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Comment by dsp1234 | Hacker News Reader

tech worker's middle-class wages

Tech workers salaries in SF are anything but middle class. If you're single and making more than $72k per year, you're in the upper class.

"The three highest-paying positions in San Francisco, as self-reported by Glassdoor members, are all in tech. The average salary in San Francisco for a data scientist is $127,000 a year; software engineers make $103,000 a year; and database administrators earn $77,000."[0]

[0] - http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/09/are-you-in-t...

[1] - http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/student-loans/average-s...

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It depends on the tech worker. Not all tech workers are in those roles. It'd be interesting to see the distribution of all tech salaries. Entry level marketing, support, qa, and sales are all in tech, too.

https://medium.com/@taliajane/an-open-letter-to-my-ceo-fb73d...

I wonder how popular Glassdoor is outside of tech. And there's always the uncertainty about how accurate it is.

The calculator says: "One limitation of the calculator is that the income range that defines each income tier does not vary across regions or cities within the U.S. If you live in a relatively expensive area, such as New York City, it is possible that the calculator places you in a higher income tier than it might if a cost of living adjustment had been made. Conversely, if you live in an inexpensive part of the country, the calculator may place you in a lower income tier than it otherwise might."

   If you're single and making more than $72k per year, you're in the upper class

This is dead wrong.

SF Median household income is 77k, average is 104k. Earning 72k does not put you in the upper class, not in the slightest.

This is dead wrong.

"Upper-middle class" may have been a better description for tech worker incomes, on average. Which I'm sure you know caries a very different cachet, socially and politically, than "middle class"

Basic point being (and more germane to the thread as a whole) "middle class" as a label for tech workers is clearly off base.

72k isn't even 'upper-middle'. You have been backpedalling all over, and in another comment even claimed 50k was the number for 'middle class'. You have no idea what middle class means or you are trolling.

You're referring to household income.

The context of this sub-thread (starting 3 up from here) clearly referred to "salary", a.k.a. personal income. The two categories are, of course, very different. Which explains the great bulk of the noise in this discussion.

You might want to read things more carefully before accusing people of backpedalling and trolling, in other words.

The real upper class laughs at you guys arguing amongst yourselves over what qualifies as "middle class" and "upper middle class" and "upper lower middle class" and "lower middle upper middle class". So silly.

"Tech workers salaries in SF are anything but middle class. If you're single and making more than $72k per year, you're in the upper class."

Yeah, in Dipstick, Nebraska.

But in SF $72k isn't upper class or even middle class.

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