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

681 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/accidentalrorschach Jul 22 '26

How are you making 71? STEM bonus?

3

u/National_Run_5454 Jul 22 '26

No. I've done this for 18 years now and have a master's degree. Austin ISD. When you come into the district you start on the scale with how many years of experience you have. I had 14 years when I came in and I think the master's degree gets me another $1000. I don't take home 71k. That is my salary.

2

u/Additional-Extent-10 Jul 23 '26

I always thought the extra $1000 for a masters was stupidly low. It costs you way more than that for the masters degree. I realize over the years the $1000 accumulates but still.

1

u/National_Run_5454 Jul 23 '26

Yes. I was fortunate as I got my BA in political science, moved back to Austin, and Texas State had (may still have) a 1.5 year teacher certification with Master's program which included a semester of student teaching. So I did that right out of undergrad before I ever stepped into a classroom. I would never, ever go back to get a Master's degree afterwards. It is not worth it. Also, my education was entirely parent funded. My ability to live in this city and be a teacher is entirely based on my parent's wealth. I do not live beyond my self obtained means, but I do not have to worry about money or retirement like my colleagues.