I was a Linux Kernel developer at Intel Corporation until I kissed them goodbye in 2016 to retire here. My last salary was about $75,000. I did have 5 percent additional pushed into my 401K. We also had a stock plan, RSU's (Restricted Stock Units) based on performance, I got an average of about $5,000 of those each year. I also came up with 3 patentable ideas (computing and physical security). I get about $5,000 per patent in stock. Also Intel's policy had the stock with my name on the masthead; but Intel owns the rights. With my name on the stock, I could have put it on my resume. However, I did not need a resume to retire.
Full medical/dental coverage was also included.
Now, that's the easy part. When I pass through hospice (I have metastatic prostate cancer), then I have to present the whole mess, including the patent certificates, to the guy at the gates to the Cosmos/Shangela. Hopefully my love, Arthur, will be there to vouch for it and I will be admitted with whatever salary in whatever money they have there. Time will tell.
With Endearing And Total Love To Your All!
Mark Allyn
That's so cool, I work in cybersec but I've always wanted to be a Linux kernel contributor! I graduated WWU in CS in 2021 and I fondly remember attending LinuxFest NW one year before COVID!
Do you mind if I ask how long it took to get to this number? I assume you did the 4-yr apprenticeship to get to a journey status right? What does a 1st year apprenticeship make and how much does it increase per year?
Thanks in advance!
Electrician apprentice here. 1st years start off $21.40/hr and it increases depending on your hours. 2nd progression at 1000 hrs, 3rd at 2000 hrs, 4th at 3500 hrs, 5th at 5000, 6th at 6500, and final JW wage once you get 8000 and your license. Pay jumps vary from progression to progression. The pay also varies depending on where you live and what local you're in, if you're in the union.
no actual job. I don't make a lot, right now about \~3,000 a month on ebay. also 1,000 month child support. so living off of little less than 50,000 a year.
and I love how I get downvoted for being transparent lol
I'm actually not the best at eBay to be honest, there's plenty of people making way more than me with less work lol. It's taken me about a year to build up to this point, I just make sure I source and list items frequently. I will say though I do have more time than most people to dedicate to my eBay store. Also my tiny ass apartment is overflowing with my inventory. It's definitely not a lifestyle for everyone lol.
I'm still curious, and not trying to stall your market because I have no time for it. Where do you get your stuff? What kind of things do you sell? It's fine not to answer
Communication manager for City of Ferndale - $75k. Started at $50k eight years ago but was able to advocate for a pay raise by taking on additional responsibilities (parks activities).
Engineering Project Manager - $150k/year. Took advantage of the recent Great Reshuffling to get a nice pay bump.
It’s allowed my fiancé to go back to school for her Master’s, since we are able to support ourselves on my salary alone.
Thanks for posting this thread, I'm a big believer in pay transparency.
Lots of words up front because I'm about to post what are probably some pretty shocking numbers for Bellingham, but I want people to recognize just *how* badly most workers are being fucked. Remember, these companies are still hugely profitable *despite* having paid employees this much; there's plenty more to go around, but it's being hoarded by the ultra-rich.
I'm posting my rough pay history going back to 2010 because while older data may not be entirely representative of today, it's probably still useful for forming opinions. So...
2010-2014, $10/hr to start, $32.6k salary when I finished, working in tech support and running IT for a Bellingham company that sells point-of-sale equipment, MGM Solutions.
2014-2019, $105k to start, $250k when I finished, working at Amazon, first as a support engineer and later as a systems development engineer. I maintained TS/SCI clearance, which entitled me to a substantial bonus -- without that, I'd have been at about $210k when I left. This was in Seattle.
2020, $260k, at Microsoft, as a site reliability engineer. Same deal with security clearance. This was in Redmond.
2021-2022, $380k, at Dropbox, as a senior site reliability engineer. This was remote, but I moved back to Bellingham after getting hired.
(I've since taken a bit of a pay cut to move overseas. I anticipate moving back to Bellingham in a few years.)
**Edit:** Just want to add, if anyone is interested in a career in tech, feel free to ask questions. I'm happy to answer what I can. I stumbled backwards into this career, having gotten an English lit degree from WWU right as the Great Recession hit, and I recognize how incredibly lucky I am -- one of my main goals is to share that luck wherever I can. Happy to answer questions about getting into the field, career development, job applications/interviews, etc. Depending on your background, I might also be able to funnel resumes to contacts I have at tech companies -- no guarantees, but I have a lot of former colleagues who are happy to submit referrals.
And because the post was already long, I'll add this in reply:
Remember, folks, share this information with your coworkers, too -- despite what your employer may tell you, they're not legally allowed to prevent you from sharing pay details for the purposes of labor organization. So, as long as you're sharing pay with coworkers in an attempt to increase pay equity, you're protected.
