Well, in 1966 you could look forward to this:
Surgeon $32,000
Plastic Surgeon $35,000
OBGYN $28,500
Nurse $4,300
Hospital Administrator $7,500
Private Practice Lawyer $33,000
Federal Government Lawyer $6,300-$7,500
Engineer $7,400
Gas & Electric Engineer $7,245
Aeronautical Engineer $6,800-$7,800
Public School Teacher $6,300
School Principal (with PhD) $20,000
Assistant Professor $6,760
Professor $14,000-$24,000
HR Professional $16,500
Accountant CGA $15,000-$30,000
Internal Accountant $18,000-$28,000
Car Sales $5,000-$10,000
Real Estate Broker $5,000-$10,000
Insurance $5,000
Insurance Broker $15,000-$20,000
Stock Broker (trainee) $350-$500 monthly
Stock Broker (established) $5,000-$25,000
Retail Sales $1.25-$2 per hour
Retail Buyer $6,500-$25,000
Bank Teller $440-$525 monthly
Bank Officer $10,000-$20,000
Reporter $100-$250 per week
Technical Writer $5,000-$13,000
Media Sales Manager TV $305 weekly
Program Director $214 TV, $134 Radio weekly
Advertising Copywriter $12,800-$24,000
Account Executive $16,500-$25,000
Advertising Manager $7,000-$21,000
Social Worker $3,780-$7,350
Caseworker $7,350-$10,000
Construction Worker $4.25 per hour
Bricklayer Apprentice Stage $4.72 per hour
Carpenter $4.36 per hour
Glazier $4.08 per hour
Iron Worker $4.61 per hour
Construction Foreman $6,000
Auto Mechanic $1-$1.75 per hour
TV repairman $60-$80 per week
Airplane Mechanic $650 per month
Law Enforcement Officer $5,100 per year
Police Commissioner $35,000
Hotel Manager $50,000
Major Airline Pilot $15,600
Major International Airline Pilot $22,000
Travel Agent $90-$150 per week
I'm not an economist by any way, shape or form so I resorted to numerous inflation rate calculators to try and determine what these wages would be today. According to three different online calculators (Canadian and American) the inflation rate between 1966-2011 is between 599.2%-614%. I'm not sure how relevant these calculators are because I entered $11,000, the average price for a home in West Vancouver in the 1960s and, apparently, $11,000 in 1966 is the equivalent to about $76,000 today. However, an average home in West Vancouver today is $1.7 million. Shall we talk about over inflated real estate?
For fun, choose your career from above and enter the annual salary here:
Canadian Inflation Rate Calculator
US Inflation Rate Calculator
Source: Better Homes and Gardens, August 1966.