Member Avatar for Zorrro

I was reading some articles, when I saw article I was shocked to see these big numbers as salary. It is 12 times of what is good salary here. Are these numbers correct?

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As noticed, U.S. survey figures can look shockingly large compared with pay in other countries. was on the right track: a single "headline" salary number usually hides a lot of mixing of experience levels, locations, and pay components.

Many published figures are a single average or a single title-level statistic that combines entry-level through senior roles; the arithmetic mean is pulled upward by high earners while the median and percentiles tell a more realistic story for typical workers. For local accuracy, use occupational tables that give percentiles and regional breakdowns rather than a single global headline. (bls.gov)

Cross-country comparisons should be adjusted for cost of living. Converting by the market exchange rate alone can exaggerate differences because it ignores local prices for housing, food, transport, and services; purchasing-power-parity (PPP) measures or comparative price indices give a truer sense of real living standards. (oecd.org)

Also compare total compensation, not just base pay. Employer-paid benefits, statutory social protections, and public services (health, education) change how far a salary goes; some surveys report base pay only while others include bonuses or employer costs. Use employer-cost or compensation breakdowns when available to avoid misleading apples-to-oranges comparisons. (bls.gov)

Quick practical checklist to verify a suspicious headline number: 1) map the advertised title to the correct local occupation codes; 2) consult your national statistics office or occupational wage tables (or OES for U.S. jobs) for percentiles; 3) check aggregator sites (Glassdoor/Payscale) as supplements but beware sample bias; 4) adjust for local cost of living or PPP and convert to after-tax/net terms to see real purchasing power; 5) inspect recent job ads in the same city/industry for the current market. Treat any single number as a starting point, not a definitive living‑wage answer. (bls.gov)

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Member Avatar for mike_2000_17

These are numbers for the U.S., obviously. They seem somewhat high, but I think it's because they just have one average for each job title. I would expect that starting salaries are quite a bit lower than that. For example, for just basic "programmer", they quote around 75k$. Someone seeking a programmer's job right out of college (or tech. school) should probably expect something more along the lines of 45-65k$ to start with. So, that number of 75k$ is the average, and is seems reasonable for mid-career or so (e.g., after 10-15 years of working). And then, it goes up from there when you look into more sophisticated job titles (many of which are also exclusively for people with already many years of experience, so they are often much later in their careers).

So, considering that, and also considering that it can vary a lot depending on the field of application (e.g., programmers writing financial analytics software probably make upwards of 250k$, at least, that's how it would appear on job postings), I think the numbers there are within the right ball-park (seem like legitimate averages), but there is obviously a big margin to account for varying experience and application domain (and size of the enterprise).

These are also the ball-park numbers for most professional jobs (e.g., engineers, accountants, doctors, lawyers, etc.) in the western world.

It is 12 times of what is good salary here.

Yeah... that's a sad reality for you. It must be quite frustrating to be on your side of that divide. Improvements in this department usually come from a stronger education system and stronger labor unions / rights.

Member Avatar for Zorrro

Improvements in this department usually come from a stronger education system and stronger labor unions / rights.

Ya it is little frustrating and it won't be wise to expect that for at least 100-120 years from place where few professors can't even read or speak properly.

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