What's a good salary at age 24?

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rsd

Platinum Member
Dec 30, 2003
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0
76
Originally posted by: Idontcare
By 24 you should be happy with $60k w/college degree behind you OR be in grad school to set yourself up for making $100k by 28.

Anything less probably means squandered opportunity or squandered time not making opportunity earlier in one's life...

May seem like a lot of $$$ until you throw wife + kids into the equation around the same time.

I don't know if I know anyone who is doing 100k at 28, and most of my friends went to some of the top undergrad/grad schools in the country and are overall successful.

Ultimately though anything people post here has to be taken with a grain of salt.

You can do something where you make 100k working 80hours a week or make 80k working 40 hours a week. Up to you what you prefer. If you solely base your personal satisfaction over your career upon how much $$ you make, you won't really ever be happy.
 

Gunslinger08

Lifer
Nov 18, 2001
13,234
2
81
Originally posted by: rsd
Originally posted by: Idontcare
By 24 you should be happy with $60k w/college degree behind you OR be in grad school to set yourself up for making $100k by 28.

Anything less probably means squandered opportunity or squandered time not making opportunity earlier in one's life...

May seem like a lot of $$$ until you throw wife + kids into the equation around the same time.

I don't know if I know anyone who is doing 100k at 28, and most of my friends went to some of the top undergrad/grad schools in the country and are overall successful.

Ultimately though anything people post here has to be taken with a grain of salt.

You can do something where you make 100k working 80hours a week or make 80k working 40 hours a week. Up to you what you prefer. If you solely base your personal satisfaction over your career upon how much $$ you make, you won't really ever be happy.

I have family members who were making over $250k at 28. Then again, they started their own business. That's the only real way someone young will make that much money without working 100+ hours a week (ex. investment banking).
 

rsd

Platinum Member
Dec 30, 2003
2,293
0
76
Originally posted by: joshsquall
Originally posted by: rsd
Originally posted by: Idontcare
By 24 you should be happy with $60k w/college degree behind you OR be in grad school to set yourself up for making $100k by 28.

Anything less probably means squandered opportunity or squandered time not making opportunity earlier in one's life...

May seem like a lot of $$$ until you throw wife + kids into the equation around the same time.

I don't know if I know anyone who is doing 100k at 28, and most of my friends went to some of the top undergrad/grad schools in the country and are overall successful.

Ultimately though anything people post here has to be taken with a grain of salt.

You can do something where you make 100k working 80hours a week or make 80k working 40 hours a week. Up to you what you prefer. If you solely base your personal satisfaction over your career upon how much $$ you make, you won't really ever be happy.

I have family members who were making over $250k at 28. Then again, they started their own business. That's the only real way someone young will make that much money without working 100+ hours a week (ex. investment banking).

Very true, but I would consider that an extreme as opposed to the "norm" which it seems like the OP is asking about. Hell if I hit the lottery tomorrow, I'll be a millionaire and doing great for my age :)
 

Gunslinger08

Lifer
Nov 18, 2001
13,234
2
81
Originally posted by: Idontcare
By 24 you should be happy with $60k w/college degree behind you OR be in grad school to set yourself up for making $100k by 28.

Anything less probably means squandered opportunity or squandered time not making opportunity earlier in one's life...

May seem like a lot of $$$ until you throw wife + kids into the equation around the same time.

I agree. You figure an average home in my area will have a $1700-$2000 a month mortgage and that $3500 a month take home from $60k doesn't seem like that much money.
 

RichieZ

Diamond Member
Jun 1, 2000
6,549
37
91
Originally posted by: Idontcare
By 24 you should be happy with $60k w/college degree behind you OR be in grad school to set yourself up for making $100k by 28.

Anything less probably means squandered opportunity or squandered time not making opportunity earlier in one's life...

May seem like a lot of $$$ until you throw wife + kids into the equation around the same time.

60K is the new 55K for college grads, i sometimes do on campus recruiting for my firm and it seems like this is what everybody is offering these days

its funny with wage compression some of the new analysts are making more than ppl who've worked here for 2 yrs (considering their signing bonus and the fact that raises haven't been announced yet)
 

Dunbar

Platinum Member
Feb 19, 2001
2,041
0
0
Ignore the people who are bragging or exaggerating in this thread. I'd say anywhere from $35-40k for a first job right out of college. That's pretty much the minimum you need to live here (unless you have a roommate). But the field you choose to work in will have a big effect on salary expectations down the road (when you have experience.)
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Originally posted by: MAME
I'd like to know where I stand in the grand scheme of things. I want to make sure I'm on track for a successful career, or if I need to mix things up to get ahead.

