A Guide to Wages in America

Wages in the USA: opportunities, minimum size and the most promising professions to work in America.

The average salary in the United States allows a person to have a home, a car, support a family and pay monthly bills.In addition, thanks to the salary, a person can make savings.

America is not called the «land of opportunity» for nothing: there are many legends about how migrants came here with literally a few dollars in their pocket, and eventually succeeded. However, only a few achieved success, and most of them still settled on a stable monthly salary.

Features of remuneration in America

Wages in America are practically not calculated in monthly terms. In order to understand how much a person earns, either the annual amount of income is used, or the size of the hourly rate.

Official documents consider only annual income.

Most of the local population does not work according to any particular schedule, everyone has a floating work schedule, and payment is made according to the number of hours worked.

The minimum wage in the United States is calculated in accordance with the minimum hourly rate. This aspect is monitored everywhere: even those who have a stable job with a regulated schedule and a certain salary still periodically calculate how many hours they worked and how these hours were paid.

It should be borne in mind that the amount of wages is set without taking into account tax payments.

In fact, a person receives significantly less as payment for his work. The scale of income of individuals among the American population is differentiated. This means that different taxes are deducted from different salaries. The minimum wage per hour is about two or three dollars, the average employee receives about $ 25 per hour.

High- and low-paid jobs

There are the highest paid professions in America. For example, medicine is a sphere of high salaries, doctors earn quite well: this applies to middle and senior medical personnel — junior staff receives average salaries. The most prestigious and moneyed professions are anesthesiologists, surgeons and orthodontists.

Relatively rare professions are also very profitable.

For example, executive directors have a good income, which is three to four times the income of their subordinates.

Airplane pilots get about as good a salary as doctors. However, there is another side of the coin: low-paid work of workers in the field of leisure, service and nutrition.

This is unskilled labor, which is usually done by people without education, visitors at the stage of adaptation and students in the process of training: dishwashers, fast food employees and other service personnel.If we talk about the ratio, then professions with a small salary are more ambitious: more than 15 million people work in this field.

Wages by profession

In order to imagine the situation with wages, you can get acquainted with the list of specialties and the income that representatives of these professions receive.

1. Most of the list of successful professions is represented by medical professionals: many doctors have salaries significantly higher than average. Among them are anesthesiologists with an income of about $ 200,000. In 2020, about 30,000 people worked in this position.
2. Surgeons are also financially successful among doctors: their income is equal to that of anesthesiologists. In addition to highly specialized doctors, more common specialties in the field of medicine are also in demand — therapists, prosthetists, family doctors and general practitioners.
3. The salary of doctors is difficult to compare with the income of a policeman: with an almost identical schedule, the income of a doctor will be much higher. A policeman receives about $ 40,000 a year, and the more experience and the more «central» the region, the higher the salary (up to $ 70,000).
4. The manager’s income is not too different from the income of a police representative, it also ranges from $ 40,000 and up to about $ 85,000. However, the manager’s income can often vary depending on the type of work: sales managers are also paid a percentage of sales, they have bonuses and bonuses for completing the plan.
5. The programmer is waiting for higher payouts: the lower limit is about $ 65,000. In principle, there is no limit, and a good programmer can receive several times more, but, in general, the maximum salary for a programmer is $ 130,000 per year.

   

6. The vacancy of a worker or loader in the USA implies a very small income — about $ 25,000. Fast food workers and service personnel in public places can count on the same amount.
7. The work of a teacher is honorable, respected and well-paid. Immediately after graduation, a graduate can count on a place with a salary of about $ 45-50, 000, the maximum bar in this area will already be $ 150,000.

Income and expenses

Of course, the ratio of the American average wage is not in any way comparable with Russian wages: in the United States, a skilled worker receives about $ 25 per hour of work, and in Russia this figure is just over $ 3. But here the economic system is of great importance.

The fact is that the US has a completely different taxation system, there are different tax rates and deductions for different specialties. In addition, medical insurance is required (the CHI system simply does not exist in the USA), car insurance, and so on. An American gives about a third or a quarter of his income to the state as taxes and insurance payments.

The next question is housing. American realities allow you to buy a small house in a small college town in 2021, even for a person with a small salary.

If the credit history is good, the credit rate is acceptable and various coefficients and indicators of a person’s creditworthiness (even in the conditions of his small salary) are acceptable, then you can buy an apartment.

One of the strongest segments of the labor market, according to the National Portal of vacancies, is the sphere of qualified public services. There are various professions that do not require higher education and at the same time allow you to earn an income of $ 40,000 per year.

Read also: Social security in the USA

These are teachers and coaches in sports disciplines, manicure masters and hairdressers. This type of earnings is not low-skilled, it brings a stable income and allows you to adhere to the desired standard of living.

How much money do you need to live

The standard of living plays an important role in any country in the world, but only in America the salary allows you to radically change your lifestyle. So, what income is required to support the normal standard of living of one family?

A good annual income in 2021 is the amount of $ 100,000 dollars for a family of three people.

However, it should be borne in mind that the figures are very average: in Oklahoma, such an income will be truly royal, and in New York — very average and restrained.

The USA differs from a number of countries in its needs and expenses, which fall, including on the shoulders of citizens. Medical insurance is very, very expensive, despite the fact that the healthcare system in the United States is superbly developed, and the government supports it with sufficient financial injections.

Nevertheless, a third of the income of a US citizen goes to insurance and taxes.

The cost of maintaining children is also very significant. The junior school, which is free for everyone, accepts children from the age of 5. Before that, all expenses fall on the shoulders of parents: kindergartens here are mostly private, babysitters and babysitters are not cheap.

Thus, the salary of one family member will cover only the expenses for the maintenance of the baby. This should be taken into account when planning a budget. It is unlikely that the average family will have the opportunity for a long maternity leave to care for the baby.

Salary levels for migrants

The minimum wage that migrants can expect is $5.50 per hour. Usually, the salary level ranges from $6-9. The employer usually tries to offer the maximum possible workload for a person per week: forty hours and two days off.

For more than 40 hours, only those whose work is highly qualified work at one workplace, for others they make sure that there are no overwork.

Any overtime is paid much higher, double pay for overtime is a common occurrence. Hourly wages may be lower, for example, from two dollars per hour, but this is acceptable when an employee receives any bonuses, bonuses or payments, for example, tips from a client.

Many Russians and Ukrainians without knowledge of English get such a job in the USA at the beginning.