Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Okay, I'm Asking!

Lots of great comments on my last post, When Is It Okay to Ask?

A couple of the commenters volunteered to share their own salaries, with a bit of contextual info:

I'm 37 and married. I make $97k as a sofware test engineer. Living in San Francisco bay area.

I am a 26 year old, engaged homeowner. I live in Auckland, New Zealand working as a Research and Development chemist earning $55,000. (I assume that is in NZ dollars-Madame X)
I've written about my salary here before-- I'm in my late 30s, working in publishing in New York City, and my total income this year will be approximately $100,000 including salary and bonus.

So that is 3 of us... now everybody else, bring it on! Feel free to comment anonymously, but let's hear how much you earn and a little bit about who you are, where you live, and how you earn it.

428 comments:

1 – 200 of 428   Newer›   Newest»
Anonymous said...

I'll join in. I'm 44, female and married. I earn $100k per year as a software engineer in the Atlanta, Georgia area. :)

Anonymous said...

32, female, boston, event marketing for a big corporation
$80k base and bonus

Anonymous said...

Female, married, 31yo, MBA degree, work in finance in NYC (not a bank or hedge fund). I make about $120k base plus bonus.

I know I can make more at an Investment Bank but I like the fact that I don't have to work 100hrs a week.

Anonymous said...

36, male, married (pretty much the sole bread-winner), work in IT for a telecommunications company in the Kansas City area. I make $111K plus 15% targeted bonus (actual rate depends on various company/department success factors).

So far it sounds like your readership pretty much consists of the upper-middle class.

Anonymous said...

24, single, 54k a year + possibility for bonus, work in the financial realm.

Anonymous said...

I can see how giving out pay info can turn over some interesting feelings in our lives, even anonymously.

I would post mine, but I don't make half of what is listed and I work two jobs. Kinda makes me feel blue....

I've said my peace, don't let me bring you all down, lets see more.

Amy K. said...

I'm a 29 years old woman, living in Chelmsford, MA. I'm a Web Developer in the IT department of a large-ish company (~2000 employees worldwide). My boyfriend and I own our home. I make $64K, plus $0-4K/year in bonuses.

Anonymous said...

I'm a 28-year-old married woman living in the Dallas, TX area. I am in purchasing for a nationwide distributor and make $70K base plus a potential $18K in bonuses.

Anonymous said...

I'm a 36 (37 in Dec) year old woman, living in LA. I make about 92k total as a Business Analyst at a huge international Entertainment & Media company.

I'm renting a room/br in a large house, but it's a weird situation. I started dating my landlord, the home owner, over 2 years ago, after living with him for a 1.25 years prior to that! So, I still pay him rent (I will always pay my own way), but I generally feel like my rent $$ goes toward our future goals, not "down the drain," since I can't imagine us breaking up.

He knows all about my financial situation because he owns his own financial management company (he works out of his home), so we talk $$ all the time. I love getting his opinions and perspectives, even if I ignore them! But, your post reminded me that he's never really laid out his financial situation to me. I know his home is worth about $1.3 million and that last year I made more $$ than him in income. But, I don't know how much he still has squirreled away from his very lucrative (but soul stealing) days in investment banking.

Hmmm.

Anonymous said...

36, single mom in Iowa.
I work as a project manager and between salary, bonus, plus a little under $5K/year in child support, I take in about $100K.
I have an undergrad degree and a PMP certification, and am currently working on my master.

Anonymous said...

35 year old, single, female living in a suburb of Seattle. I'm an office manager making $43,700/year.

Anonymous said...

I'm 26. An economist for the federal government in Atlanta. I make $65k. Work 40 hours/week.

Anonymous said...

Not currently working, but my last job was a staff auditor at a local CPA firm in Atlanta earning $44k (includes bonus) when I was 24. We're now in Boston and my wife (who is 22) earns $65k (includes profit sharing) as an electrical engineer in a large company.

Anonymous said...

I'm a doctoral student studying literature in the midwest at a private university. My stipend is about $20K pre-tax (and oh yes that stipend gets taxed), and I teach a class of about 15 students each semester. Not exactly banking it, but I save what I can. Unfortunately my dream job of being a professor is unlikely to bank what some of you are earning ... but it's my choice.

Anonymous said...

36, single, female, live & work in Seattle in the online media field. I make about 115K base, plus a variable bonus that this year was 38K (that's about as high as it's ever been -- in the dotcom bust it was more like 2K). I do not have a graduate degree but many of my co-workers do. I should say that I probably am one of the top-paid non-executives at my company -- a more typical salary would be more like 80-90k plus bonus.

Anonymous said...

Don't know if South American salaries are relevant to this blog, but I am part of the readership.

I am a 25-year old woman living in Lima, Peru, earning $7,200 a year.

I never measure my worth based on how much I earn. I love my job as a web developer in an emerging American web company. I accepted this salary because I love working from home, having flexible hours and because I could have ended up earning half as much as an average programmer in Lima.

Count your blessings! And I hope that person who was shy about their income can now come out of the closet ^_^

Anonymous said...

South American salaries are not only relevant but a huge eye opener when I try to make ends meet on mine.

Anonymous said...

I think the fact that people don't like asking or answering in real life, is why these PF blogs are so popular. You can tell people how much you earn and how much you have because no one knows who you are.

Anonymous said...

Peruvian reader here again.

Since someone showed interest about my income I will give more detail as to what are my expenses.

I still live with my parents because I can't afford to rent and even less to buy. Thanks to my recent salary review (I used to earn $6000 a year), it may finally be possible for me to move in with my boyfriend. He belongs to the large portion of Lima workers who earn minimum wage (that's $3000 a year).

We may be able to move in to an independent portion of his sister's house. She will graciously and most probably charge us $150 a month + services.

Other big expenses are gas for the car (used, ours for $1800), cell phone service (up to $100 a month -ripoffs), and I am suspecting my dad will not want to keep paying for my health insurance once I tell him I'm moving in with my boyfriend (people are conservative here), which could cost me another $70. That adds up to nearly everything I earn a month.

We would have his $250 for unforeseen expenses and hopefully saving.

Anonymous said...

40, male, married, earning $55K as a technical editor at a nonprofit research organization in Seattle.

Anonymous said...

29, single woman living in Vancouver, Canada. I make app $55K/year with guaranteed raises ranging from 5-9% each year.

Other interesting info: own my condo with a very small mortgage left to pay and approximately 20% of my wage goes into retirement and vacation savings.

Oh, and with the strong CDN dollar at the moment, that = 55K US$!

Anonymous said...

Vancouver here again:
I work in PR for local government.

Anonymous said...

I'm 26, a master's degree-holding librarian in Denver, and I make $42,000. It's the best job I've ever had.

Anonymous said...

24, BS degree (work on masters), single in a low cost of living midwest city.
I make 56k base, maybe 3-5k bonus, and they pay for my grad school.

Mrs. Micah said...

22, F, married in DC metro (one of the poorer sections) trying to make ends meet on $30k plus $5k from my husband's student teaching. Working as a receptionist/admin assistant.

Anonymous said...

I'm a 22-year-old woman, single, living in the midwest. I work tech support for a software company, and I make $32,000. I just finished a degree in English, so I feel like I'm doing pretty well for myself.

Single Ma said...

