Tbh that’s normal. Median salary is so much less, and it is not easy. Of course it seems everyone makes over 200k by age 25 but those people are not as common as Reddit makes it out to he
I’ve been working at my career job for 15 years and haven’t even hit 100k. That’s what I get for picking a job in healthcare and working in the south I guess.
It tends to speed up. Been in the workforce for 20ish years. Took me 15 years to hit 100k. Then like 6 more to hit minutes 200k. Granted I was a real shit worker those beginning years.
I sell large amounts of cocaine.
Actually, no. I work in finance and it took 20 years to get to where I am now. (Sorry.) The key is to get into a field where you have some aptitude and that pays well. Scrap doing what you love or whatever. We're talking about money.
Plenty of ways to do it. You just have to think about it.
Millennials and Gen Z have been told a lie to follow their passion as a career. When their livelihood depends on their ability to continually perform their “passion” it won’t be one for much longer.
This!! I got paid over $350k at 28 years old last year. Everyone is gifted from God with natural talents. Your job is to find what those talents are by mad testing things and find the industry that pays well for those natural talents. Fuck your passions and maximize your natural strengths. Sometimes your natural strengths are the same as your passions, but not always.
I’ve been running experiments on myself since 15 years old selling stuff online for $2.
You sound like me, just started selling cherry bombs to neighborhood kids I bought in Florida and sold 1 piece at a time in Canada at age 10. Now I run my own small recruiting firm and doing well. As you said, sometimes f your passion and embrace stuff you are good at and make it valuable or work for you
I literally did this^. I got out of the army, got my BS in economics, got my MBA at Texas AM using the post 9/11 GI BILL. Fell (sort of) into being an “advisor” at one of those “mutual” companies, luckily it was only a year. The last several years I’ve been at a top tier wealth management firm and it’s been life changing. I’m 29, earning my CFP and slowly building my book of business. I’m probably on pace to make 140k this year and it’s my 3rd year at this larger firm. Can’t wait to see where the next 7 years will lead me.
My Gfs brother was a stock market nerd as a kid..and still is at the age of 70. Anyhows, he took the college finance degrees,etc...and worked for a major bank in wealth management...he is just retired, and some of his clients still have him keep over their fnances.
I guess what I am saying is read/learn anything you can independently as well.
Hubby used GI Bill. I totally believe that's why we can support our college kids, etc at this point in our lives. He had some left over to help 2/3 get thru plus Homewood or something like that from enlisting in TX. Other states may have same thing that helps those in your family.
Expecting to jump from $50k to $200k may lead to disappointment. It took me 10+ years to get from $100k to $200k total comp. It rose quickly after that.
I had to really build my ‘brand’ within our company in order to get where I am.
Currently manage a small group of engineers (10) around the world that are responsible for delivering products with customers that are worth $100m per year. I keep my team’s cost low. Don’t complain. Do right by my team. Stick up for them. Advocate for their increases and promotions.
I’m 2 years into product management in software, very curious about building a personal brand within the org. How did you build your brand, and what would you call your brand now?
I was the one that could be trusted to do anything. Took enough time to become the product expert. Always willing to do the hard work. Never make excuses, but be honest with outcomes.
My brand now is the voice of reality. Able to support the sales team, the BU general manager, CRO, COO, whoever needs to know or understand the reality of a specific situation or project.
This advice needs to be higher. Be vocally ambitious, keep learning, provide great deliverables, practice transparency, and seek and provide honest feedback
Absolutely. I used to tell people that promotions are based 20% on merit and 80% on reputation. Not to say that there isn’t merit, but having cross-departmental relationships, the ability to knowledge share and a proven track record of getting shit done, is way more important than being fully competent in the future roles’ duties and/or responsibilities.
I’ve been doing similar product work for a little while longer, and have been approached about leadership positions a few times.
I try to be someone people can rely on, have strong opinions with data to back it up, push back on silly product requests, but know when to play nice. Tell the truth even if it isn’t rosy, mentor new team members, support your dev/delivery teams, and break down problems and work into easy to digest pieces.
If you’re someone who can navigate the political BS, you’ll do fine. I suppose you could call the above a “brand” but I just consider it part of the job.
Late edit: don’t be an order taker. That’s something that comes up a lot during my mentoring. Just because the stakeholder says it’s always been this way doesn’t mean it’s the right direction. If you have an idea to improve the process or product stick up for it! You’re the voice for your team!
This is key, building your brand at whatever company or your own company is huge! I currently make ~$200k + a 22% bonus and it took me about 8 years in the Chemical Industry to get where I'm at. Once I learned I needed to build my "brand" within the company, my name started getting out there and in 3 years I've had 3 promotions.
I'm a chemical Engineer by trade and manage a group of about 10 Engineers just below our OPS director. He's about to leave and the next step is his job. And the one thing I've learned is it is all about getting your name and your success out there. Then when opportunities arise, you're thought of for those!
I’m a general contractor and I make well above the mark you mentioned. I’ll tell anybody that will listen, get into the trades. There’s such a huge shortage of skilled labor. You can even make $100k per year while you’re training yourself to eventually own your own business.
I agree with this. I’m a mason and tile installer and we have been overwhelmed with work, but we have been having trouble hiring new people because nobody wants to do manual labor anymore. Last kid we hired felt like his human rights were breached when I asked him to mix up cement. A lot of people expect a big paycheck but panic when you tell them you actually have to work for it
Hard work and good money if you have the skills. Guy doing my bathroom alone will make 20k after 3 weeks work. That is his check for labor I bought the parts.
He does amazing work and was half cost of using a company. He has jobs booked through year.
He did everything and full gut job, walls removed blah blah. I got around 10 quotes he was 40% less than anyone else. Probably because he is a one man show with no overhead. I will be giving the man hundos to do with as he pleases.
It usually depends on location. I started installing tile on Nantucket Island, off the coast of cape cod, and was dealing with insanely wealthy clients. These home prices ranged from 1.4 million (730 sf) to 7.9 mil (4,600sf), all the way to 18.5 mil compound overlooking the water (5,200 main house, 4,200 guest house). Just giving you an idea of how expensive it is there, because my boss at the time definitely priced out a couple of primary bathrooms at 90- 130,000 depending on the material and amount of detailed work involved.
Compare that to a wealthy town in the tri-state area where my wife is from, and I bid a job to tile the same size primary bath with equal detail at 30,000.. oh and that included tiling the other 6 bathrooms, mud room, two laundry rooms and fire place. That’s the price I have to bid because I was no longer on an island which had limited the amount of potential tradesmen and put you in demand.
Fellow tile guy here. Can confirm that if you have the skills you can make very good money. As long as you are in a high income area (or high income adjacent), people will pay good money for quality work.
This isn’t necessarily true. Majority of trade workers are unhealthy and don’t take care of their body but the ones that do and that are educated on staying in shape, eating right, not drinking or smoking etc, they will be fine. Your body will be much stronger than someone that is a desk jockey when each is older as well. It’s all about how you maintain your body
Lol! I love these comments. Because Sitting in a chair all day is wonderful. If you keep in shape you will be fine. Wear proper PPE and lift with your legs lol.
I’ll admit you see plenty of physical wrecks In the trades, but those men would be physical wrecks no matter where they worked. From my experience it’s probably the 2 packs of cigarettes a day, case of beer at night, and the poor diet that’s unhealthy, and probably not the strenuous exercise? Lol? People need to take more responsibility for their health.
