# 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:** 3
**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, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/41 "2015-04-12T04:44:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Howard doesn’t have a doctorate (as Sheldon frequently pointed out). Nor he is a physicist, so I have no idea why you quoted me prior to posting this. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/42 "2015-04-12T05:14:48Z")
Tim Taylor from Home Improvement. A successful TV show host marketing for a large hardware company. ---
**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 12, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/43 "2015-04-12T05:15:50Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Really??? Your country is fucked up. It’s not just in sports; university sports coaches are also, in almost every state, the highest paid public employees. Here’s a list of the five highest-paid state employees in California: 1. Intercol Ath Head Coach Ex, University of California, Los Angeles $2,639,609 2. Head Coach 5, University of California, Berkeley $2,442,860 3. Intercol Ath Head Coach Ex, University of California, Los Angeles $2,410,128 4. Head Coach 5, University of California, Berkeley $2,370,739 5. Intercol Ath Head Coach Ex, University of California, Los Angeles $2,315,078 > [@Blake](#): > > 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. But, in looking at the stats you have provided, it seems that the $106,000 median is precisely for people who have PhDs or some similar professional degree. They list a Doctoral or Professional degree as the required _ **entry-level** _ education, and the section on “How to Become a Physicist or Astronomer” explicitly states: > [@](#): > > Physicists and astronomers need a Ph.D. for most research jobs. Many physics and astronomy Ph.D. holders typically begin their careers in temporary postdoctoral research positions. They list the number of physicist and astronomer jobs in the US as 23,300, and it seems to me that this would be fewer than the number of people with physics majors working for companies, etc. I don’t think they are including in their stats people who majored in physics in college, and who are “working as lab rats for electronics companies, sunglass manufacturers and so forth.” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/44 "2015-04-12T05:22:27Z")
30 Rock’s Jack Donaghy was alluded to in the OP. To get an idea of how much he makes, consider that an executive’s starting salary makes you want to [slap](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFs-ErPmqI) [them](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rz0JpiGGo9M). ---
**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 12, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/45 "2015-04-12T05:30:27Z")
Another show that occurred to me is the awesome, under-appreciated _Better Off Ted_. There are five main characters in the show, and it seems to me that at least four of them are probably making comfortably into the six-figure range. The main character Ted (Jay Harrington) is senior vice-president of Research and Development, and must be on at least $200K. Veronica (Portia De Rossi) is Ted’s boss, and at a company like Veridian Dynamics, that would surely be at least $300-400K, plus bonuses and stock options. The two research scientists, Lem and Phil (Malcolm Barrett and Jonathan Slavin) would, given their apparent value to the company, probably be on over $100K, especially given the salaries we’ve already talked about for scientists with PhDs. The only one likely to be on a sub-six-figure income would have been Linda (Andrea Anders), a product tester who worked in a cubicle farm. ---
**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, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/46 "2015-04-12T05:47:27Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > …looking at the stats you have provided, it seems that the $106,000 median is precisely for people who have PhDs or some similar professional degree. They list a Doctoral or Professional degree as the required _ **entry-level** _ education, and the section on “How to Become a Physicist or Astronomer” explicitly states:They list the number of physicist and astronomer jobs in the US as 23,300, and it seems to me that this would be fewer than the number of people with physics majors working for companies, etc. I don’t think they are including in their stats people who majored in physics in college, and who are “working as lab rats for electronics companies, sunglass manufacturers and so forth.” Ah OK. So they are using a very narrow definition of physicist. Nonetheless, the median is over $100, 000 and the guys were are talking about are all award-winning, tenure track Professors at a prestigious university. So we can reasonably assume they won’t be making significantly \*less \*than the mean. As far as I can tell, the original figure of $100, 000+ a year sounds about right. How much more they might be getting is difficult to estimate, but if the median, including physicists working as lecturers at small regional colleges, is over 100, 000 then these guys should be topping that. ---
**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 12, 2015, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/47 "2015-04-12T06:00:00Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > As far as I can tell, the original figure of $100, 000+ a year sounds about right. How much more they might be getting is difficult to estimate, but if the median, including physicists working as lecturers at small regional colleges, is over 100, 000 then these guys should be topping that. Absolutely. As i noted in an earlier post, even untenured Assistant Professors in the UC Berkeley physics department are making between $90K and $110K a year. Associate Profs are in the $120-160K range, and full profs are mostly over $150K, with quite a few over $225K. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/48 "2015-04-12T06:13:04Z")
Arliss from Arli$$ was a sports agent for the biggest names in the business. I would guess that made him pretty rich, as the title suggests. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/49 "2015-04-12T08:24:45Z")
