Q: With all this talk about soap opera actors taking salary cuts, I wondered what they do make. Do you have any figures? — Ralph Jeryll in Austin, Texas

A: With all the flurry surrounding the Facebook IPO, I am going to be very careful when I offer numbers.

Twenty years ago, soap actors were given very nice salaries. Some of the numbers tossed around were a bit off the mark, though. Kin Shriner, a super soap star when he played Scotty on ?General Hospital,? was reported to be the highest-paid daytime actor at the time. Millions of dollars were being quoted.

At the time, Shriner joked, ?When I heard how much I was making, I decided to ask myself for a loan.?

In the early days, soap opera actors earned minimum wage and often provided their own wardrobe. That certainly changed. The following is a basic review of what an actor on a soap may make.

Let?s start with the newbie. The minimum would be around $700 per episode or even much less, depending on many different factors. This might initially sound like a fairly good day?s pay — but a newcomer on soaps will be lucky if they work one or two days a week.

Typically, all soap stars are only guaranteed one to three days of work per week, even for some of the veterans on the show. So although some weeks may be good, others may not. Of course, the longer they are on the show, the more money the actors may make per episode — and the more likely they will be guaranteed more days of steady work.

So once a newcomer has been on a show for a while, he or she can generally expect to make anywhere from $700 to $1,500 per episode. Remember, their agent gets 10 percent and they are living in Los Angeles, a city that is very expensive.

If an actor has been on the show for five to 10 years, he or she may pull down $1,500 to $3,000 per episode, which again may only be anywhere from one to three days per week of actual work guaranteed. So for those of you who are considering a career in daytime television, or those who are just curious what the stars earn, here's a rundown of a typical annual salary for year one, five and 10 or more years.

First-year mark: $72,800 to $156,000 per year.

Five-year mark: $156,000 to $312,000 per year.

Ten-year mark: $208,000 to $520,000 per year.

These numbers are based on a typical work week of two days per week, times 52 weeks per year, which does not account for holidays, vacations, etc. These numbers are also just estimates, and may or may not be typical of the actual earnings.

Also, as mentioned above, there are many other factors that can influence the actor's salary, as well, including how much they pay their agent, their current contract status, bonuses, length of contract and which network they work for.

Many soap stars also take time off in the slow months to do movies, commercials or other television projects, which certainly adds to their annual take-home pay.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.