People on the internet talking about their huge salaries

ILoveYourVibes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058166657/people-on-the-internet-talking-about-their-huge-salaries

so that guy is basically a millionaire i hate him already ...

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118683288#Comment_118683288

There are undoubtedly liars and Walter Mitty types about. But as I said in the OP, the likes of AAM is a sterile forum - unlike here there would be little or no social capital to be gained from lying about earnings. Also, even though I like an ould conspiracy theory, I doubt that the owner of AAM would gain from making up fake Money Makeover threads to draw traffic to the site.

Dakota Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/116512525#Comment_116512525

We don’t want to know about the boil on your arse 😀😀😀

Dakota Dan

A bit like your man last week on how to be good with money, two houses and £190k lump sum in the U.K. that he had forgotten about 🙄

BrianD3

Another one in The Journal. 33 year old sales manager on 240k. Not going to link to it.

I don't think posters on AAM have anything to gain from making up BS - but the likes of the The Journal does, clickbait etc.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118745461#Comment_118745461

Again, for a "sales manager in a large tech organisation" in Dublin, with a masters degree and ten years experience, a salary of 105k + 70k bonus + 65k stock, is a very good package but it's not outlandish. The average salary in Facebook Ireland is 170k.

theintern

People should really take a look at the salaries in tech. Levels.fyi is a good site that lets you look at submitted salaries without signing up and logging in. It's anonymous, so of course people could be lying still, but there's a lot of data there.

In Dublin, for software engineering managers, total compensation (salary + stock + bonus) basically STARTS at 100k. And goes up well north of there. Depending on when someone joined, and how the company stock has done, it's not uncommon for mid level to senior managers in the bigger companies to be taking home 100k in stock alone.

Combine that with the fact that there's a good cross section between people in tech and those who post on online forums, and there are probably a lot of people on here on very good money. It's not representative of the population as a whole of course, but there's big selection biases at play.

Irishcrx

It's all relative to individual circumstances are cash flow really - it's almost like thinking about it like cars and how they have a power to weight ratio - a massive engine and HP is les use in something that weigh's as much as a tank.

I started working when I was 17 full time and have been in the same industry since, so 15 years or so - my first 'real' job I started on 21k a year and I thought that was amazing , and it was at the time because I lived at home etc so i had spare cash or saved what I could - I wanted to get property and have a house early rather than travel etc like others and I did that but the mortgage was tough , career progression was tough , hours were heavy and I missed out on a lot of 'social' activities , I rented rooms to cover the shortfalls when I had to and I met some great people as well throughout it.

I suppose now I'm a high earner according to this , good bit over 3 figures and sizeable performance related bonuses - however were also a single income family with 2 kids , we live fine, comfortable and you wouldn't hear me complaining about money to anybody , relative our mortgage is under 1k a month now. I don't go crazy with money unless I REALLY want something and I man just simple thing's , I live like I learned growing up and through my career just because I have it doesn't mean I have to spend it and life can change very quickly. My friends and family know I have a good job and earn good money but I'd never discuss it with them unless they asked me directly - I don't think life for me is about how much you earn and at a certain age people in your social group can seem to define or isolate you based on this and misconceptions. I'm one of those people who don't do the lotto because I'd hate to have that sort of money , I think it'd change you for the worst.

I love cars - I put some money into that for myself , that's about it.

BrianD3

Another one on AAM, a 29 year old on 140k and his partner, also 29 on 150k. I looked at some of his other posts and saw mention of MBB i.e. Management Consulting.

I was just thinking back to all the bull I've heard about careers over the years, particularly science careers which is my area. How employers are "crying out" for graduates, career prospects are great and the jobs are interesting. Add in stupid cliches about "doing what you love". The reality is that I and many others have gone down this path and been banging our heads against various walls and earning mediocre wages for years. Terrible career choice - and then we have yer man above with his 290k household income in his 20s.

Back on topic, there is another recent Money Makeover on AAM where a late 30s couple are on more modest salaries but have 3 mortgage free properties + low 6 figures in cash + pension pot.

