What do you consider "great" pay?
 

There is a really interesting thread currently running about "do you like your job". It is a fantastic thread, and I read several references to "great" pay. What does "great" mean to each of us? I know great pay is relative to our education/training/career choice, lifestyle choices, and the cost of living in a given area, but, just for the sake of another interesting thread, what do you think is "great" pay?

I'm gonna take a shot, and you can feel free to disagree with me, and change it how you want. These numbers are $ per hour.... (so if you are paid a salary, then divide your annual pay by 2080)

Low pay - $0 to $9
fair pay - $10 to $18
good pay - $19 to $26
great pay - $27 up


What do you think, and why?

b

I don't know about what constitutes "great" pay, but when I graduated from college with a bachelors degree, someone told me that you're doing OK as long as your annual salary is at least your age... in other words, I graduated at 22 and was hoping to start off making at least $22K a year.

I graduated 11 years ago, and with one brief exception, I've been making my age and then some ever since. Which, for my line of work and in this area, is not too shabby.

(How this would adjust for inflation, I have no idea. :))

To me, great pay would be enough that, with maintaining our current lifestyle, my wife wouldn't have to work. Unfortunately, I'm about $10 an hour short of that.

That pay scale looks pretty reasonable for where I live in Indiana.

The secret is...lifestyle choices...

If you can put away 10% of your income and still be happy living on what you have left, that is GREAT pay.

I'm only 19 years old and I don't have a specific number in mind, but I would like to make enough to pay bills and live comfortably. If that number is $40,000, then I am OK with that.

IMO Whenever a person gets paid for the work they do for their employer,and its a little more than the worker expected but gladly given by the employer for a better job than he expected to get. Thats great pay.The pay scale will vary by location. Eddie

According to your chart, I make better than great pay, but happiness is much more than just the money. I would take 1/4 of what I make now for job satisfaction and the ability to live at my land full time and have flexible hours. Money is a trap that is hard to break free of.....

Well, I think it depends on the job and location but for my job $27 is low, $50 med and $75/hr is good $100 and up is great. You also have to fit in expenses, taxes and health care. When I was doing consulting I charged upto $250/hr with 4 hour minimum plus transportation cost and housing if outside the area. Keep in mind you may only work a weeks every month or two.

About $4000,00 A week is A pretty decent for what I do. But thats Gross, I Am talking about.. Of course theres Only 3 Days A month at home!

DH earns 4 times his age for his annual salary... I guess that's great pay! Now, if only we didn't have the massive student loan debt...

Well in '85 me and my wife made $85K with inflation I would say it should be well over that but this is not the case.

My wife would Love to make $15 an hour now days.

big rockpile

Great pay for me is a hug, a kiss, & an "I love you mom". Guess that's not what you were wanting. :D

Seriously, it's lifestyle choices. My dh could make the same pay as someone else. If they spend it trying to keep up with the Jones' they will think the pay is not so great. If you learn to live within your means & are satisfied with simple things in life, that same salary could be great to someone. It has more with the way you live your life. My husband's pay is not great by most people's standards, but it's fine for us. It pays the bills & we are happy. That is what matters most!

The beat time I ever had was making $150 per week and a house. That was in 81-83. The worst time was making $4,000 per week. Being happy means more than how much you are payed. If you are happy then everything else can be adjusted to what you are making.:happy:

I always believed that if You try to buy everything on sale at 20 % off .
Then You are living at the standard of living of someone that makes 20 % more then you . :D
Bob
I make a lot less then when I worked as Road Service Mechanic for a large compressor company repairing Large Air Compressors all over the New England States . ( 60 to 80 hrs. a week ).
But now I just pick and choose My customers.
Bob

It really depends on how much I like the task, how risky it is and what my costs are (travel, etc). Great pay for being able to stay home and farm is a lot lower than for having to commute and work in an office environment around strangers. I do the former. I make enough to pay the bills and a bit more. It's great pay.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

I take home $325 a week for 60 hours. Id be happy with double that amount

Well, according to the scale you have, my husband has a job with "great" pay. However, working salary for him at least, never means 40 hours. More like 70. That still leaves him in the "good" range. And the pay and benefits for his job are very good, enough so that we can afford for me to stay home. The downside is the fact that he is gone from home 70 hours a week.

