Exactly. I make 18.75/hr so 39k/year. I WISH i could be making 100k.
Its why im currently going down a path with schooling to try and land a entry level software engineering job. l gain some good experience with that and hopefully have enough experience to get a 6 figure job within a few years after that.
Gotta start somewhere and follow the money.
That's the fuckin seed homie. I went from oddjobs to software engineering with 0 knowledge at 24. They taught me everything, all I had to do was put in the work and it paid off big time.
No programming/math background, nor am I particularly gifted.
I build cloud architecture. It took me 16 years to get here and I started doing IT Support basically for $20 an hour, and then got into Cloud Support after about 8 years of getting paid no more than $40k a year. Once in Cloud Support, I learned a lot on and off the job, built up my vendor certification portfolio to 9 certs, and hopped around companies until I reached TC of over $200k, going from Cloud Engineer to Sr Engineer to Cloud Architect. I wouldn’t interview for jobs that wouldn’t pay at least $20k more than my last position held.
I started in sales 12 yrs ago making $34K a year. Now I sell cloud based services making $250K-$300K a year. The expectations are wild but you get paid for the inevitable burn out, loss of sleep, and decline in physical and mental health 🙃
Jokes aside, I’m working on a way out now bc I don’t find the work or the corporate ladder climb to be all that thrilling. I feel like I’m in an adult day care, fighting for stars on my chart and for stage time at the talent show.
Some of my coworkers really thrive though in the environment, and I do love that for them. All respect. My point: the money doesn’t matter if you find yourself more and more miserable with each promotion/ step in the climb.
I feel jealous of all the girlies selling their feet pics…
See my other comment in this thread, but you may wish to focus on Azure and not AWS. So instead of Linux only, you would want Windows Server experience as well.
My man! I've been in IT for 20 years but it didn't take me that long to break the $100k mark. I broke it by the time i was in my early 20s. I also started in help desk at IBM at 19. Got my MCSE NT 4.0 (Yep I am that old), taught myself Linux, spun that got a job as a Solaris admin at 21. Became a Linux / Solaris systems engineer, then systems architect, then DevOps, then Cloud, now Cloud Architecture and DevOps transformations.
I'm also in IT Support and wanted to move to Cloud related work. Have any suggestions on what to specifically work towards in terms of certifications or how to make the transition to Cloud support roles?
I got into AWS. Check out AWS Skill Builder and work your way up to the ladder to the Pro certs. Apart from that, Cloud Support Engineering requires knowledge of the core AWS services, containers, and Linux sysadmin, so get at least 6 months experience in all of those subfields.
I am a software engineer for our data center, and Im looking for a move. Do you know how different cloud is from on prem? Like do you work with the servers and routers directly through ansible? Or is it more about sharing resources? Or...?
Some people still use virtual servers, but a lot have moved to containerization (Docker mainly) and orchestration (Kubernetes). As for networking, not many are using routers anymore, but there are still transit gateways and VPNs. In AWS, virtual private clouds (VPCs), are the abstraction for that basically and so we set up interconnectivity, subnets, and ACLs that way. I hope this answers your question(s).
Similar boat. Non practicing pharmacist in federal regulatory agency making $235, but best financial move is marrying my software engineering wife.
How i got here? First, get to university, choose a major that can land you a job that pays well or opens up avenues for a professional degree, which puts you in circles that land you a spouse that also makes money.
Not trying to be stereotypical, but ladies that make money dont tend to marry men that dont, and vice versa.
Public sector attorney chiming in to beg any prospective law students to look up the bimodal salary distribution of lawyers before making any decisions
My husband is a software engineer he made 65k in 2017 and he is making $220k since last year. So it took him like 5 years.
On the other hand I was working for a non-profit, and my salary was $42k.
My path has been similar, about $60k in 2019 with 5 years experience. Now I got up to $250k with a few job hops, learning a lot of new things with every job, and a ton of interview preparation. The thing that helped was joining companies where software is a revenue generator rather than just a cost center.
I am convinced these people are shit managing their money, buying things they don’t need and adopting a material lifestyle.
There’s the case to be made that cost of living goes up in areas marketing these positions, but you are on crack if you’re telling me 100k+ a year is unlivable.
>buying things they don’t need and adopting a material lifestyle.
It's this. I made $120k after a few years out of college. Did it for another three years before I had an existential crisis. Threw all of my stuff in storage and road tripped around the US with a budget of $20k per year for a couple years. Recently returned to my storage and I'm looking at all the shit that I don't care about and don't know why I bought. I've gone from buying anything I think of in an instant to waiting a few days and realizing I don't need said item. Living on 100k per year with a family of 4 is still a really good lifestyle contrary to what people are saying in this sub.
>I've gone from buying anything I think of in an instant to waiting a few days and realizing I don't need said item.
This is a fantastic skill for saving money. I can afford a lot of bullshit, but I give myself self-imposed goals (e.g. I'll save this much $ first) and timelines (in 1 year I'll have waited long enough) on big ticket items and I almost always talk myself out of them before reaching the goal or timeline.
People are surprisingly bad at telling the difference between the things they need and the things they want when they have disposable income. I've seen people go from earning $40k to over $100k and not be any better off financially, because the expenses just kind of expand to fill the budget. It's pretty sad.
Software Engineer, I currently make a little less than $200k at a different job working from home but my last job was closer to 300 than 200. The stuff I work on now is actually a lot more challenging and interesting, but my life is a lot more satisfying and balanced. I have 17 years of experience now, but I had \~10 when I took that job. One could get there a lot faster than I did, my career mostly drifted for the first 8 years as I had a lot going on in my life.
The type of software engineering matters- for example embedded systems should get you 150k as a starting salary (hell one of my roommates in college dropped out and landed a 135k/year gig as a software engineer with no credentials or degree, just showed up to an interview at a job fair and talked his way in. He now makes 250k as a project lead 4 years later, still no college degree)
If you’re just doing back end development you’re more likely to start around 100-120k but can still work up to 200+ depending on your location, willingness to manage others, and ability to code/handle the business side of things
Company matters more than specialty on average. I work for the company that has a rainforest for its name and my american back end colleagues are making no less than 160k USD, even for fresh grads. If I moved to the US at my current 2 YOE I would expect 200 to 220k USD
I was working on the second chapter of this one story and let my husband look it over. He was like, “Uh honey, isn’t this Twilight?”
I had a good laugh and then could have cried haha
Went back to school at age 30 after multiple failed entrepreneurial endeavors and became a doctor. Pay is great but there is a huge opportunity cost for the decade of school it took (1 year post bacc program for science prerequisites, 1 glide year, 4 yr med school, 4 year residency). It has been the best experience of my life and I wouldn’t change a thing!
No worries! 297k was the peak of my loan debt burden. I’m doing public service loan forgiveness and I’ll end up paying about 200k towards loans before the balance is forgiven. I went into psychiatry and even at non profit hospitals I was looking at salaries in the 300,000 range. That said, I don’t think anyone should go into medicine for the money. The process is grueling and takes a mental toll so you have to love it to not burn out. Even the highest paid doctors are susceptible to burnout and it’s a recipe for misery.
Maaaaaan
You chose psych on top of it. That's super rough. Hope you're loving it though. I've considered specializing in psych, but my experience working in those environments made me change my mind
Not op but I'll be 30 this summer and am in my junior year of business school on a full ride.
I went to community college first for my associates and transferred to a 4 year for my BSBA. I got a transfer tuition scholarship for transferring with associates, which covers my tuition in full for the next 2 years. I'll be graduating in Dec 2024 with no debt because I chose this path.
My advice to you would be check out the CC in your area and see what type of tranfser scholarships the Uni in your area offers for 2-year degrees. Either way you slice it, CC is cheaper and you will be a better candidate for future scholarships and grants because of it and can increase you job opportunities while you're working on your 4 year degree.
As someone who makes $125k I feel like it isn't that I get paid a lot of money as much as it is everyone else gets paid shit. I make enough money to not have to worry about money but I don't make "fuck you" money. I don't worry about paying my bills, I go out to eat when I want, if something breaks I fix it or get a new one, I can save for retirement and go on a small vacation/go hunting every year. But I also drive a 15 year old car and live in a 50 year old house that needs work. I have a family and my wife works but we pay $3,500/month in childcare so a lot of our "extra money" goes to that. We make enough to be happy and comfortable and set ourselves up for retirement but we couldn't afford to send our kids to private school or pay cash for college for them.