Geuze

This person is just gone age 40, married with one child:

house - mortgage free valued @ €450k

cash savings €670k - 300k of this inherited

Pensions € 110k

Investments €130k

Farm land worth €350k inherited

Wife pension €80k

Wife Savings €30k

Salary 85k + Bonus

we own both our cars approx €65k between both cars

https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/how-much-is-required-to-retire.227294/

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119056459#Comment_119056459

It's actually fascinating to see the respondents jumping all over him and questioning how he has that level of assets with a salary of "only" 85k (plus bonus)

Salaries of 150k or more are routinely thrown around on that forum and nobody bats an eyelid. Often relatively young people in their twenties and thirties too.

As per this thread I am trying to get my head around who earns these type of salaries and why they are drawn to Internet forums to ask strangers for free financial advice. I also have some vague ideas in my head about where we are going as an economy and society - various thoughts on the difference between Dublin and the rest of the country, multinationals, tech firms, "the professions", property prices, inequality etc. And as I said above trying to come to terms with my own apparently terrible career decisions wasting my fcuking time/brain doing several STEM degrees having swallowed propaganda from vested interests about all the "great opportunities".

Ray Palmer

The exaggerations on tech salaries by people not in the industry is very strange. Manger salaries are considerably higher than the people who work below them. Some tech companies basically tell you to leave after 2 years if they haven't promote you. They go through graduates pretty quickly with many leaving the industry afterwards due to thinking the rest of the industry is the same. I saw graduate fight to work the longest hours to get a promotion eventually the guy who was the worst at his job got promoted because he spent the most time doing is basic job. His output was below a guy who was excellent and did his job and most of another guys job. Got him a job when I left with the company I was with and in that company he got promoted and excelled.

There are a lot of low paid tech workers and to get the high salaries you have to be very good. It is pretty hard to get a great salary in any industry unless you are good at what you do. Others could do my job and be paid a lot less but when that 1 in 100 event would throw them and they wouldn't see the risk approaching to avoid it in the first place. That is where the money comes in and the value to the organisation.

The Mighty Quinn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119056910#Comment_119056910

While I agree with the general thrust of what you're saying, to have those assets on 85K a year is colossal if he's amassed it himself. That equates to a 4,500 a month take home pay (less when pension contributions are taken), which is huge to be fair, but to have paid off a mortgage, saved 350K put in over 60K to a pension (accounting for tax relief) by 40 years old is quite the feat.

He'd have to have saved an average of 23K a year for 15 years to just have the savings pot, almost 2 grand a month, every month, for fifteen years. It's impressive. It most certainly is possible on the income quoted, but still would need careful management over two decades. Hardly living on the breadline, but a very diligent effort nevertheless.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119056910#Comment_119056910

There are posters on AAM with high incomes who don't know much about personal finance, e.g. doctors.

I suppose being so busy studying, then training, it could be the case that they don't know much about pensions.

The same goes for software coders, I suppose they could be expert programmers, but know little about tax relief / mortgages / pensions.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119057242#Comment_119057242

That case is particularly unusual.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119056910#Comment_119056910

@BrianD3,

I don't know much about science, but in engineering, isn't there a career path / structure, that means engineers could/should be on, say, 80k by age 45?

I know in the local authorities there is junior engineer / engineer / senior engineer, etc.

County engineer

85,141 – 88,301 – 91,456 – 94,614 – 97,771 – LSI 1 101,093 – LSI 2 104,411

Senior engineer

79,367 – 81,313 – 83,251 – 85,196 – 87,138 – 89,088 – LSI 1 92,022 – LSI 2 94,959

Senior executive engineer

68,339 – 70,435 – 71,437 – 73,547 – 75,675 – 77,795 – 79,931 – LSI 1 82,614 – LSI 2 85,290

Executive engineer

51,549 – 53,425 – 55,300 – 57,179 – 59,058 – 60,934 – 62,814 – 64,683 – 66,570 – 68,442 – LSI 1 70,600 – LSI 2 71,656

Assistant engineer

40,422 – 42,913 – 44,741 – 46,588 – 48,421 – 50,259 – 52,114 – 53,968 – 55,822 – 57,679 – 59,547 – LSI 1 61,454 – LSI 2 63,365

Graduate engineer

33,029 – 35,677 – 39,466 – 42,920

Xidu

Let’s do a math.

GPs and surgeons, consultants earn way more than 120k a year. In the whole country, there are 2500 GPs plus other surgeons…etc I don’t know let’s Say 5k population in this areas

then you have people who works in Apple, FB, google. Amazon, EMC, those big tech companies I know a manager would earn 120k including base bonus and RSU.

