how much money do you make? — Ask a Manager [PDF]

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how much money do you make? by ALIS ON GR EEN on J ANUAR Y 2 9 , 2 0 1 4

That’s a pretty crass headline, isn’t it? Which is exactly the point. People don’t like to be asked what they make, and so it’s hard to find real-world information about what jobs pay, tailored to a particular industry and geographic level. Online salary websites are often inaccurate, probably because they generally don’t account for the fact that job titles can represent wildly different scopes of responsibility. You can ask around in your field, but that doesn’t always pay off, and it’s especially hard if you’re just starting out. So, as suggested by a commenter last weekend, let’s take some of the mystery out of salary. If you’re willing to play, leave a comment with the following information: your job (the more descriptive the better, since job titles don’t always explain level of responsibility or scope of work) your geographic area your approximate years of experience your salary anything else pertinent to put that number in context Update: Please put your job title as your user name, which will make it appear in bold, which will be easier for people to scan. (Assuming you want to be anonymous, don’t put your email address in the email field if you don’t want it linked to your Gravatar, if you have one.) And if you’re willing to note whether you’re a man or woman, that might be interesting too! And no snarking on anyone’s salary, because that is rude. Y O U MA Y A LSO LIK E:

how much money do you make? what benefits do you get? how to determine what salary to ask for PO ST E D IN SA L A RY

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amp2140 January 29, 2014 at 11:03 am

Title: Instrument Inventory Analyst. Basically I work in asset management for a third party that sits at a pharma and takes care of their instruments. Geographic Area: NJ Years of Experience: Been here 18 months, was hired in Nov. Salary: $45,000

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Feed Fido January 29, 2014 at 7:57 pm

Question for all: how much (percentage) do you pay for healthcare? I found I make much less due to insurance. As in I pay 17% of my income for family coverage.

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danr January 31, 2014 at 10:10 am

Keep track of all your medical expenses and next to what you pay for each item, track what your insurance paid and the actual cost before any insurance discounts. Then think of paying for all of that upfront.

Hunny February 3, 2014 at 5:35 pm

Internet manners 101: Don’t comment on the top post in an effort to get more views and redirect the conversation. Just post your question by itself. My answer: I pay 15% of my health insurance, which equals 1% of my salary.

System Librarian - Academic April 29, 2014 at 10:11 am

Title: System Librarian – responsible for electronic resources and staffing and accreditation Geographic area: Mountain Plains Years of Experience: 35 years total; 5 in this job Salary: $80,000

Nicole January 29, 2014 at 11:05 am

Development associate (fundraising) Northeast Ohio. 6 months internship experience, other part time jobs through school $35,000 non-exempt Fantastic health insurance, however super low retirement contribution

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Nicole January 29, 2014 at 11:06 am

By retirement contribution I meant company match.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:07 am

$130,000 Lawyer at a small, public-interest side regulatory firm in Washington, D.C. 5 years experience.

ANON1 January 29, 2014 at 11:08 am

Title: Senior Research Analyst Description: Data Analyst for Consulting firm. Primarily use statistical software to analyze data. Some client interaction responsibilities. Experience: 3 years, with Bachelors degree. Salary $70K. Overtime at straight-time. Often required to work 50-60 hours/week. Location: Metro DC Area

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anon for this one January 29, 2014 at 12:27 pm

Can I ask what type of data you are working with and what field your undergrad was in? I have a master’s degree in epidemiology so I have graduate level biostatistics training and I’m curious to see how transferable my training is to other (potentially more lucrative) fields.

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Mike C. January 29, 2014 at 1:53 pm

I’d love to hear the answer for this as well, but it’s always been my experience that when non-math people know you’re a “math person”, you’re basically a wizard. You have to be able to tell them how your skills will help them, but once that connection is made you’re golden.

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anon for this one January 29, 2014 at 2:45 pm

This made me laugh out loud because I am far from a math wizard (seriously, calculus and physics were my mortal enemies), but stats is a little bit different, plus I’m familiar with SAS and SPSS, with vague understanding of R. My strengths lean more towards study design, but data is data.

Clinical Research Associate January 29, 2014 at 4:08 pm

I’m starting an epidemiology MS in the fall and this is my impression, too. My goal is to really double down on the stats coursework, because in my medical research position I’ve noted that even many of the MDs I work with have no idea about stats. These are very intelligent, highly educated people in other areas, and not only are the dependent on the statistician to come up with the results, they’re dependent on a combination of the statistician and me to explain them and ask for the right thing. According to the BLS statistician jobs are growing much faster than epidemiologist jobs (revised from last year, when they were growing about the same– this change is due to strapped state and local government budgets) and pay more. My research and the small number of statistician contacts I have suggest that this is an appropriate backup plan for people who can’t find or don’t want epidemiologist jobs.

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Clinical Research Associate January 29, 2014 at 4:09 pm

I should add that epidemiologist jobs aren’t thought to be sluggish, just about the same as job growth overall. State and local governments are still interested in them but may not be able to hire them. Statistician jobs are projected to grow much faster than all jobs. Last year both jobs were projected to grow much faster than all jobs.

anon for this one January 30, 2014 at 9:28 am

True story, I’m amazed at the number of brilliant scientists and physicians who look at you like you sprouted an extra head when you explain a statistical concept to them. My friend with an MSc epidemiology is a research assistant/analyst and she’s taking over some stats work…they are currently paying a consulting biostatistician $98/hr to do a pretty basic analysis. She’s not getting paid similarly, unfortunately…that’s why they hired someone with an epi background!

anon January 30, 2014 at 9:36 am

This is actually my job — doing the statistics for MD researchers at a large hospital. (I have an MPH.) Very intelligent people, very good at medicine, absolutely awful at study design and completely lacking in basic knowledge of statistics. I swear, over 50% of my time* is spent trying to explain to the doctors I work with that no, twelve people is not an adequate sample size, and no, running an experiment thirty times and getting a significant p value one time does not mean that that one experiment is valid and the other 29 are not. *not an actual statistic

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anon for this one January 30, 2014 at 1:44 pm

Try explaining proper survey design and methodology to an MD with no research background….ugh.

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Melissa February 10, 2014 at 2:26 am

I just wanted to say that I love this thread because this is what I want to do – I have a BA in psychology and will have a PhD in public health in a semester, and I discovered biostats in grad school. I do freelance consulting and teach stats workshops, but it’s great to see comments from working statisticians.

Drug Safety1 May 27, 2014 at 12:45 am

Hello all, I work in drug safety/PhV. I am also from a non-math background. Could learning about biostatistics also help my career line? I am still a beginner at my current job, so thinking of diversifying my future options. As I work full-time, I dont have time to attend a course in college. If I do learn biostatistics, SAS/SPSS by myself, would it be appreciated by employers?

ANON1 January 29, 2014 at 5:39 pm

I have undergrad degrees in Economics and Statistics. I work with SAS mostly. http://www.bateswhite.com/experience.php? CaseID=45 is a close competitor who probably pays slightly more than what my company does.

alsoanon January 30, 2014 at 5:42 pm

My husband has a PhD in applied mathematics, but his focus was biostatistics. He also works in market research as a data analyst. He also makes quite a bit more than this (almost twice as much), but with more education and experience. He used to work in consumer packaged goods and now works for the pharmaceutical industry, putting his biostats interest to use. It’s a good field.

Darcie January 29, 2014 at 3:44 pm

I’m curious what your undergraduate education is in. I was applying for similar jobs with my BSc Math.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:08 am

Job: Quality Systems Specialist – Metrics/Business OPs/Process Improvement/Regulatory Work Area: Pacific NW Experience: 2.5 years here, 3 years in related industry Salary:~$70,000 + 401K matching + Salaried Overtime + Health + Yearly/Emergent bonuses.

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Anonnynonny January 29, 2014 at 3:34 pm

If you’re willing to share – can you expand on education/ certification? Thanks!

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Anon January 30, 2014 at 9:45 am

I have a BS in Math/Biology, but big thing was simply experience. I started out doing quality/regulatory/calibration work in the lab sciences world, and then transferred that experience to aerospace. A lot of what helped was just gaining experience in environments where you had to work under ISO/cGMP/etc conditions. Getting used to all the record keeping, the paperwork, following SOPs and so on. Then, it’s all about understanding why those systems are in place and how to apply them in a safe, meaningful and efficient manner.

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Anonnynonny January 30, 2014 at 3:16 pm

Thanks, I was curious as this looks a lot like my job/title/experience and geographic area. Plus I wondered if maybe my cousin reads AAM too.

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Anon January 30, 2014 at 6:41 pm

You work at the lazy B? Which program?

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Anonnynonny January 31, 2014 at 3:48 pm

Nope, not there, just in Quality. It’s my cousin who works to AS 9100 (Rev C). My background is ISO 9001:2008, and my current org works to yet another standard based on ISO 9001 but tailored for the type of work we do. I’m researching to see what professional certification would be best suited for my org’s (and my own) needs. Thanks again!

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Quality Engineering Analyst February 4, 2014 at 10:43 pm

Are you connected with ASQ (American Society for Quality)? They have some of the most well-respected certifications in our area of expertise. (I work with ISO 9001, as well.)

A Reader January 29, 2014 at 11:10 am

$34,000 Marketing/Digital Marketing Manager, New England Very little experience outside of school (small company)

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A Reader January 29, 2014 at 11:37 am

I’m a woman. Doubt this affects my salary. (I think there are absolutely places where it does.)

anon January 29, 2014 at 11:11 am

Senior Finance Analyst for a Fortune 500 company Chicago $100K/year I had 7 years of business experience (not directly in finance), left to attend a top-tier MBA program full-time, and was recruited for this job while in school. I just graduated/started the job last summer. All MBA hires in my “class” were given the same salary, regardless of prior experience.

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Ms Enthusiasm January 29, 2014 at 12:30 pm

Would this be considered an entry level position?

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anon January 29, 2014 at 12:47 pm

No, it’s not entry-level. Without an MBA, you’d reach this level in maybe 3 years. But the pay wouldn’t be the same – more like $50-60K.

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Director of Finance January 29, 2014 at 5:10 pm

We start financial analysts with ~3 years experience at $85k. MBAs from a top school with similar experience will start around $100k. This is LA/Orange County, California.

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anon007 January 30, 2014 at 1:43 pm

Curiosity demands that I ask, which schools have what you consider a top tier M.B.A. program. I would like to plan ahead and attend one of them.

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Elaine January 31, 2014 at 6:12 pm

I know for sure that University of Chicago and Northwestern are two of the best in the country. Ivy Leagues, sometimes, also. Penn might be one.

Laufey February 7, 2014 at 1:48 pm

This list does a pretty good job of nailing the top contenders. In general, make certain to look at the placement rates/accompanying intern programs. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings

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MBAWife July 31, 2014 at 9:15 am

I agree with that list. However, just Google MBA Rankings. There are about 15 that rotate through the top 1-10 spots, depending on which ranking you’re looking at. Generally though, If they’re in the top 25 they’re ‘top tier.’ 25-50 are ‘second tier’ but you’ll still get an awesome job – they may just not have as many companies that recruit there directly (as in you may have to go out and find your job yourself) but the reputation will still be good. 50+, just be at the top of your class. 100+, don’t waste your money.

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MBAGrad June 5, 2015 at 12:29 am

About a year late on this one, but graduated from a “second tier” MBA program. Knowing what I know now, look very closely at the companies which recruit at a specific school and what concentrations they recruit. My school has almost worthless finance recruiting (2-3 companies if I recall) and I’ll be lucky to make 5060k when I get an offer (its been a month since graduation). In general, go to the best school you can get financial aid to go to. I paid very little out of pocket to get my MBA so even though I won’t be making 100k like a lot of my classmates, I have very little debt.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:11 am

Job: Administrative Assistant I Area: Chicago Experience: 1 year here, several years admin experience other places Salary: $40K

Mike C. January 29, 2014 at 11:12 am

This is absolutely fascinating, great topic!

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I'll Play! January 29, 2014 at 11:33 am

Agreed!

Jamie January 29, 2014 at 11:37 am

I totally agree – I’m loving this! Trying to work up the courage to play!

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:12 am

Corporate Librarian Large Canadian City (Downtown) $53,000 1 year of experience Basically I run a small corporate library/reference service.

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Anon January 29, 2014 at 6:50 pm

Also a Corporate Librarian, but at a non-prof in a midsize US city. $37,500. I am designing a management system for their electronic files (active and not). They also want me to establish a corporate archive and a records management program. 40/week are billed as overtime). Typically works out to about $130-140k. Health, dental & vision paid in full by employer, 1 week of sick days, 4 weeks paid vacation, professional development and conferences covered by employer.

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Anon for this January 29, 2014 at 11:48 am

Oh, and $45/month in a HSA from employer, no contribution from me is required. Also, for all travel outside of New England, my hotel/apartment, rental car, bills, and food are paid for by the client. Plus one trip home a month.

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Rat Racer January 29, 2014 at 12:40 pm

What % do you travel?

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Anon for this January 29, 2014 at 2:08 pm

Totally depends on project. This year, I won’t be traveling until 4th quarter, when I pick up a project on the West Coast. Next year they’re thinking of sending me to Hyderabad for a few months, unless the current project develops into something bigger, in which case I would be doing both the local gig and the West Coast project at the same time, and working remotely with occasional visits. It just depends on what projects we get and where we are needed. Some people stay in one place for 5 years, others like my boss are all over the place.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:32 am

Title: Administrative assistant – in energy engineering – In addition toadmin fuctions, I also do some basic design work and assist on larger projects as needed. Geographic area: Colorado Experience: 10 years administrative, approx 1 year industry specific Salary: $37,000 + 2 weeks pto, 8 paid holidays, options for health insurance, 401k

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Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:39 am

Anon op – education is a BA in an unrelated field

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:32 am

Engineering Intern (civil/structural) at a small privately held company. My roles and responsibilities range from engineering designs and reports, contract administration, field investigations, and other duties as assigned. Area: Ottawa, Canada Experience: 4 years, with bachelor’s degree Salary: $52,000 Perks: company matched retirement plan, medical benefits, occasional telecommuting, 5 weeks PTO, performance based bonus, and unlimited coffee :)

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Production Manager January 29, 2014 at 1:40 pm

Out of curiosity…are you considered an intern in the sense that it’s not a permanent position? How does that work?

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Judy January 29, 2014 at 2:08 pm

It’s probably a licensing title. In my state, if you take the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam and pass, you’re considered a licensed Engineering Intern. Once you take the PE (Principles and Practices of Engineering) you’re a licensed Professional Engineer. I’m pretty sure it’s similar in Canada. Many of us have taken the FE, because you can take it any time after your last year of school starts. Since it is very heavy in theory, there’s no time like just after you’ve taken the classes to get that over with. My university said if you have even a thought of doing work that requires a PE, take the test now. The second test, you have to apply to take, and you need recommendations about your work quality, etc. A former co-worker is now in a job that requires a PE eventually. He didn’t take the FE back in college 10+ years ago. He’s had to pull out his old textbooks and study like crazy.

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Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 9:09 pm

The good news in Canada is that there’s no “FE” exam for graduates of Canadian engineering schools. The bad news is that those engineering schools generally take very little transfer credit (including AP/IB) in order to maintain their accreditation.

Anonymous January 30, 2014 at 1:57 pm

It is a full time position. In Ontario ‘Professional Engineers of Ontario’ (PEO) governs the use of the word “engineer” – so they have established some basic titles that may be used (so long as you pay your fees, of course): Engineer Student – Still in school (has not yet completed their bachelor’s degree) Engineering Intern Training (EIT) – Have completed bachelor’s degree and is working towards becoming a Professional Engineer Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) – has completed all requirements from PEO, and is now licensed as and engineer (can now stamp/seal drawings and documents). I hope this answers your question (although I may have ‘over-answered’… a bad habit of my nerdiness).

Assistant Engineer - Traffic January 30, 2014 at 5:39 pm

Title: Assistant Engineer – Traffic Industry: Local Government Experience: 2 years as a student engineer, 3.5 years full time including 1 year in current position. Area: Large city in Southern California Salary: $63,340. Position ranges from $60k-70k depending on years of service + 15% for PE license Benefits: traditional pension (gone for new employees), 6% retirement salary match (much lower for new employees), 11 paid holidays, 22 days PTO, +$6k/yr credits to use on medical, dental, vision (essentially covering everything for a single person like myself). Lucky to have this job, rarely work over 40 hours a week, low employee turnover, great bosses, and you really make a difference in shaping your City. Hoping to pass the PE this year. Advice to anyone who wants to work for local government is to apply as an intern or student worker ASAP. It is near impossible to seperate yourself as a new grad otherwise when there are 200+ applicants for entry level engineering positions.

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:32 am

Document Programmer for public opinion surveys Major city in Texas $30k + overtime + benefits Entry-level/Recent grad

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:32 am

Title: Research Director Area: Midwest city with low COL Experience: 2 years in role, 6 years in field; PhD Salary: $72k, generous healthcare and decent 401k contributions

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Research Director January 29, 2014 at 11:33 am

P.S. I’m a woman.

Thomas January 29, 2014 at 11:32 am

Forgot to mention: I float between Vancouver BC and Los Angeles. I have 4 1/2 years’ experience (which includes time spent as roto/paint artist and compositor, and now production manager).

Aanon January 29, 2014 at 11:32 am

Title: Production Supervisor in a technology field. I am also an associate in the company. Geographical Area: Medium sized city in the Southern United States Years of Experience: 18 in similar field, 3 in this field (Associates Degree) Salary: 64,500 salaried, non-exempt. Pertinent: Company pays $15,000 per year towards health insurance, four weeks Paid Time Off, tuition reimbursement is available, bonus is dependent on profit (last one was two weeks’ pay).

