are the salaries posted in the salary poll before or after tax deductions? ive tried searching but havent came up with any answers. and how much does tax take off from an architect? i have no idea about any of this stuff... if anyone could give a few tips that'd be great. thanks!
Your taxes are based on your location and income bracket. People who get paid more get taxed a higher percentage of their income generally, and some states have income tax while others don't, and among those that do the rates can vary a bit. Also, some of the people who've posted are self-employed, and they have to pay a greater tax rate than those who work for someone else. Even more troublesome is the fact that there are archinectors from every corner of the globe, and the tax practices from one country may not be comparable with those in another at all. Figuring out taxes is just beyond the scope of archinect!
oh i see... thanks for the responses everyone! the reason why i asked this question was just to get a general idea of the REAL salary that architects make, after uncle sam steals away his share. i was hoping that the posted salaries were after tax deductions, but unfortunately it seems that architects are even poorer than i thought. oh well, the passion's still there, just not that much of an enthusiasm, though.
I'm going to assume you're joking. Unless you've got a family of 5 and your spouse refuses to work, you are not below the national poverty level. The truth is bad enough, there's no need for exaggeration.
If there are any working architects living below the poverty level they're few and far between.
However, I remember being shocked to discover that, five years after graduation, I was still making little enough that I qualified for public housing as a single person in my city (this was a city with one of the highest median per capita incomes in the US and that qualifying for public housing meant making less than 50% of the median). Of course I was not living in public housing. But my employer at the time was able to get bonus points on his proposals for public projects because a high enough percentage of his employees qualified as "disadvantaged local workers"! And we weren't even being paid below average salaries for the profession.
Things do get better as you move upward in the profession. Average salaries aren't all that bad at the 10- or 15-year point.
sorry for the exaggeration if that's what it seemed like to you. it's just that from my personal experience, I've always expected the profession of an architect to be comparable to those of doctors, lawyers, etc. (compensation-wise). Not that im saying this isnt possible, but im talking about the majority here. I grew up in the foreign country of Vietnam, knowing I've always wanted to be an architect. My cousin is an architect there, and his name is widely known and he is rich out of his ass. I know that it would be a totally different story in the US, and I guess from what I've seen of what my cousin could do in Vietnam, I was always expecting the same from the profession over here.
Im not in it for the money, but to think that after 15 years (based upon the national average... there are exceptions), ill be making around 60-70k, about the same as what my mom is making now... and she is a blackjack dealer.... I might have been exaggerating when I said that it was below poverty level, maybe im just expecting too much..? I guess I've always been expecting too much from the profession, and the discovery that architects make only a decent salary is sort of a disappointment. Sorry if Im adding to the fire, but this is just my personal standpoint. But then again, Im only 18 and havent any real experience in anything, so it's best not to make any generalizations. Thanks for all your inputs.
the only way you ever make a lot of money in this profession (and this holds true almost everywhere you go) is to have an equity ownership in the firm and then to have it do really well. in general, if you're just an employee, you're not going to make the really serious money, especially starting out.
architects do not do nearly as well as their counterparts in law starting out.
you guys have gotten me all wrong. money is not the problem, and Im not in it for the money. Ive just been having a misguided perception on the profession, that is all. Like I said, maybe I was just expecting too much. But regardless of money or not, Im in it for the passion, and Im in it for good. Thank you for all your inputs!
salary question...
are the salaries posted in the salary poll before or after tax deductions? ive tried searching but havent came up with any answers. and how much does tax take off from an architect? i have no idea about any of this stuff... if anyone could give a few tips that'd be great. thanks!
pre-tax
I posted pre-tax as well.
Your taxes are based on your location and income bracket. People who get paid more get taxed a higher percentage of their income generally, and some states have income tax while others don't, and among those that do the rates can vary a bit. Also, some of the people who've posted are self-employed, and they have to pay a greater tax rate than those who work for someone else. Even more troublesome is the fact that there are archinectors from every corner of the globe, and the tax practices from one country may not be comparable with those in another at all. Figuring out taxes is just beyond the scope of archinect!
oh i see... thanks for the responses everyone! the reason why i asked this question was just to get a general idea of the REAL salary that architects make, after uncle sam steals away his share. i was hoping that the posted salaries were after tax deductions, but unfortunately it seems that architects are even poorer than i thought. oh well, the passion's still there, just not that much of an enthusiasm, though.
Don't do it for the money.
i know. i dont. i just thought architects would make at least enough to live happily and comfortably, not below the national poverty level.
I'm going to assume you're joking. Unless you've got a family of 5 and your spouse refuses to work, you are not below the national poverty level. The truth is bad enough, there's no need for exaggeration.
Poverty level is $17k for family of 3.
Exactly. Now doesn't that put architects' bitching in perspective? Some people only make 17k a year (and they aint talking about post-taxes).
If there are any working architects living below the poverty level they're few and far between.
However, I remember being shocked to discover that, five years after graduation, I was still making little enough that I qualified for public housing as a single person in my city (this was a city with one of the highest median per capita incomes in the US and that qualifying for public housing meant making less than 50% of the median). Of course I was not living in public housing. But my employer at the time was able to get bonus points on his proposals for public projects because a high enough percentage of his employees qualified as "disadvantaged local workers"! And we weren't even being paid below average salaries for the profession.
Things do get better as you move upward in the profession. Average salaries aren't all that bad at the 10- or 15-year point.
sorry for the exaggeration if that's what it seemed like to you. it's just that from my personal experience, I've always expected the profession of an architect to be comparable to those of doctors, lawyers, etc. (compensation-wise). Not that im saying this isnt possible, but im talking about the majority here. I grew up in the foreign country of Vietnam, knowing I've always wanted to be an architect. My cousin is an architect there, and his name is widely known and he is rich out of his ass. I know that it would be a totally different story in the US, and I guess from what I've seen of what my cousin could do in Vietnam, I was always expecting the same from the profession over here.
Im not in it for the money, but to think that after 15 years (based upon the national average... there are exceptions), ill be making around 60-70k, about the same as what my mom is making now... and she is a blackjack dealer.... I might have been exaggerating when I said that it was below poverty level, maybe im just expecting too much..? I guess I've always been expecting too much from the profession, and the discovery that architects make only a decent salary is sort of a disappointment. Sorry if Im adding to the fire, but this is just my personal standpoint. But then again, Im only 18 and havent any real experience in anything, so it's best not to make any generalizations. Thanks for all your inputs.
levoandco -
the only way you ever make a lot of money in this profession (and this holds true almost everywhere you go) is to have an equity ownership in the firm and then to have it do really well. in general, if you're just an employee, you're not going to make the really serious money, especially starting out.
architects do not do nearly as well as their counterparts in law starting out.
If you grew up in Vietnam, you would know the difference between real poverty and middle class America (us).
60-70k!? And you're complaining?
If you're in it for the money then don't be an architect. It's as simple as that.
after 15 years, if you're talented, you should be making well more than 50-60...
and agreed w/ above. if the money at this stage is a problem for you, you might want to consider getting out now.
you guys have gotten me all wrong. money is not the problem, and Im not in it for the money. Ive just been having a misguided perception on the profession, that is all. Like I said, maybe I was just expecting too much. But regardless of money or not, Im in it for the passion, and Im in it for good. Thank you for all your inputs!
fifty thousand bucks is chump change.
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