30 something single mom with an MBA, earn $103k in the DC area.

Anonymous said...

23 years old, married, living in the midwest (between Chicago and Milwaukee). I'm an accountant and make $50k plus around $5k+ in annual bonus. My husband and I bought a home a year ago.

Anonymous said...

35, F, married, with a phd working at a non-profit (in the social sciences not science), making $60K in the midwest.

Anonymous said...

late 20's lawyer in the Twin Cities at a large private firm. We start at $120k with 3% annual inflationary raises and additional raises calculated off the year-end bonus (which, unless you kill yourself at work, is rather small). I don't come from money and don't usually like talking about what I make because I find it kind of embarassing given that background. But I know that's my issue, so I'm trying to get over it here!

Anonymous said...

I'm at 31 year old living in small town in Ohio, I have a BS degree. I work for a non-profit managing the office & doing all accounting, marketing, fund-raising, communication (pretty much everything) for about $19,000 per year. I have no debt and I am 8 yrs away from paying off my house.

English Major said...

I'm 23 (soon to be 24!), single (but I live with my boyfriend, so that affects my expenses), female, holder of a BA in English from a reputable liberal arts school, living in Manhattan, making $32,000 in publishing.

Anonymous said...

34, unmarried male, living in Bergen County, NJ. Work in IT Security - $80k/year.

Bought townhouse in 2001. Made more than I lost in dot-com crash.
No college experience.

Net worth: around $480k
Self worth: Priceless!

Anonymous said...

I'm a 23 year old married female in Richmond, VA. I work for a national health insurance company in sales support and make $44k plus overtime (I'm salaried, non-exempt).

Anonymous said...

I'm 34, female, and work as an administrative assistant in Chicago. I make $45,000 per year.

Anonymous said...

24, married (wife just completed masters, i have bs), software consultant in the midwest, combined salaries around 80k.

Shawnna said...

Age: 24
Job: Graphic Designer
Location: Boston metro
Salary w/ bonus: $37,500
Current value of restricted stock: $13,000
Money made freelancing so far this year: $10,000

Anonymous said...

34, single male w/ an mba, in Los Angeles, own my own business. I typically pay myself $100k plus a portion of our net profit at the end of the year. And to give the rest of the country (and world) a chuckle, 67% of my take-home salary goes towards a mortgage on an 850 sq foot house in a decent but by no means high end neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

GWM, 33, MBA, Work in product development for a bank, 85K/yr, work 45 hrs/week. 30 paid days off a year (plus fed holidays)I actually use.

I could be making more, but I am happy. Had a lot of grad school friends who went into consulting to work a lot of hours for little more, and became miserable people.

Anonymous said...

34 year old married woman, with a BA in English, working as an Office Manager in the midwest. I make $46,500/yr. My husband is a financial accountant and makes $48,000/year.

Anonymous said...

32, Houston, stay-at-home mother. I make nothing. We would really like to buy a house, but I need to bring in something for that to happen. I would like to work part-time so I can be there for my kids after school.

Last year I tried to find a job and couldn't get hired anywhere for anything (no, I didn't try Wal-Mart--at that point, I end up losing money because of extra expenses).

It depresses me that no one sees a mother's skill set as something desirable in the workplace. I have a bachelor's degree and I worked in nonprofit fundraising for a few years before my children were born. My old contacts are scattered to the four winds, and no one seemed interested in helping me find a job.

Anonymous said...

Single female age 30, live in a small town but work remotely as a Programmer/Analyst for a company in the greater Los Angeles area. Currently working 30 hours a week, making 52K. Full benefits, paid vacation, etc, plus no expenses for commuting, business clothing, and the rest.

Anonymous said...

even though I am not making what you guys are, i'm in good company so its great reading this stuff. Thanks a whole lot to everyone sharing.

Anonymous said...

Male, 41 living in Fredericksburg, VA. I work for the patent office, 114,000/yr plus 5000-10000 bonus + overtime.

Anonymous said...

Male, 32 married, in philadelphia, pa. i'm a clinical pharmacist, $130k plus 4-5% raise.

Anonymous said...

25
female
academic librarian @ private college
Central Florida
Salary: 39,000

checking account: 3,800
403 retirement account: 500 (just started working)
savings account: 25

cc debt: 1,500
loan: 1,150
student loans: 43,000 (60g if paid over full term)

so, I currently have a rather negative net worth - which I'm working to pay down while I build that savings section. I like my job for the most part.

Anonymous said...

You write a great blog, so I feel I should contribute. Unmarried male, 32, PhD, software engineer in Silicon Valley, 124K/yr + bonuses.

Anonymous said...

Married to a long-distance hubby... (so, kind of live alone, as we each have a place...), 38, college prof for $52,000/year.

Anonymous said...

Hey, thanks for asking us, Madame X!

- Single, 25 year old female
- Homeowner
- Left a decent job at a non profit to pursue what I really want to do (work overseas in the business sector)so I'm a full time student! (First time!)
I'm paying everything out of pocket and am working in the food industry (for a coffee chain you all would recognize) making a grand total of around $10,000 a year.
I'm hoping to graduate with no school loan debt- I know it can be done, wish me luck!

Anonymous said...

Female, single, Baltimore MD, chemical engineer, $75,000/yr.
I bought a house in 2001. I have a 15 year mortgage, so soon I'll be done paying it off.
Contribute 16% to 401k, other money goes to other retirement funds, going out to eat, and traveling by motorcycle. I spend a lot of my money on gas.

It's interesting to me how most of the people who earn bonuses, also have high base salaries. Nice work!

Anonymous said...

San Francisco software engineer, Master's Degree, $125k base, $140k with bonuses, stock, etc.

I know I'm doing well, and I have enough saved to buy what passes for a house out here, but I just can't bring myself to buy a closet out here for $1M, so I'm still depressedly renting. But that's a topic for other types of blogs :).

MEG said...

I'm 24, I live in Dallas, I have a BBA in finance, and I make $53,000 a year plus bonus opportunities ($5000?).

Anonymous said...

Washington DC Metro Area, Management Consultant, 26, Male, Married, $120K base with 3-6% annual raise.

Anonymous said...

Bay Area, single female, 41yrs old, Software Engineering Director, $130K/yr.

Anonymous said...

55 year old Cantor in a temple. I earn about 50K. A big step up from four years ago, when I was a freelance musician, doing a million gigs, and making about 30K. Which was a BIG step up from the $14K I made just a few years before that!

Aside from prospective employers, I don't mind telling, although I find it a boring subject. Actually, I can't remember the last time the question was asked in ordinary conversation. I'm more interested in what people do, and why they ended up doing it. Money is seldom the most important part of that answer.

Anonymous said...

I'm 24, just got married to my hubby. I make 82k a year base plus 4 to 5k in bonus as a release engineer. My hubby is also 24, a software developer, and makes 76k a year plus 1 to 2k in bonuses. We live in the SF Bay Area and we're renters even though we do have enough for a downpayment. it's still too expensive here for us to dive in.

Anonymous said...

It's good to see so many readers of this blog who are in their 20s. I take it to mean they are already being thoughtful about their money. When I was in my 20s, I tried to be responsible but, out of ignorance, made a lot of mistakes. Now I'm in my 30's with no retirement and only about 3K in savings (I believe in ins. so I'm pretty covered in case of any number of catastrophic events). Luckily, I have a second chance now that I have a Ph.D. and a starting salary of $75k. But I'm single and 35 so I have some major catching up to really feel comfortable.

