Reader Poll: What’s your income?

1. I am a staff accountant in an agricultural company. No CPA, just a bachelors from a state university. Live in California. Been working at the same company for two years. I make just over 40,000 a year.

2. I am a Corrections Officer in a mid-west state. With 5 years in I made $56,108 last year. Not a huge fan of the job though but there isn’t much else around here that has decent pay and benefits.

3. I am a certified tumor registrar and made $52,000 last year, this year I took on a second job and expect to make a total $74,000.

4. I am a CNC Programmer in Central Maryland, I work 50 hours a week, last year I made $81,000.00. The last 2 years my gross has drop $10,000 because of the hours being cut back from 60 hours a week. I started with this company 30 years ago making $3.75 an hour.

5. I am a teacher in Ontario, Canada. I make $93,700. I am at the top of the pay grid, both in experience and education. I make an extra $1000 compared to most, as I have a Masters degree.

   • Further proof that American teachers are grossly underpaid. Good for you, Christy!

     • While I agree that teachers and childcare workers in general are underpaid (I taught elementary school for 6 years before staying home with my kids), Christy’s number is, in my experience, fairly typical for a teacher with 30 years in and a Masters degree. You can look up any public school district’s salary schedule online. In my current district a brand new teacher makes $39k and a 30 year vet (with MA+15) makes $92k. Just a thought 😉

       • Our grid in Ontario is only 11 years long. I have been teaching 13 years. I feel very lucky to make what I do.

         • Wow! I have also been teaching for 13 years with a Masters Degree in upstate NY. I, however, make 53,500!! I might have to move to Canada! 🙂

         • Wow! 13, I figured you were in the upper 20’s to 30 since our scale caps at 30 years. That’s awesome 😉

     • Kaye,

       If you feel sorry for Christy, you’ll want to start taking up a charitable collection for me! In California I make $66,000 as a teacher with a masters degree (and 3 weeks away from completing my doctorate) and 8 years of teaching experience. 🙁

       And in case you were wondering, NO my brand new shiny degree is not going to get me a raise as I already capped out on the education end of the pay scale long time ago.

6. I’m a PhD student in engineering and my stipend is $26k. So I am a full-time student with an income for being a student! (But my contract disallows outside jobs.)

7. I’m in the UK so not so easy to compare but I’m a web developer at a pretty senior level. Been in the poisition 7 years and when converted to USD bring in $46500 a year. Plus $3000 – $7000 a year overtime/freelance.

8. I am a process design engineer and make just under $70k in salary with another 2-8% ($1.4 – $5.6k) in bonus along with company contributions of 9% to my 401(k). I also provide engineering consultant service to local small businesses as a side job. I teach engineering licensing review courses for another $10 – $15k annually (just started this service, but made $5k in prep fees for the April exam, hope to do the same for the October exam).

   Funny thing is, I am living in a high cost of living area and making less than if I moved to a low cost of living area. My education and consultancy is in chemical engineering, but my primary job is mechanical… Texas has been calling to me, if only the average temperature was closer to 40°F.

9. 49K for 2012 working in health care in Ontario. No hope of a raise for the next several years or decades but I am now getting 40 hours per week because of an outbreak of pregnancy at my work so I will probably make about 52K 2013.

   I am single and I think that I would be better of financially if I lived with someone and shared expenses but no way would I want to be married again. Too much information?

   • An “outbreak of pregnancy.” Sounds like a rare disease 😉

     • 21% of my department is pregnant.

       • That does sound like an epidemic. Is it contagious 😉

       • How many people is 21% ?

         • Just 3 in my very small department but the entire building is experiencing a baby boom and there are about a dozen pregnant people all together. 11 actually. the first one popped last week.

       • Might be the water? LOL

   • I can actually relate to that. I also work in healthcare (RN) but in the states and I am getting an increase of hours due to coworkers being pregnant also. I made 52,000 last year and my gross income varies depending on hours/shifts work but so far it is looking like I will make about the same or more this year.

     • I have drug and dental benefits from my employer and I get free health care through the government.
       The preggos all get 12 months of paid maternity leave and I expect that some of them will be pregnant again when they come back, will get pregnant as soon as they get back and some will not come back at all. I am guaranteed 40 hours per week for the 18 months because of the baby boom.