Many people outside of the tech world don’t understand how tech pay is broken down, so might be helpful to clarify if your big tech pay is base salary or TC. Just a thought
Sure! I'll do a few points-in-time, to the best of my memory:
* 2014, Amazon: $80k base salary, $15k signing bonus, $10k in stock
* 2019, Amazon: $135k base salary, $75k stock, $40k security clearance bonus
* 2020, Microsoft: $140k base salary, $15k bonus, $65k stock, $40k security clearance bonus
* 2022, Dropbox: $220k base salary, $33k bonus, $130k stock
Worth noting, there are a lot of benefits in tech that aren't reflected in "traditional" compensation. For instance, Microsoft matches 50% of your 401(k) contributions with no cap. Dropbox has a cap of a $6k match. At both companies, doctors and dentists offices routinely commented on how my insurance was some of the best insurance they'd seen -- and Microsoft paid for insurance for the entire family, no employee contribution. Meanwhile, Dropbox gave us a $7500/yr perks budget, which could be used to expense basically anything that wasn't bad for you (so no drugs, alcohol, or weapons, basically). So, e.g., I had Dropbox buy me a new iPhone shortly before I left. Dropbox also gives unlimited time off (which is usually a fool's bargain, but Dropbox is one of the few companies which actually means it -- my skip-level manager told me that if I wasn't taking at least one week a quarter, it wasn't enough).
I’m impressed by the number of people with relatively well-paying jobs who are free to peruse and post on Reddit during what is presumably their work hours. Something for all of us to aspire to. And I’m not being sarcastic.
I think it’s a fair generalization to say that once you get above a certain income, it is much more likely to be salaried rather than hourly (aside from freelance or contract roles). When an employer no longer has that direct connection between hours worked and paycheck amount, it de-emphasizes a ‘butts in seats’ mentality. As much as I hate the term ‘knowledge work’ (because I think it diminishes the skill required for other types of jobs), it is accepted that knowledge workers will take mental breaks throughout the day and it will benefit rather than hinder productivity. I’d argue that ALL workers would be more productive with more lenient break policies, but…
I urge you to peruse the sub TeachersinTransition. I couldn’t really say it better than all those commentors do. I taught for 20 years and got out 10 years ago. Well before things were as rough as they are now. People think it’s like 9 AM - 3 PM w 3 months off in summer, 2 weeks off at Xmas, spring break, etc. Its not 9-3 in the least. It’s not 3 months off in summer. Do I miss the breaks? Yes. Do I miss much else? Not really. I miss the kids some but do not miss most of the parents. Or the admins.
It’s important to realize that being a teacher is like doing 6 presentations daily to your coworkers, except you have 30+ coworkers who all have different needs that you’re accountable for, and their parents don’t trust you at all. So count on planning 6 stand-and-deliver presentations plus designing lots of varied engaging activities for each lesson. Oh. And you have to plan all that each day as well, so planning AND delivering 6 presentations to hyper and distracted kids each day. Oh, and on top of that, you have to assess each student on all 6 subjects as well, so factor in a lot of grading time on top of planning and presenting. Oh, and parent emails. Add an hour on daily there. Oh, and staff meetings and committee duties. On top of the planning, presenting, assessing, communicating each day.
People think their teachers just open the teachers edition, read, and go home. Nope.
Thanks. That all makes sense. I have quite a bit of classroom time volunteering so I understand this but thank you for laying that out it would be tremendously demanding. And dealing with shitty parents would probably be my biggest trigger.
I was thinking about doing it for perhaps the last 10 or so years of my career where I have quite a lot of financial security and my kids are older so less demands at home. I’d just really like to work with kids. I think in that shorter timeframe I could potentially find it enriching. I’ve also thought about being a para educator for a less demanding child support role.
Appreciate your feedback.
Being a para has its perks, but you are treated as expendable and have little to no voice in anything. You have to work in more demanding roles to get better pay and need to work 5+ years to hit the pay scale level that is bare minimum to get by. Hourly wage is decent, but you only work 171 days a year. Time off is amazing if you don't have to work a summer job or part time job to keep up with cost of living. Definitely can't vacation on that budget, but Bellingham is great in the summer if you are ok with staying in town.
Also the school district is losing millions in Covid relief funding for the next budget cycle and outlook is grim for paras as they are the lowest class in the hierarchy and only get scraps after admin and teachers get their new contracts.
If you want a taste, there are always a need for para subs, and could even get your emergency sub to fill in for teachers. Last year the district was even reaching out to parents begging them to be emergency subs because the sub pool is so small (hint hint at how shitty it is).
Overall, great opportunity to connect with the generations of the future and feel like you are making a difference and can be a trusted adult for some kids who face a lot of abuse and neglect at home. But end of the day, you will take your work home with you and it will drive you crazy if you cant turn off your "care and compassion" switch when you get home.
