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Discover what your job should pay—and how to earn it. Hosted by a PhD in HR and compensation analytics expert, What It Pays goes beyond generic advice with real salary data, behavioral insights, and a research-backed system built to help professionals thrive. Whether you're negotiating your first offer or aiming for your next raise, we break down what works, what’s fair, and what’s next. With actionable advice, inspiring stories, and expert-backed tools, this podcast helps early and mid-career professionals unlock their full earning potential.
The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax, career, or professional advice. Listeners should consult qualified professionals before making any decisions based on anything discussed. Opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect the views of the host or CompRatio LLC.
Bruce (00:07)
99 cents less than a dollar can cost you so much more than you ever expected. Most people say that a dollar or 99 cents isn't worth an awkward conversation in an interview, but I'm here to show you the math to break that completely down. so, how the 99 cents can cost you $11,000 over five years. I'm Dr. Bruce Brown. I have a PhD in HR and this is what it.
Plus, we're also going to look at security guards in the state of Florida and compare all of this data to all those things. So let's start with the math that should hopefully change your perspective on everything. So when we think about things, we want to contextualize what's actually going to happen with that money. So you might be going in for a job interview and wonder, okay, is it really worth me pushing back or trying to negotiate for a little bit more money?
The answer is probably yes, it's gonna be worth it, but it's awkward. It's hard to lean in, because you're balancing, hey, I want this job, and I wanna be accepted here, and I'm worried if I push back, I might create a negative emotion. However, if you come about these things in a respectful manner and talk about the skills you're bringing to the table, and showcasing how you can be an asset to that organization, you can ask for these things as part of that upfront conversation.
It's easier to do it then, but do it realistically, reasonably, and have some data to support it. That's why we have what it pays. So that way you can actually have information to inform your conversation. So that way can go into all this with strategy, confidence, and set yourself up for success. Obviously, it's still a conversation. It takes two to tango, so they got to be willing to also come to the table with you. But the more that you are informed, the better things can be. And if you want to...
take ownership over your career, make sure to go to whatitpays.com and sign up for the newsletter because we're going to be dropping some really cool tools and breakdowns of salaries to help you, your career and everything else that goes on with your job. So let's talk about it. So I'm to use a baseline salary of $41,200. That's just below the national median that was last published in one of the latest censuses and then published online by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
So in that they had a $42,000 salary. We're gonna use just below that at $41,200. So here's the scenario. Let's say that's the national median for half of individuals earn below that amount, half of individuals earn above that amount, the exact middle, the median. So let's say the difference is gonna be just 5%, just 5%,
When you calculate that difference and then divide that out into an hourly amount, that is 99 cents an hour different in gross pay. Well, assuming that this roll is gonna get a 3 % increase, so to keep up with cost of living or merit increase, et cetera, as is 3%,
We're going to run this scenario of $41,200 and run the scenario of $43,260. That difference again was just a 5 % difference between the two that averaged out to 99 cents an hour different. By the end of year two, you're already looking at a $4,000 difference in pay. So again, they've gotten the 3 % increase, both of them, all else being equal. By the end of year two, you're already looking at $4,000 difference.
By the end of year five, you're looking at just shy of an $11,000 difference. So the total is actually $10,936.82. That's pretty huge. This isn't about being greedy and thinking for the extra 99 cents per hour. It's about understanding that every salary decision that you make compounds. That first negotiation for a new job
will set a trajectory that can have very different outcomes and we want to set you up for the best success possible. So every future raise, every job change that that employer is going to be based on the data of where you kind of start and the skills that you're bringing to the table. So negotiating for this in your next role is not just negotiating for the now, it's negotiating for your financial future and helping every step from beyond there to be set up for more success.
