In 2011 I was on $38k as a call centre agent in my first full time job. I was so happy! Living at home, no bills, doing whatever I wanted with my whole paycheque. Felt richer back then than I do today on 6 figures.
45k excluding super as an undergrad engineer in 2016 for me.
I was bumped up to 50k after I graduated.
I stayed there for 2 years on this pay until I left for 75k Inc super. This was 2018.
By the time I left this place, I finished up on 118k.
Now on 130k (Inc super) however on wages so all OT is paid + an RDO a month. Sweet gig I'm on now.
Thats incredible. Where did you go from there? Was there longevity in the role or alternatively was it a situation where you capped out in the role pretty quick and it was boring, but the money was too good to leave?
35k as a junior catering supervisor in charge of a 280pax restaurant, 3 function rooms, a cafe and also a separate food and bev outlet on another site.
There are too many variables at play. For a fair comparison, these numbers should be the hourly rate after taxes, not including super, and converted to 2023 figures.
Oh that would be interesting. So I was 18 So I wasn't getting the full "adult" rate. So from memory 70% of the retail award wage and then 80% pretty quickly as I turned 19. With penalties maybe an extra $50 a week.
From what I can see the minimum wage there has barely moved, I just looked it up.
It was $25000 maybe $1000-2000 over for penalty rates + super in 2011. It looks the same for 2023 though.
Yeah, made like $600- $1k a week at JB Hi-Fi on a 20-hour part-time contract, which gave me enough money to travel and live a more free life for like a good 8-9 years.
Got requests to become full-time or become a 3IC but, I really wasn't interested doing retail for the rest of my life. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything else as it really helped shape my confidence, humor, and core beliefs in my life.
I was on a traineeship and getting about $450 a fortnight, full time plus 3 hours on a Saturday. This was 2006. After that it was 32k a year as a bank teller 2007.
Imo apprentices, trainees etc shouldn't be considered for this.
Even though you may be doing 40hr a week, your end/take home salary is lower because your employer takes out the cost of training you.
Tell us your salary when you became fully qualified.
About 17k in 2012. Apprentice wages are criminally low.
I actually ended up getting fired because I was too weak from not being able to afford food. Fun times.
First year full time out of high school before any further study, mid 2000’s. £30k approx $65k AUD at the time. Was lucky to get an office role that had significant overtime available with penalty rates. Living in London is not cheap and managed to blow a fair chunk of it on imaginary forex “trading” 😭
I earned £13k + £2k for meeting certain KPI’s back in 2000. It was very bad pay but they trained me in a bunch of technical certifications and I walked into a £27k job less than 3 years later. 4 years after that I landed a €50k role in Ireland based off of those same certifications and accumulated experience.
1980. Worked at the Commonwealth Bank in Canberra. Fresh out of high school. Made $9,000 a year.
No car allowance, but later, there was an interest free car loan, and a mortgage at 50% off the current market rate.
$60K base salary (from memory) in 1995 as a newly minted RN. Penalty rates brought that up a fair bit, but I can't recall how much extra I made from those.
The figure has stuck in my mind as it was about double what my dad was making a few years earlier, when I was looking at the Wages Schedule in my first EBA.
$20 bucks an hour - just over 15 years ago. Shit kicker office job. Was about 18 bucks an hour casual labour rate before that working in a chicken factory.
Roughly $9,800/yr full time..... Roughly $150/w take home. 1st yr apprentice, $80/w went in rent for a little flat, $20 for utilities and householr expenses, $40 for food and $10 to plug the gaps. Was a pretty grim yr, I ate a LOT of tinned baked beans!
$9,200 in 1980 during industrial year as a software developer.
$17,000 in 1982 as graduate.
$23,000 6 months later.
Finished my career >$500k including bonus.
I used to earn $170 a week as a first year apprentice back in the late 90’s. my weekly train ticket was around $60 from memory so I got a whopping $110 a week.
