how much money do you make?

by Alison Green on January 10, 2017

It’s hard to get real-world information about  what jobs pay, especially tailored to a particular industry or geographic region. Online salary websites are often inaccurate, and people get weird when you ask them directly.

Two years ago, in an effort to take some of the mystery out of salaries, I ran a post asking people to share how much money they make, their job, and their geographic region. It ended up being one of the most popular posts on the site, so let’s do an updated version.

If you’re willing to play, here are the rules:

1. Put your job title in the “user name” field, which will make it appear in bold, which will be easier for people to scan.

2. List the following info:

  • 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 years of experience
  • your salary
  • anything else pertinent to put that number in context

(And 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.)

Obviously, no snarking on anyone’s salary, because that is rude.

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    1. Copyright Permissions Person Lead*

      I didn’t want to put my real title because it’s specific to my organization.

      I obtain copyright permission to use third party materials in our publicatoins. I also oversee others who do my job, create processes, and take on special SharePoint projects in my division (Legal) of a big company.

      New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia region

      almost 6 years

      ~$72,000 plus 3 weeks vacation and 7 personal days, 1 community service day, great health insurance including vision and dental, pension, 401(k) match. I know I get paid very well for what I do.

    3. Environmental Educator*

      Environmental Educator
      I am responsible for assisting in developing and leading field trips aligned to state curriculuum, lead overnight camping trips, work with Scout groups, manage our animal collection, oversee weekend programming.
      Texas
      In this position: 3 years. In this field: 10 years
      $17.50/hr ( This is the highest I have ever made in this field. My last position I made I earned $10/hour and I have a Master’s degree!).
      Full benefits, health insurance, vacation, personal days, sick time and able to earn comp time

      1. Environmental Educator Supervisor*

        WOW that’s fantastic! Good for you! I’m in Environmental Education as well. Our pay scale for our educators is $10-$12 an hour so for someone with their masters we would pay $12. And like you said that’s pretty good. I’ve seen as low as $8 an hour before.

        Environmental Educator Supervisor
        I don’t have my exact title listed bc it would be too specific to my organization but I supervise environmental educators who do field trips and summer camps. I hire, train, and schedule the educators and coordinate the school field trip details (time, program, cost, etc.) with the schools.
        North Carolina
        In this position: 1 year. In this field: 5 years
        I have a M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning and B.S. in Biology
        $37,000/ year. I was originally offered $35,000 but negotiated (thank you Alison!)
        Health insurance, 3 weeks vacation (include sick days in that). Sadly no 401k match

      2. AlsoEnvironmentalEd*

        I am also an Environmental Educator! I’m so glad to see there are a few of us!
        Location: Southwest
        In current position: less than a year, 2 years experience plus Bachelors degree in a related field.
        Pay: $18/hr, part time, no benefits.
        I create ecology based workshops, lead hikes, do presentations for school groups and the public.

    4. Mortgage Paralegal*

      My position exists solely to track upcoming legislative and regulatory changes that may impact my company (and affiliates), summarize these changes and send the summaries out to various people within the company, and then track any policy/procedure changes that arise as a result of these changes. I do not project manage for these changes, but follow up to ensure that any changes deemed necessary (by someone else, not by me) to remain in compliance are actually implemented.

      Orange County, Southern California
      A little more than a year
      43,500/year

    5. Non-profit paralegal*

      Paralegal for complex litigation

      Support multiple attorney’s (3 to 5) for the small Chicago office of a National non-profit law firm. I do legal research, case information research, put exhibits together, manage/organize files, cite check briefs, run ToA ToC, some IT support, and other miscellaneous tasks.

      $32k/$14.8 hr (hourly plus RARE overtime)
      Fully paid health PPO/vision/dental coverage for all dependents.
      20 days PTO 25 after 5 years (UpTo 10 days of carry over)
      12 paid holidays
      403-b
      Company paid Life/disability insurance

      6 months paid (70% salary) paternal/maternal leave.

      Experience: 8 months current job and 2 yrs 3 months total experience as paralegal/legal secretary

    6. Community College Faculty*

      A full-load would be 5 sections per semester, but I currently have administrative duties as well. My salary included 3 sections in the summer.

      Minnesota
      15 years
      $85,000

    7. Process Chemist*

      $53K
      Process chemist. I could describe my job more, but a process chemist does the same, widely varied work. Scaleup, process development, route scouting, occasional deliverables, safety assessment, etc.
      Albany, NY (that will make it obvious where i work, but whatever)
      19 years experience after getting an M.S. after a B.S.

      And yes, we know full well here we are getting paid well below industry standards. It’s the price we pay for living in this fabulous, relatively low-cost city. I made $85K at the same level in Cambridge, MA, 10 years ago.

      1. Process Chemist*

        Should have clarified: Most of our work is on pharmaceuticals, though a small percentage is components of medical devices, analytical standards, monomers, i.e. non drug product chemicals. But our forte is definitely APIs.

    8. Medical Group Manager*

      I manage several departments within a mixed (primary care and specialty) medical group – approx. 200 physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. I do not manage a physical clinic location, the departments I manage impact all providers and departments (customer service, referral optimization, and a few other smaller responsibilities). I oversee 30 associates, mostly nurses.
      Iowa
      Master’s Degree in a medical field and practiced for 15 years. Four years in current management position.
      $75,000

    9. Legal Assistant*

      Intellectual property work, including preparing documents from a template, client correspondence, drafting documents for attorneys, etc
      NYC
      Less than 1 year
      44,500/year, rare overtime

    10. Library Specialist*

      Library Associate for specialized university library
      Texas
      Less than 2 years
      30,000/year

      I have 4 years of library experience.

  2. Development Associate*

    your job: I support an executive in the development department of a large nonprofit, facilitate fundraising processes including project management, tracking, data entry and scheduling
    your geographic area: DC
    your years of experience: 5
    your salary: $47,500

    1. (also) Development Associate*

      your job: I support all of the private foundation and corporate communications for a relatively small nonprofit arts organization. I mainly do grants research, writing, and reporting, but I also help out with annual funds and special event planning.
      your geographic area: New York Metro area
      your years of experience: 2 (1 year as an unpaid intern, 1 year working in fundraising, both at different organizations)
      your salary: $38,000

    2. another Development Associate*

      your job: I support the development director (and sometimes the executive director) of a small nonprofit, which provides education services. I process and track donations and acknowledgements, light social media strategy and implementation, grant writing and research, event and fundraiser planning, eventually will include website maintenance.
      your geographic area: NY Metro area
      your years of experience: 1 year cumulatively (6 months at another organization, 6 months at this organation)
      your salary: $30,900

      1. Non Profit Operations Manager and Jack of all Trades*

        Job: Manage and operate a small nonprofit, which provides arts and education services. Manage a downtown location, give tours, track donations and acknowledgements, social media, grant writing and research, scheduling, bookkeeping, hr, website maintenance.

        Geographic Area: Rustbelt

        Years of experience: 5 (6 months at current job, 4 and a bit at other locations)

        Salary: $18,000 (sob)

      2. development adjacent*

        your job: I do donation processing, gift acknowledgments, and data management for a large national nonprofit.
        your geographic area: Midwestern United States
        your years of experience: about 4 years
        your salary: $40,000

    3. Development Specialist/event planner*

      Job: Coordinate and execute all fundraising events for a hospital as part of the annual giving office.
      Geographic area: New Hampshire
      Years experience: 10 total – took three years off to be a stay-at-home mom.
      Salary: $53,500

    4. Communications & Fundraising Coordinator (Nonprofit)*

      Job: Social media and website management, content writer for appeals, monthly columns, newsletters, etc., track and thank donors for individual fundraising, some event planning
      Geographic area: MN
      Years of experience: 2
      Salary: $36,000

    5. Development Database Admin*

      your job: I handle the donor database of a medium-sized nonprofit, reporting on giving trends, handling database queries for things like mailings and programs, and prospect research
      your geographic area: Austin, TX
      your years of experience: 2.5 (one was a fellowship at a related institution)
      your salary: $43,500

    6. Development & Communications Associate*

      Job: I support a development director of a small/mid sized nonprofit. Being a two person department I do a bit of everything, but primarily grant research and reporting, process and track donations, manage our donor management software, social media, and email communication

      Geographic Area: Chicago

      Years of Experience: 1.5 (following 4 years in the private sector in a role with equivalent duties)

      Salary: $32,000 (hourly, not salaried)

      1. Communications & Development Associate*

        Job: I support a Deputy Director of PR & RD as well as a Development Officer for a mid/large nonprofit. I handle almost all of the financials for the department, including cash handling, data entry, reporting, reconciliation, for all restricted funds. I also have a hand in all design work in the office and am responsible for several electronic communication pieces, both internal and external. Copy editing, copy writing, event planning/implementation and other general development duties. Fielding angry PR phone calls and sending to the appropriate person.

        Geographic Area: Alaska

        Years of Experience: 4

        Salary: $40,000 (hourly, not salaried)

    7. Development Officer*

      Job: I run both the Membership program and Annual Giving campaigns. My title has manager in it, but I am both program manager and fundraiser.
      Geographic area: Western NY
      Years of experience: 3 years in non-profits (previously I put in 6 years in for-profit marketing)
      Salary: $45,000

    8. Senior Development Director*

      Job: drive national development and marketing initiatives, provide fundraising and development support to field offices across the country
      Area: Southeast
      Experience: 8 years in non-profit
      Salary: $88,000

    9. J*

      For the new job
      job: Development officer (mid-career, higher ed)
      area: CT
      yrs of experience: 10+
      salary: $67,500
      other: 15 days vacation, 9 sick days, very generous 403b program

      For the job I had this time last year
      job: Membership officer (mid-career, arts organization)
      area: Chicagoland
      yrs of experience: 10+ (same experience for both)
      salary: $47,000
      other: 30 days PTO, very generous 403b program

    10. development director*

      development director
      your job: manage development operations for nonprofit ($2.7M budget) – all aspects of fundraising including grants, major gifts, admin, annual campaign, donor relations/communications, drives, and event.
      your years of experience: 6
      your salary: $83,000

    11. Advancement Associate*

      your job: general support for the advancement office of an independent high school, with a special focus on improving database processes and data health
      your location: Houston, Texas
      years of experience: 5 years (all in advancement services, some of it freelance)
      your salary: $50,000
      I think this is a little inflated for my title and job description, but I have some higher level donor database experience that this org really needs.

    12. Dir. of Institutional Giving*

      your job: Lead fundraising from corporate, fdn, and government sources for a large ($25 million budget) non-profit arts organization (lots of grant writing). Supervise 1 FT Mgr and 1 FT intern, responsible for raising about $2.5 million annually.
      your geographic area: NYC
      your years of experience: 12 years in the field
      your salary: $90,000
      Nonprofit salaries vary a fair amount by subject area (arts are not the most lucrative) and particularly by organizational budget size. My job would not exist at a smaller organization though; I would be more of a generalist.

      1. Director of Development*

        your job: Lead fundraising effort for Museum ($6 million budget + in an $18.5 million capital campaign). Supervise 4 FT Development Officers and 1 PT Development Officer, and 1 FT assistant, responsible for raising about $4 million annually.
        your geographic area: Central California
        your years of experience: 22 years in the field
        your salary: $112,000; 6 weeks vacation

        1. Director of Development*

          Years: 1 in Development, 10 in Nonprofit Sector
          Area: Midwest
          Salary: $45,000, 3 weeks paid vacation

    13. Development Services*

      your job: prospect research, prospect management, major gift stewardship, campaign strategy, reporting & analysis, functional database administration for a K-12 independent school

      your geographic area: mid-size metro area in the South

      your years of experience: 15+ in the industry, 4.5 in this job (wow I’m old)

      your salary: $54,000 plus 4 weeks paid vacation, sick time, & all school holidays (fall/winter/spring breaks/etc adding up to another 4 weeks/year), 403(b) with match, health/dental/vision/etc.

      I’m a little overqualified for what I do, but I have the luxury of not being the breadwinner and the incredibly generous time off alone makes it more than worth it for the time being.

      1. Alumni Relations/Development*

        your job: manage development efforts and alumni efforts for a school within a larger University. This includes planning, organizing all alumni events, and mid-level giving.

        Geo area: midwest

        Years of Experience: 11

        Salary: $51,000 (plus tuition remission, and great benefits. Seriously, work at a University!!)

    14. jrpm*

      development director
      your job: manage development operations for nonprofit ($4.8M budget) – all aspects of fundraising including grants, major gifts, admin, donor relations/communications, and events.
      your geographic area: NYC
      your years of experience: 10
      your salary: $105,000

    15. Senior Development Writer*

      your job: I work in fundraising for a university, promoting giving through various written communications and marketing strategies. I write proposals, donor profiles, online content, event scripts, etc.
      your geographic area: Southeast Michigan
      your years of experience: 6 (excluding college internships)
      your salary: $56,000 (this includes annual merit increases – starting was $53,600)

      I started at this employer as a Development Writer and then was promoted. Starting salary for our writers is about $47,000.

      1. Proposal Writer, Development*

        I write proposals to individual donors for gifts to an academic medical center. No management duties.
        NYC
        5-7 years experience; masters in related field
        $85,000, 29 days combined PTO

    16. Individual Giving / Board Liaison*

      Individual Giving/Board Liaison
      your job: I support the Board of Directors and manage a portfolio of donors at a large arts org
      your geographic area: Seattle, WA
      your years of experience: 1
      your salary: $37,000

    17. Development Manager*

      Job: I lead direct mail, donor relations, and moves management for a social enterprise.
      Geographic Area: DC
      Years of experience: 5.5
      Salary: $55,000

      1. Corporate relations manager*

        Job: oversee portfolio of corporate donors in various levels cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship at a mid-sized national nonprofit. Primary point person for developing corporate sponsorship packages for programming. Am supported by a Dept generalist assistant, but am not his direct manager.
        Geographic area: DC
        Experience: 4 years in fundraising plus 4 more in a semi-related field that has made advancing a little easier than starting from scratch.
        Salary: $58,000

        1. Corporate relations manager (again)*

          and I should add – been in this specific job not too long (recently received a title/pay bump after about 2 years doing a version of this job at a more junior level). Benefits are pretty good for nonprofit world: 3 weeks vacation + 12 federal holidays and separate sick leave, some company match to 401k contributions, 2 healthcare options that are decent for a single and generally healthy adult (can’t comment on how it works for others), dental/vision coverage. I’m sure there are better benefit packages out there and higher pay in the for-profit world, but this is keeping me pretty happy.

          1. Nonprofit ftw*

            I am interested in moving into Corporate Relations. Is there a significant difference between the assigned duties / skill set needed for Foundation Relations and Corp. Relations?

      2. Development Manager*

        Job: Manage ~$2.4M funding portfolio, including funder relations, grants (lots of grant writing/editing and reporting, data collection), dev operations (mainly fundraising database/reporting/dashboards, developing procedures, building requirements for donor database upgrades, documenting processes), donor campaigns + relations. I also work on org & program marketing as needed (we also have a full-time comms person, thank goodness!) and manage a biannual nationwide conference. Currently not managing any staff.
        Geographic area: San Francisco Bay Area
        Experience: ~6 years, 5 in fundraising
        Salary: $69,000 + 4 weeks PTO, health insurance 100% covered (& affordable dental, vision, and disability insurance), 401k with 4% match

      3. Development Manager*

        Job: Grant writer for under 5M budget small nonprofit
        Geographic area: Bay Area
        Years of experience: just under four years (mostly internships and undergrad jobs)
        Salary: 57K + benefits + 33 PTO

    18. Foundations Specialist*

      your job: I manage all foundation giving at a large nonprofit, within a larger development team. I do my own research, as well as grant writing, budgeting, and reporting. I also meet with internal and external contacts and manage the foundations calendar.
      your geographic area: NYC Metro
      your years of experience: 9
      your salary: $70,000

    19. Development & Event Manager*

      Job: I report to our Director of Development. I manage all events on our non-profit’s 50 acre property (Historic Estate) including our annual gala, member appreciation events, donor cultivation events as well as manage facility rentals for private events. I supervise one full time event associate and one part time event assistant
      I also help coordinate special development projects, supervise our database manager and our development intern, and am responsible for our annual campaign.

      Geographic Area: Southern California

      Years of Exp.: 14 (at this org for 10, in this position for 8)

      Salary: $48,000 ( low for my high COL area)

    20. Major Gift Officer*

      I work in major gifts ($100K-$3M) for a very large NGO. My annual fundraising goal is ~$12M
      SF Bay Area
      10+ yrs experience & a masters degree in a relevant field
      $82K yr salary, 4 weeks vacation, decent benefits and great 401K match

    21. Data Services Manager*

      Manage a relational donor and membership database (create reports and mailing lists, data maintenance and analysis, annual giving and membership strategy)

      Current job:
      Location: Chicago area
      Yrs experience: 2 when I started
      Salary: $38,000

      New job:
      Location: SF Bay area
      Yrs experience: 4
      Salary: $60,000

    22. Director of Development*

      Director of Development – in charge of setting strategy and major gifts fundraising for a professional graduate school

      your geographic area: NYC
      your years of experience: 18
      your salary: $120,000

    23. Development Assistant*

      Job: The vaguest of possible titles. I handle acknowledgement processes for large gifts, handle a lot of team scheduling, in-house mailings, data entry/hygiene, and various project management-y things at a large national nonprofit.

      Years of Experience: Going on going on 4, but less than 1 in this job.
      Geographic area: San Francisco
      Salary: $50,000
      Plus medical, dental, vision premiums covered, 403b with employer match, 3 weeks vacation, plus 12 holidays.

    24. fae*

      your job: i plan events, support a development team, do social media and website maintenance for a healthcare nonprofit.
      geographic area: philadelphia
      years of experience: 5
      salary: $49,000

    25. Grants Manager*

      Job: Grant writing and reporting for a nonprofit with a $10M+ budget. Manage $2.5M funding portfolio. Some major gifts and special events work (<15% of my time)
      Geographic Area: Midwest
      Experience: 3 yrs. in this role, 7 years in fundraising. BS/BA in unrelated fields.
      Salary: $59,000, 3 weeks PTO, 401k with match, not so great dental/medical insurance.

      1. Office/Grants Administrator*

        Job: managing office and vendors, reviewing grant proposals, assisting family foundation committees etc
        Area: Rustbelt with remote staff near DC
        Experience: 6 months in corporate project management
        Salary: $44,000, 5 weeks PTO accumulated, 401K with a percentaged matched after 90 days, 2016 medical benefits covered for individual

    26. Development Writer*

      your job: I provide donor communications for a state branch of a national nonprofit. Write all private grant proposals and reports, quarterly donor newsletters, and major gift proposals. I also contribute to marketing and campaign materials
      your geographic area: intermountain west
      your years of experience: 5
      your salary: $46,500

  3. System Specialist*

    job: Software Tester
    geographic area: Central Florida
    years of exp (in this job): >1
    salary: $58,000
    have been with the same company (not in this role) for almost 15 years which is why my salary is where it is

    1. System Specialist/Software Tester*

      Job: testing in house software (also some UI design and business analysis work)
      Geographic: Midwest
      years of experience about 2, 10 in this organization, 17 in IT
      salary $56k

    2. Another QA*

      Do you mean that your salary is higher because you stayed with the same company or it’s lower because you haven’t been jumping around?

      1. Systems Specialist*

        Sorry for the confusion. I think the salary is higher than it would be if I was entry level and new to the company, but it’s difficult to know for sure.

  4. Social Worker*

    -Clinician at a group home for kids
    -Boston area
    -Less than one year of experience (post-MSW)
    -$43,000
    -I have my initial license (I’m an LCSW)

    1. also a Social Worker*

      -Supervisory Social Worker at the VA
      -New York area
      -9 years experience (5 at the VA)
      – $80,000

      1. NYS govt social worker*

        -Not in title of “SW” but MSW included in master’s degree titles required for job
        -NYC area
        -8 years experience, LMSW 4 years at this agency
        -$65,000
        -plenty of PTO, sick time, etc.

    2. Another Social Worker*

      – Clinician at a community mental health center
      – Northeast US
      – 4 years in the field pre-MSW, two unpaid field placements while working full-time in the field concurrently, 2.5 years post-MSW
      – Current salary is 40,500 and will be bumped up to 47,500 when I become licensed (soon!)
      – Lots of PTO, paid holidays, my agency has a 403(b) match of up to 5% which is rare for similar agencies at this time, they provide lots of free training with CEUs and are providing my supervision toward licensure (quite expensive if you have to pay for it yourself).

    3. Social Worker2*

      -“Behavioal Health Consultant” – Social Worker at Primary Care Clinic providing consults to MDs, short term therapy, and resources to patients.
      -Pacific NW
      -7 years post MSW; currently accumulating hours for my LCSW
      -63,000

    4. AMT*

      – Clinical social worker for mentally ill adults
      – NYC
      – Got my M.S.W. in spring 2013, but I wasn’t able to find a job in my field for about 10 months, so I have just under 3 years of post-M.S.W. experience
      – Have worked in human services/education part- and full-time since starting undergrad
      – $63,400
      – Working on a post-master’s certificate in a specific mode of therapy

      1. Social Worker - Independent Clinical*

        Oo, I’m interested in learning about different mode certifications out there. How did you structure your search for the certification?

        1. AMT*

          Luckily, there are a lot of training institutes and schools of social work in my area, so I had quite a bit of choice. I wanted a certificate that was (a) from a reputable institution or school of social work (there are a few so-so ones here), (b) intensive and at least a year long, and (c) in-person, not online. The rest was basically just Googling around and reading reviews by alumni. I ended up going with an evening certificate program at a big-name social work school within fairly easy commuting distance of my job. It’s in a mode of therapy specific to a certain type of client because I hope to work with this population in the future, and I don’t have any post-master’s experience with this population. I ended up getting it partially funded by my union, which cut it down to about half the original sticker price.

    5. Social Worker - Independent Clinical*

      – County social worker completing eligibility assessments for certain disability programs
      -Metro Minnesota
      -Less than 2 years clinically licensed, four post-MSW licensed years
      -55,000 with our 2017 COLA
      -WFH option, flex work options, union contract based, federal holidays, better benefits than a lot of community work

    6. Licensed Counselor (LPC)*

      Licensed counselor/mental health therapist at a liberal-arts college
      Chicago
      $37,500 (thanks to budget cuts @ the college)
      7 years experience, 5 at this job; LPC (initial license) – eligible for LCPC but it wouldn’t raise my salary at this job

      1. Licensed Counselor (LPC)*

        Should note I was going to get a raise thanks to the FLSA rule and that got revoked.

    7. Non-clinical lead Social Worker*

      – Non-clinical lead social service worker (no Masters degree), conduct in-home assessments for people with disabilities.
      – County employee in the greater Bay Area.
      – 12 years of diverse social service experience, mostly with nonprofits, have worked for the County for 2.5 yrs.
      – $61, 000, which is 50-70% more than I’ve made working for previous employers. Also great benefits, incl health insurance and PTO.
      – Note that my current employer is VERY unusual in terms of valuing skills/experience as equivalent to education, with promotional opportunities despite my not having an MSW. That said, hiring is extremely competitive and they are very good at it — I’m surrounded by smart, productive, hard-working colleagues.

    8. Independently Licensed Therapist (IMFT)*

      — Assessment specialist, completing diagnostic mental health and substance abuse assessments for individuals involved in Family Court
      — Non-profit, part of a Community Mental health agency
      — 6 years of experience, 2 years independently licensed
      — $44,000
      — Ohio

    9. MSW - Program Director*

      Job: oversee three programs (education related), all staff, and budget. Responsible for program growth, keeping up with and implementing constantly changing requirements, and positive outcomes for clients.
      Area: suburban area in Florida
      Years experience: 8
      Salary: 83,000

    10. "Mental Health practitioner" aka unlicensed MSW*

      Mental health practitioner (I’m just an MSW, hopefully sitting for my LSW soon!!!)
      Metro Chicago
      I graduated a month ago, and have about a year of clinical internship experience
      ~36k, 15 pto, health/dental/vision/life/401(k)

    11. Social worker (hospital)*

      – $25/hour
      – medium sized midwestern city
      – part time but does include benefits
      – 9 years experience, previously worked with child abuse/neglect services and infants/toddlers with special needs. I have an MSW and LCSW.

    12. Emergency Room Social Worker*

      Social Worker in largest state hospital
      Baton Rouge, LA
      3.5 years post-MSW experience
      currently an LMSW; will take the LCSW (highest licensure) next month
      Approx. 46k/year, 5% raise with the LCSW (used to be 7% raise; budget cuts were recently implemented)

  5. Mechanical Engineer*

    Concentrating in Machine Design
    Northeast US
    6.5 years experience, 1.75 in current role
    $85,000

    1. Another (R&D) Mechanical Engineer*

      Job: Prototype, design, and test medical devices. This includes visiting docs, viewing human cases, performing simulated use testing, and a boatload of documentation.
      Area: California Bay Area
      Exp: 4 yrs post-college, ~7 years including interning and such.
      Salary: $84,286

    2. Mechanical Engineer (DoD RDT&E)*

      Team Lead (team of 5-10), focus on analysis/test of DoD systems
      Virginia
      7 years experience (5 in current role, 4 after getting MS)
      $105,000

  6. Administrative Assistant*

    2. List the following info:

    your job – Support staff of data operations center of technology provider agency: travel arrangements, expense reports, purchasing and receiving, assist with resolution of work tickets, etc.
    North Alabama
    Admin work: 30+ years; this job: 7 years
    Salary $50K
    (I have a B.A. and quite a bit of experience at office manager/admin jobs)

    1. Also a Administrative Assistant (Nonprofit)*

      2. Support Executive Director and Department Heads (dept. heads are “as needed”). I honestly do it all: reports, on-site HR paperwork (mainly tax forms, I-9, handbook, policies, etc.), order/maintain office supplies, fix/order supplies for office equipment, calendar scheduling, coordinate car usage, answer phones, maintain exempt employee PTO chart, fill-in/assist director of events and program scheduler (as needed), help coordinate our biggest event each year. Really, I have done a little of everything. I even repaired/sewed a split in a vendor’s pants.
      Northwest Georgia
      Admin work: 17 + years; this job: 9 years
      Salary: $30K, plus good benefits and really flexible

      1. Also a Administrative Assistant (Nonprofit)*

        A little more info about benefits: 18 paid holidays per year, 1 month of paid vacation, 3 paid sick days, 2 paid personal days per year. If we get sent home due to inclement weather, we get paid for the full day. If we are closed to due inclement weather, we get paid for the full day. Most companies in our area do not offer that.

        Also, if you participate in the “Health Program”, your insurance premium is cheaper (but if you need to add spouse/children, you have to pay full price for them). Company pays for a portion of your health insurance deductible. For example, I chose the high deductible program ($3500). Company pays $2500 of that so I only pay $1000 and then is covered everything 100%. There are several programs to choose from, including several with lower deductibles but higher premiums.

    2. Admin Assistand (#3)*

      Support a VP at a Fortune 500. Travel arrangements, calendar appointments, expense reports but also a lot of excel work, bordering on analyst duties.
      New England
      4 years of experience, 1.5 years at current job
      salary: $46K

      1. Parveen*

        I am an Executive Assistant
        Support VP of Sales and VP of Marketing for a small is company
        New Jersey
        10+ years of experience, 1 year at current job
        salary: $65000

    3. Administrative Assistant*

      Your job: Support the department head of an academic department in a state university and oversee the daily running of the front office, managing one direct report.
      Region: Northwest Arkansas
      Experience: 10 years experience in admin work, directly supporting a department head
      Salary: $27,000

    4. Administrative Assistant*

      – Support one partner of a mid-size PR firm. Mostly executive support, also some office manager duties as the only admin at our satellite office
      – SF Bay Area (company based in Minneapolis, with 7 offices across the country)
      – 17 years experience, 8 months in current role
      – Salary $57K (benefits are not great, especially considering the HCOL area I live in. But company has an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, so they consider themselves as having an extremely generous benefit package)

    5. Legal Administrative Assistant*

      Your job: Support attorneys and other staff.
      Region: Seattle area
      Experience: Approximately 10 years of varied admin type work.
      Salary: 58k, plus up to 20% bonus and good benefits/perks

    6. Client Services Director (Admin)*

      your job: official title is Client Services Director, and I’m the primary admin, receptionist, marketing person, and office manager for day to day operations (not HR, payroll, or bookkeeping) for a very small law firm. I also work with the owner in a lot of firm development and growth initiatives and projects.
      your geographic area: Los Angeles
      your years of experience: 4.5 years, started this job right after I graduated with my BA
      your salary: 50k + quarterly bonuses bringing me to about 55k at the end of the year. (Started in a purely reception role at $13/hr, and gradually worked my way up, absorbing more and more tasks along the way)
      anything else pertinent to put that number in context: I live in a hcol area, benefits aren’t great– high cost health care, no stock, 401k, or anything like that. 13 days of paid vacation (just bumped up from 10 this past year), 3 sick days.

    7. Admin Assistant - Higher Ed*

      – Support staff in (private) university administrative office
      – Boston, MA metro area
      – 7.5 years experience (1 year in higher ed)
      – $46k salary

      I have a B.S. in an unrelated field. Great benefits somewhat make up for the lower pay in this high cost of living area.

      1. Bursar Office Analyst*

        Job: Higher Ed — Bursar’s office (interact with students about their $$$)
        Place: Baltimore MD
        6 years experience
        $43.5 K (Hourly)

    8. Administrative and Web Assistant*

      Job: Regular admin stuff (accounting with the exception of payroll, sales reports, orders, phones, etc.), but also writing a weekly newsletter, putting together training powerpoints, and creating/maintaining/updating company websites.
      Locale: Alberta, Canada
      Years Experience: 8 in admin work overall, 6 at current company
      Salary: approximately $36K with health benefits

    9. Senior Admin*

      Sorry this is vague. Sr. Admin to head of student life. Basic admin duties and lots and lots of expense reports. I also oversee a staff of student workers who assist with office duties and staff student events. 6 years experience. $62k with good benefits and generous PTO. New England.

    10. Administrative Assistant (Nonprofit Health Care)*

      Support Administrator and other Department Heads/Directors as needed. I do a bit of everything- some accounting (maintaining various cash accounts, tracking/distributing/reporting grant funds), HR support (maintaining database of ever changing job descriptions, doing background checks and reference checks on candidates, maintaining database of licenses and certifications), marketing (maintaining and developing content for our website and social media), maintain calendars of Administrator and Directors, manage everything related to the front desk area and receptionists, event planning
      Northern Michigan
      Admin work: 5 years; this job: 2.5 years
      Salary: $38,000 (above average for the area) plus excellent benefits (automatic 8% contribution from company to retirement account, excellent health insurance, 4 weeks PTO, ability to flex my schedule and/or work from home as needed)
      I have a BA in an unrelated field

    11. Administrative Assistant (Higher Ed)*

      Job: Support the department chair and instructors of an academic department in a state university and oversee the annual budget. Academic department is also part of a military ROTC unit, so I am the only civilian in the office and act as liaison between DoD and University.
      Location: California
      Experience (as admin asst): 5 years at this specific position, 5 years at another department on campus, and 3 years at a private company.
      Salary: $32k for a “full time benefit, part time hours” position. Full time benefits in a 32 hour per week position. Extremely flexible schedule organized by myself and dept chair.

    12. Executive Assistant*

      Job: Support Executive VP, multiple Senior VPs and VPs. Extensive calendar management, travel arrangements, meeting and event coordination.
      Industry: Professional liability insurance brokerage (part of a multinational conglomerate)
      Location: Suburban Philadelphia, PA
      Experience: Four years with current employer, 15+ years in C-Level Executive Support
      Salary: $45,126, poor medical benefits (can’t afford premium for better coverage)

    13. Executive Asst to Superintendent*

      Public education, supporting Superintendent of small school district (about 1600 students).

      Northern California
      20+ years experience
      $72,000, three weeks vacation, great benefits
      some college

  7. Muriel Heslop*

    Middle school English teacher (including gifted and special ed sections) and department head
    Large city in Texas
    8 years
    48500 per year

    1. fond_of_jam*

      Early childhood special education teacher
      Denver
      10 years experience in different preschool settings, and an MS.Ed.
      $60,000/year

    2. Elementary School Counselor*

      Work with 550ish PreK-5 grade students and support teachers. Manage behavior issues, teach in classrooms, and oversee all standardized testing.

      17 years
      Texas
      63K
      Teacher schedule with one additional week.

      Masters required as well as classroom teaching experience. Middle and high school counselors in my district make more but work more days.

