The conversion
Type either number. The other follows.
Every way to slice it
The same paycheck, measured seven ways — and then three more, for perspective.
Overtime
Non-exempt workers earn at least time-and-a-half past 40 hours. Here's what the extra hours are worth.
Not sure whether you're exempt? Read the test.
Start from a common salary
Pay guides
The calculator tells you what your pay converts to. These explain what it means — and where people quietly lose money.
Getting paid what you're worth
"What are your salary expectations?"
It's not a question. It's an auction where they've asked you to bid against yourself.
Should I accept the first offer?
Almost never. One uncomfortable email is worth about two hundred hours of your life.
How to negotiate an hourly rate
Most people lose the negotiation by answering one question too honestly.
What is a good hourly wage?
The national median is $24.51. Four benchmarks that beat a gut feeling.
Knowing your rights
Are you owed overtime you never got?
Being paid a salary does not make you exempt. Employers count on you not knowing that.
Can my employer make me work off the clock?
No. Seven minutes a day is thirty hours a year. Here's what the DOL said in 2026.
Can my employer change my pay without telling me?
Going forward, usually. For work you've already done, almost never.
Reading the paycheck
Why is my paycheck less than I expected?
Eleven reasons. Most are boring and legal. Some are worth disputing today.
How to read your pay stub
Line by line — and the four errors worth checking for every time.
Salary vs. hourly: which is actually better?
Getting put "on salary" is usually framed as a promotion. Sometimes it's a pay cut.
How the math works
Hourly wage = annual salary ÷ hours worked per year. The standard American full-time year is 2,080 hours — 40 hours a week, 52 weeks. So $50,000 ÷ 2,080 is about $24.04 an hour. Reverse it by multiplying your hourly rate by 2,080.
The honest number depends on the hours you actually work. A "40-hour" salaried job that really runs 50 hours turns a $50,000 salary into $19.23 an hour. That's why the hours field sits right in the meter above — set it to the truth, not the job description.
Why bother measuring per second? Because it makes an abstraction concrete. At $60,000 a year you earn about 48¢ a minute, which means an hour-long pointless meeting costs roughly $29 of your working life. It's a surprisingly good lens for small decisions.
All figures are gross pay, before taxes and deductions. Estimates for information only — not financial advice.