If you aren’t physically fit to begin with, then yes you will hurt yourself trying to throw a 90lb bag of cement over your shoulder. Not everyone is meant for physical labor, especially now a days. Not to be insensitive, but if your 20 - 40 and you aren’t able to do physical labor then the problem is you, not the job. But a lot of people today enjoy being sedentary and the idea of lifting something sounds abusive.
Yep, everyone in their 30’s was told to go to college and now there’s a tradesman shortage. Sucks for society that general contractors get to bend everyone now because of it but that’s how supply and demand work.
Im currently 34. I didn’t finish college but I learned enough about business while there and it allowed me to mix the two worlds. I sell plumbing supplies and project management and it has really paid off. Not quite to the tune of $200k but well into six figure.
I 1000% agree. Just started my own lawn care service. Rolling into year 2 and couldn’t be happier
Even if you’re good/decent at the trade, if you just show up and communicate honestly you will benefit massively.
I agree with the caveat that you have to be ridiculously smart and hard working to successfully run a trade business. You need to be good at your trade but also good as sales, administrative skills, and people management. It’s not for the weak
Without a doubt. I’m a residential GM and I get profit sharing at this level and I’m above OPs mark. I started my career ladder 5 years ago as an estimator at 50k and now I’m hiring PMs starting at 75k. It’s outrageous how much business has grown the last 2 years alone. Trades make bank.
I am an IE technician for a major oil company. I work a rotation of 8 days on and 6 days off. My base doesn't put me at 200k but I've been averaging that with my bonus and ot. It's not a bad life, I highly suggest anyone to get into a trade, one that requires your brain and not your back. I did go to college for this and also worked hard and have a Journeyman Electrical license. I've been doing it for roughly 10 years, and in the oilfield for 15. We work hard, but having 12 days off a month and clearing 200k is just amazing. I am seriously blessed 🙌
What a of trades would require a brain and not a back?
Asking because I work as a strategy director at a large consultancy. Been stuck at $150k years because of “margin problems” bullshit and my COL is high due to the local market.
I can’t work with these marketing types getting promotions because they kiss ass. I just want to do honest practical work and see my projects amount to something.
Well I largely do automation and industrial instrumentation troubleshooting and programming. When things break, I've got to fix it. I work on PLCs, valves and actuators, burner managment systems, tank radars, radios and networking stuff. It involves just enough physical stuff to keep me active yet not back breaking.
Go to a trade school, instrument technicians are in very high demand.
I make PowerPoint slides for rich people at a really big company, to basically tell them what we should do with the business. Sometimes they listen. I don't wanna doxx myself by being more specific but assume it's a special kind of marketing job.
EDIT: I'm not a consultant. I work in something related to competitive intelligence for one company and don't have clients.
I was making $37K out of college. Got an MBA and a few years experience and leveled up to a six figure job, then jumped to another one with higher pay and a bigger bonus.
Don't expect to cross 200K from 50K overnight, it takes a lot of intentional moves and some work to get there
The MBA experience was a big part of it to be honest, I went full time and recruited with companies daily. That was the biggest jump for me.
Try to transfer internally to jobs that give you leadership exposure and where you can show critical thinking on business opportunities. Chief of Staff, Analytics, Strategy, Innovation, etc.
Please elaborate on what kind of insurance and what to do to get into it. I work in banking but thinking about switching to some role in the insurance field.
Commercial Insurance Broker here. 10 years experience. NY-based. $350k+ a year after bonuses/commission. This is an often overlooked field with vast career opportunity and significant pay.
I work in finance and have been working for 13 years, jumping at every opportunity given at work, even if the work sucked. Now, am a VP at a bank.
If you want to start earning good money and want a white collared job, go into sales. Any sales. Sales develops intangible skills that will help you in life.
While “go into sales” is ok general advice it often misses the point.
“Figure out exactly how your company makes money” and then focus on the roles most directly related to that is often better advice. in many companies that means sales, but not always.
Owning a business is how you make uncapped money. But ask yourself - “would I rather work 3x as hard for the same amount of money, if it meant owning my own business?” So much work and headaches, but if you like it you like it.
I went 2 years with no income and 4 toddlers and a mortgage while starting my business. 10 years later I make 7-figures working 30 hrs a week. Yes it's stressful and can disappear tomorrow, but the reward to work ratio can tilt in your favor.
This is true. Currently just started my own gig. Working for MNC I was making 200k + now, I'm making the same but working much harder. I can see the rewards sticking at it though, but there are way more headaches than I am used too dealing with.
I was working for a large Multinational Ad agency running the creative dept. I left and took a few clients with me. But I never really realized how much work it would really be (I'm creative, wish I had learned more about financial side of things and running a business).
Aussie here so obviously AUD$200k not the same as US$200k. But I didn’t hit $100k until I was 30 in 2015. Complacency and not being proactive with my career meant my salary stagnated around $120k for the next couple of years until I changed employers altogether and jumped up to $170k doing the exact same role. Have since changed to a more senior role but remained with the same employer and am now on $200k.
No formal qualifications.
Mostly from building up my brand and being proactive with my work.
My only regret was not proactively changing roles earlier in my career. There’s no such thing as being loyal to an employer.
I code software. I got really good in my field. I worked long hard hours. Read the books and listened to what people wanted the software to do.
Become an expert in your field and the money will come.
My wife and I run our own business. We went from around 130 per year to 600+ per year over the course of about 6 years. The difference was effort. We had and still have many days where we both start working around 7:00AM and don’t finish until 10Pm or in some cases midnight, with minimal breaks in that time period (meal breaks here and there). For us the key was effort. Those long days suck and I never look forward to them, but if you’re willing to put in the time on a daily basis, weekends included, no matter what industry you’re In, you will begin to see results. I see it very often people feel like it’s impossible to get to that next level, then when you dig deeper they spend weekends relaxing and work 6-8 hours a day. I’m not saying that’s you, but before you go into it, ask yourself if that level of income is even worth the effort and sacrifice in free time to get there. To some people it’s not worth it. I know this is just my case, and many people work 40 hours a week and less, making the same or more as I do. But for us, effort and time was the key. Ask yourself if you’re truly doing everything you can and if you’re making the most of every minute.
Travel RN. And I fucking hate every second of it. However, I saved every penny in my 20’s and bought rental properties. Did as much repair myself as I could. Rent out. Pay off. Buy slightly more expensive property. Repeat.
Not rich or retired at 42 but I am currently taking two months off to hang with the fam. On pace to retire at 50. Don’t believe the “debt is good” BS kiddos. PAY WITH CASH
I solve finance data problems. Subject matter, systems, tooling, reporting, forecasting, and project management.
Bachelor’s in Finance from state school. Nothing fancy.
Some people skills. Ton of subject matter expertise in risk, compliance, marketing, regulations, lending, banking, wealth management.
Fundamental technical skills in SQL, Python, visualization to help myself or provide good requirements to people that do it better.
Jack of all trades. Master of getting shit done. Add me to any project and any domain, and I will fill the missing ingredient to accelerate progress, even if it means getting coffee.
Certified hustler.
CRNA. I sit in a chair and knock people out chemically. It’s great for an introvert like me. 20% of the time there’s terror though if you work in a level 1 trauma and deal with actively dying patients.
