shah269 0 #1 April 7, 2010 A good friend jut has his retirement party today. He indicated when he graduated from university with a BS in engineering he made $19K his wife made $10k. the cost of his first home was $40k, which he bought two years after getting a job and getting married. He was able to buy a new car his first year of working and start a saving money for a vacation home which later funded his kids education at a very expensive university. The recent new guys in the office make about $45k a year, the average home now sells for a little over $250k and a new car or a vacation home are a pipe dream unless they stay at home with their parents. 40 years, not long at all......i hope things change back to how they once were.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nanook 1 #2 April 7, 2010 QuoteA good friend jut has his retirement party today. He indicated when he graduated from university with a BS in engineering he made $19K his wife made $10k. the cost of his first home was $40k, which he bought two years after getting a job and getting married. He was able to buy a new car his first year of working and start a saving money for a vacation home which later funded his kids education at a very expensive university. The recent new guys in the office make about $45k a year, the average home now sells for a little over $250k and a new car or a vacation home are a pipe dream unless they stay at home with their parents. 40 years, not long at all......i hope things change back to how they once were. How many sq. ft. was his $40,000 home when he bought it?_____________________________ "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #3 April 7, 2010 3 bed room, one and a half bath, 3 car garage, semi lake front in N-NJ about 30min from NYC. He's still lives there. Upgraded a bit to two and a half bath. Lost a garage space to the wifes green house. Is leaving with a full pension that pays out till the day he dies. He's planning on buying a Lotus.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #4 April 7, 2010 "Can you say inflation? I knew you could" said in my best Mr Rogers voice. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #5 April 7, 2010 Quote"Can you say inflation? I knew you could" said in my best Mr Rogers voice. Can you say deflation of ones earnings? He says no way in hell could he afford his place at his income at the current appraised price. Note appraised not market.Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,080 #6 April 7, 2010 >40 years, not long at all......i hope things change back to how they once were. $19K starting salaries for engineers? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #7 April 7, 2010 19k in 1969 may translate to $110k now. Pretty good starting salary. But if you're now paying new engineers 45k, that's the problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #8 April 7, 2010 Quote19k in 1969 may translate to $110k now. Pretty good starting salary. But if you're now paying new engineers 45k, that's the problem. GS-7 yeah that's $45k. Industry isn't paying that much more I'm told for the new hires unless they are very "special".Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dreamdancer 0 #9 April 7, 2010 i think forty years ago was the peak of the minimum wage (downhill from then on) stay away from moving propellers - they bite blue skies from thai sky adventures good solid response-provoking keyboarding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nanook 1 #10 April 7, 2010 I was just trying some price comparison here. The "Forty Years" threw me off some. Is that when he graduated, or is it when you will retire? The property we inherited cost about 40K in the 1950's. It (at the time) was a 3 bed, 1 bath 1 garage house with a view of the Pacific Ocean looking down to a developing San Diego beach community. I don't know how much the area in NJ was coveted back then, but here, I assumed that 40K was a lot of money even in the Fifties and that our house increased with inflation(to include the extra increase due to the beach). In short, who knows how much your house will cost in the many years ahead. Your "40 Years different world" may be better than his experience_____________________________ "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrewwhyte 1 #11 April 7, 2010 No matter how you slice it a home for 2 years salary (starting pay) would be nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shah269 0 #12 April 7, 2010 QuoteNo matter how you slice it a home for 2 years salary (starting pay) would be nice. Well look at the numbers, him and his wife income are equal to the price of the home! How amazing would that be!Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,112 #13 April 7, 2010 Quote>40 years, not long at all......i hope things change back to how they once were. $19K starting salaries for engineers? It was 1978 when I first made $19k.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #14 April 7, 2010 Quote 3 bed room, one and a half bath, . WTF is 1/2 a Bath? (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futuredivot 0 #15 April 7, 2010 Think WC-toilet no bathing facilities. A full bath has both a toilet and a tub/and or shower.You are only as strong as the prey you devour Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #16 April 7, 2010 Quote Quote 3 bed room, one and a half bath, . WTF is 1/2 a Bath? WTF is bangers and mash, a torch or a lorry?quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,550 #17 April 7, 2010 A lot of it's regional. There are still parts of the country where you can get a pretty reasonable house for $50,000 -- they're just not in NJ. 40 years ago, I could have gotten a house in some parts of Houston for less than $20,000 that now, due to real estate appreciation, would sell for $250,000 for the lot alone. Cost of living is higher now in part because of all the things that people think are essentials and weren't in the past. Internet, cell phone, cable TV, eating out, Netflix, video games, high-end phone services -- no one used to have these. But they can add a significant amount to the cost of living. The first car was almost always new. Houses are bigger, too. Maybe not in your friend's case in particular, but generally houses are a good 1000 sq. ft. bigger now for "average" than they were some 40 years ago. Which means higher cost for heating & cooling them, too. Life isn't bad now. We get all those cool things. They're just not free. Now -- private college education? THAT has gone way up! Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
headoverheels 333 #18 April 7, 2010 QuoteQuote>40 years, not long at all......i hope things change back to how they once were. $19K starting salaries for engineers? It was 1978 when I first made $19k. Yep, either that geezer can't remember what he made, or he didn't get that BS degree/job until he was in his 30's (assuming in mid 60's now) 1976, best starting BEE salary I know of was $15k, typical about $13.5k. 1977, fresh MSEE salaries were in the $17.2-$18k range. Three years later, it was more like $24k. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #19 April 7, 2010 Quote Think WC-toilet no bathing facilities. A full bath has both a toilet and a tub/and or shower. Oh, so it's just a bog, and there are 0 baths involved - gotcha (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,112 #20 April 8, 2010 Quote Quote 3 bed room, one and a half bath, . WTF is 1/2 a Bath? It's what you need when only dirty over 1/2 your body.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #21 April 8, 2010 QuoteQuote>40 years, not long at all......i hope things change back to how they once were. $19K starting salaries for engineers? It was 1978 when I first made $19k. In 1978, I made $24,000.00... driving a truck. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
