How much $$$ do you make?

[*Heather*]

I totally agree with tvt! I don't LOVE my job, but I don't hate it either. The pay is pretty good but I know it could be more if I wanted to do something else. I'm a Chartered Accountant and I work in the Finance department of one of Canada's big entertainment companies. If I wanted to do internal audit or SOX or something I'm sure I could make more than I do, but I choose to do something that doesn't make me want to poke my eye out, LOL. Right now I'm doing budgeting and forecasting for all of our TV stations.

 

I did have a quarter-life crisis a couple of years ago and I actually considered being a wedding planner! I'm very organized and obviously good at budgeting so I thought I would be a good fit...but I started watching some wedding programs on TV and I realized that if I was working with a bride who was picking ugly stuff, I wouldn't be able to shut my mouth and not say anything...so there goes that dream!

 

It doesn't help that my FI LOVES his job, and I'm totally jealous of that. It's inspiring but really hard to find.

[Ana]

I work as a business manager for a contracting company with an income of $55,000 a year and full benefits. This is my first job after graduating from university and I've been doing it for 2 years now. I'm studying to get my business analyst certificate though and make a career change this fall. Although the pay is decent, I don't really like the work environment that I'm in. I have some contacts and a mentor helping me enter the financial industry in Toronto, which is much better than the one in Vancouver. Vancouver is amazing, but the job opportunities in business related fields is limited here, and hence why the average pay is significantly lower in comparison to the cost of living. My degree in university was for Criminology so I have no business background (hence why I'm going to school also). Compared to my friends that also finished at the same time as me I would say that my salary is comparable. All of us were hired around the 50k a year mark in various cities around the country. The good thing about the industry that I'm entering into is that there is no ceiling in terms of salary. I can easily move from business analysis to project management (which is what I intend to do), and the pay is totally arbitrary depending on the industry, company, years of experience, education etc...

[Tracy]

Hi, i find this thread quite fascinating - especially as I am a Canadian who now works in the US. maybe the next thread should be how much do you take home?? (ha ha, as the taxes are so much higher in Canada than in the US).

I work as a Sr. Program Manager for an Educational Assessment Company. for those in the school system, or with kids in the public school system, the company i work for creates the end of year tests that the students take (like the EQAO, MCAS, TAKS, NJ ASK etc). My job handles all components of these contracts, reporting, distributing, content, statistical analysis etc. I am not an expert in these fields, but I oversee the entire project. I make double what my FI does..but fortunately that has not caused any issues...yet! He doesn't seem to mind it. He is very smart with his money, and is not a spender - whereas I am definitely a SPENDER and not so good with his money - so after i pay off my cc's each month, he actually does better than me - ha ha. I've learned that it doesn't matter how much you make, it really matters how much you spend

 

PS Kudos to the girl who makes $25,000/year and is able to save, max out her IRA etc - THAT IS IMPRESSIVE!!!! Way to go.

[Samantha S]

I am a Research Associate at a teaching hospital. I do non-clinical research in children's health care quality and make a wapping sum of $45k per year. However, I LOVE my job. I have a masters in public health but am going back for my PhD in Fall of '09. I am fascinated with Integrative Medicine, or combining Eastern and Western Medicine and that is the reason I am going for a PhD-- so I can spearhead Integrative Medicine at the hospital I work at. My FI is a Lt. Firefighter (as if he couldn't get hotter!) and makes a lot more than me. It's so neat to hear what everyone does!

[Samantha S]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LC_Rachel I'm an Executive Admin Assistant for a casino director. I make $40,000 a year which isn't too bad considering my day to day duties are helping the boss problem solve the tough decsions like "how do I get a squashed bug off my computer screen?" No joke. I had to fix that one yesterday because it got squished behind the privacy screen and she thought it was actually stuck IN the monitor. She even called our IT dept for help until I stepped in and solved the big problem.

OMG, that is SO funny! My boss can be like that. I live just 45 minutes north of you! My FI is from Salem.

[foxytv]

I work for a national wine distributor and work off a straight commission ... so my salary will vary monthly and annually.

 

I've only been in my position since March so it's hard to tell, but this is the slow season and I am bringing home just over $3000 month. It appears that if that is the low-end .. then during the busy season (Sept-Jan) I will at least double that ... and continuously work to grow my territory sales.

 

The guys who have been in the business for many more years than me, and as such have more experience and wine knowledge, make 6-figures and earn lots of the incentive trips and bonuses ... which I also count as 'salary' since it's part of the perks of the job. I already went to Napa and Sonoma for 'training' and to me, that is all part of the 'benefits' package, you know?

 

I always look at jobs not only in terms of paychecks, but the 'total compensation plan', which includes benefits, perks, bonuses, expenses, etc...

[GracieBebe]

I just found this thread and thought it was really interesting! I'm a reporting manager at a large insurance company and make about $75k a year. Up until 3 yrs ago, I was making 44K a year, but FH pushed me to start asking for what I really deserve, considering how hard I work and how well I know what I do. I wouldn't say I love my job but I don't dislike it either. It helps pay the bills. FH makes about $120K a year between his day job as an IT architect and his start up business (which is just starting to get off the ground) printing insurance benefit cards for TPA's and PBM's.

[bridetobe959]

I agree very interesting thread. I am a full time student but work weekends at a bar in Los Angeles. I make approx 60K a year depending on how many extra shifts I pick up. I hate bartending but its great to do while Im in school because of the flexibility. Thankfully when I start nursing school next august I will be done with it since I plan to focus all my attention on getting through that

[sunset78]

I'm a Mechanical Inspector. I currently make just over the $100,000 (not including bonuses which will bring it up another 20,000 a year). I've been in my current position for 1.5 years. I started at about 85,000 last year.

[*Lo*]

I think this thread is very interesting. It is typically such a taboo subject. But even with the money aside it is really cool to read about the cool jobs everyone has!

 

I am a chartered accountant in a small but growing rapidly, public accounting firm. I have a contract to be partner in 4 years, so by the time I am 30! I just got really lucky finding this firm and working with the people I do. I make 6 figures, but as mentioned taxes in Canada are quite high. I am also doing the CPA designation, and typically the more qualifications an accountant gets, the more their billing rate increases, so hopefully they will give me a raise!

 

I have to say though that teachers are waaaaaaaaaay underpaid. I know they get summers off, but for the other 10 months they put up with so much. And it is pretty much one of the most important jobs!! I know I don't have it in me to do that job.