Larry Sanders was a network late night talk show host. George Jefferson owned a successful dry-cleaning store chain. ---
**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, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/50 "2015-04-12T09:01:43Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Larry Sanders was a network late night talk show host. > > George Jefferson owned a successful dry-cleaning store chain. Chain of stores is key. He licensed them to franchisers. Big difference over owning one, or even two or three stores of his own. We never do know how much he has, but it’s a lot. Good one, Tibby. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/51 "2015-04-12T09:05:45Z")
Once you bring in “owned” (which I suspect includes Mr. Drummond and Uncle Phil for at least part of their compensation) you’re past, “the money goes away if the job does.” I suppose some of the rich characters had ludicrously well-compensated positions they had to show up for. ---
**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, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/52 "2015-04-12T12:34:43Z")
George Jefferson lived in a small apartment but had a live in maid. Of course she spent most of her time breaking George’s balls. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/53 "2015-04-12T14:31:46Z")
On BBT the three physicists are not at the top of their field, as a matter of fact they are near the bottom because of their numerous screw-ups. They’ve accomplished nothing in all their years (except perhaps now in the current story-line), Sheldon has been fired from his job before, and his string theory work went nowhere. Leonard was having a relationship with a foreign spy, and despite a puff piece about Raj in a magazine he takes whatever work he can get to maintain his green card. Howard is far more accomplished than the other three, at least he’s designed a space toilet and actually used it in space. Despite all that, I’m sure they are making at least 90K a year at Caltech right now. Bernadette may be doing well in her research work for a private company now, but it’s unlikely she started out making more than Howard in her first technical position, and Penny is unlikely to making more than Leonard starting out in pharmaceutical sales, although she has the potential to do very well, unless she’s inking major volume deals she’s unlikely to be making substantially more than the everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/54 "2015-04-12T15:11:39Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Fraser was a well-known radio host, but a local one; no idea what the going rate is for such a gig. I always thought that it was far fetched that he was just a local radio shrink, pulling in big bucks without being syndicated. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/55 "2015-04-12T15:36:37Z")
> [@Julius\_Henry](#): > > College football head coaches are often among the highest paid positions in sports. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > Really??? Your country is fucked up. It’s not fucked up that they are among the highest paid in sports. College football is extremely lucrative. What’s fucked up is that they are the highest paid government employees in their states and that the players are unpaid “amateurs.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/56 "2015-04-12T15:38:38Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > George Jefferson lived in a small apartment but had a live in maid. Of course she spent most of her time breaking George’s balls. George was rich but not crazy rich. His apartment was small and a $700 bottle of wine was a big deal to him. ---
**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, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/57 "2015-04-12T15:44:55Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > George Jefferson lived in a small apartment but had a live in maid. Small apartment? That was a deluxe apartment. In the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/58 "2015-04-12T15:49:29Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I wonder how much Gregory House made? I know he lived like he did when he college, but he seemed to spend a lot on music and (it was implied) hookers. The income and wealth issues on _House_ were as maddeningly erratic as some of the other “adjust it to suit the script” parameters. It seems very unlikely that the highly-respected head of oncology would make less than $250-300k; a superstar anchor physician like House should be making from that to $500k or more. But they went from throwing money around like confetti to being semi-broke or fussing over a $2,000 cost of something regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/59 "2015-04-12T15:51:11Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s not fucked up that they are among the highest paid in sports. College football is extremely lucrative. > > What’s fucked up is that they are the highest paid government employees in their states and that the players are unpaid “amateurs.” “College sports” is a synonym for “fucked up” no matter how you use either term. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433/60 "2015-04-12T15:54:25Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Larry Sanders was a network late night talk show host. > > George Jefferson owned a successful dry-cleaning store chain. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Chain of stores is key. He licensed them to franchisers. Big difference over owning one, or even two or three stores of his own. We never do know how much he has, but it’s a lot. Good one, Tibby. > [@Acsenray](#): > > George was rich but not crazy rich. His apartment was small and a $700 bottle of wine was a big deal to him. It wasn’t a _huge_ chain; he had seven locations. I remember this from the episode where his rival, Blue Sky Cleaners, wanted to buy him out. They pointed out that they had twenty-three locations and he had only seven. Holy shit, my brain is velcro for useless garbage. It’s been 30 years since I saw that episode, and I saw it once. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-working-characters-on-a-sitcom/717433.md?page=4)