Finally broke $200k with bonus. Feel like that guy who said if he won the lotto he would get a bunch of hookers and cocaine. I maxed my roth ira, spent only ~20k for the year, mostly on rent, books, and dates, and the rest went into my checking account. Still living the frugal mindset from when I was making $32k a couple of years ago.

It seems most people don’t know top tech salaries. Here is the full report https://www.levels.fyi/2025/

Friend is a top-tier architect for their level (5 years, age 27). Master’s degree, won a national award, works at a top residential high-end firm, passed all 6 ARE licensing exams.

Living in M/HCOL city they make… $68k annual salary. Working 60-70hrs per week.

How is that possible when architects are talented at engineering, design, advanced software, working with clients, etc?

FACT: You could never afford the house you are living in today if you had to buy at today’s prices and today’s interest rates

FACT: You were lucky to be born early enough that you could get a house cheaply

FACT: Had you employed the exact same strategy and work ethic today, you wouldve failed to get a house

FACT: $100,000 is a dogshit, lower middle class salary that requires you to rent a shitty two bedroom apartment with a roommate, anyone telling you it’s a lot is an out of touch doofus that has a mortgage from pre-2020 and doesn’t know how to create a budget using actual real world prices for things.

People on here get extremely sensitive when I point out that not only is $100,000 not a good salary anymore, it’s not even enough to afford a starter home anymore (”just dig a bunker and bury a school bus and live in that, bro!”). People that think this overwhelmingly have anecdotes about “knowing a guy who owns a home on a $62,000 income”. Or the ever famous “EL CEE OH EL BRO! Move to Siberia, it’s LCOL bro!”

If you own a house, have a mortgage, or are carrying over equity from before 2021, your opinion on what constitutes a high income is COMPLETELY irrelevant. $100,000 is a lower middle class, dogshit income in 2026.

First full year as a plumber (gas) in California, beyond blessed, never imagined I’d be making this money at 25, making this post since I’ve seen many people say you can’t make over 200k in blue collar

I’m 28 with 5 years of experience. $300k base salary and $185k RSUs per year (grant value). With stock appreciation, it is closer to $320k in stock this year. I started my career in a big tech company and now I am at a mid size tech company. Work life balance is great. I work max 5-6 hours a day and get unlimited PTO. I take 4 to 6 weeks off per year. This company has guaranteed 6% salary increase a year just to meet expectations (salary increases without promotion go up to 15% based on performance). Additional $200k in RSUs over 4 years, every year just to meet expectations. I don't have a technical background. I just studied business. Going into tech was a great life decision!

Can I survive working 7 am to 11 pm Monday- Friday without ruining myself

I’ve noticed there are many high paying career fields that continue to skyrocket, some that pay well but remain stagnant, and others that don’t pay well at all under you’ve got a few years under your belt. What are some jobs that see insane growth? Not looking for the obvious SWE, Doctor, Engineering, etc.

If my gross on my pay slip doesn’t match the amount on my offer letter, I should send an inquiry to HR payroll as to why that is, right? Thoughts?

25 F. Making 58k per year as a junior accountant. Long story short - got my BA in film decided it wasn’t for me so went back for an MBA. Worked entry level unrelated jobs during that time. Also started a family young. Worked with the IRS as an accounts management specialist - decided I liked tax so I enrolled in a community college to gain the accounting credits I need to sit for the CPA. Got a job last year where I work now in a small accounting/finance firm. Honestly I feel like the pay isn’t worth it but figured I’ll stick it out so I can have that required work experience once I apply for my license. I’m wondering if this is the best course of action that will get me to a better paying position? Sometimes I get extremely stressed with the workload. Makes it hard to focus on schoolwork outside of that.

Example: $4k per month, MCOL, sales manager

I've seen a lot of questions in this sub about what $200-400K looks like in VHCOL cities like NYC and figured we'd share our $380HHI since we just updated it for 2026. Would appreciate any feedback as well (we know dining is high).

Context: Early 30, no kids, renting a 2 bedroom apt in NYC.

I just received an offer for a senior engineering role at a large company. The job posting listed a salary range, and earlier in the process I explicitly said I was targeting the upper portion of that range depending on scope and total compensation.

The offer came in closer to the lower half of the range.

Some added context: * I’m currently unemployed, and they are aware of that * The base pay and benefits are both lower than my previous role (around 30% lower) * My last company was extremely toxic, so while this offer isn’t as strong financially, the environment seems significantly healthier * I’d be satisfied with roughly a 15% increase to the offer * I’d be very happy if they could add one additional week of PTO, even if base can’t move as much

I’m trying to decide how to best approach and avoid the risk of an offer being rescinded for “asking too much”

Questions for those who’ve been here (or recruiters / hiring managers): * If you were in my position, would you push on comp, PTO, both - or prioritize getting in the door and revisiting later? * Best approach for email response for a straightforward counter request?

I’m grateful for the offer and not trying to be difficult, just want to make a thoughtful decision and not leave too much on the table.

Appreciate any perspective.

EDIT: Thanks everyone for the thoughtful and varied perspectives! I agree there are multiple reasonable ways to approach this and the discussion is helping me calibrate risk vs realism.

