Are TV Characters' Salaries Realistic?

[rainbabies]

[spotty_dog]

Heh. I always felt that Scrubs was pretty realistic, from JD and Turk sharing their little apartment, to the medical stuff, to the issues faced by Turk and Carla's marriage.

LOL. According to that payscale.com site they mention, my salary is in the 38th percentile for my job.

[Vishenka69]

I have several issues with this article. These are just related to the shows that I watch. But I'm sure that her other statements are just as erroneous.

First:

Nope, Carrie is a Prada-buying, cosmopolitan-drinking, Manolo Blahnik-collecting kind of girl. She eats out constantly, resides in a roomy one-bedroom Manhattan apartment, and never seems to think twice before slapping down her credit card for more designer duds. ...Carrie's annual columnist salary wouldn't come close to affording her that luxurious lifestyle (trust me). According to Payscale.com, a New York City journalist with 10 years of experience earns a median annual salary of about $57,000.

Ok, first of all has this woman even seen the show? Carrie lives in a tiny rent-controlled walk-up studio. Secondly, she has credit card debt and no savings. Thirdly she always did freelancing on the side, which can easily add another $20,000 - $30,000 to her salary. All of this was covered on the show. Considering that her rent is laughable by NY standard (she has been living in that place for at least 10-15 years), she doesn't have any kids and all her furniture is hand-me downs, she can easily spend most of her income on clothes and going out.

Second:

The "Friends" crew on NBC did some fancy budgeting of their own. For example, consider Jennifer Aniston's character, Rachel Green. In the early seasons, the cash Rachel earns serving lattes – badly – at the neighborhood coffee joint manages to pay rent on an enormous New York apartment and feed her shopping addiction so well she becomes a style icon.

Once again, has the writer seen the show. The apartment that Rachel shares with Monica is once again rent-controlled and the girls have to be nice to the super because it's still listed under Monica's dead grandmother. It has also been stated the guys are paying several times more for the same one across the hall.

Third:

Christian Troy, Nip/Tuck – Plastic Surgeon
Real-life median salary: $156,500, according to Payscale.com. Although Troy's partnership is considered to be the best private practice in Miami, he would need a loftier-than-average salary to afford his fast cars and expensive suits.

If that's how much plastic surgeons made, there wouldn't be any (or at the very least very few). I'm sure we can all agree that Dr. Troy makes at least 3 times that amount.

Fourth:

Sandy Cohen, The O.C. – Lawyer
Real-life median salary: $94,930, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). While a nearly six-figure median salary is nothing to scoff at, the typical lawyer can't afford an oceanfront mansion and pool house.

Once again she's forgetting the premise of yet another show. Sandy's wife is a very high-paying corporate lawyer and has oodles of family money, which by the way paid for the house.

Fifth:

Susan Mayer, Desperate Housewives – Children's Book Illustrator
Real-life median salary: $38,060, according to the BLS. Money might be a little tight for this single mother on Wisteria Lane.

How conviniently forgotten that she got the house and the car in the divorce settlement and her husband pays alimony.

[Sheherezade]

Third:
Quote:
Christian Troy, Nip/Tuck – Plastic Surgeon
Real-life median salary: $156,500, according to Payscale.com. Although Troy's partnership is considered to be the best private practice in Miami, he would need a loftier-than-average salary to afford his fast cars and expensive suits.

If that's how much plastic surgeons made, there wouldn't be any (or at the very least very few). I'm sure we can all agree that Dr. Troy makes at least 3 times that amount.

I think Dr. Troy states in one show that he makes 750 K a year. That maaaay be a little stretch, don't you think? Our plastics attending friend here says the money in Nip/Tuck is way off. And the lifestyle. Of course, he's academic.

Here's a physician salary survey:
http://www.physicianssearch.com/physician/salary2.html