This is in Southern California.

Take any experience/skills out of the equation. I just want to know what the average range of salaries are for people my age with careers.

Your first 3 years shouldn't be so much about money (although the bar you set will set your future bars in a small way) as it is about soaking up as much wide ranging experience as you can and accomplishing measurable achievements.

Also building soft skills and your network.
 

miketheidiot

Lifer
Sep 3, 2004
11,062
1
0
[idiot]If you aren't making 100k, you should probably just off yourself since your life is and always will be a complete failure[/idiot]

in all honest 30-40k isn't bad, if your making more, good for you.
 

MixMasterTang

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2001
3,167
176
106
So when is ATOT going to institute the mandatory Cost of Living Conversion when talking about salary, housing costs and other area specific areas. Since Albany, New York is considered the "most average" city in the US all talk of the items mentioned above should be run through a COL calculator before being posted.
 

LS20

Banned
Jan 22, 2002
5,858
0
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Originally posted by: joshsquall

I agree. You figure an average home in my area will have a $1700-$2000 a month mortgage and that $3500 a month take home from $60k doesn't seem like that much money.

Figure that average people don't have 1700-2000$ mortgages, and most homeowners are married (dual-income)

Originally posted by: Idontcare
By 24 you should be happy with $60k w/college degree behind you OR be in grad school to set yourself up for making $100k by 28.

Anything less probably means squandered opportunity or squandered time not making opportunity earlier in one's life...
A person making 100k, regardless of age (that means include 60+) would be in the >95th percentile of Americans...

I'm not saying 100k is a lot (it is not at all), but that these are unreasonable "standard expectations"


These discussion yield very myopic answers on this site
 

JS80

Lifer
Oct 24, 2005
26,271
7
81
I made $80k last year at age of 24. I have zero savings after student loan payments, rent, cost of living. And I own my car with no note.

You need to make at least $120k/year in socal to have an active social life.
 

smack Down

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2005
4,507
0
0
Originally posted by: JS80
I made $80k last year at age of 24. I have zero savings after student loan payments, rent, cost of living. And I own my car with no note.

You need to make at least $120k/year in socal to have an active social life.

So i'm guessing 95% of the people have no social life.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,924
45
91
Originally posted by: JS80
I made $80k last year at age of 24. I have zero savings after student loan payments, rent, cost of living. And I own my car with no note.

You need to make at least $120k/year in socal to have an active social life.

What about the investments you post about? :confused:
 

Imdmn04

Platinum Member
Jan 28, 2002
2,566
6
81
What is your background and education?

Everything is relative to the environment you work in.

If you are in professional sports at 24, then you should be making millions+.

If you are an engineer out of school for 2 years, 60k is decent.

If you are a liberal arts major out of school for 2 years, 40k is decent.

If you are a investment banker out of school for 2 years, then 200k is good.

Everything is all relative to your background/industry. You can't compare someone in the education sector to someone in the finance sector monetarily. Salary is not a yardstick across different fields.
 
Sep 29, 2004
18,665
67
91
$1+/hour

What the heck does it matter what others make. If you ponder that enough in your life, you will go insane in no time.
 

jdoggg12

Platinum Member
Aug 20, 2005
2,685
11
81
Originally posted by: JS80
I made $80k last year at age of 24. I have zero savings after student loan payments, rent, cost of living. And I own my car with no note.

You need to make at least $120k/year in socal to have an active social life.
hahahaha

WTF is your definition of active social life? i dont make anywhere near that and i've got a great social life.

If you mean a great material life, then i might agree. But if you dont have any social life while making $80k/year, you probably need to re-evaluate your spending habits. (Unless ALL of your money is going towards your loans and mortgage - even then, its your own fault for overstepping your means)

I live in Santa Barbara BTW, so i DO know how expensive so cal is.
 

Gunslinger08

Lifer
Nov 18, 2001
13,234
2
81
Originally posted by: LS20
Originally posted by: joshsquall

I agree. You figure an average home in my area will have a $1700-$2000 a month mortgage and that $3500 a month take home from $60k doesn't seem like that much money.

Figure that average people don't have 1700-2000$ mortgages, and most homeowners are married (dual-income)

I'm just speaking for my area. And most homeowners here are married, with a stay at home mother. I think most people here live paycheck to paycheck.