, you may be right....i just took the max and considered it 25% of his income as he had suggested...hence the 100k figure. as i mentioned before, i made no assumptions on special circumstances....what you say could be absolutely correct.
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Old 07-16-2015, 11:30 PM
 
10,075 posts, read 7,486,764 times
Reputation: 15498
Quote:
i just took the max and considered it 25% of his income as he had suggested...hence the 100k figure.
he also said
Quote:
I am now putting in 25% of my income (Pre tax and after tax) plus the 6% match.
meaning the 401k (pre tax) isn't the entirety of the 25%... what about after tax in a taxable account or roth ira?
Maybe he only puts 6% into 401k and that maxes him out for the year?

anyways, why does it matter? He is happy with his nest egg, good for him. Why should we care what he makes? Or rather, if he is like my future self and already has a nest egg to retire on, I'd take an easier job that I enjoy which means my pay would go down because I don't need a high income to save for retirement since that is done already...
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