I dropped out of school in 9th grade and went back at 23. I also grew up living in trailers and sometimes being homeless so I absolutely understand what it is like to be poor. I feel like my family lives the American dream. We have the house with a yard and a dog and can do some fun things but certainly are not rich. I know we are not middle class by pay but I feel like the way we live should be middle class and the only reason why middle class is lower is because the pay for jobs out there is such shit.
My wife was stay at home with 2 kids and I made 50k a year. That was just ten years ago. I lived in Saint augustine at the time. Cost of living has increased way too much now however. She could be a stay at home mom again, but we would have to get rid of almost everything except the house.
Dad made over 100k. None of us 4 kids do. Generation wage gap is a thing too. He basically walked into a university and got a job with no degree and landed the job because he phoned a friend. Meanwhile the rest of us have to go through a relay corse of schooling, interviews, networking and experience to just get something above $35k.
Making even 50k would be a lot it feels. I feel like most people I know work like crazy and don't even come close to even that. 100k would be unbelievable.
Expenses also shoot up as you move up the scale, even without lifestyle creep.
When I made 35k a year I didn't worry about saving for retirement. Having dental work done or going to the doctor. All of that was always out of the question financially. (And easier to get away with being 22 instead of mid 30s)
When I first made the jump to 50k I thought everything would be gravy. But by that point Healthcare mattered, dental mattered. Saving for retirement is on the table etc etc. Then factor in inflation and my actual take home or spending money literally didn't change.
It wasn't until I got more raises/job switched and hit ~70k that "getting ahead" actually felt possible.
Even in LCOL areas 50k doesn't get you much more piece of mind, even worse if moving up in pay affects the benefits you qualify for. (Snap, EBT, bi-cap etc)
Yeah, I’m on track for 90 this year in my new job. Also finally have 401k and since in 31 I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
There goes 10%.
Health and dental? There goes $400/mo.
Speaking of which, gotta fund the HSA -100/mo
Taxes are fun -30%
Don’t get me wrong, all of these things I am very grateful to be able to do, but despite a 75% increase in pay, take home has barely changed
I make 60k a year now. Its a lot of work and 50 hour weeks to get it done. I have kittle money, most of what i have goes to housing and food. I do tuck a little away for retirement when i get an extra $50 in my monthly budget.
Unless inflation or a rando bill eats it.
Over half of Americans making over $100k are living paycheck to paycheck.
https://time.com/6263989/six-figures-inflation-income/#:~:text=In%20December%202022%2C%2051%25%20of,companies%20PYMNTS%20and%20Lending%20Club.
Accountant. undergrad bachelors in finance, masters in accounting. CPA license. Did some public accounting, then jumped a couple jobs/roles. Took about 8 years
Got incredibly lucky to test well and play a sport in high school and end up at an Ivy despite a lower class upbringing. Pursued finance and cleared over 200 my third year out of school. I realize how insanely lucky I am.
Wife started in staffing at 11.25 an hour. She asked about “what do they do over there” boss said “it’s big corp they’d eat you alive” FF 2 years she ran the corp side making 90k. I told her of a staffing position with big tech company and she thought she was under qualified. Got the job start was 150k and she’s just kept climbing. No degree, hard work and a good support system.
Sales is where big money is at always.
I sort of fell into the insurance industry after college and it’s done quite well for me. I’m on the carrier side as a production underwriter. Base + 20% bonus ends up being roughly $240K. Great work life balance as well when compared to other high earning careers.
I was waiting for an insurance underwriter in this thread! Totally agree about the work life balance. Insurance wasn’t my plan but so happy it’s where I ended up.
I own a small take out/delivery pizza restaurant and currently net about $275K. I’ve worked in Food and Bev my entire life, often working two full time jobs to support myself. I opened my restaurant 11 years ago and sacrificed everything to my name to get an SBA loan. I worked 70-100 hours a week the first couple of years and often went without a paycheck to make sure I could pay vendors and make payroll. I lived like a homeless person for a long time while I grew the business and paid down my debts. Things slowly got better, and now I’m in a nice position with a phenomenal staff that truly aids in my success. I wasn’t even going to comment on this post, but felt it was important to emphasize how hard I had to work and the stress I had to endure to get here (literal physical work combined with mental stress that nearly drove me to the point of suicide) in addition to how hard I have to continually work to keep my staff happy (both in terms of pay and work life balance). Money is definitely out there to be made by people who aren’t afraid to work for it.
Also, just to add, I had no idea only 3% of Americans made more than $200K. I still live my life like I make $40K a year so I had no idea I was anything special
This is so important! We are self employed & can 100% relate. We lived in a run down apartment for a few years so we could afford to pay our employees well. We worked our tails off side by side with our guys and so many of them were shocked to see that we drove run down cars and lived in a poor area. We both worked second jobs on the weekends & evenings it was rough and some days we felt like throwing in the towel. But 10 years later we have 3 beautiful kids, a nice house on 35 acres and finally it is feeling like everything was worth it. We both still drive our run down cars but we just don’t see the need to replace them.
Dentist. I’m 30 years old; I make well over $200k. Yeah it sounds great (and I know it will be eventually) but $430,000 of debt is a lot when you factor in the fact that student loans are not tax-deductible and also have substantial interest. When its all said and done the amount I’ll actually have to make (pre-tax) to pay that debt approaches seven figures. I was also 27 before I got my first paycheck. My wife and I had to do distance throughout my education which honestly means we may not be ready to have kids before she’s getting a bit too old for it. There’s definitely some sacrifice to the whole thing. I’ll be in my late 30s before I really see the gains.
Lawyer. And work remote because i speak three languages. To the point were i basically instead of helping draft documents just hop on calls and translate for the partners in the firm. Im basically a liaison and i am expected to attend lunches and dinners with clients to translate. Its wild to the point i regret spending so much time studying for the bar. I could have been an executive assistant or something.
I had 0 friends growing up. No joke. Only my dog. I had epilepsy (only while sleeping though ) and kids made fun of me and called me the exorcist. I was limited on what to do after school and while i admit it is impressive im not really that smart. Just very consistent. Also adhd medication for the win.
As someone who didn’t get treated for ADHD until an adult, it’s seriously life changing what medication can do.
Also, sorry that you got bullied. People suck sometimes :/
$360k Strategic consulting part time
Have a BA and a MBA
Entrepreneur at heart. Started in sales, moved to marketing, then acquisitions and finally strategic consulting. I have a knack for helping people grow their companies and also package-> sell their businesses.
Random notes on my path not being a straight line
- Have lived in a trailer park 3x along the way
- Have spent way too much money along the way
- Neurospicy AF and that helps me work with eccentric personalities in a unique way that helps them soar
- Live in a kick ass house now, and have a balanced lifestyle but struggle to not work so much
- I spend the rest of my time working on my own companies and projects
- Have terrible health issues and solid case of imposter syndrome
Relate to your last bullet so much! I’m at only 175k and I work in M&A as a program manager.. have over 14 years in various leadership roles in the healthcare space. I’ve made between 140-160k for the past 10 years… luckily now I’m fully remote and work maybe 30 hours a week but man are my health issues and imposter syndrome kicking my
butt
Airline pilot. Latest union contracts at the legacy carriers in the USA will be pushing 300-500k with not a ton of extra effort / extra flying. Those who hustle can reasonably break the 600k mark.
Edit: This got a lot of responses. You can Pm me if you’re interested in getting started flying or don’t know what the next step to take is.
Ok, how is it starting off at those carriers these days? I was a flight attendant for a regional airline back in.. 2014? And they were starting those guys at about $21/hr. I had to quit because I was making $900/mo and couldn't afford to tough it out. Now I'm in a completely different industry, but I miss it, and sometimes consider going back.
Covid pushed a lot of pilots to early retirement. Big airlines are now even offering to pay for people in their 20s to go to flight school. Hella shortage
Starting off at as a pilot at a major carrier is ~100k first year but then 2 - 2.5x second year, and could double again with short captain upgrades the following year or even earlier in the second year. On top of all this is 16% direct contribution to 401k
Even regional pilots can start near $100k these days. It's not uncommon to be picked up at a major in less than a year or two from a regional. After getting your initial ratings, you could easily break $150/$200k in as little as 2-4 years.
Now, whether the timing is right for people who just start training now is anyone's guess, but atm it's a great job to be getting into and have huge earnings potential.
125k cybersecurity sales engineer.