Office Admin - Legal January 29, 2014 at 11:32 am

Title: Legal Office Assistant Industry: Law Location: Toronto, ON Years Experience: Less than 1 (8 months) Salary: $36,000

NCCP January 29, 2014 at 11:33 am

Real Estate Paralegal large law firm, NC 3 yrs 44K, bad health insurance, max $750 pretax bonus based on billing hrs

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:33 am

Thanks so much for doing this! I’ve had a hard time figuring out what I should be asking for, especially since I have a job that most people don’t even realize exists. your job: I work in consulting as an environmental scientist and biologist. I perform field surveys, reporting, I do regulatory compliance, coordination with local, state, and federal agencies. your geographic area: Large metro area in the mountain west your approximate years of experience: 7 your salary: I am currently part-time hourly (it’s HEAVEN!), and I make $29.50 per hour. If I worked full time that would be approximately $61,000 per year anything else pertinent to put that number in context: I have a M. S. in my field, and I’m pretty sure I’m considered a high performer. My last two jobs, I’ve negotiated my salary and have gotten the amount I asked for.

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Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:51 am

Also, I’m a woman.

AVP January 29, 2014 at 1:42 pm

FWIW, my cousin has a very similar job in the Northeast and she makes about the same.

Geologist January 31, 2014 at 7:22 am

I am a geologist doing something very similar in the midwest. I work for a large, international firm. I just started–literally last month–without a lick of experience in my related field. I have a master’s degree in Geology, but all of my work experience was retail. I make $44,000, which is $1,000/yr less than the top end of the pay scale for an entry level position at my company. Another company I was seriously considering was local and much smaller, and couldn’t offer more than $34,000. I receive 10 days vacation, 6 sick, 7 holidays plus one floater. The best benefit (to me) is 401k match up to 15% annual salary. Since I just started, I have no idea what kind of bonuses, etc are out there. At the risk of repeating everyone, this is a fabulous idea. As someone who just went through countless of interviews, I really could have used this post. The current company I work for asked me to list a salary expectation in the application and my interviewers all but laughed me out of the room. When I explained how I got the number (I knew ONE person in the field in the area, and so I used the number she told me. Apparently it was quite high.) and how difficult it was to find this information, they were a bit more understanding. I even straight-up told them they should post the range in the job description if they want reasonable answers (I think this helped me get the job since I work with a bunch of smart-asses–which to me isn’t a bad thing haha). It turns out the five candidates they were seriously considering had salary expectations much higher and much lower than mine. It goes to show that they help no one (especially entry-level peeps) by excluding salary information in the job description. So thanks Alison and everyone out there! I hope this information helps more people in the future!

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Geologist January 31, 2014 at 7:33 am

Oh and since I just read someone might be compiling this information… I am a 25 year old female, and I work outside of Chicago.

Anon scientist February 8, 2014 at 8:15 am

Hey environmental biz buddy! Figured I’d stick mine here. Geologist, environmental consulting Northeast US, small city 70,000 not including straight overtime (which I try to avoid), awesome benefits/company MS + 10 years’ experience I used to be a project manager but changed jobs to focus on the technical side. About 20% fieldwork. Female.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:34 am

Title: Title Processor Description: I examine records (deeds, mortgages, easements, etc) to determine who holds title to real estate, as well as determine insurability of title Area: Northern Michigan (very rural) Experience: approximately 3 years in the industry, less than 1 year in this position Salary: $28,000 + overtime and bonuses Benefits: company paid health, vision and dental, yearly merit & COL increases, yearly bonus opportunities, 401K match, flexible hours, ability to work from home, low cost of living area, very short commute, 3 weeks PTO, 10 paid holidays

Organic Search Strategist January 29, 2014 at 11:34 am

Job: Senior level, at an agency with 9 accounts. No direct reports, but in charge of some big accounts. My job is also called search engine optimization (SEO) – the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results. Area: Boston Experience: 5 years, with a BA Salary: $80,000 with a $1200 bonus

House Manager @ an Orchestra January 29, 2014 at 11:34 am

Job: I house manage concerts, but also work on development events and work in the education department (this is what I want to do full time). I manage the ushers, talk to the halls we play in about ushers, etc. All in all, pretty low on the totem pole. Area: the south Years: This is my 3rd year in the orchestra field Salary: $29,000 Some flex time given for when we work concerts, but it’s only if we have concerts on both Saturday and Sunday, therefore having no weekend. In the summers though, my position is only required to be in the office 1/4 of the time. So some people also in this situation are able to work at orchestra festivals around the country. In my previous job (was there 2 years), I worked as the #2 in an orchestra ed. department in the southwest and made $33,000.

Senior Software Engineer January 29, 2014 at 11:35 am

Geographic Area: I work remotely for a Silicon Valley company. I’m pretty sure they’d pay me more if I worked on-site, but not enough to make up for moving away from my very low COL city. Years Experience: 5ish (depending on how you count my Ph.D., which was not in computer science but did involve some programming) Salary: $100k plus bonus ($33k this year) Context: I started out at $70k for a startup a few years ago, got a big bump when the startup got bought out by a large tech company.

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Senior Software Engineer January 29, 2014 at 11:36 am

and benefits, sorry: 401k with match up to 2%, decent but not amazing health coverage, stock participation plan.

Regional Director (nonprofit, female) January 29, 2014 at 11:35 am

Context for my role: I work for a nonprofit startup and implement our work in several states. I develop our strategic plans (in relationship to the overall plan set by our leadership team) and carry out the activities described in those plans. I am the only person working in my states, so I don’t manage anyone. Context for my organization: Expectations are high, hours are long, and travel is extensive. In accordance, my organization pays generously (in my experience). Geographic area: Second-tier Midwest city (i.e. not Chicago) Years of experience: 10 years post-grad school (MPP). 3-4 years total experience in internships/etc. before grad school. Salary: $79,000 Other benefits: 4 weeks vacation, match 5% of retirement contributions, significant contributions to health care premiums (we pay $20/month for a basic plan or $50/month for a very comprehensive plan).

Nonprofit program coordinator January 29, 2014 at 11:35 am

Experience: 6 years Geographic area: Dallas/Fort Worth Salary: $45,000

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Rachel January 29, 2014 at 2:48 pm

This was my previous job in Minneapolis and I made exactly $45,000. I had been 5-8 years of experience when that was my salary.

Program Director January 29, 2014 at 11:35 am

Job: Program Director at a non-profit focused on education in a small city in the Midwest. I’m developing and managing a brand new education program aimed at increasing the number of low-income college bound kids in our city. Years experience: 4 year undergrad which included many internships, 2 years in the Peace Corps, 2 years in the non-profit sector. Salary and benefits: $45,000 plus health insurance and 2% towards my 403(b)

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Rachel January 29, 2014 at 2:49 pm

Cool job! Salary sounds similar to what I posted above for a non-profit coordinator/director job.

techy January 29, 2014 at 11:36 am

title: field technician area: chicago experience: 5 years salary: $51,000, excellent benefits, 40 hrs/wk, no bonus

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:36 am

-My (former) job: VP of Operations (Banking industry. Head of deposit and loan operations, compliance officer, information security officer, BSA officer, bank security officer, IT person) -Geographic area: Fairfield county, CT -Approximate years of experience: 17, all with same company (6 yrs teller/teller manager, 5 yrs as operations officer, 7 years as VP of operations) -Salary: ending salary 66k Salary very under market for the industry, bank assets less than $30 million, tiny bank in a low- to middle-income city.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:37 am

Buyer/Purchasing Coordinator small company, Colorado – I’m female. 7 years experience total. $43,000 + ~20% profit sharing Company pays 80% health insurance as well as other benefits.

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Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:40 am

Also, I have no degree if that’s relevant.

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Anon also January 30, 2014 at 11:54 am

That’s actually super relevant! I don’t have a degree (partway through one, but I’ve been going to school part-time on and off for several years while I save up to transfer to a private college) and I’m really interested in seeing how people navigate their careers without one. When people find out I don’t have a degree they tend to patronize, but I was lucky enough to find a company recently that valued my skills over my education level. :)

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:37 am

n Manager of engineering consulting group within a larger company. 25 staff report to me, about $7M/year revenue. n Canada n 15 years of experience n $170,000 + very small bonuses

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:37 am

Title: Director in Academic Affairs Division, private university Area: NY State Experience: 25 years at a number of colleges, here a little over a year Salary: 76K, 10% salary match from institution for retirement contribution Education: Liberal Arts BA + MA (MA completed during first university job)

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Job: Biostatistician, Masters degree Region: Philadelphia area ~10 years of experience $72,000 in salary, but I also teach as an adjunct instructor and consult here and there. Adjuncting brings in $3.5 – 5.5K per class taught, consulting $100/hr, so my average salary overall runs about $78K but when I was teaching like a banshee (I was single, had the free time), it was up around $85K.

Clinical Placement Coordinator January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Clinical Placement Coordinator for Nurse Practitioner students enrolled in our private college’s two year MSN (Master of Science, Nursing) program in a medium-sized city in the Northeastern US. Our program has approx 90 MSN students currently active in the program. Gross annual salary is $46,500. I have fewer than 2 years of experience in this position (was hired with no experience in this particular role, though several years of closely-related work outside higher education).

Grants Mgr January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Grants Mgr: Responsible for writing grants for corporate, foundation, private, and government entities. Also responsible for grants management: oversight of expenditures for grant funded projects; grant reporting; review of contracts; making sure program team understands responsibilities and expectations of the grant award. California (Los Angeles) 10 years of experience 80,000 I am on the high end of the scale most grant writers make between 35k-55k depending on the agency budget. Agencies with higher budgets sometimes pay more. Grant writers who have a good track record have some leverage to get a higher salary. New grant writers generally start on the low end because they don’t have a track record. The difficult part is once you get to the high end it is hard to move around because other agencies offer low salaries.

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Grants Manager too January 29, 2014 at 7:25 pm

I’m also a Grants Manager, though I work at an academic research center at a large university. I do some proposal development, although it’s largely done by the researchers as the work is fairly technical. I primarily manage the logistics, budgets, and compliance. I also manage the overall budget and finances of the center (in coordination with the university’s central offices). New York City 1 year experience at this job, 4 years admin/finance/development at a very small non-profit, plus an MPA. Salary: 70,000 Benefits are good: highly subsidized insurance, 10% retirement match, tuition, generous sick and vacation time.

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Content Release Manager Manage a small support team and post website content online. Team also works on miscellaneous administrative tasks $53,000 New York City

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

So, any risk managers in the banking industry out there? Looking to get salary info.

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Job Title – Student Development Coordinator (helping students develop career/professional skills via co-operative education). Salary – $53,000 CDN Location – Atlantic Canada Experience – 6 years working in education + Masters Degree in Education

C. Cavour January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Title: Communications and Policy Associate at a nonprofit Geographic Area: Chicago Education: BA Experience: 9 months interning Salary: 40,000 Benefits: 3 weeks vacation, healthcare, 4013B

Anonymouse January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Title: Customer Relations Manager aka Crazy People Whisperer Industry: Parks and Recreation (local govt) Location: DC suburbs (MD) Years Exp: 15 yrs of customer service related work Salary: $67K. Because I’m dumb and didn’t negotiate. But the benefits are excellent, we have 401k and pension, earn lots of leave, family-friendly, pet-friendly, able to work from home when I need to and I get to work with awesome people for a great cause.

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Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 12:58 pm

“Crazy People Whisperer” I’m totally stealing this! LOL!!!

Anon for this January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Title: Reference librarian in public library Geographic Area: Midwest, near large metro area Salary: $43,000, with 5+ years experience

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Anon for this January 29, 2014 at 11:53 am

Oh – and I have a MLS.

Software Development Manager January 29, 2014 at 11:38 am

Manage a group of 40 to 50 people developing web applications. Industry: Tech Location: Southern California Experience: more than 20 Salary: $145,000, bonus up to $10K/yr, 401K, good health benefits, etc.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:39 am

Receptionist NYC No experience before this, will be 1 year in a few weeks. 3 years of retail before this. Bachelor’s Degree $37,500, non-exempt, about 3 weeks of PTO

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Anonymous February 14, 2014 at 2:16 pm

My first job was Admin Assistant NYC- same salary, 1 less week of PTO. Its about normal depending on industry

Secret January 29, 2014 at 11:39 am

your job (the more descriptive the better, since job titles don’t always explain level of responsibility or scope of work) your geographic area your approximate years of experience your salary anything else pertinent to put that number in context Title: Senior VP of Brand Management (Think Creative Director and Website Director with input on Product Development, General Strategy and Marketing. I hire designers and oversee the design department of a start-up) Area: North Florida Years Of Experience: 8 years, been at this company for 6 months Salary: $75,000/yr – I expect to be making more by the summer. The salary range for what I do is typically around $80,000$120,000/year but I’ve grown into the position and was originally hired to be just a designer. I received a $10,000 raise in the first few months. Benefits: Health Care paid for 100%, extremely difficult to take a vacation but I have three weeks PTO. Hours: Round the clock on call, about 9 hours a day generally. Sometimes work a few hours on the weekend.

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Lucy January 29, 2014 at 11:48 am

I’ve always wanted to get into brand management. Very cool!

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I'll Play! January 29, 2014 at 11:57 am

Me too. Can I ask more about your career path?

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Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 1:01 pm

Seconded!

Secret January 29, 2014 at 2:11 pm

I started freelancing full-time out of college as a Web and Graphic Designer. I grew that business until I had staff of five. I learned hiring, project management, staff management and delegation from that on top of the design bits. I acquired the knowledge to know how to market online through the client work I did (email marketing, social media, SEO). I had already taught myself web coding , web design, print and packaging design. I have a BFA but most of what I do is self-taught. While running the design company, I created side companies selling items that I enjoyed where I was able to create the brand from scratch and implement it across product development, sourcing, packaging, labeling, social media, finding clients, fulfilling orders, marketing etc… Doing this allowed me to learn the ends and outs of creating a brand and implementing it eveyrwhere. My Design and Advertising knowledge gave me the stepping stone for being able to do this as a one person company. From there I worked as a web designer at a medium sized agency. This was just a sidetrack for me but it was really interesting to see how an agency worked from the inside. Then I took on an in-house web designer position at a start-up. as I was really interested in working for a Brand instead of an agency environment. They had the logo and some packaging designs but not much else. They were really bad at delegating work to me so I just started making up my own projects. I designed the website, redid packaging and basically took on all the things we needed that hadn’t been created yet. For example I setup the brand Facebook page created an email marketing template and told them what I thought we were missing and what we needed to focus on. The owners were really impressed and promoted me and told me to pick my own job title. I got a nice bump and now I oversee a department of two designers and I’m hiring a third. I am involved in sourcing product, giving input on product we bring on board, I have a lot of input on what our website and collateral should look like. But ultimately I’m executing on the CEO’s vision.

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AJay January 29, 2014 at 2:53 pm

Wow! Thank for sharing. You’ve done a lot of things that I’d definitely like to do in the future. I guess I need to be more proactive.

Digital Account Coordinator February 6, 2014 at 5:52 pm

This was super inspiring to read. Way to go.

AJay January 29, 2014 at 2:48 pm

I’m also really interested!

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:39 am

Job: Office Manager – (small company, so HR, Payroll, Accounting, billing, employee relations, unofficial Assistant Facility Security Officer) Area: Northern Virginia Experience: Approximate 10 years in a similar role, 7 months here. Salary:~ 80K per year, plus stock options and bonus

Freelance Ghostwriter January 29, 2014 at 11:39 am

I write op-eds, letters, speeches, blog posts, etc., for a variety of signers and non-profits, on behalf of corporate clients / PR & lobbying firms. I work from home, usually 25 hours per week, and I have to pay my own taxes because I’m freelance (but I also get to deduct expenses and costs for equipment, office furniture, etc.). I make my own schedule and rarely work on Fridays or Monday mornings and pretty much never on evenings or weekends. $5,500 per month (this is my fee for services for the month; I have a yearly contract), so $66,000 per year Kansas City, MO 4 years at this gig; 7 years overall with this kind of work (I also worked as a technical writer/editor for about 4 years)

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Freelance Ghostwriter January 29, 2014 at 11:43 am

Should have mentioned—I have an MA in Professional/Technical Writing & Rhetoric

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Love This Topic! January 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm

Do you mind me asking how you met or connected with these clients? Was it through previous jobs or freelance boards? What you’re doing is similar to my “where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years” plan. I currently work as a writer and do some freelancing for a client on odesk, but need to really expand my clientele before I am to ever think about making the jump from my full-time job.

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Freelance Ghostwriter January 29, 2014 at 12:17 pm

Sorry in advance, because this isn’t going to be that helpful—but I knew someone who did this job for a few different lobbying firms, and they referred me, and that’s how I got started. They were specifically looking for writers who had advanced education in rhetoric and professional writing, if that helps.

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Love This Topic! January 29, 2014 at 12:23 pm

It does- thank you for responding!

Internal Communications Manager January 30, 2014 at 10:29 am

What a great gig! Did you find the transition into freelancing tough? Do you mind the admin tasks (paying taxes, billing, etc)?

Anonymous Agreer January 29, 2014 at 11:40 am

Title: Purchasing Manager (at this point managing the process as there are no longer any other purchasing associates.) Responsible for purchasing inventory for specialty wholesale supply company. 25+ years of experience, 20+ with “this company” working up through the ranks over the years as well as being around for 3 buyouts, making it basically 4 different companies that I’ve worked for. Metro Atlanta area (SnowJam2014 no work today!) Current Salary $50,000, salaried, exempt, 401(k) with zero matching, 2 weeks vacation, 8 holidays, no PTO (but generally flexible for appointments, etc). “Generally” about a 45 hour work week. This same position 3 years ago before the last buyout paid me $63,000, 401(k) with 2x match @ 1%, 1x match 2-3%, 1/2 match 4-5%, 5 weeks of vacation, 6 holiday, 10 days of PTO. “Generally” a 45 hour work week, but 60-70 hours 3 or 4 weeks a year wasn’t unusual.

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Joe Schmoe January 29, 2014 at 11:59 am

That sucks!! (that the same position paid $13K more just 3 years ago!)

