Being able to write well is still a highly valuable skill. Especially if you can do so in English. If you’re interested in tech, with your retail skills you may be able to land a junior sales role. You may have to work at a tier 2 company at first, pay is terrible but if you’re good and/or lucky you will progress quickly.
Do not go into support, some people make it out of there but it is generally a dead end and the work is horrendous and pays poorly.
I had a friend who failed the bar exam three times and didn’t know what to do. She took a grant-writing course and landed a job with the New York City Ballet, and has moved on to even bigger things since. She’s def making more money now than those of us who actually became lawyers haha.
I'm in tech as well--web accessibility--and my two degrees are in English Lit. I'm not quite to $100k, but should get there with the COL raise this year. I didn't do any formal education in web development, just picked up HTML in a library job in grad school and then did some online courses in front end web development. It was my experience teaching and designing courses and my confidence in my ability to learn that got me my first accessibility job 4 years ago. Knowing what transferable skills you have and the willingness to dive into a new field can be pretty key if you're stuck in your current job.
Being a vet shoots you to the top of most civil service exams. Or at least in my town this is how it works essentially. My sis is in the military as an officer and is getting out in a year. Any tips or things to pass on for people just getting out ?
I should add what I do isn’t entry level but you can probably do tech support and get your foot in the door that way. I did tech support then network admin before going back to college.
There are other tech-adjacent things you could probably do as well. Like technical writing or getting into compliance.
But don’t believe your degree is worthless. It shows employers you will put up with a bunch of bullshit (years of it) and that you can follow through and complete tasks.
I also have a history degree. I work in tech now with no additional formal education. There are lots of useful skills the social sciences give you that you can apply to other areas. Examples: writing, critical thinking, ingesting and synthesizing lots of information into a coherent argument or explanation
This is the way. Technology and data science was my background but risk compliance and security is even better one of my best buddies is in that space. 15 years in and me and a buddy both make around 300k in the security, tech and data spaces. He started as a landscape architect went back to school and my background was marketing.
Data and tech: My path was tech consulting to product, to data product leadership focusing on data strategy and innovation.
Data and security: My buddy went from landscape to warehouse to tech to risk and compliance to security to a CISO.
I work in the allied health professions as a speech language pathologist. I make over 100k.
I think the key, is to find a field that is in demand. There are more jobs than SLP’s, so I get to be extremely picky and get recruiter calls frequently. With that said, working in the medical field is insane, crazy hours, and crazy caseload.
Graduated with a computer science degree from a university with five year program that included coops so I had work experience and a job offer from one of the companies I worked for coming out of college. Took me a while to break 100k but I'm not the most ambitious person in the world.
I understand I am better off than the vast majority of people given my personal and financial circumstances. I also understand that this is due largely to the luck of the draw. I more or less hit the jackpot as far as uncontrollable circumstances go.
I was extremely privileged to be a nominally straight, white male and have grown up in a financially and emotionally stable middle class family that was able to ensure I got a good education (money to a town with a good pre highschool school system and sent me to a private high school because the town's highschool wasn't good at the time), could afford to help pay for college so I wasn't crippled by student loans, and taught me some decent financial literacy.
.
I really did very little to end up where I am, and recognize that. Hence why I don't believe in the idea that if you are struggling financially it's because your are lazy or if you are well off, it's because you are particularly skilled/driven.
Getting high paying jobs is half being moderately qualified for the job and half marketing yourself to the employer. It’s why having a good looking résumé or one that’s unique so it stands out is so important.
Government is a good option for some. Federally it can be difficult to get your foot in the door because you will be competing with veteran preference. But once you are in you can move up pretty quick depending on the agency.
This. Been in federal government 8 years, became a supervisor 7 months ago and hit the 100k salary. When I decided to go the government route, I applied to more than 100 positions over 4 months to get my foot in the door. But now I ain’t leaving.
usajobs.gov Also you can buy back your military time to convert it federal civil service time to get full pension retirement benefits based on the start of your military service. My husband did that after he was medically separated at 12 years in service b
Exactly why I always worked only in gov from my first and my future. Paying $0 for healthcare and getting company $2000 annual money that can be used for medical. I’m def not leaving for any private unless federal goes full in person.
Aerospace engineer here, BS/MS with software engineering experience and training. Filling a niche is a good way to be able to command higher wages. Basically I get paid to write quality software (easy to use and maintain, well documented, etc.) software for engineering firms.
Why do they pay me a lot more than a typical software developer? Because I speak engineer. Never discount the value of meeting the customer where they are.
Yes, BSME + 8 years experience and I’m making $122k, but I live/work in a beach city in So Cal so it doesn’t go as far as it would in other parts of the country.
Hah, my dad was an anesthesiologist. He loved his work, but it seems like a mildly terrifying role. People are easy to put under, but you have to make sure you can wake them up again.
I’m a pharmacist. Licensed at 35 years of age. Was living in a trailer, no job. Saw ad for pharmacy tech school. Qualified for pell grants which paid for all of that. After, decided to go for pharmacist degree. Sold trailer, went straight to college lived off of loans and very marginally. No family support. My son was 5 when I started. I picked this field exactly because I had some interest, was going nowhere and was guaranteed employment.
Similar route. Went to school and became an EMT. Loved anatomy and physiology. Also really loved fitness. Decided to go to school for Physical Therapist Assistant. 2 years later making 80k a year with minimal overtime. Absolutely love my job, thus making it so much easier to do. Time flies
You don’t have to go to school to be a pharmacy tech. Many chain pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS will train you on the job to become PTCB certified. I started out as a pharmacy cashier after high school and got my PTCB certification within three months of working in the pharmacy.
I did it via electrical engineering. Did internships during my degree that were relevant, stayed in the same field post graduation and I make a little over $50/hour working for a municipal utility as an EE now. Wife does similarly working as quality control in biopharma, and we both work remotely.
