[holmesworcester]

It's wild that there are as many jobs in the category "Top Executives" as in the category "Retail Sales Worker".

This makes sense given both automation and the US's role in the global economy, but it runs somewhat contrary to standard ideas of class and inequality.

[titanomachy]

That category has a median pay of $105,350, and includes "general and operations managers" as well as "chief executives". I assume it includes executives of very small enterprises.

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm

[connorshinn]

Good point. To take it one step further, if they are including 'general managers' and 'operations managers' in this bucket, then that should include the GM and Ops Manager at places like retail stores as well (for example, every Best Buy location has both positions, I'm sure it's similar for Walmart and other big box retailers too).

[nitwit005]

I took one glance at the chart and decided the results were impossible because of that.

Apparently "top executive" median pay is $105,350 per year: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm

[next_xibalba]

Remember that exec tech salaries are extreme outliers. I worked for an exec in manufacturing. He had full p&l responsibility for a business segment with ~150 employees, $27 million in revenue at 40% gross margins, and a production plant. His total comp was ~$300k.

Now just think of the comp levels in sectors like government, education, etc.

[nitwit005]

The number of people in the category is simply impossible for any normal person's definition of "top executive".

If you click the link it mentions "general and operations managers". They're tossing a lot of different roles into the category.

[Aurornis]

> Remember that exec tech salaries are extreme outliers.

It's the combination of tech and big or fast growing companies.

People who operate in FAANG or Silicon Valley bubbles (or who spend too much time on Blind) can lose track of what salaries look like in the rest of the world.

I often share Buffer's open salary page because their compensation is actually pretty normal from all of the data I've seen and hiring I've done: https://buffer.com/salaries

Every time it gets posted there are comments from people aghast that the software engineers "only" make $200K and in disbelief that the CEO's salary is "only" $300K.

[SpicyLemonZest]

Sounds plausible? Even a company with 100 employees and few growth prospects is likely to have a couple of executives, and most companies are small.

[andrewmutz]

If you own a painting company with three employees you are a CEO and fall in the top executives category. You may or may not make 100k a year.

[sporkland]

Don't a lot of CEO's famously pay themselves $1 and make their wealth on equity appreciation / capital gains?

[tehaugmenter]

Congress people are making about $176k, it's crazy to think top execs "median" make less than a congressman.

[zeckalpha]

This is also base pay

[seneca]

These categories are extremely broad. Top Executive includes general managers, legislators, school superintendents, mayors, city administrators, and a lot of other government jobs. The name is misleading, it's basically non-frontline management.

Chief Executives is actually a specific sub-category of it and is, obviously, much smaller.

[malfist]

The gig economy is ruining government proxy metrics. A good number of ride share drivers are CEOs

[MeetingsBrowser]

> it runs somewhat contrary to standard ideas of class and inequality.

Can you elaborate?

[pc86]

When people think "top executives" they think of a very, very small group of people making tens of millions of dollars a year or much more. The reality is that that's not the case.