Thanks for this blog, Madame X. I found it through Simple Dollar. It helps to read the experiences of another single woman like myself.

Anonymous said...

29, married Male, $79k (includes small bonus) working as Engineer for DOD Army in Detroit suburbs, BS, M.Eng., halfway to MBA. My wife is a teacher (w/masters) taking time off to raise our 9 month old twins, but was making ~$60k, so things have changed.

jo-less said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm female, 28 living in Cambridge in the UK which has a cost of living equivalent to London (expensive). I earn £31k (approx $60k US I think?). I live with my gf who owns our house - she earns £45k and has a private income of about £30k a year. We're saving like mad to get out of the rat race at some stage :-)

Anonymous said...

38, divorced female, two Ivy masters' degrees, NYC. $130 base, no bonus.

Anonymous said...

25, account executive at a boutique public relations firm in New York City, $50,000 + bonus.

There are a number of sites that have data on this, but I wonder how accurate they really are. I wish it was more acceptable to talk about how much you have/make because I think it would help put everything in our consumer-focused society into an honest light!

Anonymous said...

26 single male
M.D. Degree
$50k / year in residency for 2 more years then jumps to $200k-$300k / year.

Net worth right now: negative $222k thanks to loans...

Anonymous said...

I'm a 26 year old female with an MBA in Tampa making $65k as a business analyst

Anonymous said...

21, Washington DC, $59,000 + up to $5,000 bonus this year, Economist

Unmarried with non-live in girlfriend

Anonymous said...

29, married female, in large Midwestern city. I think I'm making about $48K this year. I'm not sure because I just became an independent contractor (communications) and blend that with PT work at a non-profit. Love the mix, and hope it pays off, too.

Anonymous said...

44, single female, Austin, TX, $40,000. This is the same as a first-year teacher here. I'm a staff member at a university.

My salary is about average in the US, but it looks poor compared to you guys and compared to other people who have master's degrees. However, I have an awesome pension. (Unless they change it) I'll be getting about 60% of my salary + free good health insurance in 7.3 years. My house will be paid off in 6.5 years. Meanwhile, I love working on campus with 40-hour work weeks, free bus rides, free use of a giant library, general respect for thinking, etc. I now get 4 weeks of vacation, plenty of sick leave, plus lots of holidays, too. So in these ways I might be rich compared to you guys and to other people with degrees.

To the housewife above--people do value homemaking skills, but they always prefer someone who's already had the exact same job if they can find one. What I do is apply for jobs where people are desperate! A better plan would be to make new contacts: volunteer somewhere, talk to your kids' teachers, etc. Don't give up!

Anonymous said...

I am single in Atlanta and earn $105,000 as a manager in the M&A practice of a Big 4 accounting firm.

Anonymous said...

I am a 32 year old Admin. Ass't. in Ottawa, Canada working for a software company. I make approx. $35,00 a year. DH is a corp. in the Canadian Forces and makes approx. $45,00/year.

Ironically, we never talk salary with our friends, most of whom are CF, because their salaries are all based on the same grid and can be found on the web. Made it easier when he was a private and our friends were also privates (and we spouses were looking for work after being posted) because we all knew more or less our "entertainment" budgets.

Anonymous said...

26 yo F web designer/developer (front-end), $43k in Minneapolis. So far I've also pulled down around $8k in freelance this year also. This won't be fun for taxes, but it's been a fine year.

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

24 years old
Married
Sole breadwinner
Consultant
$67,000/year base
+ Bonuses
+ Set salary increases every year
+ Non-Cash Benefits (travel points, hotel points)
+ Total Fixed expenses: $2k/year
+ Total Variable expenses: $7800/year
= Rest goes into debt/savings/retirement. :)

Thanks for posting this! I'm going to link it on my page.. I think it's fascinating reading how much people are earning and what they do.

Congrats to all!!

Anonymous said...

Late 30's, Bachelor degree, work in Advertising. Live in a NJ suburb of NYC. Make $105k.

Husband, makes $100k.

We own a house -- still owe about $230K on it with another 22 years to go.

Put about 10% into our 401(k), and somehow trying to add college savings (for 2 kids) on top of it all.

Anonymous said...

I'm 33, live in Los Angeles, CA Work for a dot com, as a jack of all trades, mostly working with image retouching and research. I am in the process of starting my own business as a photographer.

No degrees, single/no children, and at the moment no savings.

Right now I make $37,000 pear year. I own a house in Montana worth about 35,000, no mortgage.

Anonymous said...

Age 34, Sofware Engineer in India - earn $33,000/Year which is a pretty good salary in India. Paid off mortage on my house last month. No debts.

Anonymous said...

36, married living in Denver. I work as a network engineer and make $105k base plus 15% targeted bonus, plus stock options. I am the sole bread winner for my family of four.

Anonymous said...

Married with one child (4), 36 years old and live in Seattle, Wa.

Income:
Me: $85,000
Wife: $36,000

Side Income: $5000

Total annual income: $126,000

Anonymous said...

What a cool post! Thanks everyone for sharing. Very interesting to note that most posters have higher than average salaries. Looks like there is a correlation with higher salaries & financial savvy/interest in the PF blogworld.

Anonymous said...

Wow, looks like a lot of upper class readers here - I can't believe how high the incomes are for some of you in your 20's like me!

Gender: female,
Age: 27
Location: Vancouver, BC
Marital status: engaged to live-in fiance
Living situation: rent a duplex apartment
Job: market researcher
Salary: $46,000 plus bonuses and annual raise

Anonymous said...

Me: 28, Houston, graduate degree, $60K, ~$2K bonus.

My husband: 29, Houston, graduate degree, $112.5K.

We own our home and save ~30% of our gross income (18% to 401(k)s, 6% to emergency fund, 6% to travel fund).

Still have about $80,000 left to pay off for student loans.

Anonymous said...

40 year old single female in Istanbul/Turkey. USD 75,000 per year. Own apartment no mortgage or credit card debts. Business Adm. grad. Non-cash benefits: Company Car (all expenses paid by the company), lunch (yes there is free lunch after all:)

Anonymous said...

I'm 41, male, single, an MD in Illinois. Annual base income $180K (excluding bonus which may add another $20-30K at year's end). Nice blog.

Anonymous said...

22 year old female, living with my boyfriend in chicago. I'm an AAE at a PR agency making 27,000 a year. No retirement fund. No bonuses. No overtime. BUT, I do love my job, so that counts for something, right?

Anonymous said...

22 year old female, chartered accountant, $82,000/year plus bonus ($10K?) ... husband makes $38,000 / year working at a law firm

Anonymous said...

*sigh* I have a long....way to climb again.
60K per year, + 3-10% bonus.

Now, unemployed after relocating to be with fiance. Looking for work, but not having much luck.
29 years old. 9k student debt.

Anonymous said...

39 yr old Male, wife stays home with kids.
Territory Manager (Inside sales) 100K including base and avg commision

No debt, 18% towards retirement, and not living above our means which makes life stressful.

Anonymous said...

i'm male, 25 years old, work in NYC, work in corporate finance. base of $78K + bonus.

wife who is 25 also, works as designer, base of $48K.

