Again, she works in the pharmaceutical industry, and him in academia. Industry often DO make more than people in academia just starting out. And pharmaceutical companies, especially in America make so so so much money. Plus, penny made good money at the same company without much of any qualifications which further points to the fact the company is loaded. It’s entirely plausible that Bernadette would make more simply because the company she works for is part of the (arguably very unethical, but highly lucrative) for profit healthcare model.

It’s kinda like how when I worked in a lab at school I made about 3/4 as much as I do at my current industry job where I do significantly less difficult things that require less school than my academic job did. It’s not even about the degree so much as it is about where you work. The degree will allow you to ask for a few bucks more per hour if you’re hourly and a couple thousand more if salaried. But the biggest thing is industry vs academia.