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Anonymous Agreer January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

I would agree; it’s one of those buyout/restructuring things that included a big layoff and a “Your salary decreased, but we’re not laying you off. Be happy.”

consultamous January 29, 2014 at 11:41 am

Consultant For-profit education company Greater Boston area Experience: 7 years, 3 with company, Masters Degree Salary: $75,000 + bonus ~10%

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consultamous January 29, 2014 at 1:13 pm

Also, about 50% travel.

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Guv Girl January 30, 2014 at 6:31 pm

What kind of consulting do you do? I’m a in similar field.

Compliance Officer January 29, 2014 at 11:41 am

Job: Work in a large international nonprofit at the director level primarily for government grants; negotiate grants with Donors; advise and train staff on compliance requirements Geo area: DC Years of exp.: 20 Salary: $110k Female

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Gail L January 29, 2014 at 2:43 pm

You have a JD?

Anon Today January 29, 2014 at 11:41 am

Title: Product Strategy & User Experience in the tech/software industry (I wear a lot of different hats under that umbrella including research (planning, designing, conducting, and analyzing all types of studies), new feature and product development strategy, and info architecture and content strategy Area: The Coastal South Experience: About 10 years plus a master’s degree, also pursuing certifications within the field that will result in a salary increase Salary: $95,000 (exempt, 401K match, stock options, partially paid health insurance, generous PTO and sick leave) Other info: I am on the low end of the pay scale by industry and local standards because I came in under a convoluted job title that doesn’t accurately represent my job, but that the company could push through quickly to get me hired since it was a job that existed in their payroll system already and had a different pay scale than I should have been getting (silly practice if you ask me)

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Anon Today January 29, 2014 at 11:43 am

Note: I got my master’s degree while working full-time, so I never took any time off work for school.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:41 am

Title: Director of Visitor Services Description: Supervise 30-35 staff and am responsible for overall visitor experience at my museum Experience: Directly related M.A. with 4 years experience at another museum Location: Urban Midwest Salary: $72,000 (plus relocation when I was hired) Benefits: Great health insurance, 6% 403(b) match, company-paid professional development (REALLY rare for people in my position in museums)

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Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

Previously: Manager of Special Events, Washington DC — managed all public, private, and internal events for a nationally-known museum. $50K (had to threaten to leave to get that high). Averaged 65 hours/week but jumped to 85 or 90 hours/week in the busy months (April, May, September, October), no overtime, no bonuses, incredibly stressful clients, drama-filled workplace. No wonder I was looking for a way out!

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ArtsNerd January 29, 2014 at 6:50 pm

Ugh, lots of work environments like that in DC – glad you found something better!

Public Programming Coordinator at Museum January 29, 2014 at 3:01 pm

I’ll put this under your header so people can find museum people all together. Title: Public Programming Coordinator Description: All programs, internal and external, for large (for its area) museum, supervise visitor experience in main gallery space, manage most social media, other duties as assigned (vacuuming up glitter, brewing coffee, calming down volunteers…) Experience: MA + 12 years experience in other museums & archives (PT & FT, similar but not identical jobs) Location: rural New England Salary: $38,000 Benefits: Great health insurance, built in step & cost of living raises, will vest in a pension eventually, and tons and tons of time off…that I never have time to take. (After 18 moths, I have 6 weeks on the books and it’s climbing fast.) (I’m going to stop reading everyone else’s salaries, this is getting depressing. It’s a good thing I love my work.)

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Erica B January 29, 2014 at 4:33 pm

hey. you make more than me and I have been at my job 10 years . I too live in rural new england.. (western mass)

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 9:00 pm

title: Exhibitions Assistant description: Manage and install 3 rotations of exhibitions annually (each rotation comprises 1-3 separate shows, but the same amount of display space). I am the entire exhibitions department, and report to a curator. experience: 2.5 years experience + directly related MA location: CT Salary: $41K + benefits (great comprehensive healthcare, 401k + matching, step raises, some financial support for PD, vacation time when I can take it!)

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Anon January 30, 2014 at 1:34 am

Definitely trying to get my foot in the door at a museum. The entry level openings are just so fee and far between and with really low pay, at least out here in thr mountain west.

Public Programming January 30, 2014 at 1:38 am

Public programs/exhibit interpretation in a Canadian city $60,000

Exhibitions Coordinator January 30, 2014 at 10:42 am

Description: Coordination of exhibitions, work with temporary, traveling, and permanent exhibitions. Experience: 2.5 years here, directly related B.A. Location: Urban Midwest Salary: $36,000 Benefits: Good health insurance, 10 vacation days, 10 holidays.

Manager of Interpretation January 30, 2014 at 9:54 pm

Description: Manage front line educational staff & volunteers, department budget, gallery programs (develop, implement, evaluate), and daily visitor experience at the Museum. Experience: 7 years experience (PT & FT) with a M.A. in specific field. Location: Urban Northeast Salary: $37,000 Benefits: decent health insurance, 3% 403(b) match, 15 vacation days, and 10 sick days.

Marketing Project Manager January 29, 2014 at 11:43 am

Job: Marketing Project Manager for a large corporation in Southeastern US. No supervisory responsibilities, but I assign work for about 10 freelancers. Years of experience: About 2.5 cumulative. 4 year undergrad. Salary: Approximately $36000, based on billable hours. Mostly salary, but I can’t remember what the split is. Benefits: good company and leadership, decent time off policy (all holidays, 10 days vacation, 5 sick, 1 personal day), good insurance and company 401k match. We also get tuition reimbursement and lots of training opportunities. Profit sharing into our 401k, last year I think it was 10% of our salaries, which is great.

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MPM January 29, 2014 at 12:00 pm

Oh, and I’m a woman too. Although I don’t think it impacted my salary. My non-negotiation probably did, but I didn’t have much experience when I first started so I didn’t really have much on my side of the negotiation table.

Executive Director January 29, 2014 at 11:43 am

Executive Director of a small human services nonprofit St. Louis area 6 years as ED, 11 with agency $60K

Economics Research Assistant January 29, 2014 at 11:43 am

Industry: Government Area: Washington, D.C. Job: Primarily statistical analysis of data using a number of different software programs for various reports. I’m currently developing a probability model that will (hopefully) inform reforms to a large subsidy program. My office is very flat and while I’m technically junior to the economists, I feel like I receive lots of responsibility and have the opportunity to work on projects independently and in teams without a formal economist. Experience: 2 years Salary: $43,000 plus decent health insurance, retirement matching, transportation subsidy Context: I have a M.A. in Economics and was more qualified than what my office was originally looking for. I think I’m probably underpaid, but I’m still getting a lot of value from what I’m learning so I’m willing to stay for at least another 6 months to a year (and hope for a promotion in the time period).

State Gov't Lobbyist January 29, 2014 at 11:43 am

Title: Assistant Legislative Director (junior lobbyist) in a state agency Area: Midwest Experience: 3 years Education: bach & masters Salary: $55,000 + 4 weeks holiday and vacay + super cheap bene’s

Anon88 January 29, 2014 at 11:44 am

Job: Desk-based adviser for a non-profit business support organisation (I answer the enquiries phoneline/emails from potential & current clients, and also follow up with potential clients following marketing activities – difficult to simmer that down into a descriptive job title!) Geographical area: UK Years of experience: 4 months in this exact role, had no direct experience when hired although do have 8 years of customer service/phone-based experience and 3 years working in similar private government-funded organisations. Salary: £18,000 (approx 30,000 USD currently) Context: 33 days annual leave (5 more than the legal minimum of 28 days), plus extra gifted days for the Christmas/new year period.

Junior Architect (B.Arch, unlicensed) January 29, 2014 at 11:44 am

I’m in New York City with about 3 years’ experience and I make $49,000 annually. My last job I got about at $1000 holiday bonus, I did not get one at my current job. Benefits are barebones but paid for almost entirely by the company after a year. 10 vacation days, 3 sick days, no overtime.

Computer Scientist January 29, 2014 at 11:44 am

Redo with title as username. I do software engineering and data analyis for sensor platforms in the defense industry. Current role is midlevel non-management. Geographic Area: rural Southern California Years of Experience: 8 Salary: $90k Salary is addition to a decent-but-not-fantastic benefits package (good health plans, dental, vision, health savings program). Bonuses are nonexistent, but annual leave and sick leave accrue separately, the amount of AL accrued per pay period depends on years at work

Principal Technical Writer January 29, 2014 at 11:44 am

Description: Write onscreen text, help systems, admin and user guides, knowledge base articles, technical papers, API guides, video scripts, webinar slide decks; mentor junior writers; collaborate with a variety of teams on information architecture and different types of content (like marketing brochures or checklists for field techs); design web and print templates. Company: Mid size software company Area: So Cal Experience: Approx. 11 years Salary: $108k Benefits: Good health, decent 401k match, 4 weeks PTO and 1 week sick per year (rolls over)

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Laura January 29, 2014 at 5:46 pm

Everything under your job description sounds exactly what I’ve love to get paid to do. I have a little experience with user manuals, training guides, marketing copy, and checklists for employees but am not sure how to convert that into a career. I have a Bachelor’s in Business Admin/Marketing, and the bulk of my career experience has been in sales, marketing, customer service, inventory and supply. How did you get started? Do you have any advice?

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Principal Technical Writer January 30, 2014 at 12:02 pm

Most of my colleagues came into technical writing from other fields, some technical (like biochem or computer science), some not (English, art history). Most of us in my current group fell into writing professionally. I got an internship at a software company while I was working on a liberal arts degree, and ended up as the de facto writer for the team. After getting my second liberal arts degree, a friend of a friend helped me get a temporary job as a a junior technical writer, and the rest is history. A lot of companies seem to be using contract writers, or contract-to-hire, so that might be a way to build a portfolio. Good luck!

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Laura January 30, 2014 at 12:40 pm

Thanks! This was really helpful!

Student Affairs Officer January 29, 2014 at 11:45 am

More specific title: Graduate Fellowship Advisor (My salary info is public anyway since I work for a state university. You can probably figure out who I am if you care.) Duties: Helping grad students (and some undergrads) procure extramural fellowships and grants. I put particular effort into being our school’s FPA for the US Student Fulbright Program. I help undergrads come up with research topics, and with grad students, I edit drafts of fellowship/grant proposals and help them explain their research plans better. I assist with content, organization, wording, etc., and for some awards, I also do the submission to the agency. I also host workshops, organize panels, advertise funding opportunities through social media, etc. Level of awesomeness (as another commenter put it): Very successful at helping students get Fulbright grants, regularly complimented on performance by those both inside and outside my office Amount of experience: PhD plus 1 year of experience doing something else at this university, 2.5 years in current position. (I completed the PhD ~1 year into this job.) Salary: $45k Other benefits: Pretty good health insurance, possibility of pension, 3 wks paid vacation + 12 paid sick days/yr, employee health program, some travel for professional development Location: Southern California

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Student Affairs Officer January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

Oh, and I’m female.

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I'll Play! January 29, 2014 at 12:03 pm

I think I can guess who you are, but I wouldn’t have guessed gender correctly. Not that it matters, I just like guessing games.

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I'll Play! January 29, 2014 at 12:04 pm

Also, your job sounds cool.

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Student Affairs Officer January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

It is pretty cool. I guess under “benefits,” I could have put, “Liking my work, getting along with bosses and co-workers.”

Geneticist January 29, 2014 at 11:45 am

Postdoctoral fellow (scientist in biology) – I “do science” (analyze data) using statistical and computational methods. I work for/within a professor’s lab. Pacific NW 4 years undergrad major in subject with 1.5 years independent research during that time plus working in labs every summer to get into grad school; 5 years getting PhD. $54,000 plus regular university employee benefits minus any defined maternity or vacation days because postdocs fall into a grey undefined category in the HR categorization of job types. This means it’s essentially up to your PI to decide to allow you to take off. I consider myself quite lucky to be paid this much as most PIs across the US just pay the NIH mandated minimum salary which is $39,500 a year for your first year post-PhD. I am more independent than a PhD student as I already finished mine (postdoc= post PhD) but am paid by the professor (my PI, or Primcipal Investigator) so I work for him/her on projects in his/her research program. I publish papers on this research and ideally during this postdoc I will accumulate enough first author papers to be competitive for real jobs (traditionally faculty jobs but nowadays many go into industry because ther aren’t enough jobs to go around).

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Research Scientist January 29, 2014 at 4:39 pm

Fresh grad (PhD), essentially in a similar experience situation. Title: Research Scientist Experience: 1 year Region: small town Canada Salary: 60k Four weeks vacation, seven days PTO. Was offered 40k for PDFs, but turned them down.

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Research Scientist January 29, 2014 at 4:45 pm

Oh, and I’m female, late-20’s

Program Associate - Nonprofit January 29, 2014 at 11:45 am

$35,000 Work to support department and off-site staff. -Data entry -Creation of marketing materials -Some event management (supplies, schedule, food, transportation for 500+) Seattle, WA 4 Years of random full time experience plus some part time experience in college BS Female

Assistant Manager January 29, 2014 at 11:46 am

Job – Assistant Manager – supervise two teams that processess payroll by linking customer systems together with ETL tools Geographic Area – Orange, CA Years of Exp – 9 Salary – 52,000 Sex – Male Other info: Bachelors degree in computer information systems, masters degree in film studies. Also, this as my first job after school!

Librarian January 29, 2014 at 11:46 am

Job: Head of an academic special collections library Geographic area : Southeast Education: MLIS plus an additional Masters degree Experience: 7 years professional, 20 years paraprofessional Duties: Responsible for all aspects of a 1.5 million item library; manage 6 FT and 10 PT staff members; represent our institution at state, regional and national meetings and conferences. Salary: $53K plus full benefits

Meredith January 29, 2014 at 11:46 am

Title: Outreach Specialist. I coordinate continuing education for library professionals through a state university extension program. I have an MA in library & information studies, which is pretty standard for this position. Outreach specialists for other programs usually have advanced degrees in their fields. Location: Wisconsin Years of experience: 5 (post-MLS) Salary: ~43K Context: I am FT salaried, non-exempt. Mid-40’s is standard entry level/mid-level salary for my field, particularly in the Midwest. I have a generous vacation and sick leave policy, as well as health insurance. While my institution cannot do merit-based pay, I can receive pay increases when my title changes (it has once already).

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Meredith January 29, 2014 at 2:02 pm

Whoops, I mis-typed. I’m actually exempt. And I’m female.

Project Engineer (Jake) January 29, 2014 at 11:47 am

Project Engineer (construction) Other companies may refer to my position as a Construction Engineer, Field Engineer, Construction Project Engineer, etc. I am responsible for all administration on construction projects ranging from 20-50 million dollars. 3 years experience (most with top 10 contractor, this position with a yearly revenue of about 120 million) 63k in base salary plus $1600/month for a car allowance and living expenses. As a note, I am expected to relocate every 18-24 months. 2 weeks vacation, bare bones insurance plans, gas card. Expected to work between 45 and 55 hours a week, which is much less than industry standard. I found out after being hired that their ceiling during my negotiations was 65k, just for reference. Instead I negotiated for an extra week vacation my first five years.

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J.B. January 30, 2014 at 9:29 am

My husband has yet to successfully negotiate extra vacation in engineering consulting firms. I think maybe he’s just too nice. Would love to hear how you did it :)

Research Coordinator (healthcare) January 29, 2014 at 11:48 am

I’m currently unemployed, but my last role was: Research Coordinator (well, equivalent of one; university had opaque titles) Salary: 45k 4 years of experience Southeast Michigan

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Research Coordinator (healthcare) January 29, 2014 at 11:48 am

Oh, and MPA degree.

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 11:48 am

Job: IT Application Consultant (it’s like more than an analyst, there is some project management involved, system support, general IT knowledge) Area: Northwest (rural) Illinois/Southern Wisconsin Experience: 7 years in this job, 15 total in IT, healthcare specifically Salary: $65,000 The range for this job is pretty wide. It can go as low as 40K and as high as 80K, depending on what company you work for and whether you are in something non-profit like healthcare or education, or more corporate. Region has a lot to do with it too. I’m about to be capped in my pay grade and I would have to go further in towards Chicago to see more money for the same job.

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IT Application Consultant January 29, 2014 at 12:00 pm

Same anon as above, I messed that up, sorry! I wanted to add that I started at 42K when I transferred into this job from being a regular, helpdesk answering, support tech. I went up to 65K through a combination of annual merit increases (around 3% each) and a re-negotiation of my pay after a job offer from another company several years ago. (I wasn’t sold on taking the job but it made me realize how undervalued I was so I talked to my boss).

Social Worker January 29, 2014 at 11:48 am

Foster care social worker Two years of experience New Orleans, LA $39K + good benefits

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Foster Parent January 29, 2014 at 1:10 pm

I’m a foster parent, and I know you guys are underpaid for what you do! We’ve worked with some awesome social workers in our area.

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Adult Foster Care Provider January 29, 2014 at 2:54 pm

Thank you as well for all you do! We have 2 adult foster care patients in our home and we appreciate the social workers greatly.

Admin but you'll probably guess it's me January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

Title: Consulting Assistant (admin who also edits reports; technology company that services the financial industry) Area: Midwest Experience: 15 years customer service and admin (mostly front desk but one job in nonprofit development) Salary: $36,000 / year (around $17 an hour–I recently got a merit raise). This is going from $12.50 an hour previously, and $9.00 before that. Average around here is $7.50–$9.00 hourly for receptionists. Sad. :P Edumacation: B.S. English, A.S. Criminology, working on B.S. Professional Writing Supplemental income: ??? Who knows? First Reader said my new book is like a cross between Michael Crichton and Bruce Joel Rubin (author of Ghost screenplay). Holy cow–the Great and Powerful Crichton! 0_0 Sorry to go off topic, but I couldn’t hold that in. :)

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Admin but you'll probably guess it's me January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

Well of course you will guess……I left my avatar on it! :P

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Laufey January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Congrats on the book progress, by the way

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Admin but you'll probably guess it's me January 29, 2014 at 1:35 pm

Thanks–you know what? Right after I posted this, I heard from the person critiquing Oldbook, and he said he hasn’t sent it back because he’s waiting on some publishers he pinged to see if they might want to take a look at it. 0_0

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Not So NewReader January 29, 2014 at 6:18 pm

I knew it. I felt good vibs on that one! Keep us posted!

