Python loop to print salaries within range of the average - arrays

Question

I'm an absolute beginner to Python and am tasked with creating a program that does a few things:
Inputs employee names into a list.
Inputs that employee's salary after inputting their name.
Totals the salaries in a list, (2 lists: names[] and salaries[]).
Finds the average salary after totaling.
Prints employees that earn within $5,000 of the average salary (Where I'm stuck).
Please see my code below:
# function to total the salaries entered into the "newSalary" variable and "salaries[]".
def totalSalaries(salaries):
total = 0
for i in salaries:
total += i
return total
# Finds the average salary after adding and dividing salaries in "salaries[]".
def averageSalaries(salaries):
l = len(salaries)
t = totalSalaries(salaries)
ave = t / l
return ave
# Start main
def main():
# Empty names list for "name" variable.
names = []
# Empty salaries list for "salary" and "newSalary" variables.
salaries = []
# Starts the loop to input names and salaries.
done = False
while not done:
name = input("Please enter the employee name or * to finish: ")
salary = float(input("Please enter the salary in thousands for " + name + ": "))
# Try/except to catch exceptions if a float isn't entered.
# The float entered then gets converted to thousands if it is a float.
try:
s = float(salary)
# Message to user if a float isn't entered.
except:
print("Please enter a valid float number.")
done = False
newSalary = salary * 1000
# Break in the loop, use * to finish inputting Names and Salaries.
if name == "*":
done = True
# Appends the names into name[] and salaries into salaries[] if * isn't entered.
# Restarts loop afterwards if * is not entered.
else:
names.append(name)
salaries.append(newSalary)
# STUCK HERE. Need to output Names + their salaries if it's $5,000 +- the total average salary.
for i in range(len(salaries)):
if newSalary is 5000 > ave < 5000:
print(name + ", " + str(newSalary))
# Quick prints just to check my numbers after finishing with *.
print(totalSalaries(salaries))
print(averageSalaries(salaries))
main()
Any info is greatly appreciated. I hope the rest of the functions and logic in this program makes sense.

Answer 1

Your haven't written your iterator correctly. With an array, you can just use for element in array: and the loop will iterate over array by putting each element in element. So your for loop becomes for salary in salaries.
Also, You need to split your condition in two and use additions and substractions. Your code should check if the salary is higher or equal to the average minus 5000 and if it is lower or equal to the average plus 5000. If you want to formalize this mathematically it would be:
Salary >= Average - 5000
and
Salary <= Average + 5000
So the condition at line becomes if salary >= (average - 5000) and salary <= (average + 5000)
Finally, you do not call averageSalaries before entering the loop, so the average salary haven't been computed yet. You should call the function and put the result in a variable before your for loop.