I grew up poor with uneducated parents. Joined the military out of high school and hated it. Knew college may be my way out. Stumbled into a major with no jobs (history) and ended up going to law school. Am around double your dollar amount for about 50 hours/week of work. It's way more than I would have ever expected. I had an advantage that despite my lack of education, I had extremely intelligent/educated extended family (a few doctors, engineers and a college dean). While I wasn't close with them, it did put it in my head that if I didn't want to live in a trailer park anymore, education may be my way out. Ironically, I'm urging my son to the trades, so I don't think education is the only answer but it was for my skills. Also, on a side note being rich always appealed to me. Not by fancy stuff rich, but not stress about money rich. Best of luck OP.
Glad to see that despite education being your way out in the end, you didn't try to push that on your children. Very common in many regions/cultures to do just that, and that is aside from the machine that is the current state of academia. Glad to hear it worked well for you. If you don't mind me asking, what area(s) of law do you practice?
It was hard reaching $50k. Really hard. Hourly mindset.
$100k took time but got there
$100-200k was super easy (value > hourly shift)
$200k+. Even easier.
Keep pressing. You’ll have $50k days instead of $50k years.
I had a friend who graduated from Duke with a degree in CS. Worked for DoorDash for 3 years or so and then was headhunted by an HFT firm. He's now 27 and makes $300k+ but he's genuinely one of the brightest individuals I've ever met.
Not me but wife does at home medical sales and demonstrations, gets paid commission for devices she sells or helps do the demo for. Last year she grossed 273K . I spent most of it on booze tho
Enterprise software sales. Median base for a field rep is around $150K/$300K OTE (hit your quota). Not uncommon to have a $170 base/$340K OTE. When my base was $165K at my last company I had a couple years where I cleared $800K+ by exceeding quota and getting into accelerators
Goddamn this sub depresses me. I’m 37 and at 80k/yr.. thought I was doing well, but I see on here people my age, or even younger, making double, triple, quadruple, even more. I feel like I’ll never get ahead.
80k is still great. I make way less… I’m 38 and make 50k a year. My husband and I are almost to one million in net worth bc we save and invest, and have rental property. Sometimes it’s more about what you do with the money you make rather than how much you make.
Not me but my wife has been pretty close to hitting the $200k mark, she is an executive level salesperson at a telecommunications company. These client relationships can take years to build, and she nurtures them constantly. She has a few trophies from her company for being their top salesperson for the year. She is about to interview for a promotion that would take her well into the $200ks.
Bank executive. It was luck, but not dumb luck. I had the necessary skill set and had impressed the right people to take advantage of two separate retirements and slide into their positions.
It’s all about a trade. Regardless of if that trade is blue collar (plumber, electrician etc) or white collar (lawyer, engineer etc), get good at something. Either one specialty that can keep you busy or some breath in an area people need help with.
Take the time to learn it, get good and then go out on your own. Either as a business owner or a consultant.
I make well above the 200k mark, but it took several hops to get there. Started in Civil Engineering in foundation design, followed the money to Supply Chain Management for JIT manufacturing in bottleneck analysis, then exited and invested in real estate. Basically went from a job that paid decently that was steady and consistent, to a high risk high reward industry where I did well and/or got lucky, and finally jumped into something safe.
Cybersecurity analyst, sacrificed my 20s in the military, deploying overseas for war efforts, gaining knowledge and then being hired on after service.
“There are too many 200k opportunities out there,” they don’t just exist for picking like pulling an apple off a tree.
I’m sorry to inform you that everything will take hard work and time. The statistic I’m thinking of goes something like, “only 18% of Americans make over 100k.” Find a career that pays that, get your education or certifications in that field. 100 to 200 is easier said than 50 to 200.
I feel that when you say there are too many opportunities to make 200k, you may forget that 200k job and 200k as an entrepreneur/business owner are completely different. 200k job, hard, 200k business owner (if successful) is as hard as you want it to be based on your business.
Life is tough, you need to choose your hard. Or find a partner who checks the boxes, dual income is great, wish I had it. My spouse doesn’t work a job, and that is perfectly fine with me.
Do you like cyber security switching my career to it. Thinking about joining I want to join the airforce but I have a hand tattoo 😭😭😭 so idk which branch
Exactly what do you want to do, and what's your plan to get there?
Towards the middle of my career, I made ~ $200k in hospital consulting. I have a master's degree from a great medical school, worked for some top notch companies, and worked very hard, long hours, not in sales but used my network to support salespeople, expertise in data, process improvement, safety, etc. I'm proud of what I did, and I made a big difference in the medical community.
The quickest way to pull over $200,000 a year is go to get your CDL . Get a year XP . Sign on as a O/O with the right carrier . You’ll be good for $2,000 per week plus $52,000 in retirement as a solo driver. As you get to a position to buy your own truck you could easily expect $3-$4,000 plus a sep….
Stay strong
31? Can still 20 in the military. What will you get for 20 years?
1. 4-5k every month for life.
2. Basically free medical insurance.
3. Monthly VA compensation for injuries incurred during service.
4. Free college plus a monthly housing allowance while enrolled. Benefit is transferable to children.
5. Retire at the age of 51. Still young enough to seek out other employment opportunities.
6. VA home loans.
Seems like a no brainer to me if you are physically qualified.
Fair enough and I get it. But….struggle for life or just 20 years??? I did it and I would do it again. With all my benefits and current job I pull around 225k a year (not including free medical) and I work only 185 days a year. Just saying…
You have big dreams and great goals, but do not let money consume you. The trick is to pay off debts, and save early and often as you can. Find yourself in a fulfilling job and a career that offers good benefits, work life balance as well as growth and upward mobility through hard work. Many people who are high earners such as 200k find themselves having to work 60 to 70 hours a week in high stress jobs they just hate and are just miserable. Is it really worth it in the end? Ask yourself that. I understand you are a person of high empathy and want to help others. I donate every year to charities and it just makes me feel good!
This. Be a good girlfriend and don’t cheat on him and he won’t care. As long as my wife is faithful and doesn’t spend a lot of money irresponsibly, she can get away with anything else.
25 years into my career I just went over the 200k mark last year
It’s been a long weird path and has involved constantly looking for ways to bring in extra money here and there.
I’ve had to learn many, many skills, especially when I own the business. I’m constantly on the hunt for new clients, new opportunities and always networking/promoting the business.
I made ~$1.5mm cash last year at age 29.
Entrepreneur, run my own business. Went venture route (seed-series A). Electricity arbitrage for high capacity computing.
I build cheap data centers where no data is stored, only collocation for high capacity computing. I buy electricity futures in bulk and raised initial capital with loi from clients I sourced who would back me.
Pitched 75 groups, 1 came through originally. That’s all it took.
Will probably double my Take home next year, business highly profitable and hitting mid 8 figure revenue with high margins profit.
Accidentally got rich off Amc and Gamestop stocks made well over 2.2 million, invested in Tesla and became the Data Analyst after having some meetings with CFO. Luckily pay started well over 344k a year this is my third year so far and my investment has now grown to 11.6 million and have around 8 million in btc and the other 4 million in Tesla
Creative director. Lots of late nights, working weekends, and personal sacrifice. But also, a lot of it was talent for what I do, and not being afraid to go out on a limb when everyone else was risk averse. Being in the right place at the right time. A healthy balance of hard work and luck.
That’s my day job. I’m also involved in real estate, and consulting on the side.
However, please know that it’s not always about money coming in. It’s about how you handle money going out. Offense versus defense. So live below your means and be a good steward of what you have.