Anonymous said...

Female, 26 years old, working in NYC at corporate foundation. Make $80k + bonus and an avg 3-5% raise per year.

Anonymous said...

-24 years old
-single
-residing in the San Francisco Bay Area
-Bachelors degree
-Working in non-profit sector
-Salary 43,000/year

Total Saved for Retirement:8,000
Total E-Fund: 7,000
Student Loans: approx. 19,000

I feel content with this given my age and ability to save. For me, it's not what I make, but what I save. But I'd sure love to be making some of the salaries listed on this survey someday!! Hopefully when I go back to school and enter the private sector this will be possible.

Anonymous said...

Female, BA, 35, married, one child (2), government employee, IT, Seattle area.
Me: 56K
Husband: 50K (City Parks)
Own house (owe 150K)
No other debt
Various investments 200K
College fund for 2 yr old 30K
About the time we got married both my husband and I inherited money and payed off all debt, including college loans. We both quit our jobs and went back to school for a year, and then took jobs in the public sector, which we love.

Anonymous said...

male, 31, married in queens, ny.
me: 105k
wife 43k

own coop, no cc debt but wife had 21k in student loans. we have about 120k in retirement and investments but will need to pay 12k in medical bills that insurance will not cover.

Anonymous said...

Mid-40's, male, married, no kids, Wall Streeter, live in same part of Brooklyn as Madame X, own brownstone and investment properties w/rental income. Total income ranges from upper six-figures to over $1mm depending on what year, what you count, and how you count it (ex. stk options, rental income, invmnt distributions, etc).

Anonymous said...

I'm 37 years old female, working as a buyer in american company in Finland. I make 40000EUR, which equals around 56500 USD. In Finland we pay very high taxes, which means that I end up taking home only about 60-65 % of the whole gross income.

Escape Brooklyn said...

What a great response! I'm 32 and earn 62k at a nonprofit in NYC, and my husband is 30 and earns 17k working part-time for a politician. He's getting his Master's but earned 44k when he worked full-time.

We own our co-op and also have an investment house in Philly, and we have over 110k saved for retirement. But we have about 46k in student loan debt.

Anonymous said...

I'm a 32 year old, recently divorced, single mom. I work 15-30 hours per week (15-20 normally, closer to 30 during busy season) as a CPA and make approximately $25,000 a year. (I'm hourly, but that's what it will probably come out to in the end.) I own a home and have several savings and investment accounts. With child support and alimony, I bring in about $100,000 per year.

Anonymous said...

wanted to add...I'm the divorced one above. I live in a large-ish city in the mid-south.

Anonymous said...

Living in SF, CA. Single, 24, female renter. I make 73k/yr at my current job as a software project manager but have just been offered a promotion that will take me to somewhere around 80k/yr and make me an application engineer. I do get some bonuses, but they're smallish... maybe around 3% of base per year.

Anonymous said...

I'm 35, in high tech in the San Fran. bar area. I work part time (75%) and make about $95K/year plus 15% target bonus. My husband makes slightly less but works full time. We pay $2500/month on a mortgage for a very tiny house.

Anonymous said...

I'm a 29 year old currently living in New Zealand. I am paid US$38.5k (NZ$51k) a year working in administration. I also get a yearly bonus which this year equated to US$3k. We rent our apartment for US$250 a week - a one bedroom. We find the cost of living quite high here (I recently saw tomatoes priced US$10.57/kg, and have previously paid US$3-4 for one bell pepper).

Anonymous said...

26, male, texas, lawyer

160,000 gross this year + small bonus; inflationary raises in base, bonus increases more each year;

work 50-75 hours a week, depending;

try to save 50% of take home each month.

Janet said...

24, single renter in San Francisco. i work in the international business sector.

Salary is $33,000, no bonuses and pitiful 2-4 percent raises a year. Actively on the job market looking and hoping before January to have a new job making $60-80K.

these salaries are amazing! how i'd love to make more money.

Anonymous said...

25, single, living in a small, affordable "city" north of Denver. i work for a large tech company as an engineer and i put in 40 hours or less per week.

base salary $70k
bonuses up to $10k
company 401(k) match of 6%

total savings including 401(k), roth ira, stock, and bank accounts is about $58k.

i had a goal of saving 35-40% of my gross salary, but unfortunately i'm falling short at around 20-25%.

Anonymous said...

Long time lurker, first time poster.

34, Female, single, home owner, PA, Electrical engineer with M.S. degree.

I was making 91K (base) but just got a promotion and 10% raise recently so finally crossed into 6 figure. 2-3k bonus depending on the profitablity of the company. Some stock options.

Started tracking my networth from beginning of the year -- total networth now is ~393K. Just started a MBA program, so unfortunately the tuition is going to make a big dent on the networth growth for the next few years.

Anonymous said...

31, female, earning about $86,000 as a government attorney. I live in a large midwestern city. I've paid off all my student loans but am still saving for a condo. (My goal is to have $70,000 in savings by the end of this year, to cover a down-payment, closing costs and an emergency fund. Right now I'm at about $64,000).

Anonymous said...

me: 22, houston, engineer, 75K

fiance: 21, houston, accountant, 55K

we both work for very large companies with excellent benefits

Anonymous said...

24 year old woman, still renting, Boston area, electrical engineer, ~$60k + bonus

Anonymous said...

37, female, single, Executive Assistant in investment banking (pretty much 9-5). Salary $70K + profit share bonus. $175k mortgage w payments around $300 a week.

Anonymous said...

32 yrs old, Female, Graduate degree, Public Health for State Gov't, $42,000 yr.

Making small gains from the $30,000 I was earning at a non-profit 3.5 years ago.

No debt, so I need to focus on saving!

Chitown said...

29, almost 30
Single/dating female
Condo in suburb outside of Chicago.
Financial/Credit Analyst
$55,000 base and 10% target bonus

Just passed the bar three days ago.
Chicago Market for large firms: $125-160k
Midsize Firms: $90k-125k

I need to find a law job soon!

Anonymous said...

Female, 22, investment banking analyst in SF, $60,000 base, $10,000 sign-on bonus, $30k-$80k potential year-end bonus.

But you know, all the money in the world won't give you back the time you missed.

Anonymous said...

To Female 22 i-banking analyst - You're right about the fact that money won't give you back the time. But, starting out with that perspective makes me question if you should be in the career. I would guess that the money was pretty seductive and is allowing you to get a jumpstart on some things like repaying student loans. Get out soon before it sucks you in - because the money is addictive. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change a thing. I appreciate the money and realize I've given up a lot of time (holidays, evenings, weekends, etc.) in order to become wealthy at a fairly young age. I had a burning desire both for wealth and for the career, and I've willingly made the sacrifices. But, its clearly not a career for everyone. The problem is that it often sucks in a lot of people for all the wrong reasons.

- The mid-40's Wall-Streeter

Anonymous said...

Female 29 yo
Married
PhD Student in the Sciences at a Big 10 School
$20K Stipend + possibility of 3-4K more if I teach over the summer
Unlikely to make more $$ as a postdoc then what I made pre-grad school with my BS from an Ivy League School in the same field that I'll have a PhD is (postdoc are paid horribly), but love what I study and hope that once I have a *real* job the salary increase will make up for it.

