Heres How Much Each Friends Character Would Earn Working Their Fictional Jobs
Friends is an iconic sitcom television show that aired for a decade. The show first amazed fans in 1994 and continued to do so until 2004, when the show sadly came to an end. Friends starred Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, and Matt LeBlanc. Each of these actors’ characters had distinct jobs on Friends, which also highlighted how different each character was.
Many fans have wondered exactly how much money the characters would have actually earned from their jobs. The big question fans have is how the characters of Friends, specifically Monica Geller and Rachel Green, could afford such a nice apartment in New York City. The money in Friends does not quite make sense. Here’s how much each Friends character would earn working their fictional jobs.
8 Phoebe Buffay As A Masseuse
Lisa Kudrow's Phoebe Buffay had several jobs on the hit sitcom Friends. Phoebe was a musician, though not a very good one. Most of her musical endeavors were at the coffee shop Central Perk. She performed for free, but she did at one point ask to be paid. Phoebe also sold her song ‘Smelly Cat,’ but was not the singer on the track.
Her most consistent paying job was as a masseuse. Phoebe was mostly self-employed, but she did work for a spa at one time. She earned around $50,000 a year for her work as a masseuse. Phoebe was also briefly a freelance caterer with her friend Monica Gellar.
7 Rachel Green As A Waitress
When Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel Green first step foot into the coffee shop Central Perk in Friends, she had no idea what she was going to do with her life. The Friends characters helped her get on her feet and separate from her parents—she even cuts up all of her credit cards.
Her first job on Friends is as a waitress. She worked at Central Perk for several seasons, though she was not very good at it. This first job was just a starting point for Rachel. As a waitress, she worked mostly for tips and was only making minimum wage.
6 Ross Gellar As A Paleontologist
When Friends first started, David Schwimmer’s Ross Gellar was making more money than he was at the end of the series. Ross was a paleontologist and had a job at the New York Museum of Prehistoric History.
While working at the museum, Ross was making $75,000 a year. He was also given the opportunity to participate in paleontologist digs and conferences. Unfortunately, Ross was forced to go on sabbatical after expressing anger over a missing sandwich in season 5. This ultimately triggered a career change.
5 Monica Gellar As A Chef
Courteney Cox’s Monica Gellar salary is very much up to debate. Like the other characters in Friends, Monica has some trouble in her career, as she was fired from her chef job and had to work in a diner. For most of the show, however, Monica works steadily and is the head chef at various restaurants.
According to some experts, Gellar was only making an average salary of $43,165. This calculation would make keeping her apartment quite difficult even with it being rent controlled. However, this number likely does not include her job as the head chef at the fictional restaurant Javu. There Monica was likely making more around the range of $80,000 a year.
4 Chandler Bing As A Data Analyst
There was a running gag during the entirety of Friends that none of his friends really understood what Chandler Bing did for a living. Matthew Perry, who struggled with addiction, played Chandler. The character had a job in data analysis and configuration, and he was making the most amount of money of all the Friends characters.
It is estimated that Chandler was making $100,000 a year for his desk job, but the money did not mean he loved his work. Near the end of the series, Chandler made a drastic career change. He became a junior advertising copywriter to better fulfill his life, but he took a huge pay cut. This job only had him making $45,000 a year. Good thing his wife Monica Gellar was making a lot for her chef position.
3 Ross Gellar As A Professor
After he was forced to go on sabbatical by the New York Museum of Prehistoric History, David Schwimmer’s Ross Gellar found himself in a career change. He was given the opportunity to become a professor at New York University.
As a professor, Ross was likely earning $50,000 a year. His decrease in pay is shocking to fans, as he was the most steadfast with earning impressive money—aside from his sabbatical. His salary at the end of the series actually puts him on the lower end of earnings among fellow Friends characters, a big change from the beginning of the series.
2 Rachel Green As A Fashion Executive
After breaking free of the comfort of her waitress job at Central Perk, Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel Green attempted to break into the fashion industry due to her passion for clothes. She started out as a personal shopper, and eventually moved up to a buyer at Bloomingdales.
Towards the end of the series, Rachel began working at Ralph Lauren as a merchandising manager. She had her own office and personal assistant. She was offered a position in Paris, though she turned it down last minute to be with Ross Gellar. Rachel ended up making around $55,000 for her work in fashion.
1 Joey Tribbiani As An Actor
Matt LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani was essentially always having money issues during the course of Friends. His roommate and best friend Chandler Bing consistently covered for him with food, utilities, and even rent. At one point, Chandler even calculated how much Joey owed him and the number was astounding.
Despite being known as the character with money trouble, Joey actually was making a lot of money by the end of the series. He had roughly 17 odd jobs over the course of the series and earned about $130,000 for his leading role in a film during season 7. With being hired back to Days of Our Lives and his other roles, Joey was making $80,000 a year by season 10.
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