Laufey January 30, 2014 at 12:37 pm

It’s moments like this that I truly wish we had a like button.

Administration Assistant January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

Admin Assistant for a non departmental government organisation. Scotland, UK, F (sounds a bit like a dating ad!!) I have been in this job for 14 months, nearly 15. Prior to this I worked in Council Libraries. I am currently studying for a BA Hons in Humanities, I’m two thirds the way through my degree with the Open University. I have worked since I was 18 but usually in retail/bar work. My salary is £16,194 a year (approx 26, 815 us dollars). We recently got a pay rise of 1%.

Service Assistant (kitchen worker) January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

your job: You know, cleaning, cooking, prepping… that crap your geographic area: Lower Mainland, BC your approximate years of experience: 6 years and until I die probably your salary: minimum wage ($10.75?) hourly & part time which amounts to something like $9k to $12k annually. No benefits. anything else: For reference, rent for a crappy 1 bedroom apartment is $750/month. Don’t go to culinary school, kids! haha.

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Service Assistant (kitchen worker) January 29, 2014 at 11:57 am

Oh I guess I should mention I’m female, and yes, that makes a difference.

Financial Analyst January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

Title/Description: Financial analyst at a business valuation firm Female Location: Mid-south (would be more specific, but it’s a niche industry) Experience: Two years, all at same company Salary: $55,000 + bonus, exempt Other: Average vacation, unlimited sick time, employee health premium covered by company, 401(k), fairly functional workplace. Often work crazy long weeks.

Human Resources Representative January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

Human Resources Representative at a large public university in Texas: assist departments with questions regarding timekeeping, policy interpretation and best practices, process background checks for all of campus, process I-9 and new hire items for all of campus 8 years experience, $37,000/year with additional benefits such as health insurance/HSA accounts/etc.

TV Researcher January 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

Title: Director of Strategic Research Geographic Area: NYC area Years of Experience: 2 years at this company, 8 years overall Salary: $105,000, plus benefits (healthcare, 401k)

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TV Researcher January 29, 2014 at 12:48 pm

Oh, and I’m a woman.

Legal Secretary January 29, 2014 at 11:50 am

Legal secretary for a large international law firm in Texas. $56,000/non-exempt, benefits, bonuses are given annually (started four months ago). Seven years’ experience in the legal profession, including paralegal work. Took a pay raise with a title downgrade at previous job, legal admin asst/office manager (office manager role officially added later) in the legal office for a huge corporation based in North Carolina, starting salary of $57K with benefits/bonus, left after three years at $62K with benefits/bonus.

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Legal Secretary January 29, 2014 at 11:53 am

Female

Human Resources Manager January 29, 2014 at 11:51 am

HR Manager Greater Cleveland area 20 years exp. $75,000

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Human Resources Manager January 29, 2014 at 11:53 am

Forgot to mention I am female. Benefits are OK/average Not extremely fond of the High Deductible Health Plan Company is on the smaller side Exempt

Research Assistant--Medicine January 29, 2014 at 11:51 am

-52K/year starting – 0 yrs experience in industry (but see education–academic field) – PhD ABD (so hired a MS pay level–will get significant raise with completion of PhD) – New England university – 15 days vacation – 8 days holidays – 6 days recess – 1 day floating holiday (so total of 30 days off/year) – 9 days sick leave – 10% salary retirement contribution – full medical benefits (no out of pocket costs or copays) – good dental and vision benefits (miniscule out of pocket cost) – (other benefits: 30K grant for down payment on home purchase; personal cell phone benefit, free continuing education, college benefit for dependents for any school, tuition waiver for dependents at this school, etc etc) – telecommuting several days/week – flex schedule (though this is academia, so really 24/7 job!) – tons of training and mentoring and growth Best benefit of all: – Doing meaningful work for disadvantaged populations!

Recruiter January 29, 2014 at 11:51 am

Title/Description: Corporate Recruiter Location: Toronto, ON Experience: 8+ years Salary: $65k with the ability to bonus Other: 3 weeks vacation, plus 2 personal days. Flexible benefits. Summer hours – work extra hour each day and then get every other Friday off. Can work remotely when needed.

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Recruiter January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

Forgot to add I’m female

3rd Party Recruiter January 30, 2014 at 2:57 pm

Title: Recruiter (recent promotion from Recruiting Assistant) Location: Southern Alberta (not the oil-y part of the province) Experience: 1 year in this role (3 years previous in office management) Salary: $32K + bonus (this rate based on Recruiting Assistant title…hoping an increase and commission structure implement is imminent) Other: Female, Bachelor’s Degree. 2 weeks vacation.

Corporate Recruiter January 30, 2014 at 5:53 pm

Position: Recruiting and Relocation Manager (Corporate Recruiter also handle temporary housing for training and relocations for current employees for major restaurant company) Location: Dallas, TX Experience: 4 years Salary: $65k + profit sharing Gender: Female Other: 401k with company match, free food, flexible schedule and ability to work from home

Software Engineer January 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

I am a junior software engineer for company on the east coast that makes radar simulation software for the military. I’ve been here 1.5 years. I’m male. Salary: $64,000

Admnistrative Assistant January 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

This is not my current position, but what I held in 2011. Office management, weekly payroll, some accounts support, scheduling help for the many many part time staff, some research. Ad-hoc receptionist for our department. Mostly regular admin things. Located in NYC No experience. Straight out of college, but with a pretty bulky resume from all the masses of things I was involved in while there (mostly solid work experience that was translatable to the working world) Salary: $40,000 (started at $36,000). Great health insurance (No co-pays! Not even on epipens! Even dental was low enough that I went to the dentist for funsies, because I could). 4 weeks vacation plus sick leave and personal days. We were encouraged to use it all. There would have been a 401K had I stayed longer. I’m not in the US at the moment but I honestly fear never having it so good again.

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Communications Manager January 30, 2014 at 3:58 pm

Is it possible to go to the dentist for funsies? I wish I could get paid to go, because even my free dental isn’t enough motivation sometimes (though pain is).

Sales & Marketing January 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

Title: Sales and Marketing Associate/Executive Duties: Handle all marketing for a small technology firm (under 30 people) plus do some sales of products we resell. Includes trade shows, email marketing, etc. Experience: 4 years in sales positions, Bachelor’s degree with multiple business internships Salary: $55,000 in 2013 including performance bonus (maxed out this year), generous Christmas bonus, and commission *note this is my highest salary so far in my career, they have been very happy with me and treat their employees well* Location: work remotely for company based in a large metropolitan area Benefits: happy with them, I don’t pay for my health insurance but if I had a family it’d be very expensive. 3 weeks personal time – any combination of sick/vacation allowed.

Compliance Specialist January 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

Compliance Specialist for self-funded health insurance, responsibilities include: Review and response of first level appeals, coordination of review for second level and external appeals, act as a government liaison, represent company in small claims court as necessary, draft monthly compliance updates to C-level team, create quarterly compliance updates to be sent to all clients and brokers, manage HIPAA authorizations and subrogation cases, review contracts before they’re sent to clients, train clinical team on how to review and draft written appeal responses, manage policies and procedures for organization. I’m a female Geographic area: Northeast Experience: I started this role in August 2012 Salary: $40k

Director of Field Services January 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

Manage a large cadre of volunteers working across the country to realize the mission of my non-profit, manage staff who do the same. NYC 8 years experience in this organization with roles leading up to this one. Some prior experience with volunteer management and engagement. BA in liberal arts, MA in peripherally related field – most learning has been on the job and through additional professional development $93,000 small non-profit

Controller January 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

Description: Manage the day-to-day finances, payroll, and accounting, up to and including month end statements, for three companies within a larger corporate group. They have a combined total of about 65 employees to give you an idea of size. Geographic Area: Medium sized city in British Columbia, Canada Years of Experience: I’ve been with the same company for 8 years. The first 7 were as an office administrator and payroll coordinator. I’ve been in my current role for just over one year. Salary: $62,400 in wages plus about $4,000 in other benefits. Includes 3 weeks of paid vacation. Education: 2-year Accounting and Finance Diploma (which was paid for by the company). Gender: Female

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Staff Accountant January 29, 2014 at 12:26 pm

Is that US$? I’m surprised by this, in U.S. a controller with CPA gets around US$80K minimum. Interesting

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Public Accountant January 29, 2014 at 1:22 pm

A two year accounting degree and a CPA are very different.

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Controller January 29, 2014 at 5:28 pm

It is in Canadian funds, but as Public Accountant mentioned, I’m pretty far off from a CPA. We do have our year-end statements prepared by an independent accounting firm. They’re also there for me if I need any advice, but I’ve only had to take advantage of that a couple times. For the level of complexity in our businesses, having a CPA on staff would be overkill.

Assistant Controller January 30, 2014 at 4:23 pm

I’ll put mine here for comparison: Description: manage 6 accounting staff and provide financial statements and other financial reporting to executive management Geographic area: also a medium-sized city in British Columbia, Canada, but probably not the same one Years of experience: seven as an accountant, previously twelve in corporate communications Salary: 90k, medical/dental, RRSP matching, 3 weeks paid vacation Education: BA in English Literature, just finished CPA Other comments: I changed careers because I maxed out as a communications director and was very bored with what I was doing. I love my job now and work with a fantastic controller who is perfectly happy to see me take over his position when I want it. Awesome, right?

Communications Specialist January 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

Job: Communications Specialist at a Big 10 university in its college of engineering. I do not currently directly supervise any people… yet, but that will be coming at some point within the year. I am responsible for developing all media, PR, etc. for the unit that I am in. I also function as the office AV and IT expert (not part of the job description, but I am fine with the responsibility). Area: The Midwest Experience: 5 years working professionally since finishing grad school, but I had some internship experience before that. I worked at a nonprofit government research org. for three years as a communications specialist and then transitioned into higher education communications and web strategy. I have also worked as a freelance copywriter and journalist for various ventures. Salary: $56,000, plus extensive and generous benefits. The retirement isn’t the greatest, but I enjoy 24 vacation days a year, plus 3 personal/floating holidays.

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Communications Specialist January 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

Let me clarify that when I say the retirement isn’t the greatest, it’s still really, really good compared to some of the 401K match programs that companies offer. It’s a 9%/9% match.

Chief Program Officer January 29, 2014 at 11:53 am

Job: Chief Program Officer at a social service non-profit. I supervise direct service programs, work on program development, manage our foundation grantmaking, etc. Supervise (directly and indirectly) about two dozen people. Geographic Area: Major urban metropolitan area in the Northeast US. (One of the big ones, but not New York.) Years Experience: 10 Salary: $64,000 Benefits: More time off than I know what to do with (20 vacation, 8 personal, 10 sick), about 85% employer contribution on the medical insurance but 0% employer contribution dental and no 401(k) match and no tuition reimbursement. Additional Info: Female. We did a salary survey last year and confirmed that we’re on the low end compared to our partners.

Public Librarian January 29, 2014 at 11:53 am

Includes managing frontline staff 5 years exp. (Plus MLIS) $55K Canada (Maritimes)

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Anoners January 29, 2014 at 1:05 pm

Glad to see fellow Maritimers on this site ;)

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Anon January 29, 2014 at 4:49 pm

Atlantic Canada represent ;)

Manufacturing Engineer January 29, 2014 at 11:53 am

-Job Title: Manufacturing Engineer -Description: small medical device company, I work on support for equipment/operations, investigating and correcting product defects, install new equipment, validate equipment changes, and in my spare time (ha) work on process improvements. There is also a metric crap-ton of paperwork and documentation I have to work on since the industry is FDA regulated. -Geographic area: Denver, CO -6+ years experience -Salary: $68k with benefits and a small yearly bonus -Female

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:54 am

Title: Associate Pastor Responsibilities: Basically assist the lead pastor. I lead several auxiliary ministries, assist with pastoral care, do a lot of admin, and pretty much anything that needs to be done. Geographic Area: Southern Alabama Years of Experience: 4 Full-Time; 8 Part-Time Volunteer Education: MA Religion (not an MDiv) Salary: $37,000 (I made $40,000 in Middle Tennessee.)

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Youth Program Director January 29, 2014 at 2:57 pm

Love seeing other ministry jobs posted! Here in Minneapolis, I make $35,000 full time as Youth Director with an MA (also not MDIV). Salary is so dependent on church size and location.

College administrator January 29, 2014 at 11:54 am

Title: Mid-level college administrator Description: Manage large academic division (400+ employees total, many PT contingent–which means adjunct faculty) Experience: PhD, decade+ of teaching, 7 as administrator Location: Northern CA Salary: $130K Bennies: pretty good health care; pension (assuming the system survives until I retire); total ~6 weeks vacation; sick leave accrues throughout career and can pay out at retirement. Female, but we have published salary schedules so that doesn’t impact my salary. My salary has been in the newspaper, so really I don’t know why I’m going anon here!

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MentalEngineer January 29, 2014 at 12:51 pm

Reading this thread has made me bitter, so I’m going to go there. How much did you make as a prof. before you turned to the “dark side”?

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College administrator January 29, 2014 at 1:03 pm

About $85K, if I remember right. Could have earned more teaching overloads, but I had my hands full with a 5/5 load. Summers and winter break off, though, so it really works out to about the same hourly salary if you compare apples to apples.

Project Manager (Software) January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

Job Description: I work as a project manager for in-house software projects. This involves working with stakeholders from various areas of the business to define requirements, write use cases, and work as a liason between development teams and the business during development. I also hold the business accountable for putting together training plans, marketing plans, etc. to ensure a successful launch of our feature sets. In addition, I oversee and prioritize work for our Production Support Team. These 2 individuals function as 3rd tier support for our internal users and work on tasks that take 3 days or less to complete. Geographic Area: Boston, Massachusetts Years of Experience in this job function: 4 Salary: $70,000 / year

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Project Manager (Software) January 29, 2014 at 11:56 am

Forgot to add — Gender: Female

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Project Manager (Software) January 29, 2014 at 12:11 pm

Benefits: Decent health and dental (nothing to write home about), 401k match (100% up to 3%, then 50% up to 5%), 20 PTO days, 9 holidays + 3 floating holidays, semi-flexible schedule

EDI File Processor January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

EDI File Processor – I take Excel files that companies send in for their group benefits with my company and then make sure they will go through right and fix any problems that don’t. Omaha, NE 3 years experience in this type of role $13.57/hour

Sales Representative January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

Salary: $50,000 + commission (approx $15-20,000 before taxes) Industry: Publishing Experience: 3 years sales, 5 years in industry Benefits: 2.5 weeks vacation, health/dental/vision insurance Location: Boston, MA

Lead Financial Analyst January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

– Job description: Financial planning and analysis for a Fortune 500 company – Location: North Texas – Years of Experience: 10 years in “financial analyst” roles with increasing responsibilities as I have progressed in my career – Salary: $102,000 base salary with an additional 10 – 15% bonus each year – Additional information: Fairly consistent 40 – 50 hour work week. The salary range for this position is similar across all of our US locations, with minor cost of living adjustments. We also have paid vacation (amount depends on seniority and number of years at the company), 401(k) matching, and medical/dental/life insurance offered.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

Title: Archivist (at a small academic institution) Geographic Area: Small-town Midwest Experience: 3-ish Years Salary: 42,000 with ok benefits and 3 wks. vacation

Academic Support (College) January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

My job on Paper: – Address transitional issues that challenge first year students – Promote student engagement and success – Provide academic advisement and mentorship – Refer students to appropriate college departments/services – Assist in retention activities My job in reality: – Play on the internet, hoping a student will “drop in” My Geographic Area: – a small city in Ontario, Canada My approximate years of experience: – 5 years in this field – an additional 4 years in a related field My salary: – $30,000 + benefits (***8 month contract only***) Other info: – ZERO job security – I get laid off each spring – I have no recall rights to this job, and have to reapply each year

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Anonymous January 30, 2014 at 12:23 am

Out of curiosity, are you generally able to find work over the summers? I’d imagine summer jobs are geared more towards students, so I don’t know how hard it would be for you.

Marketing Manager January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

handle all social media strategy, website strategy + execution, email and media campaign strategy + execution, manage team of 3, IP launches, event marketing, sales collateral/case studies Silicon Valley, Bay Area, CA 5 years of experience $82K, (includes 401(k) matching, small merit bonus and small end-of-year profit-sharing, no health benefits b/c I am on my husband’s plan), 15 days of vacation + standard company holidays, relocation allowance when I took the job Female, MBA, privately-owned design agency, small marketing team so I wear a lot of hats

Press Secretary January 29, 2014 at 11:55 am

Title: Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Geographic Area: DC Years of Experience: 2 as PS, 2 as Deputy PS, 2 previous in comms Salary: about $50,000 (womp womp)

Event Designer / Studio Manager January 29, 2014 at 11:56 am

*Your Job* I am a Studio Manager (office manager) at a small full service event design firm. I also have clients, so also have the title of Event Designer. I work hand-in-hand with the owner (no other full timers besides me) to manage her business. *Your geographic area* Chicago *your approximate years of experience* 4 years in event operations prior to this, 4 years in this position *Your Salary* I skew the data points, because I am severely “underpaid” by industry standards. I am paid an hourly rate of $16 per hour, which usually equates to about $35,000 a year. I also don’t receive benefits (luckily I have a husband with a great health plan, or else I couldn’t do this job) or 401(k) or any of that, but I have this job because I love it. I am torn about how I am impacting my future earning potential, but hopefully the right match will come along one day.