Anonymous said...

I work in DC, live south of the city in Maryland. I am 26, female, and engaged. I have a BA in Philosophy, and am going to school part-time for an Accounting degree. I work for a non-profit think tank as an accounting assistant.

Salary: $37,700
Benefits: 15% employer contribution to 403b, 4 weeks vacation, 2.5 weeks sick time, 2.5 personal days, health insurance, tuition reimbursement
Debt: ~$1,500 credit card, $25,000 students loans once I graduate
Savings other than retirement: $10,000 in a CD from selling my house 2 years ago

My future husband also works in DC, as a machinist. He makes around $65,000 a year, more if he works a lot of overtime. His debt (not including the mortgage) consists of $6,500 credit card and just under $10,000 car loan. Hopefully once I get my degree, we'll pay everything off and start saving more!

It's been very interesting to read everyone's info. I think this should be discussed more openly in society.

Anonymous said...

Work in northern Colorado for a small company as an engineer. Base is 83k plus bonus (10- 20k) depending on how well the company does. The company is employee owned. Get around 10k dividend from the company plus money to pay taxes on companies income. Decent benefits but nothing like the big companies. Excellent quality of life.

Have been working at the company for more than 10 years and so far have a net worth of around 675k. The only loan is 210k mortgage. The net worth is around 500k in retirement account plus equity in the company and 150k equity in the home plus savings.

Thanks for a great blog. I enjoy reading it.

Anonymous said...

Forgot to mention my age in my post from northern Colorado. I am in my early 40s.

Sicilian said...

Open. .. . . You inspired me to do my frugal friday tip listing my personal financial business. Tough to do, but it isn't where you're at. . . . it is where you are going that counts and how much fun you have along the way.
Ciao

Anonymous said...

Wow, I feel like almost everyone on here is making a LOT of money!! Maybe just because I don't have a lot of friends who are investment bankers or whatever, but even like, the government economist up there is doing well by my standards!

Was making $72K in DC but got laid off...start a new job next week making $85K. 30yo GWF.

Anonymous said...

25, Female, New York City
Working as a Management Consultant,
Base: $76,000,
+ Bonus,
+ $40/day when I am traveling for work (1/3 of year, unfortunately)

Tia said...

Wow! I'm glad you asked, because its nice to see what people earn in various occupations. Yesterday I pulled a 01/11/2006 CNN article titled Are TV characters' salaries realistic? That was interesting.

I work for the US Department of Labor. My job title is Investigator. I currently earned (GS11/1) $58,262 in Los Angeles, CA. I'm slotted for a pay increase in February. That raise will bring me to (GS12/1) $69,830.

I recently found out that police are some of the highest paid civil servants. And by the looks of those posting, my 2 BAs (Business & Political Science) as well as my Masters of Public Administration should be better served in a higher paying occupation.

Thanks for asking!

Anonymous said...

26 year old female from MN. Married. Work for a large retail company.
$60k/yr + $0k-$4k bonus/yr.

Anonymous said...

34 yr old female, have BA, working as legal secretary in a large law firm in DC.
Salary (35 hr work week) - 60k
Gross income with overtime - 85k
Own condo, purchased in '03, worth 450k with mortgage of 200k
401k (firm contributes 3%) - 80k
Firm funded pension - 30k
Emergency fund - 10k
No student loan debt, no cc debt and no car loan.

Anonymous said...

I'm a single man, 41, near Los Angeles.

I make 75,000/year plus about 8k in benefits and bonuses as a Graphic Designer at 30,000-employee corporation in entertainment. I get about 30 paid days off. w00t!

My educational level is High School Diploma with some Jr. College. Work skills are all self-taught. The job is very fulfilling.

To get an idea of living expenses where I live: Cell phone is $80, average restaurant meal is $16, a month of groceries is $240, a month of gas is $80 (very short commute). Cable + broadband = $120.

I rent a 2-bedroom apartment for $1,200/month. It's an old building in a safe neighborhood. Homeownership seems completely out of reach.

At my financial worst, I was $31,000 in debt.
I have been out of debt since I paid off my car 6 years ago. Now my cash savings is $30,000 and my retirement account has $70,000.

15 years ago when I told a good friend and co-worker what I made, he quit the company (he had 2 degrees). It made me very wary about revealing my salary (at least to co-workers).

Anonymous said...

Married couple in Detorit, 37, 180K tohether, 300K house with 200K mortgage, 200K in 401K's, kicking ass and taking names!

PiggyBankBlues said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
PiggyBankBlues said...

(sorry about the deletion- i made a mistake in my post...)

i'm unemployed now so i make $0!

my partner makes 60k as a professor

i used to make 45k managing a restaurant in downtown manhattan, but i'm trying to find a way to leave the restaurant industry. i have a BA in creative writing from a well known liberal arts college, not the most marketable degree!

i've been working on a novel for a couple years, and am looking for a different job to pay the bills, any suggestions welcome :)

we own our own condo in brooklyn, paid 1/4 of its current value. we live pretty frugally.

own a used car, 2000 chevy prizm (toyoto corolla inside and out), bought & paid in full with cash.

partner maxes out her 401, i max out my roth.

i got a late jump. i only have about $30,000 saved at age 36, but i did that in 6 years while also getting out of $10,000 in debt.

because of my unemployment, things have been a little tight lately. not in terms of going in debt (hell, no!), but not saving what i used to.

great post, a lot of interesting stories being shared! (a lot more anonymous posters, as well, hmmm...)

Anonymous said...

27 year old single mom in Minneapolis. I work as an HR Administrator of sorts. Salary is $41,500 with about $4800 per year in child support. Zero debt.

Anonymous said...

28 year old
Single Male
Engineer
Portland, OR

Salary:
85K
~110K w/ bonus + stock

Net Worth:
350k
- Home Equity: 130k
- 401k: 105k
- Company Stock: 65k
- Other Stock: 50k
- Cash: Minimal

Anonymous said...

San Francisco

Large Firm Mid-Level Legal Asst.
$72K base, with OT & bonuses will be at least $82K.

Partner is a Software Engineer, $97K base, $20K bonus, total $117K.

No debt.
Socking away combined 80K a year in savings (retirement and non-retirement). Will continue to rent for another 2-3 years before buying.

Anonymous said...

$105K (Including Bonuses) for risk management at a major Credit Card company (NYC)

Britt said...

Great response, this is really interesting. I think it's roughly what I would have guessed of PF-blog readership-- weighted towards high-earners, but by no means exclusively so.

I'm 25, live in DC, and make $51K working for a large non-profit.

Anonymous said...

31, single female, Boston area, I have a BS in Medical Laboratory Science and make $66k as a supervisor.

Anonymous said...

I feel like I am writing a personal ad :)

Single father of 13 year old boy (lives with me), 33 in Indianapolis, IN area. I have a MS degree and work as a Cyber Security Technical Analyst. I make about $80k after salary and bonuses. I also make somewhere between $10 and $30 (depending on year) in taxable investment income.

I plan on retiring from the corporate grind by 45 and start something I really want to do. At current rates, etc. I hope to have about $2 million for retirement at 45 then I can do about anything I want.

Anonymous said...

34, single black female, MBA'd, Houston, salary 58K year with 4K bonus, own home worth about 120K, have 70K in student loan debt and 3.5K in credit debt.

