# Highest-paid working characters on a sitcom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433 "2015-04-11T15:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/21 "2015-04-11T22:17:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Frasier and Niles Crane were making well into the six figures as successful psychiatrists. Fraser was a well-known radio host, but a local one; no idea what the going rate is for such a gig. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/22 "2015-04-11T23:31:18Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > 😕 \*Penny \*is not making $300,000. I’m at a loss how you could think that. I know literally nothing about the show. I’ve never watched more than five minutes of it. But that sort of money wouldn’t be out of the realm of reality in many branches of physics. I just looked through the faculty pages of the Physics Department at UC Berkeley, one of the most prestigious public universities in the country, and then checked on the salaries of a dozen or so faculty members. Assistant Professors (the lowest rung on the tenure-track totem pole) seem to all make more than about $90K, with a few into the six-figure salary mark. At the top end, Professors with named chairs seem to pull in around a quarter-million. While my investigation was not exhaustive, the highest salary i found was $272K. The median, in my unscientific little survey, was somewhere around $140-160K. And this is salary through the state alone. Quite a few of these people no doubt make money on the side through other work. I chose Berkeley because the salaries of public employees are public information. I can’t find out the same sort of stats for institutions like CalTech or MIT. Also, while public universities often pay less than prestigious private schools, Berkeley is one of the top schools in the country, and if it wants to compete with the private schools, especially in areas of study like economics and the sciences, where there is also government and industry demand for labor, it has to compete on salary. I don’t think the numbers i found would be far out of line with private schools. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/23 "2015-04-12T00:18:41Z")
Thurston Howell III was supposed to be very rich. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/24 "2015-04-12T00:25:18Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I know literally nothing about the show. I’ve never watched more than five minutes of it. But that sort of money wouldn’t be out of the realm of reality in many branches of physics. I just watch the reruns and haven’t seen any new episodes, but Penny is a waitress, right? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/25 "2015-04-12T00:27:36Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > …Not _The Beverly Hillbillies_, because that was not a salaried wealth. It has to be people whose money goes away if the job does. A show about show business fits better… Mr. Drysdale was probably making a very comfortable salary as a bank president. I don’t know about The Big Bang Theory, but there are plenty of tenured professors who don’t make “well over” $100k. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/26 "2015-04-12T01:01:07Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > I just watch the reruns and haven’t seen any new episodes, but Penny is a waitress, right? These days she’s working as a pharma rep, and making really good money. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/27 "2015-04-12T01:52:48Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I know literally nothing about the show. I’ve never watched more than five minutes of it. But that sort of money wouldn’t be out of the realm of reality in many branches of physics. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I don’t know about The Big Bang Theory, but there are plenty of tenured professors who don’t make “well over” $100k. You two need to talk. 🙂 mhendo, Penny is a first-year sales rep for a pharmaceutical company with no college education. For the first six seasons she’s been shown as someone who can’t understand or even pronounce the words she’d be using every day in every sales call. Her being an instant success because of the size of her breasts is a joke, but it’s not clear how literally the show is playing that. Boyo Jim, some tenured professors aren’t but these are guys at the highest levels of their fields in a hugely competitive environment at a top private university. They’re making the big bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/28 "2015-04-12T01:54:14Z")
Pharma reps are normally hot women since most Drs. are men. In fact for a while a lot of pharmas hired former college cheerleaders to sell drugs to Drs. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/29 "2015-04-12T02:07:00Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > … Boyo Jim, some tenured professors aren’t but these are guys at the highest levels of their fields in a hugely competitive environment at a top private university. They’re making the big bucks. I wouldn’t dispute that but I was responding to the tenor of comments suggesting that _of course_ tenured professors made that kind of money. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/30 "2015-04-12T02:10:04Z")
But the guys on this show _aren’t_ tenured; they hold non-tenure track positions. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/31 "2015-04-12T02:45:26Z")
Believe it or not, _Forbes_ magazine came up with a list of the [15 richest fictional characters](http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/10/forbes-fictional-rich-oped-books-cx_fict1507_sort.html) with Scrooge McDuck at the top of the list. One character everyone seems to have overlooked is #4 on the list: Mom, head of MomCorp from _Futurama_. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/32 "2015-04-12T03:30:22Z")