He has two days off this week. One of those days he will spend most of at work because someone from corporate is coming in later in the week. The other day we will be at the OB most of the afternoon, he will stop into work and check on things, and then be home most of the afternoon.

There are jobs that pay well and allow you to have some quality of life...there just aren't many of them. That's why long term we are trying to get everything paid off so that income isn't much of a concern.

Kayleigh

If you are in a job for the money, you need to consider the cost of living. Great pay has to be seen with the full picture in front of you. You might get great pay, but live in an area with a high cost of living. You might get good pay and live elsewhere and come out ahead. I have DSister that is in financial trouble. She thinks moving to Colorado for $150 more per week will help her.....Not going to happen - especially in this housing market with her own home to be sold.

Three years ago we were offered a job with a 30% salary increase - in New Jersey (not in the country). Did we take it? NO! But it was GREAT pay.

but also, cost of living is greatly related to how decadent a person lives

You got that right! :) Both DH & me work full time, live below our means and enjoy a simple, happy life together.

I learned very quickly after graduating college that pay is relative to your happiness. I took a job where I was paid really well - in your great range - but I was absolutely miserable. Worked there for two years and found another job, where I took about a 35% pay cut, but I am still here and so much happier than I was. It wasn't easy to take the monetary cut initially, but it was a wise decision for us :)

for us...great pay means paying bills, stashing some away, good food. but ask me what great pay means for my kids, and I will tell you I want them to make much more than we ever did. (which they do...and I am eternally grateful) why? I don't know...I guess I just want them extremely financially secure. it's a mom thing...


happily...both my kids live below their means, and that is the greatest feeling for a parent. that we taught them great money skills. besides...I don't think I could hang out with yuppies. LOL!

As a general rule, I would agree with your numbers though I'd say everyone's point about being happy is critical.

I have been talking some about negotiating a different work week...work 4-8 hour days for 80% salary or taking more vacation in leiu of a raise, etc. I dig my job but would like more time too.

Am I the only one that associates wether or not it's great pay as to what the job is?

I used to work as a welder. But nodays $100 would be carppy pay to get me to do it full time. My body would be laid up for months if I tried doing it again for a week. Since somebody pays me over $25 and hour to work a computer I do think that's great pay.

Put those into perspective. Take home
pay based on %25 tax and SS

Hourly Weekly
Rate Take home
------- ------------
$5.00 $199.75
$6.00 $239.75
$7.00 $279.75
$8.00 $319.75
$9.00 $359.75
$10.00 $399.75
$11.00 $439.75
$12.00 $479.75
$13.00 $519.75
$14.00 $559.75
$15.00 $599.75
$16.00 $639.75
$17.00 $679.75
$18.00 $719.75
$19.00 $759.75
$20.00 $799.75
$21.00 $839.75
$22.00 $879.75
$23.00 $919.75
$24.00 $959.75
$25.00 $999.75
$26.00 $1,039.75
$27.00 $1,079.75
$28.00 $1,119.75
$29.00 $1,159.75
$30.00 $1,199.75
$31.00 $1,239.75
$32.00 $1,279.75
$33.00 $1,319.75
$34.00 $1,359.75
$35.00 $1,399.75
$36.00 $1,439.75
$37.00 $1,479.75
$38.00 $1,519.75
$39.00 $1,559.75
$40.00 $1,599.75
$41.00 $1,639.75
$42.00 $1,679.75
$43.00 $1,719.75
$44.00 $1,759.75
$45.00 $1,799.75
$46.00 $1,839.75
$47.00 $1,879.75
$48.00 $1,919.75
$49.00 $1,959.75
$50.00 $1,999.75
$51.00 $2,039.75
$52.00 $2,079.75
$53.00 $2,119.75
$54.00 $2,159.75
$55.00 $2,199.75
$56.00 $2,239.75
$57.00 $2,279.75
$58.00 $2,319.75
$59.00 $2,359.75
$60.00 $2,399.75
$61.00 $2,439.75
$62.00 $2,479.75
$63.00 $2,519.75
$64.00 $2,559.75
$65.00 $2,599.75
$66.00 $2,639.75
$67.00 $2,679.75
$68.00 $2,719.75
$69.00 $2,759.75
$70.00 $2,799.75
$71.00 $2,839.75
$72.00 $2,879.75
$73.00 $2,919.75
$74.00 $2,959.75
$75.00 $2,999.75
$76.00 $3,039.75
$77.00 $3,079.75
$78.00 $3,119.75
$79.00 $3,159.75
$80.00 $3,199.75
$81.00 $3,239.75
$82.00 $3,279.75
$83.00 $3,319.75
$84.00 $3,359.75
$85.00 $3,399.75
$86.00 $3,439.75
$87.00 $3,479.75
$88.00 $3,519.75
$89.00 $3,559.75
$90.00 $3,599.75
$91.00 $3,639.75
$92.00 $3,679.75
$93.00 $3,719.75
$94.00 $3,759.75
$95.00 $3,799.75
$96.00 $3,839.75
$97.00 $3,879.75
$98.00 $3,919.75
$99.00 $3,959.75
$100.00 $3,999.75

