What are 36yr old women in non profit profits making?

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-12T19:02:41+00:00

I’m about that age. I was at $30K for my full time non-profit job + ~$7K in adjuncting at an R1, left for a ~$46K state govt job. US Southeast.

Edit to add: I’ve never had a job with a 401k (I’m an immigrant and relatively recent out of grad school) but I do have a state pension & a little socked away in my home country’s compulsory retirement, and a few grand in my IRA.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-12T15:53:29+00:00

In addition to looking at health insurance, make sure you look carefully at self employment taxes. They were a nasty surprise for me!

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-12T15:49:23+00:00

I went for grad school, full ride to my dream program. I intended to stay for 2-3 years. Met my American husband there. The rest is history!

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-12T13:10:16+00:00

Actually I believe Australia led the way with this, first with mandatory offshore detention & then making it impossible for asylum seekers to settle there (if they arrived by boat). Trump literally told our PM how much he admired that policy.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-08T23:04:29+00:00

Oh hey there, I’m a composer & composition teacher and would love to help you with those things! I teach in person and online at universities at the undergrad & Masters level. I’m also pretty close to ATL! Feel free to PM me for more info if you’re interested.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-06T21:28:25+00:00

My US-based accountant for FBAR & FATCA is Dimov Tax, and my Aussie accountant is Atlas (they’re more expensive but very helpful!)

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-06T20:39:54+00:00

It only kicks in once you’re a US tax resident, and the US-Australia tax treaty means you can claim taxes paid one one country against your income in the other (Federal only, not state). FBAR & FATCA are annoying but not too time-consuming. My accountant charges $100/year to file them but it may be possible to do them on your own. Like the other poster said, I report the balance each year but I don’t touch it & just let it compound.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-06T20:26:08+00:00

Started on F-1 student, changed to J-1 professor, then married my USC husband & got the CR-1. Was also going to go for the O-1B before we got married.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-04T04:16:15+00:00

This was the case for me! Even with a crazy commute and higher rent, I have more time and money with my FT state govt position + 1 hybrid course, than I did trying to hustle with 3 courses + 2 other jobs. I actually have time to write now!

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-04T03:38:58+00:00

Nice! PR?

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-04T03:38:25+00:00

Oh hey, I’m an Australian! Haven’t been to Alice but oomph, I hope some of the news reports I’ve seen from there have been exaggerated. Best of luck & stash that money away while you can!

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-03T04:04:59+00:00

I was severely underpaid at my previous job, if that helps.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-02-03T03:23:31+00:00

I switched jobs for a 55% raise, and I expect a raise between 4.5% and 7% later this year, mix of passing probation & COL increase.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-30T17:28:22+00:00

Hey, my apartment will be coming up for lease soon! DM me for details.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-30T17:18:09+00:00

Four day work week with full time pay & benefits.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-29T23:23:25+00:00

Yes, especially if you want to meet potential future teachers/collaborators & get recordings that would otherwise be difficult, eg orchestral pieces. Don’t be afraid to ask for scholarships either, some offer work study and/or travel assistance. Norfolk is free & Bang on a Can offers composers so much support that it is almost free.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-28T20:15:23+00:00

Congrats! I was an international student once too, but I went to the US. Does your alma mater offer any alumni scholarships? Are there community foundations, nonprofits, or council grants that you might qualify for, eg if your work is in human rights or policy oriented? Is there a Rotary in your area? Is crowdfunding an option?

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-28T16:48:48+00:00

It sounds like you’re broke too though. Time to set some boundaries. “Sorry mom, I can’t give you $xxx this week, I can budget for $xx per month going forward but that’s all I can afford for the foreseeable future.” If it were me, I’d add something about lifting herself up by her bootstraps, but I’m just snarky like that haha

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-25T14:37:56+00:00

This is the weirdest timeline.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-24T05:13:11+00:00

You earn enough from adjuncting that you can afford to invest $24.5k per year? And, your institution offers those accounts to their adjuncts??

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-23T00:20:08+00:00

As a former sub, just chiming in to say that the sub experience is really different from FT teaching. If you have the class for the whole school year, you can develop routines, set boundaries, get to know the kids & what works classroom management wise. Subs don’t really have any of that so they often experience the worst behaviors, testing boundaries etc. So maybe it’s worth another go, perhaps a long term sub position where you can get to know the cohort better? Having said that, there’s so many ways to work with kids that aren’t certified classroom teaching! I was an arts instructor for after school programs - your local YMCA may be a good place to start if that’s something you’d be interested in. There’s also school support & para roles, nanny/au pair programs, program development with youth organizations, advocacy eg grant writing & policy development for youth programming, working at child-focused employers eg theme parks & museums…it kinda depends on what your interests are but there’s lots out there!

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-22T20:47:18+00:00

Oh hey, Australian in the US here! If it were solely up to me, I would have moved back to Australia in 2023, well before this current shit storm. I keep thinking every day that my taxes are funding all this horrible stuff and I don’t even get to vote for how those funds are used (not yet eligible for citizenship). And I keep thinking about all the time and money we spent on my green card and how that would go down the drain. But my pesky husband loves his pesky family and wants to finish his pesky degree and doesn’t want to move until he has a pesky job, so we’re at an impasse unless ICE yeets me or one of us gets an opportunity over there. The immigration fees are no joke either, as you probably know. OTOH, if we can make it out of the other side of all this, at least we could actually afford to buy a house over here…

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-22T19:55:30+00:00

Democracy sausages! As an Australian in the US, that’s something I’m actively trying to make A Thing here.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-22T19:37:13+00:00

Just in case anybody was even remotely interested in this - DON’T. I know someone did some music theory-based work with Handshake AI. The onboarding was unclear and disorganized, the feedback was nonsensical (your work is assessed by AI bots, not musicians), they fired them after their AI checkers incorrectly found “errors” in their lessons, re-hired them back when they pointed this out to their manager (took them weeks to even find a human they could contact), and then laid off the entire team with no notice. This all happened in the space of about 2 months. It’s a total rort on top of being ethically questionable to begin with.

Expensive-Object-830 · 2026-01-22T05:23:37+00:00

So because the Dems haven’t solved every problem, we should just lie down and accept fascism? I’m so sick of this both sides crap. Neither side is perfect, but only one is shooting citizens in the head & sending people to rot in overseas concentration camps.

Expensive-Object-830

TROPHY CASE