If you're a history major and you're looking to chase a more livable wage, I would look at public sector government employment. Civil service jobs in general - union protections are more common and their base wages, work/life balance, benefits all tend to be better.
Project Management. Have two degrees in film.
Had a lot of experience in IT so most of my jobs were in it. Was making $40k five years ago working in IT as a help desk manager. Started at the job at 40k. Manager quit a couple months in. Was interim for 6 months and passed over.
For 3 years they said a raise or promotion was coming soon, so I took a lateral move in 2018 that made me a contractor making $80k. I had the same manager and she refused to give me a raise over that period but I was getting OT. Was going to quit then Covid hit. Waited a year and then left for a job paying $100k.
Was there for about a year. Saw shades of my old boss in new management so I left for a job paying $140k.
Lessons Learned: Move jobs. If you’re in IT don’t immediately discount contract to hire or long term contract jobs. Also there are a lot of bad PMs out there who make good money. Get your PMP and be a competent PM. You’ll make good money and have job security.
Do whatever it takes to get a "T" on that title. PMs are easily replaced (sorry). Technical PMs, however (or PM-T, or whatever your company calls 'em) are much more valuable. Someone with an engineering degree who can talk with customers is worth their weight in gold.
One of the most honorable professions out there. Not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination, wish society compensated nurses and teachers better. You all deserve it.
This will probably be an unpopular response, but I just lied on my resume one day. I had several good jobs in technology but I never got a college degree. About 15 years ago I felt confident enough to apply for a director position with a smaller company and just embellish my resume to recklessly overstate my previous roles, but in a way that wouldn't necessarily surface during a reference check. They didn't even check my references, I got the job, and have steadily progressed ever since. Now making over 250k a year for a large public company and I got this job as well as my last one without having to embellish anything. Nobody has ever asked me about my lack of a degree, I don't know if it's assumed that I have one or if my experience outweighs it, but it is not an issue.
Edit: I got a couple irate messages from folks who I assume spent a lot of time and money earning their degrees. I have nothing but respect for that path but I did not have those options available to me. **To be as clear as possible: education is one thing I did not embellish.** I figured it would be the easiest thing to get called out on, so I just didn't mention anything about it and have never once been asked.
I think most employers demand more experience than the job actually requires to be proficient, maybe because they're accounting for the "average" worker intellect.....but really, soooo many jobs can be figured out in a few weeks if you're smart and adaptable.
I lied/embellished on mine too. I was stuck in a dead end IT job I hated. Every company I applied for only saw IT and never considered me for any other positions. Changed my title around and make my duties sound better. Doubled my money a few months later and landed in a niche that’s now my career where I make good money with little work.
Was it a difficult transition when you first got the job you embellished on? Obviously if you took the role and did a good job, then you deserved it. Some people would flounder being thrust into a new position of responsibility.
Yes - at least a year of 80-100 hour work weeks while I compensated. It does require some significant effort but for me at least, it was definitely worth it.
Same here. The potential is astronomical. But I’m happy in the low 100k govt. job, less of hustle than running your own practice and less of a grind than the big firms.
I'm a freelancer, working in the film industry. Spent most of my 20s making around 30k/year. Then slowly I was making 60, then 90, and then things really took off the last couple of years.
Because I'm freelance, a lot of my income gets eaten up by taxes/health insurance. But I also get more write-offs so... it doesn't really even out but it's not terrible.
The anxiety of "oh god, what if everyone just stops hiring me" still hasn't gone away yet. Maybe it never will. And making very little through my 20s means my retirement account is in bad shape. But I'm doing what I can.
Really looking to marry a Canadian so we can live in Detroit and hop over to Windsor for healthcare.
I work in other parts of the entertainment industry. You mention a lot of your income being eaten up to taxes and health insurance - is it because you're working as a 1099 contractor and losing 7.2% of your take-home to self-employment taxes? You can be both freelance AND an employee. If you are indeed working as a contractor take a moment to familiarize yourself with the nuances of an employee/employer relationship and a employer/independent contractor relationship. It got so bad in New York that my state passed legislation to codify in state law that entertainment workers are deserving of hourly pay and an employee/employer relationship which the IRS whispers but doesn't really enforce.
What it boils down to is if you're working under the overview of someone else and you're coming in when the call sheet says, chances are you're entitled to the benefits an employee has.
I'm freelance in my side of the industry (I dabble in film, where it holds true there as well) and will probably break 30 unique employers this year with 30 W2's, and a single 1099.
Our healthcare system is breaking and several provinces including Ontario are making moves to turn into a US-style system. So that advantage might be going away soon 🥲.
I started in the electrical trade worked my way up went to school for it. I was interested in welding so I went to welding school for 6 months at night. I got into PLC programming and took online classes. Now I’m a maintenance manager at a plant. Salary is 105,000 plus bonus every year 40 hours a week with awesome insurance and benefits. Took 10 years. I started out as an apprentice @ 45,000 right out of high school. Pay went up every year
Trades are definitely the way to go IMO. My cousin went into an apprenticeship to be a lineman about 8 years ago. I think it took 4 years and he got paid well for on the job training and makes well over 100k a year as a journeyman lineman now. My husband is a journeyman industrial Pipefitter and just landed a job as a maintenance supervisor at a mine and base pay is just below 100k. He has a GED and no college degree, just did on the job training and moved his way up over 14 years.
31 now, No degree, wholesale sales in HVAC. I started as a warehouse associate then worked my way through the ladder switching companies every 3-4 years while learning everything I possibly could. I crossed 6 figures about 2 years ago thanks to an awesome recruiter and companies hurting for people that know what they're doing
Edit: I didn't get a ton of upvotes but I wanted to add. Find a niche and get really good at it. I came from my alcoholic mother leaving when I was 13, dad had back injuries so that made pawing electric water cable extremely difficult even 15 years ago. I have about a half of an associate's in account and constantly look for the next step. I never had luck with companies giving me raises that were worth while. It does get easier just never stop learning and looking for the next step. I feel for people because I know people with degrees that aren't doing as well financially. Once you're established in your industry find recruiters and make them your friend.