Company like Apple have 6k employees let’s say every 10/employees has one manager so that’s 600 people, mind some directors and VPs are on million dollar package but very few let’s not count them.

so let’s say there’s like 20 big companies like this including tech, med so that’s give 12k population

then you have software/hardware engineers/developers with shares and years of experience, let’s say 5k across the country

accounting-fund manager-site manager- supply chain manager-I don’t know let’s say 10k people

what about school principles? I don’t know how much do they make.

then you have dentist, physician, lawyers, judges…etc

10k population?

then you have those rich families who own business like hotel’s restaurants farms horses…..

anyway, with 4.5m population I think 120k would be top 5% at least

Xidu

I don’t believe in Ireland 10-15% population makes 120k a year. No way.

you wouldn’t hear so much whinnying if that’s true.

I would be surprised if the number is over 5%

Xidu

So what? A lot of them are inherited

and the house without mortgage might got free land from parents and spent 150k to self build it.

who even counts pension ? That’s like after 65 then u can getting it.

Xidu

I don’t think he even had mortgage

he mentioned farm inheritance

I know those people normally self build house on their farm so he probably didn’t even need a mortgage.

then it’s just daily spending and savings.

also you know those kind of families their grandparents would give grandchildren 3k a year too

BrianD3

Another recent whopper on AAM. Couple aged about 40. 330k in salaries (private sector employees) plus 18k rental income. No children or plans to have any. Describe their finances as "comfortable". Ask strangers on the Internet for financial advice.

One of the key points from this is that both their salaries have doubled in recent years. What do examples like this this say about the Irish economy, the multinational and tech sector, reliance on corporation and personal taxation from same, a growing disconnect between Dublin and the rest of the country etc.

Dial Hard

In my experience there's very little crossover between the people who talk about their huge salaries and the people actually earning huge salaries.

I suspect a large contingent of the AAM posts are nothing more than creative writing as an exercise in wish fulfilment.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330516#Comment_119330516

This has been discussed earlier in the thread - given the sterile nature of AAM, it's unlikely that posters are Walter Mitties or creative writers.

If we were seeing these type of posts on a more community type forum like boards then it would be different as posters would get social capital or trolling material from bullsh1tting about their salaries.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330485#Comment_119330485

Yes, there is a two-speed economy, to a certain degree.

The MNC sector has generally being doing very well: pharma, ICT, etc.

Profits are strong, so wages, bonuses, stock options are strong.

In law jobs, newly qualified solicitors are earning 70k in their 20s in Dublin.

Also, until recently, aircraft leasing is a small, but very well-paid sector:

Average earnings per worker in aircraft leasing is 207k.

https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/internationalaccounts/aircraftleasinginireland/

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330516#Comment_119330516

I disagree.

There is no benefit to anybody to make up stories and post them on AAM.

Kalimah

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330485#Comment_119330485

I saw that one. I can hardly read any of those scenarios anymore. Not in the real world at all. I posted in that forum a few years ago when my partner retired and I went back to work fulltime. We were on a very modest combined income - less than 60k - no one was at all interested in advising us on the best way to manage our money.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330485#Comment_119330485

There could be doctors, pharmacists, sales directors, senior ICT guys, etc. who are so busy in job, they either don't know about personal finances, or don't have the time to learn about them.

cheese sandwich

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330563#Comment_119330563

Maybe they saw this thread and decided to troll you!

Ray Palmer

Still funny how people think the high IT salaries are for multinationals developing software. Most IT workers are actually working in financial services of some sort. Demand is high a killed experienced people are low but they also save the companies vast amounts of money. Very easy for developers to save a company 1c on transactions via time saved and the company can easily have a million transaction in a day or a week even. Wouldn't you pay these people well?

It isn't like the person making a sandwich is going to save/generate anything like that so not going to get a huge pay bump. You can change that to many jobs and the same applies. Reality is not everybody can learn to work in IT let alone be good at it and you can't beat experience. Graduate come in and think they know how to code anything and quickly learn they can't and their education hasn't prepared them for the reality of working in IT. Lots quit and never return to the field

hunter2000

A penis size competition. Remember now it’s needs to be erect to enter.