       Too bad that all overtime has been banned. I could really use a few overtime pay cheques.

10. CFO- I made 86k last year but should make slightly over 100k this year.

11. I work as a Cost Analyst in Canada, in primary industry. The role is usually held by accountants (I’m not) and involves correcting costs, developing reporting and looking for areas we can be more efficient. It yields me about 85-90K, depending on bonuses. I have held this for a year and am at the bottom of the pay scale. My spouse and I have a few small side hustles, but they don’t make a ton of extra money.

12. I work as a healthcare consultant in the DC Metro Area (in MD though, no longer in DC, WOO HOO!) I make $75k/annually working 40 hours a week. I get complete reimbursement for travel to work (which I consider a HUGE perk because I pay nothing to get to work, other than my time, which is actually worth a lot). I have only been working full time for 5 years. My salary has doubled since I graduated 5 years ago. I would say that is pretty awesome. Working towards a promotion right now though, and should see a good increase in pay soon!

13. My personal income is under 25k. I work 30 hrs a week doing administrative and auditing for a company that provides early intervention services for babies through age 3. I have no benefits, and no paid time off.

14. I’m a PhD student, so I’m full-time with a stipend of about $18,000/year (I wish I had Emily’s stipend!) I also work VERY part-time for a local NPO (contractually our school allows us to work in the summer), which pulls in around $2,000+/year – so I bumped myself up to the $20,000-$25,000 category.

15. I’m a CPA working in the internal tax department for a smaller mutual fund company in the upper Midwest. My base is $61,800 with a bonus from 0%-25%, depending on the market performance, company performance and my performance. It looks even better once you factor in the dollar for dollar 401(k) match up to the IRS limit. So I think I do pretty well for only being 5 years out of school and having no raises for two of those years due to the economy. 🙂

16. I’m a technology analyst at a hedge fund / alternative management firm in NYC. I made about $125k last year including bonus, but the cost of living in the city is extremely high.

17. I work in HR in the bar/restaurant industry. I make 58,500 plus up to 10% bonus a year. I travel about 50% of the time and work an average of 60 hours a week.

18. researcher at a hospital in the midwest – make $78K. I also get an automatic 10% 401K contribution by my employer – saWEET!!

19. I make $100k as a marketing manager for a large corporation. Bonus is anywhere from 0% to 50% of my salary depending on how successful the year was. I live in a pretty low COL area, so I feel my money goes far.

20. I am a CPA and in a Part-Time MBA program. I currently make $67,000 in Pittsburgh, PA as a Sr. Financial Analyst for a Mid-Major Bank. The company also pays for part of my schooling, so I did take that into consideration in my answer.

21. Program manager for a defense contractor in the MW.

    I work 40-50hrs/wk and make $114,000/yr. I’ve been working for this company for 7 years since graduating.

    My company also has a generous benefits package including health/dental, 6% 401(k) match and a pension (although now the pension is a defined contribution plan).

22. 71k salary at primary job as tax analyst
    estimated 24k doing accounting on side (every.waking.hour.)
    13k from rental of investment property
    so almost 110k gross less mortgage and various business expenses

23. $65.5k as a Sr. Analyst for a subsidiary of a multi-national corporation in Houston, TX. Probably underpaid for the area (as the oil flows, so flows the money in Houston). Having a CPA and audit experience in my company likely pushes me towards the top of the pay scale for the company.

24. I am a laboratory technician at a fuel additive company in NJ. I have a bachelors degree and I’m hoping to pursue my masters soon. I’ve been told that 55K is pretty good coming out of college and I agree. However, NJ isn’t cheap and it 55K plus massive student loan debt doesn’t get much here.

25. I am a System Analyst in CA, I made between 70000 to 85000. I’ve been with the company for 7 yrs now.

26. I’m a Librarian at a University and own a duplex with my boyfriend which we rent out half of, so dividing the rental income in half I’m around $62000.

27. I was brought up to believe there are two things a gentleman never reveals, one being his annual salary and the other I’ll let you figure out for yourself. I’ll keep my counsel on both counts other than to say that my earnings are comfortably in the upper half of the range without being as munificent as some.

