1. **State the problem:** David's salary after a 3% pay cut is $3346.50. We need to find his original salary before the pay cut. 2. **Define variables:** Let the original salary be $x$. 3. **Express the new salary in terms of the original salary:** After a 3% pay cut, David receives 97% of his original salary. This can be written as: $$0.97 \times x = 3346.50$$ 4. **Solve for the original salary $x$:** $$x = \frac{3346.50}{0.97}$$ Calculate: $$x = 3449.48$$ 5. **Interpret the result:** David's original monthly salary was $3449.48$ before the pay cut.