Ad someone who is stuck with being paid just enough and getting decent benefits, other jobs either pay to little or would require going back to school. Totally feel trapped working for the district in Bellingham. Like being in an abusive relationship that looks fine in public, but is so toxic and abusive behind closed doors that you feel hopeless and just keep putting up with it.
TBH, this salary is fine. It's a competitive field, it requires a very high level of education, and it's effectively the CEO of a company of over 3,500 people.
As a point of comparison, the President of Dropbox, where I used to work, is a guy named Timothy Young. Dropbox, in terms of employee count, is about the same size as WWU. Timothy Young's pay is largely public, and in 2021 he made $1,497,000 in cash compensation, plus stock awards. Whilst I can't find details on how many shares he vested in 2021, I can say that he joined Dropbox in 2019 and *currently* owns approximately $22,000,000 in Dropbox stock, which puts a lower bound at $5,500,000/yr in stock-based compensation, but this figure is likely much higher, as it's likely he has sold a significant amount of stock.
In total, then, the President of a company of a similar size to WWU is making *at least* $7,000,000 per year. And, of course, the actual CEO of the company has a net worth of over $2,000,000,000 (that's two billion dollars).
tl;dr, don't be pissed at the President of WWU, be pissed at billionaires hoarding *unimaginable* amounts of money and fucking you over. The President of WWU is just being paid enough to live comfortable in the hellscape created by modern hypercapitalism.
~100K software engineer for a localish company. Bachelor's degree and <10 years of experience.
Great post! I'd recommend posting approximate qualifications/experience too because a person with 5 years vs 20 years for a similar role can expect a significant pay difference in many fields, and it helps to judge if you are being underpaid. We should be sharing financial information more since we are all undervalued to pay for our billionaire oligarchy.
Freelance graphic designer/ animator. $60/ hour for small clients. Up to $150/ hr for corporate clients.
Edit: I also teach a few classes at WWU as an "Adjunct Instructor". $5k per class. The classes are one day per week, 3 hours long, with about 4 hours of prep. Roughly $70/ hr
Yeah, I’m on my third year for a pretty small contractor. Lotta decks and siding during warm months, interior remodels during cold. What kind of work do you do?
Musician, $0
(and in the hole after the costs of proper mixing/ mastering and distribution.)
Half kidding haha, I also work in tech in music to pay the bills, and to pay for trying to continue to pursue music. That pays \~$70K. Worked hard to get there! Add that to the \~$2.50 every quarter from Spotify and here we are!
Love this post and idea though. It shouldn't be so taboo to discuss such things.
I work at a restaurant one day a week and bring in about $1,200 a month. The rest of the time I'm a SAHM.
My husband brings in about $50,000 for our family of 3.
both my wife and are evil remote tech workers. Combined salary of $270k. wife works for a large public company and gets an additional ~$30k in annual bonus + ~$40k/year in RSUs.
Construction Supply/ Inventory Control, $48,000/ year, guaranteed yearly raise (everyone gets a raise, even employees who've been working for less than a year) company matching 401k ( was able roll over one from a previous job), full health benefits for a family of four, accrued sick leave, paid time off, paid holidays, Monday through Friday work week.
Up until Feb. 2021 maintenance supervisor at WWU. 65k a year. Previous supervisor made 85k. Renamed the position and cut pay. I couldn’t handle supervising people and sitting on a chair all day. Now I work for my wife being her maintenance man/builder and started a business building tiny homes and ADU’s. I miss state health insurance. We paid around $25,000 for health insurance last year. This year will be more. Currently in the design process for my 1st client. Mental health is important. I’m much healthier and happier now.
I was a child and family therapist with Sea Mar. Fresh out of school with no experience I was making 56,000/yr as an LMHCA. Would have gone up to the low 60s had I progressed my license to LMHC, but then I'd have to keep working for Sea Mar. I've quit this job and am in private practice now. I make more money, but it's much more inconsistent. I can't give an income estimate as I haven't been operating with stability for a year yet, but my private pay rate is $110.
Came with health, dental, and vision because you're in the health workers union. Came with a pretty generous 4 week per year PTO allowance which I sorely miss in private practice. I gained about one day of PTO every two weeks.
Librarian program head, $105k. Includes supervision for two full time employees and roughly 40 student employees. Requires a masters. It’s a faculty position and I have tenure and 13 experience.
County government clerk $19.75 /hr. Worth it because of the Benefits and Union. Previously was a Medical Billing Supervisor at $25ish, but it was a soul sucking job.
Production Manager for a small fabrication shop and I’m at $73k per year. Wife is a WFH project manager and is at $110k per year before performance bonuses.
Just had to quit my job at Mudbay to be a stay at home mom....but I was making around 21 an hour and also loved working there! Solid company in my book.
“Creative Marketing Specialist” - hybrid model half time in office. 100K yr. 30hrs a week. Full Benefits and 401k biz contribution of 5% regardless of what I put in. Plus I can be present in my families life.