    I’ve been with my present company for many years, and at first raises and bonuses were fairly generous. But about 7-8 years ago the company decided to completely change its business model, and with the challenge of developing a basically new product line and the slump in the economy, I would have to say raises these past few years have been minimal at best. On the other hand, the closer you get to retirement, the less raises matter than the balances you have accumulated in your 401(k) and IRAs. And here I’m well above the typical averages for most workers (though again, no specifics).

    But an interesting thing seems to happen with starting salaries. They seem to creep higher over the years, so that new college grads are often earning as much or more as many older and more experienced workers. And I suspect this trend will continue, so that as some of you get to your 40s and 50s, you may find raises to be a stingy few percent each year, while companies try to sweeten the pot to attract new hires by offering more lavish starting pay.

    • “But an interesting thing seems to happen with starting salaries. They seem to creep higher over the years, so that new college grads are often earning as much or more as many older and more experienced workers.”

      Isn’t that called inflation?

      You are careful to not reveal your exact salary but you make sure to say that you are in the upper range of the salaries and well above average in your 401(k) balance. To be completely honest, you sound like a pompous jerk. If you are such a gentleman unwilling to share his salary, then why don’t you just not post a comment on this specific thread?

      • I didn’t interpret the tone as “pompous jerk”. He was simply identifying his position in relation to commonly recognized metrics – range and average. I think the only mistake there is the absence of information identifying his industry and location. Without this, it is difficult to appreciate the significance of salary and savings figures.

        Also, the starting salaries comment was likely intended to illustrate a shrinking difference between starting salaries and the salaries of established workers. I believe inflation applies to everyone, but if I missed some policy whereby I can opt out of inflation upon reaching a certain age, please let me know.

        Finally, $92K/Mathematician/Maryland 🙂

      • Thanks for the hostility. I may be pompous or a jerk, but I honestly don’t think I’m both.

        • I want to elaborate a bit, since Tiffany has completely missed several of my points. What I said was, “I was brought up to believe a gentleman never reveals his annual salary.” That’s the key point, and krantcents, the only person here who I am certain is roughly my age, also doesn’t do so. When I was growing up, I was sternly admonished never to reveal salary information. Younger people (and that’s the key point) no longer seem to worry about doing this, but I think there’s good reason not to be too open about one’s income, because despite Ninja’s claim that “High income doesn’t mean you win at life,” many people do take that attitude and use their salaries as a weapon to make others feel inferior.

          As for starting salaries, Maegan fortunately understands what I was saying. I think you’ll find that if you stay at a company any length of time, you’ll see that starting incomes are often generous and so are raises for the first few years. Then what often happens is a plateau where you may see 2-3% (if that) as you become more expensive to the company. And as a result, starting salaries for workers may outstrip wages for more established workers whose raises do not increase with inflation.

          And if anyone cares to know, I am a technical writer and multi-media designer for an accounting software firm on Long Island.

28. I’m in marketing (middle management) in rural MD and earn $73,000/yr. I also bring in $6900/yr by renting out a room in my house.

29. I am an HR professional in Canada – working for a public sector employer, making 70K per year. Also fantastic benefits package which is worth a lot to me, as well as employer matching pension.

    Also have an investment property that nets between 15-20K per year in rental revenue.

30. Currently I work part time as a staff accountant for a real estate co. I work 20 hours a week and make $27,000/year. I didn’t include side hustle cause I only work it when I need/want to so it’s very inconsistent. I work part time now so I can get the kids to/from the bus, attend PTA, plays, etc. I get paid holidays & a 5% bonus at yr end. When the kids are older I will work full time (maybe) 😉 (since we are comfortable, and we still save).

31. Staff accountant at a small public accounting firm in Milwaukee, WI making roughly $54,000. Been in public accounting for almost 4 years, no CPA but I do have my masters 🙂

    I also have 2 rental properties with my husband that net about 8,000 a year.

32. I’m a Librarian at a for-profit university on the east coast. I make $51k.

33. I’m an office manager for a recruiting firm, bachelors degree & I make 43,000 after 2 years of experience.

34. Marketing Administrative Assistant just outside of Chicago – $45,000, plus10% match on retirement

    I also have an eBay side hustle that brings in about $6,000/year.