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I'll Play! January 29, 2014 at 8:50 pm

Knowing you’re underpaid is half the battle. :)

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Lizard January 30, 2014 at 11:00 am

I’d be interested to know whether people are single or married and how this affected their choice of position. Speaking from personal experience, pretty sure I’d be in a totally different career if I had someone else’s income to fall back on.

Library Specialist Lead January 29, 2014 at 11:57 am

Job: Library Specialist Lead at a university library Geographic area : Southwest Education: MLIS (job only requires a bachelor degree) Experience: ~3 years Duties: Harvesting digital documents for a specialized online repository collection, preservation work and binding coordination for deteriorating print volumes, reference (desk, phone, email, chat), monthly displays, social media management, occasional instruction, (no supervision responsibilities) Salary: $32k + two weeks vacation + health + tuition waiver

Web Developer January 29, 2014 at 11:57 am

salary: 75,000 benefits: slightly above average but not outstanding experience: 20+ area: southeastern U.S., mid-sized city job description: create, maintain websites related to biological research; some database work (Oracle, MS SQL); some programming (JAVA); some of lots of stuff connected to websites like writing, editing

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Web Developer January 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

forgot to add — female

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Emma January 29, 2014 at 4:41 pm

Interesting! Did you get a degree in web dev, or did you learn on-the-job? Did you start out in web development or another computer science area?

Principal Engineer January 29, 2014 at 11:57 am

female medical devices and pharmaceuticals – R&D, manufacturing 20 years exp greater Denver area $120,000 + 20% bonus program

Administrative Assistant January 29, 2014 at 11:58 am

-Administrative Assistant at a creative marketing agency -Large Midwest city -40,000 + good benefits (healthcare, PTO, 401k, paid parking or bus pass, etc.) -Bachelor’s Degree, English -Age is mid-twenties

Sr. Analyst January 29, 2014 at 11:58 am

The job: strategy-business-dev-marketing-related research in the energy industry. Mostly reading & writing reports and analysis. I’m also a data analysis go-to person for the group (excel, database stuff). your geographic area: central US your approximate years of experience: 15 your salary: ~100K, good benefits education: BS mechanical engineering, MBA (not top tier) best perk: easy commute & job autonomy

Tamara January 29, 2014 at 11:59 am

“Client Relations Specialist” I work for an Enterprise Learning Management System developer so I troubleshoot with clients, contact the development team about bugs, write help documentation, interface with clients, user integrations, client tutorials and work to solve any problems that affects the clients use of our web-based software. I’m kind of the first level of defense. Our company is small so my responsibilities can change drastically day to day. Atlanta, GA I worked with a clientele in retail for 5 years. Had 6months experience working with students in online learning communities. But with actual troubleshooting/help desk less than 1 year. $40,000 I have a BA: English – Advanced Composition & Rhetoric (Technical & Professional Writing)

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Tamara January 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

In regards to salary I also have great benefits: Medical and dental premiums 100% paid by company. 401k matched 100% up to 6% of my salary.

Legal Assistant January 29, 2014 at 11:59 am

(NB: not paralegal. Paralegals in my area require a diploma and are higher up the chain.) Job: Legal assistant/office admin Duties: general office admin/front desk, some accounts payable/receivables, lots of writing letters to clients Area: Lower Mainland, BC Yrs Exp: 1 Salary: $31K and change, health insurance, unpaid sick time, about 10 days of vacation a year.

Dip-lo-mat January 29, 2014 at 11:59 am

-tenured Foreign Service Officer (Department of State)–FS-3. Unlike most of the civilian government, dips are rank-in-person, not rankin-position. Promotions are competitive and up-or-out. -Anywhere and everywhere to do anything and everything; DC when in the US -8 years in, 3 years previous pro experience, BA & MS in unrelated fields (no college education is necessary, but you start at a higher rank if you have degrees and previous experience) -$76k base, plus locality in US or COLA, hardship and danger pay overseas; started with $48k base at FS-5 -Other perks: Usual federal benefits plus mandatory home leave in between foreign assignments (at least 4 weeks, often more, of PTO that you are legally obligated to take so you don’t forget ‘Murica); obviously lots of travel to weird and wonderful places; (small) wardrobe allowance if you go from, say, Angola to Siberia back-to-back; paid education at international schools or stipend for boarding school if post does not have an appropriately credentialed school; furnished housing at most places and housing allowance if not (not in US, of course); R&R tickets if at a hardship post; car and HHE shipped by guvmint. (Those last few ones aren’t really perks; they’re necessary if you are dragging your family around the world for 20+ years, but some people still see them as a bonus.) -Good to know: you must retire by age 65

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anon January 29, 2014 at 1:59 pm

This? Sounds cool.

AVP January 29, 2014 at 2:09 pm

Can I ask how much hardship and danger pay go for, when applicable? Does it Change depending on location (i.e., more in places that are REALLY dangerous as opposed to just somewhat dangerous?)

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Dip-lo-mat January 29, 2014 at 6:20 pm

Up to 35% each at a post. So, say, an assignment in Afghanistan will yield base + of DC locality pay (long story) + 35% danger + 35% hardship + 15% shift differential (because there are no/no days off there). You’ll also get 3 R&Rs there. I’ve had assignments with no danger and hardship, with just danger, and with just hardship, ranging from 5 to 20% each. The upside of going to a 0/0 post, as we say, is that you get to live in, say, Sydney. The downside is you have to fly your entire family home on your own if you want to visit family during your 3 year assignment …super super expensive. Oh, though they have reduced the number of languages in the program, if you have a certain level of reading and speaking proficiency, you do get an incentive bonus to go to places where they use that language. Lest you despair, you are generally taught that language for 6 – 24 months as your full-time job.

TL January 29, 2014 at 3:24 pm

Oh, I’ve been seriously considering starting the application process for the FSO. Do you have any advice you’d be willing to pass on?

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Dip-lo-mat January 29, 2014 at 6:27 pm

Sure! I am actually the one on the open thread who said she is looking to get out of her well-paying great job. Crazy, I know. I’ve wanted to do this forever and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a sense of adventure, the ability to represent the U.S. 24 hours a day, and tendency toward workaholism. I do love what I do, but it can be really tough on families. It’s just not working for my son. Other kids end up very worldly and flexible, so it’s not always a bad thing for families. Best advice is to not get discouraged if you don’t pass any portion the first or fourth times. It can take time. For the written: read read read. Read the Post, the Times, the Economist. Brush up on geography and generally know culture and history (American music, art, etc.). The idea of the written test is: can you walk into an event at Ambassador’s house and respond when a guest asks about Bob Dylan? Or at least fake it? They are searching for well-rounded people who can write and have great interpersonal skills. The oral assessment is a different beast. Be a leader and a team player simultaneously, think about what the question is asking and the information you need and the information you don’t, and be confident even when you don’t feel it. Anyway, I think it is the career of a lifetime, whether that career lasts five years or thirty-five. Just remember, it is very rarely Paris, and quite often Guangzhou.

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AVP January 29, 2014 at 6:39 pm

Oh, man. Except for the “representing the US 100% of the time” thing, this is my dream job. Unfortunately I think that’s an important aspect of it which I couldn’t fake…

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Dip-lo-mat January 29, 2014 at 7:57 pm

This is a common concern, as no one agrees with everything all the time. We are free to disagree during the foreign policy sausage making and with our vote. But FSOs should recognize–and most do–that once our game face is on, it’s on, and we represent the government of the United States. By “100% of the time,” that translates to keeping your game face on at the grocery store and in traffic and on Facebook, which can get a bit exhausting when you just want to rant at the complete lack of lines in the host country. But, alas, that wouldn’t be very diplomatic.

TL January 29, 2014 at 11:36 pm

Thanks, that’s really helpful! I think I could be good at the job – I’m well-rounded, can fake a conversation on most subjects and am really good at game-facing. But yeah, I want travel, adventure, and a nice secure job where I can feel like I’m doing some good (but making decent money because I do like the money-having part of jobs.)

Asst. Director Alumni Relations January 29, 2014 at 11:59 am

• I am in charge of online communications for a college alumni office. I’m not directly involved with event planning, but do provide support for the other directors in the office. • Northeast Ohio • Just started my second year in this job, but I am an alumnus of the school and have worked in other departments on the campus over the past 10 years. • Started at $41,000 • Masters degree in communications and significant side experience (blogging, social media). Assistant Director = entry-level, with Associate Director and Director higher up the ladder.

Industrial Waste Inspector (aka Sewer Cop) January 29, 2014 at 12:00 pm

Municipality near Seattle 30+ years experience, 23 at current city. Male, though that doesn’t matter here. $76,700/year, no bonuses, no 401 contribution, defined benefits retirement.

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Industrial Waste Inspector (aka Sewer Cop) January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

I regulate and enforce on local, state, and Federal waste discharge regulations. Inspect businesses ranging from one-person shops to the largest manufacturing building in the world. Sample wastewater flow ranging from less than a gallon a day to in excess of 1.5 MGD (Million Gallons per Day). Sample in collection system manholes with line sizes from 8² to 72². Determine and prepare enforcement that can range from a phone call to Administrative Fines of $10,000/day, on to the possibility of civil and criminal charges. Receive and review self-monitoring reports for compliance. Draft and issue discharge permit and discharge authorizations. And more.

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Mike C. January 30, 2014 at 11:35 am

Thanks for keeping our waterways clean! :D

IT Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:00 pm

Job: IT Manager: I manage 5 systems administrators and do substantial project management as well. I also write lots of reports. Salary: ~$75k annually Benefits: substantial 403b contribution (without required matching), excellent healthcare with low monthly premiums, better-thanaverage PTO, good work/life balance Industry: Higher Education– a midsize private university Area: a mid-size midwestern city with a low cost of living Experience: 4 years as a manager, 10+ years as a sysadmin Education: BA in somewhat related field, several tech-y certifications

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Application Analyst January 29, 2014 at 12:27 pm

IT Application Analyst – primary support for financial and HR applications, some web development, some SQL report writing, some project management Smaller Midwest city (approx. 30K people) 7 years in current role, 14 years in IT for healthcare/hospital non-profit $63,000, salaried, 403b with matching, decent health/dental/vision insurance, great PTO plan (up to 8 weeks per year), flexible schedule when I need it. BS in Computer Science from regional public university female

Sales Support Representative January 29, 2014 at 12:00 pm

I do operations and some customer service for a retail branch of a large mobile phone carrier in US. I’ve been here 2 years 3 months and counting. I started out making $13.92 an hour and now make $16.75 ($34,500 a year or so). We get great benefits: employer subsidized healthcare, matching 401k, tuition reimbursement, 2 weeks of vacation plus about 5 days of other PTO. FWIW I’m female.

Anne January 29, 2014 at 12:01 pm

Team Manager/Senior Analyst at a social media software company (small start-up) SF Bay Area 9 years experience in the field, 3 in this position $60,000 salary, with an additional $8k reimbursement for health insurance (we’re so small that employees find their own health insurance plans and are reimbursed). No other traditional benefits like 401k, health insurance, EAPs, etc.

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Anne January 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

I should add that we have a very generous vacation policy: 20 paid PTO days plus 9 paid company-wide holidays

Project Coordinator January 29, 2014 at 12:01 pm

Job: I work at a non-profit research/biotech organization doing grants & contracts management as well as budget management for my department Geographic area: Seattle, WA Years experience: 5 years in related work Salary: $54,000, exempt, 401k matching, low-cost health benefits and some other perks Other: female with a bachelor’s degree and some other random professional experience (~5 years)

Copy Editor - Ad Agency January 29, 2014 at 12:01 pm

– Copy editor / proofreader / occasional copywriter at a boutique ad agency – Long Island – 8 years (1 in ad business, 8+ as a proofreader/copy editor; before this, I was in the dying field of book publishing where I didn’t get a raise from $43K for 5+ years) – $50K base (started at $48K), plus $1K bonus for add’l in-house work. Yearly bonus is about 1/wk of pay. – 20 days PTO (sick/vacation in same bucket). 14 holidays. Summer Fridays (leave at 2 p.m.). – Hours are pretty 9-5 with occasional late nights. (Much better than industry usual.) – Female, early 30s. Degree in Journalism, Master’s in history.

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Copy Editor - Ad Agency January 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm

Just wanted to say, I’m not *complaining* about my former salary, but the NYC area is an incredibly high COLA for those who aren’t from around here (and I’ve lived elsewhere, like FL, OH, CT). So while it seemed like I was raking it in … yeah, not so much :P

Copy Editor (New Media) January 29, 2014 at 12:30 pm

I’m just going to tag onto this, so that all the copy editors can be in one place. This was my last job because my current one won’t be relevant/helpful (VERY niche) Title: Copy Editor Job: Copy editor/proofreader/social media coordinator/what-have-you for a VERY SMALL new media company specializing in regional stories of a more literary bent (rather than straight up news). Location: Mid-sized city in the lower Midwest (very low COL) Experience: 3 years before I started working for this company, worked there for 1.5 years. Salary: $20/hr, part time. Started out at 20 hrs/wk, going up to 30 hrs/wk. No PTO, no insurance. Definitely had one of the higher salaries, possibly contributing to my eventual lay-off. Other: Female, mid-20s, BA in English. Used a mix of Chicago and AP Style (if you were wondering).

Development Associate January 29, 2014 at 12:01 pm

Development Associate for a small theater within a larger community organization. I’m responsible for managing our relationships with individual donors to the theater, Theater’s special events, grant writing and essentially manage all of the theater’s fundraising. Area: DC Experience: 9 month part-time fundraising internship, 3 years as administrative/development assistant at another position, 1 year in this position Salary: $35,000 a year plus health insurance and small company match into 401K (2% matching)

Content Strategist January 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

(New position) Description: Develop content guidelines and work with doc writers, marketing, product management, engineering, and support to create and manage different forms of content for both customers and company initiatives. Industry: Software Location: Remote, Texas (most staff is Boston or Raleigh, though) Pay: $81,000, plus 10% bonuses Other compensation: 20 days PTO, 3% matching 401(k), and health/life/disability insurance Experience: 12 years

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Content Strategist January 29, 2014 at 12:03 pm

Oh, I forgot: Female, early 30s (or mid-30s, if you’re a h8r)

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Usually not Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 1:14 pm

This makes me feel better, since we have roughly the same experience and job description. I’ve been thinking my salary is probably an anomaly, but maybe not.

Technical Editor January 29, 2014 at 1:36 pm

Good to see that Content Strategy positions are paying well. This is the next step for me as my duties are essentially project management for documents and ensuring that the content produced by engineering and related department aligns with user and company goals.

Programme Support Officer January 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

Programme Support Officer Writing and editing lots of reports, especially for donors; producing communications materials, such as case studies; keeping track of donor deadlines; some research including desk and field research, some strategic planning and support. Location: East Africa Years of Experience – 2 – 3 in this area, plus BA and MSc. Salary – Approx $15,000, serviced apartment, including all bills, driver/taxis for work, flights at start and end of contract, all medical expenses, flights, food, transport and per diem when in the field. (It’s not costing me money to be here, but there’s not really the opportunity to save, as I’m in a fairly big city with plenty of things to do)

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Programme Support Officer January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

Oh, and my holidays are statutory, at about 22 days a year, not including public holidays, and I’m female.

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PX January 30, 2014 at 8:03 am

Oooh. I suspect I know which East Africa country you might be in :D

Higher Ed Admin January 29, 2014 at 12:02 pm

-Official Title: Office Admin, Pretty accurate although I would say I do slightly less data entry/filing and slightly more higher level projects than others with similar titles at my university -Geographic Area: Chicago -2 years experience+BA -Salary: $19.42/hour which annualizes to about $38,400+ 5% automatic 403b contribution, additional 5% matching contribution, 3 weeks vacation, and affordable health insurance. Lagging behind on the flexible work arrangements that so many others seem to have though.

Technical Editor January 29, 2014 at 12:03 pm

Job duties: Part of a dedicated tech pubs team; my role is to edit technical documentation written by other authors; manage the style guide; write internal process and quality documentation. Company: Telecom, about 1200 employees worldwide Geographic Area: Raleigh/Durham, NC Years of Experience: 7 years Education: MA Technical Communication, BA English Salary: $78,000 with 7.5% annual bonus potential Other benefits: 3 weeks vacation, 2 floating days, unlimited sick time, generous WFH policy, 401k matching, health/dental/vision

AR January 29, 2014 at 12:03 pm

Payroll/HR Administrator – develop and bring payroll and HR into compliance for a company that is in growth mode (30 employees 4 years ago to 130 employees today) in charge of all payroll/HR functions and creation of Payroll/HR policies for the company – anything & everything that is Payroll & HR related, I do Original position description: Payroll with some HR First year and a half that was true now due to streamlining payroll Current position make up is: HR with some payroll Washington State 10 years of Payroll experience – CPP 3 years of HR (all in this position) – working on PHR $40,500 yearly salary Manages no one (unless you count managing up) Pay is based off of payroll duties not HR

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AR January 29, 2014 at 12:15 pm

I should mention that I have only been at this company for 3 years.

Anon January 29, 2014 at 12:03 pm

Title: Communications Specialist Experience: 1 year at present company, previous experience 5 years in both communications and administrative roles Education: some college, no degree Geographic Area: Southeast Salary $52K, exempt with 5% bonus, decent health vision and dental and 2 weeks vacation

Anon Salary January 29, 2014 at 12:04 pm

IT System Administrator Level 3 Chicago Suburbs 18 years experience in IT field (help desk, programmer, sysadmin), have masters degree in computer science 100k/year

HR Representative January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

Comparable Title: HR Generalist The Job: Administer HR for sales-heavy company with 200 employees. Department consists of me, my manager (who handles hiring/firing, discipline, compensation, etc.) and an intern. I do benefits admin, payroll, new hire orientations, timekeeping, expense reimbursements, commissions, and manage our intern Location: Midwest, mid-size metro area Years of Experience: 5 Salary $43,000

High School English Teacher January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

Job: High School English Teacher Description: I teach at a charter high school for underprivileged students. My main responsibilities include fostering a love of literature in students, working with students to bring their reading up to grade level (most ninth graders come to our school reading on a fourth grade level or lower), creating a safe classroom environment where students feel empowered, tutoring after school, planning lessons, and sponsoring the Chess Club. Geographic area: Virginia Experience: 1 year Level of education: Master of Ed. Salary: 12,982 with benefits Gender: Female

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Z January 29, 2014 at 2:02 pm

This is exciting. A surprising number of people making a little less than me, relatively few people making so much I want to cry, but lots of people making *just* enough more than me to give me hope that I might be able to step it up in the future.

