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How much do you think he makes?
How much money do you make? This is one of the last undiscovered countries of the workplace. It’s a great big secret. People love to speculate about how much money he, or she, or they, make. People love to be surprised by some modestly dressed colleague is pulling down a giant paycheck every month, or by a nice and colleagial coworker who makes peanuts for no obvious reason. This Times piece discusses how this is changing, though, and how younger (under 35) colleagues are telling each other what they make: not in competition, but to find out if they’re nuts or not for agreeing to make what they make. This is smart. It’s also awkward. So, what about you? Do you have any stories about finding how how much, or how little, one of your colleagues made?
back to top40 Comments to “How much do you think he makes?”
I know exactly how much each of my colleagues makes and not one of them knows how much I make. It is better that way.
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Usually people think everyone else is making more than they are.
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I know that I am the lowest-paid employees at my job. I stay because I like the people I work with and the job is flexible. However, others in my area and in my field with my level of experience are making at least $10,000/year more than I am in salary.
A friend of mine was asked once how much money she made by a coworker. She answered the question. It was more than her more-experienced coworker. My friend was made so miserable at her job, she was essentially driven out and quit a short time later. It’s best to keep it to yourself!
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When I was a computer operator, I was also payroll clerk because I was one of the few people in the company who understood how to use a PC back in the mid-80’s, plus I was already handling confidential information on the main computer system. I found it difficult knowing how much everyone made when I was the second or third lowest paid person in the company. Over the next ten years I kept the same job responsibilities but got better titles and money (since I basically ran the computer systems for the entire company), and the payroll clerk job became less irksome. It was still annoying to see the big bonus someone got who didn’t seem to deserve it – she was known for going out on company time to get her hair or nails done, and never being caught up on important paperwork.
Where I work now, I have no idea how much my co-workers make. And I don’t give much thought to the subject. I’ve read about places where everyone’s pay level is posted, and it seems to work out OK. People will make guesses anyway – rightly or wrongly – so keeping it secret doesn’t keep people who are inclined to be envious (or condescending) from feeling that way.
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My husband works for and as a government contractor. He is a subject matter expert in his field, and since most of the people in his office are either uniforms or GS workers, he knows how much they all make. They don’t know what he makes, but it’s more than what they keep offering him to take a GS job.
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The information seems to get leaked out every once in a while, and then folks get mad because they don’t make that much or they think [that person] doesn’t work hard enough for the money.
Best for it to stay unknown. I do and don’t want to know… I wonder sometimes if I’m getting paid more than I’m worth or not getting compensated enough.
But I’m in agreement with several others who have said that their co-workers make it worth while. Actually my employer makes it worth while. I’ve never been treated so well in any other job.
Sigh of relief. And I’ve been here 6 years! I can’t believe it.
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Everybody involved knows what TJ makes–calls offered to preachers are presented to the congregation as a whole, plus there are regional minimums that have to be met, plus (I think) the salaries are printed in an annual record book.
Where I work (a local franchise of a national tutoring company), I was told we all make the same hourly wage, so the only difference is the number of hours we work, unless I was misled or mistaken.
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Our friends don’t talk about how much money they make, the subject never comes up.
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In some companies it is against the rules to discuss this. I know a guy who was fired for telling a co-worker what he made. However at one place I worked a girl told two of the salespeople what the new salespeople was making. It was more. They both quit and the company went down hill form there. They were both better salespeople. The girl who blabbed went on to be the office manager which farther carried the station down the tubes. I got out before the crash.
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WHAT?
I am supposed to be PAID to get to stack pallets at the factory?
Holy cow. So THAT is what all the other guys are doing when they go down to the business office every Friday afternoon, and pick up those white envelopes.
I need to march right now down to the business office and confront Griselda, the factory clerk, about this.
I really dread it, though. She kind of reminds me of a Komodo dragon I saw once on the Animal Planet channel. She NEVER blinks, either. Every now and then her tongue will flick out, I’m not sure why. But I have noticed that there are never any flies in her office.
But, on second thought, I’m not sure I should accept money for stacking pallets, anyway.
It (stacking pallets) has powerful elements of creativity in the intangible but meaningful patterns of wood and staples which result from a well-stacked pallet stack, of artistic interpretation in the orientation and choices of the artist (me) to create interesting light/shadow patterns against the walls, even of the mystery of exuberant expression in the very physical activity itself (like a kind of dramatic dance – or a ballet) of an aesthetically-minded stacking of pallets.
All that might be sullied, cheapened, coarsened, were I to undertake stacking pallets for mere monetary gain.