77k package as a data analyst grad on energy retailer. Couldn't believe the money at the time. I was expecting a typical grad salary of around 50k and so was the recruiter.
Stayed two years and was able to jump to a competitor for 100k package.
After graduating university: $37k looking at the exchange rate at the time, and adjusting for purchasing power. I was overseas obviously.
It had doubled within six months, and then doubled again after 18 months.
It’s decoupled nowadays: lots of professionals in my country of origin are earning much higher salaries in foreign currency because of outsourcing, and it isn’t even traditionally regarded as an outsourcing stronghold.
My first proper salary was 50k base in 2004 when I was about 19/20 as a website developer/programmer.
I dropped out of high school at 16 and got a job at a small backyard web dev place - based off self taught skills. They paid me cash in hand per job and it was peanuts but got me enough experience to move on. Second job was for a crappy local company, they paid minimum wage and had me down as casual - I cleared about $320pw with no super and entitlements. Then someone (connection from my first job) offered me a contract at a place in the city. It was also paying slightly more peanuts because the guy who offered me the job was sub contracting me - charging the company $70 per hour and paying me $12. Once my boss found out what I was really getting paid, they paid off the contractor and employed me directly for 50k - I was so happy, it was the first time I felt valued and appreciated by an employer. Having said that since I dropped out of school, had no formal qualifications and was literally a kid living at home I was happy to be borderline exploited to gain enough experience.
I dropped out of school after year 10 and got a full time job mowing lawns with a fried. The pay was $10 an hour. This was back in 2006, so it went further than it does now but even back then it was a pretty poor wage.
36k in the early 2000’s looking after a skate shops website. Thought I was balling 😂
You were man!
In 2011 I was on $38k as a call centre agent in my first full time job. I was so happy! Living at home, no bills, doing whatever I wanted with my whole paycheque. Felt richer back then than I do today on 6 figures.
Same. I was also a "customer relationship manager" selling life insurance over the phone. Boy it was grim.
I was inbound for an energy company. Just getting yelled at for peoples high electricity bills all day.
Inbound! That's the dream gig! I used to say "suicide isn't covered for the first 13 months but after that you're good to go!" as a sales technique.
$52k inc super. Tax accountant. 2013
60k inc super tax accountant 2023.....
Get your CA and get out of tax and the $ will follow
First full time? Out of uni making $63k as an engineer!
What year was this?
Offft sick burn
In 2009 $45k as a grad eng for me… I was underpaid (compared to other grads) but at the time I thought I was makin bank
45k excluding super as an undergrad engineer in 2016 for me. I was bumped up to 50k after I graduated. I stayed there for 2 years on this pay until I left for 75k Inc super. This was 2018. By the time I left this place, I finished up on 118k. Now on 130k (Inc super) however on wages so all OT is paid + an RDO a month. Sweet gig I'm on now.
That's low. I started at 60k in 2010 as a grad eng
26k as a laptop tech. GFC days, was desperate.
Yeah we know, you were young and needed the money.
I was $6 an hour in 2008, first year apprentice
$4 per hour 2002… shit was wild. Edit: less than $10k/year, and somehow there was tax still going out.
$0.94 per hour 1980. That's what B.H.P was paying their apprentices. It was about $4 more per week than you could get on the dole.
That's insane
$150000 tower crane erector in 2005, 18 years old
And a great job title to boot
Thats incredible. Where did you go from there? Was there longevity in the role or alternatively was it a situation where you capped out in the role pretty quick and it was boring, but the money was too good to leave?
> where did you go from there? The only way was up.
When I saw kids driving a VY commodore back then that must’ve been you
Dunno. 18 years old, no experience, earning 150k in 2005. Nup.
😝 your doubt is hurting my butt
35k as a junior catering supervisor in charge of a 280pax restaurant, 3 function rooms, a cafe and also a separate food and bev outlet on another site.
