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Discussion

When someone asks your salary... how to answer?

Hi everyone,

Perhaps it's just me but I consider salary talks to be a scoot over to the more private side but this is only to avoid awkwardness and being uncomfortable to answer during that situation. Is this... normal?

So when someone (ie. family, friends, colleagues) asks for your hourly wage/salary, is there a "comfortable" way to answer?

Thank you!

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    I don't mind sharing how much I make if people ask. It's not like it will raise or lower my pay rate nor will it make that person think differently of me (and it shouldn't). If you like to keep it private, keep it private and tell them that. Though, when people ask me how much I make, I always ask them back in return, it's only a fair trade :p.

    In regards to nursing, people can easily search about how much you make based on your years working as a nurse and where at so you're not really hiding much.

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    • Expert

    It really depends on the circumstances. Co-workers? -- not allowed where I work, so I don't say an actual figure. But as it is well-known that I have been here in my current job for many years, I acknowledge that I have reached the top of the salary scale for my position.

    Family member? I tell them honestly. I make more than my siblings, nieces, and nephews -- and I don't mind letting them know that my hard work over the years has paid off. I want my nieces and nephews to understand how the world works so that they can make good decisions about their lives.

    Other people? I give a vague neighborhood of nursing salaries and approximate where I fall. I want to be honest, but they don't need to know my private business. I don't have many friends who ask those sorts of questions.

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    • Expert

    Can't put a number on times people have asked me this question while not giving their own figure in return. Now I keep the info private.

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    You are not really allowed to tell or say anything especially at work. You can get in trouble at work for doing that. People automatically want to know more or compare so it will lead to problems. With family, I don't tell them how much because its not all that different except that you are related to each other. The title of being an RN is already enough for people to assume many things. I just keep all that to myself and change the subject. Now when it comes to family, I have no idea what the relationship is like but if you can be honest and not have any judgments then its okay. Personally I keep the salary private the only ones who are closest and need to know. I did get asked about my tax return by a colleague and it was not comfortable at all. I just told her I paid enough tax and I didn't have to pay anything in return for the year. She assumed that I had to pay tax back, but who is to know how much we allocate to savings, etc? She said she did not understand why she had to pay back money, but she is a mom to a 6 year old. Anyway, I just don't answer about salaries and change the subject or tell them its not something I discuss.

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    • Expert

    In Canada it's common knowledge. Our pay scales are readily viewable on the various nursing unions' websites. Most nursing positions here are union, with the exception of parts of Ontario, so hourly wages are easily calculated by anyone who's curious. Also most health care providers are paid out of the provincial health care budget - the public purse. Several provinces have "sunshine" lists of public employees by name who were paid more than a certain amount of money in one year. In Alberta that list starts at $125K. For a nurse to earn that kind of money, you know there's been a lot of overtime, on-call and call-back involved.

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    It's not a big deal to me. Companies have trained their people not to talk about it so they can get away with unfair business practices.

    If you don't want to say anything, then don't.

    "I don't talk about my salary" is easy enough to say.

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