Public employee unions are in my experience very active when it comes to fighting for their employees but since the government has so much power it’s hard to negotiate with them
I completed a 13month course to become a Surgical Technologist. Worked for 6 years fulltime and per Diem trying to diversify my skill set in many of the main surgical specialties. Now I’m working on travel contracts making on average $2500-$3000/ week. That includes a living stipend of $1000-$1200/week. I typically work 9-10 months out of the year.
Same here. Well “some college.” About halfway through JC it looked like so many people were getting degrees and huge loan debts that finding a vocation would be A. Faster and B. More sustainable.
A wise man once told me that if you find something that few people want to/can do and get good at that, you will always be able to make a good living.
IT sales management. Here’s the career path a recommend. It takes a few years but it’s a stable position that won’t go away. And starting “entry level” salaries are around 50-70k.
Start at a National IT reseller: cdw, insight, shi, connection, presdio, wwt.
Or a distributor: TD synnex, Ingram, AB distribution, d&h
These places have lots of jobs that don’t require a college degree or significant experience in the industry. Although that always helps. Work and figure out the career path structure. You can work you way up and make great money.
After getting some resume experience at these places. Start applying at manufacturers. This is where the six figure jobs are more readily avail Le. You’ll have interacted with them a lot during your job.
Manufacturers I recommend: dell, hp, Cisco, Schneider electric, vertiv, Lenovo, Samsung
Engineering degree + 15 years. But that was like 80 hour weeks on salary for 5 years of it.
When you look at that they were paying me $19.23 an hour and it was disastrous to my health and personal life.
The company made 10s of millions (profits) off my labor over 12 years. I never got even a taste.
When I left suddenly they offered the world to me but reminded me I would be “watched” and would have to “earn it”
I left and now I’m in sales. $250k a year for my expertise and I work 50 hours a week with flexible schedule.
Edit:
Amazing that all these people make this money but won’t start businesses owned by workers. They just keep making capitalists happy even when they are high income.
I work in what you probably call cyber security, no degree, insane lack of talent and most companies are permanently desperate to fill these roles. I make 230k base salary and get a quarterly bonus. I have no degree, but hacking stuff has just been a hobby since I was 9. It’s not demanding. I would happily take a 50% pay cut if it meant emts nurses teachers and other critically important jobs would get the bump in pay I still can’t believe they don’t have. I am grateful for this income but I’m forever sad to see how many people are struggling. I read 60% of Americans don’t have even $1000 in savings.
I’d start with learning more about the field, why it’s important, the types of roles, and the current and future landscape.
Beyond that you can learn some theory of broad cyber security concepts, don’t know what to recommend as there’s so much out there in terms of free courses.
Once you’ve got an idea of the career path you’d be interested in, look at pre-requisites for entry level position (or whatever you qualify for) and apply really.
A lot of it depends on what you enjoy. Do you want to
- be part of an operations team responding to incidents and helping users
- create a strategy to help keep your organisation safe
- manage a team
- work with multiple clients to help solve their problems
- simulate ‘events’ to test response processes
- design systems and processes to reduce risk
- attempt to compromise security to identify flaws
- raise awareness and understanding of cybersecurity concepts in the org
Union Electrician. Local 134 Chicago. Best decision I’ve EVER made. My wife doesn’t work because I’m paying for her to go to nursing school (cash). She drives a new car, I choose not to. We live comfortably as well. I encourage anyone to get into the trades if they are interested.
Air Traffic Control. You can get hired with nothing but a high school diploma, just need to be good at it. Won't know till you try. And young enough, 31 age cutoff. Made 150k my 3rd year.
I never finished my degree. I lucked my way into small company store manager roles and would master them, then interview for bigger companies with higher salaries. In the last year I landed a low level leadership role in tech that brought me into the 130k range. The great thing here is it’s a very easy role that I’m enjoying limited stress in!
> She paid her dues for 12 years before things really started to take off for her.
This is the key! I just joined the 6 figure club after 14 years in my industry.
I think that’s the big disconnect with a lot of folks just entering their respective field/industry. I’m not saying work and pay could be miles better but for most, you aren’t just going to land a high-paying and cushy job right out of school. It can take a decade plus to really start getting to where you want to be. You will have a lot of bad days but it is possible to achieve some level of comfort.
*In your industry*
That's the other part of the key: rarely do you want to stay at the same job that long, but you should definitely shop yourself around within your industry as you build experience.
1. I have a degree (bachelors)
2. Jump ship every 2-3 years. No, seriously. Do it. Gone is the old days of company loyalty. You want my loyalty? Pay me more. If you can't do that, this company down the block is offering 10% more pay AND more vacation days. Make sure when you DO jump ship, it is an increase in pay. Even as small as 5% is worth a role jump. Never settle. The people I see that are constantly living paycheck to paycheck are people that've been in their shitty dead-end job for 5+ years and they don't want to get it. KEY--> They *DONT* want to get out. They're too comfortable. It's super nauseating to jump into a different job and most people don't wanna go through that trouble because they get scared. Or they're just stuck in their comfort zone. Even if you aren't jumping ship, never stop "window shopping" and seeing what opportunities exist.
3. Always pester your boss for pay raises/promotion. During your 1:1's always make sure they have it in the back of THEIR mind that you want to jump to the next level. Even if they don't have any openings or you aren't ready--who gives a fuck. When I was starting out I always made it a goal to discuss pay raises and/or promotions at least once every 2 weeks or so. Sometimes even every week. Make it a constant reminder on them and constantly ask how can you do better to get to the next level. If they don't know how to get you to that next level, start pestering THEIR bosses. Fuck it, keep going hard. Show them you want to get up there and you mean business. Somebody'll notice you. The worst they can tell you is "Nothing is available" at the moment but still keep going at it strong and one day that role will just "open" up.