Currently looking for a boyfriend...LOL!! (It doesn't hurt to ask!)

Anonymous said...

SBF in Houston here: Forgot to mention that I'm a financial analyst

Anonymous said...

How about some perspective from below the poverty line, albeit "temporarily"? I have my Masters in Business. My spouse is getting his in Engineering. We earn $21,000/year. The first six years of marriage we made under 12K a year. We have two kids. Student loans amounting to $55,000. Our grocery budget is $133/month. We have $75 for gas, $150 for diapers, clothing and all household supplies. As part of our religion 10% of our income is donated to our church. I can't wait for Apr when my spouse will graduate and we will hopefully double our income. We sacrifice most of everything so that I can be home with our children - and yes they came earlier than expected.

Anonymous said...

Married, male, 26, two kids near Philadelphia. I work in social services. $34,000 with four weeks paid vacation; no other benefits.

Anonymous said...

Married male, 34 living in Atlanta. I live on $105K with a 14% bonus target plus stock for being a Manager in IT. I've got a BS in Chemical Engineering, but working in IT.

Net worth of 330K.

Saving to have $5M in inflation dollars when we retire.

Anonymous said...

25, single male, civil engineer w/ BS degree
Location: Boston
Salary: $49,000 for 40 hr week
Benefits: good 401k match and flex time work schedules

I'm surprised by how high alot of these salaries are, especially for other types of engineering disciplines.

Anonymous said...

Single/male/26, Phd, Software Engineer in Seattle, Base 90K plus bonus/stocks and benefits. No student loans (parental help before grad school and scholarships + teaching money after that).

To the mid-40's Wall-Streeter: I often contemplate working on wall street. Mostly cause I have a keen interest at the intersection of finance, business and software, but also cause the money is good. Am I getting sucked in for the 'wrong reasons'? What are the right reasons to enjoy as wekk as succeed on wall street?

Anonymous said...

28 year old female married
bilingual teacher (elementary)
Austin, TX
42,500

Student Loans: 50,000
Credit Cards: 0
Savings: 0

husband 31
last year made 12,000 working full time
currently unemployed (will start looking for work once he gets adjusted to school he only recently resigned)
now full time student at local community college


Credit Cards: 7,000
Student Loans: 3,000 for year more to come as he finishes school.

I love my job but have thought of getting a second job or changing careers.

Anonymous said...

27 y.o Male
DC Metro Area
Independent Software Engineer
(working on Master's)
gross 216K (got biz expenses though)

Wife - 27
Software Engineer (working on Master's)
100K

Anonymous said...

34, SWF in Los Angeles
112K as a Management Consultant working in M&A
Bonus is variable, but 7.3% last year
Master's degree
Own a condo near the beach! :)

6 weeks PTO/year
More airline and hotel points than I could ever use!
No personal expenses when I'm on the road (a lot)

Anonymous said...

Response to S.E. in Seattle:

"What are the right reasons to enjoy as well as succeed on wall street?"

Good question. Stepping back for a moment, I should state that "Wall Street" is comprised of many disciplines each with its own culture and personality. For example, an M&A banker is going to be a very different type than an equities trader. Also, a small hedge fund is going to be a different exerience than a large bulge bracket firm. So there is room for a lot of variation in work environment. The key is to get a spot in an environment that is best suited to your personality and interests.

If your interest is techology (since you've already gravitated towards software engineering), there are a few things that might interest you: M&A, research, trading, asset management, etc.

But, to your question, what are the right reasons: I'd say that a burning intellectual curiousity, bordering on obsession, for your chosen area of interest is the #1 requirement.

Regardless of what area you go into, the #1 requirement is intensity. Intensity means that you wake up in the morning and can't wait to jump back into the competition - and compete you will because that is the nature of the street. It's clearly more of an eat or be eaten environment than most industries. And since the pay tends to be very performance driven, all the more so. I'd say about 80% of my pay last year was discretionary - meaning that the bonus meter gets reset every year. I have to do something to EARN IT each and every day.

And that brings me to the second item: A high tolerance for risk and chaos. It's generally sink or swim and if you don't cut it, you're driven out pretty quickly. Also, this is a very cyclical industry and sometimes you just happen to be sitting in the wrong seat in the wrong dept. The ax can fall at any time.

Lastly, I'd say that a high tolerance for continual (meaning year-after-year) stress and lack of sleep is often required. There is a lot of pressure to be "right" because being "wrong" on something can mean losses to your employer adding up to millions of dollars. The stress alone will take about 10 years off your life-span.

Trust me, if you are not totally stoked to be doing what you're doing, it will get old really, really fast. No amount of money is going to make it seem worthwhile.

Hope that helps.

P.S. Going back to get an MBA (from a top 10 program) is probably your most logical way to enter the business at this point.

- Wall Streeter

Anonymous said...

geriatric physician-in-training $60K/ year. wife is family physician-in-training also $60K/ year. both in NY

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm back in grad school full time, so my stipend is a total of $10,000, which I was surprised to find was actually very doable to live on. I live with my boyfriend, so our expenses are split, but neither of us have any debt outside our school loans. (Hes also in school). Before coming back to school I never thought I would be able to live on this stipend, but it somehow works. If you ask this question again in a year though, those stats should change dramatically. (And probably our standard of living!)

Anonymous said...

These responses have been incredibly fascinating! Thanks for asking, Madame X.

25 year old female, married, NYC
$29K stipend as a PhD student in molecular biology.

My husband is 26
He makes $160K working in finance. Luckily, his hours are great: ~45 hrs/ week.

Grace. said...

Not surprisingly, your readership trends toward young, higher-earning folks, but just so you know, some of us old farts read you as well.

I'm 58, work in social services in the Pacific NW, and earn $73,000 a year. I'm in a union, so no one's salary is a secret in my workplace.

30 years ago, I got my graduate degree in NYC, which is another reason I read your blog.

Anonymous said...

@3:44pm, Can you tell us more about hubby's job in finance. How is he able to make so much, at such a young age, and be home for dinner every night? Is he a trader?

Mrs E said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mrs E said...

I am a 34 year old English woman living and working in Tennessee. I make $40,000.00 a year. I work as a PA in the military life insurance business. My husband is a full time student and brings in around $25,000.00 a year.

Anonymous said...

33yo, NYC, self-employed in a software consulting business I started. Income varies based on the number of projects I take on, but grossed around 200-225K a year for the last 3 years.

Missy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Missy said...

I'm a PF blogger who is currently unemployed, but my spouse makes $56K/year. We have two kids and live in Tucson, Arizona.

Anonymous said...

25 year old male. Working nyc downtown. 70,000/yr. As a business consultant. Hope to make much more to afford to live in the city:)

Anonymous said...

43, artist/performer/arts organizer, live in lower Westchester, work all over the place. I made approx. 60K last year. Who knows what this year will bring? I love my work, even with the uncertainty. And you can't buy that!

My gf makes much more, internet marketer, 40, around $120K plus bonuses. Strangely, despite her better salary, I'm in better financial shape-- although living with her is more expensive than living without. It's still worth it!

Anonymous said...

22, female, law student, not currently working, with about $15,000 in student debt at the moment.

I envy everyone on here who has an income besides loans :) But, soon enough...