I agree it's more than the dollar an hour figure.

I'm making about the same $ per year as I was 25 years ago. but I am working a third the hours. the difference now is I only pay cash for everything including cars, houses, new tvs, whatever. if I don't have the cash, I either get a part time job for a while or I don't buy it. my house is 150 years old instead of brand new and just enough room to live in (850 sq ft). my cars are 9+ years old instead of brand new. my present jobs can be done in my regular attire of sweats and jeans instead of nice office clothes.

To many variables to say what great pay is, it's all based on life style.

Around here to live the typical American life style of a 3 bedroom house, 2 new or fairly new cars in the garage, 2 kids and a trip to mexico once a year you're going to have to make at least $100,000gross/yr. If you consider that a great lifestyle and you want just one person to make that money and let one person stay home with the kids then $48/hour is great pay. If 2 people are willing to work then $24/hour is great pay.

The most I've ever made was $11.50 an hour doing office contract work for the city of Austin. Keep in mind, I've been to 4 different colleges but no degree so that did factor in the fact that I didn't ever make good $ so decided to give college one last try. Am doing very well and when I graduate with a certificate in cnc machining, I'm more than likely to make $15 an hour and up. Already have some offers from aircraft manufacturers but would rather complete my schooling first.

At one point I was fortunate enough to only take jobs paying at least $800/day. Now, I would be real happy with $500/day. Anything less than $500/day is just OK.

Bandit,
I like the way you think! :)

I haven't needed to earn much since I figured out that I don't need much.
I'm happy just to provide for my critters, and have a lil patch of land on which to garden. :)

Your numbers don't jive...All you've done is subtracted $.25 from the gross. I think you meant to subtract 25%. 'Cause take home pay on 40hrs @ $10 is not $399.75!

Wish I were makeing my age LOL
 

Id say $20 would be an excellent wage, AFTER taxes. ect

Got a friend that makes $118,000 a year and gets a company car with a company credit card to put gas in it and seems pretty happy. As for me, my employer wanted to pay me what I'm worth but I told him I can't live on that!

Welllll, I was once asked by a fellow student when I was in college if I wanted to be rich. I told him I just wanted to be comfortable. It was his next statement that got my attention. He told me that if I brought him secrets from where I worked, he would make me a rich person. :eek:

At the time, I was working full time for a defense contractor and held a high clearance. I immediately called our security office. The next call I received was from the FBI. This occured in the early 1980's and the head of a certain overseas country had been toppled a few years prior. This student was from that country and may have been an operative of the government. The FBI wanted me to participate in a sting to trap the student. My answer was not only no but HELL NO. In fact, it scared me so much that I dropped out of that school.

I'm still not as rich as he wanted to make me. :grump: