Woman Asks What Salary It Took For People To Finally Climb Their Way Out Of Survival Mode
How much more of this are we all going to take?
Kmpzzz | Shutterstock Hustle culture has been the status quo in the U.S. for a long time. Most people grew up with a thirst for the American Dream: To truly be happy and live comfortably, you must prioritize work over life just to enjoy ten years of retirement — if you even make it that long.
With younger generations, however, the curtain on the American Dream has been pulled back. There is no guarantee that a degree and hard work will afford success. In fact, most employees are making far less than they deserve based on their skills and far less than they deserve in order to live. One woman is calling out the absurdity of being a working professional struggling to survive. She flat-out asked what she would need to earn in order to climb out of survival mode, and sadly, it was too much.
A young woman asked how much she needed to earn to climb her way out of survival mode.
A young professional named HAJA turned to TikTok in frustration because, despite her hard work, she couldn't seem to keep her head above water. She asked others to tell her when they felt financially secure enough to splurge on themselves a little and even save some money — perfectly reasonable questions. While the answers varied, many agreed that they needed to make $60k or more to feel comfortable and not struggle in survival mode.
One user shared, “I felt like I had less money at 100K than 60k. It’s not how much you have, it’s what you do with it.”
Salaries and the cost of living vary by state, but as a general rule, earning potential fluctuates to reflect the geographic differences. That doesn't mean salary has kept up with the cost of living, however. According to a 2024 study by SmartAsset, the average single person needs to earn $96,500 for what they called "sustainable comfort in a major U.S. city."
An overwhelming majority of Gen Z workers feel they are getting paid less than they deserve.
HAJA pulled no punches when she declared, "I feel like, my generation, we are disrespectfully getting paid less than what we should." She went on to clarify, "I'm not saying that because we're entitled ... but life is too expensive for these corporations to be playing in our faces."
HAJA is definitely not alone in her thinking. A 2024 survey by Resume Templates found that 87% of Gen Z workers feel they are underpaid, and that includes those earning over $100K. Only 13% believe they are earning a fair wage, with the bulk of the young people surveyed earning under $60K.
Perhaps most notable, however, is the fact that 40% of Gen Zers feel like they are struggling to make ends meet on their current incomes. Like HAJA, they feel like they are in survival mode. To feel safe and comfortable, 20% think they should be earning over $100,000 annually.
Gen Z doesn't just want to be paid fairly; they want to prioritize flexibility and work-life balance.
For all the flak Gen Z gets from older workers, especially boomers, their workplace complaints are not unreasonable. In fact, what they want is simply to earn enough to live a happy life. Something everyone wants. Unfortunately, most more established employees have been conditioned by the current employer market and simply feel like everyone needs to pay their dues. What they fail to realize is that by adopting the Gen Z attitude, everyone benefits.
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Ultimately, Gen Z believes that there needs to be mutual respect between employers and employees — fair pay for hard work. Research by Dcdx found that Gen Z is looking for a sense of purpose in their work, which is admirable! They also want to be treated like the adults they are, and that means they want flexible work schedules with the option to build their own hours and work remotely.
The old American Dream may be dead, but instead of raging against young people, we should all take a step back and consider that with support and understanding, we can build a new dream. One where a full-time job can provide enough to live, and a job is something you don't dread.
Sylvia Ojeda is an author with a decade of experience writing novels and screenplays. She covers self-help, relationships, culture, and human interest topics.