Anonymous said...

32 year old single American female working in Germany (for a commercial US firm, nothing military related), in an IT manager job.

84k euros/year, with 6 wks vacation and company car.

And a 42% Germany taxation rate. :-(

Anonymous said...

@4:22pm There are 26 year old actuaries in my office that make more than $200,000 per year and work about 40-45 hour weeks and that's in Des Moines, not NYC.

Anonymous said...

Why are actuaries paid so well? Do you have to be a math major? Is it really hard to break into that field? Sounds like one of the great undiscovered alternatives to becoming a doctor/lawyer/banker/accountant. I heard that you have to pass a lot of professional exams to remain qualified. Other than that, what's the downside if any?

Anonymous said...

32, MWF, BS Accounting, suburbs of a Michigan city. Have been home full time w/ the kids (5 and 1) for the last 1 1/2 yrs. So yeah, the only paycheck I received last year was when a marketing firm gave me $40 to do a survey on bananas! But probably SAVE about $20k/yr due to no daycare/etc.
Previously made $45k/yr as a plant accountant working 45-60 hrs/wk. Negotiated a part-time arrangement when child #1 was born but left when they pushed me to return to FT. Currently looking for PT work but difficult to find something that pays more than $12/hr!
Husband makes $78k/yr as a software engineer (Masters, JAVA certified) w/ good benefits and possible 5% bonus, averaging 50 hr/wk.
No debt except $200k mortgage (3000 sqft on a wooded acre - should be worth $300k based on what we paid but due to the horrible local economy we might get $250k!)
$100k retirement, $20k emergency (or the start of college funds).
Am I really only the 2nd SAHM reader or are the rest of you just intimidated to post that big $0???

Anonymous said...

im 24/female and ivwork in nyc and live in nj. finance projects manager, 66k, 10k bonus, plus 4 weeks pto.

Anonymous said...

Married Female 28. North Carolina. $87k combined bonus and salary. Husband,31, makes $49k. We have about $145k in retirement, and $23k in savings (liquid-mostly for emergencies). We have a 240K home, a rental property and both whole life and term insurance that equals about $1mm on each.
No kids. We save/invest as much as we can. Want the opportunity to leave rat race as quickly as possible.

Anonymous said...

The downside is certainly the exam process, which is long and quite difficult (the hardest professional credentialing process there is). Having said that, I don't think the exam process has very much to do with why actuaries are paid so well. It's because their services are so valuable and the job requires a lot of careful analysis and a meticulous attention to detail. The exams are simply a way to weed out people who will not be able to do the job diligently.

I was a math major, but the exams don't really require that much mathematics, pretty much nothing beyond multivariate calculus. You must be able to handle calculus-based probability and statistics, though. If integral calculus stumps you, the field is not for you. As for breaking into the field, very few companies will look at you unless you've already passed at least one or two exams (out of the eight or so required to get a Fellowship).

Fully credentialed actuaries (called Fellows) make comparable salaries to doctors and lawyers and considerably more than accountants and probably bankers. (While I mentioned that actuaries don't need a ton of advanced math; they certainly need a whole lot more than accountants or bankers do, or for that matter, doctors.)

The reason why the profession is "undiscovered" is simply because mathematics beyond calculus is intimidating to people in a way that law, medicine, and the math required for accountants is not. Actuary always rates as one of the top five jobs in the country, usually #1 or #2 (currently 2nd after biologist). These ratings factor in salary, security (there is no such thing as an unemployed actuarial Fellow), stress, environment, and job outlook.

Anonymous said...

retail pharmacist 100K in Oklahoma...36 hours/week

Anonymous said...

The responses are fascinating and encouraging. Thanks for asking and thanks to all who are responding.

27 yr old female, single, MO, Industrial Engineer, Aerospace Company, 51K.

30K in Student Loans
8% to 401K ~ 17K
renter...planning to buy w/i the next year.

Anonymous said...

Malaysian 24, in the IT line. Earning the equivelant of US$12000 annually.

My rental alone costs $1000, and health/life insurance sets me back another $1500.

Pretty much explains why I only own a bike :-P

Anonymous said...

I work in MN for the government as a budget analyst. Will make $55K this next year.

Own my own home, single never married, 37 yr old female.

Ample time off. Hope to travel more in future and explore more cultural exchange.

Anonymous said...

Married male, >40 yo, no kids
me: 150k total comp
her: 90k total comp
both: masters and PMP cert
net worth: 600k + (1/3 in house equity, hard to predict RE bubble impact)
debt: just the mortgage
New York state
Great blog!

Anonymous said...

I'm 26, unmarried but attached, college graduate about to go back for a master's degree. I work in publishing and make about $32,000 in salary. I freelance in my spare time with a couple of side businesses, which probably brings my total income to $37,000 for the year.

My boyfriend, who I'm getting ready to move in with, got his GED and spent one year in college before becoming a full-time theater technician. He makes $55,000. We live in New York.

Anonymous said...

29, 2 MA's, Seattle, private school English teacher, roughly $45,000 per year, depending on whether I teach summer school

Anonymous said...

Husband and I are both 30-ish and live in a cheap cost of living midwest city.

I'm in graduate school in the sciences and make 29k pre-tax; he's a postdoc in the sciences and makes 45k pre-tax.

Both of our incomes will go up over time; for now, living someplace cheap means I bought a nice, conveniently located condo early in graduate school and we both have some retirement savings.

Are you going to collate this? I want to see it in graph form, now! I'm almost tempted to do it myself, but... errr, I'm not sure by boss would be thrilled about that....

Anonymous said...

female, 25, married. 29k taxable stipend as a grad student in science. I'm amazed to see so many grad students posting :o)

Anonymous said...

I'm a SAHM, husband is software engineer working in Twin Cities, MN area making 72k plus bonuses of 3k so far this year. 180k mortgage left on 214k home, I used to be a bill collector making 30k b/f quitting two years ago. I have 26k retirement assets and he has 44k. 10k emergency fund. Life is good.

Anonymous said...

I'm 28, F, live in Baltimore and work in the federal gov't in DC for $61K/yr. I live with my boyfriend in the house we just bought a little less than 2 yrs ago. Right now, all my spare cash gets spent on paying for grad school without taking out loans.

Anonymous said...

29 y/o 4th year patent (litigation) attorney in Houston, Texas at a relatively small firm. $115K/year, plus bonus based on above-hourly billable minimums.

Own rental properties with sufficient equity, student loans paid down to $94K (from $160K), saving 1/2 of take home pay, in addition to max. contribution to 401(k) plus employer 3% contribution.

I am curious about the Houston attorney making $160 - what field of law? What year are you? Are you downtown?

Anonymous said...

I'm 27, female, working in Chicago as an electrical engineer designing building systems. I make just over $70,000.

Anonymous said...

Female, 22, Northern NJ.
~$60k/year.
business analyst in pharm industry.
$60k school loans (living at home to pay off asap).
$0 cc debt.
40 hours a week.
3 weeks pto.

with this (pretty decent starting) salary will not be able to afford to buy any sort of housing any time in the near future.

Anonymous said...

36, sf, Dallas, MBA left consulting to work for nonprofit $50K. in consulting had lot of money but no time off. now have lot of time off and no money! but enjoy life balance so much more.