  8. Senior Staff Accountant (Public Practice)*

    Canadian Taxes for Personal, Corporate, Trusts
    Ottawa
    6 years
    $66,000 / year CAD + health benefits ($1,000) and all necessary professional development paid
    $50,000 / year USD approx

    1. Tax Manager (CPA, CGA)*

      Once I get my professional designation in June, my salary will change to

      $85,000 / year CAD
      $64,000 / year USD

      1. B4 Tax Manager (CPA)*

        Reviewed and signed expat tax returns and related calculations/consulting
        US Rockies
        10 years
        $120K/year

    2. Senior Accountant*

      Staff Accountant in a small division of a larger company. My division is myself and the CEO. I am responsible for all AP and AR, invoicing, cash transfers, most of the close each month, writing policy etc.

      I am on the VA side of the DC Metro Area.

      8 years of experience

      80,000 per year with a bonus of 8K per year paid quarterly.

    3. Another Staff Accountant (Public Practice)*

      I’m in Calgary, 3 years experience, recently got my CPA, making $48,000 + bare-bones benefits, 2 weeks holiday, no PD payment other than one course a year. Everyone in my small company is grossly underpaid.

    4. Accounting Analyst*

      General Ledger Accountant and Analyst
      West Michigan
      $57K/year
      BBA in Accounting, no additional certs

      1. Accounting Analyst*

        Missed some info…sorry
        9 years experience spread over 2 companies that were hit hard by the recession (office furniture and transportation)
        2 weeks vacation plus 4 sick and 2 personal days, full benefits (high deductible plans that can be customized to personal needs as well as dental & vision and other insurances), a Christmas ham and random branded merchandise throughout the year that is actually useful, and I get to work at 8am and leave at 5pm 99% of the time and I consider that a major perk.

        I do all month end journals and financial reporting as well as sales & use tax and audit support.

    5. CPA - Tax*

      -I am a CPA with the job title “paralegal” in the tax department of a law firm. This department is adjacent to the estates/trust department.
      – mid-sized city in the southeast
      – Just started my fifth year.
      – $65,000 ish $31 an hour, but I am hourly, so I get paid overtime during tax season. Plus $1,000 holiday bonus.
      – I worked in public accounting for three years. There is a lot more potential for upward mobility there. I started at 50k and was making 63k and had been promoted by my third year. I have no significant potential for upward mobility or large raises at my current job, but I don’t work nearly as many hours as I did in public accounting and have a lot more flexibility and a lot less stress.

    6. Tax Accountant*

      $48,000 roughly.
      Medium sized Pacific Northwest city
      I started this job in August, it’s my first job in the field since graduating with a BA in May.

      4 weeks of paid time off, profit sharing at 4% of our salary, paid parking, I pay $75 per month for decent health insurance. Other small benefits like a yearly wellness reimbursement and education reimbursement

  9. Big Law Receptionist*

    Receptionist for Big Law firm in Minneapolis. Job duties include opening the door every morning, sending 1-2 emails a day, answering 3-4 calls, and sitting on my butt staring into space. I have two degrees, two years post-academia full time experience, and lots of project assistant/internships/random temp jobs throughout my education.

    $40,000 / yr

    1. help me im bored*

      Context: I don’t think they want to deal with turnover and thus pay me higher than average in my area. My partner and I rely on the excellent benefits and I don’t have any other prospects, so will likely stay here while I pursue my JD part-time over the next 5 years.

      2. Paige Turner*

        Sounds like my job, except I make $10k less with $$$ health insurance in a high COL area. But I work from home over half the time and have a short commute, and I wear headphones almost all the time.

    2. lowercase holly*

      can you take only classes (Lynda, languages, something!) while you are at the desk? do they care what you do as long as the work gets done? because, ugh, been there with the boredom.

      1. Big Law Receptionist*

        I can’t wear headphones, so I’m limited there. I currently spend my days studying for the LSAT, so at least I’m productive. No, they really don’t care what I’m doing so long as I’m sitting at the desk. The occasional task comes up but I generally have <1hr of work / day.

        1. Molly*

          What about the bluetooth earbuds – will you hair cover them? They make some that are one-sided now, basically a little nub in your ear, so I wouldn’t think I’d be visible. If your computer isn’t bluetooth enabled you can buy an adaptor that fits into the headphone jack.

        2. Kat*

          Online books! You can read Google Books or onlinebooks.com all day and it’ll look like you’re paying attention the whole time. I read Anna Karenina – twice – in my front-desk job one summer.

        4. Rando*

          Lynda has transcripts that play along with the lessons- it would be fully possible to do a Lynda course without headphones.

    3. Receptionist*

      I feel ya. I’m at a Big Law firm in Utah, and those tasks perfectly describe my day. I have two years experience and no schooling and my salary is $31,500. Which isn’t too bad for the area, most receptionist jobs are much lower.

  10. Hearing Officer/Program Officer*

    State Authority/quasi-agency, NJ
    JD preferred/I’m a licensed attorney
    3.5 years out of law school
    2.5 years experience here
    significantly increased responsibility/tasks beyond original HO job title after first year here
    62,400/yr

  11. Project Analyst*

    Implementations, systems analysis, documentation, query and reporting building (using SQL or builders), metrics and stats, training, automation, acting as a SME for other teams.

    Orange County California
    12 years working experience + a BS and a MA
    56,000 a year salary

    (extremely low for what I do)

    1. OC Data Analyst*

      Howdy neighbor! Are you government/county? I am and it sounds like we do similar jobs.

      Data Analyst (implementations, queries, lots of SQL and our internal data management systems, trainings)
      Orange County, CA
      5 years working experience (1 year in this role)
      69,000

      Government job, really good benefits. 3 weeks vacation, 12 days sick time, all federal holidays plus some state/county holidays depending on where your office is located.

      In the private sector I could easily make at minimum 20k more, but more like 40k. Meh, \shoulder shrug/ I like what I do and love the agency I work for :)

  12. Business Intelligence Specialist*

    Job description: I work in higher education as a data analyst – I build data reports and dashboards and then teach people how to use them. I’m also slightly involved with the technical specifications of the software, such as upgrades and troubleshooting errors.

    Geographic area: Boston area

    Years of experience: ~2

    Salary: $66,500

    1. Business Systems Analyst*

      Job Description: I work for a small private college as a data analyst. We are a non-profit with a religious affiliation, so our salaries tend to be on the low end. Like Business Intelligence Specialist, I build data reports and dashboards to meet specific needs. I also assist with upgrades and troubleshooting errors. In addition, I assist my assigned departments in increasing their use of our ERP software.

      Geographic area: Portland, OR area

      Years of experience: 1 + MBA

      Salary: $57,000 +8% of annual salary paid into retirement account

    2. Data Analyst*

      Also Data Analyst, but I am vastly underpaid and am currently seeking a position more in line with the market rate.
      I build reports and dashboards, validate our EMR data, track trends and develop training for slumping departments, and I maintain our data servers.
      job: Data Analyst- Healthcare
      geographic area: Greater St. Louis, MO
      years of exp (in this job): 6 years
      salary: $43,000

    3. Research Analyst*

      Higher Ed data analyst. I build data reports and visualizations in Tableau, perform comparative analyses using various statistical software, and do mandated state and federal reporting.

      Geographic Area: Upper Midwest

      Years of experience: in this role, 4, but 8 total in data analysis

      Salary: $62,000

    4. Business Analyst (contractor)*

      Job description: SQL queries, Tableau dashboard reports building, presentation of data results to internal clients, descriptive analytics work in SQL/Tableau/Excel, some Google Analytics, KPI benchmark/target setting

      Geographic Area: Pacific North West

      Years of Experience: 1.5 (started with .5)

      Salary: $60,000

    5. Data nerd*

      Data & Performance Analyst
      I work for local government analyzing operational data with the goal of increasing performance and efficiency. I build dashboards, and work with departments to answer questions they have.
      Region: mid sized Midwest city
      Salary: $56,000

    6. Yet Another Business Analyst*

      Job description: Dashboards, alerts, and data reports in Splunk and/or Tableau (depending on the particular instance). SQL / SPL queries and lateral thinking. Also some admin duties for both Splunk and Tableau.
      Geographic area: Maryland
      Years of experience: 10 years working with data in a totally different context)
      Salary: $60,000

  13. Program Manager*

    Responsible for day-to-day operations and management of larger programs for a small academic non-profit.
    Intermountain west
    4 years experience
    $48,000

  14. US Government Management and Program Analyst*

    Job: Management and Program Analyst for an advocacy branch of a US agency. I am a project manager/SharePoint developer for this 2000-person unit of my 80000 person agency. I’m a GS-13. I’m not a manager, but I do manage projects.
    Geographic area: Washington, DC
    Years of experience: 8 with the government. 5 as an analyst and not an intern. 1.5 with my particular office.
    Salary: $92,000/year. I get a 5% TSP (401(k)-type retirement savings) match, a pension, 10 federal holidays, 20 vacation days, 13 sick days, 80% work-from-home, a start time anywhere between 6 and 9:30 AM (so long as I work 8.5 hours), and great personal fulfillment. OTOH, no parental leave and uncertainty after inauguration.

    1. US Government Management and Program Analyst*

      Oh, and I have a masters degree, which got me two grades above my intern peers when I was a GS-09 and they were GS-07.

      1. US Government Management and Program Analyst*

        Oh, and we just got a 2.1% COLA after three years of 1% COLA after three years of 0% COLA. So I actually make $94,796/year as of ten days ago.

    2. Federal Procurement Analyst*

      Federal Procurement Analyst here:

      I get these same benefits plus transit subsidy, awards, and bonuses. I telework 100%. Also, tuition reimbursement for courses needed to maintain my Federal Acquisition Certification, which is required for everyone in the GS 1102 series. I am also a warranted contracting officer with unlimited authority.
      Note that health insurance contributions are mandated by Congress and amount to an average of about 70% of total costs. There is no paid parental leave as such but FMLA is available and personal leave can also be used.

    3. US Government Computer Scientist*

      Another GS-13 here!

      Job: Project lead for sustaining software for military systems (think: bug fixes, enhancements, some new requirements). On my current system, at one point I managed the work of 22 people, but it is down to about 10 now, a mix of contractor and gov’t personnel. I am non-supervisory.

      Geographic Area: MD
      Years of Experience: ~11 years, first 3 years as an intern. Gov’t paid for my masters in Software Engineering
      Salary: $104,433.00/yr (combination of base pay and locality).

      As with the above poster, I have all federal holidays, 5% TSP match, small pension, 20 vacation days use/lose (but can accrue 240 hours without loss), and 13 sick days (unused sick hours can accrue without loss). Alas, telework is not widely available for me, nor the personal fulfillment.

  15. Personal Banker*

    Job: Loan officer, assist with personal banking needs, small business development/lending.
    Area: Wichita, KS
    Years Experience: 2.5
    Salary: $15.25/hr

    1. Kitchen manager*

      Washington state
      I’ve been here for 7 years
      36,000/yr
      I work in a resort area where we live on property. My living expenses are very small.

  16. Communications Administrator*

    * Running communications (email blasts, social media, website management), in addition to events management and other administrative tasks.
    * NYC
    * 6
    * 47,500
    * Started as an admin assistant at 30,000 and was promoted up to 42,000 with current title, then raised to 47,500 to meet the FLSA guidelines

      1. Communications Administrator*

        No. Since I work for a large research university, my salary was already approved beginning last September due to the academic year schedule, so it’s already set. My director and supervisor both have a lot of integrity and value my work too much to renege on a raise like that. Even if they tried to, I’m pretty sure there are HR systems in place to prevent that from happening without cause.

    2. Communications Manager*

      Job Description: I manage the marketing team as well as internal communications. This includes email campaigns, website, phones, social media, mobile app, webinars, events and special projects (like our crm automation)
      Area: Salt Lake City
      Experience: 6 in this role, plus another 5 or so in semi-related positions
      Salary: $26.50/hr. With overtime and bonuses, I earned $60k in 2016. Plus the company pays medical and dental and contributes a few percent to my 401k.
      Other: I’m female and have a degree in communications. I started this position at $18.65/hr and have received raises every year.

  17. Technical Writer/Editor*

    Technical Writer/Editor
    Edits technical documentation and creates/edits technical illustrations
    The Carolinas
    2 mos. experience at this specific job, 10 years related experience
    Less than a year
    55,000/year

    1. Technical Writer/Editor*

      Wanted to add also that I have a master’s degree, if that helps with comparing salaries across job titles. (And am in SC.)

    2. Tech Writer*

      Tech writers represent! :)

      What software do you primarily use, and what’s your illustration process? We’re generally using either screenshots or photos, so I’m usually only cropping and adding callouts.

        1. Theme Park Technical Writer*

          My initial experience was in training manuals for attractions, and now I handle standards for new venue creation.

    4. Technical Editor (senior-level)*

      That’s a good salary for your level of experience! Are you a contractor?

      PS: Carolina tech writers represent! :-)

    5. Senior Technical Writer*

      Senior Technical Writer
      Creates all technical documentation, both internal and external, for complex enterprise software applications, usually based on advanced psychic powers. Mentors new writers, partly responsible for setting own priorities and tasks. Expected to pull rabbits out of hats on a regular basis.
      UK (South East)
      15 years
      57,000 dollar equivalent

      (Note: my salary is way above the norm)

      1. Robbenmel*

        Advanced psychic powers…hee! Former tech writer here…and I have had to use those powers as well….

        1. Senior Technical Writer (Software)*

          Ha, same! “Developer mindreader” kind of goes along with “developer babysitter.” Some days it felt like a Tarot reading of “how is this feature going to get implemented?” would be at least as effective as my other methods of figuring it out….

    6. Technical Writer (Canada)*

      Write and edit technical documentation for a high-tech hardware company
      Ontario, Canada (mid-size city, not Toronto)
      68,000 CAD/51,000 USD
      3 years experience at this company, 12 years experience in total.

      1. Technical Writer*

        Cool, I suspect we work in the same non-Toronto city. Nice to have another data point! (I posted lower down; at 62K with 4 years experience.)

    7. Managing Web Editor*

      Since there are a lot of technical writers here, can I ask what your backgrounds are? Do you have a strong technical background, or more writing-oriented?

      1. Jen RO*

        The usual disclaimer: I’m not in the US, grain of salt, etc

        I studied something completely unrelated in university, but my first jobs were in editing and online writing. I’ve always loved editing, even before I knew what it was called! I studied computer science in high school with an excellent teacher, so I had a good foundation. I’ve always been into techy stuff (software, not hardware) and I’m somewhat of a geek. Plus, I know English really, really well.

        This combination was a winner when it came to breaking into an industry that was just starting in this country.

      2. Technical Writer*

        I’ve got a humanities background, and so do most of my immediate team members. The extended writing team at Current Job has a few people with QA/QE/dev experience.

        At the college where I got my post-grad certificate, the majority were also from a humanities background, though there were a few making career changes from more technical areas. My impression is that, in high-tech, developer jobs are more numerous and potentially higher paying, so people with that skillset are unlikely to pursue writing as a career move.

        1. Technical Writer Down Under*

          I have a background in both science and humanities, but most of the technical writers I have worked with had a science or engineering background. It’s true that you can make more in a more technical role, but I know several people (including myself) who chose technical writing in part because of the more flexible working conditions that can offer.

      3. Senior Technical Writer (Software)*

        I have a humanities background. My team has 2 people with humanities backgrounds, 1 education major, 1 electrical engineer who decided he didn’t actually like electrical engineering, and 1 physics major. I took CS 101 and 102 in college–not the “CS for liberal arts folk” classes but the same classes that the CS freshmen took–not in preparation for this job per se but because I thought it might be fun (I was a senior with credits to burn). I don’t think that’s why I got the job, but I think it aided me in advancing quickly (I could read code pretty easily, which was a massive advantage when we needed to produce an API reference). I did work briefly (2 years) in telephone technical support, which I think helped my resume as well. (This was high-level support, solving issues with databases for b2b software, not scripted/”have you tried turning it off and then on again?” support, so it allowed me to display some degree of technical chops and problem-solving ability.)

        I think the thing that got me the job were my writing samples–one was a set of “basic user” instructions for a popular website, and one was an API reference for a small software utility that a friend wrote. For reference, I started at a bit over $35,000.

        1. Senior Technical Writer*

          I also have a humanities background, but took a desktop support –> phone/email support –> tech writing pathway. Tech support seems like a really great pathway to tech writing. I started at 43K in a midwestern state, IIRC

      4. Technical Writer/Editor*

        My background is in English. I transitioned over to technical writing from teaching/writing center admin. Writing manuals, handouts, reports, and other documentation for my previous jobs helped me make my case for my current tech writing job.

      5. Technical Writer (Canada)*

        I got an undergraduate degree in computer science, realized that I would never be a good programmer, took a year break doing other stuff, then went to college (Canadian community college, basically a step down from university) for a post-graduate diploma in technical writing. Got my first job in tech writing a couple of months after getting my diploma and haven’t looked back since.

      6. Senior Technical Writer*

        My background is writing and education, but the job fell into my lap after I graduated with my MA in English. I intended to stay at the job as a temp but as it turned out, I am good at it and I like it. So I stayed. That was 1997.

      7. Tech Writer*

        Definitely writing-oriented. My BA is in English, I’m an author, and I started my career as an editor in an old-school newsroom-style bullpen. I transitioned into tech writing about ten years ago because there were more jobs and it paid better. Wish I’d made the transition earlier. :)

        It is harder to become a tech writer now if you don’t know at least a little code, especially with DITA. But I found that a couple community-college courses in HTML and XML got me plenty far enough, and I’m a quick study, so I swotted up whatever else I needed to.

        But your grammar skills *really* have to be strong. Your end product is written content, after all.

      8. Senior User Assistance Developer*

        My background is in humanities and writing; I wasn’t even interested in tech until I got an office job at a tech company right after college. Their documentation was terrible. After trying to to use it to help customers a few times, it dawned on me that with even a limited understanding of the software, I could make the doc much better. So I did. (Caveat: this was in the ’80s. These days it’s hard to get a tech writing job without a tech writing credential.)

        Re psychic powers: I used to call it writing fiction :). Every once in a while engineering would read my draft of how I thought a feature should work and change the software to match. Presto! Fiction becomes fact.

        Somebody in this threadlet says you need impeccable English grammar chops to be a tech writer. As recently as 5 or 6 years ago, I worked for a director who held that line. Today, my company hires writers (to write exclusively in English) who are not native speakers; they’re in places like Eastern Europe, India, and China. They’re all smart, motivated, hard-working people, and they’re improving, but I doubt that some of them will ever be able to write a paragraph without multiple errors. But they cost way less than I do (I’m in the US in an area with a fairly high CoL).

    8. Jen RO*

      Senior technical writer
      Writing and editing software documentation, managing a small team, onboarding and training of new joiners, resident tech support for the team
      7 years TW experience plus 3 years experience in related areas
      Eastern Europe, large city (I don’t want to be searchable, it’s a small industry here)
      Salary equivalent to USD 23500 before tax. The salary itself is very good by the country’s standards, and we also get great private medical insurance. (But medical costs are not crazy like in the US, so this is just a cherry on top.)

    9. Senior Technical Writer (Software)*

      Senior Technical Writer
      Software/CS industry. I create and maintain comprehensive documentation for complex software products, primarily aimed at a technical/IT audience rather than a basic user audience. I am in charge of documentation for three of the company’s flagship products, covering the main product help, supplemental feature-specific guides, support and troubleshooting documentation, best practices, etc. I also am responsible for keeping other departments informed of new features and similar updates to the products (I call this part of my role ‘developer translator’). I also advise on user interface wording and work closely with the user experience team to ensure that product text works well with the design.
      Los Angeles area, California, USA
      12 years experience
      $80,000
      I can read code (and write relatively simple code), and I am capable of documenting SDK and API references with minimal assistance from development. I am trained in agile development and the scrum process (I am qualified to be a scrum master and have done it in the past, although I don’t enjoy it much and generally avoid it these days). I am also extremely comfortable with ‘learn-as-you-go’/’learn-on-your-own’ models, and with job parameters that change quickly and frequently, often with little or no notice.

    10. Franzia Spritzer*

      I have so many questions about career dev in TW! From reading all of your replies I’m wondering if I have a natural propensity to this work. Since the dawn of my working life have always been the person to write process documentation for the role I’m in, from my military jobs to, web dev, retail, non-profit and arts management junk I’ve done. Before the tech bubble burst way back when I’d be invited to dev and design meetings to translate between engineers and designers, read people, and provide non-partisan feedback. I have always enjoyed doing this work, and sadly don’t have much of a trail or writing samples. Oh to pick your brains. Perhaps in the Friday open thread.

    11. Senior Technical Writer*

      Senior Technical Writer @ an enterprise software company
      SF bay area
      3 years relevant experience
      1.5 years at this job (in addition to experience)

      109K/yr

    12. Technical Writer*

      Sole charge technical writer at a smallish tech company making integrated hardware and software solutions for regional authorities.
      Location: Australia
      Experience: 15 years as a technical writer, prior work experience in science/technology
      Qualifications: Various science/tech/humanities plus postgrad Tech Writing diploma
      Salary: $USD 67k which I think is fairly standard for the location.

      1. Technical Writer*

        I am the only technical writer at a small software company.
        Location: Australia (in a large capital city).
        Experience: 15 years experience in the industry, about 5 years as technical writer.
        Qualifications: Only an undergraduate degree in the humanities.
        Salary: $USD 68k.

    13. Tech Writer*

      Tech writer for a government contractor. I am basically a glorified secretary (I take notes in meetings for technical info)
      I am in Maryland, USA
      1 year of technical writing specifically. 8 years in database use/design/management and other IT (some PHP, VBA, etc)
      75k/year plus benefits

  18. Regional Recruiter*

    I am a in-house regional recruiter for a heavy equipment rental company. I cover about 45 branches and hire mechanics, delivery drivers, sales people, and management. I’m responsible for sourcing and screening candidates, scheduling interviews with management and getting feedback, extending offers and basically being the go-to person for the hiring process. I work independently.

    I’m in a mid-sized city in the Midwest.

    I’ve been working in HR in some capacity for 8 years

    My salary is about 55,000/year, plus I’m eligible for 10-20% of my salary in bonuses (they’re really hard to get, though), and I get a company vehicle and cell phone.

    1. Corporate Recruiter*

      I am also in house and work regionally; responsible for about 15 facilities plus start up recruiting for new facilities. I am responsible for sourcing, screening, scheduling interviews, offer letters, background checks and for training hiring managers in interviewing skills and techniques and strategic development of retention programs. I work from home and travel about 40% of the time. I live in the southwest but all of my facilities are in the Midwest and east coast. My industry in a niche transportation related production/industrial business so I’m recruiting welders, mechanics, etc.. I have some corporate support department recruiting responsibility as well (IT, accounting, QA, performance management, etc).

      I make $65,000 with some bonus opportunity (minimal)

      I have 14 years of experience.

    2. periwinkle*

      “I get a company vehicle”

      I am envisioning you being handed the keys to a Bobcat backhoe as your company car. Or maybe a forklift, which would make dealing with a crowded parking lot so much more fun…

    3. Collegiate Recruiter*

      I’m an in-house collegiate recruiter for a Fortune 100 company. I hire new college grads for our development programs and internships, along with some odds and ends roles.

      I’m in Washington DC (But live outside of it and commute 1.5 hours each day due to cost of living)

      I had no recruiting experience prior to this position, which I got about six months ago. Previously I had 3 years of sales/marketing experience outside of college.

      I make 57,000 a year.

  19. Bookkeeper*

    your job: Bookkeeping for a small business
    your geographic area: NYC
    your years of experience: 4 years
    your salary: 67,000
    anything else pertinent to put that number in context: doesn’t include generous benefits package

    1. Another Bookkeeper*

      your job: Bookkeeping for a smallish business (~120 employees)
      your geographic area: St. Louis, MO
      your years of experience: 7 years
      your salary: 17.15/hr
      anything else pertinent to put that number in context: 80% 401k matching up to 5%, three weeks vacation, 1 week sick, decent medical insurance, flexible hours

    2. Another Bookkeeper*

      job: All aspects of bookkeeping for a small business (~15 employees). Payroll processing via service. Some HR (new hire/termination processing, benefits admin, etc.)
      geographic area: Greater Boston, MA area
      years of experience: ~20
      salary:$43,450 (+ holiday bonus that’s usually around $1,500 but varies based on that year’s profit)
      anything else: 50% employer contribution to health insurance. Dental and vision offered, but without any employer contribution. 3% employer matching to 401(k). 2 weeks vacation, 6 days sick and personal.

    3. Yet Another Bookkeeper*

      Geography: Dallas, TX
      Years Experience: 10 years
      Wages: $22.00/hr ~$45,760/annual

      Technically my job title is Staff Accountant, having been changed recently from Reconciliation Analyst, but my duties are more along the lines of bookkeeping. I work for a small business (<100 employees) that services all the back-office operations for a niche medical market. Relevant to my career is I have a BA, but not in accounting.

      My specific job is to match deposits to revenue reports from my list of offices, ensure all deposits are recorded properly at the office level and work out all the kinks inbetween. I also post all revenue and some minor expenses in QuickBooks, and reconcile all transactions to the bank statement up to clicking "reconcile." Our A/P team finishes closing the books from there every month.

    4. Accounts Receivable Specialist*

      -Invoicing, Payment processing, data entry, report maintenance, account reconciliation, light customer service
      -Chicago area
      -22 years
      -$37,000
      -5 weeks vacation after 7 years, the position transitioned from Data Entry, to Customer Service/AR, to mostly AR/Accounting.

  20. Program Manager*

    Program Manager in Predictive Analytics for Healthcare Insurance Payer based in Kentucky
    8 years in department (worked from Admin up and got this role 1.5 years ago under same boss)
    Here is the breakdown of my ending salary in each

    Project Analyst (2009-2012) 55,000
    Project Manager (2012-2015) 68,000
    Program Manager (2015-now) 78,000

  21. Librarian*

    Reference and Instruction Librarian
    Baltimore
    >5 years of experience as a librarian; I did instruction as needed for the first few years and gained more experience over the past two + years.
    $52,000/year.

    3. Library administrator*

      Library Administrator
      10+ years experience, masters in library science
      Supervise 10+ employees
      Northwest USA

        2. Library Administration*

          •Library Administrator, Public Services
          •Small Private Graduate School, SF Bay Area
          •Been working in this position 3yrs
          •Experience: 7yrs increasing responsibility in LA roles, Library Technician Degree, BA in Public Administration (MLIS in progress)
          •$48k, $52k after benefits assessment

          My salary is relatively low for my region as I do not possess an MLIS. I did not have a traditional academic pathway but my passion for the industry has led me to work hard for diverse experiences and utilize my other skills in leadership and management to move forward. However my accomplishments are often underscored and I am limited in jobs/institutions I can persue due to my lack of an MLIS.

    4. Librarian*

      -Reference and Instruction Librarian in a public university
      -Mid-Atlantic region (NC to be specific)
      -2 years experience
      -$48,000
      -Great benefits…24 vacation days plus paid holidays, 12 sick days, great health insurance, etc.

    5. Academic Library Department Head*

      Department Head
      2nd-tier West Coast city
      16 years in libraries, 11 post-MLIS
      $88,000/yr plus generous benefits
      Context: second master’s, faculty position

      1. Academic Library Department Head*

        I’m another department head (of a public services department) at the Associate Librarian level
        Rocky Mountain West
        16 years in libraries, 13 post-MLIS
        $62,000
        12-month faculty

    6. Library Director*

      Manage 4 professional librarians, electronic resources, and occasional reference and instruction.
      Small town in Midwest, small liberal arts college
      None as director, 7-plus in academic libraries
      $65,000
      Some benefits are good, 12 month tenure track faculty, high expectations of campus involvement

    7. Library Director*

      Medium sized public library, 5 library locations, one museum, and two historic houses. 27 full and part-time staff. Budget $1.2 million.
      North Carolina
      7 years experience as director, 10 more years experience in public libraries, MLS
      $58,000/year

    8. Librarian*

      Adult Services in a small public library – reference, collection development, programming, tech support, all that good stuff.
      Western Chicago suburbs
      5 years + MLIS
      $48,000/year with good benefits & participation in the state pension plan

    9. Library Technician*

      your job: Library technician for a government library
      your geographic area: East coast of Canada
      your years of experience: ~3 years experience
      your salary: $50,000 CAD/year
      anything else pertinent to put that number in context: I have an MLIS even though my job is classified as paraprofessional. The degree was considered an asset for the job. I am also paid a teeny bit more for being bilingual in French/English. I’m in a union and have good vacation/health benefits and a pension.

    10. Librarian*

      Reference librarian at a public university
      Mid-Atlantic region
      1.5 years experience
      $58,000/year

    11. Blackout*

      Technical Services Librarian
      Mid-sized public library in the Midwest (rural-ish area)
      1.5 years
      $40,000 / year plus 21 vacation days, 14 sick days, health insurance, etc. (starting salary was non-negotiable, but I love the job so it works for me)

    12. Library Assistant II*

      Paraprofessional position at a public library

      SF Bay Area

      12 years exp

      $67,000/year

      Context: unionized, at the top of pay-grade for this position, been at same employer 8 years.

    13. Library technician*

      Library technician for the Navy
      Mid Atlantic region (Illinois)
      No experience when hired been here 3 years. Have a bachelors and previous experience working for Army in daycare.
      $25,000
      I have pto and sick leave, a 401k and retirement plan. Decent medical insurance

    14. Reference librarian (technical college)*

      you job: provide reference services to students, schedule/plan/teach library instruction workshops
      your geographic area: SC
      your years of experience
      your salary: part time, $18/hr but only when classes are in session so ~20K/yr

    15. School Librarian*

      School Librarian (for a secondary school of ~1000 pupils, ages 11-18, rated good by Ofsted)
      United Kingdom
      2.5 years experience, plus my Masters in Information and Library Studies.
      £24k/year, pro-rated to about £19k because it’s a term-time-only position.

      I’m a solo librarian, except for 8 hours a week when I have a paraprofessional assistant in to do the overdues and help with odd jobs. My salary is in line with national professional recommendations in the field for my experience level and job description, but the cost of living in my area is high. I’m in my second year at this job, and got a small merit raise based on my first year.

    16. Librarian at a Large Public University*

      Michigan
      I teach (mostly first year students), supervise student reference assistants, work on the reference desk, design online instructional materials, and all manner of other things. We are considered faculty, so I also have regular publication and service requirements.
      2.5 years of experience
      $57,000/year
      (we get merit-based raises every year. My starting salary was around 52k/year).

      1. Librarian at a Large Public University*

        I should mention that I also have an MSLIS, which is a requirement of the job.

        Other benefits include:
        $3000-$3400/year for professional development
        24 vacation days
        Health, vision, dental insurance
        We are non-unionized

    17. Library Manager*

      Manager, Library & Info Services of a corporate library
      Office is in Central New Jersey but I WFH in NYC
      $62,000
      5 years library experience +MLIS, previously worked in HR for ten years prior to going back to library school

    18. Legis. Librarian*

      Legislative Librarian
      Annapolis, MD
      On job 3 months, public library work for previous 10 years. MSLS degree
      54,000/year

    19. Librarian (Cataloger, public library)*

      Far Chicago suburbs
      Have MLS (requirement for librarian vs. library associate/paraprofessional jobs).
      10+ yrs in this position (but almost 15 yrs at this library).
      $28.62/hr., 20 hrs/wk.
      4 weeks vacation, 12 days sick time.
      Participation in pension; dental insurance. Get to go to conferences sometimes, and our local consortium is good for continuing education.
      But no career path (unless you leave the library to become a manager somewhere else) and no chance to increase hours or go full time.

    20. Librarian also*

      Reference and Instruction Librarian
      Small college in GA
      4 years experience; MLIS degree
      $43,000/year

    21. Librarian*

      I am an Adult Programming and Outreach Librarian
      New York City
      >10 years in the field, >2 as a Librarian with an MLIS
      $56,000 / year

      I like this job and the system. There are three library systems in NYC and each one operates just a little differently than the others. Salary is public information so it’s easy to look up the salary for each role.
      It’s a unionized position.

    22. Youth Services Librarian*

      children’s/teen librarian in medium-sized public library
      Northern California
      2 years experience (after 20 years in retail!)
      $58,000 + great benefits

    24. Librarian/Branch Manager*

      Manager of a branch library
      Chicago
      MSI (fancy version of an MLS)
      15 years experience as a librarian, 11.5 as a manager
      Supervise 8 employees currently
      $96,000/yr (thanks union!)

    25. Reference Librarian*

      Reference department manager, I do a lot of the statistical analysis, project management, technology management and database contract negotiations. I also oversee a staff of 5 and do the nonfiction collection development and maintenance.
      A small county public library (county population 49,000ish) in the mountain west.
      8 years at my current library, 11 over all
      I also have my MLIS
      $66,000/year w/ PTO, sick leave, I pay $100 a month for a low deductible health plan for my family ( I think that is a big benefit) and participation in the state pension and 457.