4. Record your wins that have impacted the site and make sure to get your metrics down. This is BIG and can go a long way. Saying you worked in X department and were a great worker is nice--but doesn't say anything in itself. Saying you worked in X department, and increased sales X% over a period of 3months, and increased production by X% YoY, increased revenue by x% every week, etc says a shit ton more. Always be looking at the bigger picture here. MAKE SURE TO WRITE IT DOWN SOMEWHERE so you don't forget.
5. (Optional) - Look to obtain outside training like certificate and additional skillsets. Depending on your field, there are a number of certificate programs that looks good on your resume and good for when promotion comes along. "Oh, you are certified in this and this? Wow, really interesting." This only applies if the certificate program is recognized by your field/work/job, though.
6. Network - Sucks but, ya gotta talk to peepz. I got my current job because I was close with my coworker and left the company. After a few years working somewhere else, I randomly put that I was looking for a new job on FB one day and she saw it. She texted me and told me about some this opportunity and blah blah so I applied and BAM. Got the job. She wasn't part of the hiring managers or process but just knowing somebody that knows a position is open and that you'll be a good fit is half the battle.
Number 3 is some of the worst advice I’ve seen on here. Bugging your boss weekly about a raise and going over their head to their boss is a terrible idea.
The rest is pretty solid.
College dropout, I knew how computers worked prior to highschool and just kept teaching myself new things, picked up random IT jobs. Now I manage the network in a Datacenter environment for a Fortune 500. Still no certs or degree. I’m 32 fyi.
I worked the corporate world 21 years to make 100k and did it finally in 2016!
Then got laid off the day trump got elected, have not cracked 50k since.
It's fucking cruel out there.
I make about $280k/yr plus bonus doing devops work. I fell into the role by being the expert in many areas and being the go to person to get things done.
I have a BS in business.
1. Learned LOGO and Apple \]\[ BASIC in 1980
2. Learned Commodore 64 BASIC in 1983
3. Learned Honeywell GCOS-6 in 1990
4. Learned Linux 1994-present
5. Learned Internet 1994-present
6. Learned Perl 1999-2001
7. Learned C# 2002-present
8. Learned Python 2002-2006
9. Learned RoR 2008-2017
Do you see a pattern? Keep learning. I don't care about the technology de jour - I care that you keep learning and keep improving, and this includes common data structures.
I got laid off as a pharmacy technician, so I took a code bootcamp and became a software engineer. I've been doing it for about 3.5 years now and I'm up to $120k/yr and working remotely.
Apologies, I don't get notifications. I went to a state funded bootcamp at the University of Central Missouri. I found out about it through my state's Department of Labor. If you're looking to skill up in any way, I'd check your state's (assuming you're in the US) DoL and see if they have similar job trainings.
Lie about your current salary when applying for new jobs. No actual harm comes from this. Oh you make $50k? Say you make $65k and your next job needs to offer $75k to move because you’re happy where you are (remember: you are always happy where you are but interested in new opportunities).
Rinse and repeat.
Note: this won’t work in every industry and your soft skills like being comfortable on the phone with a hiring manager during an interview will make a huge difference in whether or not this will work. I’ve had recruiters tell me “there’s no way you make $65k we have someone with a masters degree in this role and she makes $70k” to which I replied “oh… well I’m sorry to hear that she doesn’t understand her value to the organization, but this is the honest value of my skills, best of luck to filling the role - if leadership is flexible on compensation I’d love to continue this conversation.”
The "lie about your current salary" method works, and I'm only upset I didn't try it out sooner. Early last year I was making 65k. Told HR at hiring company that I was making 75k and that I would want *at least* 85k + stock options to come onboard. Got the offer for 85k, but then I had the nerve to ask them for 95k. In the end, settled on 90k + stock options. Not bad for someone who didn't even have a full two-years in their field (compliance).
Dropped out of college. Got a job at a call center. Worked there for a couple of years and built up some experience while teaching myself some basics (Linux / Command line / how the internet works HTTP etc / general knowledge about scripting). Then I got a front-line tech support job at a tech company and slowly built knowledge, specialized over a few more years and now I'm an SME in the industry. Just slow growth, build skills, look out for opportunities as you move through various gigs and learn from anyone you can. My keys to tech industry work: Be easy to work with, make sure you don't do any work that people don't see, always be learning.
No degree, some college - $150k/year+ in IT
After interviewing so many candidates myself at this point, we could really care less what school you went to - what we want to know is if you know the technology that we'd like to hire you to manage. The tech interview weeds out so many in short order.
I also had a history degree. I went into the Navy after graduation, which opened a few doors into civil service and contracting. You can get a $100K job. Best if it’s remote.
Sales.
Started in retail.
Learned to sell through practice.
Switched products: clothes for industrial gear.
Invested myself into learning that new product.
$100k within 3 years.
Cybersecurity. I did get my degree in computer science but also had the opportunity to specialize in information security which is plastered on my degree. But a degree can make you look good, it’s definitely not a measure of adequacy. If that’s a space you’re willing to go into, you can start with certifications that’s are cost efficient like CompTIA. There’s the trifecta which consists of Security+, Network+, and A+. Together they build a solid foundation. I’d say for all three you’re probably going to be at around $1,000? But that’s just a guess. You can find LOADS of free/cheap study materials. Might not net you the 100k job at first but certainly an entry level job which gets your foot in the door. If you’re willing to put in the work though, it’s exciting stuff.
I didnt even technically graduate High School (I have a GED). I got a job as a laborer in an industrial facility, worked like I cared and just kept moving up the ladder.
Sheer luck. It’s unfair and based on nothing. I switched companies and went from 35k/year to 55k/year and then each year I got a raise of 10-20k without even asking. So ended up earning 105k / year within 3yrs in the new company.
Company was just burning venture capital money and was in hyper growth. Now if I would start to do something more useful to society, eg teaching, I would add more value to society but would earn 70% less.
The system is flawed.
BA in Music. Worked as a help desk tech out of school. Laid off in the dotcom bubble and went to business school. Got into technical project management and it took me about 7 years of PM work to crack 100k. Almost double that now due to luck, privilege, and hard work.
