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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,186,228 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Velvet Jones
So says someone who hasn't lived in very many parts of the country. Go try and live in San Fransisco for $45k a year. Yes, you could get by renting a room for $1500 a month, but it would not be a fun existence. It would be very difficult to afford even a studio apartment on that salary in the city.
Here in the Seattle area the COL is less than SF or New York. At $45,000 after taxes it's about $3,000 take home per month. The average 1 bedroom apartment is at about half of that, $1,500. Even a studio is $1,100, more than a third. Yes, a single person could live on $45,000, but not easily. With the median income of $66,000 (2012) I would consider that to be decent.
Wait; where do people making under $55k fit in? Because I earn that much, and would very much like to come back to New York some day. What's below "very low"? "Near homeless"?
Thomas, you live on Staten Island, one of the cheapest places to live in NYC. If $55,000 is "very low" even there, then the middle class truly has no hope these days. And there are plenty of younger professionals in their 20s making a go of it in much hipper and trendier neighborhoods while making a lot less than $55k.
Earning 55K puts you in the top 25%. 75% of Americans earn less than 50K/yr. These numbers are all subjective, reality shows a very different story. Only 6% of Americans earn 100K or more, and they are spread out all over the country. To call 100K a low salary is absurd, it shows a complete disconnect with what most people actually earn. No matter where one lives, most people are getting by on much less that these salaries listed as low.
Earning 55K puts you in the top 25%. 75% of Americans earn less than 50K/yr. These numbers are all subjective, reality shows a very different story. Only 6% of Americans earn 100K or more, and they are spread out all over the country. To call 100K a low salary is absurd, it shows a complete disconnect with what most people actually earn. No matter where one lives, most people are getting by on much less that these salaries listed as low.
There seems to be a lot of people that think 55k/yr is not a good salary for an individual. 55k/yr in some states and regions is a lot, in other cities and states/regions is is not a lot. It all depends on cost of living and the standard of living that person decides to live.
Earning 55K puts you in the top 25%. 75% of Americans earn less than 50K/yr. These numbers are all subjective, reality shows a very different story. Only 6% of Americans earn 100K or more, and they are spread out all over the country. To call 100K a low salary is absurd, it shows a complete disconnect with what most people actually earn. No matter where one lives, most people are getting by on much less that these salaries listed as low.
The thing about high cost areas of living is that you have individuals making a ridiculous amount more than they should.
Some school teachers and cops, and sanitation workers here make 110K a year.
I mean, no offense to them, but they are way overpaid out of the pockets of rich townships and misappropriated tax dollars.
People like insurance adjusters, accountants, and gas station attendants make the same as they'd be making in Indiana.
Every now and then a paralegal or an admin will surface saying they make 80 to 100K a year. They are paid out of the pockets of rich corporations who only supply a limited amount of jobs. Unfortunately, the rest of the 85% of the admins and paralegals who do exactly what they do make maybe 40K a year to live in the same high cost of living area.
Very Low Salary: Under 40k unskilled, easy jobs
Low Salary: $40k-70k low skilled jobs that are less pleasant
Decent Salary: $70k-130k entry-level white collar, entry engineers
Good Salary: $130K-200K skilled trades, entry/mid software engineer
Great Salary:200K-500k senior software engineers, mid/upper management
Amazing Salary: 500k+, upper mgmt
this is the land of AMZN and MSFT where the top 20 ppl or so at each company bring in $10m+/year, the next 100 people bring in $1m+/year, and the next 500 bring in $500k+/year...
Very Low Salary: Under 40k unskilled, easy jobs
Low Salary: $40k-70k low skilled jobs that are less pleasant
Decent Salary: $70k-130k entry-level white collar, entry engineers
Good Salary: $130K-200K skilled trades, entry/mid software engineer
Great Salary:200K-500k senior software engineers, mid/upper management
Amazing Salary: 500k+, upper mgmt
this is the land of AMZN and MSFT where the top 20 ppl or so at each company bring in $10m+/year, the next 100 people bring in $1m+/year, and the next 500 bring in $500k+/year...
I can assure you the entry level engineers do not make 130K a year at Microsoft.
Location: In a city within a state where politicians come to get their PHDs in Corruption
2,907 posts, read 2,069,146 times
Reputation: 4478
Quote:
Originally Posted by RVD90277
Seattle, WA
Very Low Salary: Under 40k unskilled, easy jobs
Low Salary: $40k-70k low skilled jobs that are less pleasant Decent Salary: $70k-130k entry-level white collar, entry engineers
Good Salary: $130K-200K skilled trades, entry/mid software engineer
Great Salary:200K-500k senior software engineers, mid/upper management
Amazing Salary: 500k+, upper mgmt
this is the land of AMZN and MSFT where the top 20 ppl or so at each company bring in $10m+/year, the next 100 people bring in $1m+/year, and the next 500 bring in $500k+/year...
Up to $130k is only decent in your book? My, my, how our own personal silos prevent us from seeing the reality on the ground.
130k is not entry level, even for California. How many people work for Google or Amazon and 130K would be mid level salary for engineers at these companies. My cousin started out as an entry level software engineer at Google at $85k 6 years ago and now is making close to $130K but cost of living there is crazy.
I am an Engineer in So Cal and I consider my company a typical manufacturing company and non management Engineers top out at $120K.
Last edited by MattNguyen; 04-23-2014 at 08:44 AM..
There seems to be a lot of people that think 55k/yr is not a good salary for an individual. 55k/yr in some states and regions is a lot, in other cities and states/regions is is not a lot. It all depends on cost of living and the standard of living that person decides to live.
I do understand that, I lived in an expensive area, so I'm well aware of how money feels different in an expensive area, but that doesn't change the reality that most people are getting by on much less than these "good" salaries. As I stated earlier I worked HR for a couple of white collar companies in a very expensive part of the country, I knew exactly what people earned. At those companies I worked at the vast majority of the employees earned less than 50K, a few made in 60-85K range, only the very top made 100K or more. Companies don't care about the COL in an area, the pay never matches up, except at the very top.
The people commenting are either the rare few who make these high salaries, or they are dreaming about a future that isn't likely to happen. Most people end up in the 75% earning less than 50K, very few end up in the 6% earning over 100K. The numbers don't lie.
I do understand that, I lived in an expensive area, so I'm well aware of how money feels different in an expensive area, but that doesn't change the reality that most people are getting by on much less than these "good" salaries. As I stated earlier I worked HR for a couple of white collar companies in a very expensive part of the country, I knew exactly what people earned. At those companies I worked at the vast majority of the employees earned less than 50K, a few made in 60-85K range, only the very top made 100K or more. Companies don't care about the COL in an area, the pay never matches up, except at the very top.
The people commenting are either the rare few who make these high salaries, or they are dreaming about a future that isn't likely to happen. Most people end up in the 75% earning less than 50K, very few end up in the 6% earning over 100K. The numbers don't lie.
Yeah, I tend to agree. However, people need to factor in COL. If someone comes on here touting they make 70k right out of school and they live and work in San Fran or LA or Seattle then it's really just like making 50k in the midwest. In my experience, most people make 60k or less as well, and that even includes some older folks. The senior managers will take somewhere between 85k-130k year, just really depends on where you are, but at the end of the day 85k in one place is just like 130k in another.
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