    26. Librarian*

      Full Title: Assistant University Librarian
      Area: Washington DC
      Experience: 4 years
      Salary: $59,000

      Other info: I do have my MLS and work at a for-profit (accredited!) 4-year university. I was hired in my last semester of grad school in a similar campus-based position (starting $40k) and was promoted last summer to my current role in Library Administration at the academic headquarters. In my current role, perks (which equate to $$$) are the option to work from home and plentiful office lunches. We also have HR programs to earn reduced health insurance premiums without sharing personal health information with the insurer. My workday is mostly project based and revolves around staff training/onboarding, information literacy instruction/curriculum implementation, and outreach to both students and other staff members (eg. faculty members). Due to our small staff size, I also dabble in cataloging and collection maintenance.

  22. Records Manager/Librarian*

    Southeast US
    5 years experience
    Masters in library science
    $39,000
    Work in the public sector (no raises, no COLA, no promotions)

    1. another Records Manager/Librarian*

      I’m also a manager of a Records Center. I call myself a librarian, because I have a Master’s in Library Science, but that wasn’t really a requirement for the job. In fact, I’m the first librarian to be managing this particular Records Center, and honestly – it shows.

      Southwest US

      I have over 10 years experience in libraries (public and academic) but I’ve only been on this job for about 6 months. This is not my first managerial position, but it is the first time I’ve worked in a records center.

      BA in English, Master’s in Library and Info Studies

      $58,000/year (with decent State Employee benefits, but I don’t take most of them because my partner’s are better)

    2. Records Manager*

      Records manager at a global pharmaceutical company. Responsibilities include analysis of business needs, advising business system owners and employees on records issues, developing/maintaining records retention schedules, administering offsite records storage, policy development and implementation.

      4 years in this position, 16 years overall. MSLIS.
      $115,000/year + bonus; excellent benefits, time off and WFH options

    3. Project Archivist*

      I’m a project archivist supervising a digitization and web publishing project in NYC. 5 years experience in archives 6 months post MA in Archives.

      53,000 plus benefits

    4. Librarian/Records manager*

      My job: Records and case management and archiving for a health regulator
      Experience: 2-3 years
      Salary: £20,350
      Location: London, UK

  23. Systems Engineer*

    Job:
    I do risk management for a large organization. This mean identifying things that could go wrong or have gone wrong that are beyond what’s normal and accepted by the organization (So say, if this were McDonalds, we expect that the fries get cold so that’s not a risk because it’s acceptable. But if our supplier is slipping yams into our fry shipments that would be a risk because that’s outside of the normal, acceptable risk from McDonalds). This also means identifying improvements where possible, and then figuring out how to get those improvements or avoid the problems in the future. It’s much more of a project management role than engineering.

    Geographic Area: Washington, DC metropolitan area in the USA.

    Years experience: 8, plus a masters in engineering and MBA.

    Salary: $109,500/year

    Context for salary: None really, my compensation is pretty straightforward.

      2. Systems Engineer*

        Hm, I’m not sure what you want to know. I spend a lot of time in meetings listening to see if what people are talking about is something that should enter our risk management process or if it’s fine. I’m pretty new to the role (started in August, before that I was an operations engineer), but once it enters our process it gets a lot more visibility and I make sure that it gets closed out. It’s a big change from what I used to do, and a lot more chasing people down and seeing if they did the thing they said they’d do than I’m used to in the operations world.

        Do you have any specific questions?

        1. Master Bean Counter*

          So if I’m reading this right you get paid to think of the worst case scenario and find ways to prevent it?
          Does that thinking bleed over into real life and cause problems?

          1. Systems Engineer*

            It depends on whether the worst case scenario has any likelihood of happening. The real problems crop up with smaller cost or schedule overruns that compound on one another, and lead to a larger slip. So I spend more of my time trying to avoid those thousand cuts that can destroy a project, than the big coup de grace, because usually that sort of big item is very, very unlikely to happen.

            It’s also different from some of my operations engineering (where I’d draft procedures for fixing anomalies when they arise regardless of how likely some of them were, but only cared about severity) since I have to weigh the likelihood of the item occurring. So we’re assessing two components, severity, and likelihood, and once we figure that out we can see if it’s worth actively managing or something we don’t really care about. A lot of value is in the thought process, because through that we better understand the projects and their inter-dependencies.

            I grew up a Boy Scout and as an operations engineer, I came in already with the mindset of be prepared for the worst scenario, so I’ve kinda already lived my life that way. The trick is knowing the likelihood of an event happening. So for example, I don’t like the DC metro and it’s been making the news a lot lately, but really it’s safer than driving and the likelihood of me being in a news-making disaster story on the DC metro everyday is much smaller than getting into an accident on the road system around here. So I take the metro, even though it’s not the greatest.

            I don’t know if that completely answered your question, but I hope it helped some.

    2. Red Reader*

      Hee, today is the first day of my Risk Management class in my MBA program :) I’m looking forward to it.

    3. Systems Engineer*

      I should also say for context, as for benefits:
      – 3 weeks PTO + 9 holidays (6 fixed, 3 floating).
      – at least 1 telework day a week, pending no customer meetings
      – decent medical and dental
      – bonus system, but I’m new so I can’t give any decent numbers on this

      1. Systems Engineer*

        – Also 3% salary to 401(k) from my employer, and no match. They just always put in 3%, 401(k) plan available and I can put in more
        – Pretax travel benefits

    4. Jan*

      Fellow Systems engineer checking in. Similar to what you do plus some architecture modeling. I’m also in the D.C. Area. 8 years of experience (7 of that is with my current company). I have a masters in systems engineering. Salary is $120,000/year. No bonuses. Pretty good match for 401k. Telework as I see fit, right now I’m 3 days at home, 2 days in the office.

  24. Senior Editor (book publishing)*

    acquire/edit/oversee publication of books by about 60 authors
    NYC
    12 years
    75K
    started just under 30K, moved companies for jumps in title and salary. Been in this position/company for three years, started at 65K

    1. Senior Editor (book publishing)*

      (Alison, please remove if you’d rather not have this discussion here): happy to answer any questions about book publishing, as in my years of lurking I’ve seen a lot of comments from writers and others who are interested in this world.

      1. Aunt Vixen*

        I am interested! – as I’m an editor and not sure I’m not going to have to be job searching in the next year. Of course okay to take the discussion offline if Alison prefers, though.

      2. Spreadsheets and Books*

        I work in finance at a company that owns one of the Big Four publishers, and recently had the opportunity to tour their HQ and sit in on a 3-hour presentation about some of the inner workings, including how book deals and royalty offers are structured. It was amazing! Your job sounds incredible and it was so cool to learn more.

      3. smtech*

        I’d love to hear more in general about what you do! Maybe Alison could do an interview with you at some point? I would be really interested in reading it.

        A few questions:
        How long does the publishing process typically take, from identifying a book you want to it actually being sold in store?
        How often are you publishing existing authors vs new ones?
        Is it true that most new authors don’t out-earn their advances?
        What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen – whether it was a book deal that didn’t work out, an author/agent demanding something crazy, or something else?

          1. Senior Editor (book publishing)*

            I do love it! I’d be happy to do an interview, but I’ll also be sure to come by the Friday open thread.

    2. Finance Director*

      So, would you be the person that receives unsolicited manuscripts from aspiring authors? If so, how is that aspect of publishing – I mean in terms of do you enjoy it, hate it? And do you get to read a lot of books or is that something someone more junior would have to do?

      Also, I have a burning question I’ve been dying to ask someone who would be very familiar with copyright law: If a person wanted to expand on a short story that was published in the 1960’s in a collection of short stories – in other words take that short story and make it into a novel and maybe put it on Amazon is that considered plagiarizing? Now that I’ve typed it out, it really looks like it is.
      There is a story that I fell in love with when I was little and it was published in the 60’s. It is a fairy tale within a collection all by the same author. Since it’s a fairy tale, it’s very short, but I’d like to take the basic story, put it in a modern setting, give the characters names and backstories, and fill in the gaps with certain mythologies and add characters to it. It’s not the exact story that was published, but it’s based on that story. Any thoughts?

      1. anonomust*

        I’m not the OP, but if you change it enough I think it’s kosher – wasn’t 50 Shades of Grey initially fan fiction based off of Twilight or some such thing?

    3. Associate Editor (book publishing)*

      Hope you don’t mind me piggybacking on your format!

      acquire/edit/oversee publication of small list of my own and provide editorial support on more senior editors’ books
      NYC
      6 years in publishing, 4 in this role
      57K

      I started at 30k in a different department at a different publisher and made a lateral move by taking an entry-level position company where I am now.

      1. Marketing Assistant*

        If you have time for advice giving, I’m a marketing assistant (1.5yrs) at a small educational publisher (8-10 employees) looking to make the jump to trade. Do you have any tips?

    5. Senior Production Editor (book publishing)*

      oversee all the steps between manuscript and bound book for about 100 titles per year for a Big Four Publisher (and I have a subsidiary job title helping manage our digital workflow procedures)
      NYC
      15+ years
      82K (which I know is *extremely* well paid for my industry, with generous benefits to boot).

      Also happy to join in a discussion of How Publishing Works on an open thread, though I’m out of the office this Friday so won’t be as available!

    6. managing editor*

      job: I’m on the production side of book publishing (aka managing editorial or editorial production). I manage a handful of production editors (PEs), which includes budgeting, scheduling, and assigning ~200 books/year to those PEs, including to myself (I personally produce 40+ books/year). I interact with authors, copy editors, proofreaders, typesetters, packagers, designers, acquisitions editors, marketing/publicity, and printers. I hire and review (and hopefully don’t fire) PEs, I set guidelines for how we do things in production, I track the status of all books in production (not just mine) to ensure on-time publication, I go to more meetings than I’d like, and that’s just the bare bones of what I do.
      geographic area: mountain west
      years of experience: 25 overall, 15+ at current job
      salary: $60k
      benefits: 4 weeks of vacation (’cause I’ve been there so long), 7 paid holidays, 2 floating holidays, 10 sick days, 401k, health/dental/vision insurance

    7. Textbook Editor*

      Late to this, but:

      Sign and manage approximately 45 projects (20-25 publishing per year) in a lovely sub-discipline of the Humanities
      NYC
      5 years (in editorial, 1 year as a commissioning editor)
      47K

  25. Digital Project Manager*

    -Digital Project Manager (educational publishing)
    -Boston, MA
    -6 in the industry, 2 outside the industry (8 years work experience overall)
    -$60K
    -The salary is low compared to COL in the area and similar jobs in non-publishing industries, but the benefits make up for it: 4 weeks vacation, 5 sick days, 5 personal days and very good health benefits, excellent WFH/flexible time policy, and 7 months where we’re not busy and I can work 10 – 4:00 with an hour for lunch and an hour for the gym.

    1. Senior Digital Project Manager*

      -Senior Project Manager, managing digital advertising campaigns/microsites
      -NYC
      -6 years’ experience in tech/digital project management
      -$90K, unlimited PTO, okay healthcare, pre-tax transit, shares in the company, 401k with small match
      Note: this salary was only after job hopping a decent amount and negotiating a raise in my current role. Salary history:
      +$30K, customer support
      -job hop-
      +$36K, digital coordinator
      +$39K, associate producer
      -job hop-
      +$45K, associate producer
      -another quick job hop!-
      +$65K, associate producer
      +raise to $67K
      -job hop-
      +$70K, project manager
      +$90K, senior project manager

      People look down on job hopping, but it really works. I’ve gone from $30K-$90K in 6 years.

      1. Digital Campaign Manager*

        – Digital Campaign Manager, managing digital advertising campaigns
        – I’m based outside of Boston, MA, but company is in PA (entirely remote company)
        – 6 years experience in project management, 1 year experience in digital marketing
        – $47,500, 3 weeks PTO, 4 sick days, entirely WFH, 2 amazing all expenses paid company trips a year, 12 weeks paid maternity leave, 4 weeks paid paternity leave, great health benefits, 401k with matching.
        Salary is low for the field, but benefits are amazing and I don’t feel my job is particularly taxing or stressful and the company really values its employees.

  26. Sourcing Speciaist*

    Job – Sourcing Specialist – Purchasing
    Geographic Area – Mid South
    Years of Experience in this job – >1 year
    Salary – $60,000
    I worked in another field for 15 years and recently took this position (and significant pay decrease) in order to change career paths.

    1. Another Sourcing Specialist*

      Job – Sourcing Specialist – Purchasing
      Geographic Area – MidWest
      Years of Experience in this job – >10 years
      Salary – $80,000

      1. Sourcing / Purchasing Manager*

        Job – Sourcing / Purchasing Manager
        Geographic Area – Southeast
        Years of Experience in this job – >7+ years (1.5 years in this job, 7+ years in field)
        Salary – $100,000

        I also have a masters degree (MBA) and professional certification in supply management. 3 weeks paid vacation.

  27. Library Technician (Federal Contractor)*

    1. The Job – A mix of technical services and comparatively light reference duties along with some administrative/office work. Maintaining serials, circulation, mail sorting, processing new materials, adding serial-like books to the catalog, looseleaf filing, and more. The position is at a small government agency and most of the library employees are federal FT employees; two of us are contractors.
    2. Location – DC
    3. Experience – Started at sixteen in fast food, worked on-campus jobs throughout college, began a “real job” (this one) October 2014 and work two other jobs PT in addition to this one (one since October 2014 and another since May 2015).
    4. Salary – I make $20.60/hour.
    5. Context – When I was hired for this job, it was through contract agency X and they paid $14.51/hour. When they lost the contract and a new one took over and kept the existing contract employees, I was offered $19.00/hour and negotiated for $20.00. My first raise was in May with 3%. There’s no way I could live on this alone in this area, but there it is. I finished my MLIS in May 2016, too. Benefits aren’t fantastic, but do well enough. I get two weeks combined PTO.

  28. Prospect Research Officer*

    In charge of prospect research for a mid-size nonprofit
    New York City
    Four Years
    $66,000

  29. Senior Library Specialist*

    -cataloging in foreign languages (East European=Slavic), Slavic serial receipt and binding, serial holding maintenance
    -Midwest
    – 7 + (5 if I count only full time jobs)
    – $46,000/year (* civil service job)
    have MLIS for top 1 Library School in the country

  30. Generic Admin*

    Admin Assisant for a charitry
    Location- Norhern England
    Salary- £15,000GBP (18519.83USD) PA
    3 years experience
    Salary included additional allowance for special projects I’ve picked up.

  31. Evidence Room Manager*

    Run the Evidence Room for a police department. Not at all like CSI (I don’t work in a lab, but I coordinate with labs to get items tested); more like … Sam’s Club? Mostly it’s about space and keeping items safe/uncontaminated.
    Midwest area.
    In position for a little over a year, but worked in law enforcement for 10+ years
    $57k year. Does not include my matching pension (6%), completely free health care, 39 paid days off a year, as well as other perks (tuition reimbursement, health club reimbursement, etc) The benefits are really outstanding and make up for the actual monetary pay being on the low end.

      1. Evidence Room Manager*

        haha, I bet you totally get what I mean! I have to give tours of our facility all the time, both for transparency with the public but also for evidence discoveries, etc, and the Scrooge in me squeals with glee every time I see their eyes go from excitement to disappointment in the span of seconds.

        1. Laboratory Manager*

          The interview for my first forensics gig* took place IN the laboratory. I later learned it was partially to weed out the CSI-effect candidates, most of whom self-selected out when they realized it was basically like any other high-throughput or production lab, not as sexy as it was on TV and the only soundtrack was the noise from the instruments.

          *Am actually no longer in forensics but similar enough that I also often see people’s blooming disappointment. Except high school students. They are universally astounded and awe-struck.

      1. Evidence Room Manager*

        I actually just got lucky. The vast majority of property rooms across the country are run by Licensed Peace Officers (cops), which I am not. I started working in law enforcement 10 years ago, at a different agency, because I wanted to be an IRS agent – but I was having a really hard time finding a job, and Veteran’s Preference can make hiring in government REALLY competitive (I am also not a veteran). I spoke to a career counselor whose advice to me was to just start working in government – ANY branch of government – and get in those years of service to help me transition to the IRS. I applied at a ton of places – the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Vehicle Services, etc – and the first one that called me back was law enforcement. Since then I had grown to like it, although it’s really (mentally and emotionally) hard to work for a law enforcement agency right now. I worked in Records, so updating criminal histories, checking for warrants, that kind of thing – and the agency that I’m at now had an opening running their property room, I put in for it and got it. There’s one national association that governs our best practices – the IAPE (International Association of Property & Evidence Technicians) – plus a handful of state associations (California has a great one – CAPE) but that’s about it for training. Because no one offers a degree in this, and not a lot of people do it, most police departments simply want someone that feels comfortable around property/evidence (guns and narcotics) that has great time management and project management skills … which usually is why they put an officer in charge, instead of hiring a civilian. There’s no prerequisite like “must have a BS in Property Room Tetris Evidence Stacking” because no such thing exists.

  32. Executive Assistant*

    Role: Assist C-level leader in an org with 7,500 employees – manage calendar/appointments, plan meetings and events, customer service, some graphic design work
    Location: Alabama Gulf Coast
    10 years of experience
    $45,000 per year

    1. Executive Assistant*

      Also, per year: 15 paid holidays, plus 10 days of vacation leave (1-10 years’ employment), 2 days of personal leave and 12 days of sick leave.
      $325 per month for excellent family health and dental insurance

      1. Another Executive Assistant*

        Role: Assist two Executive VPs in an organization of 1,500 – manage calendars and appointments, plan meetings, book all travel (domestic and international), complete travel requests and expense reports, complile or create presentations, track mileage, reconcile credit card statements and any other administrative items that pop up now and then.
        Area: D/FW
        23 years experience, 14 years at current job
        $75,000, plus 4 weeks paid vacation, 7 paid holidays, paid sick leave

    2. Executive Assistant*

      Location: San Francisco Bay Area
      Company: Biosciences, 800+ employees
      Experience: 5 years, 2 here
      Pay: $72,000 (competitive with market and experience IMO)

  33. Software Tester*

    your job: Testing software before release
    your geographic area: Chicago
    your years of experience: 6 years
    your salary: $71,000

  34. Graphic Designer*

    I’m the lead (read: only) designer with a tech company. I do everything from brand to marketing and web promotions, trade show and collateral design, swag and illustrations. I love the work, it’s super independent and I get to go home at the end of the day and breathe. I’m hoping to stay here for a while, we’re getting past that startup phase into being a proper company and I find I like the balance.

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    10 years of experience.

    60k with full benefits, free lunches, flex hours, wfh, unlimited sick time.

    2. Graphic Designer -- non-profit education*

      Graphic designer at a non-profit university. I focus on print collateral like magazines, newsletters, flyers, brochures, special event invitations and programs, etc., and coordinate with the web and social media groups. In addition to the computer work — because I’m under the Public Relations umbrella of the university — I do a bit of everything including running community outreach booths on and off campus, work fundraising events (registration/hostess/setup/cleanup), design and setup bookstore display windows, and act as an advisor to the student-run literary magazine.

      Los Angeles, California
      19 years experience
      53k which is on the low side for the region because it’s non-profit but makes up for it with outstanding benefits that are largely unheard of in corporate — medical, dental, vision, 403b matching at 1.5%, 18 days of paid holidays, 2 weeks per year vacations accrues up to maximum of 384 hours (48 days), 2 weeks per year sick days accrues up to 480 hours (60 days), education reimbursement for continuing education, gym reimbursement and additional wellness incentive bonuses with regular exercise, and rideshare/public transportation reimbursement. And if an employee is really adventurous, they can volunteer to be a patient for our medical and physical therapy students for free (muhahahahaha) under the supervision of a licensed faculty member of course.

      1. Graphic Designer -- non-profit education*

        I guess I can add that I have a Mailpiece Design Professional certification since a good bit of what I do needs to follow the US Post Office regulations, and they try to make that as confusing and arduous as possible and then change it as often as they can.

    3. Senior Graphic Designer*

      Self-employed graphic designer living in Portland, OR with 9 years experience here, earning about 95K.

      99.9% of my work is through a small agency so I have very steady income, but as I’m not an employee my salary takes a big hit after I pay self-employment taxes and for all my equipment/software, health insurance, self-paid sick/vacation days, retirement, plus a whopping accountant fee every year. Benefits? None, really, except that introvert me gets to work from home in comfortable clothes, the agency I do work with handles all the paperwork and billing headaches and client recruitment, and I really enjoy my job.

      1. Senior Graphic Designer*

        Dang it, forgot to add to I work primarily on print projects (brochures, ads, flyers, environmental graphics) for the healthcare sector, but occasionally work on smaller WordPress sites and a smattering of email marketing. We often do the copywriting for clients. I also help give creative direction to a few other junior designers we work with and assist in writing estimates and proposals.

        1. Senior Graphic Designer*

          SGD for a cosmetics company in NYC. I work on both print and digital and work on a wide variety of projects: in-store visuals, marketing collateral, displays, ads, eblasts, banner ads, social media posts, etc.
          I have a BFA from a prestigious art school (still paying it off) and have been working for 10+ years as a designer. My salary is 80K plus bonus and benefits, been here 3 years and started at 73K. Salary is on the low end but benefits are amazing: full medical (literally everything is covered), retirement w/matching, PTO, all sorts of other included benefits really too much to name – we even have pet insurance – and we get cost of living raises every year. Work/life balance is really great too (no late nights ever, which is kind of unheard-of). Downside is the work itself is really boring, and interesting work is what I live for. I’m thinking of switching back to agency work (but may kick myself when I’m working 65-hour weeks) or possibly back to freelance.

          1. Senior Graphic Designer (from above in PDX)*

            Would you mind listing what school you went to? I got a wonderful education getting my BFA at a private art school, but I have to be honest, literally no one has ever cared about where I went to school when it comes to hiring! (My college has a great reputation in the region, but it’s not well known nationwide, so it’s definitely not prestigious.) Do you find that having more name recognition has been worth the cost in terms of opportunity?

            1. Senior Graphic Designer*

              I went to Parsons. For me the name definitely opened tons of doors and I would go so far as to say most jobs/clients I’ve had wouldn’t even consider hiring someone without a comparable level of education, particularly when starting out. However I’m a number of years out of school and not sure it would still be worth it today given the dramatic changes in the industry and the “business of education.” Parsons has grown an enormous amount since I went there (and the school was more than happy to rake in the extra tuition and build up its real estate holdings etc) and I seriously doubt that all those many, many grads are going to get jobs. Not everyone I went to school with wound up working in the field and it wasn’t quite as competitive when I was starting out. Did you go to PNCA? I always thought of it as a good school, though more fine-art focused.

              1. Senior Graphic Designer (from above in PDX)*

                I went to another small art school but it was in another region. It’s small enough that I’m going to avoid naming even the region!

                That’s wonderful that it gave you opportunities, I wouldn’t go back and do anything differently but I’ve certainly wondered about the path not taken!

                When I asked the question, I was thinking about a job that I left to work for myself shortly after I found out that a male designer who went to a for-profit, 2-year school was making $20k/year more than I was (same job title/responsibilities but several years less experience and not well liked). I was only out of school for a few years and after he told me he didn’t negotiate for that salary it just made my education seem kind of worthless.

    4. Graphic Designer (Freelance, full time)*

      Graphic Designer for print and web.
      Colorado (Northern Colorado, 30 miles from Denver and Boulder).
      Experience in field: 20 years.
      Running my own business for 8 years.
      Pay: $90,000/year after business expenses (varies since I am freelance).
      Benefits: None! I pay for it all out of pocket (the downside to being self-employed).

      1. Graphic Designer (Freelance, full time)*

        Adding because another designer mentioned it:
        I also do Packaging Design for food companies.
        Not much different than other types of print design but it helps to have an understanding of the regulations for food packaging.

        1. The Toronto graphic designer above*

          Hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you find the transition to running your own business? Now that I’ve been working for about 10~ years, I’ve been thinking a lot about what my future looks like. Where do I want to be as a 45 y-o designer? A 55 y-o designer? Going on my own sounds like it would have a lot of perks, but also be pretty scary.

    5. Senior Graphic Designer*

      Your job: I work with the Art Director for two niche publication magazines, each published bi-monthly, offset (so we publish every month). Mostly layout, but also photoshoot styling, web-related advertising, eBooks and one-off publications, designs to be published for our subscribers, patterns for the same, pre-press and coordination.
      Your geographic area: Denver Metro
      Your years of experience: 5
      Your salary: $42k
      anything else pertinent to put that number in context: I left a job that was giving me an anxiety disorder last year and took a pay cut, in order to take on a job in my field where I feel I will be able to stay around much longer. My jobs since leaving college have been of the 1+/2 year range so I haven’t gotten many raises over that time.

    6. Graphic Designer*

      Graphic designer for the sales team of an ecommerce fulfillment company — I design sales proposals to try to win new clients
      Suburb outside of Philadelphia
      10 years
      $55K/year
      Can work from home, have a great boss and co-workers, benefits package (PTO, health, dental, vision, we even get pet insurance at discounted rates)

    7. Graphic Designer*

      My job: Mid-level graphic designer at a small (around 30 employees) direct mail firm. I layout new direct mail packages (envelopes, letters, response devices (mostly form stuff) and the occasional exciting insert. You know those mailings you get with labels in them to entice you to donate? I design those labels! (And everything else in the package). I also design emails, facebook/twitter/banner ads and the occasional donation landing page.
      I’m in a middle position – I have a direct manager who is the Art Director and am supervising/training a new hire though I don’t have any power regarding her salary, hours, etc. I just tell her what to do and tell my boss when I want her to come in.

      My geographic area: Washington DC

      Years of experience: 8

      Salary: 65k with an annual bonus of around 8-10% every year. 25 days PTO/year, 401k match of 5% and the company occasionally gives us a random surprise day off or 100+ gift card. Plus I have an office with a door that actually closes!

      Pertinent Info: I took two years off in the middle of my career to start my own freelance business. It was getting to a successful place but I realized that I love having health insurance and the freedom to have a day off without thinking of how much money I’m losing.

  35. System Support Analyst*

    System Support Analyst – government
    Implement/support all IT initiatives, break/fix as needed, project management as needed
    Missouri
    Experience: 8 years in user support
    9 months in current position
    45,500/year

    1. I.T. Helpdesk Coordinator*

      Helpdesk Coordinator
      Oversee day-to-day activities of a team of technical consultants. Dispatcher (though I hate being called that!), project management as needed, team lead/coach/mentor, liaison between staff & management.
      Detroit Metro, MI, USA
      8 years experience
      2.5 yrs at current position
      $45k/year, 80 hours PTO, full-time work from home, contributions toward life insurance, vision/dental/health insurance

  36. Senior Meeting and Event Planner/Events Project Management*

    Plan meetings and events (20-30 per year, one day or multi-day, for 25 to 75 attendees per) for a software company
    RTP, NC
    15 years experience
    $84 K
    Salary may seem high for my field, but career stalled/no promotions for many years under a horrible manager, but did receive modest raises each year as all company employees do. I think I would be making more money but also have a higher job title (probably manager) if I had worked under someone else.

    1. VP of events and conferences*

      Plan conferences, events dinners etc for an international Retail Bank
      NYC
      20+ years 2.5 at this bank
      $107,000 plus 5 weeks vacation/sick days

    2. Corporate Event Planner*

      I plan about 50 meetings/events each year for a Fortune 500 Company. They range from small internal dinners to multi-day conferences for the top executives of my company. Most events are local (NYC), but I plan some out-of-state and international events as well.

      I have 8-10 years of event planning experience in general, but most of my experience was in the non-profit/academia field, so my corporate experience was less than 2 years before I started this job. I think that hurt me when getting offers, as I received a few and they were all within the same range.

      $73K, including what I’ll just refer to as bonuses.

      1. Senior Meeting and Event Planner/Events Project Management*

        No degree in Event Management for me. (I kind of fell into this field, starting as an admin. and found I had great knack for project management and organizing complex events with lots of logistical details.)

        I do have a Bachelor’s Degree. Most of the job openings for similar jobs ask for a Bachelor’s in Business, Marketing, etc. However, if you have a background/degree in another field all is not lost. For example, I recently saw a job opening for a corporate event planner for a bank and they strongly emphasized that they wanted a candidate who also have finance industry experience. I personally haven’t found that having industry knowledge (which can always be learned) is a requirement to doing the job, but when it comes to hiring, that can be what puts you over the edge if you have that + event planning experience.

        Besides Business and Marketing, I would recommend coursework (and possibly eventual certification if you want to go that route) in Project Management or the CMP/Certified Meeting Professional. Take a look at MPI or PCMA for lots of resources.

        If you are flexible about where you will live, I’d HIGHLY recommend the greater DC area for the availability of jobs (although be sure to factor in the cost of living too).

        Lastly, so much of this job is “building your toolkit”/having something go wrong but then figuring out how to recover that experience on the job is probably more important than your degree. Even if you have to start out as an “Event Assistant” or “Event Coordinator” to get it- that experience is invaluable.

        Good Luck!

  37. Communications Manager*

    I’m the only full-time communications staffer at a small human rights nonprofit. This is a recent promotion, and there is no one below me except for part-time interns, so I’m still responsible for all the implementation I did as the comms associate, as well as the big picture strategic stuff. I manage our website, our email, our digital strategy, our online marketing, our PR (with the help of a firm), our print materials … everything.

    NYC
    Five years working experience, just got this promotion. At this org for 17 months.
    $50,000
    Benefits are pretty solid – employer fully covers health insurance deductible, 4 weeks vacation + sick days + personal days + we’re closed Christmas to New Years. Flexible schedule and able to work from home as needed. But our 403b has no employer contribution and they’re talking about ending that benefit.

    1. Another Communications Manager*

      I’m also a nonprofit communications manager (manager in the sense of program management, I only loosely manage a couple part time people in an unofficial capacity). Tiny health care nonprofit, same duties as poster above.

      Philadelphia area
      16 years experience, but am rebuilding my place after taking a large step back when my kids were born.
      $43,000/ 32 hours a week. (so roughly equivalent to $52K if I worked 40 hours)

      1. Communications Manager (DC metro)*

        I’m a Communications Manager working for a small, privately-owned consumer service/tech company. I’ve been with the company three years and my role has evolved a lot, but I currently manage and develop all internal communications (newsletter, email, social, digital signage, even comms, print collateral) and serve as a strategic communications partner for internal-facing teams (hr, it, etc), as well as dept heads for dept-specific comms.

        Washington, DC Metro
        8 years experience (3 here, 5 at a PR agency)
        $61,100 base plus 10% annual bonus (can be more based on performance)

    2. Lead Copywriter & Content Manager*

      Similar situation, so adding to this thread.

      Job: lead content writer at a smallish nonprofit (70 FTE), overseeing email communications, digital/social, website, blogging, etc.
      Location: Philadelphia suburbs (live in the city, work in the burbs)
      Salary: $48,000
      Experience: 3 years

      Context: This is my first job. I started as an intern 3.5 years ago, then transitioned into a full-time position with a lower title for $35k. Have been lucky/persistent enough to get a raise in salary and title each year ($35k -> $40k -> $44k -> $48k). Last raise was in response to new overtime rules, but I have been promised it won’t be rescinded.

    3. Yet Another Communications Manager*

      I’m also at a nonprofit with similar duties to the user above me.

      Atlanta
      With my current org for three years, promoted from a different position. I’ve been working full-time in the communications field for seven years, and prior to that, I had internships and other part-time experience.
      $55,000
      Benefits are excellent: health, dental, vision; employer-matched 403(b) (nonprofit version of 401k); good vacation policies; flex scheduling; tuition assistance for degree-seeking staff; an emergency assistance fund for staff who fall into dire circumstances. Also, my bosses are very supportive of my professional development goals.

    4. Communications & Technology (non-profit)*

      I’m a department of one for a moderate sized church and school. I take care of all of our communication pieces (social media, websites, app, newsletters, etc.) I also work with the school board and volunteer groups on special events and development. Additionally, I do all of the A/V for our Sunday worship services, handle helpdesk type IT issues for staff, and help make decisions about the technology maintenance/improvement plan. Basically they took all the jobs that weren’t getting done and glommed them together to make one full time position.
      Geographic area: Midwest/Great Lakes
      Years of experience: 4 in current role, longer experience at various pieces
      Salary: $48,000
      Solid benefits including 8% retirement contribution (not matching, doesn’t vest until 5 year mark). Access to limited professional development funds (tuition assistance, conferences, etc.) Some flexibility/WFH as long as tasks are being completed on time plus reasonable vacation/PTO policies and holidays.

    5. Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Communications*

      Chicago
      Nine years of working experience
      $125,0000 (including bonus compensation)

      I lead global marketing and communications efforts for a financial services firm, including writing/editing copy, managing brand standards, writing proposals, running our website content, and building the firm’s profile globally.

      1. Vice President of Communications*

        NYC
        15 years (omg) experience
        $200,000 (including bonus, which varies each year, so this is an estimate)

        Decent benefits, solid vacation, unlimited sick days, excellent maternity leave.

