It's about the buying power!
i've been lurking/commenting on this sub for a while and I see this come up often about reasonable wages and living wages, and promotions and raises and I see a lot of people thinking they are getting a good deal when they really aren't
Don't calculate how much you are making in absolute numbers. Calculate how much you make with your buying power… what % of your salary is dedicated to what. There is no ultimate guide, some people give priority to their homes and furniture while someone like me would be happy with a 1 bedroom with a 100k entertainment system in it. So budget how much in % are you willing to put into rent/food/utilities/entertainment etc… and gauge your needed salary accordingly.
start with a minimum living. look at the average cost of living in your area. If you can't live in the same area as the employment location, then the salary is too low, and that should be your starting salary (year 1 fresh out of high school) salary (part-time/full-time doesn't matter). then you move up the higher education you have and the number of years of experience.
speaking of years of experience. every year you should be getting a raise. period. no negotiations, no performance reviews, no bullshit. the raise should be the inflation rate. performance can dictate anything above that
if you get less than inflation rate as a raise, you are getting a paycut. remember your employer is raising his prices for his products/services to match the inflation, but he's not raising the salaries accordingly. which means he's paying employees less and less every year.
so 1. minimum viable income is the area's average living wages. so working in NYC flipping burgers should be significantly more lucrative than buttfucknowhere city in the desert. but bowth should be able to afford the same size apartment.
- raises match inflation, no performance, no negotiation, no bullshit.