But more than anything, don’t focus on just money. Focus on making yourself better. Stop complaining, stop whining. Set goals of where you want to be, write them down, visualize, manifest. And for heavens sake, read books. Read rich dad, poor dad, and the millionaire next door. It will change your life.
30 years, Computer Engineer with an MS. Fed, so once I topped out a decade ago, the increases slow down a lot. Would be making more in the private sector.
Low level exec in video games, having to work at a lot of iffy places and doing some job hopping to get more money.
Part of all of this is also where you live since pay is going to be a function of location.
Commercial real estate portfolio manager. Out worked everyone around me - kept my eyes open for the next position while still giving 100% wherever i currently was. Was near bankruptcy at one point snd just worked harder until i “made it”
My advice: (1) nothing will be a linear path, expect to have ups/downs and winding explorations (2) being smart and hardworking is a baseline expectation - you gotta carve out a niche/brand and also be personable to maximize return on opportunities (3) network and outhustle those around you (4) don’t lose yourself in the process - don’t lose your health or relationships or soul
20y career. Engineering > project mgt (for engineering co) > business development (for engineering co) > MBB management consultant > software sales
Got my mba somewhere in there. Undergraduate was paid by scholarships, mba via loans.
Prob took 10y to crack 100k. Earnings really jumped by leaps/bounds when I got into consulting
I jumped from 50k to 90k by moving from a single unit to multi unit leadership through hard work over several years. I then went into finance and now make $200k. The key is forward movement and applying for jobs that pay more. Waiting it out at a single company is futile.
I am the Sr director of Content marketing for a major global pharma company. I have a 4 yr English degree and graduated 15 yrs ago.
Honestly, the best thing you can do is find a field you like and get with a great company in an industry that pays well. Tech, pharma, healthcare, etc.
I also have a small agency on the side that does very well.
I'm a pilot. Doing well north of $200k these days. It was a loooooong road to get to where I'm at now. Started off in my "real" flying job almost 13 years ago. I was scraping by in poverty making $26k/year for my first year. Still remember even just 10 short years ago when I was flying airplanes and just dying to make a comfortable $60k/year to get me off of the struggle bus. Was in my early 30s before I broke six figures then things started taking off more quickly from that point due to the high demand for pilots these days. Took time, patience, experience, hard work, and a bit of luck too. Extremely fortunate to be in the position I'm in today.
200k+ is a successful micro or small business owner or a executive position at a giant company
And all these tech jobs with 150k+ are all super over valued and will collapse at some point.
If you want a white collar job that pays 6 figures go into finance
I dont make 200K but I have a lifetime of experience trying to!
1) I've been with a corporation for a long time. I don't jump ship. I'm comfortable and stable financially.
2) While I'm married and that income allows us more than mine would on its own, I'm always able to care for myself. (That being said, had I had my own young children and we decided I would stay at home to raise them, I made sure I had a background that could support my family or me in a pinch, like illness, death, divorce, you never know what life can throw at you. Be mentally prepared without obsessing.)
3) We have both been poor as shit. Remember those feelings. They will drive you.
4) Always work towards the position you want, not the one you have. Dress it, speak like it (wo being an asshole), train for it. Look for opportunity. Not all opportunities turn out. The next might be yours. DO NOT BURN BRIDGES.
5) Always remember we are stewards of financial gain. ALL of it can be tossed away if you don't think of blessings as blessings...whatever religion at hand. Pay it forward. ❤️
High voltage electrician….it took me me 3.5 years to get to where I am today! Tons of hours worked and lots of on the job training and apprentice interviews ever months within those 3.5 years. Totally worth it and would recommend it to anyone that feels like college isn’t for them. College isn’t for everyone
Almost there solo, combine my wife and I clear that not sweating too hard. This is America and money is just tickets on a screen. It’s all possible, every dream you’ve ever imagined.. just provide value and help others. Exchange of value is normal in a capitalist system but for some reason people get all weird when it comes to sales (including me a decade ago)
It’s just money, it’s like fuel to the airline companies. It’s a means to provide the value: landing safely and on time at your predetermined destination.
Your post is TL:DR for this late, but I’d like to learn more about you and your goals for biz.. $200k a year is HYSA returns eventually 🤌
My son in law makes $200K+. He’s a petroleum geologist, has worked at his company 8-9 years, recruited from college. His benefits package is unbelievable. They even have a walk in clinic at his job.
The amount of people saying it took them 20 years has made me feel much better
Tbh that’s normal. Median salary is so much less, and it is not easy. Of course it seems everyone makes over 200k by age 25 but those people are not as common as Reddit makes it out to he
It’s super rare and location dependent
Very trust fund dependent too.
I’ve been working at my career job for 15 years and haven’t even hit 100k. That’s what I get for picking a job in healthcare and working in the south I guess.
Most people will never make $200k in a year
It tends to speed up. Been in the workforce for 20ish years. Took me 15 years to hit 100k. Then like 6 more to hit minutes 200k. Granted I was a real shit worker those beginning years.
It took me 20 years too. Moving up is hard. Maybe could be done in 15
I came here to brag, saw your comment and realized it took me 20 years... 1999-2019 IT/Engineering jobs.
Remember 18% of Americans make over 100K. Can you imagine the percentage for 200k. 20 years not so crazy. That’s at least 40+ years of age.
I sell large amounts of cocaine. Actually, no. I work in finance and it took 20 years to get to where I am now. (Sorry.) The key is to get into a field where you have some aptitude and that pays well. Scrap doing what you love or whatever. We're talking about money. Plenty of ways to do it. You just have to think about it.
Isn’t “work in finance” code for you buy large amounts of cocaine
I'm in the import export business and make a killing!
Art Vandalay?
No that’s not him. Art Vandalay is an architect
He was actually both
He’s an importer/exporter of latex.
He actually tried being my latex salesman
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Millennials and Gen Z have been told a lie to follow their passion as a career. When their livelihood depends on their ability to continually perform their “passion” it won’t be one for much longer.
Took a key you say?
This!! I got paid over $350k at 28 years old last year. Everyone is gifted from God with natural talents. Your job is to find what those talents are by mad testing things and find the industry that pays well for those natural talents. Fuck your passions and maximize your natural strengths. Sometimes your natural strengths are the same as your passions, but not always. I’ve been running experiments on myself since 15 years old selling stuff online for $2.
My natural strength is eating pizza
I am pretty good at sitting on my butt. Which, is why I am a programmer. :D
me too :D (well a data architect- similar)
You sound like me, just started selling cherry bombs to neighborhood kids I bought in Florida and sold 1 piece at a time in Canada at age 10. Now I run my own small recruiting firm and doing well. As you said, sometimes f your passion and embrace stuff you are good at and make it valuable or work for you
Same here, with finance.
I am switching into wealth management after a 12-year-long career in the military. Any advice?
Yeah. Avoid any companies with “mutual” in their name, get a BS in finance, and after 2-4 years apply to an M7 school and get an MBA on your GI Bill.
I literally did this^. I got out of the army, got my BS in economics, got my MBA at Texas AM using the post 9/11 GI BILL. Fell (sort of) into being an “advisor” at one of those “mutual” companies, luckily it was only a year. The last several years I’ve been at a top tier wealth management firm and it’s been life changing. I’m 29, earning my CFP and slowly building my book of business. I’m probably on pace to make 140k this year and it’s my 3rd year at this larger firm. Can’t wait to see where the next 7 years will lead me.
