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Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

seattletimes.com

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Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#21

Post by hjnilsson »

bluedino wrote: post #8

>> Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos received $1,681,840 in compensation in 2017, the proxy statement said, $1.6 million of which represents the cost of providing his security. Is that pretty typical for a person who is say, in the richest 5-100 people in the world to spend on security? What kind of protection does that buy?

If we assume a reasonable bodyguard charges $100 an hour, and he has 2 bodyguards 16 hours a day (or 4 in 2 by 8 hours).

100 * 2 * 16 * 365 = $1.16 million

Count in that they need travel, food and hotels along with Bezos, and it’s not unreasonable or excessive.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#22

Post by austincheney »

Before people comment too much about wage inequality consider for a moment that this ins't a feudal state where people are locked into role and wage limits outside their control.

I am a software developer for one of the larger companies and also an Army Reservist. When I go away to do Army stuff I frequently encounter people who work much harder and earn much less than I do in their civilian jobs. Is that fair? I would say, it doesn't matter.

I tell those people how being a software developer generally isn't super intense or stressful and you make all this money, but yet the people I tell this to generally don't want to write software. The disparity is that a senior software development position isn't immediately free like a dinner mint at the end of dinner. You have to practice writing software really hard and really invest your time into solving hard problems. In all my experience talking about wage inequality the ultimate disparity that always arises is time spent investing in yourself without any reasonable compensation.

EDIT: I did not start programming until age 28. I was already married and had two children.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#23

Post by goshx »

jaysonelliot wrote: post #13
nathanaldensr wrote: post #2

This is a great article for demonstrating how mean and median can be used to manipulate perception.

Median is the appropriate measure to use if you're looking at the overall pay of a company's workforce. Average/mean is disproportionately influenced by a small number of highly paid employees. In this case, the article is clearly demonstrating that despite Amazon's commanding market share, incredible wealth, and the largess bestowed upon their executives, some of their workforce is so poorly paid that they may not e…

That median is not US only.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#24

Post by SolarNet »

epicureanideal wrote: post #15
elicash wrote: post #7

This means a very sizable percentage of Amazon's workforce (though not quite half) could qualify for SNAP. "130% of the poverty line for a three-person family is $2,213 a month, or about $26,600 a year." https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/a-quick-guide-...

You're assuming 2 kids and 1 income earner, though. It's above minimum wage. If we say that's not enough, we should raise minimum wage. Or we should create a society where it's possible for the people currently working for $26k/yr to have a stable roadmap to much higher earnings. But I don't think Amazon alone is to blame for the problem.

Except raising the minimum wage is often met with cries that it will stifle business and prevent competition. The problem is fundamentally that labor markets can't be free markets, and the minimum wage is not a viable way to control the market distortions. The better solution is to use a basic income which allows people to not work for companies like Amazon until they can pay a better wage.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#25

Post by Tyrek »

austincheney wrote: post #22

Before people comment too much about wage inequality consider for a moment that this ins't a feudal state where people are locked into role and wage limits outside their control. I am a software developer for one of the larger companies and also an Army Reservist. When I go away to do Army stuff I frequently encounter people who work much harder and earn much less than I do in their civilian jobs. Is that fair? I wou…

Sure, but you're omitting a crucial step - a relative minority of the population were actively enabled and were able to pursue their interests/self-invest/etc. when they were much younger (read: teenaged), which gave them a snowballing competitive advantage as they got older.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#26

Post by fortythirteen »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #2

This is a great article for demonstrating how mean and median can be used to manipulate perception.

Not to mention that this means the lower half of wage earners at Amazon make an average of $14 an hour, which isn't terrible for, what we can assume is, mostly unskilled labor.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#27

Post by aje403 »

elicash wrote: post #7

This means a very sizable percentage of Amazon's workforce (though not quite half) could qualify for SNAP. "130% of the poverty line for a three-person family is $2,213 a month, or about $26,600 a year." https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/a-quick-guide-...

That's true, but it's also important to note that non-US residents do not qualify for SNAP

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#28

Post by seattle_spring »

throwaway637h wrote: post #14

That's more than a junior yearly salary for a software engineer with a degree where I'm from though. With higher taxes, higher prices for consumer electronics and much more expensive gasoline.

And, presumably, far lower housing costs and overall CoL.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#29

Post by c2kc »

Tyrek wrote: post #25
austincheney wrote: post #22

Before people comment too much about wage inequality consider for a moment that this ins't a feudal state where people are locked into role and wage limits outside their control. I am a software developer for one of the larger companies and also an Army Reservist. When I go away to do Army stuff I frequently encounter people who work much harder and earn much less than I do in their civilian jobs. Is that fair? I wou…

Sure, but you're omitting a crucial step - a relative minority of the population were actively enabled and were able to pursue their interests/self-invest/etc. when they were much younger (read: teenaged), which gave them a snowballing competitive advantage as they got older.

100%

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#30

Post by krapp »

elgenie wrote: post #17

Amazon employs significantly more workers that are stocking warehouses and filling boxes than are writing code. So the median Amazon worker by pay is working in a warehouse, probably entry-level or thereabouts, and is making about $14 an hour.

>So the median Amazon worker by pay is working in a warehouse, probably entry-level or thereabouts, and is making about $14 an hour.

Many are not even making that much.

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