        1. Potential Head of Global Marketing*

          VP Of Comms and Assistant VP of Marcomms,
          Would you be kind enough to offer me some insight? I’m in final stages of interviewing for a Head of Global Marketing position with a fintech firm and they are pushing me to quote my salary and performance bonus before the final meeting with the CEO. In my current job, I answer directly to the head of marketing so this would be my proverbial “key to the executive washroom” step up. I did my research on salaries in the region they want me to relocate to and found a 60k range! I’m struggling with this since they have not disclosed their salary structure or range for the position, any perquisites or benefits, etc. Also, I’ve never had to negotiate performance bonus since in my current and previous roles this was already outlined in tiers for non-executive roles.
          Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I’m happy to share relevant specifics (like number of subordinates managed, company size, annual budget at my full discretion) in private email.
          Many thanks in advance!

    6. Another Non-Profit Communications Manager*

      I’m the only communications staff at a small non-profit. I do everything.
      Toronto, Canada
      5 years, about 1.5 years here.
      $55,000 CAD. Benefits middling.
      A few months ago I insisted on a title change and small raise, after I covered many of my Director’s duties during a mat leave from which she didn’t return. They restructured so as not to replace her, “promoting” me and hiring another manger to cover the other half of her job.
      I have a Master’s degree.

    7. Employee Comms Manager*

      Internal communications for a branch of large global company. Weekly newsletter, (writing, design, and analytics) managing a video team of >5 people, creating social media strategy/content, refreshing design/written content on our external website, graphic design (web and print), designing internal comms campaigns.

      Area: NYC
      Experience: four years of freelance, one in a higher education comms department, and four in my current role.
      Pay: 63K plus up to 10% bonus
      Pay is great, even if the hours sometimes get crazy. Management has a tendency to request the unreasonable but no one is mean about it. The people being nice and generally professional is a plus. Benefits are less than stellar. Two weeks vacation and almost no tuition reimbursement. Fairly standard 401k and above average health benefits.

  38. Instructor*

    – Teach diploma / degree courses in business
    – Calgary, AB
    – 2 years’ experience + 17 years of business experience
    – CAD$92,016
    – MBA & PMP

  39. PM*

    Software Engineering Project Manager
    3 years experience in that role. 7 years as a software engineer beforehand.
    South West England
    £38,000

  40. Clinical Research Coordinator*

    I work with pharmaceutical drug data: collection, entry, reporting safety concerns, ensuring accurate documentation, mentor newer employees, and a bunch of other random stuff.
    Saint Louis, Missouri
    5.5 years
    $52,500 salary

    1. Clinical Research Associate*

      –med device drug data– collection, data entry, etc like above
      – Portsmouth, NH
      – 2 years experience
      – $42,000
      – I am underpaid for my region/role because I was promoted internally

  41. Development Director*

    Development Director of a one-person school fundraising office, school of ~400 students. Annual fund, event planning, alumni relations.
    Austin, TX
    7 years experience
    $60K

    1. Assistant Director for Development*

      Gift officer for a research area at a state university. Unlike most university gift officers, I oversee all fundraising efforts (major gifts, grant writing, annual fund), though I am able to work with our Central Development team.
      Austin, Tx
      10 years
      $65K
      (I took a pay cut to move to Texas, and took this job in particular for the state employee benefits like free health care, significant time off, comp time for salaried employees, and 6.5% contributed to my retirement account by the university.)

    2. (another) Director of Development*

      Director of Development for a medium-size nonprofit. Primary responsibilities include: capital campaign, program grants, social media management, and volunteer recruitment.
      Tulsa, Oklahoma
      9 years of fundraising experience
      $65,000

    3. Development Director*

      Development Director for a 5 person nonprofit, I am a team of 1. Building development plan from scratch, major donor relations, annual fund, event planning, grant writing, corporate outreach.
      Boston, MA
      5 years experience
      $63K – I took a paycut from $67,500 when I was working as the Development Manager for an extremely dysfunctional organization. I also do not receive healthcare or any retirement benefits with this job, but my old job was causing an extreme amount of mental distress and I am very passionate about this cause.

    4. Development Sr Associate Director*

      *Central donation processing for large private University (online, credit card, mailed donations, pledges) for all areas of this higher education institution (ugrad, grad, law, medical, veterinary, dental, museums, etc.)
      *Philadelphia, PA
      *20+ years of Accounts Receivable experience (revenue lifecycle, all payment type processing, system implementation, process improvement/re-engineering)
      *$75,000.00
      *403b match, transit discount, tuition benefit (at this institution and 40% of this institution’s tuition & fees at other colleges for dependents); extensive time off

      1. Assistant Director (Development)*

        Manage a team within a larger development department in a large/mid-size nonprofit.
        Northeast
        20 years experience
        $95K, reasonable benefits

    5. Associate Director of Development*

      I oversee direct marketing, donor services, communications and public relations for the local office of a very large non-profit organization.
      Large City in Texas
      10 years of experience, 5 directly related to fundraising
      $75,000

  42. Public Accounting Clerk*

    Job: Bookkeeping for clients, preparing financial statements, answering client inquiries, administrative duties
    Area: Northern Ontario, Canada
    Experience: 2 years
    Salary: $36,920

    2. Executive Director*

      Small, region nonprofit
      $60,000 plus up to 10% performance bonus
      $300/monthly stipend for health care
      4 weeks vacation

      1. Nonprofit Exec Director*

        Small, new nonprofit (though affiliate of large national org). Super rural midwest.

        $40,000 per month. No benefits. 3 weeks of vacation, and I had to fight for that.

        I supervise 2 part time staff and 2 interns.

        I have 2 master’s degrees (MSW + MDiv) and 1 year of relevant experience.

        1. Anna*

          Wait, is this a typo? $40,000 PER MONTH? If you work a year, that adds up to almost half a million dollars. And living in the rural midwest, I imagine you have a super low COL. Go you!

  44. Marketing Consultant*

    I work in corporate marketing/communications. My job until recently was creating materials for our sales executives.

    Midwest, 10 years of experiences, $69,000/annually with no bonuses or additional compensation – have been working for corporations for the last several years and made a lot more money than when I worked at a non-profit and on the agency side, where I started my career

    1. Marketing Consultant*

      Also, good employer match on the 401K (6%) and I work from home full-time, only going into the office once a month or so

  45. Marketing Associate*

    I handle all administrative and marketing tasks for a recruiting firm including website management, database organization and management, social media management, content creation, metrics tracking, resume writing, some light recruiting work (candidate sourcing, internet research etc), and office management/operational tasks like answering phones, ordering office supplies, etc.

    I work in southern Maine.

    Been in this position 1 year, with a total of 7 years professional work experience.

    My base salary is $40,ooo annually (salaried) with a profit sharing option that in 2016 amounted to an additional $7k in income.

    1. Another Marketing Associate*

      I update forms and applications, create brochures and fliers, help write and copyedit materials, proof direct mailings before they go out, create and deploy emails. This is for a small TPA Insurance company.

      NYC Metro area

      1 year here full time, before that freelanced and had P/T jobs in marketing for about 4 years. (Also took some time off when I had kids, and switched careers from one I had been at for about 10 years) Have BA and Masters degree in a related field.

      Salary: $43 k. Benefits: 3 weeks PTO, Safe Harbor 401k contribution after 1 year. No medical insurance, or bonus.

  46. Marketing manager*

    I work with engineers (both mechanical and software) in R&D to define the customer benefits of new products. I create the marketing message, write marketing materials to send to marketing communications for use in customer brochures, write the internal release notes for the software, write copy for the company website, and produce videos highlighting new products and their benefits. I have developed many new methods of reaching the internal audience of the company to inform them about new products, including various marketing pieces, a regular newsletter, and announcements for the company internal TV.

    In addition, I set up and maintain the R&D sharepoint site, developing a managed metadata structure and a product taxonomy that makes it faster and easier to find information, I have improved access to current technical documentation (by using the managed metadata and image maps of the product taxonomy), and I do market research.

    I live in Milwaukee.

    I have over 20 years of corporate work experience. I have an MBA from a top-20 school.

    I make $89K a year and am not on bonus. In my former job, I made $101K with 20% bonus in state where there was no state income tax. (Wisconsin’s is about 6%.) I was laid off from that job in 2005 and did not go back to work until 2012, when I found a job at $51K, which is less than I made in 1988, even though the new job required the MBA and the experience I had gotten since 1988. It’s kind of depressing.

    1. Contracts Analyst*

      Hi there (waves)
      I was making $160k doing contract negotiations in oil and gas until mid-2016… and I am now making $70k doing the same job in healthcare. I feel your pain!

    2. Marketing Manager too*

      Job: Strategic Marketing – developing marketing plans and strategy, market research, tradeshows, marketing campaigns, etc.
      Area: Philly Suburbs
      Experience: 9 years
      Salary: $80,000/ year – 22 days PTO

      1. Product Marketing Manager*

        Job: Product Marketing Manager B to B Enterprise Software
        Area- Los Angeles
        Experience: 15 Years
        Salary: $130,000, 3 Weeks vacay (that I can never actually take), 8 Holidays, 8 Sick days, Good insurance, 401K
        Education: 4 Years University, no degree

        1. Director of Inbound Marketing*

          Job: Inbound marketing for a 15-person digital marketing agency – I manage a small team of 2. My team is responsible for all inbound marketing/marketing automation projects and initiatives for our clients, and I am personally also responsible for leading the team responsible for our agency’s marketing efforts.
          Area: Cleveland, Ohio
          Experience: 9 years (holy sh*t I’m old)
          Salary: $75,000/annually + small bonuses, depending on our profitability. Great benefits with flex time and the ability to work from home often (just had a kid and have another on the way, so this is a huge perk for me). I accrue 13 hours of PTO per month.

          I was previously a Senior Account Executive prior to this promotion, for 2.5 years or so, making a little more than $60K. That role put me as the primary liaison between clients and the agency.

          1. Director of Marketing*

            At a ski and golf resort in the Midwest
            6 yrs direct experience in marketing and communication
            $65k base annual salary with $13k annual bonus based on goals being met
            Decent PTO policy and benefits

            Best part of the job is marketing fun things – people having a great time on vacation.

  47. Project Manager*

    –> Project Manager in Telecom
    –> Focus on Supply Chain & Systems Automation
    –> Colorado
    –> 15 years experience (broad base, jack-of-all-trades re finance, accounting, IT/systems, Sales, Operations, Telecom, Network, etc. focus in Supply Chain)
    –> Been in this job 4 years
    –> $101K/year plus pretty great benefits.

    2. Project Manager*

      PM in IT
      10 years of experience (all PM, was a developer for 3 years prior to that)
      $97,000 +10% bonus
      Minneapolis

  48. Bank Secrecy Act Manager*

    Job: Bank Secrecy Act Manager
    Geographic Area: Northeast–CT
    Experience: 17 years of banking experience
    Salary: $86,000

    Started as a teller and worked my way up to head of Operations over 14 years, all at one bank. At that bank I did compliance, IT, network administration, deposit operations, was BSA Officer and Information Security Officer, even did some loan operations (against my will) and helped with some accounting tasks. Was a risk manager at the next place (hated it!) and now I’m a BSA manager. I have 5 direct reports in the BSA department and I report to the BSA officer. I count all my years in banking as experience for this job, because BSA starts at the teller line.

    1. Bank Secrecy Act Manager*

      Forgot to say I’ve been at the current company for two years and started as the BSA manager.

    2. Bank Secrecy Act Manager*

      Apparently I can’t follow directions today. I should have added that my job entails, in a nutshell, looking for bad people and people doing shady things: money launderers, terrorists, human traffickers, tax evaders, people trying to avoid reporting of certain cash transactions to the government, stuff like that. I manage the department. I’m doing a lot of the stuff my direct reports do, but I’m also doing the bigger picture-type stuff, like making policy/procedure changes, assessing the bank’s risk for money laundering, and dealing with the auditors and bank examiners.

    3. Names Are Hard*

      BSA Officer and Deposit Compliance
      Geographic Area: Greater Washington DC
      Experience: 5 years of Banking
      Salary: 85,000

      Started in human resources, moved to accounting, and worked my way over to Compliance/BSA. Help with Audits, make sure that banks are following the rules, and look for the bad guys.

    4. Risk Analyst*

      Replying here since my job responsibilities are basically the same as Bank Secrecy Act Manager in addition to fraud prevention and detection. I am the most tenured employee of 3 doing the same job under a manager and at a credit union approximating $1 billion in assets.
      Geographic Area: Denver
      Experience: 1 year in current role, 2 years as Assistant Risk Analyst, and 1.5 years before that as a Teller. I majored in English as an undergrad and am just now going back to school for a MS in Financial Crime.
      Salary: $52,000.00 plus 401k matching.

  49. HR Generalist*

    HR Generalist @ not-for profit, approx. 250 employees
    Central Massachusetts
    11 years of experience
    $50,000 annually

    Extra info: Decent benefits package, excellent time off benefits

    1. (also) HR Generalist*

      HR Generalist – private sector, professional services firm
      Responsibile for recruiting, compliance, training and compensation
      Metro SE US
      10 years experience
      $80,000 annually

      1. HR Generalist/Partner*

        HR Generalist/Partner – private sector, US sales division, $2B international company
        Performance, benefits, partnership for sales/marketing departments
        Metro Midwest US
        11 years experience (SPHR, SHRM-SCP, pursuing CEBS)
        $81k annually + 10-30% bonus potential
        3 wks. PTO, 10 holidays, cell phone, 4% 401(k) match, free onsite clinic/fitness center
        10% travel

    2. HR Director*

      Public corporation
      Southeast US
      20+ years experience
      $190,000 annually plus ~30% bonus and ~30% stock

    3. Sr HR Manager/Generalist*

      Sr HR Generalist/Partner
      Software industry, Corporate Office
      North Texas
      7 years experience, Master Degree and PHR
      $128,000 annually

    4. HR Manager/Generalist*

      HR Manager (“Seat-at-the-table” level)
      Public agency
      Central California
      25+ years experience
      $97,000 annually

      1. HR Manager*

        HR Manager. (1 person HR dept), small (about 60 people) public/governmental agency. Texas. Currently make $67,000 but will be making $90,000 as a result of a recent in-depth compensation/salary study.

    5. HR Generalist*

      HR Generalist, 60 person company. Benefits/payroll administration, performance management. No recruiting or training/development.
      Upper midwest
      8 years experience (B.S. in an unrelated field, no professional certs)
      $64,000

    6. (another) Sr HR Generalist*

      Work for a global corporation with $40+B revenue in multiple industries
      Responsible for strategic business partnering, employee relations, staffing, compensation, OD, etc.
      currently in UK, previously in US (southwest, midwest, east coast)
      5 years experience (no certifications, but MBA in human resource management)
      UK Salary: 57,000 pounds sterling (no bonus)
      US Salary: $85,000 (No bonus)
      Other info: 15-20% travel in UK, 5% travel in US. In other companies, my role would probably be titled HR Business Partner or HR Manager

    7. Sr HR Business Partner*

      Sr HR Business Partner – City Government
      Denver,COish
      10 years experience, Bachelors degree, SHRM-CP & PHR Certification
      $67,500 annually

      Good time off and retirement plan. Medical benefits are pretty meh.

      1. Employee Relations Specialist*

        Employee Relations Specialist
        Large Non-profit
        Phoenix, Arizona
        $65,000
        7 years HR experience, bachelors degree in psych

    10. Human Resources Specialist Gov't*

      HR Specialist (lateral movement to big government from Snr. HR Generalist/HR Manager roles)
      Washington, D.C.
      Four years of experience (plus MS in HR and two years of intern/volunteer/full-time temp work. Yet to pick a side in PHR vs SHRM-CP)
      $82,000/year (DC-based federal cost of living/locality adjustment)
      Benefits and Perks: Extra PTO and cash for required travel. No bonus; or maybe? Poor communication. Public transit costs of up to $255/month are covered. Five percent retirement match with vesting and additional mandatory retirement contribution for separate account; 80% of health insurance is covered; in addition to federal holidays, PTO is 3-4 weeks annually. Teleworking and flex schedules are encouraged.

      *Special thanks to all of the HR Directors and Execs for sharing

    11. Human Resource Analyst*

      Main HR contact for office of about 60 people. Basically an HR-generalist role; heavy recruiting/scheduling (all onsites, interviews)/interviewing, manage immigration process for visa sponsorships/applications, manage on-boarding process, maintain employee files, print and ensure counter-execution of employee contracts, develop and run training sessions as needed, work with exec management to handle terminations and employee issues, run background checks, enroll new hires in ADP, answer employee benefits questions, and assist with international relocations.

      Hired originally to assist mainly with recruiting and minor HR-tasks, after a few months was asked to take over majority of HR duties from Director of Biz Dev/Recruiting. Besides him, I am the only HR person.

      Only 10 months of experience; worked in an admin capacity for a hedge fund for 10 months previously (hated it). 2015 college grad with BA in Literature.

      Salary: 55k with bonus TBD, up to 20k but likely less as I haven’t been here the full year.

      Area: Manhattan, NYC – tech-focused hedge fund

    12. HR Lady*

      HR Manager for a private global company
      Melbourne, Australia
      9 yrs experience
      90,000 AUD annually, 5% bonus potential, cell phone

      Before Australia I was in NYC as an HR Advisor making 45,000 USD at a major investment bank.

  50. Development and Database Coordinator*

    –I am an entry-level development person at a small nonprofit; I process gifts and acknowledgements, execute mailings, and support events, plus do email marketing and communications.
    –Boston
    –1 year previous post-college experience but in a different field; I am 5 months into this job.
    –I make $16/hr with guaranteed at least 40 hours a week and get overtime for anything beyond that. So at least $33,280, but in practice closer to $35,000.
    –I have been promised a raise in March but am not sure how much yet–would love advice on how much to try for! (Is $20 too much to ask for?)

  51. Art Collection Registrar*

    Job: I am in charge of collection management and maintenance and logistics (I make the trains run on time!) for a large corporate art collection
    Geographic area: Northeast US
    Years of experience: Almost 20, and a Master’s Degree
    Salary: $69,000 – very few complaints here (although obviously more is always better). Since I work for a corporation and not a museum, I am better paid than most people in my field, and with much better benefits.

      1. Art Collection Registrar*

        Art galleries, auction houses, and small museums! I definitely prefer a museum environment.

  52. Program Associate*

    Job: I am a junior staffer on a leadership development program. My boss, and two other more senior people, facilitate the actual program. I’m responsible, on paper, for recruitment, communications, and alumni support. Not in my job description, but nevertheless expected of me, is alumni fundraising and most of our grant writing and reporting.

    Geographic Area: Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA

    Years of Experience: 13 years in nonprofit program management/post-graduate school.

    Salary: $53,000

    An important note: My and salary are not the norm for my level of experience, so don’t be scared off. My organization pays fairly. I intentionally took a step back after having much higher-level roles, because I wanted work that was less time-demanding and stressful. My last role was was at a director level at a different organization, making $78,000/year.

  53. Software Engineer*

    (mid-to-senior, big tech company. I have reason to think my base salary is on the high side for my company and experience.)
    your job: Writing backend software
    your geographic area: Denver
    your years of experience: 8 years
    your salary: $130,000 plus bonus plus equity = ~$180,000

    1. Software Engineering Manager*

      That might be a little on the high side, but not grossly out of line. I live in a metro that costs about 87% of yours, and my base was $117,000 when I left dev for management.

      1. Software Engineer*

        My particular company has low base salaries and makes up for them via equity grants. I think it all comes out in the wash, as I suspect my equity grants and raise schedule are on the lower end :P

    2. Software UI Engineer*

      (mid)
      your job: front-end web development / web application development
      your geographic area: Austin
      your years of experience: 10 total, 2 in my current role
      your salary: $110,000 + bonuses == $130,000

    3. Software Engineer*

      Your Job: Full-stack leaning towards backend, main programming languages are C#, jQuery, SQL, minor knowledge of AngularJS. In my time at this company I’ve worked on front-end page reskins and major feature developments, including doing the technical design work. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert in any particular area of code, but I’m a very solid engineer who can be trusted to do quality work on a wide variety of projects. I’m one of the more senior engineers (in terms of having worked here longest) at this company, so I have a wide base of knowledge of the our specific systems as well.
      Area: Bay Area
      Years Experience: 6
      Salary: 120k
      Other: Good health/dental/vision insurance, I think they do some sort of 401k matching but it isn’t much. We technically have unlimited vacation days, but since the previous policy was three weeks, that’s what I try to stick to. Flexibility in terms of work hours and work-from-home.

    4. Software Engineer*

      Junior Javascript app programmer
      Boulder, CO
      5 years (2 at current company)
      $80,000 plus bonuses; was $70,000 when I started

      I am trying for a promotion this year to a mid level and hoping to leave junior status behind.

    5. Software engineer*

      Software engineer, small company, Washington DC, govt contractor. $80,000. No bonus or equity. C/C++.
      8 years experience. Female.

    6. Software Engineer*

      Job: Software Engineer
      Area: Silicon Valley
      Experience: 10 years
      Salary: $140,000 plus stock and bonuses worth an extra $50k at least per year.

    7. Software engineer*

      Your job: Frontend developer at a multinational tech company
      Your geographic area: Colorado
      Your years of experience: 8 years, 2.5 years at this company
      Your salary: ~$110,000 (~$215,000 after bonus and equity)

      Good medical/dental/vision/life insurance, 401k matching, vacation, unlimited sick time, etc.

    8. Software Engineer*

      Senior Level for a consulting co.

      Job: Full Stack Developer and tech lead on a variety of projects and technologies
      Geographic Area: San Francisco
      Years of Experience: 20+
      Salary: $155K

    9. Jr. Software Engineer*

      Job: Jr. Software Engineer at a web-dev consulting firm. People hire us to do web consulting work and build their websites/webapps for them. All Javascript work, with some CSS/UI. Primarily using React. I lean towards the front-end, but other people with my title lean towards the back-end.

      Geographic area: Seattle

      Years of Experience: Just over 1

      Salary: $90k

      Notes: I also get free, ‘platinum’ health insurance, 25 days PTO/holiday, unlimited sick time, and unlimited WFH/flex schedule. I really lucked out. Would probably make more at Amazon/Microsoft but not a better combined compensation package and not as good of a company culture.

  55. Environmental Scientist*

    ◾Private contractor providing subject matter expertise and technical support to DoD installations, specializing in National Environmental Policy Act issues and general environmental regulatory compliance. Currently writing Environmental Assessments.
    ◾Colorado front range
    ◾8
    ◾$72,000
    ◾Hold MS degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; got a late start due to abortive PhD attempt that I abandoned after 5 years.

    1. Environmental Scientist*

      That’s probably a little low for my experience/education level and responsibilities, but my employer is fantastic and I live where I want, sooooo….

  56. HRIS Administrator*

    Role: Update, configure, and helpdesk for our Human Resources Information System
    Location: Boston, MA
    2 years experience in role (4 in payroll previously)
    $62,000 per year
    B.A from liberal arts college

  57. Human Resources Specialist*

    Chicago, IL
    4 years experience
    $45,000
    Responsibility includes payroll – benefits – employee relations – contracts

    1. HR Specialist*

      Upstate NY area (2+ hrs from NYC)
      6 years of experience plus MBA
      $40,000
      Responsible for recruitment & benefits
      Mid-sized non-profit w/excellent benefits (fully paid health insurance), time off, 401K w/match and super flexible – was recently exempt, switched to non-exempt

  58. Instructor*

    I teach a nine-course load. And I should note benefits are amazing. 43 days’ vacation, generous sick leave policies, institution closed between Christmas and New Year’s.

  59. Business Transient Coordinator*

    job: admin to group sales / revenue; tasks vary between admin-type (data entry, client gift handling) to reservation and booking tasks
    area: large city in the SE US
    years: 7 in industry; 2 as admin
    salary: $31k ($15/hr)
    notes: hospitality industry, large hotel

  60. Senior Administrative Assistant*

    $45K

    4 years experience out of college, DC Metro area, non-exempt position, large nonprofit
    Scheduling, low-level coordination, event planning, accounting coding and data entry.
    It’s a good salary for 35 hours/week, but does not allow for any kind of upward growth internally, or opportunities to develop skills that would prepare one for other positions.

  61. Senior Editor*

    I run a news department for the flagship publication of a non-profit scholarly society.
    Washington, DC area
    10 years experience (7 as head of my department)
    $99K
    I have a PhD in my subject area of expertise (not in writing/editing, but in the field that I write about)

    1. Senior Editor*

      Plus employer contributions to my retirement account in the amount of 10% of my salary (regardless of what I contribute myself).

  62. Grant Writer*

    Currently I work as a Grant Writer in a mid-size global conservation nonprofit based in Washington DC. I have been in the position two years and have a combined total nine years experience in grantwriting and institutional fundraising.

    The position salary is $53,000. Honestly, the job itself is somewhat underpaid and my experience level is definitely underpaid. I accepted it quite gratefully two years ago when I needed to escape a bad work situation but they advertised for four years of experience.

  63. Technical Program Manager*

    Technical program manager, sort of a cross between a project manager and a product manager for a small product team within a larger organization.
    2 years experience as PM, 7 years work experience total
    Boston
    $67,000/year

    1. Technical Program Manager*

      I should also mention, I have a master’s degree in an unrelated field (an MFA, actually) and my company has excellent health care benefits and a generous vacation policy.

      1. Christian Troy*

        How did you get into this other field with an unrelated degree? Always curious to hear from people who have been successful at changing fields.

        1. Technical Program Manager*

          Total happenstance. I was working at another company in more of an admin role, and they promoted me to Product Manager because I had been taking on more and more of a technical role, then I moved laterally into my current job after about a year.

  64. Dana*

    I have a seasonal job so I’ll post both my on and off-season jobs. I’m located in Montreal.

    My ‘real’ job: Bicycle Mechanic
    Years experience: 5 years + technical certificate
    Wage: $15/hr

    Winter job: bicycle food courier
    Years experience: 2
    Commission: $4/delivery + $1/km travelled (calculated according to taxi grid).

    Other winter job: Warehouse picker
    Years experience: less than 1
    Wage: $11/hr

    1. Dana*

      When I work year-round I generally make about $22,000/ year depending on what I do during the winter, but for the last couple of years I’ve taken significant time off to travel during the summer so I’ve made less than $10,000 for three years in a row, and this year I’ll make about $8,000 before leaving to hike the CDT

    2. Also a Bicycle Mechanic*

      I work year-round in the Pacific Northwest.
      Years of experience: 14
      Yearly income: $25,000

  65. Psychologist (Clinical, Private Practice)*

    Job: Therapy with children, teens, adults, and families. Average 25-30 client hours per week. Primarily reimbursed from insurance (as opposed to clients who pay cash out of pocket which is typically more lucrative than insurance reimbursement)
    Southeast Michigan
    2 1/2 years in private practice, three years out of post doc fellowship
    Gross Income: 95k/year. Expenses are about 20% (not including taxes and retirement funding)

  66. Associate Art Director*

    Manage a team of 3 graphic designers
    Philadelphia area
    10 years experience
    $84,000 + 4-8% annual bonus

  67. Internal Auditor*

    Internal auditor – experienced lead, health insurance industry. Not management, not management track (by choice)
    Chicago IL
    6 years external audit, 3 years internal audit
    $76k USD

    1. Internal Audit Manager*

      job: Head of small dept
      geographic area: New England, not Boston
      years of experience: 15+
      salary: $95K + bonus, average benefits
      anything else pertinent to put that number in context: CPA

    2. Audit Project Manager*

      Audit project manager – third party consultant. Commercial real estate. 10 yr experience. Remote employee but company based in WA. $90k + 10% bonus (not every year as it is based on company performance). Great health et al. 4 weeks paid time off. Significant flexibility due to remote status.

  68. Sales & Marketing Support*

    Job: Sales generalist, responsibilities include managing reports, data analysis, tracking budgets for marketing programs, etc.
    Geographic area: Boston suburbs
    Years of experience: 15 years, 9 with current company
    Salary: $83k + bonus for achieving quota

    1. Director of Public Relations*

      Job: I’m responsible for all aspects of public relations and marketing at a small religious non-profit organization, including writing and graphic design of print newsletters and brochures, website content, social media, radio spots, press releases…you name it. Because of my writing skills, I also am responsible for all of our grant writing. I currently manage 2 part-time assistants.
      Geographic area: Detroit suburbs
      Years of experience: 15, 12 with this organization
      Salary: $47K
      The salary is low, but the organization is great to work for. I can work from home (days of my choosing), or if the kids get a snow day, I can bring them into the office with me. Health insurance is also excellent. Our organization has expanded a lot over the past decade, and it’s been exciting to be a part of that growth.

  69. Laboratory Manager*

    job – manager of analytical chemistry lab that processes both regulated samples and samples with legal implications
    geographic area – SF Bay Area
    years of experience – field 20+y / position 1y
    salary – $100K (plus generous employer-funded benefits)

      1. Laboratory Manager*

        Yes. I have a BS in Chemistry and an MS in a specialized, related field though the latter wasn’t a requirement at my place of employment.

    2. Laboratory Manager II*

      Job: I manage a biomedical research lab at a nonprofit.
      Location: Seattle, WA
      Years of experience: field 17, position 3
      Salary: $64K with a negotiated flexible schedule and several employee benefits that I have not found at other places.

  70. Performance Analyst*

    Job: Performance Analyst, which is a glorified Sales Admin with a focus on data processing, quality assurance, and managing the dispersement and upkeep of sales training materials
    Location: Metro Detroit
    Years of experience: 10 years
    Salary: $18.13/hour

    1. Performance Analyst*

      I should say – 10 years of general admin experience, 6 years of sales admin experience, and 7 months in this particular job. I feel I am severely underpaid for my experience. I also have a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Arts Admin, yet have never worked in it.

  71. Editor*

    Book editor, science and medicine.
    Central Europe.
    15 years.
    Around EUR 100K tax-free depending on exchange rate (I’m paid in a different currency to the country in which I live).
    Graduate degree; fluent in several languages; very specialized field. (This salary is a complete anomaly and I will never earn this much again, so I’m saving like crazy.)

  72. Healthcare Recruiter*

    Job: In-house recruiting for a for-profit healthcare company. Recruiting for clinical positions.
    Area: Atlanta metro area
    Experience: 4 years + relevant master’s
    Salary: $70,000 base; bonus up to 20%
    Context: Bonus is largely theoretical. Benefits package is weak, so salaries are higher.

  73. Database Administrator*

    Oracle and MySQL DBA. Certified on multiple versions, including current.
    Germany.
    10 years experience.
    Euro 63 000 / USD 67 000.
    Public sector = a bit underpaid, but excellent working conditions and benefits.

  74. Director of Marketing & Communications*

    Director of Marketing & Communications for a private high school
    Seattle, WA
    14 years
    $85,000

    Great work/life balance (6 weeks vacation, lots of holidays, done everyday by 4pm, etc.) and I love what I do! I oversee our website, social media accounts, publications, marketing collateral and develop strategy to increase enrollment.

    1. Director of Marketing & Communications*

      (14 total years of related experience but I have only been in this role at this employer for a few months)

  75. Administrative Specialist I*

    – I’m the assistant to an associate dean. I organize meetings, handle scholarship competitions, college wide elections, answer questions regarding policy, and act as a back-up for most of my office. I also help with data projects involving collecting information regarding admissions, scholarships given, etc.
    – Northeast GA
    – 3 years (1.5 years in this position)
    – $35,700
    -I have a BSA and an MS, which is why I work with our data projects.

  76. Project Manager (Software Development) | GS-13, Step 3*

    ◾Software Development Project Manager for the US federal govt (series 2210)
    ◾New Orleans, LA (doesn’t actually matter
    ◾5-10 years experience
    ◾$91,537
    ◾GS-13, step 3 (<– This is what influences my salary. Base pay ($79556) plus "Rest of US" locality pay = $91537 )

    – https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2017/general-schedule/
    — https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/17Tables/html/GS.aspx
    — https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/17Tables/html/RUS.aspx

  77. QA Engineer / software tester*

    Job: QA engineer / software tester / build automation testing suites at a tech startup

    Location: Portland, OR (resident for 10 years; every job I’ve gotten was through social connections)

    Experience: 5 years testing; held many support jobs before this, and made the mistake of going to a non-tech grad program

    Salary: $70,000/yr. (Student loan debt: $116,000)

    Salary context: stock options, which are usually worthless. Two weeks of PTO which is supposed to cover sick time
    and vacation. They let us have the week off between Christmas and New Year’s this year, finally – so I could save PTO!

    1. Software Test Engineer (QA)*

      > stock options, which are usually worthless

      Thank you! Former coworkers have been encouraging me to jump to the new start ups cropping up since I’m young and could be risky, but stock options in lieu of competitive salary as a concept annoys me greatly.

      > made the mistake of going to a non-tech grad program

      May I ask what program? My education is still within “STEM”, but it’s not in software engineering.