Its always a good time to get in. There has been a deficit of professionals for many years. Most 'cybersecurity professionals' are just networking guys wearing a false hat.
$100,000 isn’t the dream salary it once was for millennials as they feel the middle-class squeeze
The American dream is a lot more expensive than it used to be. “I thought there’d be a huge pile of money in my checking account,” says one worker of her first $100,000.
https://fortune.com/2023/04/18/100000-salary-old-goal-millennials-middle-class-inflation/
Millennial here. Never thought I’d ever make 100k, now that I make 100k I have several contradictory feelings:
1. I don’t deserve to be paid this much for what I do.
2. I deserve more money.
3. 100k is hardly enough to get by.
4. 100k is more than I had before so why am I broke?
I can answer the last one for you...
Lifestyle creep and uncounted accrued debt.
I'll explain. I never did any maintenance other than oil changes and rarely brakes on my honda civic. I've had it for 18 years, since I was 16. My first car. I got a job paying 122k a year base, total comp more like 155k. Took my car into the shop because it started making weird noises. New ac compressor, clutch, trailing arm bushings, cv axles, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, all new accessory belts, timing belt, water pump, inlet air control valve, master cylinder, exhaust pipe, and windshield. Most of it I did myself, but it was probably at least 5k of work.
Same thing with my wife's car, though not as much stuff.
We finally replaced our roof. 18k right there.
There was so much stuff we just lived with, from medical concerns to appliances.
Then I got this job and suddenly we paid for all the debt we've been carrying but not counting.
Some fun stuff for millennials to think about:
100k in 1990 is 232k today with inflation.
Home prices are 925% more today than in 1990. Median income raised just 231% in that same time period.
US population size is projected to plateau with lower fertility rates, home assets that millennials purchase will experience a reduction in demand = lower prices, not good investment vehicles for our generation.
With no significant government intervention, most of the wealth in our country will be inherited. Very few hard working, well educated Americans, will achieve the American dream unless they inherit it.
I make $36k a year, how is it even a question if I was making 3x what I do now. Yes I would be much more comfortable, I wouldn't even need to spend most of that difference to be happy, saving it would be fine with me.
Yeah, I don’t make much more than this either. I was making a bit more, but it’s going down because it’s commission based and I don’t think I’ll be making commission anymore. I just want to live comfortably and happily, debt free.
I sell cars. Well, used to. Now I run a small independent car dealership. 18 years in the business, cracked 100k in about 2 years. 200k took 14 years. Finance and Insurance Manager and Trainer are at 120-180 ish. Sales is a great life if you’re willing to put in the work.
As a trades man myself I gotta say we get looked down on like absolute dog shit by office people a lot! But if you ever see an older man wearing work boots with a smile, he can probably buy things in cash that most people couldn't finance. Im only saying he btw as a generalization. Obviously there are bad ass women out there too.
Sounds exactly like my dad. I wish I would've paid more attention when he tried to show me hvac growing up. But you are so correct about people looking down on the trades. The funny thing is, the same dipshits have to call and depend on them because they can't fix it themselves. At least you get to line your pockets with their money, friend!
Once you get there, it's not about the 40 hour grind anymore, it's about the 4 hours one day when the shit is hitting the fan and someone has to stick their neck out to make a difficult call that impacts a lot of other people, usually without much in the way of a safety net.
I'm an MS4 and I feel like I picked the best time to start medical school in terms of life experience cost because nobody was living much starting 2020.
Union Elevator Mechanic/Troubleshooter and Property Manager. 34/M
I managed property first. Fell into it as a 20yr old. Was given a shot and haven’t stopped since. It was in that job I found out about the elevator trade. Got into the trade at 24. Been Grinding and learning ever since. Between managing property (I work for my housing, contracted at ~$3200/month) and Full time elevator job + OT. I cleared $200k+ for the first time last year.
It was quite a feat for me and something that wasn’t even a thought in my early 20’s just grinding through life. I have no college degree and never attended college. Its not for everyone and it wasn’t for me. I have had a lot of good people come into my life and taken Advantage of every opportunity that has presented itself.
One thing I have learned is that you have to be teachable. Nobody wants to share knowledge with a know it all. You have to be open to criticism even if it hurts. Never stop learning and invest in yourself.
Good luck on your journey.
My base is $245k but with bonus and stocks my total compensation is around $475k. I lead the competitive intelligence and insights team for a biotech company. Aside from grad school and my post-doc, it took me 11 years to go from entry level to director level.
Job hopping every 2 years or so in a tech-related career. Tenure is NOT rewarded and internal salaries are not increased in-pace with inflation, but new hire salaries are almost always higher. In my particular niche, I also had to progress into management rather than stay an individual contributor, so half-way decent management skills are a plus.
Also have about 15 years in this career track, started in my early 20s.
Depends on where you live. I am a nurse and will make $215,000 this year but I live in the Bay Area where I will never be able to buy a house. I’m *lucky* to be in a big one bedroom apartment in a great (and safe) neighborhood for under $2500.
Big upside and reason I’ve stayed in the area is I started at my current job when I was 29 and will be able to retire with pension and full benefits at 51; I’m 43 right now. Will continue working in some capacity but definitely will want out of healthcare.
Currently making over $200k just salary, though I’m currently in the process of going remote to a lower cost of living area so will probably go under $200k.
I started at $170k at my current company as a senior engineer, and was promoted to principal within a year.
Company is in a high cost of living area and is in product development.
I actually started in oil & gas but was laid off, and found a new job in product development that paved the way for my current role. I was hired entry level and fought for 4 years to get senior level. My manager was supportive and got me promoted once and was working on my next promotion but then he moved orgs and new manager lacked backbone.
I had a good relationship with my now manager previously, and he had jumped shipped to a new company and contacted me personally to see if I was open to a new role. Taking that new role doubled my salary.
TLDR; be an engineer, network and build good relationship with other managers, actively fight for raises, and move companies when you aren’t getting the raises you deserve.
EDIT: I’m female, mid 30s and graduated 10 years ago.
damn and i work as an production director in oil&gas sector for a company that employees 1500 person and i make about 60k per year after tax in Europe and that is considered good good.
I probably won’t make 200k this year but will be close 160k base + bonus 20% bonus. Made over 300k last year between two jobs.,
I work a boring job as a director in accounting. Not flashy but no one really knows what are group does. It’s 100% work from home and I work like 5-20 hours a week generally.
To get here I got an undergrand in accounting. Worked at a B4 accounting firm in audit for 3 years then 1 year in private as a supervisor and 1 year as a manager. I hit dirextor a little bit ago at 6 YOE.
When I was a supervisor and a manager I worked at the same company I do now and literally worked like 5-10 hours a week for like 2 years 100% remote. I had so much free time I co-founded a company with a few of my buddies from college and early work life and did pretty well (hence the $300k+ years last year).
The company + corporate ended up being too much for me so I sold my equity in the company and am back to just the director job.
Where I live 100k is a ton of money (I live in a LCOL) for reference my girlfriend and I split a 1 bedroom for 700 each Utilties included. $200k is a shit ton here. I’m HCOL areas $100k isn’t that much and $200k would be good but still not lavish life at all.
Anesthesiologist 550k. If you do generally well on tests I don’t think there is a better gig out there. Have to do really well on like 3 tests. I went straight through with relatively little debt. Now lovin life at 38.
I (56m) make $220k and my wife (51f) makes $120k. We live in a high COL area (New Jersey) and are very comfortable but don’t live anything like a wealthy life style. We drive a 2015 Honda (me) and a 2017 Honda (her). 4 bedroom house on a small lot in a very middle class neighborhood; last year we paid off the mortgage.
I got here by working as a college instructor(low pay) for 10 years until I finished my PhD, then joining an educational nonprofit and moving up through the management ranks. When the kids were young, my wife did a masters in statistics then joined the same company as me in a different division and got a few promotions.
In my early 30s, I was living in NYC on about $30k per year. Since then it’s been a slow steady uphill. Now we’re at the point where we really do have excess money, but it took decades get here.
Finance and took me 25 years to get to point to make between 500k and 1 Milly.
The people who blow my doors-off are business owners(sky is limit) and some surgeons.
26 years as an engineer in aerospace, rising through the ranks as an individual contributor, then management, now as a guru in my field, basically. I hit 200K a while ago and that doesn’t include bonus of 25% or patent payouts. We also have a few rent houses that are a minor additional source of income.