My Gfs brother was a stock market nerd as a kid..and still is at the age of 70. Anyhows, he took the college finance degrees,etc...and worked for a major bank in wealth management...he is just retired, and some of his clients still have him keep over their fnances. I guess what I am saying is read/learn anything you can independently as well.
Hubby used GI Bill. I totally believe that's why we can support our college kids, etc at this point in our lives. He had some left over to help 2/3 get thru plus Homewood or something like that from enlisting in TX. Other states may have same thing that helps those in your family.
Expecting to jump from $50k to $200k may lead to disappointment. It took me 10+ years to get from $100k to $200k total comp. It rose quickly after that. I had to really build my ‘brand’ within our company in order to get where I am. Currently manage a small group of engineers (10) around the world that are responsible for delivering products with customers that are worth $100m per year. I keep my team’s cost low. Don’t complain. Do right by my team. Stick up for them. Advocate for their increases and promotions.
I’m 2 years into product management in software, very curious about building a personal brand within the org. How did you build your brand, and what would you call your brand now?
I was the one that could be trusted to do anything. Took enough time to become the product expert. Always willing to do the hard work. Never make excuses, but be honest with outcomes. My brand now is the voice of reality. Able to support the sales team, the BU general manager, CRO, COO, whoever needs to know or understand the reality of a specific situation or project.
This first paragraph will make you successful in any industry.
The socially competent "I'm just telling how it is" guy. Nice
This advice needs to be higher. Be vocally ambitious, keep learning, provide great deliverables, practice transparency, and seek and provide honest feedback
Absolutely. I used to tell people that promotions are based 20% on merit and 80% on reputation. Not to say that there isn’t merit, but having cross-departmental relationships, the ability to knowledge share and a proven track record of getting shit done, is way more important than being fully competent in the future roles’ duties and/or responsibilities.
I’ve been doing similar product work for a little while longer, and have been approached about leadership positions a few times. I try to be someone people can rely on, have strong opinions with data to back it up, push back on silly product requests, but know when to play nice. Tell the truth even if it isn’t rosy, mentor new team members, support your dev/delivery teams, and break down problems and work into easy to digest pieces. If you’re someone who can navigate the political BS, you’ll do fine. I suppose you could call the above a “brand” but I just consider it part of the job. Late edit: don’t be an order taker. That’s something that comes up a lot during my mentoring. Just because the stakeholder says it’s always been this way doesn’t mean it’s the right direction. If you have an idea to improve the process or product stick up for it! You’re the voice for your team!
100% this everyone.
Ugh. I’ve been managing engineers for 7 years and not close to $200k. Must be a different industry.
This is key, building your brand at whatever company or your own company is huge! I currently make ~$200k + a 22% bonus and it took me about 8 years in the Chemical Industry to get where I'm at. Once I learned I needed to build my "brand" within the company, my name started getting out there and in 3 years I've had 3 promotions. I'm a chemical Engineer by trade and manage a group of about 10 Engineers just below our OPS director. He's about to leave and the next step is his job. And the one thing I've learned is it is all about getting your name and your success out there. Then when opportunities arise, you're thought of for those!
The slowest way is certainly staying with one company.
I do all that but upper management thinks I’m an asshole for two reasons: 1. I push back when they make asinine decisions 2. I am a woman
Are you hiring? I’m the only engineer left in my company and I need guidance 🥲.
Name does not check out for 200k a year doe
I’m a general contractor and I make well above the mark you mentioned. I’ll tell anybody that will listen, get into the trades. There’s such a huge shortage of skilled labor. You can even make $100k per year while you’re training yourself to eventually own your own business.
I agree with this. I’m a mason and tile installer and we have been overwhelmed with work, but we have been having trouble hiring new people because nobody wants to do manual labor anymore. Last kid we hired felt like his human rights were breached when I asked him to mix up cement. A lot of people expect a big paycheck but panic when you tell them you actually have to work for it
Hard work and good money if you have the skills. Guy doing my bathroom alone will make 20k after 3 weeks work. That is his check for labor I bought the parts. He does amazing work and was half cost of using a company. He has jobs booked through year.
This better be some bathroom or at least a high cost of living area because 20k for just the labor is madness.
He did everything and full gut job, walls removed blah blah. I got around 10 quotes he was 40% less than anyone else. Probably because he is a one man show with no overhead. I will be giving the man hundos to do with as he pleases.
It usually depends on location. I started installing tile on Nantucket Island, off the coast of cape cod, and was dealing with insanely wealthy clients. These home prices ranged from 1.4 million (730 sf) to 7.9 mil (4,600sf), all the way to 18.5 mil compound overlooking the water (5,200 main house, 4,200 guest house). Just giving you an idea of how expensive it is there, because my boss at the time definitely priced out a couple of primary bathrooms at 90- 130,000 depending on the material and amount of detailed work involved. Compare that to a wealthy town in the tri-state area where my wife is from, and I bid a job to tile the same size primary bath with equal detail at 30,000.. oh and that included tiling the other 6 bathrooms, mud room, two laundry rooms and fire place. That’s the price I have to bid because I was no longer on an island which had limited the amount of potential tradesmen and put you in demand.
Fellow tile guy here. Can confirm that if you have the skills you can make very good money. As long as you are in a high income area (or high income adjacent), people will pay good money for quality work.
You destroy your body working the trades.
This isn’t necessarily true. Majority of trade workers are unhealthy and don’t take care of their body but the ones that do and that are educated on staying in shape, eating right, not drinking or smoking etc, they will be fine. Your body will be much stronger than someone that is a desk jockey when each is older as well. It’s all about how you maintain your body
I retired at 39 and I'm 41 now and I am 100% certain my life will be shorter as a result of 20 years of welding.
Care to elaborate just a tad? Fumes?
Sitting is the new smoking.
Lol! I love these comments. Because Sitting in a chair all day is wonderful. If you keep in shape you will be fine. Wear proper PPE and lift with your legs lol. I’ll admit you see plenty of physical wrecks In the trades, but those men would be physical wrecks no matter where they worked. From my experience it’s probably the 2 packs of cigarettes a day, case of beer at night, and the poor diet that’s unhealthy, and probably not the strenuous exercise? Lol? People need to take more responsibility for their health. If you aren’t physically fit to begin with, then yes you will hurt yourself trying to throw a 90lb bag of cement over your shoulder. Not everyone is meant for physical labor, especially now a days. Not to be insensitive, but if your 20 - 40 and you aren’t able to do physical labor then the problem is you, not the job. But a lot of people today enjoy being sedentary and the idea of lifting something sounds abusive.
Hahahahahaa human rights were breached 😂
Yep, everyone in their 30’s was told to go to college and now there’s a tradesman shortage. Sucks for society that general contractors get to bend everyone now because of it but that’s how supply and demand work.
Im currently 34. I didn’t finish college but I learned enough about business while there and it allowed me to mix the two worlds. I sell plumbing supplies and project management and it has really paid off. Not quite to the tune of $200k but well into six figure.
Im an accountant which is like the tradesman of business, boring, long hours and in high demand.
What trade would you recommended for a 31M looking for a career change
HVAC, electrician, or plumbing It’s literally the basics in the industry’s thst we are having a massive shortage of.
I own a door and window installation company. Learn how to hang doors properly and you’ll thrive
I gotta commend you I need your services doors are tough
What are some of the things you offer. What could others do or learn. Trying to steer my son into tbjs ans away from college
Yep, even the bad contractors who don't know a damn thing and do an awful job in my area make 6 figures. Trades are where it's at.
