Payroll pays a fortune I want to get payroll experience ?

[CaptainPlanet]

I'm serious there are advertisements paying up to $40 an hour for a payroll clerk.

 

Thats awesome, office workers are getting paid a small fortune.

 

Laborers get $17 an hour. I don't want to drive a forklift, or drive a truck because its even more dead end. Am I delusional ? or are those jobs what I am going to have to do.

 

Here I am an oppressed male wanting to break into the female dominated world of office work.

 

Seriously though, 20 hours per week, $28 bucks an hour thats about what I'd earn at work now if I went full time. I'm bored out of my brain at work anyway so I don't think boredom will be a factor.

 

Anyone got any advice ? I feel ridiculous even asking about this but the money is so good and I am too lazy to want to work a job I hate full time.

[Siriana]

Here I am an oppressed male wanting to break into the female dominated world of office work.

 

at least it will be easy to meet girls lol

oh, and it's not so easy working with a lot of women together, trust me.

i am more than thankful every single day that there is only 15 women in my company and around 130 men. lol

 

what on earth are you doing now?

you can always try office job and than get back to your boring job you're doing right now if you hate to be stuck in an office.

I guess your current job is not something people would die for so it's easy to get back in?

[CaptainPlanet]

you can always try office job and than get back to your boring job you're doing right now if you hate to be stuck in an office.

I guess your current job is not something people would die for so it's easy to get back in?

 

I'd love an office job. Air conditioning/heating, no annoying customers, sitting down all day, privacy, and payroll I could temp and earn a fortune not have to work full time. Office experience is a ++ when looking for Graduate jobs too if I ever decide to graduate.

 

I could use that experience to get an office job with the government, which could be used to become something cool, like a policy officer or program coordinator.

 

Standing up all day is bad and I hate manual labor with passion. I want an office job.

[Siriana]

Than try it.

It's not that you can loose much.

Looks like you're good at dealing with boredom lol

I worked at government office job and it was hell.

[CaptainPlanet]

Than try it.

It's not that you can loose much.

Looks like you're good at dealing with boredom lol

I worked at government office job and it was hell.

 

I would but I don't know how to get hired, they always want ready made people and aren't willing to train anyone.

[Siriana]

oh, that sounds familiar.

Anything connected with salaries, accounting etc...is a job that takes a lot of time to be learned and they want already skilled people.

I think it will take me 3-5 years to learn enough in the field to say I connected the dots successfully. It takes patience and detail oriented person.

So the risk of teaching someone and loosing time with it and than having that someone leave is a big one.

I never, ever even saw an ad in my city for an accountant apprentice.

They always searched for someone with 3-5 years of experience.

I got my job thanx to the fact my relative owns a company.

 

Could you at least start some sort of a class that will learn you the basics? I pursued one after uni when I started this job I'm doing now. It was a 4 months basic accounting class. To me it served to refresh my uni knowledge of accounting that was forgotten.

 

I gess the easiest way is to know someone who knows someone.

[rocio]

I seriously doubt that they are going to pay someone without payroll experience $40/hour. For that much, they are probably paying for several years of experience.

 

You could always go ahead and apply, though.

[CaptainPlanet]

I seriously doubt that they are going to pay someone without payroll experience $40/hour. For that much, they are probably paying for several years of experience.

 

You could always go ahead and apply, though.

 

Yeah I realize that but you've got to understand where I am coming from that if it is possible to get that much money its worth looking into.

 

One of the advertisements specified 2 years experience, paying $33 an hour. Thats a gold mind for sitting in an office in a day time job.

[rocio]

Normally office jobs pay better than general labor, as long as you have experience. With no experience, general labor pays better as long as you're willing to put your back into it.

 

Aren't you in school? If you weren't in school, I would say it would be a good idea to start off at the bottom and work your way up to the kind of position you're considering. But getting an education is a much better way to ensure a good paycheck from an office job. Without a degree, those payroll clerks aren't going to get much more than that, even after 20 years. With a degree, you can get alot higher after 20 years.

[CaptainPlanet]

Normally office jobs pay better than general labor, as long as you have experience. With no experience, general labor pays better as long as you're willing to put your back into it.

 

Aren't you in school? If you weren't in school, I would say it would be a good idea to start off at the bottom and work your way up to the kind of position you're considering. But getting an education is a much better way to ensure a good paycheck from an office job. Without a degree, those payroll clerks aren't going to get much more than that, even after 20 years. With a degree, you can get alot higher after 20 years.

 

I was but I'm not anymore, I am enrolling in an Engineering degree to start next year. I'm all over the place to be honest. Its a longish story but I really think that is the best use of my time. I'm giving it another 8 months, then returning to school. Mech Eng. its good for a lot of things. What do you think ?

 

Btw welcome back

[rocio]

Thank you. It's good to be back.

 

I think you need to do something you enjoy. You won't make a good engineer, or a good accountant, or a good doctor if you do not have talents in those fields and if it does not interest you.