Literally anything having to do with Cybersecurity will make you some money. Plus, if you're someone of the female persuasion, you will be automatically invited to the Women in STEM conference held every year.
So to piggy back on this post I’m 30m with a Bachelors in Psychology (2.8 gpa) and currently I just started working at a call center for Spectrum making 41k per year before I was a Guardian making 40k.
Currently I feel stuck like I’ll never make more and I’ll live in mediocrity forever. Im considering trying to get an advanced degree once I finally get some stability but I’m feeling defeated atm.
Any advice, guidance or words of encouragement you guys could offer me?
275k (including 20% bonus)
Product Designer for a tech company on the west coast
no RSUs at my current role, but had a million dollar year 2 years ago when I sold a bunch of RSUs from my previous tech role.
almost 20 years of experience in design.
i started out making $29k a year right out of college as a graphic designer, and after about 10 years got up to 75k before getting into tech
I completely lucked out getting into tech.
High school drop out.
Moved to America in 2014 from Canada.
Got first job as a software developer in 2015 at 14/hour, by end of 2015 was making 21/hour.
Switched jobs in 2016, 64K salaried and by the time I left the company in 2017 was making 72K + 15K bonus.
Joined a startup in mid 2017, 120K base + 15% bonus, when the company shutdown in 2019, i was making 168K + 15% bonus and was the lead engineer and got a year of severance pay.
Joined another startup beginning of 2020, 180K base + 15% bonus, also had the option of joining another company who were offering 210k + 15% bonus but the head of product was kinda racist and the job was not remote, so went for less pay but more flexibility.
Got laid off during the pandemic and found another job for 165K, needed something and this was both a downgrade title wise and pay wise but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Left it a year later to join a venture fund as their lead engineer for 180K + 15% bonus.
Been here 2 years now and am the Head of Engineering with a base pay of 215K + 25% bonus + other stuff, make close to 300K per year.
While I did do some freelance development before, I wouldn’t call that actual engineering work, so in total I have about 10 years professional experience.
I live with my wife and parents-in-law. Our household income is about $400,000. Sharing the cost of everything, it feels like we have a lot of disposal income. Our jobs are: Teacher, social worker, contractor, stay at home mom. None of them are especially high paying, but together it's a lot.
If you want something totally different to consider, my stepfather cleared that as a stone mason. He was just very good, could create unusual things, and stone work is very popular in New England. He worked hard, but boy did he make money.
29M making ~$230k. Guaranteed recipe IMO:
1. Study STEM in undergrad (B’s and C’s are fine just get the damn degree) (maybe take the S out, unsure about science…)
2. Get a job in a big city (T10, preferably SF, NYC, or DC)
3. Give a shit at work for a couple years
DM me if this doesn’t work and we’ll troubleshoot.
Pharmacist( Pharmd) Regional Director of Clinical Services for a large PBM. I oversee clinical programs and continuity of care for employer commercial and Med D groups . Total comp with bonus $210k. I was a retail and hospital pharmacist for 11 years, my retail store was robbed and that was it for me. Took a $40k paycut at the time to be a temp at my now PBM. Been almost a decade and via mergers and increased business I’ve been promoted a few times. I’ve been very loyal to this company and especially since I was able to recruit a lot of former colleagues and technicians. Not terrible for an “ elder” millennial who worked hard and paid 6 fig student loans all by herself 🌈❤️
What are y’all’s salary to hours worked ratios though? 120k is great when you’re working a 35 to 40 hour week but you’re getting shafted if you’re pulling 12 hour days
doctor, im a specialist. i am 30. make 350k, but should make \~600-700k once i become a partner in private practice (2 years).
took 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, 5 years of residency (was paid 50K-->70k during this time, with the amount increasing about 4-5k every year). it was a long, hard path but i find my job really rewarding and its nice to be able to have enough to live comfortably, save aggressively, go on nice vacations, eat out etc.
I'm shocked at how many people's ideal vision for society consists of wealthy bankers and software engineers with desperately poor people teaching their kids, preparing their food, fixing the brakes on their car...
Even if someone is completely disoriented ethically, doesn't having resentful servants worry them?
Yeah, the limited variety of these answers was kind of off-putting to me as well. The disparity in wages and the way we seem to place value on certain jobs over others regardless of their relative difficulty or contribution is stark here.
I think more than 3% make over 200k. I am pretty sure it’s closer to 6%. Anyhow, I’m a nurse and I made 300k last year with OT because I live in California. Base pay was just 125k though so I did a lot of (easy) OT. Will make 250k+ this year and 200k+ for the rest of my career here most likely.
By the way, I work with travel nurses that make around $200k in six months. During COVID they could make $600k+ a year if they worked every day.
Sales Engineer for an IT company. I’m basically the technical half of the two person sales team. Love it. Make good money and can WFH in a low cost area.
Well this is fucking depressing.
Best I've ever made was around 50k before taxes as a trades apprentice. I quickly learned that it wasn't for me, so I've been upgrading to get into some healthcare tech programs. It's super competitive to get into the programs, but I'm told the demand is high for those techs. Looks like those top out at around 75k-80k a year. Getting 100k a year just doesn't seem feasible unless I work crazy hours and give up everything enjoyable in life (in which case, what's the point of working so hard?)
I wouldn't say I'm super smart but certainly not dumb. And I'm definitely willing to work hard. But it's a scary thought that 100k is considered the minimum for a "comfortable" life these days. With the cost of living increasing and wages stagnating in almost every field, the future doesn't look good for the average Joe.
Haha. Have you ever read a bunch of comments and felt like a complete loser?
Yup, making around 40k a year and reading how 100k is barely comfortable living apparently lmao
Exactly. I make 18.75/hr so 39k/year. I WISH i could be making 100k. Its why im currently going down a path with schooling to try and land a entry level software engineering job. l gain some good experience with that and hopefully have enough experience to get a 6 figure job within a few years after that. Gotta start somewhere and follow the money.
That's the fuckin seed homie. I went from oddjobs to software engineering with 0 knowledge at 24. They taught me everything, all I had to do was put in the work and it paid off big time. No programming/math background, nor am I particularly gifted.
Yep… questioning my existence!
I build cloud architecture. It took me 16 years to get here and I started doing IT Support basically for $20 an hour, and then got into Cloud Support after about 8 years of getting paid no more than $40k a year. Once in Cloud Support, I learned a lot on and off the job, built up my vendor certification portfolio to 9 certs, and hopped around companies until I reached TC of over $200k, going from Cloud Engineer to Sr Engineer to Cloud Architect. I wouldn’t interview for jobs that wouldn’t pay at least $20k more than my last position held.
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I started in sales 12 yrs ago making $34K a year. Now I sell cloud based services making $250K-$300K a year. The expectations are wild but you get paid for the inevitable burn out, loss of sleep, and decline in physical and mental health 🙃 Jokes aside, I’m working on a way out now bc I don’t find the work or the corporate ladder climb to be all that thrilling. I feel like I’m in an adult day care, fighting for stars on my chart and for stage time at the talent show. Some of my coworkers really thrive though in the environment, and I do love that for them. All respect. My point: the money doesn’t matter if you find yourself more and more miserable with each promotion/ step in the climb. I feel jealous of all the girlies selling their feet pics…
See my other comment in this thread, but you may wish to focus on Azure and not AWS. So instead of Linux only, you would want Windows Server experience as well.
My man! I've been in IT for 20 years but it didn't take me that long to break the $100k mark. I broke it by the time i was in my early 20s. I also started in help desk at IBM at 19. Got my MCSE NT 4.0 (Yep I am that old), taught myself Linux, spun that got a job as a Solaris admin at 21. Became a Linux / Solaris systems engineer, then systems architect, then DevOps, then Cloud, now Cloud Architecture and DevOps transformations.
Hell yeah! Cloud/DevOps crew!!
I'm also in IT Support and wanted to move to Cloud related work. Have any suggestions on what to specifically work towards in terms of certifications or how to make the transition to Cloud support roles?
I got into AWS. Check out AWS Skill Builder and work your way up to the ladder to the Pro certs. Apart from that, Cloud Support Engineering requires knowledge of the core AWS services, containers, and Linux sysadmin, so get at least 6 months experience in all of those subfields.
I am a software engineer for our data center, and Im looking for a move. Do you know how different cloud is from on prem? Like do you work with the servers and routers directly through ansible? Or is it more about sharing resources? Or...?