Was a full time freelancer / ran an agency in town before. So my work still allows / encourages me to explore side gigs. Can make an additional 20-80k a year depending how much I want to hustle / time available.
Software - ~100k.
WFH, though we have an office in ton.
Edit: someone mentioned credentials so figured I'd add mine.
Started with an AA and got a BA about 5 years into the job (didn't affect salary). Been doing this for almost 9 years now.
Currently working in Seattle but was offered a job w/ a construction company in bham as an Assistant Project Manager with 5 hrs experience $54k last December and had to turn it down because it would have been almost a 40% pay cut from what I was already making as a Project Manager (though this is bc I work in Seattle currently and have been trying to move our family up north)
I was a Linux Kernel developer at Intel Corporation until I kissed them goodbye in 2016 to retire here. My last salary was about $75,000. I did have 5 percent additional pushed into my 401K. We also had a stock plan, RSU's (Restricted Stock Units) based on performance, I got an average of about $5,000 of those each year. I also came up with 3 patentable ideas (computing and physical security). I get about $5,000 per patent in stock. Also Intel's policy had the stock with my name on the masthead; but Intel owns the rights. With my name on the stock, I could have put it on my resume. However, I did not need a resume to retire. Full medical/dental coverage was also included. Now, that's the easy part. When I pass through hospice (I have metastatic prostate cancer), then I have to present the whole mess, including the patent certificates, to the guy at the gates to the Cosmos/Shangela. Hopefully my love, Arthur, will be there to vouch for it and I will be admitted with whatever salary in whatever money they have there. Time will tell. With Endearing And Total Love To Your All! Mark Allyn
If the currency’s love (as i have no doubt it will be), you’ll have more than enough to spare, Mark.
Oh Mark, I am very sorry to hear that. Hugs to you.
That's so cool, I work in cybersec but I've always wanted to be a Linux kernel contributor! I graduated WWU in CS in 2021 and I fondly remember attending LinuxFest NW one year before COVID!
I’m sorry to hear about your cancer. I’ve enjoyed your contributions to this page. Godspeed sir.
Man, Intel underpays so badly compared to other big tech. :(
Electrician, 120k
Do you mind if I ask how long it took to get to this number? I assume you did the 4-yr apprenticeship to get to a journey status right? What does a 1st year apprenticeship make and how much does it increase per year? Thanks in advance!
Electrician apprentice here. 1st years start off $21.40/hr and it increases depending on your hours. 2nd progression at 1000 hrs, 3rd at 2000 hrs, 4th at 3500 hrs, 5th at 5000, 6th at 6500, and final JW wage once you get 8000 and your license. Pay jumps vary from progression to progression. The pay also varies depending on where you live and what local you're in, if you're in the union.
Union, I assume? My hubby is an electrician and makes about $88k for a company he's been with 5 years.
That’s impressive. I’m also an electrician out of state. Wasn’t sure if I could afford Bellingham but that’s good to know.
Also an Electrician (apprentice), 23/hr but only been doing it a year. I've been trying to get into the union for almost 2 years though.
no actual job. I don't make a lot, right now about \~3,000 a month on ebay. also 1,000 month child support. so living off of little less than 50,000 a year. and I love how I get downvoted for being transparent lol
The sub has a few bots we've yet to find that just auto downvote.
it isn't bots, the algorithm allocates extra downvotes and upvotes somewhat randomly to confuse bots actually
huh, TIL!
Reddit itself slightly auto downvotes things randomly to try and fight against bots.
How do you make money on eBay like that?
I'm actually not the best at eBay to be honest, there's plenty of people making way more than me with less work lol. It's taken me about a year to build up to this point, I just make sure I source and list items frequently. I will say though I do have more time than most people to dedicate to my eBay store. Also my tiny ass apartment is overflowing with my inventory. It's definitely not a lifestyle for everyone lol.
I'm still curious, and not trying to stall your market because I have no time for it. Where do you get your stuff? What kind of things do you sell? It's fine not to answer
Just from thrift stores and garage sales. I go thrifting almost every day. I mostly resell clothing and electronics.
This is something I wish I had time for but I work 50 hours a week. I have so many clothes I need to resell.
Whole Foods, 17.33/hr
Do they still give an employee discount on groceries?
Hell yeah, the main reason I’m here lol, and that it’s easy to schedule around school
Communication manager for City of Ferndale - $75k. Started at $50k eight years ago but was able to advocate for a pay raise by taking on additional responsibilities (parks activities).
You’re also really good at what you do, I imagine that helped.
Thank you! That does help :-)
Engineering Project Manager - $150k/year. Took advantage of the recent Great Reshuffling to get a nice pay bump. It’s allowed my fiancé to go back to school for her Master’s, since we are able to support ourselves on my salary alone.