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The Spanish-speakers at our factory have freely shared the details of their paychecks among themselves for years.
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Drill- Sound like Griselda may be related to Roz at Monsters Inc.
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A couple of years ago I was looking for a file on top of my bosses desk and I saw a file marked “Bonus”. Temptation getting the better of me, I looked in the file. It contained a list of every person’s annual salary at the company except the owner’s.
A few people made much less than I expected. A few people made more than I expected. One person who has been the speculation of being way over-paid was indeed making a substantial salary. The higher-ups were paid quite well. With the exception of one guy and one female, all of the men made more money than the females did. I felt sorry for the women.
I never told anyone I saw the list, even my best bud who works with me. Since I was making somewhat more than he is, he would have been crushed to know that, given that he’s been there almost twice as long as I have. Basically, I buried the list in the back of my mind and haven’t really thought about it much since that day.
And for those who are wondering – yes it was wrong to look at the list.
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They try to keep a lid on it where I am, but the info tends to leak out (usually in a way as to be divisive – there are some oddities and anomalies about how it plays out here).
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While it’s taboo in my company to discuss what other people make, it is encouraged to discuss the size of our raise each year and how it relates to the team average. They make a fairly detailed slary plan each year where the to 20% will get a 6% or something, the middle 70% will get 4% or something, and the bottom 10% something less or zero. They make sure we know what the raises are for each category and which category we’re in.
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Forget stacking pallets Drill, you’re sitting on a goldmine with your humorous writing…
I submit that Drill is really Dave Berry just having a lark.
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What? No one is going to post their salary?
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Five years ago today I turned in my parking garage pass and my ID card, hugged co-workers I’d worked with for ten years, and drove home, where friends soon arrived to help me load the moving van. That night my brother-in-law and I drove 50 miles or so (just to get out of Chicago that night and not during the next morning’s rush hour), stayed with friends overnight, and drove to Tennessee the next day. So I consider May 1 my first day of freelance.
I’d gladly go back to what I made “in the office” (more than I needed–enough more that I left with a year’s pre-tax income in the bank after 10 years of working there and having doubled my income in those ten years–but lower by quite a bit than other professionals in Chicago or even others in my profession). But, other than wishing I still had surplus income, I’ve never regretted the decision to get out of the rat race and out of Chicago. I do still keep thinking that if I keep at this freelance thing long enough, eventually maybe I’ll get back to my Chicago income! But five years of freelance is a mark most people don’t reach (unless they have a second household income), and it’s fun to know I have.
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How’s $5.85 an hour? (that was a raise from my first college job). It pays for gas and laundry, just about, or at least it did in 2006-2007. It’s a good job; I get free coffee and if the cafe is empty and cleaned I get paid to do my homework.
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Free room and board; my husband is very generous.
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$10/hour to tutor. I know I could (and have) made more privately, but this avoids a lot of hassles.
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I make whatever people can pay me. I do tell them that I am at least worth a big mac.
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Luke, my salary is zero. My wife thinks I’m overpayed.
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Michelle,
I bet there is some work involved in that free room and board.
I have my own business and sometimes I don’t have any work. Sometimes I have more work than I think I will ever get done. So that takes some interesting planning. But being your own boss is well worth it. I have good employees that are ok with the times we don’t have work. We are all very flexible.
Chas–You ask to have your salary doubled!
Drill–Sometimes the rewards are priceless, especially when you think of it as art.
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Almost everyone is interested in this topic, which is why Parade magazine has an annual “What People Earn” cover story. Unfortunately, they include quite a few celebrity entertainers and athletes, as if their astronomical incomes were normal.
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Ontario has a sunshine law where any public employee of any gov’t corporation making over $100,000 a year has their salary publicized. It makes for interesting reading for us peons to discover what are bosses make.
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The following was printed in our church magazine last year but I have also seen it printed elsewhere.
What Teachers Make
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One guest, the CEO of a local company, decided to explain the problem with education.
“What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?” he argued, reminding the others of the old bromide: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”
To stress his point he said to another guest, “You’re a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?”
“You want to know what I make?” Bonnie asked, pausing for a second.
“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
“I make them wonder. I make them question.
“I make them apologize and mean it. I make them take responsibility for their actions.
“I teach them to write, and then I make them write.
“I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brain, not a manmade calculator.
“I make my classroom a place where my students feel safe.
“Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts God has given them, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.”
Bonnie paused. “Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head high, because I know what I make. I make a difference. What do you make, Mr. CEO?”
The CEO did not reply.
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We (me and my working and/or student friends) talk about our salaries (or lack thereof) all the time.
