What is a comfortable salary in Nigeria?
What can be called a comfortable salary in Nigeria? This has to do with your standard of living and your geographical location. A comfortable salary should cover your bills and other expenses. However, most people find it difficult to earn a comfortable salary due to the high cost of housing and food in Nigeria, especially in Lagos, which is overpopulated.
However, affordable housing demand has continued to grow over the past few years across Lagos and Nigeria, which makes it difficult for a lot of people to have easy access to affordable homes. Half of the Nigerian population earns less than 400,000 NGN.
What is a comfortable salary in Nigeria?
Family Size
When it comes to having a comfortable salary in Nigeria, the size of the family matters a lot. When someone is earning about 300,000 naira with a family of three, that could be classified as a comfortable salary. But in a situation where someone is earning about 50, or 100,000 naira with a family of 5, that is no way a comfortable salary.
A family of three that can meet their basic needs, such as food, health care, housing and education, with a little income can say they have a comfortable salary. Nevertheless, if you can save after all your base expenses and rent, your salary can be classified as comfortable.
What you can express as a comfortable salary has to do with your family size. Imagine working with a colleague in an office that is single, and you have a family of four. Your colleagues can say that he is comfortable with his salary. But you can not say you are comfortable with your salary.
Location
A comfortable income can also be based on your location. Various rules of thumb have been developed to determine how much an individual should place aside for their rent based on their salary. However, the most recently used rule is the 30% rule proposed. This rule proposes that about 30% of monthly income should be set aside.
The cost of living varies by location. If you are living in a location where the rent is higher than your annual income, you will struggle to pay your rent. For instance, living on the Island in Lagos is likely to pay more than those living on the mainland.
Job Experience Level
Years of experience in your professional field could result in higher pay. However, this can differ based on your profession. According to average earnings data, employees with good experience, ranging from three to seven years, can expect to earn about 40% more than those who are only at the entry level of their careers.
In most cases, the level of your career can also determine your income, which in turn can be classified as a comfortable salary. A Young software engineer with an average knowledge and less experience with an experience software engineers with more than 15 years of experience will earn more salary than the less experience software engineer.
Organization
The type of organisation you work for also has a significant influence, determining what is considered a comfortable salary. Do you know that some organisations basically pay less than some non-profit organisations? However, various factors determine income.
Several factors determine wage differences from one industry to another. Industries that require more training and apprenticeship years typically command higher wages. Labour supply and demand are also factors. Jobs that are in demand but are generally seen as less agreeable typically have higher wages. Other factors can be the amount of responsibility, competition with similar sectors and government regulations.