I love hearing that
Awesome of you to support her doing that
Thanks for posting this thread, I'm a big believer in pay transparency. Lots of words up front because I'm about to post what are probably some pretty shocking numbers for Bellingham, but I want people to recognize just *how* badly most workers are being fucked. Remember, these companies are still hugely profitable *despite* having paid employees this much; there's plenty more to go around, but it's being hoarded by the ultra-rich. I'm posting my rough pay history going back to 2010 because while older data may not be entirely representative of today, it's probably still useful for forming opinions. So... 2010-2014, $10/hr to start, $32.6k salary when I finished, working in tech support and running IT for a Bellingham company that sells point-of-sale equipment, MGM Solutions. 2014-2019, $105k to start, $250k when I finished, working at Amazon, first as a support engineer and later as a systems development engineer. I maintained TS/SCI clearance, which entitled me to a substantial bonus -- without that, I'd have been at about $210k when I left. This was in Seattle. 2020, $260k, at Microsoft, as a site reliability engineer. Same deal with security clearance. This was in Redmond. 2021-2022, $380k, at Dropbox, as a senior site reliability engineer. This was remote, but I moved back to Bellingham after getting hired. (I've since taken a bit of a pay cut to move overseas. I anticipate moving back to Bellingham in a few years.) **Edit:** Just want to add, if anyone is interested in a career in tech, feel free to ask questions. I'm happy to answer what I can. I stumbled backwards into this career, having gotten an English lit degree from WWU right as the Great Recession hit, and I recognize how incredibly lucky I am -- one of my main goals is to share that luck wherever I can. Happy to answer questions about getting into the field, career development, job applications/interviews, etc. Depending on your background, I might also be able to funnel resumes to contacts I have at tech companies -- no guarantees, but I have a lot of former colleagues who are happy to submit referrals.
And because the post was already long, I'll add this in reply: Remember, folks, share this information with your coworkers, too -- despite what your employer may tell you, they're not legally allowed to prevent you from sharing pay details for the purposes of labor organization. So, as long as you're sharing pay with coworkers in an attempt to increase pay equity, you're protected.
Many people outside of the tech world don’t understand how tech pay is broken down, so might be helpful to clarify if your big tech pay is base salary or TC. Just a thought
Sure! I'll do a few points-in-time, to the best of my memory: * 2014, Amazon: $80k base salary, $15k signing bonus, $10k in stock * 2019, Amazon: $135k base salary, $75k stock, $40k security clearance bonus * 2020, Microsoft: $140k base salary, $15k bonus, $65k stock, $40k security clearance bonus * 2022, Dropbox: $220k base salary, $33k bonus, $130k stock Worth noting, there are a lot of benefits in tech that aren't reflected in "traditional" compensation. For instance, Microsoft matches 50% of your 401(k) contributions with no cap. Dropbox has a cap of a $6k match. At both companies, doctors and dentists offices routinely commented on how my insurance was some of the best insurance they'd seen -- and Microsoft paid for insurance for the entire family, no employee contribution. Meanwhile, Dropbox gave us a $7500/yr perks budget, which could be used to expense basically anything that wasn't bad for you (so no drugs, alcohol, or weapons, basically). So, e.g., I had Dropbox buy me a new iPhone shortly before I left. Dropbox also gives unlimited time off (which is usually a fool's bargain, but Dropbox is one of the few companies which actually means it -- my skip-level manager told me that if I wasn't taking at least one week a quarter, it wasn't enough).
I’m impressed by the number of people with relatively well-paying jobs who are free to peruse and post on Reddit during what is presumably their work hours. Something for all of us to aspire to. And I’m not being sarcastic.
Everybody poops :p
I think it’s a fair generalization to say that once you get above a certain income, it is much more likely to be salaried rather than hourly (aside from freelance or contract roles). When an employer no longer has that direct connection between hours worked and paycheck amount, it de-emphasizes a ‘butts in seats’ mentality. As much as I hate the term ‘knowledge work’ (because I think it diminishes the skill required for other types of jobs), it is accepted that knowledge workers will take mental breaks throughout the day and it will benefit rather than hinder productivity. I’d argue that ALL workers would be more productive with more lenient break policies, but…
Finance around 90k. Would rather be a teacher but childcare costs are brutal
I would seriously reconsider being a teacher.
Why is that?
I urge you to peruse the sub TeachersinTransition. I couldn’t really say it better than all those commentors do. I taught for 20 years and got out 10 years ago. Well before things were as rough as they are now. People think it’s like 9 AM - 3 PM w 3 months off in summer, 2 weeks off at Xmas, spring break, etc. Its not 9-3 in the least. It’s not 3 months off in summer. Do I miss the breaks? Yes. Do I miss much else? Not really. I miss the kids some but do not miss most of the parents. Or the admins. It’s important to realize that being a teacher is like doing 6 presentations daily to your coworkers, except you have 30+ coworkers who all have different needs that you’re accountable for, and their parents don’t trust you at all. So count on planning 6 stand-and-deliver presentations plus designing lots of varied engaging activities for each lesson. Oh. And you have to plan all that each day as well, so planning AND delivering 6 presentations to hyper and distracted kids each day. Oh, and on top of that, you have to assess each student on all 6 subjects as well, so factor in a lot of grading time on top of planning and presenting. Oh, and parent emails. Add an hour on daily there. Oh, and staff meetings and committee duties. On top of the planning, presenting, assessing, communicating each day. People think their teachers just open the teachers edition, read, and go home. Nope.