Now the hard part is, to be blunt, our brains are not usually wired to think about compounding interest on our base salary or what that means. And so when you're looking at things, it might just seem like, it's just an extra 99 cents an hour. That's not gonna be worth having a conversation about. Well, in this scenario, that 99 cents an hour costs you $11,000 over five years. So the question is not whether 99 cents is worth having a conversation about.
the actual conversation about is about whether $11,000 over five years is worth you talking about, which I would suggest, yeah, it is. But this is why you need tools like what it pays and salary calculators and things to track your salary over time in order to set effective goals as well as set you up for success and how your decisions right now will impact things later. So as we look at it,
We really wanna also just make sure that we're looking leaning into things. For a reference point, a $50,000 salary at a 5 % delta, so that's gonna be $2,500. That's actually gonna cost you $13,000 over those five years and then $100,000 salary, which we broke down the myth of $100,000 and why that might not be the right goal, but we know some people use it as a reference point. So if you were to have a salary of $100,000 versus salary of $105,000,
Again, 5 % difference, that's actually gonna cost you $26,000 over five years. It's worth the conversation. It's absolutely worth the conversation. Go into it with grace, go into it with data, and go into it with respect, and have that employer be a partner with you on your career journey. And if you're setting yourself and them up for success, and you're bringing different skills to the table. So in the latest Media Monday post, it actually shared
And if you're not familiar with median Monday, that's every week on Instagram on Mondays, we share out a particular role in a particular state and we share with that median salary is, which is by the way, one of the best ways to analyze the market is by looking at the median because averages can be pretty volatile when you have individuals super high earning or super low earning. The median is rather consistent. Again, it means half of the individuals earn less and half the individuals earn more. It's the middle.
So if you're a line all of them up in that state at that role, it's the middle point. And so when we look at things, we are looking at security guards in the state of Florida. Across the board, security guards require at least usually a high school diploma or GED equivalent. So that's important to know. And nationally, you're looking at an average median of $38,370. In the state of Florida, that number is unfortunately 36.
$36,090. This actually ranks as 41st out of all of the US states with the top earners being in the District of Columbia at $63,130. The top five are District of Columbia, Alaska, Washington, Minnesota, and Massachusetts with Massachusetts bringing in just shy of $45,000 a year at the median. And so again,
In Florida, this is the 41st not greatest median in the United States for this role. However, Florida also has a very different cost of living, also different aspects of the role that might be in Florida versus District of Columbia and other states, as well as Florida doesn't have state income tax. So these are all important factors to consider, but it's really important to actually know what should you be expecting.
out of your role or trajectory that you're going into. Now again, it's not about assuming a higher salary regardless of what job you're in. It's really important about how am I maximizing the role and career that I'm in right now and setting that up for success. As we just talked about, a simple 5 % difference in your salary can cost as much as 11 or $26,000 over five years, whether that was at 40.
just over $40,000 income or $100,000 income. It's about maximizing whatever you're doing and setting yourself up for the best financial future. Which by the way, if you're in Florida and you have the median salary,
versus a 5 % higher when you start, which would have been 37, 800 and change, you would have been missing out on $10,000 over the course of five years. And so again, we wanna make sure that you're setting yourself up. So if you wanna stay connected to the latest on salary information, career information, HR questions, I am here, I am here for you. Please make sure to send in all your questions to podcast at whatitpays.com.
This can include anything from salary questions to salary celebrations, the question you've always wanted to ask HR but haven't, or how about going about your next career search, looking at your own career and setting yourself up for your future and celebrating the heck out of your wins. So please email those into podcasts at
Looking ahead, we got more coming at you live on Instagram as well as TikTok and YouTube. So make sure to subscribe on all those places. But remember that your salary is just one indicator of many things. And so we want to set the whole you up for success. And so make sure to go over to what it pays dot com where you can sign up for the newsletter and get the latest and greatest information from all across the US. So next week, we're going to be looking at another salary in another state and breaking down the
best Reddit questions we're seeing out there or your question if you submit it. So make sure to go on over and do that. And in the meantime, go make your positive impact on the world. See you next week.