gig em 02 said:

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Topher17 said:

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23
55,000
Public Accounting

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Isn't it crazy that teachers and CPAs start with the same salary?

http://www.katyisd.org/dept/hr/Documents/Teacher%20Salary%20Schedule.pdf

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Difference is is that a teacher that starts at 55K now will probably retire making 70K. Teachers pay raises are extremely meager.

A big 4 CPA starts at 55K, but he will be making 100K+ in 7-10 years if he stays in big 4

This thread is crazy. You guys are crushing it for your age. I'm 35, will make 180k this year, and I'm basically average on here. Ha ha.

I've had a pretty great ride up the last 10 years and look forward to the future.

2007 - 30k
2009 - 57k
2011 - 67k
2014 - 110k
2016 - 140k
2018 - 180k

Congrats to all of you!

College station starts at $42
(Just looked it up). Higher than I thought. But good for them, being a teacher has to be hard.

College Station could probably start lower and still attract great teachers. Everyone wants to stay in CS and from what I've been told, is one of the best school districts in the state.

25
100-110 range
Geologist in O&G
Started <1 yr ago. Raises are supposedly pretty hefty at my company

I think there is a point where additional money does not increase happiness. I essentially doubled my income from the 2012 time frame. I'm saving like crazy and have not elevated my lifestyle outside of a few small things. I work to save enough to transition to something more rewarding.

My 3-4 coworkers make 1.5-3.0x of my take home and not one of them is happy or satisfied. Most have seen drastic increases in lifestyle and still feel trapped in their situations.

There is always a nice car, vacation, house, camp for kids to keep you on the treadmill.

Cyp0111 said:

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I think there is a point where additional money does not increase happiness. I essentially doubled my income from the 2012 time frame. I'm saving like crazy and have not elevated my lifestyle outside of a few small things. I work to save enough to transition to something more rewarding.

My 3-4 coworkers make 1.5-3.0x of my take home and not one of them is happy our satisfied. Most have seen drastic increases in lifestyle and still feel trapped

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My whole strategy is to make enough money, to position things in such a way, that I can retire if I want at age 45.

Now, will I retire? That is up for debate when the time comes. The point is, the goal is, is that I would have made that option available. If I continue working it will be because it's fun... in the meantime I'm okay making some sacrafices along the way. To me that means taking the family business to the next level - perhaps selling off or creating a cash cow (or both).

36 now, $200K with profit sharing and salary. With reinvestment in rental property we are making an extra $30K or so a year and growing quickly.

I make decent money, low for this thread. My biggest issue is that my salary stagnated 8 years ago.

rgag12 said:

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gig em 02 said:

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Topher17 said:

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23
55,000
Public Accounting

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Isn't it crazy that teachers and CPAs start with the same salary?

http://www.katyisd.org/dept/hr/Documents/Teacher%20Salary%20Schedule.pdf

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Difference is is that a teacher that starts at 55K now will probably retire making 70K. Teachers pay raises are extremely meager.

A big 4 CPA starts at 55K, but he will be making 100K+ in 7-10 years if he stays in big 4

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Essentially all new managers now are 100k+ including (and in some cases excluding) bonus. I would revise 7-10 to 6-7.

Cyp0111 said:

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$145K base, cash bonus 80-90%, RSU ~50K annually. Total comp varies from $300-$350K depending on performance.

I'm early 30s, job is rough and burnout rate is high

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How is that enough to set a retirement target at 45 per your more recent post? Are you expecting significant income increases between now and then?

Sounds like he's putting together a solid real estate portfolio for residual income.

Late 20's
75k
Assistant Manager for a general contracfor.

Based on reading this thread, I wish I would have done something in O&G.

Honestly, there's about a million other things I would rather be doing with my career as I don't really like what I do for a living. Just hard to take a leap of faith being married with little ones.

45 is more or less the time I want to do my own thing, whatever that may be. I'll always need to generate additional income but hopefully I'll have real estate, investments and ag income to offset a less stressful career or atleast that is the plan. I think I should be there by 45...or hopefully find something that is more long term.

Like I said, I live off of base salary only and everything else goes into investments.

This thread will certainly make you question your path. I've been doing the same job for 20 years since my doctorate. I make molecules for a living. It's all I've ever done. I think about them when I'm not at work. The thought of learning a management job, selling stuff to people, or trying something different just doesn't make sense. My molecules have put students through grad school, inspired entire new areas of research, and have been commercialized. I have a paper that's been cited about 2000 times. Yeah, I'd like to make more money. But I make roughly what a successful chemist should make after 20 years. And I have to take inventory:
- low cost housing area to rear 6 children
- 4 minute commute
- 40 hour work week with 9/80 days
- great co-workers who are always available to talk science instead of HR or management mumbo jumbo
- great company safety record
- lean organization, shale gas feed, and fairly low probability of layoffs
- generous health coverage. With a disabled family member and serious illness, that low out of pocket maximum is an incredible benefit.
- good schools, good church

My generation sort of started the whole drive for always finding greener pastures. I've gone against that trend. Maybe I'll finish my career doing something different. But writing books and teaching Sunday school don't pay so well...

