(for my next game) what would be a minimum wage salary?

[jack_norton]

In my next game the main character works in a ice cream parlor (yum) during summer to pay for the college. What would be a somewhat realistic figure for that job? I asked around and probably she should get a minimum wage salary but I have no clue honestly how much that would be. The game is set in L.A. and she would work every day in the mornings of the week, and fullday in the sunday

[Red Lilies]

Minimum wage in California is $8 per hour.

[Aleema]

If it's in LA, the minimum wage is $8 an hour. If it's not a really awful place, she'd probably get slightly more. But only by a matter of cents.

[jack_norton]

Ah interesting. So assuming she works from 8am to 1pm (5h a day x 5 days) + 10h the sunday = 35h x $8 = $280 week = about $1120/month.
Ok I guess should be enough for her to help her aunt pay for college (though I don't have idea how much a college costs either lol)

[Aleema]

I can't think of any ice cream shop that would have a 10 hour shift, though? lol If it NEEDS to be ten hours for game play mechanics, I'll ignore that. :3 In reality, she's losing a lot of that to taxes, but yay for non-realism! xD

As for the cost of public college, if she's not living in campus dorms, tuition is (I'm just averaging here) $5000-9000 a year (half that per semester), but with scholarships and grants, she can probably halve that cost once more. This is assuming she is opting out of student loans, which is what most college students do. And if daddy doesn't pay their way, of course. Working for 3 months for $3,000 would not be enough to cover college completely unless you explain that she has outstanding scholarships, but it would certainly help her living expenses if nothing else (pay for rent, transporation, food).

[jack_norton]

Ah hmm well, in the story she is only helping her aunt Gwenda (who pays the college). So she just needs to "give a hand".
Probably will change sunday to 8h then! But indeed I'm not aiming at it to be super realistic and will avoid to go in the detail on how much her college costs and all those options since they also won't interest the player

[Mikan]

After taxes, about $7.50.

[rioka]

...will avoid to go in the detail on how much her college costs and all those options since they also won't interest the player

That's the best way to go. From all the casual games I've played, most are rather nonspecific.

Btw, if someone works over time (above the 8 hours per day), they get overtime which is usually the employee's wage + a half. So 8 + half of that (4) = 12 for every hour over the usual 8 hours. Some places pay double the usual salary especially on holidays like Christmas and so on. Don't forget about bonuses and tips from customers!

[Mikan]

I have never seen anyone who works minimum wage get paid overtime, ever.
Usually the boss just tells you to go home.

[rioka]

lol Then you're not at the right place. My sisters have worked in a bakery for minimum wage while they were in college and they get paid overtime especially on holidays and if they work extra hours. The bakery actually hire extra people during holidays just to pack cookie trays because they're so busy. They pay you above minimum wage to do that too.

[kinougames]

I'd say $7.50 too.

[jack_norton]

I'm resurrecting this very old thread to ask another question: would it be totally unrealistic if you're paid daily? I mean, after you finish your work? I was thinking to have a weekly pay, but if you get the money after you finish your job in the morning would be more cool for the gameplay (but even if is just a game, I don't want to have something really unbeliveable either!)

[papillon]

For a proper job? I don't think anyone gets paid daily except MAYBE waitresses get to take home tips daily, I'm not sure, having never done that.

For an unofficial job, sure. If you know the owner of a small business and are helping out on an irregular basis, they might pay you cash on the day. But unless there's a clear personal relationship between the person being paid and the owner, this would carry suggestions of the work being "under the table" and laws probably being breached somewhere. Tax laws, safety laws, immigration laws, what-have-you. It's suspicious.

Or if you're doing odd jobs / contracting instead of an employment situation, you'd likely be paid per task. A babysitter would be paid after the night's work, a roving computer repairperson would be paid after fixing the machine, musicians paid per gig afaik.

Places that have an extremely temporary need for a lot of work to be done are more likely to pay up front. University libraries sometimes have special work offers at the end of a semester because EVERYONE returns their books all at once and it overwhelms the usual staffing, so if you're willing to come in for a few hours and help deal with the mountain of books, bonus.

[jack_norton]

Hmm the job in the game (Remember Me) is help out in a ice-cream parlor part-time, so don't think is a regular job? I guess maybe I could use the tips system?
Or I can just have normal pay of 5h x 6days x $8 = $192/week, and you can go there and do overtime if you want and get paid more like $10/h...

[LVUER]

In my country at least, for a job where you don't get contracted or sign any deal whatsoever, meaning you could lost your job whenever or you get hired in daily basis (there's no guarantee you will get hired every workday)... you are paid daily.

But if it's the job where you DO have some kind of contract or agreement, it's very rare to see weekly payment, usually it's monthly payment. Perhaps so you won't run away after getting the payment (securing work force for at least one month).

But in a game, you could do whatever and I think player will understand even if it's a bit unrealistic since sometimes it's important to make the gameplay more interesting. In the past, there's a game titled Jones, where you live your daily life, working and eating, to reach a financial success. In that game, even if you become a teacher, an office worker, a general manager, or even a bank director... you will get a daily payment ^_^ It makes the life management much more easier and makes the game much more enjoyable (especially since the game is pretty fast paced).