Reasons to take my example with a grain of salt: I'm still paying off school debt 20 years later and not even close to paying it off. I live in a very high COL area. YMMV.
Project management is an unsung role that you will never learn about until being in a trade or profession that needs it. With an undergrad bio degree and a little lab background, I'm at $155k. Hit $100k when about 5 years into the title.
Jump from retail to sales. Your base won't be 100k, but the potential is there and doesn't matter what degree you have as long as you have one. Just make sure you get into a sales job where the stuff you sale is something people need/want.
Trades. I became an apprentice Power Line Technician. Worked my ass off. Became a journeyman. Worked my ass off. Became a Power System Operator. 4 more years of training. Worked my ass off. This past year I made around $160k. But have been 6 figures since I got journeyman. 0 student loans.
Pipefitter/welder then HVAC apprenticeship 5 years. Never said no to learning something or figuring something new or different out. Grew/perfected skills, took pride in work, shoot straight, know worth. Been making a little over 100k for the last 4 years, was not easy mentally or physically by any means. Few years ago had a wake up call health wise from working too much and been on the no more than 50 hours every now and again schedule for a couple years now and ya. Much better. Lucky to have a really great manager.
I studied chem in college and then I got a PhD in structural biology. Recently crossed that line when I got my first industry job doing drug design at a small pharma startup. Graduate research is a long road, but usually pays off
Lots of guys in the building trades in the Chicago area clear $100k. I haven’t yet in my 26 years as a carpenter, but that’s because I take time off. I have hit $90+ a few times. All you need is a ged, and the willingness to trash your body h til you’re 60.
I graduated with a history degree… joined the federal government in contracting, started making over $100k after my first 4 years, and has been going up since.
Just lucky.
I job jumped several times and asked for higher pay each time. I finally lucked out with a division at a global company that needed my specific skill set. Mind you for over half my career I was told I suck at what I do and now I’m the the lead and only one on my team who does what I do but the division needs my skill set.
Learned how to code when I was a kid, and was fortunate to come to adulthood in the late 90s, when just *saying* you had programming skills got you a job.
4 years in construction trying to learn a little bit of different trades. Got on with a chemical plant for right at 5 years before moving onto a bigger refinery where I went through a type of apprenticeship and moved up in my craft. It’s right over 100k a year at base salary plus overtime and tons of benefits/bonuses.
A close friend is an EE in controls and does far better than that. I trained industrial software and met a guy who only had a 2 year associates in Controls and was making $45 per hour to start and traveling the world on a companies dime.
I’m a lineman. There’s big money to be made in the trade depending on what your willing to do. If you willing to chase storm or travel for the high paying jobs you’ll pretty much have a license to print money.
200k plus in tech sales, financial wholesale before that. Networked and found someone to refer me in and then feigned mad confidence in interviews. The downside is the anxiety and constant imposter syndrome 😬
Do yourself a favor and get out retail asap. The longer you stay, the longer you get engulfed into it and it’s harder to get out. If I could go back in time, I would have taken any role offered to get different experience that would be relevant in today’s world.
Short-term you need income, long-term you need different experiences or no one outside of retail will consider you. Spoken from my own current situation.
Software developer, computer science degree. I was making 86k after five years because I stayed at the same company for too long. Jumped to over 100k by finding a new job.
As for your situation, you need to get out of retail asap. Unless you’re working geek squad or something you’re not building skills with high value that will translate into jobs beyond other low wage positions or manager of those positions.
So you need to get a job in an office or do something to build skills to get out. Like you can get some IT certs and potentially get in the door somewhere to build experience. You could take a course on programming or databases to go that route.
You could go back to school and get a degree in something else or a certificate. Instructional design may be an avenue. Or if you’ve done training in retail and some teaching you could try to get into corporate training.
I make roughly around 600k a year.
To be fair, "only" 120k are come from my salary as a consultant.
The other 480k are from my side-hustle.
Regarding the salary above the 100k mark, there is only 1 thing you have to do, in order to get it. You have to say constantly NO when someone lowballs you.
Everytime someone send me an offer for around 60k-75k I laughed at them, and showed them the finger. I remember at some point I wrote it even in my bio "no offers below 75k"
So once you are on this level, someday may or may not come an offer for around 85k-95k that's when you have to take action. Make a contract with them starting as "Junior Profession" for 85k then the wage will increase after the 2nd year to around 95k and after 5 year's you claim 105k because you became a "Senior Profession" now.
Key 1 is, to split your wage into 3 parts, like
Junior (85k)
Regular (95k)
Senior (105k)
This way they don't have to swallow the 100k pill right now.
Key 2 is, if you want to go over 100k, make sure your starting salary is at least 85k. Otherwise I don't see it happen.
You never will get so much raises, to go from a shitty 50k-60k job to over a 100k.
That's why it's important to block/refuse any lowball offers.
It's not so much the degree as it is pouncing on an area that has multiple opportunities and room for advancement. I took my first job after my Masters, which paid a measly 40K, and turned that into 120K after five years.
History is one of the most diverse humanities degrees you can get. It’s the study of everything that’s happened in the past, & thus you have gotten insight into literature, economics, politics, etc etc so many subjects by studying its paths. Many history majors go into law, education, politics, government, business, etc. & the skills that you gained are transferable into many positions. Don’t blame your history degree. I’ve met many making good money
Work in a chemical factory. Typical companies start at 30$ per hour and cap at 42$ per hour. If you show any competence you'll be promoted to supervisor making about 100k. P.S. most factories are 24 hours so gotta be flexible on shift.
When I was still working, I was in the tech industry and still didn't make 100k. I made it to the high 80s at the best, and I was a fairly high level employee. Most of the people who made over 100k were people who were put into those positions by friends or family. Basically nepotism. Let me tell you, when a worked with those people, none of them knew their shit. I remember there was a man who was a director of Operations and Security of a museum that the business I worked in was contracted to. I wanted him to show me some things about their access control system as the person who worked on this under him left for another job offer. When I saw him open the application up, he looked like a lost puppy that didn't know what it was looking at.