median income for Physicist is $106,000 > **[Physicists and Astronomers : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S....](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/physicists-and-astronomers.htm)** > > Physicists and astronomers study the interactions of matter and energy. Postdoc research associates make ~$43,000 > **[Postdoctoral Research Associate Salary | PayScale](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Postdoctoral_Research_Associate/Salary)** > > The average salary for a Postdoctoral Research Associate is $55,182. Visit PayScale to research postdoctoral research associate salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. Though more for more experience (Stanford table) > **[Funding Rates and Guidelines | Office of Postdoctoral Affairs](https://postdocs.stanford.edu/funding-rates-and-guidelines)** > > Stanford is committed to supporting its postdoctoral scholars who comprise a vital part of the Stanford community. Each year, the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs convenes to recommend the postdoctoral minimum salary for the... The episode where the cute upstairs neighbor moved in she asked Penny how much a Physicist makes and she said “not a lot”. $43,000 is a lot closer to “not a lot” than $106,000 Brian ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/33 "2015-04-12T03:41:34Z")
Uncle Bill on [Family Affair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Affair). Huge engineering company owner with NYC lux apartment, gay butler etc. Adjusting for 1960’s to 2015 dollars he would have to be making many millions per year to have that kind of lifestyle. > [@](#): > > William “Bill” Davis, originally of Terre Haute, Indiana, is a successful civil engineer who develops major projects all over the world. A wealthy bachelor often dating socialites, he lives in a large apartment on east 62nd Street off of Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and has a quintessential gentleman’s gentleman, Giles French. His quiet lifestyle is turned upside-down when his two nieces and nephew move in. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/34 "2015-04-12T03:53:34Z")
Tom Arnold had a short-lived [sitcom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jackie_Thomas_Show) where he played the star of a hit sitcom. As such his character was probably making well into a six figure salary. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/35 "2015-04-12T03:57:35Z")
Hayden Fox on _Coach_ would be in the running. College football head coaches are often among the highest paid positions in sports. Assuming his fictional college was a top-flight football team, he’d have been bringing home a very high six-figure income at the very least, possibly even into the seventh figure. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/36 "2015-04-12T03:58:55Z")
Craig T. Nelson played Hayden Fox on _Coach_. He was the head coach of a Division I college football team and, in later seasons, an NFL team. He must have had a pretty high salary. ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/37 "2015-04-12T04:07:27Z")
Does Ashton Kutcher’s character on _2 & 1/2 Men_ count? He sold his software and made shit-tons of money that way (I started watching the show when they added the lesbian niece character-- don’t know much about it before that), but he did work for it, so it isn’t quite in _Beverly Hillbillies_ territory. He also continue to develop more software, and run his company, from what I understand (I didn’t catch every episode). There was a one-season show called _Love and Money_ with Paget Brewster, Swoosie Kurtz and David Ogden Stiers (remember that for playing “6 Degrees”). Stiers character was filthy comfortable. It was family money, but he did go to work every day. One presumes that if he didn’t work at the family business, he might be cut off, or it might all fall apart. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/38 "2015-04-12T04:13:49Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > median income for Physicist is $106,000 > [http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/physicists-and-astronomers.htm](http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/physicists-and-astronomers.htm) > > Postdoc research associates make ~$43,000 > [Postdoctoral Research Associate Salary in 2024 | PayScale](http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Postdoctoral_Research_Associate/Salary) > > Though more for more experience (Stanford table) > [Funding Rates and Guidelines | Office of Postdoctoral Affairs](http://postdocs.stanford.edu/handbook/salary.html) None of these guys is a post-doc. They are all professors. A post-doc is typically a charity position offered by the institution to give PhD graduates money to live on while they look for a real job. They are notoriously low paying. The estimate of 100, 000 plus for the guys on this show are obviously on the low side if the _median_is over 100, 000. That median figure means that half of all physicists make more than that. 90% of physicists will only have undergraduate degrees and will be working as lab rats for electronics companies, sunglass manufacturers and so forth. The guys on this show are all PhDs at top tier universities. They will all be earning more than lab rats with undergrad degrees. > [@](#): > > The episode where the cute upstairs neighbor moved in she asked Penny how much a Physicist makes and she said “not a lot”. $43,000 is a lot closer to “not a lot” than $106,000 As already noted, the show is inconsistent at times. However IIRC the line was “I don’t think it’s a lot”. She didn’t actually know. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/39 "2015-04-12T04:28:41Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > The guys on this show are all PhDs at top tier universities. Howard doesn’t have a doctorate (as Sheldon frequently pointed out). And they’re not at “universities” but at one university. They’re all employed at Caltech. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/40 "2015-04-12T04:44:30Z")
> [@Julius\_Henry](#): > > College football head coaches are often among the highest paid positions in sports. Really??? Your country is fucked up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433.md?page=3)