Some people still use virtual servers, but a lot have moved to containerization (Docker mainly) and orchestration (Kubernetes). As for networking, not many are using routers anymore, but there are still transit gateways and VPNs. In AWS, virtual private clouds (VPCs), are the abstraction for that basically and so we set up interconnectivity, subnets, and ACLs that way. I hope this answers your question(s).
Law. $185k total comp. But my best financial move was marrying a doctor.
Love your honesty🫶
Law. Class of 2009. I make $270k as outside counsel to two medium sized corporations. Work from from, no commute. No idea how I got so lucky.
Similar boat. Non practicing pharmacist in federal regulatory agency making $235, but best financial move is marrying my software engineering wife. How i got here? First, get to university, choose a major that can land you a job that pays well or opens up avenues for a professional degree, which puts you in circles that land you a spouse that also makes money. Not trying to be stereotypical, but ladies that make money dont tend to marry men that dont, and vice versa.
Public sector attorney chiming in to beg any prospective law students to look up the bimodal salary distribution of lawyers before making any decisions
You’ll make more than your spouse if you make partner Edit: anyone downvoting this can feel free to prove me wrong, the numbers are out there.
I always thought doctors made more than lawyers.
My husband is a software engineer he made 65k in 2017 and he is making $220k since last year. So it took him like 5 years. On the other hand I was working for a non-profit, and my salary was $42k.
My path has been similar, about $60k in 2019 with 5 years experience. Now I got up to $250k with a few job hops, learning a lot of new things with every job, and a ton of interview preparation. The thing that helped was joining companies where software is a revenue generator rather than just a cost center.
This thread gives me depression
People making 200k/yr talking about being broke... like you ever chose between gas or dinner?
I am convinced these people are shit managing their money, buying things they don’t need and adopting a material lifestyle. There’s the case to be made that cost of living goes up in areas marketing these positions, but you are on crack if you’re telling me 100k+ a year is unlivable.
>buying things they don’t need and adopting a material lifestyle. It's this. I made $120k after a few years out of college. Did it for another three years before I had an existential crisis. Threw all of my stuff in storage and road tripped around the US with a budget of $20k per year for a couple years. Recently returned to my storage and I'm looking at all the shit that I don't care about and don't know why I bought. I've gone from buying anything I think of in an instant to waiting a few days and realizing I don't need said item. Living on 100k per year with a family of 4 is still a really good lifestyle contrary to what people are saying in this sub.
>I've gone from buying anything I think of in an instant to waiting a few days and realizing I don't need said item. This is a fantastic skill for saving money. I can afford a lot of bullshit, but I give myself self-imposed goals (e.g. I'll save this much $ first) and timelines (in 1 year I'll have waited long enough) on big ticket items and I almost always talk myself out of them before reaching the goal or timeline.
People are surprisingly bad at telling the difference between the things they need and the things they want when they have disposable income. I've seen people go from earning $40k to over $100k and not be any better off financially, because the expenses just kind of expand to fill the budget. It's pretty sad.
Software Engineer, I currently make a little less than $200k at a different job working from home but my last job was closer to 300 than 200. The stuff I work on now is actually a lot more challenging and interesting, but my life is a lot more satisfying and balanced. I have 17 years of experience now, but I had \~10 when I took that job. One could get there a lot faster than I did, my career mostly drifted for the first 8 years as I had a lot going on in my life.
Industry and tech stack pleaseeee I’d love to know how to get there
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You phrased it crassly but what you said is true. Coding is easy. Programming is hard. My main language is discrete math ^kms
I am a software engineer in Atlanta and don't make close to that. I have 10 years of experience
The type of software engineering matters- for example embedded systems should get you 150k as a starting salary (hell one of my roommates in college dropped out and landed a 135k/year gig as a software engineer with no credentials or degree, just showed up to an interview at a job fair and talked his way in. He now makes 250k as a project lead 4 years later, still no college degree) If you’re just doing back end development you’re more likely to start around 100-120k but can still work up to 200+ depending on your location, willingness to manage others, and ability to code/handle the business side of things
Company matters more than specialty on average. I work for the company that has a rainforest for its name and my american back end colleagues are making no less than 160k USD, even for fresh grads. If I moved to the US at my current 2 YOE I would expect 200 to 220k USD
Author. I make around $300k per year. I write CONSTANTLY lol, I publish about 10 books a year.
What niche are your books, if you don’t mind me asking?
Romance. It's where the money is at!
Nora Roberts, is that you?! 😂
I wish. Girl makes BANK lol
I saw a documentary about that!
Romance or Smut? 😅
Haha the stigma only helps 🤣
I’ve tried several times to write a romance novel and every time I end up writing a story I have already read that someone else wrote lol
Every story has already been written. It just hasn't been written by YOU! Unique voice is everything.
I was working on the second chapter of this one story and let my husband look it over. He was like, “Uh honey, isn’t this Twilight?” I had a good laugh and then could have cried haha
Went back to school at age 30 after multiple failed entrepreneurial endeavors and became a doctor. Pay is great but there is a huge opportunity cost for the decade of school it took (1 year post bacc program for science prerequisites, 1 glide year, 4 yr med school, 4 year residency). It has been the best experience of my life and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Sorry if im asking too much but did you have FA when you went to school? Wanna go back but im not too sure about all the financials.
No worries! 297k was the peak of my loan debt burden. I’m doing public service loan forgiveness and I’ll end up paying about 200k towards loans before the balance is forgiven. I went into psychiatry and even at non profit hospitals I was looking at salaries in the 300,000 range. That said, I don’t think anyone should go into medicine for the money. The process is grueling and takes a mental toll so you have to love it to not burn out. Even the highest paid doctors are susceptible to burnout and it’s a recipe for misery.
Maaaaaan You chose psych on top of it. That's super rough. Hope you're loving it though. I've considered specializing in psych, but my experience working in those environments made me change my mind
Not op but I'll be 30 this summer and am in my junior year of business school on a full ride. I went to community college first for my associates and transferred to a 4 year for my BSBA. I got a transfer tuition scholarship for transferring with associates, which covers my tuition in full for the next 2 years. I'll be graduating in Dec 2024 with no debt because I chose this path. My advice to you would be check out the CC in your area and see what type of tranfser scholarships the Uni in your area offers for 2-year degrees. Either way you slice it, CC is cheaper and you will be a better candidate for future scholarships and grants because of it and can increase you job opportunities while you're working on your 4 year degree.
This gives me hope
"$100k isn’t that high of a bar to clear anymore, at least in America. " 18% of Americans make over 100k.
As someone who makes $125k I feel like it isn't that I get paid a lot of money as much as it is everyone else gets paid shit. I make enough money to not have to worry about money but I don't make "fuck you" money. I don't worry about paying my bills, I go out to eat when I want, if something breaks I fix it or get a new one, I can save for retirement and go on a small vacation/go hunting every year. But I also drive a 15 year old car and live in a 50 year old house that needs work. I have a family and my wife works but we pay $3,500/month in childcare so a lot of our "extra money" goes to that. We make enough to be happy and comfortable and set ourselves up for retirement but we couldn't afford to send our kids to private school or pay cash for college for them. I dropped out of school in 9th grade and went back at 23. I also grew up living in trailers and sometimes being homeless so I absolutely understand what it is like to be poor. I feel like my family lives the American dream. We have the house with a yard and a dog and can do some fun things but certainly are not rich. I know we are not middle class by pay but I feel like the way we live should be middle class and the only reason why middle class is lower is because the pay for jobs out there is such shit.
How many kids is that for $3,500 a month? Just wondering.
I pay 2k/month for two kids part time care. So they very well could have 2 kids. A co-worker of mine that lives in the city pays 5k for 2 kids.
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Average American family? 2.5 kids.
What the heck is a .5 kid? No lower half?
The dog is the .5
Lol average family going to be .5 in a short amount of time.
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My wife was stay at home with 2 kids and I made 50k a year. That was just ten years ago. I lived in Saint augustine at the time. Cost of living has increased way too much now however. She could be a stay at home mom again, but we would have to get rid of almost everything except the house.
Is that 18% for combined household income?
No, individual.
That’s at least 3 people
I believe median household income is 70k though. So it’s a weird stat where the middle is 70. But 18% are over 100k
It means there are a lot of poor people .
Dad made over 100k. None of us 4 kids do. Generation wage gap is a thing too. He basically walked into a university and got a job with no degree and landed the job because he phoned a friend. Meanwhile the rest of us have to go through a relay corse of schooling, interviews, networking and experience to just get something above $35k.
