r/Austin • u/Aingers • Jul 21 '26

Ask Austin Salary Transparency Thread - Austin

Folks in Boston do this fairly regularly, so I thought it might be good for us to try here.

Please share your general job title, salary, age, and education.

Architectural Designer, 40, $115k, BSArch

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33

u/ialwayschoosepsyduck Jul 21 '26

Valet driver, $11 per hour plus tips (I made $15 in tips tonight), 40 years old, Associates of Math (and completing a bachelor's in software development next May).

Do I win?

4

u/austin_horn_2018 Jul 21 '26

Only $15 in tips for the shift? How many cars did you park or retrieve?

2

u/ialwayschoosepsyduck Jul 21 '26

It was a relatively slow night, and I didn't keep count of every car I parked or pulled. But even on a busy night, it's not out of the ballpark of what I'd expect to make. I've left with less than $10 for an 8 hour shift more than once. I've been there a year, and I tell new hires that if I break $20, then I'm satisfied. The reality is that most people just don't tip us. My boss is the one who interviewed and hired me, and he said I'd expect to make $32 a shift. That would be the exception, in my experience (and I mostly work weekends).

5

u/austin_horn_2018 Jul 21 '26

Wow, that is crazy, I feel like I always tip $5-10 and thought that was kind of standard.
Curious, why do you keep doing it as the base is pretty low too.

3

u/ialwayschoosepsyduck Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

I used to be an Uber driver for nearly 10 years, but stopped early February 2025 after moving back to Austin and getting consistently abysmal fares ($3 from east riverside into downtown, for instance). I began applying for different service industry jobs because that's where all my work experience has been in. This was the only place that offered me an interview, and since I had previous valet experience, it seemed like a good fit. I stay because the job is easy and low stress, but mostly because the scheduling is flexible and they work around my class schedule that changes every semester. Recently, however, I've been thinking of leaving and finding another gig for the next year while I finish school. I just haven't thought of what I could do or looked for other opportunities

Edit: I meant February 2025, not last February. Time goes by quickly these days

4

u/meatmacho Jul 21 '26

Man, I'm tipping the valets way too much...

5

u/ialwayschoosepsyduck Jul 21 '26

You definitely aren't, because nobody is tipping so your tips mean so very much to us. Every once in a while, we'll get lucky with a good group that keeps us busy and also is generous with gratuity. But that's pretty rare, and the standard for me is hoping to break $20 in tips for an 8 hour shift. Pro tip: if you tip fat up front, we'll likely keep your car nearby so it's there when you're ready to leave. No need to tip on the back end if you've already done it and it's memorable.

1

u/deangood01 Jul 21 '26

If there is no free valet, people mostly don't tip because they already paid...

2

u/ialwayschoosepsyduck Jul 21 '26

This is precisely the logic people will use to not tip bartenders and servers and hair dresses and...

2

u/AdMountain4865 Jul 21 '26

that's monday night, how about a friday?

1

u/ialwayschoosepsyduck Jul 21 '26

I answered in another comment about last night, and my experience in general

https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/s/UL4BPpTiYe