Bonuses are way down if you aren't producing real revenue at Senior levels or really performing at Junior levels. In the salad days, guys could coast and still get paid but now you really have to perform. In all honesty I think there is some right sizing going on at the banks and there are definitely too many people in certain groups. That being said I highly doubt any of the issues will last two long. Gut feeling is in probably 5 years and at least 10 years, bankers will be fat and happy again and there will be too many people being overpaid for not doing that much (relatively speaking). There will always be a demand for high quality tailored advice especially on complex stuff (M&A execution, restructuring, LBO financing). That being said there are way too many industry group bankers all pitching the exact same ideas to the exact same clients and getting paid to do stuff that doesn't really merit the fees they get compared to the value add.

???

He's saying 100k isn't what it used to be, and I think everyone can agree to that. I think I heard a line in a movie that was very much true "That guy was a millionaire back when being a millionaire meant something".

Indeed, having a million dollars today isn't impressive at all. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a million dollars, but with some 401k, dual income and some real estate appreciation, there are many many millionaires and it's easily achievable in many households by the time couples reach their late 40s.

If certain degrees can command a 60k starting salary (or even higher), really 100k isn't all that much of a jump after 5 years experience. The problem is the mass of college degrees starting salaries are not 60. It's 35k because they wanted to study criminal justice.

In fact, I just ran into a friend from high school I haven't seen in 15 years. She studied social work and criminal justice (lol) I almost laughed in her face, but of course I was being nice. The topic of income and salary came up after a while and a few drinks and she went out of her way to say that she's almost poor after paying her school loans every month, and if her parents didn't give her the house she was living in she wouldn't have any idea how she'd survive.

I actually felt bad for her and bought the next 2 rounds.

Yahoo finance article: "$100,000 income: No big deal anymore"
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/inflat...070038493.html

Many now consider $250,000 the new $100,000 income. Adam says that level of income is typically required to provide what many have before expected of a six-figure salary. Adam also points to other expenses that are not necessities but are considered part of a middle class lifestyle -- things like cellphones, high-speed internet access, vacations, karate lessons, iPods, laptops and digital cameras.

"What you might think people deserve for a person that has a reasonable income is excessively high. Add in all the other expenses, and there just isn't anything left and that's part of the reason why a $100,000 income isn't going that far," says Adam.

That article makes good points about the variation in purchasing power over time and in different parts of the country.

Even $250,000 if you are talking fully taxed income is not that much. If you have kids it will actually be pretty tight.

I think a lot of people right after school are really disillusioned because the gap between what they were led to believe was possible and what actually is possible through employment is very different.

I would think anywhere except for the most expensive real estate markets 250k is pretty good though. Don't get me wrong, it's not 'I own a 40 foot boat' money, but I agree with just 2 people living in a nice place in a good city 250k you can do pretty much what you want. 2 kids in private school (say 20-40k a year) makes things tighter.

To put it in perspective, my boss's boss makes probably 1-3 million a year. He owns one of these.


I know for a fact HIS boss makes 77k every two weeks. HE owns a 6 million dollar home that looks like a castle.

I drive a used Acura.

One thing to keep in mind is that our perception of what is "middle class" has inflated dramatically over the decades.

Our homes are much bigger, we eat more expensive foods, and we own a lot more of everything you can measure compared to XX years ago. If we went back in time to the 50s, we would see a typical middle american family and would probably think they were dirt poor.

I guess we all watch too much TV, where even poor Friends have amazing million dollar apartments.

That is an interesting position -- having a TV with some kind of service, a computer with internet, and a cellphone with data are all considered essentials now and while looking at the monthly charge it isn't much but even modest versions of those are $2000/year which for someone making $100k is 2.7% of their after-tax income that would not have been a factor before.

wil318466,

Could be a tax difference but $250,000 is only $154,000 after taxes here. That certainly isn't poverty level but you need to be aware of your spending and if you have kids show some restraint and that is even without considering private school.

This is so dead on. Having low 7 figures (not including RE) isn't sh*t, esp in today's investment/interest rate environment. I'm day trading futures to supplement my long portfolio returns(what frickin' returns).

Seems like a person in their 40's would need more like $2-$3m, without any debt, to live comfortably.

100k is the average at the company of 65k employees where I work. I guess the average may be skewed by the fact that the CEO pulls down $20 million though

Ya think?

Not much.

With him at $20 million the average of everyone else has to be $99,695 to get $100K counting him.

The fact that you can seemingly perform basic math makes your previous "I can't imagine living on $100K" claim even more absurd.

This derail is terrible. Yes obviously inflation means $100k isn't worth what it used to be, and sure you have to show at least "some restraint" even on $250k. But y'all are delusional thinking you can't easily live quite nicely on $100k/year.

I think NewOldGuy's ability to do math is why he knows $100k is not enough.