Anonymous said...

27 year old male software engineer working for a tiny startup in silicon valley. 110K. Live with fiance, who makes 42K as a pastry chef in San Francisco. I have a master's and just started "real job" a year ago (was working on PhD before that).

Savings are paltry as of yet. 7K in 401K and 10K in a savings account, mostly reserved for the wedding and honeymoon. My fiance also has 30K in college and car loan debt. I hope to get us out of negative net worth territory within the next year.

Anonymous said...

MadameX, thanks for asking. *delurks*

me, 24, soon to be 25, yr old computer engineer in Central NJ. Husband is 27 year old electrical engineer in Central NJ. no kids.
No school loans (me = full ride, husband = we paid them off) We both have Master's degrees.

Income:

me: 83K base + small bonuses
husband: 111K base + small bonuses
vacation: we both get about 4 weeks a year

We bought a house in 2004 with a 30 year mortgage.

We try to put away $800 biweekly (since this is how we're paid), which is a little over $1600 a month. We also max out our 401Ks at 15500 a person.

We have 2 cars, a decent social life hanging out with friends, and eat out occasionally. I also try to donate to some good causes every few months.

We have about 80K in liquid savings right now and about 110K in retirement.

My networthiq page is http://www.networthiq.com/people/lielay

Anonymous said...

Me: 30, software engineer, $85k
Wife: 27, financial analyst, $65k

$280k in retirement savings, $40k in cash, and we just bought a $315k house with 20% down. Wife has a $10k student loan and about $3k left on a car loan. Both are at 3.5% interest so we pay only the minimum. No other debt.

We live in the Raleigh, NC area and both have BS degrees.

Anonymous said...

44,SF,Computer programmer, $83K.


Networth : $682,812
Retirement: $463,000

I live in Florida.

Anonymous said...

MWM, 25, SF Bay Area, project manager in the energy industry.

I make $72,800 plus bonus ($7-9K). I drive a lot for work (in a fuel-efficient, totally paid-off car) so you could count a good chunk of my ~$500/month expense account as income, too.

My wife's a project engineer for a large general contractor. She makes $68,000 plus bonuses. She just started so we'll see how much those are.

Anonymous said...

I'm 27 yr old web developer in south LA area. I work in a large non-profit health care organization - earn $85K/yr. My wife will start working soon - so we are looking forward to another 50K/year. I have a 1.5 yr old daughter.

Anonymous said...

I am a 41 yo married male. I live in a NJ suburb of NYC. I make ~$142,000 in base, with a target bonus of 20% as a mid level manager in discovery research at a mid sized pharmaceutical company. (I have a Ph.D.) The past 2 years my bonus was approximately $45K, as the company can double (or eliminate) the bonus based on corporate, division and personal performance.

I am also now eligible for annual stock grants, and stock options. This year I got 2000 shares of each, which vest in 3 years. I immediately get the dividend income (~$80 a quarter) which buys a nice dinner out...I finally upped my 401K contribution to max. Pharma traditionally have good health plans, and mine is no exception. Although costs and out of pocket has gone up, I have a PPO plan that covers prescritions and annual physicals for me and the family (2 kids- one with special needs) very well.

My wife is an internist (MD)in a small group practice in Central NJ. Her salary is ~$169,000, and her bonus ranges from $0-$18K depending on performance of the practice. She graduated med school with ~$130K in loans now down to ~$70K. We own a house probably worth ~$950-1MM in today's market with approximately $530 in mortgage. (we used some original home equity to buy into my wife's practice).

We have about $4000 in credit card debt that I'm paying off aggressively (have the cash in the bank, but since the monthly is not an issue, I'd rather keep that available for emergencies despite the interest rate).

Given both of our many years in school, we got a late-ish start on retirement, but are being as aggressive as we can now, and have about $250K in our retirement accounts. We also have 2 car loans with combined balances under $20K.

Anonymous said...

22, Female Subcontracts Mgr in LA County area. $58k/yr +6-8% raise yearly. Boyfriend is aerospace engineer $65k/yr. Renting $1850/mnth with debts of $40k.
Considering going back and receiving BS in engineering vs. MBA. Does anyone have any input or experience of either of those paths?

Anonymous said...

27, female, philadelphia, paralegal for small investment company, 45K + small bonus. just passed bar exam, looking to practice law and increase salary soon.

Anonymous said...

33, Female attorney with own practice (3 years old) in Brooklyn, New York. Took home 240K last year.

Anonymous said...

Living in NYC skews everything. I feel poor even thought we are on par with some on this board. Lots of people are doing very well on saving for retirement and liquid savings accounts which I need to work on asap.


me: project manager (IT), 75k plus 2k bonus
husband: database manager, 100k, plus 4 k bonus
HHI: +/- 180k

income goes to paying loans from masters degrees (4 between us) and aggressively paying credit cards.

Buying a home in NYC in the next year.

Will be happy (by NY standards) if we reach 300k HHI in the next 2 years. Networth is a whole other story...

Anonymous said...

@ female lawyer in Bklyn, are a generalist or if you are in a specialty like r.e. or personal injury, etc.

Your income seems very high for such short time in practice.

Anonymous said...

Male; 23; Boston; Consulting.
$60k base, $30k bonus. Next year $75-80k base, $40k bonus.

Anonymous said...

Boston consultant detail:
Rent: $1300
Food: ~$600

Living off savings currently to max out a Roth 401k ($15,500) and Roth IRA ($4,000).

$90k total seems big until I think of friends in NYC hedge funds who will make $350k+ this year. They're also 23. Everything is relative.

Anonymous said...

23, Single, Bachelors only, Research Associate at a pharmaceuetical, 48,000 not including the meager bonuses. I think my company underpays all of us (relative to other pharms in the bay area) and makes up for it in stock options.

Anonymous said...

Why not - 85k + 15% Seattle area Network Security Manager -

StyleyGeek said...

I live in Australia and am employed half-time as Associate Lecturer at a university. My annual salary is $24000 AUD, which is $21500 US. Unfortunately, it's a contract that expires end of this year, so my salary is soon to be back to part-time adjuncting rates, under which I expect to earn less than $10000 next year ($9000 USD). Fortunately I am married and my husband, a researcher at the same university, earns $68000 AUD ($61000 USD).

Anonymous said...

tv news producer in texas: $54,000

i've come a LONG way from when i first started in this business 12 years ago, making a mere $14,000!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like most of the "big bucks" are in the big cities.

I'm 54, single female, engineering assistant in government job, make just over $40,000/yr. Used to make better money in private industry, but got downsized and couldn't find equivalent employment locally. 40 hour work week, no overtime whatsoever.
My 3 bedroom house has been paid off since 1993, and I have zero debt and a healthy net worth.

Anonymous said...

27, Seattle area, $80k as a software engineer.

I feel I'm overpaid, but no complaints :)

Anonymous said...

25 SWF in the Boston Area. College Administrator: 42K

Perks: Free housing and summers off!

Anonymous said...

26, female, wife, mother, landlord, programmer, sole-breadwinner who lines in the PNW

base salary: 80K
rental income: 15K
other including bonuses: 20k
----------------------
total 125k

Also: no degree, first person in my family to make it out of poverty

Anonymous said...

Female, 23, BA, Boston.
Teacher of kids with Autism.
33k

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