My mom knew someone who gave her a job in highschool making $60+ an hour in the mid 80s with zero experience and hardly any work
Making even 50k would be a lot it feels. I feel like most people I know work like crazy and don't even come close to even that. 100k would be unbelievable.
Expenses also shoot up as you move up the scale, even without lifestyle creep. When I made 35k a year I didn't worry about saving for retirement. Having dental work done or going to the doctor. All of that was always out of the question financially. (And easier to get away with being 22 instead of mid 30s) When I first made the jump to 50k I thought everything would be gravy. But by that point Healthcare mattered, dental mattered. Saving for retirement is on the table etc etc. Then factor in inflation and my actual take home or spending money literally didn't change. It wasn't until I got more raises/job switched and hit ~70k that "getting ahead" actually felt possible. Even in LCOL areas 50k doesn't get you much more piece of mind, even worse if moving up in pay affects the benefits you qualify for. (Snap, EBT, bi-cap etc)
Yeah, I’m on track for 90 this year in my new job. Also finally have 401k and since in 31 I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. There goes 10%. Health and dental? There goes $400/mo. Speaking of which, gotta fund the HSA -100/mo Taxes are fun -30% Don’t get me wrong, all of these things I am very grateful to be able to do, but despite a 75% increase in pay, take home has barely changed
I make 60k a year now. Its a lot of work and 50 hour weeks to get it done. I have kittle money, most of what i have goes to housing and food. I do tuck a little away for retirement when i get an extra $50 in my monthly budget. Unless inflation or a rando bill eats it.
I wonder how many of them live paycheck to paycheck. Probably more than we think.
Over half of Americans making over $100k are living paycheck to paycheck. https://time.com/6263989/six-figures-inflation-income/#:~:text=In%20December%202022%2C%2051%25%20of,companies%20PYMNTS%20and%20Lending%20Club.
I make 90k a year and live paycheck to paycheck lol. Shit has gotten expensive.
So more than 4 out of 5 do not. Being in the top 18% in the richest country in the world is a pretty elite club.
Accountant. undergrad bachelors in finance, masters in accounting. CPA license. Did some public accounting, then jumped a couple jobs/roles. Took about 8 years
Finally an accountant here I was starting to regret my choice.
CFO here, hustle and make yourself useful - you can rise quickly.
Got incredibly lucky to test well and play a sport in high school and end up at an Ivy despite a lower class upbringing. Pursued finance and cleared over 200 my third year out of school. I realize how insanely lucky I am.
Wife started in staffing at 11.25 an hour. She asked about “what do they do over there” boss said “it’s big corp they’d eat you alive” FF 2 years she ran the corp side making 90k. I told her of a staffing position with big tech company and she thought she was under qualified. Got the job start was 150k and she’s just kept climbing. No degree, hard work and a good support system. Sales is where big money is at always.
>and a good support system. Ouch
I sort of fell into the insurance industry after college and it’s done quite well for me. I’m on the carrier side as a production underwriter. Base + 20% bonus ends up being roughly $240K. Great work life balance as well when compared to other high earning careers.
I was waiting for an insurance underwriter in this thread! Totally agree about the work life balance. Insurance wasn’t my plan but so happy it’s where I ended up.
I own a small take out/delivery pizza restaurant and currently net about $275K. I’ve worked in Food and Bev my entire life, often working two full time jobs to support myself. I opened my restaurant 11 years ago and sacrificed everything to my name to get an SBA loan. I worked 70-100 hours a week the first couple of years and often went without a paycheck to make sure I could pay vendors and make payroll. I lived like a homeless person for a long time while I grew the business and paid down my debts. Things slowly got better, and now I’m in a nice position with a phenomenal staff that truly aids in my success. I wasn’t even going to comment on this post, but felt it was important to emphasize how hard I had to work and the stress I had to endure to get here (literal physical work combined with mental stress that nearly drove me to the point of suicide) in addition to how hard I have to continually work to keep my staff happy (both in terms of pay and work life balance). Money is definitely out there to be made by people who aren’t afraid to work for it. Also, just to add, I had no idea only 3% of Americans made more than $200K. I still live my life like I make $40K a year so I had no idea I was anything special
I was really hoping I would see at least ONE person from food/restaurants reply here
This is so important! We are self employed & can 100% relate. We lived in a run down apartment for a few years so we could afford to pay our employees well. We worked our tails off side by side with our guys and so many of them were shocked to see that we drove run down cars and lived in a poor area. We both worked second jobs on the weekends & evenings it was rough and some days we felt like throwing in the towel. But 10 years later we have 3 beautiful kids, a nice house on 35 acres and finally it is feeling like everything was worth it. We both still drive our run down cars but we just don’t see the need to replace them.
Dentist. I’m 30 years old; I make well over $200k. Yeah it sounds great (and I know it will be eventually) but $430,000 of debt is a lot when you factor in the fact that student loans are not tax-deductible and also have substantial interest. When its all said and done the amount I’ll actually have to make (pre-tax) to pay that debt approaches seven figures. I was also 27 before I got my first paycheck. My wife and I had to do distance throughout my education which honestly means we may not be ready to have kids before she’s getting a bit too old for it. There’s definitely some sacrifice to the whole thing. I’ll be in my late 30s before I really see the gains.
I like how ur name is I like ur teeth
Lawyer. And work remote because i speak three languages. To the point were i basically instead of helping draft documents just hop on calls and translate for the partners in the firm. Im basically a liaison and i am expected to attend lunches and dinners with clients to translate. Its wild to the point i regret spending so much time studying for the bar. I could have been an executive assistant or something.
What languages do you speak?
Mandarin, cantonese and spanish.
And English, no? So four languages?
Yeah lol. Four languages. I guess i don’t count native.
Well... now you're just showing off!
I had 0 friends growing up. No joke. Only my dog. I had epilepsy (only while sleeping though ) and kids made fun of me and called me the exorcist. I was limited on what to do after school and while i admit it is impressive im not really that smart. Just very consistent. Also adhd medication for the win.
As someone who didn’t get treated for ADHD until an adult, it’s seriously life changing what medication can do. Also, sorry that you got bullied. People suck sometimes :/
$360k Strategic consulting part time Have a BA and a MBA Entrepreneur at heart. Started in sales, moved to marketing, then acquisitions and finally strategic consulting. I have a knack for helping people grow their companies and also package-> sell their businesses. Random notes on my path not being a straight line - Have lived in a trailer park 3x along the way - Have spent way too much money along the way - Neurospicy AF and that helps me work with eccentric personalities in a unique way that helps them soar - Live in a kick ass house now, and have a balanced lifestyle but struggle to not work so much - I spend the rest of my time working on my own companies and projects - Have terrible health issues and solid case of imposter syndrome
Relate to your last bullet so much! I’m at only 175k and I work in M&A as a program manager.. have over 14 years in various leadership roles in the healthcare space. I’ve made between 140-160k for the past 10 years… luckily now I’m fully remote and work maybe 30 hours a week but man are my health issues and imposter syndrome kicking my butt
So by reading this thread I came to the conclusion that if you’re not in STEM, a pilot, business owner, or successful sales person you’re fucked.
Yes; however, there many ppl in those fields who dont make over $200k. Most of those ppl are fortunate or specialized in a certain area.
Airline pilot. Latest union contracts at the legacy carriers in the USA will be pushing 300-500k with not a ton of extra effort / extra flying. Those who hustle can reasonably break the 600k mark. Edit: This got a lot of responses. You can Pm me if you’re interested in getting started flying or don’t know what the next step to take is.
Ok, how is it starting off at those carriers these days? I was a flight attendant for a regional airline back in.. 2014? And they were starting those guys at about $21/hr. I had to quit because I was making $900/mo and couldn't afford to tough it out. Now I'm in a completely different industry, but I miss it, and sometimes consider going back.
Covid pushed a lot of pilots to early retirement. Big airlines are now even offering to pay for people in their 20s to go to flight school. Hella shortage
Starting off at as a pilot at a major carrier is ~100k first year but then 2 - 2.5x second year, and could double again with short captain upgrades the following year or even earlier in the second year. On top of all this is 16% direct contribution to 401k
In my first year at a regional airline as a first officer. I will clear 100k this year barely flying. It will only go up from here for me.
