Salary question

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Math242

Math242

Obviously, salaries vary depending on the job, the education required and the experience etc etc.

that's a given.

However it also varies alot depending on the country you live in (tax, cost of life) etc etc

I know there are people here who come from the us, europe, canada and china.

So my question is:

My salary is around 2500 USD after tax and I'll get a company car (bmw) in january. I have a management position, i have a degree and i'm 30 years old.

Where you live, would that salary be average, huge, a ripoff ?... you catch my drift.

Disclaimer: this is absolutely not a bragging post since in Belgium, this salary is average for my position.

Thanks
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Being from Belgium too, heh :-P
I work in the middle cadre, net about the same (€1600 à €1700), but I don't have the nice company car. Degree, 24 y/o.

Mind that you'll see much higher incomes in some regions (my brother worked in London for a while, for example, and I have friends in New York, yikes), but that's partly to compensate higher cost to live (rent prices in London >>> rent in Brussels), and partly because there's lots of stuff included in our taxes that isn't included in some other countries (health care, pension).
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

Math242 said:
My salary is around 2500 USD after tax and I'll get a company car (bmw) in january. I have a management position, i have a degree and i'm 30 years old.
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800 / 2.9 = 275 USD... man has the dollar gone down... and me here thinking it was joining the EU that made the medium income go up.

Also, that sum is with extra hours i don't actually do, and my degree isn't being taken into consideration (hello crisis)... but i get to excuse myself for school when i have an exam (masters degree i think its called in english, right?) and the work isn't very demanding... so until i'm done with school it will do.

Most jobs my friends seem to have pay around 1200-1600 / 2.9... with a college degree, but most times knowing people is better here pay wise (and time wise, i know plenty of people that work 9 hours coz of lunch breaks they don't actually take) then having an education.


Oh, and the medium income is 1300 it seems (~450$)... and yet things haven't gotten that much better compared to when it was 200$...
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

It's really hard for people inside the US to judge how much you should be making, as Americans generally make more because we have higher costs of living. The best comparison I can make is my mother. She's a public school teacher specializing in learning disabled children and starting in December, she's going to be making twice what you make a month. Do people in your industry and position make more than school teachers? (Note: She's finishing her Masters and also does some extra duties for the school system she is also payed for.)
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
It really depends on the cost of living. In New York City or Silicon Valley that amount of money would mean you're living in a box and showering daily at the YMCA.

In Omaha that amount of money would let you pay for a web site forum and raise 2 kids...
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

So, that's $30,000 a year. That's considered middle class, which is between about $25,000-75,000 a year. So, the lower end of middle class. You could live comfortably on that salary range here, provided that you were careful with your budget. Life would be easier if you had a wife or roommate who helped cover part of the bills.
 
phil

phil

If I remember correctly, I think my economics professor in high school said that either 30k or 35k a year was the national average.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

in 2007, the median income rose to 50K according to the census. but that's 'household income'...most people I know live in two-income families.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Tinwhistler said:
So, that's $30,000 a year. That's considered middle class, which is between about $25,000-75,000 a year. So, the lower end of middle class. You could live comfortably on that salary range here, provided that you were careful with your budget. Life would be easier if you had a wife or roommate who helped cover part of the bills.
Click to expand...
That's $30,000 a year AFTER taxes, which according to Expatica could be as much as 48.2%. This means that it's closer to $62,000 before taxes.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

ah, I missed that part, even though it was clearly said. My bad :)

That's about 576 a week take-home (30K/52).. Taxes are dependent entirely on deductions and the like (if we're comparing to US salaries). Callistarya makes that if she works 5 hours overtime a week, and she doesn't make 62 grand a year.

I'd still peg that at about middle class.

studio apartments ("efficiencies") start around $400/month in Dallas. You're more likely going to spend $550-650+ unless you're just living as cheaply as possible. The car perk is nice, because you'd be spending $400-500/month for car payment+insurance (less if you bought a used car). Add utilities (electric) is about another $300/month depending on the weather. So with just those three basics, you're eating up about half of your take-home.
 