      1. SueEllenCrandell*

        I find myself constantly reminding friends and younger folks I mentor that stock options don’t pay your rent – equity is nothing until it’s something. Always negotiate for a REAL, livable salary, not options in lieu of one. Those “Facebook paid him in options and he became a millionaire” are not the rule, they are the exception – and I’m saying this as someone who was fortunate enough to be part of the early core team at 2 startups that were acquired. So sure, I had generous equity that ended up amounting to something I would have not amassed otherwise on my own, but no way were these equity grants given *instead* of an actual salary. It’s also worth keeping in mind that most startups will put you on a vesting cliff schedule (makes sense from employer’s POV to keep you there and engaged, as well as prevent issues later on if you leave) and will eventually dillute whatever you’d been given when additional rounds of funding happen.

        1. Stone Satellite*

          Do not count on equity or bonus to pay your bills!
          I started off at a large company that granted equity. When I got my first equity grant, my manager seemed to think I would be totally stoked about it … but honestly, a few years’ worth of vested stock from that company is worth so little that I can’t even be bothered to call the broker and figure out how to sell (how is there no SELL button on the damn website?!?). And the bonuses and raises were of the “You should be grateful you’re still employed” sort. So thank goodness I got a livable base salary, because the rest of my compensation there was never worth much.
          And side note about vesting: Even very large, well-respected companies put vesting schedules on equity, it’s not just startups. It’s basically a retention + prospective performance bonus; if you stay for several years and the company performs well during that time, it can (but is not guaranteed to) add up to a lot of extra money.

  78. Librarian*

    Librarian I/Adult Services Librarian at a mid-sized public library
    Central NY
    3.5 years of experience
    $41000

  79. Prospect Researcher*

    One of two researchers at a small nonprofit (<50 employees), with no one below me.
    Large city in rust belt
    3.5 years as a Prospect Researcher, previous experience (5+ years) as a Librarian
    $52,000
    Additional degree (MLIS)

  80. Academic Librarian*

    I do project management and assessment at a public research institution
    New England
    8 years
    $72,000
    Other info: Librarians are unionized and in the faculty union.

  81. Document Review Attorney*

    Job: I review documents for large/complex litigation.
    Geographic area: Twin Cities, MN
    Years of experience: 2
    Salary: $22/hour

        1. Doc Review no JD (yet!)*

          Actually I do doc review and I’m not an attorney and don’t have a JD. I was combing through this thread looking to see if there were any doc reviewers!

          Most are attorneys though, and it’s a common job for attorneys just out of law school. But at our firm we are supervised by attorneys and we go to them for any true legal issues. I mostly check for clerical errors and accuracy. I have a B.A.

          Salary is 27K, no benefits currently
          1 year of experience

  82. Content Producer*

    Job: Write, edit, and produce any copy necessary (emails, publications, web copy, etc.) and manage social media for a non-profit organization.
    Location: Washington, D.C.
    Four years of experience, less than one at current job.
    51K, started at 48K, plus excellent benefits and an annual bonus.
    From what I can tell, pay here tends to be slightly above industry average, as do annual raises.

  83. Product Manager*

    Product Manager at an independent software company
    Michigan
    Less than 1 year in this roll, 9 years with the company
    $60,000

    1. Product manager*

      Product manager at b2c internet/software co, with three dev teams, reports to sr director
      Female
      Utah
      1-3 years experience in similar roles
      $72k plus unlimited pto, 401k match up to 3%, annual bonus based on company performance (5-10% is common).

  84. Digital Marketing Program Manager - Global*

    Develop strategy and manage all externally facing digital properties including social media, email automation, landing page builds, lead generation digital support, tracking implementation, interactive marketing, webinars, etc. No direct reports in this position, but have had up to 10 direct reports in previous positions.

    Southwest U.S.
    9 years of experience
    $81,000 + avg. bonus of $8,000 annually = $89,000 a year.
    I also get $5,000 in tuition reimbursement and 4% 401K match.

  85. Office Administrator*

    Bookkeeping, payroll, benefits administration, assisting designers, general office administration.
    Vancouver, BC
    20+ years experience
    $60,000.00 CAD
    3 weeks vacation, good benefits, awesome boss.

    1. Administrative Coordinator*

      Office Administrator + Legal Support + Paralegal Support + Event Coordination. Basically anything to help my satellite office run. I call in the main office when I’m overworked or overwhelmed and they call on me when they feel the same.
      City in the Midwest
      5-7ish. Worked 2 years marketing, 3 years in admin roles, now 2 years in this position and I have a paralegal certificate as well as a 4-year degree
      $50,000
      I work 37.5 hours/week, have 18 (soon to be 23 next year) days PTO, 2 hours of flexible scheduling a week, subsidized gym membership, and have a good retirements package.

  87. Senior Tax Associate*

    CPA at a local public accounting firm
    Mid-sized city in Virginia
    3 years experience
    $66,500 + 6-7% annual bonus
    Decent benefits including 401k and HSA contributions, reduced hours in the summer (to make up for the crazy hours during tax season), casual dress code for days with no client meetings

  88. Chief Operating Officer*

    job: Chief Operating Officer for medical start up company
    area: mid sized city in midwest
    years: 20 years in healthcare administration
    salary: $50k
    notes: took low salary in exchange for equity in company. Preparing for IPO in 18 -24 months. Previous salary more than double

  89. Development Manager*

    Development Manager – manage renewal process for 20,000 members, manage pledge drive(s), manage donor portfolio.
    Chicago
    5 Years Experience
    48,000
    Took a pay cut to come work for my current employer with great benefits, fantastic work culture and a cause which I feel connected to.

  90. Project Manager*

    Job – medium complexity projects at a large corporation (budgets usually in the low millions)
    Location: Minneapolis-St. Paul
    Experience: Less than 5 years
    Salary: $70,000
    Other data: Bachelor’s Degree only. I do not have my PMP (major industry certification). Master’s not usually important for my field.

    1. Project Manager (OP)*

      I should add that I have 10 years experience with the company I’m in. This can hurt or help, depending on if you get stuck in a salary range.

    1. Aspiring Editor*

      I would love to talk to you! I’m in Chicago and I just graduated from college in 2016, and I’m trying to find an Editorial Assistant-type job. Maybe we can talk on this week’s Friday open thread? I’m always looking for advice on publishing in Chicago!

      1. Editorial Director*

        For Chicago, look into PI Kids (Phoenix International, formerly Publications International) and the adult division of Publications International. Great companies.

      2. Sales/Marketing (book publishing)*

        Sourcebooks is outside Chicago – they do a wide variety of good books.

  92. Medical Coder / Coding Team Lead*

    My job: I am a team lead for a team of ~20 medical coders at a large academic health organization. I do training and education, quality checks, work assignments and general team direction, for both our internal team and also any vendor coders we have, but have no direct HR responsibilities (our manager does those). The team is fully remote, including all management staff, so I also take point on team communications and team building activities (always optional ;) ).
    My geographic area: Central Indiana
    My years of experience: 12 in the industry, 3 at my organization, 1 in my current role. (Today is my 1 year anniversary, actually!)
    My salary: I am salaried at just a shade under $71,000 per year, listed at $34.11/hour on a 40 hour workweek.

    Anything else:
    My department offers salaried staff the option of a supplemental role on a different team, limited to 30% of their regularly scheduled hours (so 24 hours per 2-week pay period for me) and paid at their last hourly rate before moving into a salaried position. So I also work as a coder, 24 hours every two weeks, at $24.40 per hour straight time in addition to my regular salary. Both positions are raise-eligible when our performance-based-pay increases happen in the spring, and I think the range on that this year is 3 to 4.5%? But I’m not positive.

    1. Mini-scholar*

      I’m about to graduate from my program in March and obtain a RHIT myself. I’m hoping to get into coding. What sort of salary/pay is expected for entry level if you don’t mind my asking?

      1. Medical Coder / Coding Team Lead*

        I believe our entry level coding staff start at the $16/hour mark? I know people who have been with us for 2-3 years are making in the range of $36k/year, which is $17 and change per hour, but all our new team members since I started a year ago have been internal transfers from elsewhere in the hospital, not completely new entry level hires.

        I first hired in at $23/hour, roughly, but I had been certified for seven years at that point.

  93. Associate Director, IT*

    I work for central IT at a research University, working on internal IT processes (making sure we don’t lose requests, can prioritize working on the right things, etc) and am responsible for the tool where these processes live. I have one direct report.
    Midwestern city
    3 years in current role, 8 in IT in general
    $85,000 salary

  94. Sr. Human Resources Representative*

    HR Generalist, business partner level with a couple of direct reports but not a manager/director. Manage recruitment, org strategy, and advisement on laws, rules, regs, and org policy across a variety of programs within organization. Train new HR staff on all things they’ll need to know to take my job. ;)

    Geographic area: Northeast – small city
    10 years HR experience
    $78K

    1. Senior Human Resources Specialist*

      I have a very similar role.

      Geographic Area: Ottawa, Canada
      10 years experience
      $80k (Canadian)

      1. HR Manager*

        Similar role in Ottawa! HR Manager title, 10 years HR experience, large global professional services firm. 88K plus approx bonus of 2-4K.

    2. Sr. Human Resources Representative*

      A couple more things: Bachelor’s not required for my role, but definitely preferred. I have a Master’s and a PHR. The Master’s helped me get my foot in the door and helped with my professional network, which is invaluable, even if it wasn’t directly necessary for my career. The PHR I did more for myself than anything. I like professional development and continuous education. :)

    3. E*

      Sr. Human Resources Rep (non-profit)

      Basic Duties: Recruiting, hiring, new employee on-boarding and orientation, writing/revising job descriptions, employee relations, employee engagement, terminations. No ACA, benefit administration or management duties.
      Area: Texas
      Experience: 4 years (in current HR position), 9 years (prior in a management role)
      Salary: $52,000 (w/ year end bonus)

  95. Support Manager*

    Software Support Manager of a tech startup
    Toronto
    5
    $65 000
    I don’t have a relevant degree, just years of experience and a lot of ambition.

  96. Marketing and Communications Coordinator*

    Marketing and Communications Coordinator for an arts non-profit. I’m the “everything bagel” employee. Responsible for all design work (conception and execution), eblasts, social media, press releases, event coordination, partnerships with other companies, any and all other ill-defined tasks…
    Toronto
    3.5 years experience in this field, 7 months at this job.
    Salary – $35,000/year + some benefits. Limited upward mobility or chance for a raise.
    I’m looking for other work.

      1. OP*

        OP here: Yeah, it’s been rough, especially given all of the design work I do (with my own computer, as they don’t have one capable of running Adobe programs). That wasn’t part of my initial job description, but they discovered that I have that skill, so…now it takes up the majority of my time.
        I’d like to formalize some of my design skills and get further training so that I can move into something a bit more specialized. My partner is a senior designer and makes upwards of $83,000. The difference is rather striking.

        1. Communications Coordinator*

          I do what appears to be an extremely similar job to you also in Toronto, and unfortunately that’s extremely common for marketing communications jobs. So if it mkaes you feel better, there are better jobs here in this field, even in the non profit world, and as a fellow everything bagel type communications person, though I’m happy with my job and my pay, I totally understand where you’re coming from.

    2. Also a Marketing and Communications Coordinator*

      I am also a Marketing and Communications Coordinator at a large non-profit. My tasks are also ill-defined and range from running all of our advertising campaigns, writing marketing copy, and assisting with planning events to helping employees find our stash of tissues.
      NYC
      2.5 years of experience, 1.5 at this job.
      $41,330/year, with little prospect of upward mobility

  97. Statistical Programmer*

    Role: Use SAS software to create report and other analyses using data from pharma clinical trials.
    Statisticians and other specialists create the analysis plan. Programmer use those specifications to code the reports.
    Location: Southeastern Michigan (work from home)
    7 years experience since taking first SAS class.
    $90K annually.
    We have many open positions. SAS is a very growing field.

      1. Statistical Programmer*

        It’s what Big Pharma and the CROs are using, for the most part. SAS 9.4 just installed.
        If you know it and are looking for a new career…

      2. Clinical Data Manager*

        Just chiming in to agree with the Statistical Programmer — SAS is really really big in biotech and CROs. Before getting my last promotion at my last job (a CRO), I was seriously considering making the change from what I was doing into SAS programming since I had a bit of a programming experience and there is definitely a need.

      3. moss*

        R is not validated so no industry uses it. Excel is shoddy. SAS is pretty much the only respected statistical software.

        1. Biostatistician*

          Short version — that’s not true. R is used by a number of industries, pharma included.

            1. Statistical Programmer*

              The documentation for SAS is the big draw. Federal regs require validated systems. SAS provides the necessary documentation. We had an in-house system for a long while, but so hard to maintain from a QA/documentation perspective.

      4. Research Analyst*

        I was taught R in grad school because “in a few years, everybody will be using it instead of SAS.” Since I got out, every job I’ve seen requires SAS.

    2. Also a SAS Programmer*

      I may or may not have Statistical in my job title, it varies.
      Role: Prepare data for analysis and making graphical and tabular output. I do some work with R/S-Plus. I’m skilled in macros.
      Location: Mid-Atlantic
      Years of Experience: 9 years. I played with SAS prior to interviewing, but knew almost nothing when I started.
      Salary: 69K, plus usually a generous bonus and generous benefits

      SAS is great. I have a math background and I took some programming courses in college (Java). I went back for a Master’s in Statistics which I really only view now as a back-up (I didn’t like coursework that much, but I was committed). I very much like what I do.

  98. Application Development Manager*

    Job – Manage and lead IT team(s) of developers and QA folks engaged in creating software solutions.
    Area – Central Ohio
    Experience – 12+ in IT field, 2+ in management
    Salary – $138K + benefits

    1. Also an Application / Software Development Manager*

      Job- manage and lead a team of 15 (12 devs, 3 QA) creating and maintaining software solutions (C# and SQL mostly).
      Area – Metro Denver
      Experience – 16 years in Software, 2 in management
      Salary – 104K + 5% bonus + 15 days vacation, 6 days PTO annually

  99. AP/AR Specialist*

    Responsible for posting cash, entering invoices, paying invoices, balancing the balance sheet, preparing cash flow statements, and whatever other finance related project my manager needs me to do.
    Central NY state
    3 year work experience. 1 year in this position.
    $17/hr (35,360/yr)
    I’ve been promised a raise to at least $40,000 when I graduate with my B.S. this May.

  100. Administrative Support Assistant*

    –I work for a Big10 branch campus within the largest school on my campus. I work on scheduling for faculty, assisting students to a point (not an advisor or Registrar’s Office member), and other background things like faculty ratings by students, updating forms, keeping track of faculty workload, and other things that keep the office/school running. I work at the main desk so I answer all calls and greet all students who come in.
    –Northwest PA
    –Been here 1.5 years, have had administrative duties for 5+ years working at another college before this
    –$30,084 (only get 2% COLA increase a year. Raises aren’t a thing, I’m told. At least for staff)
    –I want out! I have a Masters and tons of people applied for this job but I don’t really want to do it anymore but can’t find better work in my area. I’m 35 and feel like I’m never going to get a higher salary.

    2. Academic Advisor*

      Have you considered academic advising? At some universities you just need a Master’s degree and experience working at a university. The pay isn’t great, but it might be at least $10K more than your current salary. (Depending on salaries where you are… I’m familiar with some midwest and DC area advisor salaries… but not PA.)

      1. Administrative Support Assistant*

        I did but they didn’t even interview me. Same for a similar mentoring program for students. I’m not sure if I have any ability to grow here. I’m sticking it out to get more time under my belt and the benefits are pretty good (for the area anyway). 12 hours of vacation a month, 8 hours of sick time, paid holidays, including off between Christmas and New Year’s), plus health insurance (we pay, but about $45 a month). But working thankless tasks for faculty is just not where my heart is at. A bunch of people took the early retirement option but won’t be leaving until June. I will hopefully see some of those jobs posted (many are just going away completely) and maybe something there will use my education and pay more). But after that we’ll have to see.

        1. Another Academic Advisor*

          I’m not the same person who posted above, but I’m also an academic advisor. It’s a great job and I love it, but it can be a tough field to get into. I’ve done a lot of hiring, and we always have several candidates with academic advising experience. Compared to that, the applicants without experience are almost never in the running. My advice would be to look for job that gets you closer to what you want to do. For example, look for an admin support position in an advising office. Some smaller departments might have positions that combine administrative and advising duties, if there isn’t enough advising work to justify a full time person – that can be your foot in the door to start building experience.

    3. Another Communications Manager*

      Oof. I am interviewing for your employer at the end of the month (non faculty position), but in SE PA. the listing had a salary range– but it was a $40,000 difference between the low and high end, which was really not helpful (low end was less than I made 17 years ago with no experience at a nonprofit). Your post is making me nervous about what they would potentially offer. Based on your post, sounds like I should try to advocate as hard as I can for a higher starting salary if raises are that hard to come by.

      1. Administrative Support Assistant*

        See what happens first. Could be location matters, which department you work for, who you work for, or many other number of factors and/or skills/experiences. I did ask for more and got it when I started (only a few hundred more). I came in making more than my coworker who had been here longer. I’ve heard anecdotally that they tend to pay roughly in the middle range most of the time. More experience could move that to a higher range.

        1. Another Communications Manager*

          Thank you! This is good information. I would be OK with the middle or just above middle of the range. I’ve been worried they would offer toward the lower end.

    4. Assistant Professor*

      I’m faculty at a private R1, and faculty and staff get only 2% COLA per year (and sometimes less). Merit raises are pretty much non-existent. It’s super frustrating because it means we lose great people!

  101. Anon-e-moose*

    your job: Program Administrator/Office Manager/Executive Assistant at an education non-profit. Basically I am in charge of our programs, the physical office space, and our CEO’s schedule

    your geographic area: Boston, MA

    your years of experience: 6 years

    your salary: $38,000 + medical (no dental/eye) + 4 weeks combined sick/PTO

  102. Production Manager - Women's Wear*

    I manage foreign and domestic production for a Women’s Wear company
    NYC
    20 years
    $90K

  103. Internal Audit Senior*

    Job: Compliance, operational, and financial audit projects, and assisting external auditors
    Location: Chicago
    Years of Experience: 4-5
    Salary: $80,000

  104. Receptionist*

    Receptionist – answer phones, direct calls, distribute mail, keep facilities clean, keep front lobby presentable, keep bathrooms/kitchen stocked, handle inventory taking and placing orders, track shipments and deliveries, handle all last-minute requests from all levels of associates, be a walking phone/printer manual, keep printer areas stocked and ready to work in, be knowledgeable about all electronics/machinery in the office and their whereabouts, maintain employee records such as required insurances, handle all incoming guests and set up conference rooms, schedule meetings in-office; be very prioritized, professional, calm but firm, able to multitask, able to handle rude callers/guests, able to handle conflicting directives from multiple levels of associates, offer support to office manager and any other associate, *be able to be discrete and to keep private info confidential*, and to maintain a positive demeanor and be professionally dressed at all times.
    (I say this dryly: I’m like a nice piece of art in a lobby(pleasant and not flashy), crossed with a concierge and a walking notebook of lists.)

    Kansas City, USA
    1 year
    $15/hour
    * I get 18 days PTO : D
    * Health insurance offered was over a quarter of my salary when I was hired, and I could not afford it then so was on Obamacare; my company has since switched to a more affordable option so I am insured now through them.
    * no opportunity to move up in my company, so if I stay with them this is likely to be my situation for a long time, if not always.

  105. Office Specialist 1*

    Classified (union) employee at an academic institution. Job duties involve processing and generation of documents and explaining rules and policies through a variety of communication media. Specifically, I work in the Parking department and the major component of my job is to review parking ticket appeals. This particular position reports to the director of the 12 permanent staff department, has no supervisory component and is quite independent.

    Geographic Area: Pacific Northwest
    Experience: 3 years (in this role)
    Salary: 27,560 (role is actually hourly at $13.25)

    This is a union (SEIU) position at a public university. Salary is negotiated statewide between all public academic institutions in the state, so no negotiating on salary. I am currently in Step 3 of 10 on the salary schedule.

  106. Quality Assurance Analyst*

    Job: Quality testing software for the insurance industry; quality analyst and liaison for major US insurance carrier
    Geographic Area: Intermountain West
    Years of Experience: 3.5
    Salary: $45,000
    Other: Benefits including health and dental insurance, 401k matching contributions up to 6%.

    1. Quality Assurance Analyst*

      Forgot to mention: I started 3.5 years ago fresh out of college at $33,000 and have since received 5 raises in that time –generally you get one raise per year, for the past 2 years I have gotten 2.

  107. Tax Manager (CPA)*

    Tax manager at a public accounting firm – local firm, one office, and kinda/sorta just started a satellite office (keeping the office of a small firm we merged with last year), about 100 employees. Review tax returns, consulting projects, etc. Contact with clients, manage project flow.

    Suburb of Portland, OR.
    9.5 years (entering 10th busy season)
    $90,000

    I work full time (which is 50 – 60+ hours) during tax season, but part-time (30 – 35 hours) outside of tax season. I end up working about 2,050 hours in total for the year, which is equivalent to 40 hours year-round, whereas industry standard (I think, but at least standard at my firm) is 2,350 hours (40 hours outside of tax season and much more during tax season). So my salary is reduced to 85% – while raises might have been calculated slightly differently had I been regular full time all along, I would be at least $100k if I were working regular full time at my firm.

    We have reasonably good benefits: PTO starts at 4 weeks and goes up to 5 at manager level and 6 at partner. 2 weeks parental leave. Firm pays 100% of employee health insurance (but no contribution towards dependent health insurance). Firm pays for life insurance and disability insurance. 401(k) with 4% match for first 5% contributed, plus has made generous profit sharing contributions in recent years. Pretty flexible in terms of reduced schedules (see description of mine above) and allows occasional working from home (e.g., in bad weather).

  108. Seal*

    -Academic librarian and head of a sizable branch library with supervisory responsibilities for 6FTE librarians and staff. MLIS required; second masters preferred. Expected to participate in related professional activities (conference attendance, publishing, etc).
    -Geographic area: Southeastern US
    -10 years as a professional; almost 20 years as a paraprofessional
    -$66,000
    -A recent salary survey revealed that average pay for librarians at my institution is one of the l0west in the SE

  109. Course Schedules Coordinator, Registrar's Office*

    I’m roughly 5 years out of university (B.A., state school), and in my second professional position as coordinator for course scheduling in a Registrar’s office at a major university in Boston. I’m 9 months into my position and make just shy of 60k.

  110. Tech Writer*

    Technical writer here! I take content created by my subject-matter experts (in this case, engineers) and I correct the language, rewrite it for clarity, and format it to fit with company style. I use Microsoft Word, Adobe Framemaker, and XML. I mainly work on hardware products, rather than software, but my previous job leaned more toward software and specialty content.

    I live and work in Silicon Valley. To be precise, I work in the East Bay.

    I have about seven years of experience doing primarily technical writing, and another ten working primarily as an editor. My highest degree is a BA.

    I make $72K, which means that I need to have housemates in order to live here. My previous job paid me $50K and, even though my husband works full-time, we were not getting by.

      1. Tech Writer*

        Very briefly, I felt it was a good match for my existing skillset, and so I took a certification course at my local community college, which got me networked in to the STC and helped me hear about job openings.

        Come to the Friday Open Thread for more! It looks like several of us are having a discussion about it. Please swing by and join in! :)

  111. Development Coordinator*

    Development Coordinator
    — I work at a large university doing fundraising for a department; I am the staff liaison for donors/volunteers; plan events; create solicitations; write grants; do donor prospecting and research; and manage fundraising efforts for three academic units
    — DC area
    — $47,500 (excellent benefits package including free tuition for myself)
    — 8 years experience

  112. Customer Service Rep*

    Office and phone duties for a small software company, primarily dealing with customers but also some vendors.
    Central Arizona
    0 year experience/fresh off of BS
    $35,000 starting/$40,000 after 4 years.

    A year after I started the company was bought by a larger company that pretty much killed salary and raises.

    1. Customer service rep*

      Incoming call center for a telecom doing customer service/sales currently in other offices with same title and same company have done other responsibilities including outgoing calls; data processing; internal support; and processing orders/support for other telecom

      -Boston area

      -17 years of experience in the same company

      -$70k / starting pay was less than I was making at big box retail (slightly above minimum wage)

      -reps in a sales office can make more with prizes and commission payouts (most reps do not get any payouts because the qualifications are high and complicated) we’re taxed on the value of the prizes which you can’t refuse, which sucks when you win a coffeemaker twice and don’t drink coffee. Everything that is given to us as a reward is taxed so sales reps can end up with a large income without having a larger paycheck (unless you were planning on buying something that you won)

      -union job, we have fairly good benefits as well

      – I only have a high school diploma, no degree but most people have a degree and a degree is a requirement now

    2. Call Center Agent*

      Making medical appointments for a network of offices and checking patient information for billing.
      Midwestern city.
      0 years experience.
      $11/hr, some 401k match

  113. Librarian*

    My role is collection assessment, so it is all analytical and doesn’t involve interacting with students. I work at a large university and look at data related to the usage of our collection in different formats (print books, e-books, e-reference, online journals, etc).
    East coast city
    14 years
    64,000
    I have a master’s in library science and have published several articles in scholarly journals.

  114. Research Analyst*

    Policy research (data cleaning and analysis) at a private university.
    Boston/Cambridge
    1 year of experience
    $58,000

  116. QA Engineer / software tester*

    The grad program was a cash cow for a humanities department, and wasn’t as tech focused as I thought it was going to be. I was the first student in the program and was the guinea pig. Giant, finances-wrecking career regret. Don’t go to grad school, kids!

    1. QA Engineer / software tester*

      darn it, this was supposed to be as a context reply to my first comment above – AAM, please feel free to correct. Thanks!

  118. Policy Analyst at a Nonprofit*

    Job: A bit of lobbying (within c(3) limits), mostly writing briefs, coordinating events, working with enforcement agencies, supporting progressive public policy
    Location: DC
    Experience: 1.5 years in this field, 6.5 years of professional work experience overall
    Salary: $65,000

  119. Business Analyst*

    I’m responsible for data collection and analysis and creating reports for a cancer center. This involves a lot of forecasting and financial analyses.
    Area:Baltimore, Maryland
    Years of experience: 2 years
    $51K
    When I was hired I thought this salary seemed low but just figured it was due to the lower cost of living. It turns out I was completely low-balled and there are other people in my role who make market rate. Luckily I just received a new job offer with a 30% raise!

    1. business analyst too*

      I do reporting and analytics, presentations on that data, project management and am a subject matter expert in one area.

      Cleveland

      52,000 but an external hired into this role would make around 10k more.

      1 year in the role, 6 years industry experience in other roles

  120. Information Analyst*

    Area – Northern England
    Experience – 11 years at my current organisation and 4 years in information provision/analysis
    Salary £22.5K – $27.4 according to google.

    I produce dashboards and monthly reports on service delivery in excel – moving into using oracle and sql more though.

  121. Endeavors*

    Assistant to the Chair (of a mid sized academic department at a state U) (Which translates to an entry level admin)
    $38k/year
    great health ins, 15 days vacation leave, 11 days sick time annually.

  122. Statistician*

    Statistician for federal agency
    Southeast, major metro area
    10+ years and a masters degree in statistics. (Most people in similar jobs have a PhD.)
    Salary: $110,000 ( I’m a federal employee on the GS scale)

    1. Statistician*

      Statistician for a marketing company
      Colorado metro area (I never know how to describe CO – midwest? West? Southwest?)
      5 years and a masters in stats
      87,000
      Medium benefits – pretty good health, some remote work, we just switched to unlimited PTO but it’s not clear how comfortable our management will be with us actually using it

  123. HR Generalist*

    salary mid 60’s
    excellent benefit package and training budget
    Carolinas–metropolitan area
    academic/educational

  124. Registered Massage Therapist*

    Job: Regulated health care professional providing massage therapy
    Location: Toronto, Ontario
    Experience: 1 year
    Salary: $50,000

  125. Analytics Manager*

    Analyze customer transactional data, build statistical models, strategic analytics, manage three direct reports for Fortune 500 company with $10B revenue worldwide.
    Chicago, IL
    16 years of experience and have an MBA from a top business school
    $126,000 plus bonus averaging around 15% and profit sharing

    1. Transactions manager*

      I have a very similar job in NJ paying 72k. Getting a raise to 80k soon. I am sans MBA and our revenue is closer to 80M though

  126. Customer Research Director*

    Establish, monitor, analyze, interpret, and disseminate various research mechanisms along the customer journey to inform and facilitate an evolving and more customer-centric experience. Insight is used to refine product features/functions, strengthen sales and marketing strategy, identify cross-sell/up-sell opportunities and enhance the overall, end-to-end customer experience.
    Location: northeastern US
    Experience: 30 years
    Base salary: $160,000 plus bonus based on overall company performance

  127. Agricultural Engineer*

    Providing technical support to farmers throughout province on a large range of issues (current focus is reducing the risk of barn fires). Also provide technical input into related codes.

    London, Ontario
    $83,000 (union, pension and benefits)

    Work/life balance is emphasised. Unionized position, but significant professional development focus. Great working environment with coworkers who want you to succeed. If wage is >$100k, it gets publicly reported(ouch!).

  128. Editor*

    -Editing and quality control for our (written) products; also writing press releases and editing/proofing most external communications for 45 person company
    -Washington, DC metro area
    -14 years relevant experience
    -$61,500/year

  129. TuesdayBlah*

    Job – Web Marketing Copywriter for a hospital. Create and execute digital content strategy and creation: social, web content, SEO, search.
    Location: Fairfield County, CT
    Experience: 10+ years
    Salary: $75,000
    Other data: Bachelor’s Degree: English and Spanish. Go figure. Non-profit and very small team, so not much room for growth/promotion unless there’s a need.

  130. Associate Advisory Specialist*

    Employer: Multi-national insurance brokerage firm
    Duties: help build E&O programs for large professional firms
    Location: NYC
    Experience: I’ve been in the insurance business for 20 years; this employer for 11 years and this position 3 years. Salary: $72,000

    (AFAIK, this is the starting salary for anyone in this position, at this location, regardless of experience. I was originally hired as a senior admin @ $60,000 and received two or three COL increases before being promoted. I have not received an increase in pay in the last 3 years.)

  131. Policy Analyst*

    Health Policy Analyst working in medical regulation.
    Toronto, Canada
    1 year experience in this role – 5 years in career overall
    Master’s degree required – Law or Health Backgrounds preferred.
    Starting – $80,000/yr

    1. Senior policy analyst*

      Developing policy initiatives for central government (at present Workplace Health and Safety).
      Wellington, New Zealand
      18 years experience
      Degree required, legal or economics qualifications preferred.
      Starting salary NZ$80,000 (roughly US$55,000). Current salary $140 000 (about US$100 000)

  132. Control Systems Engineer*

    Job includes programming automation and electrical/instrumentation work.

    Oil refinery located in Rocky Mountains region

    Salary: $98,000 plus bonus

    1. Controls Engineer*

      Job: About the same as above, add 25-75% travel (distance < 5 hour drive) and some project management and computer repair
      Location: Midwest
      Experience: 4 years
      Salary: $65k
      Anything else:
      The average for 5 years outside of the oil industry is probably closer to $75-80k, but we also receive these benefits:
      – Bonus averages $10k
      – 3% yearly raise all but guaranteed, can go higher but not every year
      – Profit sharing/401k (not usually necessary to do your own saving once it kicks in)
      – Company car for travel, accounting calculates tax for whatever personal use you want to do
      – You can live wherever you want in the region once you're established, remote work is the norm when clients aren't requesting you in person
      – Excessive overtime, holiday work, and night/weekend travel happens, but you are compensated either by bonuses or extra free time off depending on how much (and how much you've not had much to do the rest of that year). At a minimum, you'll get enough days off to avoid burnout.

      1. Control Systems Engineer (Manager)*

        Job: Automation programming and electrical work for a food and beverage company. Low travel (only for tradeshows and vendor visits), some project management and I manage a team of electrical/controls technicians. Based in a manufacturing plant, have to provide 24/7 support for issues if my team cannot resolve it.
        Location: Southwest
        Experience: 6 years
        Salary: $92K + ~10% bonus each year
        – 401k matching and good health insurance, can get free/discounted food from the company
        Other notes:
        – Starting salary out of school was ~$65K, was with a different company but would have been similar at my current employer. On the higher side for starting in the industry as a whole.
        – I have worked for a few of the “consumer goods companies who own everything” in the Midwest and Southwest, pay was comparable across companies and did not vary much geographically. There is a cost of living adjustment for expensive cities but generally not worth enough to compensate for the increased costs, only makes sense to take those roles if you want to live in the HCOL area for other reasons.
        – As an engineer you will rarely get OT pay, you almost always will as a technician. May not hold true if you work for a supplier/vendor to plants.
        – Workload can vary significantly with the industry and company. More than 40 is the norm but some jobs have no operations on weekends or very good support coverage so outside of hours support is minimal and only for real emergencies. Others are like the awful IT support roles you see in other posts where they are called at 2AM on a regular basis and work 60+ hours frequently with no extra compensation. Some roles require night shift work. Burnout has been a concern in one of my roles.
        – This is an aging career field that is in need of young talent. Most of my reports, coworkers, and networking contacts are within 15 years of retiring. There is difficulty in filling many of the roles out there already and it is likely to grow more difficult when retirements kick in. Without an internal succession plan filling positions typically takes months rather than weeks.

