Sean K. Reynolds talks RPG salaries, puts his on record.

[S'mon]

Based on the concept that rent should equal 25% of your salary

What a beautiful concept.

My rent here in London (£1,750/month for a 2.5 bedroom terrace house in the suburbs) is well over half my take home pay... though my calculator does tell me it's only 36% of my gross pay pre-tax, I find that hard to believe!

 

[Myrdin Potter]

Yes, but you're not typical. Most career fields are very 'mediocre' by your x10 standard.

To be fair, I said x10. Which I personally blew away but it helps to have worked in an industry that requires work experience for the certification (Chartered Accountant in my case) so they can exploit the young workers.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I am still struggling with the 10x wage over carreer assertion. Is there some statistical backing of that, maybe average wages by age? If it were typical, shouldn't the income inequality between age bracket be extreme, with 50+ still in employment earning much more than people entering the labor market? Even in the US I don't think there is such an inequality, outside maybe a few areas of employment, not enough to be considered a typical situation.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

Hasbro pays well at the executive level and qualified finance staff is about the same in most companies in limited geographies because we know salaries and have a well established recruiting industry that grabs underpaid people and moves them to better opportunities.

So I am expecting that the market is narrow and if there really are professionals there, there are not enough and enough demand to have a recruiting industry go headhunt them.

 

[Jd Smith1]

What a beautiful concept.

My rent here in London (£1,750/month for a 2.5 bedroom terrace house in the suburbs) is well over half my take home pay... though my calculator does tell me it's only 36% of my gross pay pre-tax, I find that hard to believe!

Clearly not applicable to the UK, although you guys seem to have a rather higher cost of living than most. I did a couple IACP tours there (UK, not London) and was shocked at the prices. Ireland wasn't a lot better.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

I am still struggling with the 10x wage over carreer assertion. Is there some statistical backing of that, maybe average wages by age? If it were typical, shouldn't the income inequality between age bracket be extreme, with 50+ still in employment earning much more than people entering the labor market? Even in the US I don't think there is such an inequality, outside maybe a few areas of employment, not enough to be considered a typical situation.

It ties to professionals, not wages in total for all jobs. Often there are claims of RPG design being a profession which is why I brought that in.

Lawyers, Doctors, Accountants, Engineers, Bankers. Most have an apprentice system for when school is done at quite low pay and then it gets much more lucrative over time.

I did go back and double check and in the last 5 years there seems to have been some entry level pay corrections in accounting, law and banking, but 5x 20 years out still looks quite achievable.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I am still struggling with the 10x wage over carreer assertion. Is there some statistical backing of that, maybe average wages by age? If it were typical, shouldn't the income inequality between age bracket be extreme, with 50+ still in employment earning much more than people entering the labor market? Even in the US I don't think there is such an inequality, outside maybe a few areas of employment, not enough to be considered a typical situation.

I don't think that was meant to be typical. I just noted that it wasn't unique. I know my baby brother and sister have left the 10x mark in the dust a long time ago.

In a country the size of the USA, it is tough to categorize anything. But it is pretty clear to me that career planning is critical. The university system seems to be blindly churning out endless numbers of degree-holders into career fields without the slightest concern as to whether jobs actually exist.

 

[Myrdin Potter]

Clearly not applicable to the UK, although you guys seem to have a rather higher cost of living than most. I did a couple IACP tours there (UK, not London) and was shocked at the prices. Ireland wasn't a lot better.

Outside the USA there typically is medical and other coverage as well. And the 25% to 1/3 of your take home pay is strained in places like London and NYC and SF and Los Angeles (and Singapore and Tokyo and I assume other major metropolitan centers).

 

[RangerWickett]

Well, if ever we enact a Universal Basic Income, I imagine it'll be a lot easier to convince yourself that it's worth your while to write RPG books as a solitary source of income.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Well, if ever we enact a Universal Basic Income, I imagine it'll be a lot easier to convince yourself that it's worth your while to write RPG books as a solitary source of income.

This would also be an example of politics and policy decisions changing the nature of a market. A lot of those extra people writing RPG books, would, in the absence of UBI, be doing something else they felt was putting bread on the table.
Fundamentally, this topic on this forum can only inform us of the current situation. Discussion of alternative arrangements will rapidly head in to the realm of politics.