35. I work at an insurance agency as the office manager. I make $27,000 a year. Hopefully after getting my license next month, I should bump up to around $30,000 plus make probably 10-15,000 in commission!

36. I am a IT specialist and I work in the Public Sector in Ontario, Canada. I make $91,000 a year.

37. I am trim tech at a large aerospace manufacturing plant. We have it pretty good here although you’d never hear that from a lifer. We have employees who have worked here 15, 20+ years. The longest being over 40 years! If you are in an area with lots of overtime and making top rate you can expect to pull in 80-100 000.
    I make 54000 but with overtime will make closer to 60 000 this year. Id probably work more if I didnt find it so incredibly boring. We are unionized so benefits are great. Ive been here over 5 years. since ive started im making 10000 a year more. I have 3 weeks vacation, sick days,family days and even a company pension.

38. I work for a very large company in Baton Rouge , Louisiana in the Procurement department. I am supposed to make $44.000 a year but only made $31,000 due to medical leave of absence.

39. I am a Human Resources Professional in Alberta, Canada – I make $71,000 base but expect to take home about $75,000 as I usually work a couple weeks worth of overtime throughout the year. I have a related degree, my related professional designation and 5 years of experience in the field with the same company.

40. I work part time – about 18 hrs a week in the medical field. I earn about $40,000/yr (gross).

41. I’m a Software Developer and this year between stock options vesting, my bonus, and my salary, I’ll be at about 102k before taxes.

42. I am very fortunate to be a stay-at-home MOM (for 11 years so far) and make $0.00 🙂 However, in the Fall it is my goal to go back to work part-time doing something I love!

43. I work in the Pacific Northwest as a social worker, bachelor level… for the past two years I was working three jobs making abound $52,000 and working 60-65 hours a week. Although this year I dropped a job and hope to make $46,000 with working 48 hours a week.

44. I am an Aerospace Engineer and with salary, bonus, and some overtime I make about $73k.

45. I am a Habilitation Training Specialist (read caseworker) for a agency in Tennessee that services adults with developmental disabilities. My baseline salary is 50k a year with all work related expenses paid for by the company.. So i am not out of pocket on anything.. So roughly you could say my real salary is closer to 70k a year.. The price all that comes at though is being on call 24/7 265 and always having a pager and work phone on my hip..

    • I also forgot to put on there that the state of Tennessee pays for all of our health benefits and other insurances.. Since we are technically state employees by contract.

46. Way less than $20,000 right now as I finish my graduate degree. It will be going up a lot in August when I start my first teaching job mkaing $36,000.

47. I am currently a full time student so that is what I choose, but I also work as a waitress and make anywhere from $150-$600/week depending on how many shifts I work.

48. Waiter – I work 4 shifts a week (about 25-28 hours) and make about 60K.

49. I make $40k as a box office manager at a theater in NYC. I have health but no other benefits. I also do a few other things which brings it to about $43-$45k/year.

50. VP/Senior Finance Manager at a large worldwide bank. With bonus I pulled in just under $130K last year. 5 weeks vacation, 100% match on 401K up to first 6% contributed but contribute 15% split between Roth/Traditional 401K, pay my savings account an additional 10% on top of that for various sinking and emergency funds.

51. I’m a community college instructor, 75k per year, with a law degree and a Master’s in law. I could make a lot more in private practice, but I appreciate the 40-hours a week this job affords me.

52. I’m a lawyer at the Dep’t of Justice in BC. Been a lawyer for 15 years, work about 65 hours a week as do my colleagues and am at the top of my pay scale ($118,995). Starting lawyer at DOJ makes $52,000 per year. I love law but for hours worked if you paid from the public purse it is far more profitable to be a teacher in Canada/BC…2 months off in the summer, 2 weeks at Christmas and 1-2 weeks in March…

53. I am an IT consultant in the Dallas area making 85K + 5% annual bonus. Our employer covers our insurance premiums for employee-only coverage, so that’s a nice perk which saves me about $3,000 annually.