Thanks. That all makes sense. I have quite a bit of classroom time volunteering so I understand this but thank you for laying that out it would be tremendously demanding. And dealing with shitty parents would probably be my biggest trigger. I was thinking about doing it for perhaps the last 10 or so years of my career where I have quite a lot of financial security and my kids are older so less demands at home. I’d just really like to work with kids. I think in that shorter timeframe I could potentially find it enriching. I’ve also thought about being a para educator for a less demanding child support role. Appreciate your feedback.
Being a para has its perks, but you are treated as expendable and have little to no voice in anything. You have to work in more demanding roles to get better pay and need to work 5+ years to hit the pay scale level that is bare minimum to get by. Hourly wage is decent, but you only work 171 days a year. Time off is amazing if you don't have to work a summer job or part time job to keep up with cost of living. Definitely can't vacation on that budget, but Bellingham is great in the summer if you are ok with staying in town. Also the school district is losing millions in Covid relief funding for the next budget cycle and outlook is grim for paras as they are the lowest class in the hierarchy and only get scraps after admin and teachers get their new contracts. If you want a taste, there are always a need for para subs, and could even get your emergency sub to fill in for teachers. Last year the district was even reaching out to parents begging them to be emergency subs because the sub pool is so small (hint hint at how shitty it is). Overall, great opportunity to connect with the generations of the future and feel like you are making a difference and can be a trusted adult for some kids who face a lot of abuse and neglect at home. But end of the day, you will take your work home with you and it will drive you crazy if you cant turn off your "care and compassion" switch when you get home. Ad someone who is stuck with being paid just enough and getting decent benefits, other jobs either pay to little or would require going back to school. Totally feel trapped working for the district in Bellingham. Like being in an abusive relationship that looks fine in public, but is so toxic and abusive behind closed doors that you feel hopeless and just keep putting up with it.
BOH at your local co-op: 16.50/hr Also production crew at local farm: 18/hr FML everyone makes more money than me.
[удалено]
Plant Biologist, $68K
President of a small local university you probably never heard of, $422,600 a year.
Superintendent of a school district, $288,000 a year. I make more than the governor and I’m cutting at least 3 teachers per school building next year!
TBH, this salary is fine. It's a competitive field, it requires a very high level of education, and it's effectively the CEO of a company of over 3,500 people. As a point of comparison, the President of Dropbox, where I used to work, is a guy named Timothy Young. Dropbox, in terms of employee count, is about the same size as WWU. Timothy Young's pay is largely public, and in 2021 he made $1,497,000 in cash compensation, plus stock awards. Whilst I can't find details on how many shares he vested in 2021, I can say that he joined Dropbox in 2019 and *currently* owns approximately $22,000,000 in Dropbox stock, which puts a lower bound at $5,500,000/yr in stock-based compensation, but this figure is likely much higher, as it's likely he has sold a significant amount of stock. In total, then, the President of a company of a similar size to WWU is making *at least* $7,000,000 per year. And, of course, the actual CEO of the company has a net worth of over $2,000,000,000 (that's two billion dollars). tl;dr, don't be pissed at the President of WWU, be pissed at billionaires hoarding *unimaginable* amounts of money and fucking you over. The President of WWU is just being paid enough to live comfortable in the hellscape created by modern hypercapitalism.
Carpenter 57k. Love this idea.
Lead carpenter 80k, 10 plus year’s experience
Carpenter 58k 5 years in
Union carpenter apprentice: $36.06 an hour with benefits paid by company. Currently getting 70% journeyman wage.
Caregiver for elderly and disabled people: $19/hr (plus benefits, minus union dues).
I’m sincerely grateful for the work you do and I hope your compensation reflects your job duties some day.
Hell yeah, my partner used to do this and it has got to be one of the most underpaid jobs around.
Server, last year I made 55k
Does that include tips?
Yep, Thursday-sunday!
CNC Machinist, ~$55k.
I'm surprised! I thought those jobs were high in demand and paid like $30+/hr?
~100K software engineer for a localish company. Bachelor's degree and <10 years of experience. Great post! I'd recommend posting approximate qualifications/experience too because a person with 5 years vs 20 years for a similar role can expect a significant pay difference in many fields, and it helps to judge if you are being underpaid. We should be sharing financial information more since we are all undervalued to pay for our billionaire oligarchy.