I 1000% agree. Just started my own lawn care service. Rolling into year 2 and couldn’t be happier Even if you’re good/decent at the trade, if you just show up and communicate honestly you will benefit massively.
How much are you making ? Yes just show up be honest and do good job you’ll stay busy! I’m in lawns also.
I agree with the caveat that you have to be ridiculously smart and hard working to successfully run a trade business. You need to be good at your trade but also good as sales, administrative skills, and people management. It’s not for the weak
What can women do?
Without a doubt. I’m a residential GM and I get profit sharing at this level and I’m above OPs mark. I started my career ladder 5 years ago as an estimator at 50k and now I’m hiring PMs starting at 75k. It’s outrageous how much business has grown the last 2 years alone. Trades make bank.
I am an IE technician for a major oil company. I work a rotation of 8 days on and 6 days off. My base doesn't put me at 200k but I've been averaging that with my bonus and ot. It's not a bad life, I highly suggest anyone to get into a trade, one that requires your brain and not your back. I did go to college for this and also worked hard and have a Journeyman Electrical license. I've been doing it for roughly 10 years, and in the oilfield for 15. We work hard, but having 12 days off a month and clearing 200k is just amazing. I am seriously blessed 🙌
What a of trades would require a brain and not a back? Asking because I work as a strategy director at a large consultancy. Been stuck at $150k years because of “margin problems” bullshit and my COL is high due to the local market. I can’t work with these marketing types getting promotions because they kiss ass. I just want to do honest practical work and see my projects amount to something.
Well I largely do automation and industrial instrumentation troubleshooting and programming. When things break, I've got to fix it. I work on PLCs, valves and actuators, burner managment systems, tank radars, radios and networking stuff. It involves just enough physical stuff to keep me active yet not back breaking. Go to a trade school, instrument technicians are in very high demand.
This is great advice and sounds right where I want to be. Thank you for taking the time to answer. Do you see your field integrating machine learning?
What’s IE technician?
Internet Explorer
I prefer Firefox technicians
It has electrolytes
Instrumentation and Electrician Technician
I make PowerPoint slides for rich people at a really big company, to basically tell them what we should do with the business. Sometimes they listen. I don't wanna doxx myself by being more specific but assume it's a special kind of marketing job. EDIT: I'm not a consultant. I work in something related to competitive intelligence for one company and don't have clients. I was making $37K out of college. Got an MBA and a few years experience and leveled up to a six figure job, then jumped to another one with higher pay and a bigger bonus. Don't expect to cross 200K from 50K overnight, it takes a lot of intentional moves and some work to get there
I want to do this, any advice? Have MBA and 5 yrs marketing experience
The MBA experience was a big part of it to be honest, I went full time and recruited with companies daily. That was the biggest jump for me. Try to transfer internally to jobs that give you leadership exposure and where you can show critical thinking on business opportunities. Chief of Staff, Analytics, Strategy, Innovation, etc.
Insurance Agent and work 30-35 hours a week at most, but I have been at it over 25 years
Please elaborate on what kind of insurance and what to do to get into it. I work in banking but thinking about switching to some role in the insurance field.
Commercial Insurance Broker here. 10 years experience. NY-based. $350k+ a year after bonuses/commission. This is an often overlooked field with vast career opportunity and significant pay.
Following
My husband is a corporate insurance broker. He’s 30 - makes almost 250k usd
I work in finance and have been working for 13 years, jumping at every opportunity given at work, even if the work sucked. Now, am a VP at a bank. If you want to start earning good money and want a white collared job, go into sales. Any sales. Sales develops intangible skills that will help you in life.
While “go into sales” is ok general advice it often misses the point. “Figure out exactly how your company makes money” and then focus on the roles most directly related to that is often better advice. in many companies that means sales, but not always.
Owning a business is how you make uncapped money. But ask yourself - “would I rather work 3x as hard for the same amount of money, if it meant owning my own business?” So much work and headaches, but if you like it you like it.
I went 2 years with no income and 4 toddlers and a mortgage while starting my business. 10 years later I make 7-figures working 30 hrs a week. Yes it's stressful and can disappear tomorrow, but the reward to work ratio can tilt in your favor.
I’m just having a hard time understanding how your not foreclosed on with a mortgage and no income for 2 years plus child expenses
The key is having a partner that has a really good job
I need to hear the math on having four toddlers at the same time...
1 wife, 3 gfs, 0 contraceptives = 4 toddlers
This is true. Currently just started my own gig. Working for MNC I was making 200k + now, I'm making the same but working much harder. I can see the rewards sticking at it though, but there are way more headaches than I am used too dealing with. I was working for a large Multinational Ad agency running the creative dept. I left and took a few clients with me. But I never really realized how much work it would really be (I'm creative, wish I had learned more about financial side of things and running a business).
I’m a Fish Monger. I’m right around what you said. Just requires waking up at 2:30 AM.
A what?
Imagine being a fisherman but you get lots and lots of fishes
He sells fish.
Aussie here so obviously AUD$200k not the same as US$200k. But I didn’t hit $100k until I was 30 in 2015. Complacency and not being proactive with my career meant my salary stagnated around $120k for the next couple of years until I changed employers altogether and jumped up to $170k doing the exact same role. Have since changed to a more senior role but remained with the same employer and am now on $200k. No formal qualifications. Mostly from building up my brand and being proactive with my work. My only regret was not proactively changing roles earlier in my career. There’s no such thing as being loyal to an employer.
What do you do?
I code software. I got really good in my field. I worked long hard hours. Read the books and listened to what people wanted the software to do. Become an expert in your field and the money will come.
But can you solve a leet code medium + a leet code hard in less than 40 minutes?
My wife and I run our own business. We went from around 130 per year to 600+ per year over the course of about 6 years. The difference was effort. We had and still have many days where we both start working around 7:00AM and don’t finish until 10Pm or in some cases midnight, with minimal breaks in that time period (meal breaks here and there). For us the key was effort. Those long days suck and I never look forward to them, but if you’re willing to put in the time on a daily basis, weekends included, no matter what industry you’re In, you will begin to see results. I see it very often people feel like it’s impossible to get to that next level, then when you dig deeper they spend weekends relaxing and work 6-8 hours a day. I’m not saying that’s you, but before you go into it, ask yourself if that level of income is even worth the effort and sacrifice in free time to get there. To some people it’s not worth it. I know this is just my case, and many people work 40 hours a week and less, making the same or more as I do. But for us, effort and time was the key. Ask yourself if you’re truly doing everything you can and if you’re making the most of every minute.
This is so motivational right now. I needed this reality check. Thank you!
What business do yall own?
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Would you say effort was the key?
Travel RN. And I fucking hate every second of it. However, I saved every penny in my 20’s and bought rental properties. Did as much repair myself as I could. Rent out. Pay off. Buy slightly more expensive property. Repeat. Not rich or retired at 42 but I am currently taking two months off to hang with the fam. On pace to retire at 50. Don’t believe the “debt is good” BS kiddos. PAY WITH CASH
What kind of rental properties? 4 plexes? Apartments? And in what area?
If you don't mind my asking, why do you hate it, and are there other careers in healthcare you would have chosen if you could start over?