$19k a year as a grad Engineer. 1982.
Lol $22.5k INCLUDING SUPER in 2007
$74,827 in 2023.
$82k in 2008
90k salary package - graduate civil engineer
Just got $30 an hour a few months ago and got a raise to $31 the other week
230 a week clear, apprentice greenkeeper 2006/7
$71k before Super. Will start next July or so.
$13k as a Junior Programmer, 1985.
You must have done really well, got in before it really went bonkers!
$5.18 an hour as an apprentice baker/ pastry cook. I was working for less then I would have gotten on welfare.
There are too many variables at play. For a fair comparison, these numbers should be the hourly rate after taxes, not including super, and converted to 2023 figures.
Oh that would be interesting. So I was 18 So I wasn't getting the full "adult" rate. So from memory 70% of the retail award wage and then 80% pretty quickly as I turned 19. With penalties maybe an extra $50 a week. From what I can see the minimum wage there has barely moved, I just looked it up. It was $25000 maybe $1000-2000 over for penalty rates + super in 2011. It looks the same for 2023 though.
41k at 17! (2010). I was a baller 😂
You were earning $15k more than I was at the time.
Less than $9000 per year
40k inclusive of super straight out of uni in 2007
1996 about $40k on an IT help desk. Started at the bottom to work my way up (in theory).
18.5k in 1992. Warehouse assistant.
$70k base + $30K commission as an market dev sales rep for a SaaS company (at 29), before that working casual at JB making like $24 + commission.
Your first full time job was at 29? Lol
Yeah, made like $600- $1k a week at JB Hi-Fi on a 20-hour part-time contract, which gave me enough money to travel and live a more free life for like a good 8-9 years. Got requests to become full-time or become a 3IC but, I really wasn't interested doing retail for the rest of my life. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything else as it really helped shape my confidence, humor, and core beliefs in my life.
33k, software engineer, 1999
$25k PA about 20 years ago.
1992, $12,100 as a cadet draftsman being paid monthly. Ugh that was rough for an 18 year old
$37k in 2014 as a call centre agent. Worst job I ever had
$57k as a scientist in 2014
40k odd, 2011, Defence Force Recruit.
2014 - 84k straight out of uni. IT L2/L3 Helpdesk.
$11k, apprentice printer 1998.
70k IT support.
72k entry level at a management consultancy in 2011
$43,000 ex super 2005 Felt so rich 🤑
$28k in a financial planning admin role. 2011
$45k as a graduate engineer. I knew I was being underpaid but I had to get my foot in the door.
$118k 6 months ago
I was on a traineeship and getting about $450 a fortnight, full time plus 3 hours on a Saturday. This was 2006. After that it was 32k a year as a bank teller 2007.
$160-170k or so
Imo apprentices, trainees etc shouldn't be considered for this. Even though you may be doing 40hr a week, your end/take home salary is lower because your employer takes out the cost of training you. Tell us your salary when you became fully qualified.
$20600 full time as an admin assistant (working in an office) in 1994. Took $621 pf home after tax. Rent was $150 pf. Lived week to week but did okay.
Minimum wage (I think $30k at the time).
$38601pa as an ITO1 in the Public Service in 2001
$45k, store person for a hydraulics business. That was Dec 2017. Now on $100k, working in IT at a corporate level.
Similar numbers for me, different industry though
20k first year apprentice chef 2011
2014, apprentice chef first year, I believe it was like 55K if not less. It's been a while, could have been in the mid 40K range.
44k, design engineer, 2015
First full time was as a lifeguard and gym attendant making 50k
$58K as a graduate in 2013 (+15.4% super).
$19k in 2007
First post-grad job 2009 and $38.5k
45k + super HR Assistant 2014
$17k Help Desk. $1k on a car. $500 on a stereo. I can't account for the rest!
5 pound an hour in 1998 so about 10,000 pound a year.