C

Chazwozel

Math242 said:
Obviously, salaries vary depending on the job, the education required and the experience etc etc.

that's a given.

However it also varies alot depending on the country you live in (tax, cost of life) etc etc

I know there are people here who come from the us, europe, canada and china.

So my question is:

My salary is around 2500 USD after tax and I'll get a company car (bmw) in january. I have a management position, i have a degree and i'm 30 years old.

Where you live, would that salary be average, huge, a ripoff ?... you catch my drift.

Disclaimer: this is absolutely not a bragging post since in Belgium, this salary is average for my position.

Thanks
Click to expand...
If you lived by yourself, you could get by living in the lower end suburbs of Philadelphia in West Chester, Downingtown etc... I'd say it's lower middle class.
 
Math242

Math242

damn i was expecting salaries to be higher in the US but not that much. I was not expecting to be almost "poor"

with my salary (if you want to know what i earn per year, multiply it by 13.92), i can pay for an appartment i bought, all my food and usual expenses + games and parties and still save around 200$/month almost every other month.

I earn much more than every teacher except university ones.

In my current field, i can expect my salary to rise to 3500-4000$/month max. If i want to earn more, i ll have to be my own boss or work for an international company.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Yes; our taxes go quite a bit higher. I'm in the highest tax bracket - 50% - plus add in another 33% company tax (which is on top of our gross, but is still seen as part of the cost to emply someone in Belgium), and social security and state health care. What he costs to his employer is closer to 70K-75K.

Like I said - our national health plan covers about the same as the most expensive health plans (including dental etc etc) in the US. That's another $400 or so a month. Oh, and cars are higher valued in Belgium, since fuel is much more expensive. A medium BMW will probably be scored around €600 - $800.
 
R

rabbitgod

You make almost exactly what I do. I do have a wife so the second income obviously allows us to live better than alone and allows us to pay off our student loans faster and save a little bit.

However, that's almost twice the median income of the county I live in, so depending on where you live you could be just fine.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Bubble181 said:
Yes; our taxes go quite a bit higher. I'm in the highest tax bracket - 50% - plus add in another 33% company tax (which is on top of our gross, but is still seen as part of the cost to emply someone in Belgium), and social security and state health care. What he costs to his employer is closer to 70K-75K.

Like I said - our national health plan covers about the same as the most expensive health plans (including dental etc etc) in the US. That's another $400 or so a month. Oh, and cars are higher valued in Belgium, since fuel is much more expensive. A medium BMW will probably be scored around €600 - $800.
Click to expand...
So you can't possibly be making only $34,000 per year if your take home is $2500 a month.

I'd figure it out but I don't know how they figure the 50% and the 33% which makes a difference.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

bmw's are luxury cars here. They cost more than the cheap car quote I gave above ;) With insurance, you're likely to be spending between $700-$1500 on the bmw a month, depending on the model. For instance, the 128i Coupe is one of the cheaper BMWs at 29,000. At 6% interest for 48 months, the payment would be around $700/month. Then you add insurance. And that's if you get a bare-bones car with no add-ons (which is nearly impossible to do). For a Z4, you'd be paying closer to 1200 a month..again, if you got the bare-bones model, and again before insurance.

So, getting one for free is a hella-nice perk.
 
Math242

Math242

Taxes:

base salary
-13.07%=
Taxable salary
Depending on the amount -25 to 48%
= net salary

The company pays your base salary +35% in tax.

we get a 13th month (13) + holiday money (0.92). That's why yearly salary is base*13.92

ok i looked at the euro to dollar conv and it's 1.487 it means i earn 58000$ per year + a car pre tax.

Net per month: 2750$ and i get 2000$ in june and once again 2000$ in december.

All in all, I pay 37% of my base salary in tax.

Sorry for the wrong numbers in my OP
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Seems more in line with what I expected :-P I'm not working at my degree's level, and I'm 6 years young - just the car'd have been strange as difference.
That said, I do pay more taxes :mad:
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

If you happen to need a trilingual guy with a degree in philosophy and cultural management and two years of experience in security and technical helpdesk work, give me a call :-P
 
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