I’ve been trying to juggle around the calculations for how much I’d get paid hourly vs. how much I’d get paid yearly. The theory is if you’re paid hourly, you only get paid for 1,920 hours a year (that’s 40 hours for 52 weeks minus 2 weeks for vacation and 10 “sick”/PTO days). But, if you’re salaried, you get paid for working 2,080 hours/yr..
Second, if you figure generous benefits, you can figure 20% overhead for a salaried employee. This would cover things like insurance, 401(k), etc. So, to convert between an hourly wage and a yearly wage, you’d use this little formula:
- Total $ made for a business year at <hourly wage>
<hourly salary> = <hourly wage> * 1920 - Theoretical Overhead at above rate: <over-head> = <hourly salary> * 20%
- Approximate yearly salary: <salary> = <hourly salary> – <over-header>
The general idea is that you find out how much you’d be paid at an hourly rate, and then subtract the theoretical overhead from it, and then that would be your salary. The reasoning there, of course, is that your benefits are part of your salary. So, I made up this little table:
| Hourly Wage | Hourly Salary | ~ Salaried Salary |
|---|---|---|
| $20.00 | $38,400.00 | $30,720.00 |
| $21.00 | $40,320.00 | $32,256.00 |
| $22.00 | $42,240.00 | $33,792.00 |
| $23.00 | $44,160.00 | $35,328.00 |
| $24.00 | $46,080.00 | $36,864.00 |
| $25.00 | $48,000.00 | $38,400.00 |
| $26.00 | $49,920.00 | $39,936.00 |
| $27.00 | $51,840.00 | $41,472.00 |
| $28.00 | $53,760.00 | $43,008.00 |
| $29.00 | $55,680.00 | $44,544.00 |
| $30.00 | $57,600.00 | $46,080.00 |
| $31.00 | $59,520.00 | $47,616.00 |
| $32.00 | $61,440.00 | $49,152.00 |
| $33.00 | $63,360.00 | $50,688.00 |
| $34.00 | $65,280.00 | $52,224.00 |
| $35.00 | $67,200.00 | $53,760.00 |
| $36.00 | $69,120.00 | $55,296.00 |
| $37.00 | $71,040.00 | $56,832.00 |
| $38.00 | $72,960.00 | $58,368.00 |
| $39.00 | $74,880.00 | $59,904.00 |
| $40.00 | $76,800.00 | $61,440.00 |
| $41.00 | $78,720.00 | $62,976.00 |
| $42.00 | $80,640.00 | $64,512.00 |
| $43.00 | $82,560.00 | $66,048.00 |
| $44.00 | $84,480.00 | $67,584.00 |
| $45.00 | $86,400.00 | $69,120.00 |
| $46.00 | $88,320.00 | $70,656.00 |
| $47.00 | $90,240.00 | $72,192.00 |
| $48.00 | $92,160.00 | $73,728.00 |
| $49.00 | $94,080.00 | $75,264.00 |
| $50.00 | $96,000.00 | $76,800.00 |
| $51.00 | $97,920.00 | $78,336.00 |
| $52.00 | $99,840.00 | $79,872.00 |
| $53.00 | $101,760.00 | $81,408.00 |
| $54.00 | $103,680.00 | $82,944.00 |
| $55.00 | $105,600.00 | $84,480.00 |
| $56.00 | $107,520.00 | $86,016.00 |
| $57.00 | $109,440.00 | $87,552.00 |
| $58.00 | $111,360.00 | $89,088.00 |
| $59.00 | $113,280.00 | $90,624.00 |
| $60.00 | $115,200.00 | $92,160.00 |
| $61.00 | $117,120.00 | $93,696.00 |
| $62.00 | $119,040.00 | $95,232.00 |
| $63.00 | $120,960.00 | $96,768.00 |
| $64.00 | $122,880.00 | $98,304.00 |
| $65.00 | $124,800.00 | $99,840.00 |
| $66.00 | $126,720.00 | $101,376.00 |
| $67.00 | $128,640.00 | $102,912.00 |
| $68.00 | $130,560.00 | $104,448.00 |
| $69.00 | $132,480.00 | $105,984.00 |
| $70.00 | $134,400.00 | $107,520.00 |
| $71.00 | $136,320.00 | $109,056.00 |
| $72.00 | $138,240.00 | $110,592.00 |
| $73.00 | $140,160.00 | $112,128.00 |
| $74.00 | $142,080.00 | $113,664.00 |
| $75.00 | $144,000.00 | $115,200.00 |
| $76.00 | $145,920.00 | $116,736.00 |
| $77.00 | $147,840.00 | $118,272.00 |
| $78.00 | $149,760.00 | $119,808.00 |
| $79.00 | $151,680.00 | $121,344.00 |
| $80.00 | $153,600.00 | $122,880.00 |
| $81.00 | $155,520.00 | $124,416.00 |
| $82.00 | $157,440.00 | $125,952.00 |
| $83.00 | $159,360.00 | $127,488.00 |
| $84.00 | $161,280.00 | $129,024.00 |
| $85.00 | $163,200.00 | $130,560.00 |
| $86.00 | $165,120.00 | $132,096.00 |
| $87.00 | $167,040.00 | $133,632.00 |
| $88.00 | $168,960.00 | $135,168.00 |
| $89.00 | $170,880.00 | $136,704.00 |
| $90.00 | $172,800.00 | $138,240.00 |
| $91.00 | $174,720.00 | $139,776.00 |
| $92.00 | $176,640.00 | $141,312.00 |
| $93.00 | $178,560.00 | $142,848.00 |
| $94.00 | $180,480.00 | $144,384.00 |
| $95.00 | $182,400.00 | $145,920.00 |
| $96.00 | $184,320.00 | $147,456.00 |
| $97.00 | $186,240.00 | $148,992.00 |
| $98.00 | $188,160.00 | $150,528.00 |
| $99.00 | $190,080.00 | $152,064.00 |
| $100.00 | $192,000.00 | $153,600.00 |
* * *
Related to the hourly vs. salaried topic, take a look average income by skills table at ComputerJobs.com. It’s interesting not only to see what different skills pay, but that hourly pay is much higher; though, they don’t take into account benefits.
Arguable, hourly people don’t have the same guarantee for their 1,920 hours a year as salaried people do for their 2,080 hours; that is, they get hired for 40 hours of work here, 5 hours there, etc., etc. Thus, hourly folks might not make more, or even as much, as salaried folks
But, then again, any hour that you don’t work is your own, and is probably work at least double your going rate. Furthermore, who’s to say you won’t get more than 1,920 hours of work. And then there’s always sweet, sweet overtime.