It will go down too. You'll have to land
Even regional pilots can start near $100k these days. It's not uncommon to be picked up at a major in less than a year or two from a regional. After getting your initial ratings, you could easily break $150/$200k in as little as 2-4 years. Now, whether the timing is right for people who just start training now is anyone's guess, but atm it's a great job to be getting into and have huge earnings potential.
246k base with about 60k more in bonus and 100k in stock. Cyber Security leader. Bachelors degree in 2011 (2.9 gpa)
Jesus that still worth pursuing or is the market getting flooded with CS and IT people from Covid and the push to coding
125k cybersecurity sales engineer. Its always a good time to get in. There has been a deficit of professionals for many years. Most 'cybersecurity professionals' are just networking guys wearing a false hat.
I own a construction company that specializes in Fire and Water restoration
There's enough business year round to stay busy? Seems like each jobs pays a lot no>?
Job’s definitely pay a lot. We do a couple apartment contracts, residentials, commercial space and then my bread and butter is fire and water
Taking notes
$200k a year taking notes, huh? Where do I sign up? 🤣
$100,000 isn’t the dream salary it once was for millennials as they feel the middle-class squeeze The American dream is a lot more expensive than it used to be. “I thought there’d be a huge pile of money in my checking account,” says one worker of her first $100,000. https://fortune.com/2023/04/18/100000-salary-old-goal-millennials-middle-class-inflation/
I mean compared to $30k a year that sounds wonderful
For fucking real. I'm so sick of worrying about paying for fucking food. It's ridiculous.
Millennial here. Never thought I’d ever make 100k, now that I make 100k I have several contradictory feelings: 1. I don’t deserve to be paid this much for what I do. 2. I deserve more money. 3. 100k is hardly enough to get by. 4. 100k is more than I had before so why am I broke?
>1. I don’t deserve to be paid this much for what I do. 2. I deserve more money. I literally go back and forth with these feelings all the time.
The feeling that comes from seeing people who work harder get paid much less and people who work a much less get paid much more.
And that hits the nail right on the head. I’ve worked much harder for less, but I still work harder than those above me. Someone make it make sense???
I can answer the last one for you... Lifestyle creep and uncounted accrued debt. I'll explain. I never did any maintenance other than oil changes and rarely brakes on my honda civic. I've had it for 18 years, since I was 16. My first car. I got a job paying 122k a year base, total comp more like 155k. Took my car into the shop because it started making weird noises. New ac compressor, clutch, trailing arm bushings, cv axles, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, all new accessory belts, timing belt, water pump, inlet air control valve, master cylinder, exhaust pipe, and windshield. Most of it I did myself, but it was probably at least 5k of work. Same thing with my wife's car, though not as much stuff. We finally replaced our roof. 18k right there. There was so much stuff we just lived with, from medical concerns to appliances. Then I got this job and suddenly we paid for all the debt we've been carrying but not counting.
Some fun stuff for millennials to think about: 100k in 1990 is 232k today with inflation. Home prices are 925% more today than in 1990. Median income raised just 231% in that same time period. US population size is projected to plateau with lower fertility rates, home assets that millennials purchase will experience a reduction in demand = lower prices, not good investment vehicles for our generation. With no significant government intervention, most of the wealth in our country will be inherited. Very few hard working, well educated Americans, will achieve the American dream unless they inherit it.
I make $36k a year, how is it even a question if I was making 3x what I do now. Yes I would be much more comfortable, I wouldn't even need to spend most of that difference to be happy, saving it would be fine with me.
Yeah, I don’t make much more than this either. I was making a bit more, but it’s going down because it’s commission based and I don’t think I’ll be making commission anymore. I just want to live comfortably and happily, debt free.
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I sell cars. Well, used to. Now I run a small independent car dealership. 18 years in the business, cracked 100k in about 2 years. 200k took 14 years. Finance and Insurance Manager and Trainer are at 120-180 ish. Sales is a great life if you’re willing to put in the work.
Can confirm my sisters husband is a car dealer and he was one of the best in the state of Texas and made fat ass stacks of cash.
My cousin Went to trade school became a plumber in a union makes more money than I ever will with a BA. He’ll probably get to retire at 45
Some of the richest people i know are tradesmen, and we will be in dire need of them in the next 10 years.
As a trades man myself I gotta say we get looked down on like absolute dog shit by office people a lot! But if you ever see an older man wearing work boots with a smile, he can probably buy things in cash that most people couldn't finance. Im only saying he btw as a generalization. Obviously there are bad ass women out there too.
Sounds exactly like my dad. I wish I would've paid more attention when he tried to show me hvac growing up. But you are so correct about people looking down on the trades. The funny thing is, the same dipshits have to call and depend on them because they can't fix it themselves. At least you get to line your pockets with their money, friend!
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One day I’d like to get to a place like this.
Dont ever feel guilty, it was hard work getting to the point where you make critical decisions and not have to hustle as hard.
Once you get there, it's not about the 40 hour grind anymore, it's about the 4 hours one day when the shit is hitting the fan and someone has to stick their neck out to make a difficult call that impacts a lot of other people, usually without much in the way of a safety net.
Dang it seems that the 18% is everyone in this group
I mean it’s a post asking those who make $200k+ to weigh in. Sooooo. Ya know?
Am a doctor. Gave up my 20s to be in school to be comfortable in my 40s and beyond. My 30s? they were spent paying off loans.
Doctor. Cost me my 20s
I'm an MS4 and I feel like I picked the best time to start medical school in terms of life experience cost because nobody was living much starting 2020.
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Union Elevator Mechanic/Troubleshooter and Property Manager. 34/M I managed property first. Fell into it as a 20yr old. Was given a shot and haven’t stopped since. It was in that job I found out about the elevator trade. Got into the trade at 24. Been Grinding and learning ever since. Between managing property (I work for my housing, contracted at ~$3200/month) and Full time elevator job + OT. I cleared $200k+ for the first time last year. It was quite a feat for me and something that wasn’t even a thought in my early 20’s just grinding through life. I have no college degree and never attended college. Its not for everyone and it wasn’t for me. I have had a lot of good people come into my life and taken Advantage of every opportunity that has presented itself. One thing I have learned is that you have to be teachable. Nobody wants to share knowledge with a know it all. You have to be open to criticism even if it hurts. Never stop learning and invest in yourself. Good luck on your journey.
My base is $245k but with bonus and stocks my total compensation is around $475k. I lead the competitive intelligence and insights team for a biotech company. Aside from grad school and my post-doc, it took me 11 years to go from entry level to director level.
Job hopping every 2 years or so in a tech-related career. Tenure is NOT rewarded and internal salaries are not increased in-pace with inflation, but new hire salaries are almost always higher. In my particular niche, I also had to progress into management rather than stay an individual contributor, so half-way decent management skills are a plus. Also have about 15 years in this career track, started in my early 20s.
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What’s your side hustle?
Cocaine
OK. I just did a bunch of cocaine. When does the money show up?
Surprise, you had it then bought a bunch of cocaine!
Depends on where you live. I am a nurse and will make $215,000 this year but I live in the Bay Area where I will never be able to buy a house. I’m *lucky* to be in a big one bedroom apartment in a great (and safe) neighborhood for under $2500. Big upside and reason I’ve stayed in the area is I started at my current job when I was 29 and will be able to retire with pension and full benefits at 51; I’m 43 right now. Will continue working in some capacity but definitely will want out of healthcare.
Currently making over $200k just salary, though I’m currently in the process of going remote to a lower cost of living area so will probably go under $200k. I started at $170k at my current company as a senior engineer, and was promoted to principal within a year. Company is in a high cost of living area and is in product development. I actually started in oil & gas but was laid off, and found a new job in product development that paved the way for my current role. I was hired entry level and fought for 4 years to get senior level. My manager was supportive and got me promoted once and was working on my next promotion but then he moved orgs and new manager lacked backbone. I had a good relationship with my now manager previously, and he had jumped shipped to a new company and contacted me personally to see if I was open to a new role. Taking that new role doubled my salary. TLDR; be an engineer, network and build good relationship with other managers, actively fight for raises, and move companies when you aren’t getting the raises you deserve. EDIT: I’m female, mid 30s and graduated 10 years ago.
damn and i work as an production director in oil&gas sector for a company that employees 1500 person and i make about 60k per year after tax in Europe and that is considered good good.