It’s not awkward at all. I can’t think of a single time it’s affected how any of us view each other.
Oh, and for the record, mine has always been the highest hourly wage in my “circle” of friends.
$9.56 an hour when i worked at the hospital.
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In my life, I have only attended one church that published the salaries of the pastors. It was a Presbyterian church; I don’t know if that is the policy of the denomination, but I liked the transparency.
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I’m a cop. My salary is public record. And, it ain’t enough….(sigh).
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K.,
We’re Presbyterian. Though I would imagine Baptists would do the same, since they vote on it as a congregation–Chas?
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Yep, I was Baptist most of my life, and the pastor’s salary always was part of the annual report. (Salary, any benefits.)
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Dav, if I were the mayor of your city/town, I would mandate your payscale to be DOUBLE what it is now – no questions. I am one of those citizens who believe you police don’t get what you folks really deserve for what you go through. …..and don’t forget our firefighter friends, too.
as for me, I have no qualms about my pay. I am paid $10/hour as a short order cook in a glorified sandwich shop. Yeah, I work my tail off, and have been in the biz for about 20 years, on & off.
However, I feel as if I’m Donald stinkin Trump some weeks, due to the long hours I work each week. But then, the hiring manager liked my experience and qualifications. My bills are paid, and I am saving for my honeymoon that I couldn’t afford earlier……..
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My husband worked in a large mine which was unionized. Their wages were open to everyone. They also often knew what the salary employees made. The pay was determined by how much one needed to know for a particular job. My husband studied on his own to supplement what he had learned in the service and ended up getting the highest paid job class in the company before moving onto a salary position. He did not want that headache. He also had a college education as did many of the people he worked with. Many were former teachers who could make a lot more at this job. There was often a lot of overtime pay, which could boost the wage earners over some of the salary workers in pay. That balanced out the lay-offs and strikes, I guess.
I was surprised to have a woman, who works at McDonalds tell me, she makes $11.50 an hr. She has been there for 14 yrs. to get that. I knew some of there employees make that much in other areas of the country, but was surprised here they do here. That is more than my college educated daughter makes teaching at a day care.
My husband helped call several pastors. The salary and benefits were always discussed. They were also listed in the annual budget. This was in both a Lutheran and Evangelical Free Church. The pay was a lot different depending on the church.
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Doing 911 and police dispatch, my salary is public record (much like Dav’s). However, if you’re really curious, it works out to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $13.03 an hour, for a gross annual income of $26,000. The benefits are nice. I’m sure the pay is different for other counties/cities.
My last day here is Monday, though, and my pay with the Air Force (starting in June) will be very public knowledge too, since everyone is paid by rank.
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Luke?
You gonna go first?
I make somewhere between “just eeking by” and “living comfortably” on the basement end of middle class. Most years I was just one eensy step above “earned income credit”.
With the boys moving out on their own, I expect to pay more taxes… And essentially my salary will go down. That will suck.
But in a few more months, the house will be paid off.
But then I’ll probably pay more in taxes. ….that will suck too.
So I’ll tell you how much is enough… “just a little bit more”.
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Grandma, the best I can do is a 30% raise each year. “It’s the thought that counts.”
Cameron, at none of the churches I’ve attended, could anyone know specifically how much the pastor makes. The budget contains “personnel expenses” which included salaries, medical, SS, etc. Of course, all of that is part of salary. However, in my prior church, there were three full time workers and they (within the past few years) decided to pay the pianist and organist. There is no way the salary of one person can be determined at FBCH.
There is a separate category for reimbursed expenses. The previous pastor in Falls Church drove a Volkswagon, so he probably came out ahead, most probably don’t.
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Chas,
That’s fascinating–so who decides how much to pay a pastor, or how to schedule raises, and all of that? I just figured y’all handled it at congregational business meetings–ours is decided by the elders and ultimately voted on by the congregation (the budget as a whole, with a line-item breakdown of salary, benefits, etc.).
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Cameron, the Personnel Committee meets with the Budget Planning Committee to determine the salaries and perks for all the staff. The pastor has input for the secretaries, etc., but not the professional staff. I have served on them.
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I grew up in Baptist churches (and my dad was usually the pastor). I know his salary was known and voted on by the church. One church he served from ‘67 to ‘72 paid him $25/week. Obviously he also worked a secular job.
As a missionary, my salary is known to anyone who wants to know. Altogether with salary and benefits, I make about $930/month. I know, I know, I could make more flipping burgers part-time, but I wouldn’t trade jobs with any of you.
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