 

Also, you seem like it's very important for you to be well-off. It's important to remember that people who are rich normally only get a portion of their income from their salary. If you see, for example, a wealthy doctor who owns his own practise, I can almost guarantee that a huge part of his income comes from investments. Here in Canada, taxes on income is about 50% if you're making 6 figures. However, taxes on capital gains are only 10%. So, you can see that people who live well usually do it by investing.

 

And you can invest even if you only make $40,000 a year. Especially if you are smart about it and start young.

 

My advice? Find something that you love and are naturally good at, and take some courses in personal finance on the side.

[CaptainPlanet]

I don't really have any natural talents and 40k is not enough money to start investing. I don't know what I should do, life is not looking very promising at this point in time. Just 'getting a job' entails becoming a member of the lowest rank of society forever. Unqualified males, we really, really get the short stack in a very big way. Well, at least I would anyway. My Dad worked his hardest for 25 years ... and got nothing at all out of it, its tragic and not fair. I don't want to live that life and I won't. I'll become a social recluse before I ruin my health and body for $17 buck an hour.

[pinkelephant]

Um, my mom's an accountant she did payroll. it's not thaaat easy and i think you might be misinformed. or maybe your dollars are different but i think my mom was making 20 dollars an hour? maybe 30, i'm not sure. 40 seems to be a stretch.

 

 

 

accounting isn't for everyone... it's a lot of detailed mundane stuff.

i tried to do data entry for her once.. wow, wanted to die. hah.

[CaptainPlanet]

Um, my mom's an accountant she did payroll. it's not thaaat easy and i think you might be misinformed. or maybe your dollars are different but i think my mom was making 20 dollars an hour? maybe 30, i'm not sure. 40 seems to be a stretch.

 

 

 

accounting isn't for everyone... it's a lot of detailed mundane stuff.

i tried to do data entry for her once.. wow, wanted to die. hah.

 

Sigh* people with real jobs, fail to grasp what is truly mundane.

[rocio]

I think anyone can invest. It's more about your approach to money than how much you make. There are alot of people who make 6 figure salaries and are paying a fortune on debt interest. My mother, on the other hand, raised 3 kids below the poverty line and managed to live in the wealthy part of town, next door to doctors, and always invested.

 

It's all about what you do with your money, not how much you make!

[Jetta]

You need a 2 year degree in accounting to get into that field.

[CaptainPlanet]

I think anyone can invest. It's more about your approach to money than how much you make. There are alot of people who make 6 figure salaries and are paying a fortune on debt interest. My mother, on the other hand, raised 3 kids below the poverty line and managed to live in the wealthy part of town, next door to doctors, and always invested.

 

It's all about what you do with your money, not how much you make!

 

'investments' are a game for people who are already rich.

 

btw I did the sums, on 40k money just doesn't grow that fast, you're collecting pocket change unless you want to speculate on something heavy.................... like housing going up 100% every 7 years into infinity.

[rocio]

Ok, let's say a person packed a lunch every day instead of eating out. Saved $5 per day and invested that. Any interest he makes, he puts back in.

 

Say he started that at the age of 23. 10 years later, by the time he's 33, he's going to have a heck of a lot more money saved than most 33 year olds.

 

Compare that with someone who pays $75 per month in interest charges on their credit cards. (That's very easy to do. Many people pay hundreds.) After 10 years, they've thrown thousands down the drain, and that's not even considered what they could have made if they'd invested that $75 instead.

 

Seriously, after the taxman is through with you, there's not a heck of a lot of difference between making $45,000 and making $60,000. If you don't love math and love figuring out how things work, that extra $500 a month that an engineer makes isn't going to make up for your misery.

[pinkelephant]

definitely.

engineering is very very hard.

a lot of my friends who LOVE it aren't capable of going through with it... and they're dropping out like flies. it's insane. if you don't love it and in it for the money, i'm telling you... quit now. the debt you'll be in will be even more devastating.

 

 

however, it is a good idea to look into office jobs because you won't be taxing on your body. a very good idea and that is why my mom urges me to find a field in the medical field.

 

 

i sense a huge chip on your shoulder with this issue... and i hope that you try to clear your head before you let it cloud your judgement. engineering is VERY hard. even that is an understatement.

[CaptainPlanet]

definitely.

engineering is very very hard.

a lot of my friends who LOVE it aren't capable of going through with it... and they're dropping out like flies. it's insane. if you don't love it and in it for the money, i'm telling you... quit now. the debt you'll be in will be even more devastating.

 

 

however, it is a good idea to look into office jobs because you won't be taxing on your body. a very good idea and that is why my mom urges me to find a field in the medical field.

 

 

i sense a huge chip on your shoulder with this issue... and i hope that you try to clear your head before you let it cloud your judgement. engineering is VERY hard. even that is an understatement.

 

I know its hard that is why I want to do it. I'm the type of person who knuckles down when things are hard, but slacks off when they're easy.