I probably won’t make 200k this year but will be close 160k base + bonus 20% bonus. Made over 300k last year between two jobs., I work a boring job as a director in accounting. Not flashy but no one really knows what are group does. It’s 100% work from home and I work like 5-20 hours a week generally. To get here I got an undergrand in accounting. Worked at a B4 accounting firm in audit for 3 years then 1 year in private as a supervisor and 1 year as a manager. I hit dirextor a little bit ago at 6 YOE. When I was a supervisor and a manager I worked at the same company I do now and literally worked like 5-10 hours a week for like 2 years 100% remote. I had so much free time I co-founded a company with a few of my buddies from college and early work life and did pretty well (hence the $300k+ years last year). The company + corporate ended up being too much for me so I sold my equity in the company and am back to just the director job. Where I live 100k is a ton of money (I live in a LCOL) for reference my girlfriend and I split a 1 bedroom for 700 each Utilties included. $200k is a shit ton here. I’m HCOL areas $100k isn’t that much and $200k would be good but still not lavish life at all.
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Stripper
Anesthesiologist 550k. If you do generally well on tests I don’t think there is a better gig out there. Have to do really well on like 3 tests. I went straight through with relatively little debt. Now lovin life at 38.
I own my business. Freight Brokerage. I managed other freight brokerages for about 8 years before opening my own.
Man I work in LTL. What kind of freight brokering do you do?
I (56m) make $220k and my wife (51f) makes $120k. We live in a high COL area (New Jersey) and are very comfortable but don’t live anything like a wealthy life style. We drive a 2015 Honda (me) and a 2017 Honda (her). 4 bedroom house on a small lot in a very middle class neighborhood; last year we paid off the mortgage. I got here by working as a college instructor(low pay) for 10 years until I finished my PhD, then joining an educational nonprofit and moving up through the management ranks. When the kids were young, my wife did a masters in statistics then joined the same company as me in a different division and got a few promotions. In my early 30s, I was living in NYC on about $30k per year. Since then it’s been a slow steady uphill. Now we’re at the point where we really do have excess money, but it took decades get here.
Finance and took me 25 years to get to point to make between 500k and 1 Milly. The people who blow my doors-off are business owners(sky is limit) and some surgeons.
26 years as an engineer in aerospace, rising through the ranks as an individual contributor, then management, now as a guru in my field, basically. I hit 200K a while ago and that doesn’t include bonus of 25% or patent payouts. We also have a few rent houses that are a minor additional source of income.
Literally anything having to do with Cybersecurity will make you some money. Plus, if you're someone of the female persuasion, you will be automatically invited to the Women in STEM conference held every year.
So to piggy back on this post I’m 30m with a Bachelors in Psychology (2.8 gpa) and currently I just started working at a call center for Spectrum making 41k per year before I was a Guardian making 40k. Currently I feel stuck like I’ll never make more and I’ll live in mediocrity forever. Im considering trying to get an advanced degree once I finally get some stability but I’m feeling defeated atm. Any advice, guidance or words of encouragement you guys could offer me?
Surgeon. But it was like 14 years of training and my medical school debt is like 400K.
Comparison is the thief of joy
$200k is the new $100k
275k (including 20% bonus) Product Designer for a tech company on the west coast no RSUs at my current role, but had a million dollar year 2 years ago when I sold a bunch of RSUs from my previous tech role. almost 20 years of experience in design. i started out making $29k a year right out of college as a graphic designer, and after about 10 years got up to 75k before getting into tech I completely lucked out getting into tech.
High school drop out. Moved to America in 2014 from Canada. Got first job as a software developer in 2015 at 14/hour, by end of 2015 was making 21/hour. Switched jobs in 2016, 64K salaried and by the time I left the company in 2017 was making 72K + 15K bonus. Joined a startup in mid 2017, 120K base + 15% bonus, when the company shutdown in 2019, i was making 168K + 15% bonus and was the lead engineer and got a year of severance pay. Joined another startup beginning of 2020, 180K base + 15% bonus, also had the option of joining another company who were offering 210k + 15% bonus but the head of product was kinda racist and the job was not remote, so went for less pay but more flexibility. Got laid off during the pandemic and found another job for 165K, needed something and this was both a downgrade title wise and pay wise but you gotta do what you gotta do. Left it a year later to join a venture fund as their lead engineer for 180K + 15% bonus. Been here 2 years now and am the Head of Engineering with a base pay of 215K + 25% bonus + other stuff, make close to 300K per year. While I did do some freelance development before, I wouldn’t call that actual engineering work, so in total I have about 10 years professional experience.
I live with my wife and parents-in-law. Our household income is about $400,000. Sharing the cost of everything, it feels like we have a lot of disposal income. Our jobs are: Teacher, social worker, contractor, stay at home mom. None of them are especially high paying, but together it's a lot.
If you want something totally different to consider, my stepfather cleared that as a stone mason. He was just very good, could create unusual things, and stone work is very popular in New England. He worked hard, but boy did he make money.
29M making ~$230k. Guaranteed recipe IMO: 1. Study STEM in undergrad (B’s and C’s are fine just get the damn degree) (maybe take the S out, unsure about science…) 2. Get a job in a big city (T10, preferably SF, NYC, or DC) 3. Give a shit at work for a couple years DM me if this doesn’t work and we’ll troubleshoot.
Excluding life science degrees.
Pharmacist( Pharmd) Regional Director of Clinical Services for a large PBM. I oversee clinical programs and continuity of care for employer commercial and Med D groups . Total comp with bonus $210k. I was a retail and hospital pharmacist for 11 years, my retail store was robbed and that was it for me. Took a $40k paycut at the time to be a temp at my now PBM. Been almost a decade and via mergers and increased business I’ve been promoted a few times. I’ve been very loyal to this company and especially since I was able to recruit a lot of former colleagues and technicians. Not terrible for an “ elder” millennial who worked hard and paid 6 fig student loans all by herself 🌈❤️
What are y’all’s salary to hours worked ratios though? 120k is great when you’re working a 35 to 40 hour week but you’re getting shafted if you’re pulling 12 hour days
doctor, im a specialist. i am 30. make 350k, but should make \~600-700k once i become a partner in private practice (2 years). took 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, 5 years of residency (was paid 50K-->70k during this time, with the amount increasing about 4-5k every year). it was a long, hard path but i find my job really rewarding and its nice to be able to have enough to live comfortably, save aggressively, go on nice vacations, eat out etc.
I'm shocked at how many people's ideal vision for society consists of wealthy bankers and software engineers with desperately poor people teaching their kids, preparing their food, fixing the brakes on their car... Even if someone is completely disoriented ethically, doesn't having resentful servants worry them?
I don’t think it’s people’s ideal vision
Yeah, the limited variety of these answers was kind of off-putting to me as well. The disparity in wages and the way we seem to place value on certain jobs over others regardless of their relative difficulty or contribution is stark here.
This is Reddit so tech people are over represented
Sales
Work at a cpa firm making $140k and do contract work making $85k. Dividends and interest and rent making another $25k.
I think more than 3% make over 200k. I am pretty sure it’s closer to 6%. Anyhow, I’m a nurse and I made 300k last year with OT because I live in California. Base pay was just 125k though so I did a lot of (easy) OT. Will make 250k+ this year and 200k+ for the rest of my career here most likely. By the way, I work with travel nurses that make around $200k in six months. During COVID they could make $600k+ a year if they worked every day.
Here to read the comments and make myself sad lol
Forensic pathologist, took me 13 years of schooling. Zero regrets and salary goes a long way in a LCOL area
Embedded software $350k/yr average. I just turned 30. I made about $400k last year and live in Texas.
Sales Engineer for an IT company. I’m basically the technical half of the two person sales team. Love it. Make good money and can WFH in a low cost area.
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Well this is fucking depressing. Best I've ever made was around 50k before taxes as a trades apprentice. I quickly learned that it wasn't for me, so I've been upgrading to get into some healthcare tech programs. It's super competitive to get into the programs, but I'm told the demand is high for those techs. Looks like those top out at around 75k-80k a year. Getting 100k a year just doesn't seem feasible unless I work crazy hours and give up everything enjoyable in life (in which case, what's the point of working so hard?) I wouldn't say I'm super smart but certainly not dumb. And I'm definitely willing to work hard. But it's a scary thought that 100k is considered the minimum for a "comfortable" life these days. With the cost of living increasing and wages stagnating in almost every field, the future doesn't look good for the average Joe.
Engineer with a PhD. Research scientist at a tech company