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- 3 highest salaries from 2024
3 highest salaries from 2024
Our $alary Wrapped
Hey! While we were all busy comparing our Spotify Wrapped stats last week, you might have missed the very best part of this year-end tradition: the idea came from a Spotify intern named Jewel Ham.
Jewel’s pitch to Spotify!
Let this be a reminder to never underestimate young talent and to compensate them fairly—always.
Ready for our very own version of $alary Wrapped? We’ve got you. Here’s our year by the numbers—including the highest salaries, people interviewed, states visited, and more!
The 3 Highest Salaries We Heard in 2024
We’re down to the last 5% of 2024 (yes, really!). How did this year treat you? We have a ton to celebrate here at Salary Transparent Street—and it’s all thanks to you! To name just a few wins:
👥 ~250 people shared their pay in interviews
💰 ~5,000 salaries added to our database (submit yours here 😉)
🇺🇸 16 states visited (including partnerships with both North Carolina and Maryland to bring transparency to their cities!)
But out of the thousands of salaries we heard about this year, a few stood out for hitting the top of the pay scale. Here were the 10 highest salaries we heard about in 2024:
Here’s a closer look at the three highest salaries on the list:
Content Creator and E-Commerce: $3M
In Miami, Florida, 🌴 we met Isabella Kotsias, an e-commerce and social media monetization pro. She runs three pages—baddieinbiz, meekathehusky, and baddieful—and has over 15 million followers across all platforms.
Her businesses earned just under $3 million this year, but that success didn’t happen overnight. Isabella made content on the side starting at 16 before going full-time on her career in 2020.
Hard to believe? Consider this: We have only 3 million followers (one-fifth of her total following) and grossed over $1 million last year. It’s totally possible (but not super common) to earn that much building a social media business.
For context, the average content creator earns $58,000 a year, according to Glassdoor. Earning numbers like Isabella’s requires time, consistency, and lots of patience.
Developer Advocate and Content Creator: $300,000
We met Jeremiah Peoples at RenderATL, a tech conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Jeremiah is a developer advocate and content creator who earns between $300,000 and $400,000 a year—most of which comes from his 9–5 as a developer advocate.
What’s that? A developer advocate teaches developers how to use a product or technology.
They’re the bridge between the teams that build the tools and the developers who use them.
Jeremiah’s advice? “It’s free to start being a developer advocate. Start telling people what you’re learning, what you’re working on, and what you’re having troubles with.” (Get a detailed guide on becoming a developer advocate here 💻).
Comedian and Musician: $250,000
Meet Morgan Jay, a comedian and musician with 17 years of experience whose salary is anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000, depending on the year.
75% of his income comes from touring colleges, clubs, private parties, and corporate events. The rest is a mix of acting gigs in commercials and TV. Although $250K sounds great, Morgan mentioned two caveats:
He didn’t earn much for the first 10 years of his career and worked retail to get by.
A solid chunk of an entertainer’s income goes to agents, managers, lawyers, and taxes.
These were just the top three salaries we uncovered in 2024—but the rest will surprise you (especially number four 🐜). Curious? Get the full list right here!
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3%. That’s the average raise companies gives employees every year. But James? He just landed a 120% raise. 🤯
In this episode of Two Cents, James and Hannah dive into how this raise impacts their finances. How should they split expenses? Is it ever okay to hide a big financial decision? And does the breadwinner label help a relationship…or hurt it?
Catch all those answers (and more!) in the latest episode:
More colleges are offering free tuition. 🎓 Nearly half a dozen institutions including the University of Texas, Carnegie Mellon University, and St. John’s College will offer free tuition to students who meet certain income requirements starting fall 2025. We love to see it!
Whole Foods employees file for union election. 🥬 Employees in Philadelphia filed to a hold union election to secure living wages. If they’re successful, they’ll be the first union at Whole Foods—which has a reputation for being anti-union.
Have you heard of revenge quitting? 😡 Experts predict a healthier job market in 2025—giving employees the leverage to “revenge quit” jobs in which they feel burned out and undervalued. Do you feel like you might be part of that wave next year?
Employers aren’t ready for pay transparency. 💼 Just 18% feel equipped for incoming pay transparency laws, per Aon. And when companies don’t have readily available internal data to provide or justify salary ranges? They risk legal headaches and losing employee trust. Big yikes, we’re on it!
Thanks for reading! 🚨 FYI: There’s a (free!) website that checks if your boss owes you any wages. Go to Workers Owed Wages to see if you have money waiting to be claimed.
See you next week!
*Rate as of 12/3/24. APY is variable and subject to change.
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