Making Money - It's A Money Thing | Oregonians Credit Union

• Article
• Activity
• Comic

Different Ways to make Money: Wage, Salary and Commission

People earn an income when they are hired by an employer to work at a job. Income is earned as a wage, a salary or a sales commission.

Let’s look at an example of each:

Andrew works as a waiter at the Pancake Hut. He earns a wage. A wage is a set amount of money per hour of work. Andrew’s wage is $10 per hour.

Ellie works as a scientist. She earns a salary. A salary is a set amount of money per year. Ellie’s salary is $50,000 per year. If she adds up all her paychecks this year, the total will equal $50,000.

Toby works as a real estate agent. He earns a sales commission. A sales commission is an amount of money based on part of a sale amount. Tony is helping a family sell their house. The family agrees to pay Tony 5% of the house’s sale price. Tony sells the house for $200,000. The family pays him $10,000, which is 5% of the $200,000 sale.

Questions:

1. Can you list three different ways an employer can pay you for working at a job?
2. What is the difference between a wage and a salary? 
3. A  ______   is income based on part of a sale amount.
4. What would Andrew have to do to earn more money at his job? What would Toby have to do?
5. Bonus Question: A wage, a salary and sales commission are all ways to earn income at a job. What is another way to earn income?

Activity

What do you want to be when you grow up? You can access the printable PDF version here. 

Get money smart, one topic at a time! Our It's A Money Thing topics will help you interpret key financial information in order to make sense of your money. For more videos and helpful financial articles visit our  It's A Money Thing home page.  Check back, new topics will be introduced regularly!