In 1980, I made $23,409 working at a grocery store

[SpankMe]

85. Interesting analysis

What was your base rate without OT or holiday/shift premiums? $23.4k/yr averages out to over $11/hr for a standard work year, which is pretty dang good considering the federal minimum wage was just $3.10/hr back then. You must have worked pretty hard - lots of OT and holiday work.

Still, at $23k, you could afford a house in the mid-west in those days.

My first job right out of college as an aerospace engineer in 1985 was $36k/year. This is $105k today.

Today, an engineering graduate pulls down $85k-$90k right out of college. So, this is about 20% depressed from my era. With a national median home price in the low $400k's today, an engineer right out of college could just barely afford a house. Barely. Find the highest paying job you can in a low-cost housing area without outrageous property taxes and insurance - and 20% down - and you could just barely make it.