  133. Trust & Safety*

    I make sure users on our platform are safe, and not doing anything illegal (think child porn)
    Midwest – Smallish city
    5 years
    $62,000

  134. Credit Broker*

    Job: Broking credit insurance for a portfolio of clients.
    Geographical Area: Northern England
    Experience: Entry Level (I took this role last year, previous experience: 11 years in customer service, 3 years in credit control)
    Salary: £20,500

  135. Senior Underwriter*

    Commercial insurance underwriter – I’m responsible for the renewal policy and endorsement activity for many small businesses… and for the profitability of my territory.
    Location: mid-size city in the SE
    Experience: 5 years in current job, 27 in industry
    Salary: $62k plus bonus of up to 15 percent, 401k and decent vacation

  136. Marketing Coordinator*

    I work for a mid-sized nonprofit and coordinate print, digital, and social media marketing efforts. I also plan 2 conferences and a few small training events a year. I manage some projects, but no people. In my organization, I’m considered the next step up from entry level.
    Midwestern city
    3 years of experience
    $44,000

    1. Events & Marketing Coordinator*

      Area: Washington DC Metro area
      Company: Environmental and community focused nonprofit.
      Job: Planning and running in-house events (a few large and numerous small). Attending external events. Creating, writing, and editing promotional materials to publicize events and the organization. Manage team of on-call events staff.
      Experience: Relevant masters degree, some event experience, and a communications-based internship. This is my first marketing job; I started last month.
      Salary: $20/hr, full time

    2. Marketing Coordinator, too!*

      I work for a mid-sized public company and also handle print, digital, and social media marketing efforts. I support the Director of Marketing and the CMO. I train interns when they come in and manage them (for the most part).

      Southern California
      4 years work experience
      2 in marketing
      2 in my current role

      Just shy of $52,000. Standard/good benefits – 2 weeks vacation, 12 days paid holidays, 401K with some matching, health/dental/eye insurance. Work/life balance is good. I’m eligible for OT pay as well since I’m hourly. Since I handle social media, I have to work some weekends. The OT is pretty nice in those situations.

  137. Procurement Coordinator*

    Role: Determine best procurement method for internal business clients, provide guidance to procurement personnel for agreement creation
    Location: TX (major city)
    Experience: 7 years
    Salary: $90k

    Bachelor’s degree received prior to hiring on, Master’s degree received while working and not accounted for in compensation (company doesn’t give raises for completion of higher degrees, only given if you hire on with that degree)

    1. Procurement Coordinator*

      Should also say I get a 401k with solid match and a pension. Decent vacation now that I have some tenure and good work/life balance.

    2. Transactions manager*

      This is interesting, I thought coordinator roles would never pay that much so haven’t applied to one in many years goes to show how misleading titles can be

  138. Document Control Specialist*

    Make sure all technical documentation adheres to formatting standards, manage major revisions to the documentation by keeping track of who’s doing what and when things are due, audit all documentation for compliance with state and federal law.

    Phoenix, AZ
    4 years experience as a technical writer with a BS
    $42,500

    Currently working for a medical industry non-profit.

  139. Quality Systems Specialist*

    Quality Systems Specialist – Metrics generation, data analysis and statistics. Aerospace industry.
    Greater Seattle/Everett/Tacoma metro are.
    >5 years in this particular job, >8 in QA/QC type positions in general.
    $76,000 per year, great healthcare, matching 401(k), tons of vacation time.

  140. Exec Assistant*

    In higher ed. Typical EA duties plus some project management.
    Midwest
    5
    $47,000
    Excellent benefits

  141. Data Analyst*

    It’s a mixed bag. Some of the work is ETL development (extract, transform, and load), some of it is writing SQL reports for various folks, and some of it is doing database design work as part of the development process.
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    2 years at this job, 1 year in marketing, and about 2.5 years of thesis/coop experience in other fields
    $52,000 CAD

    1. Data Analyst*

      I should also follow up, I get 100% dental & health coverage on top of OHIP (up to some fairly reasonable limits), including drugs and most paramedical (physio, psychologist, massage, chiropractics, etc…)

  142. Environmental Specialist*

    Run an Environmental Department for heavy industry, dealing with haz waste, water, air and sewer permits, etc.
    SF Bay Area
    10 years exp
    $95,000
    Geography skews salary. $100k is barely a living wage in SF. I work two other jobs.

  143. Member Services Associate*

    Volunteer management, archive administration, backup member support
    DFW, TX
    5 years
    $40,000
    Non-profit, great health and retirement benefits.

  144. HRIS Database Type position*

    Manage two data entry folks, responsible for all data integrity for all 6,000 ish employees’ job and personal data at a state university. Involves cleaning up previous folks’ messes and streamlining everything I can get my hands on while still moving forward.
    Pacific Northwest
    10 years HR/data
    $54,000
    almost 5 weeks vacation, excellent benefits, decent boss, state job, wicked fast pace.

  145. Events Coordinator*

    Assist coordination of weekly guest speakers at a school, from booking the space to RSVPs, to setting up the night of and making sure the event goes smoothly. I also help with end of semester showcases of student work and the graduation ceremonies.

    Los Angeles, California

    First real job out of college, 1 year experience

    29k, full time (currently 15/hr, started at 12/hr part time)

  146. Epidemiologist*

    Epidemiologist with federal agency
    DC metro
    8 years (5 years professional full time work (before and after PhD) plus 3 years as graduate researcher)
    salary: $101K

    1. Another Epidemiologist*

      Epidemiologist with a provincial healthcare agency
      Canada (large metro area, for the sake of being vague)
      I have 3 years of work experience and an M.Sc, which was required for my role
      salary: $71,000

      1. Another Epidemiologist*

        Should also add: defined benefit pension plan, excellent health benefits, more than 20 days of vacation per year and educational support ($$) available.

  147. Account Manager*

    Small tech company, managing B2B accounts.
    $75K base + up to $90+K with performance bonus. Bonus typically expected. Great benefits with time off and HC covered.
    NYC – HCOL.
    5-6 years of experience.
    Likely below market based on city and COL, but the benefits are great with sharp working hours (9-6 and almost no on stays past 6), understanding boss, and work/clients I enjoy.

  148. Records Mgmt/ Information Mgmt/ Privacy*

    Job: writing policies and procedures for RM & privacy issues; reviewing surveys and research proposals for compliance with privacy legislation; providing consultation and group training on all of the above.

    Industry: Government
    Geographic area: Toronto
    Years of experience: 10+
    Salary range: $80,000 – $93,000 CDN

  149. Communications Specialist*

    Communications Specialist at an industry regulatory agency, handling website, publications, communications planning etc.
    Greater Toronto area
    Bachelor’s degree and four years of experience
    $63,000 (CAD) plus generous benefits, sick leave, three weeks vacation

  150. jeneria*

    Associate Professor at a small engineering college
    Upper Midwest
    8 years at this job plus a PhD and about 10 years as an instructor/grad assistant
    $61,000

    1. Assistant Professor*

      Assistant Professor of engineering at mid-range public university
      Bay Area
      I’m in my second year; I came in with a PhD + 1 year teaching experience (my field is unsaturated at the faculty level, so a postdoc was not needed)
      ~$92,000 academic year salary, plus generous benefits, sick leave, pension (!!!), summers “off” (LOL…most of us work all summer anyway)

  151. Doctumentary / Commercial Producer*

    – Producer for commercials and documentary films. Technically freelance but I work exclusively with one company.
    – 10 years of experience in the biz but only 6 months in this role
    – New York City
    – ~$100k but being freelance it could swing between 80-120k depending on the year.
    – No insurance or 401k but very flexible schedule.

      1. Manager of HR, Finance & Operations*

        I just laughed until I cried after reading your 2nd comment. I can’t stop and people walking by are worried.

  152. Admin Assistant*

    Answer phones, create service tickets, do A/P and A/R, and data entry & clean-up for small tech company.
    Pacific Northwest
    Less than 1 year
    $16/hr

  153. Relocation Consultant*

    I manage international relocations from end to end, acting as the relocating employee’s ponit person as well as working with the client and the providers for the employee’s approved benefits.
    Saint Louis, MO
    2 years in the field, 7 years in the international field in general
    $46,000/year, salaried, plus various bonuses for meeting certain metrics throughout the year
    I’m one of the higher-paid consultants at my company, and the range is around 42-48K

    1. Relocation Consultant*

      Oops, I mean *point* person!

      Also, for benefits, I get 2 WFH days per week, 18 days vacation, insurance through the company, and they match up to 3% of 401(k) contributions after 3 years.

  154. Admin Assistant*

    –As an admin assistant I manage the office of a smallish, newish startup, do supply runs and order stuff we’re running out of, I do the filing for HR, onboard new employees, update benefits in HR software, answer the phones, and do a lot of scheduling for travel and events
    –Southern Wisconsin
    –3 years admin experience
    –$29,120 ($14/hour)

    I get insurance and the vacation time is nice but I really like how the hours are more flexible than my previous job.

  155. Editorial Director*

    job: Oversee daily operations for 100 print titles annually. Manage 2 part time editors as well as relationships with ~10 outside partners.
    geographic area: NYC
    years of experience: 15
    salary: $103k
    context: It’s a very well known nonprofit media company focused on children. Salaries are meant to be market value, but usually a little lower. Benefits are robust, and company culture is pretty positive. My manager and team are amazing and I love working with them.

  156. Auditor (IV)*

    Current Salary: $49,509
    Job: “auditor” for state government healthcare agency… responsible for reviewing financial data submitted by providers to determine payments from state to provider
    Region: Southeast… more specifically, the Carolinas
    Experience: 5.5 years
    Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration majoring in Accounting and International Business, Master of Science in Accounting
    *No professional certificates or licenses

    1. Auditor (IV)*

      Forgot benefits… state values my fringes at nearly $25K…
      Insurance: health (portion is state-funded, remainder is withheld), dental (withheld), supplemental LTD (withheld), life (withheld), medical spending accounts optional (withheld)
      Retirement: pension with state match, optional deferred comp, can buy years of service in standard pension program
      Misc: dependent care accounts optional (withheld)

  157. Finance Director*

    Oversee the financial operations for a small-ish nonprofit, heavily funded by federal money. I work with Program Directors to develop and maintain operating budgets for their program. I provide financial reports to the Board of Directors on a monthly basis, prepare the annual financial reports and statements for auditors, develop and maintain current financial policies and procedures that are in accordance with Uniform Guidance and the new Head Start performance standards. I manage the Accounting/Benefits Specialist and the Accounting/Human Resources Generalist. I’m also the unofficial Director of IT. I handle all IT issues here and call our IT contractor when it’s something I can’t handle.

    Southwest Virginia
    I have about 10 years experience in accounting-type roles such as Bookkeeper, Staff Accountant and that type of thing, but I’ve only been in this position for a little over 2 years.
    $42,737

    The area I work in is pretty economically depressed. This salary is not bad considering the area, I suppose, but if it were in a for-profit setting, I imagine it would be higher. We have some pretty good perks, extra holidays based on state government holiday schedule, great personal leave (8.31 earned every pay period which is bi-weekly) and health insurance is okay – nothing to write home about for sure, but it’s better than nothing.

    1. Operations & Finance Manager*

      Piggybacking on you because similarities.

      In charge of operations and finance in a small nonprofit. Mostly office manager type tasks, payroll, budgeting, bookkeeping, monthly financial reports, grant management and reports, HR liaison (we outsource) and unofficial IT help desk.

      Chicago, IL, USA

      2 years in this role and 5 in a prior (program) role in the same organization. I don’t have a degree in finance (not even close) so we have a CPA who consults at audit time and with my bonehead questions throughout the year.

      $48,000

      Decent benefits (medical, dental/vision, 401k [without matching]) I also get 200 hours of paid vacation time each year (5 weeks) plus 96 hours paid sick time, some government holidays and a full week at the end of the year. Nonprofits really do like trading time off for salaries don’t they!

  158. Application Security Engineer*

    I work for a large company that develops its own software. My job is to work with the developers to make sure our stuff can’t get hacked.

    Washington DC
    10 years exp
    $130,000 + 10% bonus ~ 143,000

  159. Content Manager*

    Your job: I wear pretty much every hat possible in digital marketing at a small law firm. One day I’m doing a content audit on the website, the next I’m laying out a book for print. I’m still learning a lot and picking up new skills as I need them. I have two managers who also work in the marketing department and I don’t oversee anyone, so although I have “manager” in my job title, I don’t actually manage people.
    Your geographic area: Seattle
    Your years of experience: 1 in marketing, 3.5 in an admin position before that
    Your salary: I’m paid hourly at $19 an hour, 40 hours a week, with very occasional overtime. Nice benefits, although our health insurance can be kind of a pain to use.
    Anything else pertinent to put that number in context: There’s no income tax in Washington state, but the sales tax is ~10%, higher on some items like liquor. I think the average one bedroom in the city is going for $2,000 per month these days; I pay way less because I split expenses for a cheap (and not totally legal) one bedroom with my partner.

  160. Purchasing Specialist/DBE Program Manager*

    Buy material and services for natural gas and oil pipeline projects domestically. Also make sure we meet our clients’ diversity goals for the federal and state regulatory agencies

    Chicago-land

    10+ years of supply chain and supplier development

    $71,000, this is pretty much the market rate for my level. Different types of buyers in different industries varies from $35k to $100k.

    ◾anything else pertinent to put that number in context

    1. Buyer of Finished Goods/Accessories*

      Buyer-I get to purchase kitchen appliances for outdoor and indoor cooking
      Location: Chicago-land
      Experience: 5 years- 3 years in logistics and 2 years in purchasing
      Salary: $62,000 + possible $1000 bonus

  161. Administrative Professional*

    Job: Executive/personal assistant, receptionist, event coordinator at a real estate investment/private equity firm. I provide administrative/calendar support to the 4 partners with a focus on the Managing Partner and CFO, assist with planning our yearly investor meeting, and coordinate all office events such as the holiday party and other meetings.

    Geographic area: Boston, MA

    Experience: 3 years of experience in this role (6 prior years of retail management).

    Salary: $61K + bonus (last year I grossed $78k) + medical & dental fully paid for

    Yes, my title is actually “Administrative Professional” (which I find to be more of a category than an actual position, but I don’t have any control over it).

    1. Administrative Professional*

      Also to follow up I do not have a college degree as I started working full-time right out of high school. I feel pretty stuck as I don’t think I’ll ever find a job that will match this salary with my qualifications.

      1. Administrative Professional*

        Another follow up, since I see other commenters mentioning it, I get 3 weeks paid vacation, 10 sick days, and 10 paid holidays per year. There is no additional vacation accrual for length of time worked here.

    2. Hello it's me*

      I apologize if I’m being a bother, but may I ask how and where you found your role? I also live in Boston and do what sounds like very similar work to you, but am making half of your base pay with no bonus. I have 2 less years of experience than you, but I do have a college degree. I’m looking to move up and would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

      1. Administrative Professional*

        I actually went through a staffing agency and this was the first place that made me an offer. I started at $40k. Look for a job in finance – that’s where all the money is.

      2. Administrative Professional*

        But also you kind of have to be okay with selling your soul to the devil a little bit, IMHO.

    3. PA/EA*

      Job: Personal/Executive Assistant

      Geographic area: midwest

      Experience: 7 years direct experience

      Salary: $104K/year (no benefits)

  162. Assistant Managing Editor*

    I work at a magazine. I am in charge of running the print close, which means overseeing every step from the issue’s lineup being set, to text and images being turned in, layouts being designed, and stories being edited, fact-checked and printed in various stages of proof before being shipped off to the actual printers. I see the production of the magazine through, essentially as a project manager, minus charts and graphs. I’m also responsible for tracking the editorial budget (content costs and general overhead for the brand on the editorial side). I approve and process vendor invoices and act as a guru of sorts for other staff who have questions ranging from deadline-related queries to “how do I get the heat turned up in my office?”. I also help staff with their expenses and vet and approve their expense reports. Mostly I’m a professional babysitter.

    Years of Experience: I’ve been in the “working world” full time since 2008-2009, I’ve been in my direct industry for 3/4 years.
    Salary: $70,000 a year plus benefits (decent health insurance, dental, 401K, legal) 15 vacation days per year, and paid holidays.

    Note: 70K in NYC goes about as far as 45-50K per year in other cities. Also, my industry is dying. I’ve already been laid off once and every year feels like Russian Roulette with budgeting and staffing cuts, and that’s if your magazine continues to publish altogether.

    1. Magazine editor*

      Hey, fellow magazine person! Commiserations on the death of the industry. I’ve been working in magazines since 2010 so I’ve had a front-row seat to the dismantling of the industry. Right now I’m the only staff member of my niche title (my salary is $40k). I’ve been wondering if the solution is to move to a bigger market, like NYC, so it’s useful if depressing to see that things are just as unstable there. Mind if I ask you a few questions on a open thread later or something?

      1. Assistant Managing Editor*

        Hi!
        Absolutely! Magazines today are like vinyl in the 80s. The end is nigh, and the staffs and titles are shrinking and shrinking.
        I’ll pop in on an open thread under this handle next time I see one! :)

        1. Managing Editor*

          Hi, I edit magazines as well (for a consumer audience, but custom magazines with industry clients as sponsors)… we’ve had major cuts but are doing a lot in the digital space, and fortunately enough to not rely on newsstands for distribution. Will look for your open thread! :)

  163. Optical Media Team Lead*

    Technical team lead for producing DVD and Blu-ray end-user products for entertainment industry
    Los Angeles
    15 years in the industry, 10 years in this position
    $95,000 per annum

    I’m in the unusual situation of commanding an ever-higher salary in a rapidly-contracting field. Going to keep riding this gravy train until rising oil prices shut off the flow of DVD plastic.

  164. Senior Policy Analyst*

    – Responsibilities: Produce original quantitative and qualitative policy research for publication in journals and magazines, in addition to reports and op-eds. Present research at conferences and before policymakers. Initiate and coordinate the production of new policy research projects.
    – Location: Washington, DC
    – 7 years relevant experience, Masters degree
    – $65,000

  165. IT Manager*

    IT Manager form an SME Architects firm in central London.
    your geographic area
    LONDON UK
    your years of experience
    20+
    your salary
    £54,000

    1. IT Manager*

      IT manager for a law firm that handles oil & gas, litigation and transactional things. I manage the network, VoIP phones, end user support
      I am based in central Texas, my firm has offices in 4 Texas cities
      15 years experience in IT
      $70k/year

      1. IT Director*

        IT Manager

        Manufacturing plant. Handle network, website, all computer systems, programmer(s), phone system, end user support.

        Based in SC
        Degrees held: BS and MS in CS
        years of experience: 25 Years
        Salary: $102 (+~$30k in bonuses)
        2 weeks vacation (that’s all anyone gets), full medical, 401k

  166. Association Manager*

    Your Job: Manager at a national professional association. Manages the development and delivery of all educational services offered nationwide. Supervises a staff of 4.
    your geographic area: Midwest (although some people would argue that we are located in a plains state not a midwestern one)
    your years of experience: 15 years
    your salary: 68K

    1. Association Manager*

      I would also toss in that we have bonuses that can be as much as 10% of your salary, and a very generous vacation allowance. I get 30 days of vacation (new employee’s begin with 20 days), and a decent 401K match.

  167. Technical Writer*

    Write software documentation for end-users based on notes from developers and personal research. Create images/illustrations to accompany the documentation and enhance comprehension. Update previously written documentation as necessary.

    Scottsdale, AZ
    BS in computer science, 1 year as a programmer
    $40,000

    Working for a subsidiary of Reynolds & Reynolds.

  168. Administrative Assistant*

    I am the office manager for a branch office of an F100 financial services org.

    Minneapolis

    15

    $58k

  169. Data Warehouse Developer*

    Job: Data Warehouse Developer in Higher Education. I work with PeopleSoft enterprise cloud-based installations pulling data into various data warehouses and data marts to meet business, federal, and state reporting requirements. Our IT department has 110 people, while the overall business has more than 14,000 employees.
    Geographic area: Phoenix
    Years of experience: 4 years in this role, 12 years with the company, 20 years in Information Technology
    Salary: $102,000 (Government position on a fixed pay scale)

    1. Data Warehouse Developer*

      Forgot to mention, I have a BS in Business Management and a Master’s Degree in Information Management.

  170. Technical Writer*

    ◾Technical writer for a small software company: specifically, user-facing documentation.
    ◾Vancouver, BC, Canada
    ◾10 years experience
    ◾$70,000 CAD

  171. Associate Scientist*

    Associate scientist in cell biology at a small biotech company focusing on cancer therapeutics.
    San Francisco/Bay Area
    PhD with 0+ years industry experience or 8+ years industry experience (I have been in my position for a 1.5 years now, started immediately after getting my PhD)
    Salary: $97,500 + up to 7% cash bonus + equity worth around $12,000 (vested over 4 years)

  172. ESL Teacher*

    ESL teaching somewhere in South America.
    $8k a year.
    This may seem irrelevant because of my geographic location, but I’m posting because so many people think this is the dream, “I’ll go off on an adventure and teach English somewhere if things don’t work out,” but good luck paying for your plane ticket back home.

    1. Former ESL Teacher in Brazil*

      Yep, it just doesn’t seem real for people elsewhere what little money you get paid in around here and after conversion how laughable it all becomes. I was born in Brazil and it took me a long time to be able to afford the plane ticket to visit anywhere outside South America. Besides, immigrating legally to Brazil, for instance, is just as hard and annoying as trying to do the same to the US or Europe.

    2. Former ESL teacher in France*

      Another former ESL teacher:
      – I made 18 EUR/hr (brut) in private language schools (5-20 hours/week depending on demand)
      – then 800 EUR/month (net) for a 7 month contract
      – then 1250 EUR/month (net) for a 12-month university contract.

      The last job was just fine, but the others were pretty rough financially!

      Now I’m back in the US training to be a project manager.

    3. Elementary School Teacher*

      I thought about going that route for a while. The Internet was like, “You can save so much because it’s so cheap to live in other countries!” Then I looked at the actual salaries.

  173. student records coordinator*

    Job: track graduate student progress from matriculation-graduation, also coordinate supplemental certificate programs and additional training
    Geographic area: major east coast city
    Years of experience: 7 (5 in higher ed; 2 in this specific job)
    Salary: $51,500
    Private R1 University

  174. HR Assistant/ Receptionist*

    Reston (Washington DC metro area/ Northern Virginia)
    Entry level/ just a few months
    34k
    bonuses 2x a year

  175. Associate Director, Public Relations*

    Job: Associate Director of Public Relations at a university
    Geographic area: Larger city in Midwest
    Years of experience: about 15
    Salary: $62,000/year
    I also get 100% tuition remission for myself and my family. So my kids will be able to go to this school for free. I received a free masters degree. So that’s certainly a part of my income as well.

    1. Assistant Director, Media Relations*

      I’m also an assistant director at a university in a medium-sized city in the Great Lakes area!
      Duties: I research, write and edit news releases about faculty research and campus events, pitch stories to media, and generally fill in where needed in our small office. I have a BA in a related field.
      Years of experience: ~1 in my current role but about 5 at the university I’m at and 10+ in this field
      Salary: about $52,000/year
      Benefits are great: 3 weeks vacation, retirement contributions, good health insurance, WFH options, and tons of professional development opportunities

  176. Project Associate*

    your job: assist consultants (at consulting firm) in managing client-facing projects (tax compliance, legal consulting, etc) and handling of administrative issues
    your geographic area: eastern Massachusetts
    your years of experience: 4 summer jobs, 1 year abroad full time, 3.5 years in US full time
    your salary: $47,000/year
    benefits: good health insurance, unlimited PTO
    anything else pertinent to put that number in context: corporate, for-profit company

  177. Financial Analyst*

    Job: Financial Analyst
    Role: Senior FP&A analyst for a Fortune 500.
    Location: NYC
    Experience: 1 year largely unrelated, 2 years related
    Education: BA in English, Master of Accounting
    Pay: $75,000

    I have a hunch I’m on the underpaid side, but I love my company and there’s lots of room for growth here. Plus I walked into a position looking for 3-5 years of experience with just under 2 of FP&A work, so I’m content. Great work life balance.

  179. Accountant I*

    Mostly Accounts Payable with other additional duties; reconciling, providing support for employee reimbursement, some cash entries, whatever else the boss thinks of, etc…
    Location: Northern Florida
    Experience: 2.5 years
    Salary: $44,000 plus yearly bonus, profit share (small, basically another little bonus), 120 hours PTO rolled over every year, decent insurance, and I get merit raises every year.

    1. Accountant - Non-Profit*

      Title: Accountant, non-profit agency, <100 employees, $4.5m annual budget
      Responsibilities: Payroll, AR/AP, budget mgmt, federal grant mgmt/reporting/billing, cash receipts, financial reporting, JE, purchasing, HR overlap (benefits, policies, etc.), misc other hats (non-profit fun).
      Location: Midwest state, outside of large metropolitan city
      Experience: 5 years corporate mgmt/finance, 2.5 current agency
      Current Salary: $47k annually
      Additional benefits: PTO (150 hrs per calendar year, increases with time worked) , observed paid holidays, cafeteria benefits plan (lots of options, affordable, good coverage), 401k with employer matching, work/life balance and work site culture is exceptional.

  180. Technical Writer*

    Writer/Editor for the US Government
    Washington, DC
    4 years of experience, plus a master’s degree
    $75,000

  181. Assistant Director of Communications*

    I do all aspects of communications – marketing, email marketing, social media, and even some graphic design for a large non-profit.

    Baltimore, MD
    4 years exp
    $49,000

  182. Librarian*

    – Academic Librarian at a liberal arts college
    – MLS required, second masters preferred (I do have one)
    – Non-metro Midwest
    – 7th year
    -$54,000/yr

  183. Office/Project Mgr-Construction*

    Manage accounting assistants (6+employees), contract reviews, COI tracking, proposals, change orders, budget analysis, project tracking, and sometimes manage smaller jobs.
    Southwest-Arizona
    15 years experience, this position 10 years-all with the same company-no college experience
    salary $62,400
    $3600 vehicle allowance & gas card (appx $2600 annually)
    job and year end bonuses of $10k+ last year
    Full benefits

  184. Political Compliance Manager*

    Job: Sole Senior Associate in midsize political compliance firm. FEC filing, banking reconciliation, Lobbying Disclosure Act, etc. This field used to be cyclical, based on election cycles, but given the trend for campaigns to start earlier and earlier it’s more or less flat with very busy hours (similar to BigLaw) during campaign season.

    Area: Washington, DC

    Experience: 8 years total (2.5 as an intern with a govt agency while in law school), 5 years in my particular field. I have JD, am barred in a neighboring state, but never worked in a traditional practice.

    Salary: $55,000/year no bonus and I take benefits through my partner’s firm. Minor transit allowance.

  185. Recruiting Specialist*

    Job: Recruiting professional staff for a private top tier research university.
    Area: Southeast US
    Years of experience: 2.5 in recruiting, 6 total in higher ed
    Salary: $51K
    Add’l info: Generous benefits and vacation/sick leave. Have a master’s degree. Started in recruiting at 42K, then 45K, then 51K.

    1. Recruiting Specialist*

      Should also add that I received approx. 10K over 3 years in tuition reimbursement toward my master’s.

  186. Senior Financial Examiner*

    I work for a government entity that regulates insurance companies. I’m in a mid-management position.
    geographic area: Missouri
    years of experience: 6+ with this organization, I am CPA and have about 10 yrs general experience
    salary: $91k (and some change)
    pertinent info: working for the government, my salary is what it is. Everyone with this job is paid the exact same. I travel 80-100% of the time, but I work 4 10’s, so I have 3-day weekends, which helps make up for it.

  187. Web Administrator*

    * Web administrator for [Federal agency]
    * Washington DC metro area
    * 12 years performing these duties, 18 years in this industry
    * $78K + $2K bonus (Bonuses here can vary a little but generally are very consistent, and I’ve never heard of someone not getting one, so I consider my current salary $80K.)

    Great benefits, including telework.

    1. Web Administrator*

      Oh, probably should have said: I do everything from content management to web development to quality assurance and task management for web programming projects.

  188. Manager of Student Activities*

    • Coordinate and implement all aspects of extra-circular events and activities.
    • Collaborate with faculty to coordinate and implement all aspects of co-curricular events and activities.
    • Collaborate with Dean of Diversity and Diversity Committee to ensure a singular approach to cultural education and awareness activities.
    • Collaborate with President’s Office and appointed liaisons in support of major college-wide event initiatives.
    • Ensure completion of essential events in support of Title IX, diversity and strategic initiatives.
    • Ensure Student Activities participants meet eligibility requirements set by the Board of Trustees.
    • Develop relationships with vendors to purchase group tickets and other event services.
    • Coordinate the ticket sale process in conjunction with the Cashier’s Office.
    • Track ticket sales to analyze return on investments and determine continuation of events.
    • Collaborate with local non-profit community fundraising agencies to develop relationships and secure large-scale, on-campus community fundraising events.
    • Work with non-profit agencies to develop, organize and implement fundraising events.
    • Coordinate on-campus community fundraising event logistics committee to arrange facilities and campus resources.
    • Develop annual report for on-campus community fundraising outcomes, to include community members on campus and total funds raised.
    • Organize annual department challenge to encourage participation in fundraising events from faculty, staff and students.
    • Work with the Red Cross to hold and promote on-campus community blood drives.
    • Coordinate marketing and promotion of all Student Activities and ensure accurate and timely dissemination of information to students, staff and faculty.
    • Provide Director with weekly report on Student Activities programming.
    • Provide direct supervision to the Student Activities Part-Time Student Staff and Work Study positions.
    • Oversee onboarding, training, delegation, scheduling, payroll and oversight of the Part-Time Student Staff and Work Study positions.
    • Oversee the creation and completion of the staff duties in support of Student Activities, Student Organizations and the Department of Student Development and Activities.
    • Collaborate with Technical Assistant on budgeting, purchasing and financial record-keeping.
    • Effectively communicate college policies, department procedures, and student responsibilities to staff, faculty, club advisers and students.

    Region: Midwest at a somewhat large community college
    10 years experience
    Salary: $58,771

    1. Manager of Student Activities*

      I should mention that the flexible hours, good benefits including health care, and a generous vacation package (30 days vacation per year, 13 paid holidays and 10 hours of sick leave per month), makes it difficult to leave this job, though compensation would surely be better elsewhere.

  189. Member Services*

    Mostly I do data entry/processing. I work with spreadsheets to enroll people in group insurance.
    Midsize Midwestern city
    6 years of experience in this role, I also have 10 years experience as an Administrative Assistant
    $15.42/hour USD

  190. Vehicle Engineer*

    Job: Design components/systems for a flying car, mostly structural or ground-drive related. Small company, so lots of related hats (vendor selection/management; test planning, overseeing/doing, and documenting; process writing/maintenance; more)
    Location: Northeast USA
    Experience: 18 years total; 2 years here
    Salary: $80,000/year. I could make more elsewhere ($20k pay cut to come here + lesser benefits), but it’s a flying car! And my boss & coworkers are awesome.

    3. irritable vowel*

      I’m seeing lots of jobs here that I would love Alison to do Q&As about! This one, the police dept. evidence room manager, the agricultural engineer who works on preventing barn fires…

    4. Master Bean Counter*

      Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’d trade off a bunch of stuff to be able to say I worked on a flying car. That’s just cool.

  191. Senior Development Associate*

    Job – Fundraising for a nonprofit. Primarily corporate relations but also some major donor stewardship
    Location – Boston
    Experience – 5 years total, 2 in fundraising/development
    Salary – $47,500

  192. Financial Administrator*

    Job – all accounting duties for a nonprofit organization–payables, payroll, general ledger, financial statements, audit preparation–as well as a variety of other tasks to keep things running, like troubleshooting computer issues, training volunteers, and running the website.
    Location: near Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Experience: 23 years, 13 at current position
    Salary: $49,700 (nonprofit–low pay, pretty good benefits)

  193. Customer Support Specialist*

    * Admin for a customer service team. Lots of administrative duties and cleaning up old messes, and some process improvement & training.

    * Indianapolis, IN

    * 4-8 years experience depending on what you see as relevant

    * $14/hr as a temp; permanent role is $30-35k/year with benefits, or $14-17/hr part time. I’ve gone above and beyond and would ask for more like $18-20/hr because I’ve expanded the role.