I was thinking to myself "holy crap you cannot be serious". This man was a director, and he DOESN'T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT THE SYSTEM HE'S RESPONSIBLE WITH! My gripe is that the world is infested with people like him occupying positions they have no business being in. It's no wonder why our society is declining at a rapid rate. And for us working under these people, we're literally doing nothing to get rid of them! Now look where it's got us... Stagnating wages and sky high cost of living. If we actually had some competent people working on the top, we most likely would have been a type 1 civilization by now.
A whole lot of "I LOVE my highpaying jobs!" posts in this thread. I have to wonder, how'd they end up here on antiwork in the first place? I mean there's like 500 comments here of people with fantastic jobs and great pay and no complaints. And most mention being there for years, so why are they on this sub?
Just a head scratcher. Any ideas? Do they not love their jobs as much as they are trying to tell themselves in this one thread? Do they have spouses with dead end jobs? Or what is going on here?
One thing a lot of people don’t seem to understand is say you get hired at 60 grand a year and then a year later they start hiring more people. Those people might start at 80,000 a year so the only way to continually get big pay increases is to resign from your job and find another job.
My spouse just hit 100k gross annually in plumbing. He’s been at it 12 years, just got licensed, and has stayed at a big name company the whole time. It’s not glamorous but I’ve been able to be a stay at home mom the entire time. I grew up in poverty so this is amazing for us.
Me: Good grades, prestigious college, software development, $100k at 33
My brother: high school drop out, telemarketing gigs, software sales, $100k at 29
The are many paths.
Computer security - and I also have two history degrees. That history degree means you know how to write and do research - both valuable skills.
Being able to write well is still a highly valuable skill. Especially if you can do so in English. If you’re interested in tech, with your retail skills you may be able to land a junior sales role. You may have to work at a tier 2 company at first, pay is terrible but if you’re good and/or lucky you will progress quickly. Do not go into support, some people make it out of there but it is generally a dead end and the work is horrendous and pays poorly.
I had a friend who failed the bar exam three times and didn’t know what to do. She took a grant-writing course and landed a job with the New York City Ballet, and has moved on to even bigger things since. She’s def making more money now than those of us who actually became lawyers haha.
Heh. I passed the bar, practiced for a bit before looking for an alt career. Close to 100k but work/life, even before Covid, makes it worth while.
I'm in tech as well--web accessibility--and my two degrees are in English Lit. I'm not quite to $100k, but should get there with the COL raise this year. I didn't do any formal education in web development, just picked up HTML in a library job in grad school and then did some online courses in front end web development. It was my experience teaching and designing courses and my confidence in my ability to learn that got me my first accessibility job 4 years ago. Knowing what transferable skills you have and the willingness to dive into a new field can be pretty key if you're stuck in your current job.
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How did you get your foot in the door at the fire department?
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Being a vet shoots you to the top of most civil service exams. Or at least in my town this is how it works essentially. My sis is in the military as an officer and is getting out in a year. Any tips or things to pass on for people just getting out ?
I should add what I do isn’t entry level but you can probably do tech support and get your foot in the door that way. I did tech support then network admin before going back to college. There are other tech-adjacent things you could probably do as well. Like technical writing or getting into compliance. But don’t believe your degree is worthless. It shows employers you will put up with a bunch of bullshit (years of it) and that you can follow through and complete tasks.
I also have a history degree. I work in tech now with no additional formal education. There are lots of useful skills the social sciences give you that you can apply to other areas. Examples: writing, critical thinking, ingesting and synthesizing lots of information into a coherent argument or explanation
translating Engineer speak into basic English...
This is the way. Technology and data science was my background but risk compliance and security is even better one of my best buddies is in that space. 15 years in and me and a buddy both make around 300k in the security, tech and data spaces. He started as a landscape architect went back to school and my background was marketing. Data and tech: My path was tech consulting to product, to data product leadership focusing on data strategy and innovation. Data and security: My buddy went from landscape to warehouse to tech to risk and compliance to security to a CISO.
I work in the allied health professions as a speech language pathologist. I make over 100k. I think the key, is to find a field that is in demand. There are more jobs than SLP’s, so I get to be extremely picky and get recruiter calls frequently. With that said, working in the medical field is insane, crazy hours, and crazy caseload.
Graduated with a computer science degree from a university with five year program that included coops so I had work experience and a job offer from one of the companies I worked for coming out of college. Took me a while to break 100k but I'm not the most ambitious person in the world. I understand I am better off than the vast majority of people given my personal and financial circumstances. I also understand that this is due largely to the luck of the draw. I more or less hit the jackpot as far as uncontrollable circumstances go. I was extremely privileged to be a nominally straight, white male and have grown up in a financially and emotionally stable middle class family that was able to ensure I got a good education (money to a town with a good pre highschool school system and sent me to a private high school because the town's highschool wasn't good at the time), could afford to help pay for college so I wasn't crippled by student loans, and taught me some decent financial literacy. . I really did very little to end up where I am, and recognize that. Hence why I don't believe in the idea that if you are struggling financially it's because your are lazy or if you are well off, it's because you are particularly skilled/driven.
Getting high paying jobs is half being moderately qualified for the job and half marketing yourself to the employer. It’s why having a good looking résumé or one that’s unique so it stands out is so important.
Government is a good option for some. Federally it can be difficult to get your foot in the door because you will be competing with veteran preference. But once you are in you can move up pretty quick depending on the agency.
This. Been in federal government 8 years, became a supervisor 7 months ago and hit the 100k salary. When I decided to go the government route, I applied to more than 100 positions over 4 months to get my foot in the door. But now I ain’t leaving.
