Salary
Average Salary: $69,720
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,911,000
The average salary for an audiologist in Boulder, CO, is about $70,000 (source). When you consider that other careers where you earn a doctorate tend to earn quite a bit more, that doesn't seem quite fair. In Frankfort, KY, the average audiologist makes just under $65,000 (source).
But...
You love people and you love music, even the difficult listening of Philip Glass. You also love the sound of your own voice jabbering on and on to your nearly-deaf aging mom (the one who drove cross-country with your dad in the opening story) about all your accomplishments. Money is important, of course, but maybe not as important to you as, say, a financial analyst or a poet (just kidding…for comparison's sake).
And of course, you have to look at where you live, too. If we take our two state examples, note that in Boulder, CO, the average three bedroom, two bathroom house costs about $450,000, while in Frankfort, KY, it's $160,000 (source). Like horses? Bluegrass music?
Slap-a da bass.
The point, as usual. is that your salary goes farther in certain parts of the country than it does in others. But this is nothing new; this is how it's been since people have had jobs and certain parts of the country have had more allure to certain folks than others. It all depends on how much money, location, and lifestyle is important to you…and in what order.