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Z January 29, 2014 at 2:03 pm

Whoops, that wasn’t supposed to be a reply. Sorry!

Victoria Nonprofit January 29, 2014 at 2:18 pm

If you don’t mind a follow-up: Are you in an AmeriCorps program?

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AVP January 29, 2014 at 2:44 pm

I was just going to ask if this was Teach For America – otherwise it seems under minimum wage, no?

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Victoria Nonprofit January 29, 2014 at 11:58 pm

TFA teachers are paid the standard salary for the school or district in which they teach, btw.

High School English Teacher January 29, 2014 at 3:41 pm

No, I’m not involved with Teach for America or AmeriCorps. To follow up with the other question, I am only paid for the months I “work.” My salary is based on the idea that I only work from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the school year (Sept. to June) I actually work most of the year and am usually at the school until 5:00 or 6:00 in the evenings.

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Spanish Teacher January 29, 2014 at 9:16 pm

As a fellow teacher, I hope you are looking for something else. They are taking advantage of you. In my southern district, teachers with a master’s degree start in the low $40s, not counting sponsoring clubs.

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I agree January 30, 2014 at 12:26 am

My mother is an English teacher, and she started at $35k with her MAT in the early 1990s in NJ. Assisting with or running clubs and being the sponsor for a certain class (like she would sponsor the freshman class and be their faculty representative for the 4 years, helping them with spirit week activities, putting together prom and home coming their senior years, etc) earned her extra stipends. $12k for this is criminal.

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

$35K, Staff Accountant, 4 years experience (2 year public), SE, male, NonWhite I know, I know I’m way below the market. It sucks

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NBB January 29, 2014 at 9:32 pm

I have heard that is a pretty normal salary for a staff accountant in the SE with less than 10 years of experience.

Accounting/HR January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

Job: Office Manager at a small machine shop. I am responsible for most of the accounting and human resource aspects of the business – the company has an outside accountant to take care of the tax filings and a benefit coordinator to take care of the claims submissions and processing for medical and dental. I am also responsible for some of the less glamorous aspects such as phones, reception and making sure the coffee is fully stocked, but it is understandable since I am the one and only office staff other than the company president. 15 years experience in accounting/hr, MBA with Specialization in Finance Health/Dental benefit premiums paid by employer and health deductible is also paid by employer. Geographic Area: Detroit, MI Salary: $60,000 + profit sharing bonus + varied employee bonus – $9,000 minimum bonus per year, more depending on profit levels. I feel my current employer is generous given the area and level of responsibility. Working for a privately owned business single unit business is quite different from my previous job, which was also accounting/human resource, but was at a facility that was one of many belonging to a large corporation. I earned substantially less with the corporation, but had more responsibility and was a supervisor to other staff.

Sr GIS Analyst January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

Create Maps and Analyze spatial data. Masters in Economics. 7 years in GIS. $85,000- includes hardship pay Remote location. Female

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kdizzle January 30, 2014 at 10:11 am

Hooray for masters in economics!

Wants a job working in GIS February 2, 2014 at 4:21 am

I’m finishing up a masters at the moment in an obscure field, but chose to specialize in GIS. Was it easy for you to get a job in GIS given that your masters was not in say, urban spatial analytics? This is something that I’m really worried about at the moment, so any advice would be great, thanks!

just do it January 29, 2014 at 12:06 pm

I work for Nike. I’m the Digital Sport knowledge base author for our consumer services group. I write FAQs and internal knowledge base content about our digital products (apps, wearables, watches) and serve as a general subject matter expert on the technology. My salary is $48k, and my annual bonus is generally around $5k.

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just do it January 29, 2014 at 12:13 pm

Edited to add: I’m in the Portland, Oregon metro area, and the benefits and overall work atmosphere here are rather amazing.

Communications Coordinator January 29, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Job Description: Manage print and online communications for a faith based non profit. Location: New Orleans Years of Experience: 4 years of nonprofit work experience (development & communication) this includes 2 AmeriCorps years. Salary: $41,000, exempt with full benefits. Additional Information: I work a 40 hour week, and receive comp time if I work extra. Since my first nonprofit (non AmeriCorps) job I have had a $17k salary increase. My current salary is definitely above average for New Orleans, my last communications gig netted me $36,500. Female

Administrative Assistant January 29, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Description: I work for medical school school pathway, basically creating the exams (adding questions the director chooses, building, formatting, etc.) , about 55 two hundred question board-style exams a year. Put their peer evaluation data into a spreadsheet they can all take with them (and counts for a grade). I put together the medical cases they study (about 70 a year for me). Oh and there’s creating and maintaining the schedule, emailing the students about updates, and so much more… Location: Pennsylvania Experience: I have been in this position over a year, at my company nearly 3 years. I have a Bachelor and a Masters in Sociology Salary $10.25 an hour ($21,320 a year, before taxes) We do get health insurance, 133.3% employee match contribution, and 10 days paid vacation (more if you’re faculty/been here longer), but for me, no hope of a raise except for the 2.5% “cost of living increase” every summer.

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Administrative Assistant January 29, 2014 at 12:21 pm

Oh yeah, female, early 30s, and sad/horrified at how little I’m paid (not that it’s news to me, but to see it compared with everyone else’s salaries? Yikes!)

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HR lady January 29, 2014 at 1:17 pm

Are you near a city in PA? (Philly, Pgh, Scranton, or Hbg?) Most areas of PA have a very low cost of living, except for the cities.

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Administrative Assistant January 29, 2014 at 1:46 pm

I am near a city. The local paper recently did an expose that people need to make at least $16 an hour to afford a decent apartment at most rental places in the city. And, perhaps oddly, the prices go up (or at least stay the same) away from the city because of the local universities spread out around here. So not many good options besides “get a better job” but…easier said than done!

Client Relations Specialist January 29, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Female, 25 I work for an Enterprise Learning Management System developer so I troubleshoot with clients, contact the development team about bugs, write help documentation, interface with clients, user integrations, client tutorials and work to solve any problems that affects the clients use of our web-based software. I’m kind of the first level of defense. Our company is small so my responsibilities can change drastically day to day. Atlanta, GA I worked with a clientele in retail for 5 years. Had 6months experience working with students in online learning communities. But with actual troubleshooting/help desk less than 1 year. $40,000 (first year) with Medical and dental premiums 100% paid by company. 401k matched 100% up to 6% of my salary. 2 weeks pto. 5 personal days. Forgot how many sick days. I have a BA: English – Advanced Composition & Rhetoric (Technical & Professional Writing)

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Job: Grantwriter at large non-profit arts organization Area: Midwest Experience: 12 years in fundraising Salary: $48,000* *My current position was a lateral move – I sacrificed salary for the opportunity to focus my career specifically in the area of grantwriting. If I had moved upwards, I’d probably be in the $65K-$70K range (hope to achieve that with my next position in a few years!)

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Development Director January 30, 2014 at 6:43 pm

I am considering exactly this kind of move. All I really enjoy doing is grantwriting and I would happily take a pay cut to do that full time!

Anonononono January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Undergraduate Program Coordinator for a small-mid-range Social Sciences Department at a 10-20,000 student university in the Northeastern United States (Scheduling Classes, Student Advising are main duties) 32,500 take-home, after health insurance, monthly train pass, union dues, retirement are paid. Also, benefit of tuition reimbursement – employees receive 100% tuition back for first class each term, and 75% reimbursement for second class each term (huge considering the price of graduate courses at this university)

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Anonononono January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Sorry, forgot to mention experience: Was about a year out of university when I got the job, but had worked as an admin assistant for 4 full years (generally 3/4 to full-time) at time of interview/hiring.

(Junior) Software Developer January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

title: Software Developer (Junior, even if that isn’t in my actual title) area: Boston company age, size: established (not start-up, but not 30+ yrs old, either), mid-sized experience: 0-2 years* degree: computer science from good 4-yr university salary: $86,000, with 3-15% performance bonus in contract benefits: okay. 4 weeks PTO, medical/dental/vision, 401(k) with some level of matching that I don’t know because I haven’t really started paying attention to savings yet (supposedly you’re enrolled automatically and have to un-enroll) * I graduated in 2011, and worked for 1.5 years in a technical but not-development position (at a place where I’m pretty sure I was verrry underpaid). So I had a bit of workplace experience, but was still considered entry-level when I was searching for a new gig.

Marketing and Communications Coordinator January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Marketing and Communications Coordinator Wisconsin 3 Years experience $47,000/year In the Financial Services industry.

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Marketing and Communications Coordinator January 29, 2014 at 12:11 pm

EEeep. I should have included more info. Some College, no degree exempt with full benefits. Bonus eligible but haven’t been at the current place long enough! 18 Vacation/PTO/Sick days

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Marketing Manager DC February 19, 2014 at 11:18 am

I’m moving back to Wisconsin! I don’t make much more than you and the cost of living is twice has high here!

Web Designer/Content Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Geographical Area: Large-ish city in southeastern US Employer: Private college Years of Experience: total work experience is nearly 8, but only 1 in this particular field Salary: 45,000 salaried, non-exempt + health insurance + vacation time + sick + 5% match on a 403(b)

Rat Racer January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Title: Chief of Staff Industry: Healthcare Insurance Salary: 120K + 15% bonus Experience: 12 years + Masters in Public Administration Location: SF Bay Area Gender: Female Other Perks: work full time from home Am I going to get eggs thrown at me?

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fposte January 29, 2014 at 12:55 pm

No, your name’s too cute!

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Rat Racer January 29, 2014 at 4:21 pm

I think of all the people struggling to pay their health care premiums each month, and am mortified by how much people make in my industry. Note that I am at the low end of my salary bandwidth and one of my direct reports makes more than I do. But people should know how effed up the health care industry is.

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Anon If You Don't Play Detective January 29, 2014 at 8:16 pm

I work for a broker but in a non-commissioned position. I make good money for my experience and region, but it is INSANE how much some of sales staff makes.

Project Archivist January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

FT; term-limited; partially grant funded; cultural institution Los Angeles, CA, US 5 years experience $51,500 I have no clue if this is more or less than a permanent Archivist position in the same area.

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Project Archivist January 29, 2014 at 12:28 pm

includes lots of vacation/sick time; health/dental/eye insurance (partially paid); some kind of matching retirement program. female, mid-30s. masters degree

Production Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Commercial & film production manager NYC-based, small company 5 years experience $52,000, no benefits

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Production Manager January 29, 2014 at 1:05 pm

I should add in here, if I went freelance this would likely be more in the 70K range, but I hate freelancing as a rule and am trying not to go that route if I can help it.

Environmental Consultant January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Job: Environmental Consultant, with a focus on air permitting Geographic Area: Seattle Years of Experience: 2 Salary: $59k, plus health insurance, 401k match + pension, currently 14 days of vacation, 10 days of sick time per year time that accrues up to 520 hours

Paralegal January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Title: Litigation Paralegal; handle work-up for cases and clients for a small team of attorneys at a small to mid-size firm Area: Boston Experience: 2.5 years here (recent college graduate) Salary: $43,000.00; total compensation was $51,000 including overtime and bonus

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Paralegal January 29, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Sorry, should’ve added benefits – small company match on 401K contributions, good health and dental, undefined vacation (as long as the billable hours are met, it’s usually 2-4 weeks).

Supply Chain Sr. Project Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:08 pm

Supply Chain Sr. Project Manager for major retailer. I manage multi-million dollar systems and technology projects Midwest but east coast home office 15 $100k bachelor’s degree, no addtl certifications up to 75% domestic travel female

Anon January 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm

Admin Assistant at a University Metro Detroit almost 5 years (2 in non-profit work; 2.5 at the university) $37K plus benefits (generous sick time, retirement matching, paid vacation days, FSA/HSA,etc)

Electronic Resources Librarian January 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm

Description: manage database, electronic journal, and electronic book purchases/subscriptions in a mid-sized (@5,000 FTE) university library. Update website and various linking tools, answer reference questions, work the occasional weekend. Geography: Ohio, USA Years Exp: Been here 6 months, librarian for 20+ years. I’m over-qualified but was looking for a step down and was geographically limited. Salary: $50,000 base plus 10-21% merit bonus (unheard of in higher ed)

Systems Analyst/Programmer II January 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm

Description: Oracle development, Crystal Reports, documentation. Recent previous jobs also included working in SQL-Server, SSIS, other database programming, C#, C++, VB.Net, ColdFusion, server issues, user training, troubleshooting, user support, implementation, and anything else that anyone came up with. Experience: about 22 years Location: Eastern WA Salary: just under $62,000 Gender: female According to payscale.com that was mentioned in a previous post, for my experience and location and job, for this job I’m being paid more than exactly nobody.

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Systems Analyst/Programmer II January 29, 2014 at 1:24 pm

Education: BS in Computer Science

Senior Analyst, Business Intelligence & Analytics January 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm

your job – I do data analysis, root cause analysis, forecasting/modeling, and reporting development. I work a lot with Big Data & I use tools like Minitab/SAS/Tableau/Microstrategy/etc. your geographic area – Twin Cities, MN (Upper Midwest) your approximate years of experience – 18 months in this specific role; 8 total years working FT after graduate school in a different field your salary – $82, 300 anything else pertinent to put that number in context – I started my career as an engineer so that has inflated my salary compared to others. I made a career change after 7 years in technical roles because I wanted to learn more of the business side.

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Senior Analyst, Business Intelligence & Analytics January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

I’ll also add: * I have a BS & MS in a technical field * My current company is a Fortune 100 company & I work at HQ * We have (what I consider) standard benefits: medical/dental/vision, 2 weeks vacation (low to me), 401k, tuition reimbursement, life/disability insurance.

Not Me January 29, 2014 at 12:33 pm

This sounds like an amazing job – really interesting work. If I didn’t do whatever it is I do, I would want to do something almost exactly like this.

Sales Rep January 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm

Title: Sales Rep Industry: Advertising Experience: 7 years sales experience Area: Large Canadian city Salary: Base $45k + commission, total salary last 3 years has consistently been over $90k Benefits: 4 weeks vacation, health, dental, vision, car allowance, work provided cell phone, laptop and ipad And I’m a female.

Admin Assistant January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Title: Administrative Assistant Location: Toronto, Canada Industry: Investment Job info: providing senior level support to department execs and a large team Salary: $60,000 plus $6,000 bonus, pension plan, medical + dental Experience: 22 years (2 yrs at this job)

Programmer January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Software development for web and server systems. Experience: 10 years experience in IT, 5 as a programmer Education: High school education only Location: Philadelphia Salary: $74,000/exempt, decent benefits, some working from home, matched 401k

Meghan Magee January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Title: Service Management Deployment Lead – I gather business requirements and then help design a Service Management solution using a particular Service Management application tool set. Then I oversee the deployment of that solution while making ad hoc ‘fixes’ to the plan as needed to meet to overall requirements. Geographic Area: Global (I live in MS but my projects could deploy anywhere in the world) Years of Experience: 14 years Salary: $72,000

Exec Marketing & Operations (female) January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Salary: 15ok, + unlimited bonus based on net profit. Usually 50% to 100% of base most years that aren’t 2008 & 2009. Benefits: fully paid health, nothing else unusual. Experience: 30 years Area: East Coast city suburbs (not NYC) Job Description: responsible for the entire final results of this division of the company. Making money, have a job. Not making money, don’t. Side note: started at the company, many years ago, as an admin assistant at $16,000 a year. Was at that point in time a male dominated field.

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Usually not Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Career paths like yours make me hopeful.

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CollegeAdmin January 29, 2014 at 12:22 pm

Agreed – well done!

Exec Marketing & Operations (female) January 29, 2014 at 5:34 pm

Time and place. If I’d been born 10 years earlier, I’d have been in the secretarial pool at Sterling Cooper. People like Peggy made the first strike. The business world was warmed up by the time women my age came along. If I’d been born 10 years later, it would have been STEM or bust! :)

FRRibs January 31, 2014 at 2:25 am

My sister had the same sort of success; starting as a secretary in a small office, she moved through a succession of employers with increasing responsibility and after twenty years she’s head of HR making 130k a year. Determination and meeting your destiny rather than waiting for it (plus skill, a measure of luck and location, location, location) can pay off!

Non-Tenure Track Academic January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

your job: non-tenure track academic with admin, research, and publishing responsibilities your geographic area: non-urban midwest your approximate years of experience: decades + PhD your salary: around $88k, a portion of which is stipend; benefits include insurance and pension

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MentalEngineer January 29, 2014 at 12:43 pm

What’s your field? I’m curious because there’s no way any non-TT job in my area would pay even close to that.

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Non-Tenure Track Academic January 29, 2014 at 12:52 pm

It’s not a hugely common arrangement, it’s true! But it’s not like a non-tenure teaching job: stipend ($25k) is from a research directorship; the rest is from journal publishing. It’s in LIS.

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Non-Tenure Track Academic January 29, 2014 at 12:57 pm

To clarify, I do teach sometimes, but it’s not a teaching post.

Project manager / software architect January 29, 2014 at 12:11 pm

Architect, trainer and now also project manager on a specific piece of software in the Microsoft stack for enterprise implementations. 7 years of experience in this field, 9 years total. Female and had to work hard to get my salary up with negotiations, etc. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, for a Swedish company – approximately 550.000 sek or 85,000 USD per year. Just note that health care and pension all work differently in Europe/EU.