    1. Customer Support Specialist*

      Details about my job:
      My manager tells me that I’ve taken the job halfway between the administrative support it was designed for and the (currently empty) assistant manager role. I will be receiving a higher title as soon as we can figure out what it should be.

      When a customer service rep goes “This sucks and makes my job harder”, I figure out how to make the process better. So for example, our team shares a group inbox and receives thousands of emails a day. In addition to sorting out which email should go to which CSR, I’ve been automating more of how emails are color-coded, filed, and tagged. I coordinate account coverage when someone’s out, and I do a lot of the CSRs’ timesucking repetitive work like closing files for billing. Everything has been disorganized, with problems ignored for years, so I fix that.

      I do not have a bachelor’s degree.

  194. Potter/ PT Retail*

    Working as a cashier PT for $11/hr while I start up my own pottery business, mostly online.

    Since starting in July, have made almost $4,000 on my pottery, by working out of my house. Hoping to go at it full time by this time next year!

    BFA late in life, after making $35k/ year as a case manager for a non-profit, and many other admin/ office related jobs.

    1. Marisol*

      I think it would be ok to give a plug to your pottery business–I like to know about artisans who sell their own work and I’m sure others here would like to know too. Would you post your website so we can peruse?

    2. Awesomite*

      That is awesome to be able to make money creating art. I know it’s work, but it’s inspiring!

  195. Early Childhood Teacher*

    Specialist in infant and toddler development, no degree (some college), 8 years experience. Expensive for-profit preschool/childcare that pays similar wages at most locations in the US and Canada, regardless of cost of living.

    $11 an hour. I would get a 5% raise if I finished my degree.

    2. Teacher's Aide*

      Job: 4-year-old kindergarten teacher’s aide. I work with one licensed teacher and together we manage 2 classes in 2 different schools. Typical class size is 20-23 students. This is a public school district.

      Location: rural/small town Wisconsin (USA)

      Years of experience: 5.5

      Salary: $17,000 ($13.50/hr)

      I have a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field. My job only requires a high school degree, and my degree has no bearing on my rate of pay. As far as I know there is no possibility of negotiation for pay (at least for support staff) and experience does not affect pay (same hourly rate for everybody with the same position).

  196. CA Admin*

    Job: Administrative Assistant
    Salary: $65,000 / year + OT and bonuses (~$80,000 total in 2016)
    Location: San Francisco
    Industry: Private Equity
    Years of Experience: 2.5
    Other info: I was the firm’s Receptionist before moving into a AA role. I support 5 people, including a Partner, Principal, and VP. I do the work of the Executive Assistants at the firm (in terms of who I support) and am likely to be promoted in the next year.

  197. Public Information Officer*

    Area: Los Angeles
    Experience: 10 years
    Salary: 77,000

    Job – managing internal & external communications for local-level gov’t agency, incl. writing news articles & press releases, preparing executive briefings, handling media requests, responding to public inquiries, maintaining social media presence & occasional photo/graphics/layout work.

    1. Public Information Officer*

      experience clarification – <1 year at this job, 9+ in PR & digital marketing overall, primarily in nonprofits + a master's

  198. Project Manager*

    – My role as a project manager involves determining requirements, establishing priorities and monitoring progress. I evaluate project status and resource utilization and make recommendations to improve the team’s effectiveness by integrating agile tools and best practices. I conduct analysis on mid-sized, time-limited projects or components of larger projects and consult with business teams to develop new agile processes and policy solutions to address highly complex business needs.

    – Denver, CO

    – I have 3 years of project management experience in the fields of software development, telecommunications and the cable industry. I did not earn a Project Management Professional certification (PMP)

    – $76,000 annual salary + $7,000 in annual employer paid benefits (401k, HSA, dental and medical)

    – Factors that may have an influence on my salary

    1. I earned a Master of Science degree from the top ranked university (non-engineering) in the state, according to U.S. News & World Report (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-denver-1371)

    2. I asked for $85,000

  199. Student Affairs Administrator*

    Officially the “Associate Director for Student Conduct”
    Job: Oversee the office that handles all cases of student conduct for a college campus.
    Location: mid-size city in the midwest
    Salary: $55,000
    Experience/Education: 10 in the field of Student Affairs, graduate degree in higher education

  200. Applications Engineer*

    – Applications Engineer in the power industry
    Providing product and technical sales support, evaluating/processing RMA’s, staffing tradeshows.
    Only 2 apps engineers supporting the US region – other position is a senior-level employee with 11+ years with this company.
    – Wisconsin
    – BSEE in 2007
    8 years with a previous company supporting microcontroller-based products
    have been in my current role for almost 2 years.
    – 78,000 salary
    plus up to an additional 16% discretionary bonus (based on personal goals AND company performance) annually after the first year
    -24 days of PTO (incl. sick leave), 17 paid holidays
    -Health insurance premium is offset by company’s 401k contribution
    all health insurance copays are also eligible for reimbursement. (Swiss-based company ftw)

  201. Software Engineer - 15+ years*

    Software engineer – C++/Linux – EDA (currently, but other fields previously and they seem similar)

    Portland, Oregon metro
    15+ years experience

    Just over $100,000 a year, plus very good benefits (health; 401k matching; but also free gym membership and the like). Plus a 5% bonus scheme.

  202. Director of Operations*

    Job: finance, business, and logistics management for a small arts nonprofit/performing ensemble
    Area: NYC
    Years: <1 year in this job, 6 years in arts management overall
    Salary: $52,500

  203. Secretary in an Academic Archive*

    I perform the basic admin tasks (answering the phone, ordering supplies, filing) but also work on exhibits and preservation.
    New England
    3 years at this job, 4 years experience in general entry-level archival settings
    Starting $14/hr. Currently $15/hr
    Academia is of course wide and varied, $14/hr is (was) the basic starting rate for paraprofessionals. Benefits are good and I was able to receive tuition reimbursement while I worked on my Master’s. Unfortunately, now that I have my Master’s I’m underpaid for my qualifications.

  204. Technical Writer*

    Job: Write user documentation, including installation, developer, sysadmin, concepts, and API guides, release notes, and online help. Provide UX feedback and UI wording, edit developer-written content.
    Industry: Software/telecom.
    Geographical area: Big city in Ontario, Canada
    Years experience: 4
    Salary (before tax): 62,000
    Additional info: Giant company, flexible work environment, decent benefits (including dental and drug coverage, RRSP matching, 4 weeks vacation). I’m at the bottom of the level 3 salary band (level 1 being no experience, entry-level). We often don’t get a focal budget, so raises aren’t an every-year thing.

  205. Graphic Artist*

    Graphic Artist (non textile/non ad agency) I’ve done a little bit of this and that and a lot of being a print specialist over the years.
    New York, NY
    37 years doing it (OMG!!!!)
    Current salary: $52,000
    Starting salary at the very beginning: $9,000
    There seems to be a need for packaging designers right now – which I haven’t done.

    1. Senior Copywriter*

      I started as a copywriter 34 years ago, and my starting salary was $11,000. Scary, huh? ;)

  206. Teacher*

    I teach 6th-12th grade humanities, language, composition, and rhetoric at a small private school in the midwest/south. This is my 9th year at the school and my 8th in this position. I make $22,000/year.

    1. me*

      Another private school teacher

      I teach AP math classes at a small private school in the southwest
      Also department head
      $50,000/yr, normal school vacations

      MA in Education, 8 years of teaching

  207. Marketing Manager*

    I am responsible for all of my company’s content marketing (blogs, press releases, social media, resources, website copy) and for working with freelancers (e.g. graphic designers, video editors).

    your geographic area: South East (outside London), UK
    your years of experience: 3 in marketing, 1 at this company
    your salary: £30,000

  208. Financial Management Analyst*

    Analyst for the government in a developmental program rotating jobs every 6 months.
    Indiana
    50,106
    Overall 1 year 8 months in the government

  209. Program Manager (Academic)*

    Job: Outreach, event coordination, project management in higher education.
    Location: Boston
    About 8 years of progressive experience
    54,000

    1. Another Program Manager (Education)*

      Job: Program Manager for a for-profit after school company. Supervises teachers, sells new programs, manages client relationships
      Location: NYC
      Experience: 1 year teaching, 2.5 managing
      Salary: $50,000
      Other info: no Master’s degree (those who have a Master’s at my company make more)

    2. Research Project Coordinator*

      Job: Public Health research coordinator at medium-sized academic institution
      Location: large metro area in Midwest
      Experience: 3 years
      Salary: $47,500 (just got bumped in anticipation of new FLSA- was 41,000- boss let me keep the raise)

  210. Higher Ed Admin*

    Job: Higher education administration for an academic department in the sciences. I support faculty, keep up with appointments/reappointments, promotion & tenure, etc. I also supervise 3 direct reports who are responsible for graduate and undergraduate program coordination.
    Location: Large city in Texas
    Experience: 8 years in higher education, including a stint as a professional academic librarian (I also have a MLS). I have been in my current position for less than a year.
    Salary: $52,000

  211. Director of Communications/PR Coordinator - USA Division*

    I work for manufacturing company (B2B and B2c) that sells internationally and creates retail items that are sold both through distributors/department stores/individual retailers and company-owned stores and acompany-owned online shop. I wear many hats but am responsible for writing/editing English language public facing documents and press-releases; assist in running social media presence, and do a lot of other things as needed, from representing the company at exhibitions/trade shows to doing trend research or providing feedback on future merchandising.

    Geographic Region: North America – the actual North American Office is located on the West Coast, but I work remotely, the company headquarters is overseas

    2 years experience; honestly I was hired with no background in retail or marketing

    $40,000/year, 11 paid holidays, PTO, and 100% health coverage (with high deductible and office visit fees)

    1. Director of Communications/PR Coordinator - USA Division*

      To clarify – I have plenty of experience in retail (i.e cashier level, food service) but not the corporate level of marketing and communication strategies where I ended up

      I have grad degrees – in the humanities — which are completely unrelated to my current position

      Also my title is grossly inflated. This was what my VP wanted; honestly I feel like a 1 person department always running 10 directions 90% of the time, and then every once in a while I just sit there and spin my wheels…

  212. Event Coordinator*

    (My job title is approximate here, because googling my real specific-yet-meaningless title turns up my staff bio.)

    My job is 90% event management for a grad program with about 350 students–I do conferences, lectures, graduation parties, and whatever else we have on the calendar. The other 10% is advising some of our student groups.

    Washington DC
    1.5 years of experience, plus another 2 as a part-time or student employee
    Salary: $48,500
    Notable benefits: 17 vacation days + 17 paid holidays; full tuition benefits for my own MA
    I also get paid as much overtime as I need, which, since many events are outside of work hours, is a lot–I’m new to the job but am told that my predecessor earned “thousands” in overtime each year.

    1. Meeting planner for conventions and tradeshows*

      Interesting, you and I do pretty much the same type of thing (I am a meeting planner for conventions and trade shows) and we make the same amount and benefits (except no overtime for me, I’m salaried – the hours we pull in this industry are insane!). I am on the West Coast with about the same amount of experience.

    2. Event Manager*

      Enjoy that paid OT benefit! We just get time in lieu, which is not very valuable when there is no free time to be taken. :P

      Technically we have flexible hours, I suppose, but again, working 12+ hours a day in season makes it an earned benefit, not a freebee.

      1. Meeting planner for conventions and tradeshows*

        How much time do you get in lieu of overtime? We get one day off per show we travel to.

  213. Information Literacy Coordinator at a College Library*

    Job: Coordinate library instruction activities and oversee librarian teaching (without direct management). Also serve as a public services liaison to several departments.
    Geography: West Coast metro area
    Experience: 6 years post MLS. Without tenure.
    Salary: 58k for 12 month

    1. Information Literacy Coordinator at a College Library*

      I should clarify – it’s tenure-track but I’ve been at this position less than the 5-6 year tenure clock

  214. Customer Success Manager*

    Strategic Customer Success Manager:
    Working for a SAAS company, I work with strategic (larger) customers to evaluate their business processes and translate them into improved workflows via our software. I also provide onsite/ virtual training and provide general support (above and beyond our standard technical support team).
    Location: Seattle
    Experience: 10 years, BSci Environmental Sciences
    $90+k (the + indicates performance-tied bonuses)

  215. Human Resources Assistant*

    Payroll processing, benefits administration (health, dental, vision, HRA, FSA, life and disability products), new hire onboarding, records maintenance, incident reporting, compliance and labor reporting, some recruiting, I’m forgetting a lot, I think
    Charlotte, NC
    3 years, in position and field
    ~$37,000/year

  216. Research Investigator*

    I manage a portfolio of agricultural products with regard to analytical chemistry methods. I’m responsible for providing new and historical data to regulatory bodies (think EPA) around the world, as well as supporting laboratories in manufacturing sites. I am also responsible for analytical method development for quantification of active ingredients and impurities (these methods also go to the regulators and the manufacturing sites). I manage one lab technician.
    Area: Delaware
    Experience: 1.5 years with a Ph.D (hired right out of grad school, with 3 years of experience at the Bachelor’s level)
    Salary: $103,000

    [The title is standard for people at my position in my (very large) company. No matter what division you work in you’re usually a Research Investigator if you have a Ph.D and <10 years of experience]

  217. Electrical Engineer*

    I’m an electrical engineer working in an MEP design firm. We design the power/HVAC/lighting/plumbing/fire protection systems for commercial buildings. Anything ranging from a conference room getting converted to two offices, to a 800,000 square foot new construction warehouse, to converting an office building to a medical lab.

    My firm is in Boston, MA, and most of the work is either downtown, or in a surrounding suburb, though we do get the occasional job out of state

    5 years of experience. I don’t have my FE or my PE yet. I’ll get a small bump with an FE, a BIG on with the PE.

    I make about $76,000 a year, with a typical bonus of about $4,000. The amount isn’t guaranteed and is based on a variety of factors that I’ve never really had defined for me.

    1. Electrical Engineer*

      I hold this exact same position (electrical engineer for MEP design firm). I’m at a management level with a few engineers working under me.

      Los Angeles, CA

      6.5 years of experience. I have the FE, taking the PE in April this year.

      $82,000 a year with very aggressive discretionary mid year and end of year bonus structure (last year bonuses totaled $20,000).

  218. Credentialing Specialist*

    Credentialing for a nursing agency, includes primarily RNs, LPNs, CNAs. Make sure they continue to turn in certifications and other items required by the facilities we staff; credentialing new nurses fully when we hire them

    South Louisiana, United States

    Less than 1 year (moved to Credentialing in Oct 2016 from Staffing. Worked Staffing for over 2 years prior)

    $33,000/year ($16.00 hourly pay, non-exempt)

    Plus full benefits offered (full benefits minus retirement plan-we don’t have one offered through the company); bonuses offered (if earned) but very small and not worth factoring in to salary but I will expand on this if anyone asks

    2. Hospital Medical Staff Office Manager*

      25% Credentialing and privileging of the medical staff that uses the hospital
      25% Internal regulation development and external regulation compliance
      25% Administration duties including meeting management
      12.5% Event and education planning and management
      12.5% Staffing the metaphorical PSYCHIATRIC HELP 5 Cents booth

      60K, full benefits, decent vacation policy. Upper Midwest. I manage a small staff and have >10 years of experience in medical and research administration. I have an unrelated (humanities) BA and MA.

    3. Another Credentialing Specialist*

      Medical credentialing in for a non-profit specializing in rural communities
      Upper Midwest
      2 years
      $34,000-ish (paid hourly)
      First job remotely related to my degree in human resources

  219. Digital advertising executive*

    Principal at a ~20-person digital advertising firm
    DC
    10 years experience
    ~$170K/year, including bonuses and commissions

  220. Assistant Professor*

    Assistant Professor in the social sciences, private university
    Mountain West
    Experience: PhD and some previous experience, but not up for tenure yet
    $67,000 + regular opportunities to pick up extra money with consulting and teaching on the side

    1. Assistant Professor*

      Assistant Professor in the humanities, private university (Catholic)
      Midwest
      Experience: PhD and some previous relevant professional work, 18 months until I put together my packet for tenure
      $57,000 for teaching a 3/3 load

    2. Associate Professor*

      * Associate Professor in the social sciences, public college
      – Teach 3 courses each semester with 80-100 students total; academic advisor to 40 or so students
      – Conduct research and publish the results in academic journals
      – Ever more committee/admin service: developing and assessing curricula and co-curricular projects, faculty orientation and professional development, diversity and campus climate, strategic planning, alumni and donor outreach, recruiting prospective students, plus manuscript reviews and committee service for professional societies

      * Non-metro Northeast US, low COL

      * 11 years here plus a few years before

      * $65,000 base salary + 10% to my 403(b) + GREAT health ins + $2000-$3000/year in royalties

      * This is an academic-year appointment; I do work year round, but they can’t make me teach or come to meetings in the summer. I could try to get grants to pay me a summer salary. I can do extra teaching or service for additional compensation; I usually get about $5000 or so.

  221. Sr. Tech Writer*

    S.F. Bay Area
    Unlike the tech writer above, I get very little direct written input. Gather technical input in various ways, including: Read specs, talk to experts, follow email threads, attend technical meetings, work directly with product. Also give feedback on product design.
    Over 20 years as a tech writer
    ABD in a stem field (ie, PhD level, but didn’t complete), with a consolation masters
    $130,000

  222. Communications Specialist*

    Internal communications consultant and content creator for an academic medical center. I write on behalf of institutional leaders for two divisions and provide advice on best ways to reach their target audiences. Writing internal news articles and longform pieces for various publications. Many other duties (writing and event-planning) as assigned.
    Texas
    7
    $60,000
    Work for the government and academia, so salaries/promotions/etc are very regimented and algorithmed – I started at $58,212/year.

  223. Accountant*

    job : accountant at a large non-profit (but not a hospital) specializing in reporting (financial statements, tax return) with four clerical direct reports
    geographic area : metropolitan southwest
    years of experience : 30 years
    salary : $109,000 per year
    pertinent : professional license and master’s degree

  224. Programmer/System Analyst 2*

    job:
    I am a full stack programmer for a K-12 charter school. We develop and maintain systems for ordering of supplies, communications, integration with other systems, and other projects to support the business and instructional activites for the school. We are a large school (over 5000 students spread out in a region the size of Vermont). I also act as 3rd tier support for our users. Part of my individual role is to make sure the team is staying on track from week to week in order to meet our goals and dealines and act as a system architect.

    Region: Outside of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California.

    years of experience: 8 years professional and another 10 of amateur/hobby

    Salary: $92,500.

    context: Salaried Non-Exempt. 10 days vacation per year, 21 other holidays. Currently maxed out on steps and haven’t hit my longevity.

    Work recently did a salary survey and the results of which brought the programmers up quite a bit and we are now at the high end for our local area. San Francisco is still only a few hours away and compared to that we are on the low end. So it is a balance of what we could earn and wanting to stay here.

    1. Systems Analyst/Programmer II*

      Same title, different location, and I think way underpaid.

      Degree: BS Computer Science, minor Math

      Job: database developer (mostly), working with Oracle SQL, Crystal Reports, SQL Server, SSIS, Excel VBA programming – lots of back-end and reporting. Currently working for a gas utility, but have also worked for a corporate farm, a city government, a federal government contractor, a testing laboratory, and a medical device manufacturer. I’ve worked on payroll, GIS, front and back-end, maintenance, documentation, teaching, billing, technical support, anything and everything for small to large companies, but always gravitating towards the databases.

      Region: eastern WA

      Years of experience: nearly 30

      Salary: $67,696. I’ve earned as high as a bit over 74k, but that was before the last layoff. I’m on the low end of our salary scale, and it hits my confidence pretty hard. They say they like my work, but … On the other hand, I enjoy the work (I love databases!), I enjoy my co-workers, I enjoy the challenges. I like everything about the job except the pay. And I’m close enough to retirement age, I’m not sure I’m willing to go for higher pay and maybe lose some of those other benefits. I’ve been here a bit over 4 years, so I’m finally clawing my way up to getting more than 2 weeks vacation, and I don’t want to start over for that, either.

  225. Software Engineer*

    Job: software engineer working at a tech company
    Location: Seattle
    Experience: 4.5 years at this company, hired straight out of college. Had internships elsewhere
    Salary: ~$125k, plus another $50k or so in stock

  226. Academic Librarian*

    Mid-level management role; I manage 1 FTE professional staff
    Location: Boston area
    Experience: ~20 years
    Education required: I hold an MILS and a second master’s degree
    Salary: $84,500 plus 5 weeks PTO and pretty good benefits

  227. Managing editor*

    National business to business publication for niche market. Find and write articles, assign to freelancers, update website, social media and layout and design monthly print edition.
    Northern New England
    13 years in industry, 11 years at this company
    $40,000 per year
    Haven’t had a raise since I was promoted to this job about 5 years ago (ad sales are down), but get fours weeks of vacation seven days personal/sick time, paid holidays and generally treated like a human being.

  228. Senior Database Administrator*

    Microsoft SQL database administrator
    I am a system datababase administrator that ensures the server performance and uptime
    12 years experience
    KCMO
    $105,000

  229. Insurance Defense Attorney*

    Job: I represent insured persons or companies in lawsuits, largely construction companies
    Region: Utah
    Experience 5 years
    Salary $85000

  230. Librarian*

    My job: I do reference, instruction, and collection development for a particular subject at a university. Since it is academic there are the usual committee and professional service requirements as well as my day to day job.
    Location: Upstate New York
    Years of experience: 10+
    Annual salary: $63,000
    Added compensation: Benefits and vacation time at the university are amazing.

  231. Events Coordinator*

    Coordinate several large-scale benefit dinners per year in addition to smaller cultivation events for a nonprofit
    Washington, DC
    6 years experience
    $48,000

  232. Senior Architectural Executive*

    Job – being part of an architectural design team, handling design concepts, drawing and reviewing up the plans for submission and client presentations, presenting aforementioned design to client, making authority submissions for building permits.
    Location – Singapore
    Experience – 8 years
    Salary – 67,200 SGD a year, so around 47,000 not including bonuses (which are subject to the economy). Benefits includes medical and annual leave.

  233. health policy analyst (fed gov't)*

    your job: policy analyst for a large federal public insurance program (you know the one). tons of technical writing, operations work, implementation of major federal rules and policies, etc.
    your geographic area: baltimore/DC
    your years of experience: 3 years in this job; 1 year before this post-grad school (i have a master’s); in the general health/human services field for 11 years during/between periods of schooling
    your salary: $80k
    anything else pertinent to put that number in context: $15k of my salary is the federal COLA adjustment. the “base” is $64k.

  234. Program Coordinator*

    I work at a private university in Washington, DC. I mainly do administration and program coordination.
    -3 years experience
    -$55k and tuition benefits

    In DC, housing is like $2500 for a one bedroom. So unless you have a significant other that you live with, things get expensive fast. I would imagine this position would pay less elsewhere.

    1. (also) Program Coordinator*

      I work at a private university in Western NY
      15 years experience
      -$32K, tuition benefits , and TWENTY FIVE vacation days/unlimited sick time

      My housing cost is $525 per month, so I think our salaries might be comparable

  235. Web Developer/Programmer*

    – Web Developer/Programmer
    – Madison, WI
    – 5 years in this type of position, additional 3 years in general IT support positions
    – $73K

    1. Web Developer*

      Job: Senior Web Developer at a public university. I work for the largest college within the university, and I oversee our public websites (about 150 at last count). I handle updates to our CMS, tech support, training faculty and staff, and developing custom templates and themes for our major sites. I oversee a couple of students, and recently started managing another full-time staff position, our web application developer. I’ll be helping this position transition to agile development, version control, etc.

      Location: College town in Southeastern United States

      Experience: 7 years. I have a BA in English. I worked here as a student, and just got hired at the right time. I used to do mainly content updates and very little development, but I’ve learned on the job. Handed off most of the content work to other non-technical folks.

      Compensation: $49K, 22 days of vacation in addition to spring break and Christmas break, lots of sick leave, a pension, great health insurance. I could probably make more in the private sector, but I like this job, the benefits are great, and I value the flexibility as a new parent.

  236. Research Consultant*

    Job: I work for a mid-size consulting firm focused on healthcare/public health/etc. Clients are generally government agencies. I function as a consultant doing lots of data analysis, etc.
    Geographic area: Washington D.C.
    Experience: 2 years (B.S. and an M.P.H.)
    Salary: $74,000 + merit-based bonuses (only a fraction of employees end up getting a bonus each year) + 23 days PTO (vacation/sick time) + decent healthcare coverage but nothing great. Limited ability to work remotely (i.e. not regularly, only in one-off situations).

    1. Environmental Consultant*

      Mine’s very similar so I’m nesting it here.

      – Job: Mid-level staff (“associate” title) at a consulting firm supporting environment-/public health-related projects for federal clients. Project management, desk-based research and analysis (lit review, data crunching, regulation development support, training/outreach, report writing), some business development, (currently) one direct report.
      – Geographic area: Washington D.C.
      – Experience: 8 years (started after undergrad, got an MPH while working, have had a bunch of promotions)
      – Salary: $75k (I’m a little underpaid relative to other people at my level because I’ve worked at the same place my whole professional career and in this field it’s definitely easier to get money in salary negotiations vs. in raises)
      – Benefits etc.: 4 weeks vacation, 10 federal holidays plus 2 personal days/floating holidays, 7 days sick time, good health insurance, very flexible attitudes toward work schedules/locations, moderate billable hour requirements, 401(k) match plus ESOP benefits, assorted extras like a tuition reimbursement program

        1. Environmental Consultant*

          Hi! I’m glad I checked back. In hiring (other than for super entry-level positions), we mostly look for subject matter knowledge (geology, toxicology, chemistry, hydrology, biology, health communication, whatever) plus experience in some kind of government setting (either directly or as a consultant/contractor, ideally with one of our key client agencies). Feel free to email me if you want – peagreenpoems at gmail. I can send you a link to our firm’s career page.

    2. Consulting Associate*

      Job: Project management, research, report writing, roughly 20% travel to client sites. Clients are mostly not-for-profit organizations. I work on healthcare, STEM research, and education projects.
      Location: Boston
      Experience: Less than one year – this was my starting salary right out of grad school
      Salary: $70,000 + bonuses
      Benefits: 3 weeks vacation, 11 holidays, ‘unlimited’ sick time, 100% of health/dental insurance premiums paid by employer

  237. Finance and Human Resources (Senior Manager)*

    Job: oversee all financial and human resource responsibilities for a small non-profit (annual budget $5M)
    Location: New York, NY
    Experience: 12 years relevant experience, 18 years professional experience
    Salary: $78,000

    Other info: I have an MA in a field that relates to the type of work the non-profit does, but I do not have an accounting degree.

  238. Dog Wrangler*

    Location: Mid-Atlantic greater metro

    Occupation: Business owner, social dog boarding

    Experience: <5 years running, but 10 years of animal and veterinary care experience prior to opening

    Salary: Just raised it to $19k. Last January I gave myself my first salary paycheck from the business. Total salary last year was <$9k, but profits brought that number up to closer to $17k. For comparison, when I lived in the Midwest, I was paid ~$8/hour for the same job description as an employee.

  239. Marketing Representative*

    Job Desc: All marketing & advertising for North America for a manufacturer based in Europe. This includes trade shows, advertising, special events, email/direct mail marketing, etc.
    Area: Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
    Years of Exp: 20 yrs sales & marketing; almost 4 years with current company.
    Salary: $78,000

  240. University administrator*

    I coordinate the admin team for a professional programme in a large university.
    Wales, UK
    Five years experience in education admin.
    £27,000
    My workplace is very supportive, is paying for me to study elsewhere and offers an outrageously large amount of leave, which is worth more to me than the higher salary I could probably get elsewhere.

  241. Research Planning Manager*

    your job: Research Development at a large public university (mostly limited submissions and other internal competitions)
    your geographic area: Research Triangle, North Carolina
    your years of experience: ~2
    your salary: $48K
    anything else: I have a master’s degree, with my graduate school experience being seen as a positive in this area

  242. Recruiting/Project Manager*

    Manage recruting for nannies, housekeepers and senior caregivers for a home staffing company. Additionally manage random projects as needed involving web design changes, app creation, training program updates, etc. Essentially if it doesn’t fit neatly into a category, the job goes to me.
    Westchester County, NY
    1 year relevant experience
    Salary: ~$62,000/year
    Base: $36,400 Commission: ~$26,000
    Commission is for hitting certain goals for recruiting, a percentage on placements and a percentage on regular services. This is my first year here and that number is what I’d expect to get in a full year at the rate I’m currently making.

  243. Deskside Technical Analyst \ Team Lead*

    My Job: Evaluate technical needs of our staff and approve / deny the use of new hardware / software. I also lead the Deskside team for my region in all the support needs of our users.
    Geographic Region: Southwest – Arizona
    Experience: 5 years in my current role, 15 years in technology
    Salary: $75,000
    Other: I am really good at what I do, and have gained a lot of trust from decision makers in this company.

      1. Deskside Technical Analyst \ Team Lead*

        Oh man! I really want to see that job description now. So long as I’m not stationed on the death star – those pesky rebels keep blowing it up!

  244. Computer Application Administrator*

    Job: I manage an event management software program for an interdisciplinary arts organization. This includes training, trouble shooting, light SQL report writing, managing and implementing projects related to the software, etc.

    Area: Toronto, Canada

    Years Experience: In the full breadth of my job duties, zero because I’ve only been in this job for two months. I was an enthusiastic end-user for six-ish years before moving into this role.

    Salary: $61,000 CAD / $46,000 USD (wow, the Canadian dollar is terrible right now)

    Other info: I have (separate) certificates in Arts Administration and Project Management in addition to my Fine Arts degree, but I don’t think those impacted any of the above in a major way.

    1. Event Manager*

      Fascinating! I’m an event manager elsewhere in Ontario who is the primary end-user for our sales and project management systems. I’d love to get into a similar role, as customizing software applications is my favourite part of the job, and I spend a lot of time training new staff and troubleshooting user issues due to our complex build. Any tips/advice?

      Thread contribution:

      Event sales and customer service manager (music industry). I manage 16-20 seasonal staff, 50 event volunteers, and report to my organization’s ED.

      Years’ Experience: 3 in this role, 2 additional with the organization as a project coordinator, 12 years in the workforce overall.

      Salary: $55,000 CAD

      Other info: I have a MA from a well-regarded university that is tangentially related to my job (aka looks good on paper).

      1. Event Manager*

        Forgot to add:

        Benefits: RSP matching – 3%
        Fruit and coffee in the break room
        Friends and family tickets to our events
        Annual conferences, etc. based on cost and distance
        No health insurance – biggest issue for me and likely the reason I would leave the organization. This alone is about $10,000 a year pre-tax for me.

  245. Associate - financial risk management*

    I hello manage capital risk and an the tabs contact on the topic with other group and act as the tabs defacto secretary and make sure all follow ups from meetings get competed and plan topics and make materials for our management meetings.

    Greater Boston area

    $100k (base + target bonus of 15%)

  246. Museum Educator*

    Job: Running public programs (lectures, etc.)
    Industry: Nonprofit/arts/museums
    Geographic Area: Ohio
    Years of experience: 6
    Salary: $38,000

  247. Marketing Manager*

    Job: Run a marketing team at a small company (~30 employees). Really more a “director of marketing” type role – I report directly to the CEO and I’m 100% responsible/accountable for everything that’s even remotely marketing-related.
    Area: Eastern Ontario
    Years of Experience: 8
    Salary: $90K (cad) & good benefits

  248. Business Manager*

    Job: Manage leases, track expenditures, make program purchases, set up new processes, manage data and supervise our data coordinator for HMIS (Homeless management information system), interface with state’s dep’t of housing who we contract with. Essentially: Nonprofit operations manager with a focus on data & finances
    Location: Boston, MA
    Experience: 6-7ish professionally (office assistant, Admin, invoicing team lead to business manager in new org). Working on master’s degree
    Salary: $49,680

  249. Meeting planner for conventions and tradeshows*

    Job: we do a very niche part of meeting planning of which there are very few companies that do this, so I won’t say what it is. But we are part of the meeting planning process for conventions and trade shows.
    Industry: Events/Meetings/Exhibitions
    Years of Experience: 1 (was in another similar industry for 5 years before this)
    Salary: $48,500 (+undefined annual bonus)
    Additional info: small company.

    1. Meeting planner for conventions and tradeshows*

      These comments have been so helpful! I now see that to make more money I need to go in-house at a large scale Fortune 500 type company. Since I only have a year of experience under my belt, maybe that can be more of a long term goal – if I want to stay in this industry. I am already pretty tired of it all but feel like I might be stuck since my job is so niche now, there are only a few places I can go from here without going back to school.