 

I want an office job at a University that would be awesome. Office jobs pay so much money ! I can't believe it I really want to get an office job but it is harder for a male so I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder.

[CaptainPlanet]

Surplus income is important. Having a salary of 100k means you can invest a lot of it and at a loss which allows you to claim the loss on your taxes while still appreciating capital gains.

 

For example, you buy a Cafe, run it at a loss and then sell it for 100k profit. Or you buy houses selling at a loss. Salary sacrifices to super, we definitely have a tax system that benefits those with money.

 

Lets do some quick sums.

 

Income of $40,000

After tax: $642.31

 

Rent: $150

Food: $100

Other: $50 (clothing and cleaning)

Petrol: $60

Car: $50

Entertainment: $50

 

Total : $460

Remaining: $182

Minus school debt of $50 per week.

 

$132 per week, which is only around $6800 per year saved.

 

Thats without buying a home and renting only a single room.

 

Buying a house will cost around $300,000 @ 7.5% interest that is $22,500 in interest alone.

 

Even in Australia, $40,000 per year just isn't what it used to be. You need to be supported by your parents or you need more money. To invest seriously I'd need a second job.

 

My best financial bet might be to get into maths teaching and history teaching. The course is easy so I can work a lot while I study, teaching is a guaranteed job with the ability to make extra money tutoring. Not to mention the holidays and that after 8 years the income is $75,000.

[JadedStar]

Payroll clerks in the states get about 9 dollars an hour.

 

And it is a very boring job from what I hear. It is very redundant and mundane. I am not knocking those in the job but it is definitely for people who only like crunching numbers all day and little else.

[CaptainPlanet]

Payroll clerks in the states get about 9 dollars an hour.

 

And it is a very boring job from what I hear. It is very redundant and mundane. I am not knocking those in the job but it is definitely for people who only like crunching numbers all day and little else.

 

The states is a very different place to Australia we have a lot more rights at work and our wages are a lot higher accross the board. I don't say that to 'bash America' it is just a fact. You'd be surprised at some of the wages people here are earning.

 

I'm getting $22 an hour for working in retail and apparently our cost of living is similar to yours, just saying, have a look. We've also got free and universal health care.

 

I'm working in retail so I am sure pay roll clerking wouldn't be any more boring, I'd earn more, get to sit down and probably have better promotional prospects.

[Anthropic]

$132 per week, which is only around $6800 per year saved.

 

I'm with under_my_amberella on the whole investing thing. It's never too early to start, any amount is good and it really is the way for normal people to get rich. The key, as I see it, is patience. You need to start early, and let your investments build over time. It's all about compounding your returns over a long period of time. Obviously, knowing how to lay out your investments is important so you don't lose your shirt, but this is actually pretty easy with some research and thinking.

 

I'll take your example of saving $6800 a year.

 

Scenario 1:

You don't save it, you spend it. Your left with nothing, although you may have some cool new gadgets.

After 5 years: nothing

10 years : nothing

15 years : nothing

 

Scenario 2:

Stuff money in a shoe box under the bed.

After 5 yrs : $34,000

10 yrs : $68,000

15 yrs : $102,000

 

Scenario 3:

You put it in a high interest bank account, I'll say 4% compounded annually. Assume you make a $6800 lump sum deposit at the end of each compounding period (I'm just using a calculator off the web):

After 5 years : 45,104.23

10 years : 91,707.19

15 years : 148,406.81

 

Scenario 4:

Throw money into investments. The market traditionally has averaged returns of 10% annually over the long term. Let's say we're not very good investors yet and we get an annual return of 6%. (Using same calculator as above for simplicity)

After 5 yrs : 47,432.17

10 yrs : 101,807.17

15 yrs : 174,573.19

 

Scenario 5:

We're awesome investors and we get the 10% annual market return. (same calculator as above)

After 5 yrs : 52,466.15

10 yrs : 126,011.94

15 yrs : 244,458.16

 

So yeah, this is kind of a simplistic view and doesn't factor in a lot of things (like inflation), but it gives you an idea of what your missing out on if you don't invest. I don't know about you, but those are some non-trivial numbers to me.

 

Oh, calculator I used is here. Actually that whole site has some good info on learning how to invest: link removed

[JadedStar]

The states is a very different place to Australia we have a lot more rights at work and our wages are a lot higher accross the board. I don't say that to 'bash America' it is just a fact. You'd be surprised at some of the wages people here are earning.

 

I'm getting $22 an hour for working in retail and apparently our cost of living is similar to yours, just saying, have a look. We've also got free and universal health care.

 

I'm working in retail so I am sure pay roll clerking wouldn't be any more boring, I'd earn more, get to sit down and probably have better promotional prospects.

 

Then go ahead and get a payroll clerk job making what you do in retail. It pays about the same as a customer service/retail clerk in the mall. Personally i'd rather have the retail job that has a lot of interaction with people, because to me numbers are boring and people are not, but if you hate being around people then payroll might be your answer. If you are horrible with people then sitting in front of a calculator and computer might be your ticket.