Reading a Job Offer: Wage, Salary, and Benefits
Aligned to JS:EI-5 — Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education & Advance CTE Career Clusters.
What this lesson teaches
An offer is more than an hourly number. Hourly work pays for hours worked and usually earns overtime; salaried work pays a fixed amount and often does not. Benefits — health insurance, paid time off, a retirement match — can be worth thousands a year and are part of the real pay.
Worked examples
Example 1
$22/hour at 40 hours is about $45,760 a year before tax. A $48,000 salary sounds higher, but if it routinely means 50-hour weeks, the real hourly rate is lower.
Example 2
An employer matching 4% of a $45,000 salary is $1,800 a year you only get by contributing. Turning it down is turning down pay.
Example 3
Ask about the schedule before you accept. A job with unpredictable shifts can make a second job or a class impossible, which is a real cost.
Practice questions
- Convert $19/hour at 40 hours a week into annual gross pay.
- Name four things besides wage that belong in comparing two offers.
- Why can a higher salary be worth less than a lower hourly rate?
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Leer una oferta de trabajo: sueldo por hora, salario y prestaciones
Una oferta es más que un número por hora. El trabajo por hora paga las horas trabajadas y normalmente genera horas extra; el trabajo asalariado paga una cantidad fija y muchas veces no. Las prestaciones — seguro médico, días pagados, aportación al retiro — pueden valer miles al año y son parte del pago real.
Ejemplo 1: $22 la hora a 40 horas son unos $45,760 al año antes de impuestos. Un salario de $48,000 suena más alto, pero si en la práctica son semanas de 50 horas, la tarifa real por hora es menor.
Ejemplo 2: Un empleador que iguala el 4% de un salario de $45,000 son $1,800 al año que solo recibes si tú aportas. Rechazarlo es rechazar pago.
Ejemplo 3: Pregunta por el horario antes de aceptar. Un trabajo con turnos impredecibles puede hacer imposible un segundo empleo o una clase, y eso es un costo real.
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