54. I make $72k as an architect at a firm in the SF Bay Area. That at the upper end for my role and I’d probably have to be an associate or partner at a larger firm to make substantially more. I could make more or much less if I went out on my own – it’s a crapshoot.

55. Full-time college student but I work part-time so I picked a number.

    Earn around $7,000. After graduating next spring, I’m hoping that number will be closer to 40 or 50K.

56. I work as the IT Manager for a computing research facility. I graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree. My current salary is 80k + benefits = $93k. I work at least 40 hours a week but am mostly on-call 24/7. I’ve been with my current employer since 2008. My first year out of college I grossed about $48k and moved on from there.

57. early childhood educator in a kindergarden classroom + I have a side job and I make about $40,000 a year.

58. I work in theatre management and earn btw 50-70,000 per year depending on contract length. Usually around 40 weeks of work a year on & 10-12 weeks off.

59. Just a teacher who spent 30 years industry achieving financial independence. I will retire (again) in about 4 years.

60. I am am executive assistant in behavioral health and earn 41 with great benefits (but costly) health, 403b, . I also work weekends in retail and make $9 hourly, this is used to cover the cost of the benefits.

61. Currently working in Sales for Apple, moved from approx 21,500Euros per year to 39,000Euros inc bonus over the last 18 months, thats around 50K, I don’t currently hold any formal qualifications – work usually 37 hours a week, and a lot of weekends but with some nice other perks of working there 🙂

62. I work in Ontario, Canada, as a psychologist in the private sector. My salary is $100,000/year for 37.5 hours/week. I have 5.5 years post-doc experience. I have okay benefits and 4 weeks vacation.

63. Income questions are always hard to answer because I’m in IT sales. I have a base salary of $50k, and get a 14% commission of all Gross Profit I sell. I’m pretty new (2 years) so still building up my book. I made $24k in commission last year for a total of $74k. I’ve already made $9k in commission this year, so I’m well on track to beat last years numbers.

64. Software developer in western ny 72k base pay + overtime/ bonus which last year was 15k and so far this year has been 12k. Bought a house last year that is a 6 min commute to work which makes it easier to do more overtime.

65. I’m an assistant director at a non-profit and I make $47,600/year. I also hold down a handful of part-time jobs earning about $15,000/year on top of that. That puts me at about $62,600/year total.

    Having just earned my MA, I hope that I can soon earn that amount from a single job in the not so distant future. I would also be interested to know the areas where everyone lives! I find that can affect income as much as field. I’m in the Boston area and $60k here gets you a lot less than it does in the midwest where I grew up!

66. 65ish running a fraud team for a finance co… hubba hubby makes 90k plus potential 25% bonus as asst VP of outside sales in finance.

    Side note neither of us have degrees, just 10 years of hard work in the industry.

67. I am a student, but I have never had no income. I have worked all the way through my undergraduate and work now as a graduate student… so I responded within an income bracket, but I fall into multiple categories.

68. Work in Ontario, Canada as a Bilingual Senior Customer Serv. Rep for a Global chemical company – 9 yrs. senioritywith my current employer – making $52,600/yr, 4 weeks vacation, profit sharing, health benefits, 37.5 hr. work week, no weekends.

69. I live in PA and work as an LPN. I make $46,000+ on a 40 hour work week, but always work an extra 8 hour shift weekly, so my income comes to just under $60,000 a yr.

70. I am 23 years old and made just over $100,000 last year. I work as a full time Paramedic in Canada (with a lot of overtime) and work on the side as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher. I worked for 5 different companies and am now looking forward to enjoying days off now that all my loans and debts are paid off!! =)

71. I’m an HR professional at a consulting firm in the Boston area. I make around $56k with a 4.5% match which is vested immediately. Bonus and annual base increase is anywhere from 3-7% depending on company and my performance. I’ve been in the position & company for about two years now, but this is my second job after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2008.

72. I am 25 years old and work for a large, Christian NGO. I make $70,000 with a 10% gross employer-funded retirement “pension” account that I can invest into a good pool of funds with. Free money that I am already vested in. I work hard and it’s very meaningful for me. I love my job!

