Are you comfortable telling people how much you make?

I don't mind. It's nice comparing salaries with other people in similar positions. It's also depressing since I don't work in the private sector, so I already make way less than my counterparts. But, I get a shitload of time off, which is more important to me than making more money.

I started working in restaurants as a server/bartender for many years while I put myself through college and talking about how much you made in tips is just par for the course. That carried over to jobs I got later in life. I'd gladly tell anyone who asked and in doing so often found out how underpaid either I or they were in relation to one another.

So as an entry level accountant with a bachelors I make 17.89 an hour. How much am I getting screwed?

Depends on why they're asking. If there's a purpose I don't have a problem telling someone, but I won't just disclose it in casual conversation. That's tacky.

Yes, I don't give a shit. I make $55,000 a year (which is nearly 2.5 times the average individual income in my area), but I make sure to tell anyone who knows that they will, at no point, ask me for money or else I'll tell them to go fuck themselves.

Mozendo said:

I have no issue with issue with this and never understood why it's so bad in the first place.
Doesn't this just protect the company? I can't think of any downsides

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Well I opened up about how much money I made and it made everyone who found out storm the boss and demand a pay raise.

Problem is I objectively bring in a higher profit rate than the other workers and so it created a shitstorm and a lot of talking behind my back.

Ultimately ended in me going up to certain individuals in the company and saying quite loudly in front of everyone "I bring in more than you, I do more than you, that's why I make more."

Yes, but then we have to play the game of "but are you lying tho...?" in our heads. I thought my sister's fiance was downplaying how much he made, but he really does have a shit salary for some reason according to her.

I don't personally mind but some of the looks I get from people when I answer just makes me really self-conscious about it at times.

I guess I'll be the anecdotal evidence guy.

Five years ago, I started working with a remote team on a project. I was in Florida, they were in Seattle.

I was the one with the least amount of experience in the field, and my cost of living was undoubtedly lower, so I expected that I would be the lowest paid member of the team.

A year in, and I felt confident that my contriubtuons were no less vital than anyone else, so I just wanted to make sure things weren't too far off. So the next time I visited Seattle for work, I asked some co-workers out for lunch and asked about their compensation.

They were all pretty open and honest and altogether shocked when we worked out that they made 2.5x-3.5x my salary.

If I hadn't asked I wouldn't have had the leverage to ask for a pretty massive raise. I also wouldn't have had the information I needed to decide that moving cross-country would be better for me financially despite the cost of living increase.

I know people get weird about it, so I don't talk about it in general. But if anyone (family, friend, or a stranger at a conference)) ever asks, or even comes in the vicinity of bringing it up, I make it absolutely clear that I am willing to tell them what I make, as long as they ask me explicitly.

I think it's better for everyone if they know what other people are making. It might help them fight for a raise or just understand the market more. I share freely with people who want to know.

Being a public educator, it's all public record. In fact, the state of Ohio has a whole website dedicated to searching public employee incomes.

I'm not worried about it, every year I put a recent pay stub on the projector and I make a lesson about taxes and insurance. It opens their eyes up a little bit about how much people actually take home.

i always say "not enough" and leave it at that

I don't mind talking about it provided the context is appropriate and relevant. I never understood the taboo of talking about how much money you make. It's like, surprise! Not everyone makes the same amount of money.

I work freelance writing music for TV shows and get paid in royalties. I get paid once per quarter and I don't know how much it will be until the deposit appears in my account. So I don't even know how much I make! Thankfully it's in a liveable place now and still going up so I don't stress about it as much anymore.

I sometimes tell friends how much I have made so far in a year or how much I made in a previous year when talking about making a career out of it. I don't think anyone has ever asked me straight up though.

It's generally not discussed except among close friends or family in Sweden. And since wages in most cases decided by the union workers can't negotiate a pay raise no matter what you make compared to others.
I totally see how it would be good in American working culture to know what your co-workers make though.

Lmao not anymore. That's suicide these days

My go-to answer is "it pays the bills" and no one has ever asked beyond that.

I've never felt weird about saying how much I make but most people consider it taboo and never ask anyways.

Depends on who. I ask people all the time.
I need to figure out how much to ask for when raises come around or I get a new job.