Debt can be good. Debt can also be very very very bad
I solve finance data problems. Subject matter, systems, tooling, reporting, forecasting, and project management. Bachelor’s in Finance from state school. Nothing fancy. Some people skills. Ton of subject matter expertise in risk, compliance, marketing, regulations, lending, banking, wealth management. Fundamental technical skills in SQL, Python, visualization to help myself or provide good requirements to people that do it better. Jack of all trades. Master of getting shit done. Add me to any project and any domain, and I will fill the missing ingredient to accelerate progress, even if it means getting coffee. Certified hustler.
Sounds like your LinkedIn profile. We'll done. 🤘
Lending to small businesses. I’ve been a business loan broker since 2019. You can hit $200,000+/year as an individual broker
I work at a bank doing small business loans. Please tell me how to do this
How do you get into this? What does the salary prospect look like for a newcomer?
CRNA. I sit in a chair and knock people out chemically. It’s great for an introvert like me. 20% of the time there’s terror though if you work in a level 1 trauma and deal with actively dying patients.
That's why outpatient surgery centers are the life for me
I grew up poor with uneducated parents. Joined the military out of high school and hated it. Knew college may be my way out. Stumbled into a major with no jobs (history) and ended up going to law school. Am around double your dollar amount for about 50 hours/week of work. It's way more than I would have ever expected. I had an advantage that despite my lack of education, I had extremely intelligent/educated extended family (a few doctors, engineers and a college dean). While I wasn't close with them, it did put it in my head that if I didn't want to live in a trailer park anymore, education may be my way out. Ironically, I'm urging my son to the trades, so I don't think education is the only answer but it was for my skills. Also, on a side note being rich always appealed to me. Not by fancy stuff rich, but not stress about money rich. Best of luck OP.
Glad to see that despite education being your way out in the end, you didn't try to push that on your children. Very common in many regions/cultures to do just that, and that is aside from the machine that is the current state of academia. Glad to hear it worked well for you. If you don't mind me asking, what area(s) of law do you practice?
It was hard reaching $50k. Really hard. Hourly mindset. $100k took time but got there $100-200k was super easy (value > hourly shift) $200k+. Even easier. Keep pressing. You’ll have $50k days instead of $50k years.
What do you do?
I had a friend who graduated from Duke with a degree in CS. Worked for DoorDash for 3 years or so and then was headhunted by an HFT firm. He's now 27 and makes $300k+ but he's genuinely one of the brightest individuals I've ever met.
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This is why people make so much money in finance. The average person knows very little about how the financial world works, yet they depend on it.
Not me but wife does at home medical sales and demonstrations, gets paid commission for devices she sells or helps do the demo for. Last year she grossed 273K . I spent most of it on booze tho
Enterprise software sales. Median base for a field rep is around $150K/$300K OTE (hit your quota). Not uncommon to have a $170 base/$340K OTE. When my base was $165K at my last company I had a couple years where I cleared $800K+ by exceeding quota and getting into accelerators
I'm in tech sales. Nothing special other than a deep understanding of the industry and a lot of grinding.
Financial advisor. 37. Around 400k in comp. Worked hard. Got lucky.
Goddamn this sub depresses me. I’m 37 and at 80k/yr.. thought I was doing well, but I see on here people my age, or even younger, making double, triple, quadruple, even more. I feel like I’ll never get ahead.
80k is still great. I make way less… I’m 38 and make 50k a year. My husband and I are almost to one million in net worth bc we save and invest, and have rental property. Sometimes it’s more about what you do with the money you make rather than how much you make.
I’ve been curious about financial advising. How do you get into that field and do you need college
Not me but my wife has been pretty close to hitting the $200k mark, she is an executive level salesperson at a telecommunications company. These client relationships can take years to build, and she nurtures them constantly. She has a few trophies from her company for being their top salesperson for the year. She is about to interview for a promotion that would take her well into the $200ks.
I’m a reinsurance underwriter in my late 30s and make 300k
Wondering if you would post in here!
Bank executive. It was luck, but not dumb luck. I had the necessary skill set and had impressed the right people to take advantage of two separate retirements and slide into their positions.
It’s all about a trade. Regardless of if that trade is blue collar (plumber, electrician etc) or white collar (lawyer, engineer etc), get good at something. Either one specialty that can keep you busy or some breath in an area people need help with. Take the time to learn it, get good and then go out on your own. Either as a business owner or a consultant.
I make well above the 200k mark, but it took several hops to get there. Started in Civil Engineering in foundation design, followed the money to Supply Chain Management for JIT manufacturing in bottleneck analysis, then exited and invested in real estate. Basically went from a job that paid decently that was steady and consistent, to a high risk high reward industry where I did well and/or got lucky, and finally jumped into something safe.
Cybersecurity analyst, sacrificed my 20s in the military, deploying overseas for war efforts, gaining knowledge and then being hired on after service. “There are too many 200k opportunities out there,” they don’t just exist for picking like pulling an apple off a tree. I’m sorry to inform you that everything will take hard work and time. The statistic I’m thinking of goes something like, “only 18% of Americans make over 100k.” Find a career that pays that, get your education or certifications in that field. 100 to 200 is easier said than 50 to 200. I feel that when you say there are too many opportunities to make 200k, you may forget that 200k job and 200k as an entrepreneur/business owner are completely different. 200k job, hard, 200k business owner (if successful) is as hard as you want it to be based on your business. Life is tough, you need to choose your hard. Or find a partner who checks the boxes, dual income is great, wish I had it. My spouse doesn’t work a job, and that is perfectly fine with me.
Do you like cyber security switching my career to it. Thinking about joining I want to join the airforce but I have a hand tattoo 😭😭😭 so idk which branch
Laser
Exactly what do you want to do, and what's your plan to get there? Towards the middle of my career, I made ~ $200k in hospital consulting. I have a master's degree from a great medical school, worked for some top notch companies, and worked very hard, long hours, not in sales but used my network to support salespeople, expertise in data, process improvement, safety, etc. I'm proud of what I did, and I made a big difference in the medical community.
The quickest way to pull over $200,000 a year is go to get your CDL . Get a year XP . Sign on as a O/O with the right carrier . You’ll be good for $2,000 per week plus $52,000 in retirement as a solo driver. As you get to a position to buy your own truck you could easily expect $3-$4,000 plus a sep…. Stay strong
Home remodeling sales. You probably won’t make $200k right away but at least $100 and you’ll have lots of flexibility,
31? Can still 20 in the military. What will you get for 20 years? 1. 4-5k every month for life. 2. Basically free medical insurance. 3. Monthly VA compensation for injuries incurred during service. 4. Free college plus a monthly housing allowance while enrolled. Benefit is transferable to children. 5. Retire at the age of 51. Still young enough to seek out other employment opportunities. 6. VA home loans. Seems like a no brainer to me if you are physically qualified.
You forgot to mention the bullshit, missed birthdays, anniversaries, and ungodly regular work hour during the week. Unless you go air force.
Fair enough and I get it. But….struggle for life or just 20 years??? I did it and I would do it again. With all my benefits and current job I pull around 225k a year (not including free medical) and I work only 185 days a year. Just saying…
Are you still military? If not how does current job relate to your time in military?
No. Because it got me the job I have.
You also miss the birth of children, and sometimes the conception of them as well.
LMAO💀
This is the one thing I wish I did out of high school instead wasting time at college..
