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Because those figures are intellectually dishonest, if you truncate high schoolers working mcdonalds, migrant workers and a whole host of other people the "average" goes WAY up.
I don't think there are a lot of migrant workers or high schoolers posting on here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HTY483
Yeah....I think most people on CD claiming to make six figures are full of beans. The average individual income in this country is around $30k/yr and the average household income is around $51k/yr yet there magically seems to be tons of people on this site making double or triple the aforementioned figures.
Because those figures are intellectually dishonest, if you truncate high schoolers working mcdonalds, migrant workers and a whole host of other people the "average" goes WAY up.
I don't think there are a lot of migrant workers or high schoolers posting on here.
I agree that folks in low wage jobs drives the median individual income and median household income down.
There are many blue collar professions like a welder, truck driver, police officer, machine operator, and plumbing that can easily pay $50-60k a year with no college required. All you need is additional 6 months to a year of training after high school to get in those professions.
Most STEM jobs only start out at $50-60k unless it's protroluem engineering or something.
Salaries and median incomes vary by location. Obviously an analytical chemist in San Francsico cracks a $100k a year with no problem while analytical chemists in my current area make $60k on average but the cost of living in my area is low.
$100k a year in my area is easily upper middle class while it might be just be middle class in major cities in California.
It's hard to gauge what is a good income overall because the cost of living varies from region to region.
Because those figures are intellectually dishonest, if you truncate high schoolers working mcdonalds, migrant workers and a whole host of other people the "average" goes WAY up.
Gotta disagree here. I'm in my 30's and I see a lot of people my age working behind the counter at places like Wendys, Quick Trip, Home Depot and in restaurants. Also, statistically there are far more people working those types of jobs then there are CPAs, RNs, PEs, Attorneys etc...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poor Chemist
There are many blue collar professions like a welder, truck driver, police officer, machine operator, and plumbing that can easily pay $50-60k a year with no college required. All you need is additional 6 months to a year of training after high school to get in those professions.
Those are good jobs where salaries will go beyond the average US salary but only after years of experience. I've worked in the trades previously and I know for fact that plumbers and electricians start off around $10/hr. Those making $50k-$60k a year are those that are in business for themselves. My wifes step dad is a master electrician that works for himself and he made about $50k each of the last two years, albeit in Provo UT where in general salaries are low. Police officers are a different story. Although they may start off in the high $30k's, they can easily be making $60 after five years of service and this does not count the fat pensions they get. A really close friend of mine was part of a K9 unit in the Phoenix area and he was only making about $50k/yr but I was shocked when he told me his pension was already up to over $150k, and this after only 13 years on the force.
Because those figures are intellectually dishonest, if you truncate high schoolers working mcdonalds, migrant workers and a whole host of other people the "average" goes WAY up.
I don't think there are a lot of migrant workers or high schoolers posting on here.
So... you are saying that figures that incorporate low income earners are "intellectually dishonest" and that the way to make them less so is to remove them?
Uh huh.
Anyway, your logic is flawed. When you break it down by age, you'll still find more Americans making $0 annually than $100,000.
To be frank, most people here who claim to make six figure salaries are taking advantage of the anonymity afforded them by the forum. To read this page, one would imagine all Americans are either baristas with a liberal arts degree or engineers barely making it on $200,000 salaries in NYC/San Francisco. Surely you don't believe that this is an accurate reflection of the demographics of City Data users.
I feel sorry for people who believed a science degree would be there salvation in the job world. I see many unemployed or marginally employed people in these fields. People who studied their asses off in these competitive majors and then end up working $15/hr contract grunt work in labs before getting laid off. I think you're better off majoring in liberal arts. A Philsophy degree is just as employable as a Biology degree and with the former you at least can party for your 4 years in college.
Yeah, party in school producing an $80K student loan. You win for the best troll bait post of the week.
Yeah....I think most people on CD claiming to make six figures are full of beans. The average individual income in this country is around $30k/yr and the average household income is around $51k/yr yet there magically seems to be tons of people on this site making double or triple the aforementioned figures.
I feel sorry for people who believed a science degree would be there salvation in the job world. I see many unemployed or marginally employed people in these fields. People who studied their asses off in these competitive majors and then end up working $15/hr contract grunt work in labs before getting laid off. I think you're better off majoring in liberal arts. A Philsophy degree is just as employable as a Biology degree and with the former you at least can party for your 4 years in college.
Isn't that the point? IMO there is no shortage, only that these people have to get paid TOO DARN MUCH. Now if the industry tries to train a TON of them, then sure...
some of them may suck, some of them may not be able to find a job in their area...
but there will be a TON more of them, and that will drive salaries and working conditions down.
So... you are saying that figures that incorporate low income earners are "intellectually dishonest" and that the way to make them less so is to remove them?
Uh huh.
Anyway, your logic is flawed. When you break it down by age, you'll still find more Americans making $0 annually than $100,000.
To be frank, most people here who claim to make six figure salaries are taking advantage of the anonymity afforded them by the forum. To read this page, one would imagine all Americans are either baristas with a liberal arts degree or engineers barely making it on $200,000 salaries in NYC/San Francisco. Surely you don't believe that this is an accurate reflection of the demographics of City Data users.
It may be. Some of us found CD by doing research about places where we wanted to live, or buy property. Kinkytoes sure did. People who do that kind of homework are at least somewhat savvy? This would indicate some traits that lead to having a higher income in the US. Point one.
Point Two: We're probably at least mid-career professionals, have important businesses (or something to lose) and are well-educated. That is because we are using an anonymous forum, most likely from a PC, and not smart phones. It is my opinion that many who use smart phones to communicate ideas and discuss are young and relatively broke or poor and can't invest in a PC.
Point Three: Newbies and trolls do not seem to hang around posting fake stuff. The mods get on them pretty quickly, and most of us on CD are not that stupid. Many people here can spell and use the English language. People also write information that seems true about their business, work, assets etc. Fakers get shut down fairly easily because of the community aspect of the site and the mods.
I could be wrong about this, but we may have a skewed population. CD could indeed represent the higher income class in the US. My two cents.
Me too..... this is probably a regional thing, but six figures is seen as pretty middle class in cities like LA, SF, NYC, Boston (among college graduates). Just visit those forums to see people complaining about how $200k HHI can barely buy them a SFH. But my friends in STEM in those cities? Easily make much more money than me so I'd still bet on STEM as a safe bet for my kids - but not all of those acronyms are equal. In this day and age, TEM is a lot more valuable than S.
Still, if the average mid-career household in this country is earning $70-90k annually, it still suggests hyperbole. I don't mean to suggest C-D is filled with 15 year old trolls who get their jollies pretending to be a high earning professional in IT, I think C-D is filled with people who make $50-75k who exaggerate their income level in order to underscore their points about the relative value of various levels of education, COL or career prospects.
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