Is this job actually worth it?
Your offer letter shows a salary. It doesn't show the 30-minute drive each way, the "quick" tasks that keep you an hour late, or the messages you answer on the couch at 9 p.m. It also ignores the lunches, clothes, and coffee you only buy because you go to work. Count all of that and your hourly wage looks very different.
With the defaults — a $64,000 salary, a 30-minute commute, an hour of unpaid overtime, and 15 minutes of after-hours messages a day — the $30.77 hourly wage on paper shrinks to about $22.44.
How it's calculated
- Workdays per month = workdays per week × 52 ÷ 12
- Monthly pay = annual salary ÷ 12
- Hourly wage on paper = monthly pay ÷ (workdays per month × scheduled hours)
- Real hours = workdays per month × (scheduled hours + unpaid overtime + round-trip commute + after-hours messages)
- Real pay = monthly pay − commuting costs − work-related spending
- Real hourly wage = real pay ÷ real hours
The result is compared with the minimum wage you enter. The federal minimum is $7.25 an hour, but many states and cities require more. A real hourly wage below the minimum doesn't necessarily mean your employer is breaking the law — the minimum wage doesn't account for your commute. But if you're non-exempt, the extra hours you actually work must be paid. Either way, the result shows what your time is really worth in this job.
Annual salary to hourly wage
The usual shortcut divides your salary by 2,080 hours (40 hours × 52 weeks), before any hidden time or costs.
| Annual salary | Hourly (÷ 2,080) | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $14.42 | $2,500 |
| $40,000 | $19.23 | $3,333 |
| $50,000 | $24.04 | $4,167 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $5,000 |
| $75,000 | $36.06 | $6,250 |
| $90,000 | $43.27 | $7,500 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $8,333 |
| $120,000 | $57.69 | $10,000 |
| $150,000 | $72.12 | $12,500 |
How to raise your real hourly wage
- Your commute is the biggest hidden cost. Thirty minutes each way adds up to more than 20 hours a month. A remote day or two can do more than a small raise.
- Track unpaid overtime. Under federal law, non-exempt employees (most hourly workers) must be paid overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. Even if you're exempt, a record gives you something to negotiate with.
- Set boundaries for after-hours messages. Fifteen minutes a night sounds small, but it's over five hours of free work a month.