Most people find that they don't like doing science every day. It's hard, success is sporadic and random, and most of the time nobody cares when you solve a problem...Only if it makes money in the next 6 months. I still like it though.

For those of you wanting to retire, or do your own thing, at 45, what number do you envision needing to do so?

2 instead of 6.

Retirement is based entirely on expenses and not income. I make a third what he does and became financially independent around year 8 of my career, because I was saving 70% of my income.

In my 40's, house paid for and $4 million liquid. Take 4% out ($160k) annually and i would be fine living on that.

Number goes down in my 50's and 60's. If I'm going to call the ball early on retirement, it needs to be a lower risk call.

30
120k-170k depends on how much OT I pick up.
Process Operator for a major petrochemical company

31
$95k + 15-20% bonus
Financial Reporting

I'd like to be making more, but working a 9-80 schedule with very minimal overtime is pretty dang nice.

As for sharing salary, I think people realized that there's not really much benefit to keeping it secret. It only helps the employer, not the employees, like others have said.

On the point of salary sharing, I think another big change has been the increase in outlets to share that information while remaining either completely or partially anonymous. Because while i might share some detailed numbers in a place like this, i would still be much more hesitant to share specifics around my friends out of concern for making things awkward if it turns out I make substantially more, or substantially less than them.

Boat Shoes said:

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For those of you wanting to retire, or do your own thing, at 45, what number do you envision needing to do so?

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If you have money "stuck" in a 401(k), be advised of the penalty-free withdrawal options. I would say $4 million net worth for mid-40's retirement, but $3 million if you are continuing to work.

One huge caveat - I wouldn't retire and then have my kids rack up college debt.

BlackGoldAg2011 said:

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On the point of salary sharing, I think another big change has been the increase in outlets to share that information while remaining either completely or partially anonymous. Because while i might share some detailed numbers in a place like this, i would still be much more hesitant to share specifics around my friends out of concern for making things awkward if it turns out I make substantially more, or substantially less than them.

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I agree. And I think its why I am not completely comfortable sharing what I make here, one because some here know me (although if they do, its easy to find out what I make then not counting my side business), and two, people might laugh and say I'm LOL poor after everyone posting these big ass salaries. But on that same token, I do feel I am paid well for what I do. And I like my job.

This isn't the GB. We don't do the lolpoor crap here.

Malibu, congrats on the success. Can you shoot me an email at cypressag123@yahoo.com

94chem said:

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Boat Shoes said:

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For those of you wanting to retire, or do your own thing, at 45, what number do you envision needing to do so?

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If you have money "stuck" in a 401(k), be advised of the penalty-free withdrawal options. I would say $4 million net worth for mid-40's retirement, but $3 million if you are continuing to work.

One huge caveat - I wouldn't retire and then have my kids rack up college debt.

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The question I'm asking as I'm reading these:

Does most of the higher earners Max out their 401k contributions?
Do you still have a mortgage, are you trying to pay early?

yes, i max my 401k out.

no, i don't have a mortgage or any debt. i'm on an overseas assignment so i'm stashing away as much as i can the next 4 years.

I'll answer my own question as well.

I max out 401k and pay 500 on top of my mortgage, am attempting to pay off over 10 years then purchase a new home and rent out the current one.

Created a ghost account cause I still feel a little weird talking about it. Wasn't originally planning on posting, but wanted to show that not everyone is an high earner.

Age: 23
Salary: $62K (not sure on bonus, but expecting $2K-$5K based on conversations with my boss. I know that's low but I'm obviously brand new)
Position: Project manager with a mechanical contractor.

I'm an engineering major, and I know I could have made more engineering, but I think I like this job more than I would engineering. Plus I'm hoping for more salary increases than I would have had as an engineer. Time will tell for both.

94chem said:

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Boat Shoes said:

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For those of you wanting to retire, or do your own thing, at 45, what number do you envision needing to do so?

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If you have money "stuck" in a 401(k), be advised of the penalty-free withdrawal options. I would say $4 million net worth for mid-40's retirement, but $3 million if you are continuing to work.

One huge caveat - I wouldn't retire and then have my kids rack up college debt.

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Roth ladder is a part off our early retirement strategy. You just need to fund 5 years from taxable while it "seasons".

tailgatetimer10 said:

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I'll answer my own question as well.

I max out 401k and pay 500 on top of my mortgage, am attempting to pay off over 10 years then purchase a new home and rent out the current one.

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Same exact strategy. Maxing 401k and paying the house off on a 10 year rate to then rent out when we move to our next home.

On the younger folks sharing and the "dick measuring" comments.

Information is power. The more knowledge you have the more you can position yourself for success. I like to share and have the conversation to see where I am. I share with friends and family, but never with coworkers.

Discussing retirement savings and salary candidly has helped me adjust my path. It helped me realize I was undervalued at my previous job by ~30%. It resulted in me making a move for a better life.

I have friends who make much more than me. I have friends who make considerably less. It's nice being able to compare notes, give/receive suggestions, and try to help improve everyone's financial situation through information sharing/knowledge.

At the end of the day, I don't really understand why it's "taboo". Websites like Glassdoor are immensely helpful... but personal conversations are even better to gain insight.