It’s a strange time of year: Weeks into our New Year's resolutions, most of us are fighting hard to abide by the budgets we made, or our vows to socially detox. (See: More nights in watching Netflix, fewer nights out at bars or restaurants.)
All this downtime in front of the TV has given us a lot of time to think — particularly about how our lives stack up against our favourite pop culture characters. For years, we’ve been drawn to hard working women who we've watched make their mark in their fields, and enjoy the financial windfall that comes from all those long hours. It’s hard not to think that a job in PR or publishing would be as glamorous and well-paying as it seems on TV. Nab one of those gigs, and you’ll enjoy the same lifestyle as your favourite characters.
Or will you? (Dun, dun, dun.)
That’s why we reached out to Aubrey Bach of PayScale.com, who gave us realistic salary ranges for jobs held by some of our most beloved fictional working women, from Samantha Jones to Annalise Keating. Unfortunately, fiction pays way better than reality.
Monica Geller, Friends
Job: Chef
Fantasy: Monica had more than a few jobs during the series 10-season run, but after getting fired in season two and doing time as a caterer and line cook, we finally saw her settle into a dream job with a sweet chef gig at a nice restaurant. There, she not only thrived professionally, but she managed to live a pretty comfortable lifestyle, taking some great vacations, buying some beautiful clothes, and eventually planning one heck of a wedding (granted, she had more than little help from Chandler for that celebration).
Reality: The median salary of an executive chef is £52,000, according to PayScale. So while Monica was doing pretty well, she wouldn’t have been able to afford that sweet West Village apartment if it wasn't rent-controlled (thanks, grandma we never met). Her salary probably also explains why she and Rachel decided to live together for so long. Spending less on rent means you can spend more on shoes, right?
Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images.
Mindy Lahiri, The Mindy Project
Job: OB/GYN
Fantasy: Dr. Lahiri’s lifestyle is a mess of contradictions. Her wardrobe — a mix of Kate Spade and J.Crew prints — is totally believable. Her luxe apartment? Eh, for New York City, it’s pretty fancy. But she does take public transportation, so add another point for Team Reality.
Reality: The median salary for an OB/GYN in a private practice is around £100,000, says Bach. So as long as Mindy’s not spending £4,000 a month on rent, she’s probably not living outside her means, and she might even be saving a few bucks every month. Or she was, until she started spending all her extra income on the new baby.
Photo: Courtesy of Jordin Althaus/ NBC.
Meredith Grey, Grey’s Anatomy
Job: Head of general surgery
Fantasy: Watching Meredith Grey face one crisis after another doesn’t really inspire young women to become surgeons. (No spoilers, but her life is just the worst.) That being said, she does have some beautiful clothes. Which still doesn’t offset the fact that she spends most of her time at work or away from work trying to process any number of horrible things that have happened to her on the job.
Reality: The good news? Despite her life being defined by sorrow, Meredith would be earning roughly £165,000 a year, Bach says. And, because she lives in Seattle, where the cost of living isn’t as high as New York City — not to mention she was married to a neurosurgeon — we’re probably not seeing her live as extravagantly as she could. She should go buy Christian Grey’s helicopter. Or, you know, maybe take a really nice vacation.
Photo: Courtesy of Ron Tom/ ABC.
Alicia Florrick, The Good Wife
Job: Equity partner of a private firm
Fantasy: Alicia’s lifestyle seems relatively luxe: her wardrobe is top tier, her home is beautiful, and we’ve never seen her waiting for a bus, subway, or Uber. That said, she works hard for her money.
Reality: As a legal partner in Chicago, Alicia would earn between £85,000 to £250,000 a year, with a rough median of £155,000. And Bach thinks that makes sense because Alicia's got a huge job with a ton of responsibility and high billable hours.
Photo: Courtesy of David M. Russell/ CBS.
Max and Caroline, 2 Broke Girls
Job: Waitress
Fa ntasy: Max and Caroline certainly don't glamorise the restaurant industry. And the series makes the young women's relatable financial reality central to the story line. The friends work for food, shelter, and to harness their cupcake dreams. And all of the above requires a ton of work.
Reality:PayScale’s infographic looks at the income trends for servers across the country. It's not easy to sling burgers to crabby customers — and for the most part it doesn't pay that well either. The typical hourly income in New York City is $15.30 (£10.80), which makes Max and Caroline's cupcake fantasies seem that much further away.
Photo: Courtesy of Robert Voets/ CBS.
Samantha Jones, Sex and the City
Job: Public Relations Director
The Fantasy: Like the rest of HBO’s favourite single ladies, Samantha Jones’ life is — in her own words — fabulous. Defined by a wardrobe full of designer pieces, a Birkin bag, nights out at four-star restaurants, and a loft apartment in the Meatpacking District, she’s the reason many young women were inspired to get a job in PR.
The Reality: According to PayScale, public relation directors earn between £40,000 and £100,000, with a median salary of £65,000. Samantha doesn’t have an entry-level job, so after years spent working her way up the PR ladder, it’s realistic to see her living the high life in New York City. Though she probably couldn’t afford that Birkin and an apartment in one of Manhattan’s hottest neighbourhoods on £100,000 a year without carrying some credit card debt.
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