Is it rude to ask someone how much they make?

[Lieju]

Well, I'm Finnish, and I was always taught it's very rude.
It's kinda like asking someone about their religious views or sex life.

Not really any of your bussiness unless you know the other person well.
(And if you go around telling that to people you're being inappropriate.)

That being said, people tend to have unrealistic image of how much money Youtubers make, so you might want to set them straight. Maybe ot tell them how much exactly, but something along the lines of how many views you need to make any money, or how much you get per view.

 

[Vegosiux]

-snip-

Now you just made me want to go buy a hat, so that I can tip it. Well said, indeed.

 

[Vegosiux]

Yes, it is. So people usually disguise the question as "So, what do you do?" which approximates the same information.

Funnily enough, when I tell people what I do and they try to approximate how much I make, they say a number I find appropriate, but is also quite a bit higher than what I actually make. That's what you get for working in the private sector of a country that's had its economy crippled by irresponsible and callous managers and politicians >.>

"I don't get paid as much as I earn" and all that...

 

[Jadak]

'Canadian'

In my experience, it only seems rude when there's a large disparity in the numbers.

Minor differences are okay, like if one guy is working minimum wage $10-$11 / hour, and his friend is working $13-14. Sure, not a huge deal. Enough of a difference for minimal gloating, but nothing special.

However, when the numbers are very far apart it's almost always rude because both sides feel awkward with the answer.

The better off person feels awkward because he knows he's basically responding with 'A fucking ton of a lot more than you! Sucker!, and the lower earning one is going to feel inferior.

Nobody wants a conversation to result in a verbal class division unless they're dicks, so it tends not happen.

 

[TallanKhan]

I'm in the UK and alot of people suggest it's rude to ask about someones income. But I do have a rather interesting (at least to me!) perspective on this. I worked for two years as a HR officer for a small firm and my role doubled as the Payroll Officer. During my time there I noted that the people who were (to my mind) either very well or very poorly paid compared to the level of work they performed were the most coy about their finances, whereas people who were paid about the right ammount (comparible to sector average etc) were the least shy about revealing the information.

Now the reason for a low paid employee to be embarressed is obvious, their is social stigma attached to a lack of personal wealth and it would suggest they are not valued by their employer. Much more interesting were the well paid people. It does make me wonder whether, even if just on a subconcious level, some people actually know when they are being rewarded disproportionatley for the work they do.

I have never had any quarms about sharing my salary, I am a big advocate of organisations publishing their salary scales, I think it makes an organisation much more open and transparent and if handled properly can be a big recruitment draw. After all, what better way to temp applicants beyond the salary on offer than the salary they could be earning after a promotion?

 

[lunam-kardas]

I would say for the most part it would be a solid yes, but there are plenty of circumstances were you do need to know the answer, if you've been dating someone for awhile and you've gotten to the point where you need to make some decisions regarding on whether or not the two of you are going to become serious, that's one of the questions you need to ask.

 

[omega 616]

I've always been taught that it's rude to ask but not to tell.

I mean it's got 0 to do with you, it's like asking "when was the last time you got laid?" I'm sure most would be proud to say but it's not the kind of questions you ask. I also got told to never ask a woman's age.

 

[Mersadeon]

Well, just to come back to this and tell about Germany: here, it's kinda halfway between America and Britain - we would be a bit offended if we don't know that person, but after a bit of talking, sure.
However, I feel this only works if both are at least partially in the same range of pay.

 

[Mersadeon]

[...]That being said, people tend to have unrealistic image of how much money Youtubers make, so you might want to set them straight. Maybe ot tell them how much exactly, but something along the lines of how many views you need to make any money, or how much you get per view.

The problem is that Youtuber(s? how do I pluralise that word?) that can actually live from it are always in a deal with either Youtube itself or a conglomerate like The Game Station or Machinima - and almost always under an NDA, so they can't actually tell you exactly how much they make.

EDIT: Merged Posts.

Well, just to come back to this and tell about Germany: here, it's kinda halfway between America and Britain - we would be a bit offended if we don't know that person, but after a bit of talking, sure.
However, I feel this only works if both are at least partially in the same range of pay.

 

[Mersadeon]

EDIT: Darn, how do I delete posts again?

EDIT EDIT: What? Why is this a third post all of a sudden? What is happening? ...Internet magic Oo

 

[loc978]

EDIT: Darn, how do I delete posts again?

...edit in a request for deletion and flag it for moderation yourself... worked for me once.

OT: Definitely rude in every western society I've been to, though personally I find it depends on the context. In an economic system as completely fucked up and lopsided as ours, I'd be all for making every single person's earnings a matter of public record. I'd also like corporate earnings to be such, and to criminalize the use of tax havens in essentially laundering earnings from the US, but that's a different discussion...

 

[FoolKiller]

Thank you for saving me the time of posting that. I'm a teacher. I make a difference.

 

[FoolKiller]

I've always been taught that it's rude to ask but not to tell.

I mean it's got 0 to do with you, it's like asking "when was the last time you got laid?" I'm sure most would be proud to say but it's not the kind of questions you ask. I also got told to never ask a woman's age.

And its the same reasoning for age, for either guys or girls, that it doesn't matter once you're an adult. I don't answer that or I lie ridiculously saying I'm 12 or 60. I am somewhere in between.

 

[marurder]

Situational things aside. In general I consider it rude. That said I live in China now and one of the top 5 questions strangers ask each other is "How much do you make?" Used to judge the other persons success and how much respect could be given to them. I dislike this cultural occurrence a lot, as do my friends.
But judging on "how much" is very common here, how much was that dress? How much was the car? It doesn't matter if it is good quality or not, the number is the most important aspect to Chinese people. There is a rapidly growing market for 'expensive' Chinese products that are the same price as foreign products just for the comparative 'pricing' advantage; "It's expensive so it must be good!"
So yes, it is rude (to me) as it's used as a judging tool about people rather than more important criteria (which in China are considered unimportant).

 

[wrightguy0]

my father always taught me that it was rude to ask that in conversation, it's none of your business how much someone makes, and conversations should not be built on how much money you make in your job. It's a shame when a society puts more emphasis on how much one earns.

 

[Dante dynamite]

where I am from you don't ask they brag about how much they make and if they don't tell you then that means they earn a little and you can ask them how much

 

[Abomination]

Context is everything. Out of the blue? Yes, very rude, as the implication of the question is an attempt at measuring the other's "worth".

But if the topic is personal finances and how one handles particular money woes then it would be par the course.

 

[lacktheknack]

It's a bit like asking someone how often they get sick. It's an odd question which calls some aspect about them into question, so it's viewed as rude.

I don't ask, and people don't ask me.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

People you don't know or work with, no. People you've known a while, depends on their personality I guess.

 

[JimB]

Americans like to rank things, so asking a numerical question like "How much do you make?" carries with it connotations of judgment. It's about as rude as asking how big a dude's dick is: You know that information is only going to be used comparatively.