There is NOTHING, and I repeat N O T H I N G competitive about $30,000 dollars a year in Nova Scotia. That is poverty level salary. That is pure disrespect for thsoe of us who worked out asses off on university and put ourselves so far into financial ruin that we can’t afford to take a shit becuase ass wipe is too expensive at our level of income. Stop patronizing me and telling me that you pay a competitive salary at $30,000 a year. That is NOT COMPETITIVE. End of this poor assed provinces financial rape story.
This article appears in Aug 14-20, 2008.
I think you can afford to budget for ass wipe if you earn $2500 a month.
that’s not competitive, that’s above average. you say you cant live off of $30, 000 a year?? after student loan garnishes my cheque, they leave me $400 every 2 weeks to pay my bills, get groceries, pay rent and buy necessities like toothpaste, garbage bags, feminine products, light bulbs, etc. and im not dead yet. If you can’t possibly live off the ‘pauper’s salary’ of $30,000 a year, then who in the hell is doing the math over at student loan?!?!? You are the perfect example of how for some people, no amount of money is enough. Hell, i’d be absolutely tickled if i was able to find a job where i made a decent $1200-1500 a month, as im sure many people here would be. count your blessings you’re not slinging coffee for an hourly wage like some of your just-as-qualified counterparts.
I have to agree with the OP. Employers are wanting BSc’s for work that a high school grad could do and offer renumerations for a HS student education. I read an ad today for a research associate to manage a lab, minimum BSc, pay rate $10/hr!! If you worked all 168 hours of the week, then it is pretty good. The pay scheme here is out of touch with the requirements that employers want these days. The reason that the salary is low is that there are too many applicants/graduates in each field and not enough jobs, this gives employers the advantage.
I agree with the OP too. I worked for $30,000 a year and it’s about $1800 net. Not a lot when you have bills, student loans and a kid. The employer does have the advantage here. I always hear people say “Well that’s good money for Nova Scotia,” as if we’ve been a have-not province for so long we think we don’t deserve anymore.
That’s a bit of a misrepresentation of that job. A research associate typically has a PhD and would be heading up their own research projects for about 35-45K/year. A BSc would qualify you for a lab manager/technician job, which should pay at least 20K/year and should be pushing 30K. A graduate student makes about $1500/mo after tuition (about equivalent pay as the posted job), but at least they get a Master’s or PhD after a few years. There are very few good science jobs in NS, especially with only a BSc. It’s pretty easy to make that degree work well for you elsewhere though. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa etc are all good places to get a return on an investment in a BSc.
I bet it has a lot to do with the fact that most of us these days live above our means. It doesn’t matter how much you make it will never be enough. The more you make the more you spend. You just end up with more things you have to pay for because you think you can afford it , so you still end up living check to check. Its society telling us we need all this crap that we really don’t need making us all poor, but look at my $ 200 dollar sneakers or my 56 ” flat screen plasma tv etc…It will never be enough !
Why shouldn’t people want the little — or big — extras? I agree that people can be wasteful and buy the most riduculous stuff, but if you earn it, you can spend it anyway you want. We’re always told university graduates earn more money. I don’t think they had a ceiling of $30,000 in mind.
Miles, if I had a PhD, I’m pretty sure I would not take that salary range. That would certainly make 9 years of school seem utterly worthless.
Fred, that’s why most people with science PhD’s don’t stick around here. Your options are pretty much a slim chance at a faculty position or an attempt to get into the small handful of struggling research industry jobs in NS. Move away and there are plenty of opportunities to make a return on that education investment. Halifax is a great place to train, but a poor place to seek employment related to that training.
The OP is right, $30,000 for a job that requires years of university is ridiculous. I make that amount right now and I don’t have a degree and I’m the lowest paid person in my department. If I had gotten an education, I’d be pretty pissed to be making the minimum amount that somebody with less education could do. I think I’m doing pretty good considering my lack of university, but that still doesn’t change the fact that it’s very hard to live decently on that amount. It seems like a lot to people who are making minimum and just above wages, but as with most things, looks can be deceiving. After all the deductions are taken out, I only make about $19,000. I actually made just marginally less in take-home pay when I used to make nine bucks an hour in a previous job. What happens is, the more money you make, the more they take off in deductions. You can’t come out ahead. My hourly rate has doubled, but my gross pay is only a fraction more.As far as luxuries. I believe everyone has a right to have some just to make the drudgery of having to work everyday of the best years of your life a little better, so don’t begrudge people when they buy unnecessary stuff. Yes, we live in a consumer society and we’re never satisfied with what we have, but that doesn’t mean we should have nothing but the basics. Ya gotta live a little.
With $2500/mo clear income, just a couple of months ago an HRM family was featured on CBC, as regular food bank users. These people were not slouches. I agree with the OP wholeheartedly. There’s a reason the HRM is littered with shopping carts and crack.