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Project manager / software architect January 29, 2014 at 12:19 pm

30 days of paid vacation Sick leave as stated by Swedish law (first day is non-paid, after that full salary for 3 weeks) Working area: mostly the Nordics now, though occasionally western Europe No matching on pension.

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Software Developer January 31, 2014 at 5:11 am

Do you mind saying what Microsoft enterprise software? I am also in Europe and starting a new job with a Microsoft partner next month.

Contract Attorney (aka Document Review Attorney) January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Job Description: I’m hired on a project basis for a specific case, which can last anywhere from a day to a few years. I review documents to be produced in litigation as well as those produced to us by other parties and do a lot of factual research to support legal arguments. This tends to be very long hours. Right now I work about 56 hours/week but I’ve worked a few 90-100 hour weeks. Geographic Area: NYC Years of Experience: 4 Salary: Curent project pays $35/hour plus OT. My yearly income has ranged from $55,000-110,000 based on project pay and hours. I do not receive any benefits. I’m eligible for a health plan through my agency but it is hugely expensive and ends whenever my project does, which could be any day. We rarely get any notice that a project is ending, we are just told not to return the next day. I also will have access to a 401K without any match after being employed by my current agency for 1 year, which hasn’t happened yet.

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Contract Attorney (aka Document Review Attorney) January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

I’m female. Each project pays people at my position the same amount. The only people who receive a higher rate are team leads or are doing a different type of review. In my experience, these people are split pretty equally between men a women.

Financial Grants Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Financial Grants Manager – I am responsible for all the accounting/financial duties for over 30 grants – approving payables, budgets, financial statements & reports as well as other miscellaneous accounting duties. My Location – Mid-Size city in Michigan Experience – 5 years in non-profit accounting Salary – $48,000/year with good health/retirement benefits and a very laid-back & flexible work culture. I’m happy with my compensation package.

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Financial Grants Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:14 pm

I’m also female.

Food and Beverage Supervisor January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Job Description: Supervise several hotel outlets on the floor…in practical terms, put out brushfires as they come up, facilitate communication between departments, do various projects Geographic Area: Midwest Experience: 1 year management, about eight years customer service Salary: $14/hour non-exempt, but I average about ten hours of overtime per week, so it’s likely to come to about 35k this year, if the average holds true. We also get decent health and dental. Notes: This is an entry-level management position in the hotel world. The hours are long–yesterday I went in at 9AM and didn’t leave until 2AM this morning, and my average day is about 10.5 hours, mostly on my feet–but it’s a really great springboard position if you want to get into hospitality management.

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Food and Beverage Supervisor January 29, 2014 at 12:13 pm

Also, I’m female, but my company has a very strict compensation structure, so every person at my position starts at the same rate of pay.

I'll Play! January 29, 2014 at 9:16 pm

“Dany Targaryen,” is that you? (You don’t have to answer that.)

Software developer January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Java Software Developer (woman) Germany MSc, but not in Computer Science Three years of experience in a more support focused role, first job as a pure software developer. 42K €, 6 weeks of vacation

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Software developer January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

(That’s about 57K US dollars, forgot to add that)

Software developer #2 January 29, 2014 at 2:41 pm

Also Germany, also female. Technically I’m the department head of programming but at the moment my department is three people (including me) plus one freelancer. We do website programming. * Bachelor’s * Just above €50 K, 24 vacation days * 7 years experience I feel a little underpaid reading this thread, but as I found out when I was promoted my salary was previously equal to or better than my male colleagues, and those who’ve moved on to other jobs earn about the same as they did before.

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Software Engineer (male) January 31, 2014 at 4:28 am

Software Engineer (male) * Technology: Java, JEE (and C#) * Location: Germany * MSc, in Computer Science (excellent grades) * Employer: Large international company * Experience: 3 years (total and in this job; age 29) * Salary: 60k €, 6 weeks of vacation (starting salary was just above 50k €)

Director, Learning & Development January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Title is a bit inflated: I manage learning and development projects (don’t manage people) and am lead designer on a few nation-wide learning projects (conferences, in-person training, online university courses, leadership development initiatives) that involve about 50 regional offices. Large non-profit. Geographic area: NYC metro Years of Experience: 8 years Education: M.Ed. in Adult Education Salary: 74K + 5% match on retirement and pretty solid health benefits Gender: Female

Pastor Anon January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Senior pastor of a medium sized “mainline” church Midwest, female, 10+ years experience Salary – 50k which includes both salary and housing allowance Health insurance (decent) 4 weeks vacation per year (!!! I know) Masters degree (4 year program, still paying it off) Work about 50 hrs per week

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Youth Program Director January 29, 2014 at 3:03 pm

Love seeing ministry jobs post salary! Midwest as well, making $35,000 as Youth Director with MA. And YES– still paying it off!

Editorial Assistant January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Job: Editorial assistant for a mid-sized book publishing group (a division of a much larger organization) doing administrative work for several senior editors as well as some research, writing, editing, and general project management of my own. Area: Washington, D.C. Experience: Graduated with a B.S. last year, did several internships over the course of college. Have been in this job since November. Salary: 36K with benefits: insurance (health, dental, vision, life, pet), 18 vacation days, 11 sick days, and every other Friday off in the summer, some telecommuting, 401K contribution matching, subsidized cafeteria, probably some other benefits that I’m forgetting/don’t use

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Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 7:21 pm

Can I ask how you got into this field? I’m in college now and my degree isn’t really relevant, but this seems like something I’d enjoy.

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managing editorial assistant January 29, 2014 at 8:10 pm

Not the OP, but I’ll answer anyway–it’s all about the internships! The field is very competitive–any kind of editing experience will give you an edge. (I volunteer copy edited for a few local nonprofit magazines.)

Sr. Contract Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Manage a team of 6+ who handle contracts for $1.2B in spend in a division of a Fortune 100 company located in the southwest. Experience: 15 years in career (2 in management) Salary: $130K plus bonus (target 15%), 401K matching, 4 weeks vacation.

Lori January 29, 2014 at 12:13 pm

Ooh, I’ll play. I’m an in-house PR/Marketing Director for a privately-owned company, and I make $93K. I have 15 years of experience and I’m in LA.

manager crim just/law enforce January 29, 2014 at 12:13 pm

Duties- manage an office responsible for supervision of offenders in the community Female Geographic Area NYC Salary- $104K Year Exp – 20 in this agency , 26 total Education- Bachelors in Psychology Additional Info – 60% pension at 55 with 30 years service, sick leaves accrues up to 1500 hours and provides additional pension time and credit toward retiree insurance premiums , 12 holidays, 20 vacation days, 5 personal days, and all insurance ( health, prescription, dental and optical)

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manager crim just/law enforce January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

In addiiton to me there are 19 professional staff and 5 support staff.

Public Health Analyst January 29, 2014 at 12:13 pm

Title: Public Health Analyst (federal contractor working on-site at a government agency) Gender: Female Location: Atlanta, GA Years of Experience: 9 Education: BA in Psychology, MPH candidate Salary: $72,000 – As I work for a private company rather than the federal government, I have received annual merit raises and bonuses. I started with this company with the same title/responsibilities 3.5 years ago at $65,000. My prior position was in state government where I earned $36,000.

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Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 10:20 pm

Do you mind expanding on what exactly you do as a public health analyst? I’m just beginning to get into the public health field and would like to eventually get my MPH. Thanks so much!

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Health Educator/Counselor January 29, 2014 at 11:41 pm

I posted down below as Health Educator/Counselor. This way I can find this comment thread later =)

Public Health Analyst January 30, 2014 at 10:28 am

Public Health Analyst (or Public Health Advisor) is a very broad title that includes a lot of different roles. In my case, I am contracted under a specific, short term, funding allocation to coordinate a project with state and local awardees. So the awardees apply for the funds and I come in after the funds have been awarded to make sure the awardees are fulfilling the terms of the funding allocation, monitor and evaluate their activities as well as the overall project, and help them when possible if they run into problems with their project and/or they need additional assistance or in some cases, intervention from the government agency. However, since I am not a government employee, I have to defer any significant actions to the official project officer. This is my second contract like this and although I have had basically the same responsibilities for both, I have a lot more autonomy on my current project partially because I have a lot of experience with this particular project area and partially because the office I am contracted to is extremely understaffed. But every office is different in how they view the Public Health Analyst/Advisor role and how they view contractors.

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Public Health Analyst January 30, 2014 at 4:33 pm

After reading all the comments, just wanted to add a couple of things. I started out as a secretary in a state health department and worked my way up. I recommend to anyone to work a couple of years in public health and get their MPH – my path would have been much easier if I already had it and not having the MPH has limited my potential salary by about $20K.

Accountant January 29, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Financial Reporting Manager/Cost Accountant DC metro 10 years BA, BS, MBA (not top tier) $75K + upto 15% in bonus includes health insurance, 401(k), and fairly flexible hours

pizzagrl January 29, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Title/Description: Marketing & Executive Assistant at a small business in a niche industry. Geographic Area: New York City Experience: First job out of college (graduated in May 2013) with several prior internships. Salary: $37,000 pre-tax with PTO, 401k matching after a year, full cost of healthcare paid for

Lori January 29, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Forgot to add that I have medical, dental, and 401K, though no matching, and three weeks of vacation.

Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Job: IS Support Specialist Area: Central PA 14+ plus years experience with an Associates and certifications Salary: 46,500 with performance bonuses Just got the job about a month ago. Benefits are OK, but my doctor doesn’t participate with the plan. Performance bonuses pretty much cover the cost of benefits I’ll be paying.

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Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Oh yeah I have 3 1/2 weeks of accrued time off that rolls over every year and would get paid for any time that I did not use if I leave the company.

Prospect Researcher January 29, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Job: Prospect Researcher with a large university. I only do profiles/wealth assessments, no analysis. Area: Pittsburgh Experience: Less than one year Salary: $31,000 Notes: I am a woman. I have a decent benefits package (health plans to choose from, dental, vision, and education benefits).

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Prospect Researcher January 29, 2014 at 12:22 pm

I didn’t think to add this: I have an MLIS, but it wasn’t necessary for the job. I probably got it because of my 6+ years of library research background. My supervisor called my salary “entry level” in the interview, so I’m assuming other universities in the area pay more, but I can’t confirm that. Thanks for doing this, Alison! I’m so nosy, and I’ve always been curious about other people’s salary since I started working.

Oracle System Architect January 29, 2014 at 12:15 pm

Industry: Various (currently WC Insurance) Salary: 185K + bonus Experience: 18 years Location: Denver Gender: Female Other Perks: Clients in Atlanta, Las Vegas. 401K match + health insurance + full time remote work + 4 weeks vacation Job is db and application design, programming, support.

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In Transition August 17, 2014 at 7:54 pm

Would you mind sharing your career path?

Project Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:15 pm

Healthcare Data Analytics Lousiville, KY 5 years exp $62, 500 NOT IT oriented

Accountant, US Gov't. January 29, 2014 at 12:15 pm

I’m a grade 9, step 2, which after our recent raise [1%] equals $49,520, Description: Non-supervisory position, I work with budgetary planning/analysis and monitor fund balances. I approve requisitions, but only in the sense where I certify that funds are available, and can decide how to pay for things, I have to report to my supervisor if it’s a situation where we have to change a requisition. Experience: Still basically entry level, I’ve been here almost a year and a half, and other than this job I’ve only worked for one year in public accounting. I have a CPA license that I keep on inactive status, my position doesn’t require me to exercise any kind of professional judgment. What mainly qualified me for the position was that I have a graduate degree in accounting, although those other things probably helped sway the decision to hire me. Job has no promotional potential beyond the step increases, I’ll have to eventually leave [and probably to another agency] if I want to move up, unless the right people retire at the right time. Upper level finance positions are pretty scarce in my agency. Region: south/central US, not in a state with major metros or any increased locality pay. Wages on average are lower where I live, so I probably make more than private sector people at my current experience level. The problem is, my pay won’t really go up with experience, especially after year 3 or 4. Currently, the pay tops out at around $62,000, but it takes several years to get to the final step. Benefits are good, not great, and I think it says more about how poor the benefits can be in the private sector. Many state and municipal employees tend to have far better benefits, as do postal workers [as far as healthcare premiums.]

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Accountant, US Gov't. January 29, 2014 at 2:00 pm

Other stuff: I’m 41, male. Career changer. BA was in English so I had to start all over when I went back to school.

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Cathi January 29, 2014 at 2:23 pm

I’m a BA in Communications looking to go back to school for accounting. Did you do a post-baccalaureate degree, or did you get a master’s? It seems silly to get a second BA, but it also seems silly to pretty much have to do a second-BA’s-worth of pre-req classes to complete a master’s degree.

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Accountant, US Gov't. January 29, 2014 at 2:46 pm

I got a master’s….the college where I was living at the time was not admitting students for 2nd bachelor’s [and many times even schools that let you in won’t give you financial aid for 2nd bachelor’s.] Also, I was looking at taking a few years of classes so it made more sense to just get a graduate degree. I was fortunate that I only had to take an extra year of pre-reqs, so it took 3 years total. Ended up making more sense for me anyway, since my first job after school paid me a bit more for having a graduate degree, and I was able to substitute the degree for experience to qualify for my current job. The additional courses also allowed me to qualify to take the CPA exam. I will say though the job market is tougher than people think for accounting, and I had a very long gap in employment between my public accounting job and my current job.

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Anonymous January 29, 2014 at 6:29 pm

This! I am thinking the route of government/state accounting because I am a tired with all the BS in private sector. I’ve two BBAs, Accounting & Finance. I’ve two year gap. I couldn’t find work. When I finally got a job it paid US$30K. I used to make US$50K. I don’t have CPA license but plan on getting one soon. To those planning a career change to accounting be warned, take a look at your age. They discriminate very much. If you past a certain age you might not get hired in public accounting.

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Controller (with CPA) January 29, 2014 at 9:19 pm

Where I worked at Big 4 I did a lot of college recruiting. I found that, just as you say, the managers, directors and partners did not typically bring older candidates back in for interviews. A director told me once: is a guy in his 40s doing an internship or taking a position as a staff accountant really going to take a senior associate’s guidance seriously? So I agree the public accounting job market is tough if you’re older and looking for a position below the manager level.

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Anne January 30, 2014 at 8:54 am

Really interesting perspective, thanks.

HR & Payroll Administrator January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

I singlehandedly run the HR and payroll departments for a 60-person, multi-state employer based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and I report to the company’s president. I am a female and I currently make $54,000. I joined the company’s accounting department and gradually began taking on HR-related responsibilities, which I asked for because no one else was doing them and I saw the company’s need. After two years, I left all my accounting duties behind, received the Professional Human Resources certification, and have two additional years as HR-Payroll only. I’ve been told by other HR professionals in Charlottesville that I’m underpaid, but I have a flexible schedule and can work from home at my discretion, which to me is worth more than money. -Payroll processing, including funding benefit contributions, paying wage garnishments, and depositing tax payments -Benefit management, including enrollments, terminations, open enrollment presentations, employee-benefit education, paying insurance premiums, helping employees with claims, and making suggestions to the president on annual benefit changes -I built and maintain the company’s HR database in Access that houses all employment information, including benefits, employment terms, personal information, company assets assigned to an employee, login credentials, etc. -DOT regulations and electronic file management for the company’s drivers (about 80% of the staff), including reviewing DMV records quarterly, tracking expiration of medical cards and driver’s licenses, and handling pre-employment and random drug screening -Filing quarterly and annual payroll taxes (I worked with a consultant for several quarters to ensure accuracy) -HR tasks such as handling unemployment claims, administering FMLA, advising supervisors and employees on personnel issues, management coaching, alerting managers to annual review dates, maintaining electronic personnel files, assisting managers in hiring process, maintaining the employee handbook, etc.

Proposal Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Job: Proposal Manager at a small but growing government contractor Salary: $60k plus $10-15k in bonuses Experience: 3 years (but I was just promoted to this position 6 months ago) Geographic Area: DC Metro We also have good benefits, 95% paid health insurance, 401k matching, 3 weeks PTO

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Proposal Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:34 pm

I guess I should add I don’t manage people, I manage the proposal process.

Accounting Assistant January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

I do a bunch of things that all generally add up to being the local accounting person for the field office, reporting to our corporate accounting department where all the actual accountants are. Minneapolis 6 years professional work experience post-college approximately $50K Other: We get solid benefits. Health, dental, vision, FSA, 3 weeks vacation (increasing with years of service), 8 days sick, 10 paid holidays a year, life insurance, short term disability, 401K with a match. The health insurance is particularly awesome and pays for freaking everything. I’ve been getting my employer’s money’s worth on that one.

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Accounting Assistant January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Dang, forgot to specify that I only have 2 years experience in my current role. Prior to that I was the receptionist.

Anon1000 January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Title: Marketing Specialist at University (for profit) Years experience: about 10, also have a master’s degree in my field Geographic area: Chicago suburbs Salary: $75k My original title was social media specialist. I manage and maintain all our social sites, writing copy, responding to fans. I work a normal day and then do extended monitoring on nights until 8pm and weekends until 8pm as well. I also do a few other projects like internal communications and student communications on occasion, and work with agencies on strategy (and my team on strategy). My manager hired me and did so at the top of the salary range because she knew raises might not be forthcoming. I was supposed to have a 10k bonus but that was eliminated shortly after I was hired (never count on a bonus!) I haven’t had a raise and don’t expect to. My co-worker who has less experience and no master’s was hired at the same rate as me. I negotiated for an extra week of vacation at hiring time. Benefits are average, but health coverage does NOT include mental health which I feel is BS.

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Anon January 29, 2014 at 9:28 pm

Workin (in a non-clinical role) in mental health, I agree that this is utter BS.

Project Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Title: Project Manager, but it’s more like admin duties combined with customer service for a small manufacturer. Area: Greater Pittsburgh, PA Experience: 3 years of college, lots of temp and retail work, stay-at-home mom for a couple years–not a fantastic resume, trust me. I was promoted to PM after 6 months as a CSR. $30,000 ($12.00 per hour + overtime + $300 per month bonus to NOT take the company health care), 401K match at 3%, 1 week vacation. This is not a great area to find work. I feel like I fell into a fantastic opportunity.