  250. Executive Assistant to Commercial Real Estate Developer*

    Austin, Texas
    0 years of experience being an executive assistant specifically, but I have been a paralegal and office manager previously (I have 5 years of professional working experience)
    71k

  251. Marketing Communications Writer*

    Website content writing and marketing communications copyediting for a big law firm
    Area: New York, NY
    Experience: 3 years
    $72,000/ year

  252. Geographer (GIS)*

    Geographer (GIS) Federal Government GS 12
    10 years experience (1 year in GS service)
    Gulfport, MS
    $71,000

  253. Director of Media and Communications*

    I head up a team of 25 full-time people, including writers, editors, PR and designers; and a varying number of freelancers and other contractors. I have six direct reports who are responsible for different areas of my company’s online, print and other media outreach. My organisation also has a small publishing arm which I oversee.

    I set strategy for communications, social and digital, manage our brand, am the point of contact for press and other outside inquiries, and spend a lot of time managing the wider team (about half of whom are in-house; we have a number of remote workers, several of whom are overseas). I’m in charge of hiring across this part of the organisation.

    I also work with other parts of our company, like our projects teams and web teams, to make sure messaging is consistent and on point. I also make sure I’m producing some of our editorial content every week and that I’m getting my hands dirty alongside our copyeditors, which helps me work more closely with the team and to have a better oversight of what we’re dealing with at any given moment.

    I’m based in the UK.

    I’ve been working in journalism, publishing, PR and associated fields for 20 years. I’ve been in this role for eight years. I’m currently paid £80k (about $97k), and I make an additional £10-15k every year through book royalties which are independent from my day job (which my work knows about and is happy with). I’m also a Non-Executive Director at another organisation which works in a field adjacent to my particular sort of teapots, which brings in a few thousand pounds more every year. Again, my company is very happy with this situation.

    This is the most senior role I’ve held. I love my job and I’m very proud of the work we do. I work with some great people, I report to a really great board, the money’s good, and there isn’t really anything I’d change. I don’t really turn off from work: I’m dealing with something from the moment I wake up until I go to bed at night, and I usually do several hours on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

    I’m expecting our first child at the moment (I am in my 40s), and it’ll be…interesting to see what impact that has on my job, given the amount of time and emotional resource that currently goes into my work. I have a year of maternity leave (god bless the UK) and will have a nanny as well; I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to work things out so I can keep being a good boss as well as the great parent I want to be, but it’s causing me quite a lot of worry at the moment.

    2. Marketing Head*

      Can I ask which part of the UK? I have a similar role in Scotland and it’s useful for benchmarking!

  254. Executive Assistant*

    Job: Personal assistant to CEO
    Geographic area: Cincinnati, OH
    Years of experience: 40
    Salary: $60K

  255. Public Interest Attorney*

    work at a nonprofit that provides pro bono legal assistance to folks at or near poverty level
    western new york
    4 years experience
    50,000
    overall very happy with job, great health benefits and generous pto. that said, no real retirement plan (this concerns me) and raises are all small step increases according to time at org or promotion (these are hard to get)

    1. Legal Aid Attorney*

      I’ll piggy-back here since our jobs are pretty similar.
      * Staff attorney at an LSC-funded legal aid program (free civil legal aid to folks under ~125% of the federal poverty level)
      * mid-size city in a predominantly rural midwest state
      * 10 years experience
      * $54,500
      * We have good benefits, including generous vacation and sick leave and a 401(k) with fairly generous match. Raises are small step increases according to years of experience, but we have recently been able to negotiate some increases that have gotten us up closer to the market rate for similar programs. Our health insurance is decent, but always a target as costs go up.

    2. Nonprofit Managing Attorney*

      Managing attorney for a nonprofit that provides pro bono legal assistance.
      Small/medium city in Texas
      1.5 years at this job, 4 years post-bar
      58,000

      Benefits are good for a nonprofit, but nothing extraordinary.

    3. Pro Bono Manager / Pro Bono Coordinator*

      I’m going to jump in here as well since my job is kind of related.

      * pro bono coordinator at large law firm
      * 3 years experience
      * 60k
      * I really enjoy my job, because I get to use large firm resources to help people who need it most.

    4. Legal Aid Attorney*

      I know this life. Work at a non-profit providing legal education and support to marginalized people.

      Bay Area, CA
      2 years experience
      $52,000
      Generous PTO, great office culture, love what I’m doing, but it’s very difficult to save money and pay back my loans on this income. I can only do it now because I’m very healthy and don’t have dependents. I’d be freaking out if I had children or were preparing to retire!

  256. Digital Content Marketer*

    1. I wear a lot of hats, but I primarily both produce and manage web projects and manage our blog content strategy, SEO and analytics reporting.
    2. Southern California
    3. Web-specific work, 14 years; writing and editing, 25 years
    4. $79k

  257. Toronto*

    Assistant FOI Coordinator – Provincial Ministry
    Duties mainly involve Freedom of Information Requests and management of Privacy Breach
    1 year at the job
    Union
    $71 000 annually; within the pay band publicly published

  258. Adult education teacher*

    I work in a prison teaching GED and employment classes.
    Greater western pa/ne Ohio/wv area
    5 years experience as a teacher
    Salary $62,200

  259. Lawyer*

    Job: Associate-level lawyer at big law firm
    Geographic area: Boston metro
    Experience: Graduated law school in 2011
    Salary: $210k? (not sure because I may not get pay raise this year due to job change/seniority drop and have yet to receive first paycheck for 2017)
    Add’l context: People who work at law firms like mine generally all make the same amount of money in lockstep until they become partner or get off partner track (http://abovethelaw.com/2016/06/breaking-ny-to-180k-cravath-raises-associate-base-salaries/)

    1. Lawyer - Of Counsel*

      Another lawyer here. Of counsel at large regional law firm in the southeast. 20 years experience. $195,000

    2. also a biglaw associate*

      That’s why I wasn’t planning to add a new comment – anyone who wants to know what biglaw associates make already know what biglaw associates make.

      I’m class of 2013, so just as the link says, I make $235k (the link in Lawyer’s comment is from 2016 so as of January, everybody got bumped up to the next level). Year-end bonuses are also generally on a lock-step scale for the whole industry, so for 2017 I will get a $60k bonus if I hit my benchmark number of hours (not hard at my firm, there’s plenty of work to go around; the challenge is not billing several hundred more hours than required for basically no extra pay, just kudos). http://abovethelaw.com/2016/11/associate-bonus-watch-cravath-announces-its-2016-associate-bonuses/

      One of the things that is NOT always publicly available or consistent across firms is what the minimum number of hours is to qualify for a bonus. At my firm, it’s 1950.

      1. also a biglaw associate*

        I should have included that I get credit for all pro bono hours toward my benchmark, but business development, administrative tasks, and professional development do not count (I log them, and they show that I’m not just sitting on my hands during slow weeks, but they don’t help me progress toward my yearly hours benchmark).

        I’m in Los Angeles, but that doesn’t really matter because most big law firms use the same pay scale for all US offices (although some pay a NYC premium).

      2. Also BigLaw Associate*

        Ditto, except that my firm pays below market on a complicated merit-based system, but the scale is still more or less ‘out there’. I’m in DC, also class of 2013 (so 3.5 ish years exp now). My firm hasn’t switched over to the “new market” yet, they’ll announce those raises next month, so I’m still on my 2016 pay of $175k, but should get backpay whenever I find out what my raise is. Bonus eligibility is 1900 hours and I didn’t hit that so I don’t expect a bonus… I’m ok with that. One thing that surprised me is no 401(k) match for associates, which is a bummer.

        1. also a biglaw associate*

          My understanding is that only one AmLaw 200 firm has a 401(k) employer contribution. No matching at all is unfortunately industry standard :(

    3. Biglaw partner*

      FWIW, the salary lockstep thing is actually not as uniform at all outside of NYC, and nor is the lockstep bonus. My firm (AmLaw 50) pays in lockstep within the market, but not across the firm (so all LA fifth years make the same salary, but LA fifth years and Charlotte fifth years do not; we do pay partners at the same level based on where they sit on the salary ladder, regardless of geography). We also don’t pay a lockstep bonus – we pay stepup bonuses based on hours over a certain level, but the big money comes in merit bonuses that your supervising partners have to apply for.

      As for me:
      Job: Income partner at big law firm in specialist corporate practice
      Geographic area: Major city in SE US
      Experience: Graduated law school in 2008
      Salary: $240k base, plus bonus (up to 30%; not sure what it’ll be yet)
      Add’l context: large mandatory retirement contributions (which I’m sure I will be grateful for in the future); excellent health insurance (includes coverage for IVF); access to private childcare facilities (we pay for it, but it’s very good and not open to the public); large life insurance policy paid for by firm; very generous disability insurance paid by firm; paid executive physical; some very large number of weeks of vacation (which I’ve never bothered to keep track of because no one cares how much I take so long as I bill what I need to for the year); 4 months paid maternity leave + ability to take more unpaid; adoption leave; 1 month of paid leave for the parent that did not give birth; and we were providing benefits coverage for the domestic partners/spouses of LGBT people long before gay marriage was legally recognized in my state.

      1. Biglaw partner*

        I should add that when a bunch of peer firms did salary bumps mid-year, we bumped up our associates but not our income partners. We don’t know if partner salaries will be raised commensurately or not; right now, some of our senior associates make more than I do…

      2. also a biglaw associate*

        Interesting – lockstep is uniform for all US offices at all the firms I was looking at during my last job search about 9 months ago. I didn’t interview at any firms with offices in small or low cost of living cities, though – only major metro areas. Most of the firms that ATL was reporting on during the associate raise hike this year raised them across the board, but that’s obviously not All firms. I amend my statement about lockstep throughout the US to “many” firms rather than “most.”

    4. Lawyer - Counsel*

      Medium-large firm (~150 attorneys) in NYC suburbs.
      Specialized practice that deals with litigation, regulatory compliance, and transactional issues.
      Practicing for 10 years, on partner track.
      Salary: $177,000 plus bonus ranging from 10K-20K depending on billable hours.
      Billable requirement: 1900 hours min for bonus.
      Benefits: 401k matching upto 4%; 4 weeks vacation (which I take without issue); decent medical, dental, vision; firm phone and plan (and free reign to use it as personal device); free lunch from firm caf; 12 weeks maternity; option to go part time at any %age down to 50% with corresponding decrease in salary and bonus eligibility (ie, 80% time earns 80% pay, not 75% pay); option to work from home one-two days a week (although ability to use this depends largely on the partner you work for); 20% of payment collected on all matters I originate (for associates and counsel). Very junior associates have lock step salary, but it is converted to merit adjustments pretty early compared to Big Law. Bonuses increase as your billables increase.
      Obviously I’m earning only a fraction of those in nearby NYC big law, but I have reasonable, predictable hours, very few weekends, and almost no asshole partners, so I’ll take it.

      1. Biglaw senior associate*

        Biglaw (+1000 law firm) Senior Associate, Denver
        IP Litigation
        Practicing 7 years
        $240,000 plus bonus based on additional hours worked
        Billable requirements: 1850
        I’m realizing it I have it pretty good based on my hours/salary/location…but it’s still biglaw and I typically work more than 1850 hours.

      2. Associate Attorney / Lawyer (small firm)*

        Associate at small firm in the Bay Area
        IP law, 5 years experience
        Salary: $205,000 and $20k bonus
        Benefits/lifestyle: I work about 35 hours per week; medical benefits are a bit disappointing, 401k without a match

  260. UX Designer*

    Job: I’m a UX designer at a agency. I do research, testing and create wireframes, user flows and write lots of interaction notes. Think of me as the (information) architect behind a website; I make all of the blue prints but I don’t actually build or design it myself.
    Location: Austin, TX
    Experience: 2.5 years. This is my first job out of college (I’m almost 25).
    Salary: $60,000. I was promoted from an Associate a year ago. This is actually pretty low for the field/area and I will be asking for more at our next round of review.
    Benefits: I’m still on parent’s health insurance but the company plan is comprehensive. I get almost 40 paid days off a year and unlimited sick leave. My office is casual and flexible; I can work from home if I need to and attire is fun and casual (think nicer than startup but more chill than business casual). We have 401K matching up to 5%.
    Other Info: I’m a young woman and had no tangible experience with UX design but I had translatable skills. I studied Art History in college so I’m proof that you can get a good job with a liberal arts background!

    1. UX/UI Designer*

      Job: UX-side, same as previous poster, with the addition of leading the project through development (developing requirements and making sure they are met). UI-side, I do the visual design of mobile and web apps, designing all the actual details of the interface. My role is about 70% UX, 30% UI.

      Location: Mid-sized city in southeast USA

      Experience: 1.5 years in UX design; 5 years (overlapping) in UI design / interaction design in general

      Salary: $63,000

      Benefits: Full time work-from-home with the option to come into the office whenever I want. I work 35-40 hours a week with very few late nights or weekends, very reasonable work/life balance. Full medical, decent coverage. Shitty dental benefits that I opted out of. 401k matching 6%. 19 days PTO, unlimited sick days. Most post office holidays observed plus an extra 2 days off each for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Paid attendance to one conference a year of my choice. Pays for out-of-work training classes, books, etc on request. Beautiful office space located in the hip part of town. Casual work environment. Doggies allowed on Thursdays and Fridays (one dog per day, advance sign up).

      Other info: I work for a small digital agency of 27 people. This impacts my salary significantly. The same job at an enterprise-level environment could get $80,000 – $110,000 in my area, more in a larger or more expensive city. My degree was in web design; I started as a generalist web designer/developer and transitioned to the more specialized role of UX/UI design for apps due to personal interest and the needs of my company. I mostly learned UX skills from mentorships and online courses.

    2. Wannabe UX Designer*

      Hi, I’m a print designer trying to break into UX design. Would you mind sharing how you got your job without having direct experience in the field?

      1. UX Designer*

        Of course! I interned a lot throughout college so I had a lot of marketing/general design background. I’ve found that, while there are certainly best practices and industry norms in UX, a lot of my work is really in how you think. Anyone can learn the design programs or how to create a wireframe or user flow but if you can’t THINK logically or connect lots of big picture ideas or distill complicated processes into a simple statement then knowing the lingo doesn’t really matter.

        I’d recommend looking for classes (General Assembly has a lot) or UX Meetups or Hackathons so you can start learning the basics which is helpful when you look for jobs. UX is really a process and being able to talk through projects as a “here’s the problem we discovered and here’s how we made it easier/better/faster for people will really help.

  261. Federal Procurement Analyst*

    $117,000 annually
    Metro Chicago area
    30 years experience
    Four year college degree

    1. Federal Procurement Analyst*

      It is rare to work over forty hours a week. If perchance someone does, up to 24 hours can be banked and taken off on an hour for hour basis. We also get overtime.

  263. Videographer / Freelance Filmmaker*

    Commercial videos and short films, advertising, music videos.
    Bristol, UK
    5 years experience
    £24,000 (approximately, it varies based on what projects I do)

  264. Compliance Manager*

    Job: Compliance Manager
    Industry: Law firms
    Geographic Area: NYC
    Years Experience: 3 (7 years prior legal experience in related area)
    Salary: $158,000 (15% max bonus based on personal performance)
    Additional Info: Licensed attorney

    1. In-House Lawyer / Attorney*

      Are you a Compliance Manager for a law firm, like in the law firm’s in-house department?

      1. Compliance Manager*

        I have a hybrid role with a part administrative function and part compliance function. I work closely with our Firm’s General Counsel, but am not in that department.

    2. Compliance Associate*

      Job: Compliance Associate
      Industry: Finance
      Geographic Area: Tri-State (NY/NJ/CT) area
      Years Experience: Sort of tricky. *Officially* less than a year (promoted 2/2016), though I worked closely with our Compliance Director for around two years before my promotion.
      Salary: $53,000 (not including bonus or other monetary & non-monetary perks)

  265. Employment Counseling*

    -Placement Officer at a government-supported employment counseling office
    -rural Ontario
    -5 years work experience
    -44k CAD annually

  266. Lab/field technician, Water analyst, (Environmental)*

    I work at a State University in Western Massachusetts, and my position is entirely grant funded, which has limited the raises and such over the years. We work with the state highway dept on a program testing well water for road salt contamination. We also do Ground water and surface water runoff monitoring. Essentially we are consultants. I wear many hats. From the mundane field work of various kinds to preparing and analyzing water samples with fancy machines

    I currently earn $35,600 plus benefits, non-union
    I have had this job for 13 years.
    It started part-time at $25k/year no benefits.
    I have a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field (Communication). I work in the Environmental Engineering field

    1. Lab/field technician, Water analyst, (Environmental)*

      and I forgot to delete my email address in the posting form #ImAwesome

  267. Geographic Information Systems Technician, Principal*

    Job: I work for a utility company, mapping and analyzing gas transmission pipelines using GIS software. In my current role, I train and oversee mappers, assign them work, correct and post their work.

    Location: San Francisco Bay Area

    Years of Experience: in this area of work, specifically, 7 years

    Salary: $112,500, plus overtime (non-exempt, in a professional union); for reference, I started as a mapping technician making $52,000/year in this job (I am now a principal/expert-level mapping technician)

  268. Coldbrewinacup*

    My job: customer service support, handling hundreds of email inquiries a week. This is a temporary position I have been working for 8 months with no end date.

    Geographic area: metro Detroit
    Years of experience: in customer service, over 20.
    Salary: I make 11.50 an hour. Yes, you read that right. I also have a bachelors degree.

    1. Member Services*

      I hear ya. I’m not far from that, and that’s where I started out. I also have a degree. Lot bit of good it does me.

  269. Data Analyst, Financial Operations*

    *Job – Data mining, statistical analysis, & regulatory reporting for a property & casualty insurance company
    *Location – Southwest Virginia
    *Years Experience – 10 in a data analysis role; 4.5 for this particular industry
    *Salary – $59k annually

  270. Library Assistant*

    -Small public library in a consortium, desk work and shelving. We also each get a few things like processing and ILL that should really fall under a higher pay grade.
    -affluent Philadelphia Suburb
    -4
    -$10.20

  271. Marketing & Communications Copywriter*

    I work for an insurance brokerage firm, and my job involves doing writing and editing for both internal and external materials produced by the marketing department. The biggest part of my job is working with Producers (the salespeople of our industry) to write proposals for prospects or renewing clients. I also do writing for benefit communication pieces for clients, email blasts, newsletters, our website and social media, etc.

    I live in Salt Lake City, UT.

    I graduated from college with a degree in Technical Writing in 2014, so I have about 3 years of experience.

    My salary is $40,000 a year.

  272. Word Processor*

    Area: Los Angeles/SFV
    Experience: ~4 years in this position, ~7 years in the medical field (started with data entry)
    Salary: $16/hr (started as a temp at $12/hr, got bumped to $13/hr when I became permanent about 6 months after that)
    I write reports for a brain injury rehab clinic and send to insurance companies/lawyers for benefits approval. I also manage medical records, cover the front desk at times, and do occasional transcription reports (unofficially I also plan a lot of the events for this location like holiday parties and such, act like my boss’ secretary, and semi-manage one file clerk, but they don’t give me credit for that :P).

    My education background is a bit murky (GED, trade school) and I’m also a bit young so I think that affects my salary a little bit. We don’t get raises here really, unless you’re promoted; however, we do get cost of living increases every year. I’ve gotten a low of 9 cents(!!!) and a high of I think about 67 cents, but that’s how my wage has slowly climbed over the last few years.

  273. Grants and Contracts Manager*

    Employer: well-known research university
    Duties: help manage pre-award/post-award finance and compliance activities for federally funded grants
    Location: NC
    Experience: I’ve indirectly worked with data, finance, and compliance issues for about 6 years, but this is my first grants specific job (been here about 2 months)
    Salary: $55,000

    1. Grants and Contracts Manager*

      Ah, should have mentioned I have an unrelated bachelors and masters and I’m female.

      The salary is annual plus benefits (which are pretty good, as they usually are for full-time University staff).

      1. Grants and Contracts Manager*

        Anddddd NC = North Carolina (metro, specifically). *sigh*, should really think before pressing submit.

  274. Content Strategist*

    Job: Internal communications, primarily the launch of a new intranet, at a mid-size design firm. Also do the company’s social media, website management, ghostwriting for execs, run monthly town hall meetings, and some in-house copywriting and editing as needed.
    Area: Baltimore, Md.
    Experience: Almost 15 years in the work force, starting in media and then doing nonprofit and now corporate comms. I started my current gig less than a year ago.
    Salary: $85K with some modest end-of-year bonus potential, depending on how the firm does.
    Other: I work for an ESOP, so if I stay here for a while I will be vested. Our health benefits are good. I don’t use it because I don’t have kids, but there is a 20% discount at an on-site day care.

  275. Patent Paralegal (Junior)*

    Junior Patent Paralegal

    Job: I a responsible for a small portfolio of ~2000 patent matters in 61 IP jurisdictions. I coordinate patent filing, prosecution, and maintenance between the client, our US attorneys, and foreign (non-US) associates.

    Area: Seattle, WA

    Experience: 4 year degree + 1 year post-bacc paralegal certificate + 3 years in patent prosecution

    Salary: $55,000/year + annual merit-based bonus opportunity. Full benefits.

  276. Vice President, Data Analysis*

    Job: Leading team of data scientists working with banking data
    Industry: Financial services
    Geographic Area: Boston
    Years of experience: 25
    Salary: $240,000 + bonus ($60,000) + stock ($100,000)

  277. Pediatrician*

    Job: outpatient pediatrics, newborn rounds in the hospital, phone call, no other hospital coverage, no delivery attendance
    Location: Indianapolis
    Experience: medical degree, 3 years residency, first job out of residency
    Salary: $190,000
    – Guaranteed salary for first 2 years, then will go to 100% productivity based. 36 patient contact hours a week. I probably average about 50 hours a week at work all told.

    1. UX Designer*

      Wow this was super interesting. How do contact hours work? As someone who has spent a ton of time in Dr’s offices I found that to be really surprising.

      1. Mela*

        It’s basically billable hours. You charge the insurance company for 15 mins face to face with the patient, for example, but then you have to chart and do other things in your work-week that bump you over the 36 hours you can bill to an insurance company.

  278. Internal Organization Development and Learning Consultant*

    I am internal consultant which means I partner with senior leadership to solve organizational problems getting in the way of our sucess. I help with strategy development, talent management, organizational and individual learning and development, team coaching, and change management. I work for a mid-sized IT organziation.
    NYC Metro Area
    10 years work experience
    $106,000
    I have an MS in Organizational Change Management. I manage a small team (2 people).

  279. VP of Human Resources*

    oversee HR for trade association staff; through management agreements provide HR to several affiliated organizations; provide HR consulting services to trade association members
    Carolinas
    25+
    $108k

  280. State Government Attorney*

    Job: I work for the judicial branch of government. My work is split between providing (1) advice and counsel, and (2) legal support for policy development.
    Geographic area: Sacramento, California
    Years of experience: 6
    Salary: ~$125,000
    Anything else pertinent to put that number in context: Pension contributions are mandatory. Most state government jobs in this region are with the executive branch of government and the executive branch pays much less than the judicial branch (however, attorneys in the executive will be seeing some increases over the next few years as a result of a recent deal between the state and the relevant union). If you are in the executive branch civil service, you are not at-will so the job security is excellent. I am not in the civil service and am at-will. Legislative branch compensation pays the same base salary as executive, but has better benefits. Locally, in government jobs, federal, city, and county all pay better than executive branch of state government.

    1. State Government Attorney*

      Job: I work for a state agency. I have two direct reports and oversee the legal work for our division of the agency (we don’t have one central legal dept). I also assist our division head with legislation and monitor internal compliance.
      Geographic area: Indiana
      Years of experience: 5
      Salary: ~$60k

      1. State Government Attorney*

        To put this in context: This technically my third job in state government and far and away the best paid. Though I work in a different region than the CA attorney that commented above, it has also been my experience that executive branch jobs are the lowest paid. I was making less than $50k when I left my last executive agency and when I started at that agency I was making just above $40k. I now work for a separately-elected (so, not the governor) official. Another attorney in our office had been practicing for a little over a year when he started with our office at $48k. Still not amazing pay, but that’s $6k higher than when I started at an executive agency with more experience.

  281. Attorney (US federal govt)*

    Job: attorney in-house at a large-ish US government agency.
    Location: Washington DC
    Years: 8 with this agency
    Pay: GS-15/1, which is $131,767. I just got promoted to this level within the past few weeks. I started as a GS-11, which is around 66k

    1. another federal attorney*

      Job: Litigation for US agency
      Location: Outside of DC (Mountain time zone city)
      Years: 3-5
      Pay: $119,000

  282. Assistant Marketing Manager*

    Sorry reposting, forgot some relevant info
    Assistant Marketing Manager at consumer electronics company
    Metro Chicago
    4 1/2 years of experience
    $50k/year

  283. Senior Accountant*

    your job: Senior Accountant-Officially manage one direct report and coach/mentor two others. Main areas of work include budgeting, ad-hoc reporting, and fixed assets.
    your geographic area: Rural Southwest
    your years of experience: 1 in current idustry, 11 years overall.
    your salary: $80,000 with bonus ($75,000 base)
    anything else pertinent to put that number in context: I have a CPA and live in an area where highly skilled, degreed, and certified professionals are in short supply. I was recruited into my current position.

  284. Staff Attorney*

    Document review at a biglaw firm. Hours vary but I work 35-40 hours some weeks and 70 hours other weeks. I average around 55 hours/week.
    NYC
    5 years experience and a JD/LLM
    $62,000 base salary plus substantial overtime at $52/hour (I wound up making $120,000 in 2016)

    1. In-House Lawyer / Attorney*

      Are you on track to become an associate or are staff attorneys on a totally separate track? What are promotion opportunities like for staff attorneys?

      1. Staff Attorney*

        It’s a different track. There isn’t really any path for promotion for staff attorneys, at least at my firm. If my boss leaves, they’d likely promote one of us to his role, but that’s the only real option.

        I do know one person who was able to jump from staff attorney to associate at a firm I used to work for, but that’s the only one I’ve ever heard of. I think he was a partnership-track associate and has now lateralled to a different firm.

    2. Staff Attorney*

      Oh forgot to add that I have a great benefits package that includes a 6% contribution to my 401K regardless of what I contribute. I’ll be fully vested in that after working here for 3 years.

  285. Account Manager in the Technology Industry*

    1. Assist in software certification of our hardware; assist with software to software integrations. Act as an account manager for any sales/projects that develop as a result.
    2. New York
    3. 2 years experience
    4. $45,000
    5. Graduated 2014 with a bachelor’s in business

  286. Development and Program Director*

    Chicago
    10 years in the industry and a Master’s Degree
    $70,000
    My position was new with a new organization when I started, so I had the opportunity to set the level for my salary.

  287. Corporate Counsel*

    Industry: Insurance/Financial Services
    Geographic Area: Central Texas
    Years Experience: 5
    Salary: $80k (very low for area and position)

    1. In-House Lawyer / Attorney*

      Is your salary commensurate with how corporate counsel roles are paid at your company?

      1. Corporate Counsel*

        Yes, sorry I realize that was unclear! There are only 3 of us and we are paid commensurate with experience just quite a bit below the market rate for the work we do. That said, the job is low stress, the hours are reasonable, and the company is stable so I’m ok with the trade off for now.

  288. Financial Planning & Analysis*

    Sr. Analyst in FP&A for a Fortune 100 company
    Major US City
    10 years total work experience, 3.5 years in corporate finance post-MBA
    $110K
    Hired out of a full-time top-20 MBA program in the US. Colleagues without an MBA make ~$65-80K for a similar role. MBAs typically get more in-depth analysis assignments, though they’re not distinguished in level or title. The nature of assignments justifies the discrepancy, plus the company wants top-tier MBA talent and that’s the market rate. They don’t do a particularly good job of figuring out how to fit them into the existing title/leveling structure.

    1. Career Changer*

      I’m a paralegal with 5 years legal experience looking to transition into financial services. I’m planning to start by finding a job in finance or insurance (I have worked for insurance clients in a legal capacity), then taking some pre-req classes with the intention of getting a MBA with a Finance focus of a MSF. Do you have any advice for me?

  289. Manager*

    Job: I’m in financial services and manage a team of seven analysts responsible for legal documents and contracts for about 4,000 clients. I also spend about half my time on cross-functional projects supporting my business line.
    Area: Pacific Northwest
    Years of Experience: 13 total in industry; 2 of those as a manager
    Salary: $92,250 plus bonuses (last year’s was 12%); industry-average benefits

  290. QA Automation Engineer*

    I design and write automated tests in Java for a web platform.

    A small city in Wisconsin

    2 years full time, two years as an intern.

    $63,000/year

    BS in Computer Science

    1. QA Automation Engineer*

      I also get 4 weeks of PTO and a bonus of up to 10% yearly (it’s never the full 10%).

  291. Senior Academic Associate*

    I work in academic policy and procedure related to student adjudication and the faculty panels who make decisions on student conduct and other issues, in a higher education setting

    Midwest

    $57,000/year

    14 years experience

    BA in English, MS in Education

  292. Operations Specialist*

    Job: It’s like a quasi-junior technical project manager role (I make sure QA bugs get fixed)
    Location: SF Bay Area
    Years of exp: 5-6 years working total (undergrad degree only)
    Salary: I made $103k last year (including overtime, bonuses, and RSUs)
    Perks: Free food (3 meals a day), great health insurance, 21 vacation days, and lots of smart colleagues

  293. Academic Librarian (reference/instruction/subject specialist)*

    geographic area: Richmond, VA area
    years of experience: >5, <10
    salary: ~$55K
    etc: higher ed benefits (great retirement, vacation). I have a master's in library science and an additional MA.

  294. Director*

    Job: Direct activities of several medical specialties in a regional hospital (program expansion, budgets, hr, productivity measures, etc).
    Salary: $95,000/year plus Benefits.
    Location: Upper Midwest.
    Industry: Healthcare.
    Years of experience: 19 in healthcare (5 in current position); 2 in non-related nonprofit.

  295. Association Publishing Director*

    Oversee journal, magazine, and book publishing and communications for professional association
    Metro DC area
    20
    $125K

  296. Adult Education Advisor/Case Manager*

    your job: I work for a small nonprofit that, among other things, provides English classes to immigrants. I am one of the advisors for the program. I am responsible for being the advisor for 2 of our classes, advising anyone who is interested in going to job training, helping any current or past students who are looking for jobs, and doing retention with graduates who are currently in college.
    your geographic area: Boston, MA
    your years of experience: 3 in this role, almost 6 in this field
    your salary: just over $38,000

  297. Clerkship Coordinator*

    Medical Student Clerkship (Clinical Rotation) Coordinator in Emergency Medicine Dept at Level-1 Tertiary Center with accredited residency program.
    Massachusetts
    4 years in industry; 2 years this job
    $48,000 USD

  298. Marketing Analyst*

    Execute member mailings (prescription drug changes) for a large healthcare company
    Large upper-Midwest city
    5 years total experience, less than 1 year at this company
    $52,000
    Currently a contractor but company is working to make me full-time

  299. IRS - Revenue Agent (SBSE)*

    Job: Audit small businesses including Sch. C’s (sole prop.), partnerships, corps and S corps and assess additional tax, as applicable
    Geographic Area: Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex (Texas)
    Years of Experience: 6 with the IRS, no prior experience in this field before being hired, but BA in Accounting and MS Tax
    Salary: $75k + fantastic benefits
    Other Info: Govt. salaries are their own unique animal as are hiring processes and promotions

  300. Stock Assessment Scientist*

    Job Description: I take the catch of various species of fish in the oceans and using modeling and statistics determine if the stocks are being overfished. With that information we run analyses to determine how much fish the fishermen can catch each year in order to ensure that they are not being overfished and if they are overfished, to ensure that their population rebuilds.
    Geographical Area: Honolulu, HI
    Years experience: Entry level (first job, haven’t started yet).
    Salary: $64,000

    Additional info: I have a masters, a year working and then a PhD with contracting during the PhD in my field. My salary is about what you could expect to get just out of a PhD in fisheries management if you are statistics minded. The master’s and work experience helped me get into a PhD program, although they aren’t necessary. Fisheries management is one of the easiest fields to get jobs in after a PhD in marine biology, but I’m the only one with a permanent job of all the people in my program that have graduated in the last 3 years. Most jobs are either government jobs, which due to the hiring freezes in the last many years they are begging for people but aren’t allowed to hire, or academics, which is why the job market is rough. Since stock assessments are required by law, congress would have to repeal a 40 year old law in order to stop funding us, so job security is pretty good.

    1. Stock Assessment Scientist*

      I should add that I get 21 sick days, 21 vacation days, and 13 holidays each year (accrued), full benefits and up to 10% 401K matching. Plus I will likely get to travel a bit in the Western Pacific due to the species I will be working on specifically, but probably not for a few years.

  301. Senior Copywriter*

    Writer for marketing/promotions in a technical/consumer field
    Location: Chicago
    Experience in this field: 10. In related field: 20+
    Salary: 70,000

    1. Senior Copywriter*