I started at ~60k, and I make about 4.5 times that much a dozen years later. A good part of that increase is due to one job change (30%) and one big promotion (>20%).
If you think you’re underpaid, complain until they fix it or leave.
Started as an underwriter, so I thought results would be skewed. Whether I go back that far or start from when I began actu-donking it’s still about 11.5% per year. I forgot about that time I ‘threatened’ to leave underwriting to go get a masters and got a boisterous 20% increase that year.
I’m not certain describing one’s salary progression in 50k ranges is useful given that some of us are young squirts while others of us are old farts.
I’m approaching 30 years in the profession. According to ssa.gov, I started exceeding the cap on OASDI withholding in the 5th year of my career.
My salary progression is probably a little slower than average, given that I took a scenic route through exams (starting on the life side, then changing to casualty), and given that I’m a career ACAS.
Potentially inflating my early-career salary is the fact that I changed companies somewhat frequently:
Company 1: 3 years
Company 2: 2 years
Company 3: 5 years
Company 4: 14 years
Company 5: 6 years after acquisition of company 4, and counting
was the jump from company 4 due to $$$$? that’s like…close to retirement given you would’ve worked for 24 years already.
Cuz that.
lol I can’t read. Somehow read it as 6 years after quitting of company 4
Essentially, I don’t know whether I’m at “Company 4” or “Company 5”.
If you break it down by actual job, the progression looks like:
Company 1, Job 1: 3 years
Company 2, Job 2: 2 years
Company 3, Job 3: 2½ years
Company 3, Job 4: 2 years, 5 months
Company 3, Job 5: 1 month
Company 4, Job 6: 11 years
Company 4, Jobs 6 & 7: 3 years (divided time between both jobs)
Company 5, Job 7a, 6 years, and counting
Company 5 didn’t like the idea of having an employee dividing time between two jobs, so I was obliged to pick one when they acquired Company 4. I chose to stay with Job 7, but that decision resulted in my changing offices (theoretically; I was and remained WFH), getting a new boss, reporting into Company 5’s hierarchy (if I had chosen Job 6, I’d have continued to report to “Company 4”, which remains a distinct entity within Company 5), etc.
On paper, I could retire today. However, I enjoy the work, I enjoy making “actuarial money”, I enjoy getting to travel on an expense account, and (especially given my wife’s health issues) I enjoy having health insurance as a benefit of work rather than needing to buy it myself.
I plan to keep working until my own health obliges me to reconsider, although I wouldn’t discount the possibility of taking a sabbatical at some point, or shifting to a less-well-compensated job “for fun and health coverage”.
(If I did opt for a sabbatical, that would clarify whether I’m at “Company 4” or “Company 5”. Company 5 has a formal sabbatical policy. Company 4 doesn’t.)
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As total comp goes up more becomes variable, so it’s not exactly apples to apples.
At this stage I prefer working with good people more than more pay when considering roles. If you have a toxic manager it’s not worth it for even 50% more when you’re already doing well imo.
I totally agree. There’s a level of pay where more money makes your life a lot better, but most actuaries will got the point where the marginal value of more money is a lot less than the marginal value of enjoying (or not hating) your work.
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Yup. That is why I retired at age 58 rather than continuing to go into the office every day. I did continue working part time on several interesting boards after age 58 but that was much more interesting than the work I had been doing. Not to mention the extra time to pursue other interests.
I want to open up a bar that serves noodles (I make noodles).
For me to have the capital to open such a thing in a place that I want to live (gay friendly city) will take a while. But that’s my goal post-retirement “job”. It doesn’t need to be super profitable, but just enough for me to have something to do and sustain myself.
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Looking forward to trying your noodles. I realized how amazing noodles could be when I went to Xian.
There’s a good place near wall st that has great Xian noodles with lamb.
There’s a noodle shop in town where they make the noodles over here, and cook them over there, all visible as you wait for your meal. The noodles are cooked pretty much as soon as they are done. It’s REALLY good.
I envy people who have restaurant aspirations as I had wished I had gotten more involved in cooking at a young age.
Vancouver is a gay friendly city if you ever get tired of living in the USA.
It’s hard to immigrate to Canada after a certain age. (I looked into it.)
If you are bringing in capital to set up a business like JSM it should be automatic under our “Business” category of immigration.
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Hmm, It looked to me like you had to be under some age for that to apply. Maybe I’m wrong.
If you bring the minimum required amount of money into Canada, we don’t care about your age.
oh yeah the Xi’an noodles seem to be blowing up in the US. We got several in my city.
Maybe it’s changed. I’m pretty sure I checked that.