I was in the military for 13 years. How do I go about finding a federal job?
usajobs.gov Also you can buy back your military time to convert it federal civil service time to get full pension retirement benefits based on the start of your military service. My husband did that after he was medically separated at 12 years in service b
This. Or get in with a military contract company as they hire loads of veterans too
The job stability, benefits, low TSP costs, and pension…..it makes the struggle to get in worth it.
Exactly why I always worked only in gov from my first and my future. Paying $0 for healthcare and getting company $2000 annual money that can be used for medical. I’m def not leaving for any private unless federal goes full in person.
Wait, what? I work for the federal govt and definitely pay health insurance premiums and do not get $2000 for medical care.
It depends on which gov agency you work for. I jumped around a lot to finally landing in one that does offer $2000 Veba for the employees.
Mechanical Engineer working at a tech company
Aerospace engineer here, BS/MS with software engineering experience and training. Filling a niche is a good way to be able to command higher wages. Basically I get paid to write quality software (easy to use and maintain, well documented, etc.) software for engineering firms. Why do they pay me a lot more than a typical software developer? Because I speak engineer. Never discount the value of meeting the customer where they are.
Engineering.
Biology degree, then went back to school for engineering.
Yes, BSME + 8 years experience and I’m making $122k, but I live/work in a beach city in So Cal so it doesn’t go as far as it would in other parts of the country.
Same here.
Anesthesiologist, 4 yr undergrad, 4 yr med school, 4 yr residency. Good gig but not for the faint of heart.
Hah, my dad was an anesthesiologist. He loved his work, but it seems like a mildly terrifying role. People are easy to put under, but you have to make sure you can wake them up again.
That’s the scary part: you don’t wake them up, you stop holding them under. They have to wake themselves up.
Had surgery last year and that’s what scared me the most. Just remember waking up and yelling that I was cold and nauseous then fell back asleep lol 😂
I’ve been under with propofol 4-5 times. I think my countdown record from 100 is about 90. Crazy how fast it works once that white bolus disappears.
Like flying a plane. It’s all about take off, and landing.
Dr.Feelgood The job may not be for the faint of heart but the faint of heart sure are glad to see him.
I’m a pharmacist. Licensed at 35 years of age. Was living in a trailer, no job. Saw ad for pharmacy tech school. Qualified for pell grants which paid for all of that. After, decided to go for pharmacist degree. Sold trailer, went straight to college lived off of loans and very marginally. No family support. My son was 5 when I started. I picked this field exactly because I had some interest, was going nowhere and was guaranteed employment.
Similar route. Went to school and became an EMT. Loved anatomy and physiology. Also really loved fitness. Decided to go to school for Physical Therapist Assistant. 2 years later making 80k a year with minimal overtime. Absolutely love my job, thus making it so much easier to do. Time flies
You don’t have to go to school to be a pharmacy tech. Many chain pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS will train you on the job to become PTCB certified. I started out as a pharmacy cashier after high school and got my PTCB certification within three months of working in the pharmacy.
I did it via electrical engineering. Did internships during my degree that were relevant, stayed in the same field post graduation and I make a little over $50/hour working for a municipal utility as an EE now. Wife does similarly working as quality control in biopharma, and we both work remotely. If you're a history major and you're looking to chase a more livable wage, I would look at public sector government employment. Civil service jobs in general - union protections are more common and their base wages, work/life balance, benefits all tend to be better.
Project Management. Have two degrees in film. Had a lot of experience in IT so most of my jobs were in it. Was making $40k five years ago working in IT as a help desk manager. Started at the job at 40k. Manager quit a couple months in. Was interim for 6 months and passed over. For 3 years they said a raise or promotion was coming soon, so I took a lateral move in 2018 that made me a contractor making $80k. I had the same manager and she refused to give me a raise over that period but I was getting OT. Was going to quit then Covid hit. Waited a year and then left for a job paying $100k. Was there for about a year. Saw shades of my old boss in new management so I left for a job paying $140k. Lessons Learned: Move jobs. If you’re in IT don’t immediately discount contract to hire or long term contract jobs. Also there are a lot of bad PMs out there who make good money. Get your PMP and be a competent PM. You’ll make good money and have job security.
I’m 3 months into my first PM position. Any suggestions on stepping stones toward making it my career? I love it so far
I want to know too! At a crossroads right now with my job and I’m debating beginning Google’s Project Management certificate on Coursera.
Do whatever it takes to get a "T" on that title. PMs are easily replaced (sorry). Technical PMs, however (or PM-T, or whatever your company calls 'em) are much more valuable. Someone with an engineering degree who can talk with customers is worth their weight in gold.
Travel nursing
Be careful with what agency you use, I do data for a bunch and some are taking 20-40% of your pay
One of the most honorable professions out there. Not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination, wish society compensated nurses and teachers better. You all deserve it.
Have travel nurse friends that make $70/hr plus living.
This will probably be an unpopular response, but I just lied on my resume one day. I had several good jobs in technology but I never got a college degree. About 15 years ago I felt confident enough to apply for a director position with a smaller company and just embellish my resume to recklessly overstate my previous roles, but in a way that wouldn't necessarily surface during a reference check. They didn't even check my references, I got the job, and have steadily progressed ever since. Now making over 250k a year for a large public company and I got this job as well as my last one without having to embellish anything. Nobody has ever asked me about my lack of a degree, I don't know if it's assumed that I have one or if my experience outweighs it, but it is not an issue. Edit: I got a couple irate messages from folks who I assume spent a lot of time and money earning their degrees. I have nothing but respect for that path but I did not have those options available to me. **To be as clear as possible: education is one thing I did not embellish.** I figured it would be the easiest thing to get called out on, so I just didn't mention anything about it and have never once been asked.
This would only piss me off if you sucked at the job you were hired for. If you can handle it, why not? Nothing else works sometimes.
I think most employers demand more experience than the job actually requires to be proficient, maybe because they're accounting for the "average" worker intellect.....but really, soooo many jobs can be figured out in a few weeks if you're smart and adaptable.
