Read on Twitter
For the photo editors out there, some salary transparency [thread] https://twitter.com/kenklippenstein/status/1270781576276848640">https://twitter.com/kenklippe...
My first staff photographer job was at a smaller paper in CA at $36k/year with benefits. Got laid off, freelanced for 2 yrs, made about $20k total (+unemployment for a few months) before my next job.
My next job was half photography, half editing. Started part time, and when I was brought on full time I made ~$59K/yr but didn’t have benefits (many of us were paid as contractors despite full time work). A good boss got me a couple raises, and when I left in 2014 I made ~$70K.
Here’s where it shifted: in 2014 I moved across the country for a job that paid $90K. Why? Bc that was a base negotiated by the *very good union*. 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✊🏼" title="Erhobene Faust (mittelheller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Erhobene Faust (mittelheller Hautton)"> Full benefits, clear framework for raises. Got promoted into mgmt and made $120K in 2016 (tho I hear I made less than others).
That set me up to better negotiate my next job. Senior title, $115K to start. No merit raises, but again *our union* had negotiated for cost of living raises, so when I left earlier this year, I made ~$124K.
I now have a senior title, but took a pay cut ($105K), which I was willing to do to leave a toxic work environment. I may never afford my own house, but now I actually have support + the ability to take days off. Mental health was worth the pay cut for me.
I know a lot of photo editors, and I know many are paid *abysmally*. But don’t let companies tell you that the rate for this work is low. You deserve to make a living wage + benefits (esp. since so many of these jobs require you live in NYC + you’re going to work a lot of OT).
A lot of folks are able to survive on tiny salaries because of family, or supportive partners. I had neither, but I was lucky to have peers in my corner to buy me food when I couldn& #39;t make rent, and who told me what they made so I could advocate for myself. This was *key*.
Ask for what you deserve — it not only serves you, but it sets a precedent for the people who will come after you (we all know how often people change jobs in this industry). And I can& #39;t stress enough how much the support of *unions* made that far easier.