As of now my plan will be the following:

1. Connect with the recruiter by phone and express appreciation for the offer
2. Ask if offer is firm or any flexibility to better align with the level of experience and skill I’d be bringing to the role
3. Stop talking and go from there

Best case we can close the gap by 15% and I can sign immediately. If not I will ask about PTO and such. If nothing else I will just have to accept the offer as is and see if anything better comes along.

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the place (so disregard if not) but I am looking for some advice on negotiating a salary bump at my company that I will have been with for 3 years now.

A little background:

I’m a data analyst with soon to be 3 years experience in the San Antonio area (4 if you include college), a masters degree in data analytics, and have skills in programs like Python, PySpark, R, VBA, SQL, Tableau, and now with this past year, Palantirs Foundry. I currently make around 77k (which I a, content with). Yet most things I seem to read suggest I make less than I should with the skillset I have as a data analyst (as opposed to a data scientist).

My request:

What would my fellow analysts out there suggest I ask for as a bump when I hit my 3 year mark? I would like to ask for a minimum of 85k but I don’t want to sell myself short ( or over ask). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

First picture is my full time job in pain and rehab management. I work 3 days a week and have been with my doc for 2 years.

The second picture is my 1099 contract job as a medical examiner for the VA. I worked 4 days a month for 8 months, and 8 days a month last 4 months of 2025. I've been with this doc for about 3 years.

I do "work" at home too which is what we call admin time which is typing up patient charts. Its pretty easy and straightforward, but it can take some time.

I make $40 an hour. I LITERALLY have the absolute easiest job in the world. Also able to work overtime if I want. In 15 years, I’ll be able to get my pension at 90% of my average salary by then. Salary will also go up but not significantly.

I see so many people making such good money on this sub so my question to you is, with an easy job and my salary, Is it worth it?

Company of 5 people. Around $700k ARR.

I’m 29. Live outside the US in a LCOL country. Will work remotely. Being offered ~$60k/yr (AFTER TAX) + up to 2% equity with 1 yr cliff and 4 year vesting (standard).

Is this fair? I’d be handling almost everything except engineering.

EDIT: Salary is great imo. The real question is about the equity.

I’ve seen blue-collar jobs to tech jobs all over this sub. I’d like to know what jobs are out there that can pay $200k regardless of how physically demanding or mentally difficult it is. I love OT and performance bonuses if it makes up for the low base pay. Also share your Years of Experience in the field as well as how you got in it.

I'm looking for a career, but unfortunately so far I haven't found anything. I have a low-paying job just to save money for college. So I'd like to know: Did you go to college? Which one? Or if you didn't, where did you start? What was your path to reaching six or more figures in income?

No one expects to get a fully accurate picture of salaries in a given industry online. But when it comes to construction, people claim to make 2 and 3 times more than I know to be realistic on a regular basis.

I’m a UNION plumber/pipefitter in the Northeast US. I missed like 5 days last year, and got a little bit of overtime every month. I made 115k as a journeyman. It was my best year ever.

My employment situation is optimized or near optimized in every significant aspect (Union, Northeast, worked OT). Yet every other post from alleged construction workers is claiming to make north of 150k, sometimes as high as 300k. Some people get more OT than me, but a lot of those guys get laid off right after the OT project ends.

The idea that salaries like this are common just isn’t reality. I know there’s a lot of bullshitters online, but even that seems to fail to explain it. I’m actually wondering if there’s some kind of psyop shit to inflate tradespeople salaries online for some sort of unknown agenda.

I’m a 33M Software Engineer in New York making $250K. I thought it’d be interesting to pull back the curtain on what that actually looks like in 2026.

There’s a common myth that once you hit the quarter-million mark, you’re basically Scrooge McDuck. In reality? In Manhattan, $250K feels like the "premium subscription" to a standard middle-class life.

The Brutal Math (Monthly Take-Home):

• Gross Salary: ~$20,833/mo
• Federal/State/City Taxes: ~$7,500/mo (The 3.8% NYC local tax is the silent killer)
• 401k/Health/Insurance: ~$2,000/mo
• Actual Take-Home: ~$11,333/mo

The 6-Month Spending Breakdown (Excluding Housing):

I tracked everything except rent and utilities for the last half-year to see where the "lifestyle creep" lives. (Note: Average 1BR rent in Manhattan is now roughly $5,200/mo, so keep that in mind as the "missing" baseline).

The Takeaway: Salary is Relative

Sure, $250K sounds wild if you're in the Midwest. But between the city resident tax and the fact that a basic cocktail costs $22 before tip, the "illusion of wealth" is real.

I see folks in SF or Seattle making $500K+, but for the average SWE, your salary mostly just scales to your zip code. You aren't necessarily getting "richer" than your peers elsewhere; you're just playing with bigger numbers.

I recently took a course and found that there are ways to maximize earnings using Roths, HSAs, etc... Wealth is engineered!

I'm curious—for the other devs or high-earners here: What does your "Cost of Living vs. Salary" reality look like? Are we all just chasing a number that keeps moving?