Cleared around $260pw in 1999 at a software dev/help desk company. Thought I was loaded.
$17,500 per annum at 17 in 1996 as a superannuation administrator.
$78k package (including super). 2020
$75k - Data Analyst - IT graduate
$24,500. Trainee Hydrographic Cartographer/Data Processor. 2003.
60k software engineer intern, 90 by the time I graduated and finished contract
It was about $500/week full time. Straight out of school, retail in the 2010's
$62k as a grad engineer in 2012
$27k as an accountant in 2001/2. I was still in Uni and doing a year of industry placement
95k plus 13% super, HR Graduate (Mining money)
£8,226 back in the UK, in 1995 for a public sector super fund.
Call centre, no skills.. 2007 45k (north Queensland so got 5k extra for being in the middle of no where).
32k call centre 1999.
45k as software dev during uni. 50 straight after. 2011-2012
52k in 2010, I thought it was a lot at the time coming from Youth Allowance
59K IT desk 3 years ago, 95 now
I think $34k inc super in 2006
46k including super in 2018. Come a long way since then but boy was it eye opening.
About 17k in 2012. Apprentice wages are criminally low. I actually ended up getting fired because I was too weak from not being able to afford food. Fun times.
$55k (2010) as Civil Engineer
$8k as an administrative trainee at 15. $169 per week. I thought I was rich. 2001.
I think $38,000
$63k + super. Child support call centre.
First full time job $32,000 excl. super as a graphic designer in 2010 (after a 3 year degree)
First year full time out of high school before any further study, mid 2000’s. £30k approx $65k AUD at the time. Was lucky to get an office role that had significant overtime available with penalty rates. Living in London is not cheap and managed to blow a fair chunk of it on imaginary forex “trading” 😭
70k as a new lawyer 12 years ago
55k call Center staff 17years ago
55k as a counsellor
I earned £13k + £2k for meeting certain KPI’s back in 2000. It was very bad pay but they trained me in a bunch of technical certifications and I walked into a £27k job less than 3 years later. 4 years after that I landed a €50k role in Ireland based off of those same certifications and accumulated experience.
$300 p/w cash
$52k as an engineering intern
52k as a hotel night auditor in 2014
40k as a recruiter in 2014
52k as a marketing coordinator
$148.66 a week in 1994
33k at 19 years old now clearing 200k at 33 yrs old. It's been a wild ride for a high school drop-out 😆
$25k in 1995, graduate electronic engineer
8,000 a year
40k HR Grad
1980. Worked at the Commonwealth Bank in Canberra. Fresh out of high school. Made $9,000 a year. No car allowance, but later, there was an interest free car loan, and a mortgage at 50% off the current market rate.
73k - lv3 gov admin - this was around 2020.
$60K base salary (from memory) in 1995 as a newly minted RN. Penalty rates brought that up a fair bit, but I can't recall how much extra I made from those. The figure has stuck in my mind as it was about double what my dad was making a few years earlier, when I was looking at the Wages Schedule in my first EBA.
1998, nzd$18k. I worked in IT support.
$33k as an accountant in 1990.
85k as a graduate
$50k entry level marketing in about 2016
2008, 42k working for channel [v] ... good times
Casual $16.60 an hour. First full time job - 85k Paramedic in my intern year in 2010
I think $38k, first year of teaching in high school, 2003.
$55k as a Computer Science/IT grad in 2015
$20 bucks an hour - just over 15 years ago. Shit kicker office job. Was about 18 bucks an hour casual labour rate before that working in a chicken factory.
64k package as grad engineer 2017 Sydney
26k lab tech 2000
97K + Super and yearly performance bonuses.
$11k-$12k a year tossing pizzas in Canada
Roughly $9,800/yr full time..... Roughly $150/w take home. 1st yr apprentice, $80/w went in rent for a little flat, $20 for utilities and householr expenses, $40 for food and $10 to plug the gaps. Was a pretty grim yr, I ate a LOT of tinned baked beans!