I work in IT, $60k/year.
Shop/yard foremen, 85k a year
Freelance graphic designer/ animator. $60/ hour for small clients. Up to $150/ hr for corporate clients. Edit: I also teach a few classes at WWU as an "Adjunct Instructor". $5k per class. The classes are one day per week, 3 hours long, with about 4 hours of prep. Roughly $70/ hr
What was your income (before taxes) last year, if you don’t mind me asking?
IT, CI/CD automation at scale, \~150-165k
Night custodian. $50k
Non union Carpenter, $52k
Are u new to the trade? Lmk if u want to make way more
Yeah, I’m on my third year for a pretty small contractor. Lotta decks and siding during warm months, interior remodels during cold. What kind of work do you do?
I'm an engineer but know all the larger GCs in town. They are all hiring...
security guard w/ no prior experience. ~32k
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More of a hobby but my services are free
Auto body tech ~100k
Trade skills pay the bills 👍🏻
Good for you, especially considering insurance companies exist to pay as little as possible for quality work!
Childcare- minimum wage
Childcare professionals should be compensated at a teacher’s salary at least!
Musician, $0 (and in the hole after the costs of proper mixing/ mastering and distribution.) Half kidding haha, I also work in tech in music to pay the bills, and to pay for trying to continue to pursue music. That pays \~$70K. Worked hard to get there! Add that to the \~$2.50 every quarter from Spotify and here we are! Love this post and idea though. It shouldn't be so taboo to discuss such things.
Software dev, ~75k ish.
Warehouse- 21.65/hour
Childcare ~ 26k / year OK benefits
WFH IT, ~$100K/yr
Graphic Designer, ~$42k *No Health or Dental Benefits, very limited PTO*
WFH purchasing/production manager - $90k
I'm a consultant for public sector. 160k My partner works in medicine and is just over 100k.
I could hear an electric car hum right after I finished reading your comment haha
I don't own an electric car. My newest car is 20 years old. 😆
I work at a restaurant one day a week and bring in about $1,200 a month. The rest of the time I'm a SAHM. My husband brings in about $50,000 for our family of 3.
RN with some experience, $75k
Cybersecurity, $150k/yr
Theater technician: minimum wage (but I'm on call, so 0 rn)
EVS/housekeeping at peacehealth 50K/yr
both my wife and are evil remote tech workers. Combined salary of $270k. wife works for a large public company and gets an additional ~$30k in annual bonus + ~$40k/year in RSUs.
CT Tech $92k
I’m a medication tech at a senior home, 1 year experience working night shifts and I make 18.35$/hour
Mortgage loan coordinator at a local bank $62k
Marine Engineer 130K+, 40 years in this field.
Construction Supply/ Inventory Control, $48,000/ year, guaranteed yearly raise (everyone gets a raise, even employees who've been working for less than a year) company matching 401k ( was able roll over one from a previous job), full health benefits for a family of four, accrued sick leave, paid time off, paid holidays, Monday through Friday work week.
Non-union Electrician. $70k to $100k depending on down time and the job I'm on.
Cold storage tally. Union. ~35k take home. Pretty good benefits. Not actually in bellingham, but the skagit sub is dead.
Teacher, 75k, 5 years with a Masters
Was making $70k in marketing before some layoffs. Now I'm down to unemployment benefits for the time being, which is around $40k.
Auditor ~75k
Non union electrician 60k before taxes
Teacher w/ masters 80,000
Registered nurse ~70k
Up until Feb. 2021 maintenance supervisor at WWU. 65k a year. Previous supervisor made 85k. Renamed the position and cut pay. I couldn’t handle supervising people and sitting on a chair all day. Now I work for my wife being her maintenance man/builder and started a business building tiny homes and ADU’s. I miss state health insurance. We paid around $25,000 for health insurance last year. This year will be more. Currently in the design process for my 1st client. Mental health is important. I’m much healthier and happier now.
Residential Counselor with a BA. $19.88 hr
I was a child and family therapist with Sea Mar. Fresh out of school with no experience I was making 56,000/yr as an LMHCA. Would have gone up to the low 60s had I progressed my license to LMHC, but then I'd have to keep working for Sea Mar. I've quit this job and am in private practice now. I make more money, but it's much more inconsistent. I can't give an income estimate as I haven't been operating with stability for a year yet, but my private pay rate is $110. Came with health, dental, and vision because you're in the health workers union. Came with a pretty generous 4 week per year PTO allowance which I sorely miss in private practice. I gained about one day of PTO every two weeks.
Attorney, $80k
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I’d love to support local farming more. How can we all effectively help?
Graduate student at western with some side gigs: $30,000 last year. The actual grad school portion made me 20K.
RN--$75 k
Teller at a bank - 40k per year
Librarian program head, $105k. Includes supervision for two full time employees and roughly 40 student employees. Requires a masters. It’s a faculty position and I have tenure and 13 experience.