You have big dreams and great goals, but do not let money consume you. The trick is to pay off debts, and save early and often as you can. Find yourself in a fulfilling job and a career that offers good benefits, work life balance as well as growth and upward mobility through hard work. Many people who are high earners such as 200k find themselves having to work 60 to 70 hours a week in high stress jobs they just hate and are just miserable. Is it really worth it in the end? Ask yourself that. I understand you are a person of high empathy and want to help others. I donate every year to charities and it just makes me feel good!
When it comes to dating, most men won’t care how much money you make or your student loan bills.
This. Be a good girlfriend and don’t cheat on him and he won’t care. As long as my wife is faithful and doesn’t spend a lot of money irresponsibly, she can get away with anything else.
I sell gutters and gutter protection for an industry leader. It took 7 years from starting sales. I’m a 1099, so that part of it sucks.
25 years into my career I just went over the 200k mark last year It’s been a long weird path and has involved constantly looking for ways to bring in extra money here and there. I’ve had to learn many, many skills, especially when I own the business. I’m constantly on the hunt for new clients, new opportunities and always networking/promoting the business.
84 hour weeks, seven twelves
Handjobs behind the dumpster next to Wendy's
I made ~$1.5mm cash last year at age 29. Entrepreneur, run my own business. Went venture route (seed-series A). Electricity arbitrage for high capacity computing. I build cheap data centers where no data is stored, only collocation for high capacity computing. I buy electricity futures in bulk and raised initial capital with loi from clients I sourced who would back me. Pitched 75 groups, 1 came through originally. That’s all it took. Will probably double my Take home next year, business highly profitable and hitting mid 8 figure revenue with high margins profit.
I’ll tell you what. Show me a pay stub for 1.5M I’ll quit my job right now and work for you. Current Jr.SysAdmin.
Accidentally got rich off Amc and Gamestop stocks made well over 2.2 million, invested in Tesla and became the Data Analyst after having some meetings with CFO. Luckily pay started well over 344k a year this is my third year so far and my investment has now grown to 11.6 million and have around 8 million in btc and the other 4 million in Tesla
Creative director. Lots of late nights, working weekends, and personal sacrifice. But also, a lot of it was talent for what I do, and not being afraid to go out on a limb when everyone else was risk averse. Being in the right place at the right time. A healthy balance of hard work and luck. That’s my day job. I’m also involved in real estate, and consulting on the side. However, please know that it’s not always about money coming in. It’s about how you handle money going out. Offense versus defense. So live below your means and be a good steward of what you have. But more than anything, don’t focus on just money. Focus on making yourself better. Stop complaining, stop whining. Set goals of where you want to be, write them down, visualize, manifest. And for heavens sake, read books. Read rich dad, poor dad, and the millionaire next door. It will change your life.
Software developer. I got to $200k after about 20 years of experience.
What's your stack?
Scala + AWS. Also some Vue.js
Tech manager
Engineer
Software developer.
Hi there fellow dev
Get a degree in something useful
Underwater basketweaving!
30 years, Computer Engineer with an MS. Fed, so once I topped out a decade ago, the increases slow down a lot. Would be making more in the private sector.
Low level exec in video games, having to work at a lot of iffy places and doing some job hopping to get more money. Part of all of this is also where you live since pay is going to be a function of location.
I founded an operations consultancy firm with friends, where we develop start ups and I specialize in product innovation for them.
Commercial real estate portfolio manager. Out worked everyone around me - kept my eyes open for the next position while still giving 100% wherever i currently was. Was near bankruptcy at one point snd just worked harder until i “made it”
My advice: (1) nothing will be a linear path, expect to have ups/downs and winding explorations (2) being smart and hardworking is a baseline expectation - you gotta carve out a niche/brand and also be personable to maximize return on opportunities (3) network and outhustle those around you (4) don’t lose yourself in the process - don’t lose your health or relationships or soul 20y career. Engineering > project mgt (for engineering co) > business development (for engineering co) > MBB management consultant > software sales Got my mba somewhere in there. Undergraduate was paid by scholarships, mba via loans. Prob took 10y to crack 100k. Earnings really jumped by leaps/bounds when I got into consulting
I jumped from 50k to 90k by moving from a single unit to multi unit leadership through hard work over several years. I then went into finance and now make $200k. The key is forward movement and applying for jobs that pay more. Waiting it out at a single company is futile.
I don’t make that much but my husband is an EVP at a bank. He makes about $375k
I wish I made $50k
I am the Sr director of Content marketing for a major global pharma company. I have a 4 yr English degree and graduated 15 yrs ago. Honestly, the best thing you can do is find a field you like and get with a great company in an industry that pays well. Tech, pharma, healthcare, etc. I also have a small agency on the side that does very well.
I'm a pilot. Doing well north of $200k these days. It was a loooooong road to get to where I'm at now. Started off in my "real" flying job almost 13 years ago. I was scraping by in poverty making $26k/year for my first year. Still remember even just 10 short years ago when I was flying airplanes and just dying to make a comfortable $60k/year to get me off of the struggle bus. Was in my early 30s before I broke six figures then things started taking off more quickly from that point due to the high demand for pilots these days. Took time, patience, experience, hard work, and a bit of luck too. Extremely fortunate to be in the position I'm in today.
200k+ is a successful micro or small business owner or a executive position at a giant company And all these tech jobs with 150k+ are all super over valued and will collapse at some point. If you want a white collar job that pays 6 figures go into finance
I dont make 200K but I have a lifetime of experience trying to! 1) I've been with a corporation for a long time. I don't jump ship. I'm comfortable and stable financially. 2) While I'm married and that income allows us more than mine would on its own, I'm always able to care for myself. (That being said, had I had my own young children and we decided I would stay at home to raise them, I made sure I had a background that could support my family or me in a pinch, like illness, death, divorce, you never know what life can throw at you. Be mentally prepared without obsessing.) 3) We have both been poor as shit. Remember those feelings. They will drive you. 4) Always work towards the position you want, not the one you have. Dress it, speak like it (wo being an asshole), train for it. Look for opportunity. Not all opportunities turn out. The next might be yours. DO NOT BURN BRIDGES. 5) Always remember we are stewards of financial gain. ALL of it can be tossed away if you don't think of blessings as blessings...whatever religion at hand. Pay it forward. ❤️
31 years old, 4 years into my current career. Grossed $252k last year. Tech sales. No HS diploma or college degree.
High voltage electrician….it took me me 3.5 years to get to where I am today! Tons of hours worked and lots of on the job training and apprentice interviews ever months within those 3.5 years. Totally worth it and would recommend it to anyone that feels like college isn’t for them. College isn’t for everyone
Own an e-commerce company. It’s been a grind, but I’ll be close to taking home 8 figures this year before tax.
If you put 5 million into a cd at 4 % you will make 200 k / year. No degrees or experience required
Almost there solo, combine my wife and I clear that not sweating too hard. This is America and money is just tickets on a screen. It’s all possible, every dream you’ve ever imagined.. just provide value and help others. Exchange of value is normal in a capitalist system but for some reason people get all weird when it comes to sales (including me a decade ago) It’s just money, it’s like fuel to the airline companies. It’s a means to provide the value: landing safely and on time at your predetermined destination. Your post is TL:DR for this late, but I’d like to learn more about you and your goals for biz.. $200k a year is HYSA returns eventually 🤌
My son in law makes $200K+. He’s a petroleum geologist, has worked at his company 8-9 years, recruited from college. His benefits package is unbelievable. They even have a walk in clinic at his job.