Customer Solutions Engineer - Medical January 29, 2014 at 12:17 pm

$33/hr. Full time + overtime + pager pay + company car + good benefits (gross was $87,000 for 2013) Male in Madison, WI – 4 years in this role, but 20 years in IT Also known as a Field Service Engineer, but I mostly do software application support managing the application and the servers it runs on. VMWare, Windows servers, SAN storage. Some medical equipment service in hospitals and clinics. On call ~8 weeks per year. Travel within the state, but overnight 2-4 days per month. Training out of state 3-4 weeks a year.

Senior Executive Asst January 29, 2014 at 12:17 pm

I wanna play too! Area: KC, MO Industry: Big 4 consulting firm Salary: $45,000.00 + OT Perks: Ins; 401k; Individual bonus/spot bonus; subsidies 15+ years of experience

Development Planner January 29, 2014 at 12:17 pm

Oil & gas industry / Houston, TX / employer is a British consultancy that specializes on Project Controls / permanently assigned to a 500-Fortune oil & gas company My responsibilities vary somewhat from a project to a project but basically this is all Project Controls: scheduling, cost control, contracts, project management. About 13 years of experience, an undergrad from Europe (born and raised there but I am the US citizen) totally not related to what I do which was hurting me a lot at first. Now I also have an MBA from the best business school in the state with concentration in operations/oil & gas. $75,000, 16 vacation days/10 sick days, health, dental and vision insurance, with my minimal contribution. I work 9/80 which is common around here which is nice (10 hour work day but every other Fri is a day off). The company matches 25% of my 401k contributions which is I max out every year, so this is a nice perk. I am seriously underpaid: an average salary of my MBA classmates [56 oil & gas engineers out of the total class of 63] upon graduation a year ago was ~$97,000 which is also in line with what someone with my experience and skill set earns around here, so I am looking at switching companies.

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Sr. Analyst January 29, 2014 at 12:26 pm

as a degreed engineer in the energy industry, also doing a non-engineering job, I honestly think there is a salary bump for engineers compared to business degree-only people in the same roles. . .No way to verify it except my own personal experience. I guess when looking at jobs, I always think if they’re only going to pay me “X” I can easily go back to an engineering position and make “X+Y”. (Of course, that only applies to the boom part of the energy industry cycle.)

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Development Planner January 29, 2014 at 2:50 pm

Generally I agree. Petrotechs tend to be valued higher than non-petrotechs (but almost 25% gap is kind of higher than typical, isn’t it?). But: I sort of generalized when I said “56 oil & gas engineers among my classmates”; the more accurate way to put it would be “56 classmates, mostly engineers but also finance people, economists and such”. Also like I said, an experienced scheduler/cost engineer in Houston with over 10 years of experience who works in oil& gas makes around ~100K plus-minus $5K, so after all I’d say my self-assessment as underpaid is correct. Throw in my foreign language skills (Ifluently speak two languages in addition to English) and international oil & gas project experience. Plus my MBA should have earned me a decent salary bump – but it didn’t (why is another story and this is the reason why I’d like to switch companies).

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Sr. Analyst January 29, 2014 at 4:38 pm

I don’t know if the 25% gap is that crazy. I think salary history has a lot to do with it. A friend of my husband’s just took an industry position at $60K that I know industry insiders would need at least $100K for, plus a better commission package. If they knew you made $40K, they know you’ll be ecstatic to make $60K. But, it’s not right! You should be making more, I think. Especially in O&G in Houston. It seems like people in our office there get a lot more headhunters calling than we do in my region. I’m not sure what the going rate for project controls is, but I did an 18 month stint in that role, ending up in the low $70s at the end of 2006. It was an engineering-side position in the office, too, not field. (Just another data point. . .)

Texas Engineer January 29, 2014 at 6:36 pm

I also think cost engineer is pretty different than say a mechanical/chemical/electrical/etc engineer. At most major Texas Universities those would require much more math and science.

Lily in NYC January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Executive Assistant Manhattan Salary: 80K plus overtime. Perks: I don’t get social security taken out of my paycheck and I get 15% of my salary placed in a retirement fund. Can also sell back 3 weeks of vacation every year. Caveat: I work for a high-powered individual at a very competitive organization. I also had a boss who gave me two huge raises before she quit, which means I make more than the other admins. This is the ultimate golden handcuffs job!

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Lily in NYC January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

Oops, forgot to write that I’ve been at my job for 10 years and have been in my current field for 15 years. Worked in journalism before I became an assistant.

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Lucy January 29, 2014 at 12:39 pm

Can you tell me about making that transition? I’ve always wondered if I’d make a good executive assistant, but it didn’t seem like a logical move – my background is communications too.

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Lily in NYC January 29, 2014 at 1:28 pm

Hi Lucy, I worked as a photo editor when I was in journalism. I also did similar work at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. When I decided to leave the media world after a disastrous stint at Sports Illustrated, I went to a headhunter who got me an admin job – I was able to get a good-paying one because I had some experience through earlier jobs and to be honest, I have a degree from a top school which always helps open doors. I do think a communications background would make for an excellent assistant. The job is ideal for someone who is type-A, organized, with good follow-through skills. The ability to communicate well verbally and via email is essential. I am not naturally organized or type-A, but I have a very strong work ethic and force myself to stop procrastinating when I get lazy. However, it can be a thankless job and you have to be able to swallow your pride and realize that a lot of people think you are beneath them because you are a “lowly admin”. Having a good boss makes all the difference. The job can be a drudge and most don’t pay well – especially if you aren’t in NY or SF. I don’t do this job because I have a natural love for it – I would have changed careers 5 years ago if I weren’t dealing with a caregiving situation where I need the flexibility I have from being here for so long.

Senior Web Developer January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

$108K, pension, medical, etc West Coast 18 years experience web/10 years experience as DBA, Oracle Female College: BS Chemistry, MS Ag Science (should have gone with applied math but it seemed too easy at the time)

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Director of communications in a nonprofit organization January 29, 2014 at 12:32 pm

(doing as reply since i have some similar stats) 20+ years experience, about 10 in communications work, most at same place I work now $107K plus decent benefits for nonprofits (almost 5 weeks PTO, good health insurance for US, company contribution to 401K, short maternity/paternity leave) Expensive city in Northeast US MLIS, MA, BA Male

Account Supervisor (PR) January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Account Supervisor at a big, international PR firm. Job includes a bit of everything– lots of writing, media relations, strategy, client service. Salary- about $70k, plus decent benefits (and about 2 1/2 weeks of PTO per year) Location: Washington, DC Years of experience- 7ish, but not all in PR. I did other sorts of work with transferable skills. Age/Gender: 28/Female

Planner/Buyer January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Planner/Buyer with 30 Rock company in Upstate NY $62,500 salary with 401k plan, medical/dental/eye benefits 2 years experience

Marketing Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:18 pm

Marketing Manager (female) for a large B2B company headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I wear many hats, but focus on social media. Other day-to-day activities include brochure production, internal communication, advertising and content writer. Experience: 6+ years Salary: $46k Side note: Great health benefits and 401k match.

ProjectManager January 29, 2014 at 12:19 pm

Health IT project with 16 people — software development and delivery solution. I am project manager with no direct-reports so responsibility is process Geographic area: about an hour west of downtown Atlanta Years of Experience: in this field 2; in IT 12 Salary: $85K

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ProjectManager January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

I am female, which I think matters a little. Benefits are standard with 15 days PTO and normal insurance coverage but no employer matching for 401K

Microbiologist/Inspector (female) January 29, 2014 at 12:19 pm

Scientist who inspects labs for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Position is based out of Atlanta w/frequent travel throughout US. Have been in the position for ~1.5 years (Ph.D. + 4 year postdoc). Salary: 73k/year

Tax accountant January 29, 2014 at 12:19 pm

$47,000 plus benefits UK (used google to translate the salary) 2 Years of experience in current role 1 years prior experience Graduate degree Female Job still deemed as entry level until formal qualification gained after 4 years

Event Planner January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

Female Position: Meetings & Events Planner – I plan educational seminars that administer certification credits to professionals with specific titles. I also plan and manage conferences. Area: Philadelphia Area Salary: 30,000. Benefits(health and dental, 401k(no matching), 5 days PTO and 7 sick days/year Experience: 2 years professional plus 3 college internships BS in Hospitality Management I took this job to gain experience and leverage it into a new job. I am applying to new jobs and so far I’m getting lots of interviews, no doubt, because of this job.

Director January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

Staffing and Reporting for a financial company. (aka work with Excel all day) Salary: 100k + 20%target bonus about 18 years experience, no higher ed. Iowa 6% 401k matching, 28 PTO days a year.

A Teacher January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

Title: High School Teacher Experience: 4 years as a teacher but worked 7+ years in healthcare at a high school as an athletic trainer Education: BS, MS in first field; MA in teaching Geographic: Mid-size city Midwest Salary: ~48,000 as a teacher; I also coach so I get a stipend for that and serve on a committee and get paid an hour for that. Female–not that it matters in education, ours is all by our union contract. Decent benefits and we self-fund our pension in our state with the district only paying a small percentage in my specific district. 12 sick days and 2 personal days each school year that roll over to sick days if we don’t use them.

Staff Scientist: Bioinformatician January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

Job: It’s sort of hard to define my job title because it’s not something we really have here in Canada, but basically I have a M.Sc. in bioinformatics and I do bioinformatics for biology labs that don’t have (enough) people with my skills. It’s a job I’m sort of building/shoe-horning into existence through sheer force of will. Pay: $25/hr, 22.5hr/wk. No benefits at all, just that amount. It would come to around $30k/yr, except I’m always on short-term contracts, so I sometimes go a few weeks with no work. If it was full time it would be $50k/yr. Institution: Large research university in Canada Experience: M. Sc., 9 months of job-hunting, 7 months of working so far.

Marketing Specialist January 29, 2014 at 12:20 pm

I work for a health insurance non-profit as a “Marketing Specialist” – which in my case means writing a lot of brochures/flyers/eblasts/newsletters/self-mailers/educational pamphlets and managing those projects from start to finish, working with other internal departments as my “clients.” your geographic area: New England your approximate years of experience: 6ish your salary: $70 k anything else pertinent to put that number in context: Yearly 3%ish raises, tuition reimbursement, 401k match to 6%, 3 wks vacation/yr

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Marketing Specialist January 29, 2014 at 12:21 pm

Forgot to add, I’m an “independent contributor” with no direct reports.

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Marketing Specialist January 29, 2014 at 5:50 pm

Also forgot to add – I’m female, with a BA in a social sciences field.

Marketing & Communications Specialist January 29, 2014 at 12:21 pm

Duties: Essentially write/edit everything that the company uses as marketing material. Education: BA in Communications (PR) Area: SC Exp: 5 years, all at one job Salary: 43.5k Other benefits: health insurance (incl. dental and vision), 3 weeks ATO (includes sick and vacation time) Also, I’m a female :)

Human Resources Representative January 29, 2014 at 12:21 pm

Total Comp: $73,000 + benefits + 401(k) + annual incentive plan of 5% of base salary. Info: I’m an HR Rep (in title only; functionally we’re all generalists) at a Fortune 100 company. I work in one of their pharma plants in Southern California. Background: I have a BS in Business Admin and a MA in HR from a midwest university (that’s how I was recruited for this job). I have about 3.5 years total HR experience.

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LKB January 29, 2014 at 3:56 pm

Can I ask how old you are? I’m going into the HRM Masters program this year and am curious about potential options for my career.

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AJ January 30, 2014 at 12:33 am

No prob, I’m 26 and I graduated in May last year. Which program are you going into?

Senior Financial Analyst January 29, 2014 at 12:21 pm

Your job: Sr Cost Controller/Sr Financial Analyst – basically I provide budgeting and forecasting accounting support to a CIO of a Global IT department for a $2 billion dollar in revenue oil/gas company. Your geographic area – TX Your approximate years of experience -13 yrs or so Your salary – I’m a contractor so my hourly rate is $45/hr plus OT. I’m paying my medical out of pocket, no sick or vacay days if I don’t work. At my last full time job I made 75K, full benefits, 2 weeks PTO.

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Senior Financial Analyst January 29, 2014 at 2:54 pm

Coming back to add: I’m female, age 40, and have a MBA/BBA in finance.

Program Analyst (Government) January 29, 2014 at 12:21 pm

Program Analyst at a Department of State (GS9) Regulation and Program Support for an Educational Exchange Program Washington DC 5 Years Experience International and Domestic Experience – Entry level position with opportunity to climb the ladder within the same position (increased salary) up to ~80,000 $53,000

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Dearnina84 August 2, 2015 at 2:36 pm

Program Analyst, I’m struggling with understanding how gs-levels and my work experiences correlate as I apply for government jobs. Can ask you questions behind the scenes?

Customer Service Representative January 29, 2014 at 12:22 pm

Title: Customer Service Representative Industry: Insurance Duties/Skills: customer inquires on current policies, new policies or cancellations, give quotes, any work that needs to be dealt with for customers other than claims. Experience: BA in education, 2 years in rental car industry, little background in insurance been here for about a month(thanks to AAM) Area: Boston Salary: $38K starting plus annul increases and bonuses Benefits: 401K employer matching up to 6% , pension plan, 100% tuition coverage after 1 year, health (dental+vision) with flex spending and 4 weeks of FTO time starting on your first day, and tons of room for moving up

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Customer Service Representative January 29, 2014 at 12:23 pm

Forgot to add this is at a Fortune 100 company :)

Senior project manager January 29, 2014 at 12:22 pm

I manage a wide variety of projects (online/digital, creative, RFPs, change management, etc.) at a large NGO, and also manage a team of three. I’m a 35-year-old woman with a bachelor’s degree. Region: Pacific NW Years of experience: 8 Current salary: $61,000 Benefits: very generous time off and sick leave, 6% employer match for 403(b), zero cost healthcare (including coverage of spouse/partner/children), public transportation pass, etc. Excellent, overall. I’ve been with my current organization for a little over a year, and have had an $8,000 raise and a promotion during that time, as well as a $1,500 bonus. Previously, I worked with a technology company where I made about $100,000 a year including bonuses, but was worked like a dog. Taking the initial ~50% pay cut to switch industries was well worth it in terms of work/life balance and a sense of fulfillment and pride in what I do. I do miss the higher pay, though, and if anything happened to my partner, I would need to move back to the technology world to maintain our standard of living on our current combined incomes.

Senior System Administrator January 29, 2014 at 12:22 pm

Sr. Sysadmin (mostly Windows with minor Linux and development) Pittsburgh, PA 12 years experience $85K salary (average 45 hours per week with no on-call) Great benefits with full dental, vision and scripts ($200/month) Company provides laptop and pays for smartphone and home Internet service No tuition reimbursement I can work from home anytime I want White male, single, 42 years old, associates degree + a bunch of certs Unless I get into a new, specialized technology or head towards management (no interest), I think I’m about as far as I can go which is acceptable to me. I’ve had a bunch of really horrible jobs where they worked me like a slave before I got here so I know how good I have it now. Pittsburgh is cheap and I live within my means.

Marketing Specialist January 29, 2014 at 12:23 pm

Title: Marketing Specialist at University (for profit) Years experience: about 10, also have a master’s degree in my field Geographic area: Chicago suburbs Salary: $75k I am a woman. My original title was social media specialist. I manage and maintain all our social sites, writing copy, responding to fans. I work a normal day and then do extended monitoring on nights until 8pm and weekends until 8pm as well. I also do a few other projects like internal communications and student communications on occasion, and work with agencies on strategy (and my team on strategy). My manager hired me and did so at the top of the salary range because she knew raises might not be forthcoming. I was supposed to have a 10k bonus but that was eliminated shortly after I was hired (never count on a bonus!) I haven’t had a raise and don’t expect to. My co-worker who has less experience and no master’s was hired at the same rate as me. I negotiated for an extra week of vacation at hiring time. Benefits are average, but health coverage does NOT include mental health which I feel is BS.

Donor Projects Manager January 29, 2014 at 12:23 pm

Job: Consulting role that’s a combo of account manager and special projects administrator, in a specialty nonprofit field. Area: Philadelphia, PA Years Experience: 15+ professional, 8+ in the specific field Salary: $60,000 plus bonus & 2% retirement plan match Requirements: Masters degree & experience in finance & project management

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Vee January 29, 2014 at 1:06 pm

I was scrolling down and misread this as Donut Projects Manager. My dream job!

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Donor Projects Manager January 29, 2014 at 1:39 pm

LOL. Required experience: eating.

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Leslie Yep January 29, 2014 at 5:19 pm

I know we’re supposed to have disabused ourselves of the term “dream job” but. This would probably be mine.

Nonprofit - social services January 29, 2014 at 12:23 pm

Title: social worker (non-licensed, I have a BA but not BSW) Industry: nonprofit social services City: Minneapolis, Minnesota Years of experience: 6 Salary: $35,000 plus good benefits For social services in my area, FT entry-level starting wage is roughly $25-30,000 depending on your exact line of work. 5 years in, my peers are making $30-40,000 with BAs, mostly in the low-mid 30s. Benefits vary widely; usually FT jobs come with very good PTO benefits (3-6 weeks in the first few years) but things like health insurance (usually provided, but varying quality), training, 403(b) etc. can differ a lot between organizations.

Marketing Associate January 29, 2014 at 12:24 pm

Job: Marketing Associate. Right now, acting manager of department as well. I handle all of our social media, email, and print materials. Industry: Finance Location: NYC Metro (Jersey side of the Hudson) Years of Experience: >1. Graduated in May and got this (first!!) job in June. No previous experience or schooling in Marketing. Salary: 30k, health and dental, 401(k), very rare overtime.

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Marketing Associate January 29, 2014 at 12:25 pm

Uhhhhh