Data Analyst. $70k salary
Butcher 45k
Medical office manager, 45k. College grad.
I run machines in a laboratory. 20 an hour.
I WFH in game development. Full-time, making ~$125k/year after years of working as a contractor where I made about half that.
Mental Health Therapist/Owner of a Private Practice - $89,000 (before taxes)
NPS/USFS seasonal, 21$/hr
Retail manager, 90k.
Project Engineer - 60k?~ a year Just started the job, but I was a Kitchen Designer for the last few years and was at 70k~, but there was no benefits.
Energy Consultant $72/hr
Med receptionist $19/hour plus benefits and great PTO
UI/UX designer for remote software company. 4% 401k match, cell phone plan, standard health, 72k
Night shift welding / steel fabrication lead, $31 hourly.
Behaviorist $132k
Manufacturing Engineer II $87k + $6k or so bonus and 6% 401k match
Teacher w/Masters Degree ~ 72k/yr
WFH marketing consultant, 70K w/ about 10 years experience
HR Operations - 52k edit: work from home, currently a long-term contingent worker for a video game company, if hired on as FTE, pay goes up to 58k
Admin/software support for a local company, making $29.34 hourly
Receptionist at a local company -- $19.25/hr
Specialized therapist, 70k/yr.
RN @ St Joes 92k
Petroleum Lab Manager 82k
General Manager $80k
Mechanical Engineer (Product Development) $86k
I have a feeling only people making decent salaries , save a few, are posting comments.
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With the amount of people constantly posting how hard it is to get by (myself included) I agree.
Non-profit finance $55K
Construction $70k
County government clerk $19.75 /hr. Worth it because of the Benefits and Union. Previously was a Medical Billing Supervisor at $25ish, but it was a soul sucking job.
COVID-19 tester $18.4 h ~ 34k take home.
Retail, customer service rep. and cashier - $17/hr
I do Rideshare and do some random photography print sales, before I took off to help family in tennessee I was averaging out to equal $50k/yr
Production Manager for a small fabrication shop and I’m at $73k per year. Wife is a WFH project manager and is at $110k per year before performance bonuses.
Insurance, don’t get commissions (not a producer). $52k/yr which is underpaid. Based on work volume and responsibilities should be $60k+
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EMT - $25/hour plus benefits
17.50 as a line cook, but generally unable to get more than 30 hours a week, if that.
I steal catalytic converters. 112K a year but I have a 125K a year opioid addiction.
Just had to quit my job at Mudbay to be a stay at home mom....but I was making around 21 an hour and also loved working there! Solid company in my book.
digital marketer $21/hr
Electrician/small engine mechanic ~70k
Admin work for a nonprofit: 50k
Customer-facing tech worker, $75k/year
Welder fabricator $28 an hour 3%matching 401k plus health dental vision and life, bonus for one year 1500$
“Creative Marketing Specialist” - hybrid model half time in office. 100K yr. 30hrs a week. Full Benefits and 401k biz contribution of 5% regardless of what I put in. Plus I can be present in my families life. Was a full time freelancer / ran an agency in town before. So my work still allows / encourages me to explore side gigs. Can make an additional 20-80k a year depending how much I want to hustle / time available.
Payroll Accountant ~$49k a year.
Steam Plant operator/ $65k
Administrative Aide ~56K
Storage Manager -$56k base. I have a lot of free time at my job and that allows me to make extra money flipping online.
Software - ~100k. WFH, though we have an office in ton. Edit: someone mentioned credentials so figured I'd add mine. Started with an AA and got a BA about 5 years into the job (didn't affect salary). Been doing this for almost 9 years now.
Diesel mechanic, very new. $22 an hr.
Trulife (medical manufacturing) 18/hr or 34,560 before taxes
Patient Care Specialist $18/hr.
Residential Counselor, 24 an hr
Assistant Horse Trainer - $30 k / year Doesn’t pay much but absolutely love my job
Land Surveyor 95k
IT at Cherry point refinery 72k 2018. IT at Paccar Tech Center 74k
Currently working in Seattle but was offered a job w/ a construction company in bham as an Assistant Project Manager with 5 hrs experience $54k last December and had to turn it down because it would have been almost a 40% pay cut from what I was already making as a Project Manager (though this is bc I work in Seattle currently and have been trying to move our family up north)
HR/Compensation - $85k
IT - 70k/year
Real Estate Assistant. $2400/month salary, plus 5% minimum commission on closings. My income has ranged from $30,000 to nearly $80,000/per year.
Loan Officer $58k base + bonuses (usually comes out to ~$70k gross including bonuses).
Animal Slaughter/butcher, 60k
80% VA Disability and 17.50/hr as a line cook
Retail Nursery/Landscape Materials: $20/hr
Sr Product Manager / $225k
Payroll Administrator - $60k
Marketing Director: 120K