73. Sr Financial Analyst with MBA making $70k per year in mid size Wisconsin city at an international consumer goods company

74. Media specialist in a middle school Minnesota….been in education since 96. I make about $64k a year…I have to work a few more days than the teachers do so I get a bit more pay for that.

75. I’m an Australian, and an Accountant of 7 years with a CA (similar to CPA) and gross just under $60,000. With current exchange rates it’s pretty much the same as the US in absolute dollars, but adjusting for purchasing power it comes out to $IHaveNoBloodyIdea. 😉

76. There is another option not found on the poll that applies to me.
    I am retired, no pension because I took the lump sum. So I live off my savings.
    As little or as much as I dare. If I run out… that will be it…no other income. SSI does not start for several more years but that wouldn’t cover much anyway. Luckily home is debt free. So the answer is: my earned income is Zero.

77. I made 260K last year. I’m an anesthesiologist. I’ve been in practice for a year and a half so still relatively new at this. This is my first full-time job and I’m 32. I have 200K student loans, 50K commercial/credit card loans. Finances was a disaster and still a working progress ever since medical school. Been reading blogs like this to keep me motivated with paying off my debts before splurging.

    • Does your malpractice insurance cost zillions?

      • it’s around 35k a year for me, differs for each state and specialty

    • Congrats, what a great profession..lots of hard work and discipline. Stay motivated with the debt payoff. All the sacrifice will be so well worth it 🙂

    • My husband is 29 and in his 2nd year of medical school. Loans have surpassed 200k already. Glad to see the salary is there for such a new physician and that hard work pays off. Keep going!

78. USPS (postal) retiree. Grossing $34k. That is the reason I put up with the years of low pay and bad management! My starting wage was the same my ex made pumping gas.

79. I’m a Software Architect for a large corporation with a base salary of $165K and am eligible for a 10% bonus.

80. I work as a wireless sales rep in a retail store. Been working for the company for 3 years in mid May. I make $64,000. I have spectacular benefits and great 401k match. This amount is minus bonuses, trips and such.

81. I work as a Investor Relations Officer my base salary is about 100 000 USD/year + bonus/profitshare which usually come out at another 10%.

82. I’m 29, live in Wisonsin and work for a tech company. I make $171,000 per year (possibly more with bonus).

83. I’m 22 and during the day I work in IT. I’m jut an assistant, so I don’t earn as much as someone might typically make in an IT position, but considering I don’t have the degree for the job and my boss was willing to train me, I’m pretty content.

84. At 24 I’m a Marketing & Sales Operations Coordinator, which makes $32,000/year. However I also bring in about $400/month in side income so I’m closer to $37,000/year. I’m in the process of looking for a better paying position now that I live in a more expensive area. I’m over qualified and they even told me so when I started but I was desparate for a job at the time.

85. 28, in DC, make $90k as a supervisory statistician. That will go up a few thousand in a few weeks–about to hit my step increase.

86. 27 in DC. Make 31K as a case manager/counselor at a youth homeless shelter. I have my MA in psychology, one year away from the PhD

87. 34, in Orange County, California. I make about $72-75K as an environmental engineer but I’m hourly so it varies. I also make about $10-$13K on the side as a high school math and science tutor. Unfortunately, I’m 1099’d as a tutor so I have to pay self-employment tax on that money.

88. Senior Tax Director with 15 years experience near NYC. $178K base plus $28K bonus.

89. I’m a library technician at a university in Ontario. Gross is a little over 40 K but after taxes that will come out to just around 30 K.

90. Contracting Officer / Contract Negotiator – $78,000

91. Sales in Toronto, $85 k plus commission ( didn’t count commission because the company likes to make it unachieveable)

92. I’m a student, I make whatever is left of my student loans after I pay for tuition, books, and the occasional laptop or educational purchases.

    I am hoping to get my startup off the ground and start bringing in more money.

93. A nice normal curve, with the unemployed being an outlier. Nice idea to see how much your average reader makes. The poll is very interesting.

94. Operations coordinator (basically I’m a Buyer) in northern Ontario and I make 50k, I also own a wedding business on the side and I make 5-10k extra a year depending on the amount of events I book.

95. Database Administrator – 93000, Texas

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