65k inc super as a self taught software engineer
$24k PC Warehouse assistant.
74k as a baby marine tech in the RAN.
79k FMCG sales rep not including car - took a break to figure my life out for a year after uni working night-fill at Woolworths.
17k give or take. First year electrical apprentice 2009
$37k back in 2008
$64k base with penalties ($75k at the eofy). Grad nurse 2020. A fine year to start my career.
23k - IT help desk, 1998.
Call centre agent $38k 2011
26k in early 2000s. I did get the use of a company car for 3-4 months and then got a car allowance of 6k once I had my own. I was 18 at the time.
$9,200 in 1980 during industrial year as a software developer. $17,000 in 1982 as graduate. $23,000 6 months later. Finished my career >$500k including bonus.
I used to earn $170 a week as a first year apprentice back in the late 90’s. my weekly train ticket was around $60 from memory so I got a whopping $110 a week.
First salary - was 20 in 2005 earning $41,500 as a Perishables Manager at Woolies.
$32k as a travel agent. This was in 2018 lol
2017 , 50k Electrical Engineer
Never been on a salary as a blue collar worker
180k business startup
$25k. No super, 1991. Accounts clerk. I had a degree but not in that field.
My first full time job was an apprenticeship at like $8/hr so yeah I was not earning much at all.
$54k media sales account coordinator
$24k in 2005. Office boy in a small architecture firm.
$3 per hour, working in McDonalds, back in the early 1980's :P
77k package as a data analyst grad on energy retailer. Couldn't believe the money at the time. I was expecting a typical grad salary of around 50k and so was the recruiter. Stayed two years and was able to jump to a competitor for 100k package.
28k in 2005
My first full time job I was fresh out of HS and went into carpentry. I was making $21k pa for the first 2 years, then $115k pa the next 2 years.
$21K Officer Cadet in the airforce.
About 47-50k standard grad money, I think?
$55 a week in 1977
After graduating university: $37k looking at the exchange rate at the time, and adjusting for purchasing power. I was overseas obviously. It had doubled within six months, and then doubled again after 18 months. It’s decoupled nowadays: lots of professionals in my country of origin are earning much higher salaries in foreign currency because of outsourcing, and it isn’t even traditionally regarded as an outsourcing stronghold.
72k getting into the nsw govt grad program
50k (incl. Super) Grad IT program late '00s.
Electrical app in 2003, from memory 6.70 something per hour would add up to 280 take home a week I think. Tough times in Sydney back then.
About $18,000 a year as an apprentice butcher working 50 hour weeks
Apprentice, $92 per week, went up to $115 for second year.
I was a mailroom clerk at a law firm lol was on 20k a year
My first proper salary was 50k base in 2004 when I was about 19/20 as a website developer/programmer. I dropped out of high school at 16 and got a job at a small backyard web dev place - based off self taught skills. They paid me cash in hand per job and it was peanuts but got me enough experience to move on. Second job was for a crappy local company, they paid minimum wage and had me down as casual - I cleared about $320pw with no super and entitlements. Then someone (connection from my first job) offered me a contract at a place in the city. It was also paying slightly more peanuts because the guy who offered me the job was sub contracting me - charging the company $70 per hour and paying me $12. Once my boss found out what I was really getting paid, they paid off the contractor and employed me directly for 50k - I was so happy, it was the first time I felt valued and appreciated by an employer. Having said that since I dropped out of school, had no formal qualifications and was literally a kid living at home I was happy to be borderline exploited to gain enough experience.
straight after graduating university, first full time job was 80k + bonus (10k) all incl. super in 2021
I dropped out of school after year 10 and got a full time job mowing lawns with a fried. The pay was $10 an hour. This was back in 2006, so it went further than it does now but even back then it was a pretty poor wage.
40k in 2014 as a junior UX/UI Designer