Thread by @iamkoshiek

that first salary has the potential to make/ break you financially - for many people it decides their first car, apartment, amount to save/ invest & overall quality of life

if you look at entry level vehicle prices, cost to rent apartments in big cities & general living expenses - there's not much variance across base costs

It all starts to hinge on the size of that first pay cheque

The worst part of jobs with a sharp earnings trajectory (where you start low & get bumped up) is the interest cost on debt usually outstrips salary increases

So if you're doing articles & take on tons of debt, it can take forever to get out of the hole

Most people don't have the luxury to negotiate their first salary, unemployment figures in our country are proof of how bad things are

But if you are lucky enough to have more than one offer on the table, squeeze as much juice as you can out of it

the worst part is getting your first payslips & learning the difference between gross & net salaries the hard way

every single year I meet at least one person who assumed a CTC of R360k/yr means a take home of R30k/month

Pro tip: always ask for a mock payslip

last thing on starting salaries....

Exercise caution with company's that tell you you're starting off on a low base but they will bump you up in a huge way the next year

Seen so many people get hurt agreeing to lock-in contracts & never seeing those gains when their time is up

Ran the numbers on a BankerX piece on how starting on a lower base & getting below market increases compounds drastically after 3-5 years

A bit of help with salary benchmarking
bankerx.co.za/p/48-2021-5-4-…