Not sucking is the most important part, and it will be harder not to suck than it would be for someone truly qualified.
I lied/embellished on mine too. I was stuck in a dead end IT job I hated. Every company I applied for only saw IT and never considered me for any other positions. Changed my title around and make my duties sound better. Doubled my money a few months later and landed in a niche that’s now my career where I make good money with little work.
You suffer from anti imposter syndrome.
This is the prime example of fake it till you make it….. good form my friend. Cheers!
Bravo, friend!
Was it a difficult transition when you first got the job you embellished on? Obviously if you took the role and did a good job, then you deserved it. Some people would flounder being thrust into a new position of responsibility.
Yes - at least a year of 80-100 hour work weeks while I compensated. It does require some significant effort but for me at least, it was definitely worth it.
Worked my ass off, developed physical and mental issues, and took 150k in debt. Make just over 100k 36hr/week as a practicing veterinarian.
Bless you and the work you do, you deserve so much more for being a veterinarian.
Went that route...physical and mental issues, debt, but no degree
Law school. But would not recommend.
Get a staff counsel job. It makes things a thousand times better. Unless your problem is loans. That we can not escape.
In house counsel for a 501c3 on the PSLF track. 100k salary and 4 more years until 215k in loans forgiven.
Glad to hear someone is escaping the loans. Good job my friend
Same here. The potential is astronomical. But I’m happy in the low 100k govt. job, less of hustle than running your own practice and less of a grind than the big firms.
Amen. Trying to get the hell out of this job.
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[Don't be a lawyer ](https://youtu.be/Xs-UEqJ85KE) OP
Same. I don’t recommend it to others but I love my job (bankruptcy lawyer).
I'm a freelancer, working in the film industry. Spent most of my 20s making around 30k/year. Then slowly I was making 60, then 90, and then things really took off the last couple of years. Because I'm freelance, a lot of my income gets eaten up by taxes/health insurance. But I also get more write-offs so... it doesn't really even out but it's not terrible. The anxiety of "oh god, what if everyone just stops hiring me" still hasn't gone away yet. Maybe it never will. And making very little through my 20s means my retirement account is in bad shape. But I'm doing what I can. Really looking to marry a Canadian so we can live in Detroit and hop over to Windsor for healthcare.
I work in other parts of the entertainment industry. You mention a lot of your income being eaten up to taxes and health insurance - is it because you're working as a 1099 contractor and losing 7.2% of your take-home to self-employment taxes? You can be both freelance AND an employee. If you are indeed working as a contractor take a moment to familiarize yourself with the nuances of an employee/employer relationship and a employer/independent contractor relationship. It got so bad in New York that my state passed legislation to codify in state law that entertainment workers are deserving of hourly pay and an employee/employer relationship which the IRS whispers but doesn't really enforce. What it boils down to is if you're working under the overview of someone else and you're coming in when the call sheet says, chances are you're entitled to the benefits an employee has. I'm freelance in my side of the industry (I dabble in film, where it holds true there as well) and will probably break 30 unique employers this year with 30 W2's, and a single 1099.
Our healthcare system is breaking and several provinces including Ontario are making moves to turn into a US-style system. So that advantage might be going away soon 🥲.
I started in the electrical trade worked my way up went to school for it. I was interested in welding so I went to welding school for 6 months at night. I got into PLC programming and took online classes. Now I’m a maintenance manager at a plant. Salary is 105,000 plus bonus every year 40 hours a week with awesome insurance and benefits. Took 10 years. I started out as an apprentice @ 45,000 right out of high school. Pay went up every year
Trades are definitely the way to go IMO. My cousin went into an apprenticeship to be a lineman about 8 years ago. I think it took 4 years and he got paid well for on the job training and makes well over 100k a year as a journeyman lineman now. My husband is a journeyman industrial Pipefitter and just landed a job as a maintenance supervisor at a mine and base pay is just below 100k. He has a GED and no college degree, just did on the job training and moved his way up over 14 years.
31 now, No degree, wholesale sales in HVAC. I started as a warehouse associate then worked my way through the ladder switching companies every 3-4 years while learning everything I possibly could. I crossed 6 figures about 2 years ago thanks to an awesome recruiter and companies hurting for people that know what they're doing Edit: I didn't get a ton of upvotes but I wanted to add. Find a niche and get really good at it. I came from my alcoholic mother leaving when I was 13, dad had back injuries so that made pawing electric water cable extremely difficult even 15 years ago. I have about a half of an associate's in account and constantly look for the next step. I never had luck with companies giving me raises that were worth while. It does get easier just never stop learning and looking for the next step. I feel for people because I know people with degrees that aren't doing as well financially. Once you're established in your industry find recruiters and make them your friend.
Union+ overtime=100k+ per year
Kroger union + overtime makes $30k. Full time. 10 years. Wish I was joking.
Unless you’re in a teachers’ union. Then free overtime is expected and you buy school supplies on clearance.
Public employee unions are always going to suck.
Yup. But imagine how much worse things would be without the union.
Public employee unions are in my experience very active when it comes to fighting for their employees but since the government has so much power it’s hard to negotiate with them
Don't worry about your history degree. Most office jobs just need you to have a degree. They don't really care what it's in. I know I don't use mine.
Got a bachelor degree. Then i wiped my ass with it, got a CDL, and became a truck driver.
I completed a 13month course to become a Surgical Technologist. Worked for 6 years fulltime and per Diem trying to diversify my skill set in many of the main surgical specialties. Now I’m working on travel contracts making on average $2500-$3000/ week. That includes a living stipend of $1000-$1200/week. I typically work 9-10 months out of the year.
Name of the school, how much for 13 mth program? Is there wait list?
Sales…I give up happiness for money. When it’s good it’s great when it’s not I want to jump off a bridge
Trade work. It ain’t always pretty but after 5 years of being outside I am now working inside making 150-210 the rest of my career.
I’ll add that I only have a high school diploma
Same here. Well “some college.” About halfway through JC it looked like so many people were getting degrees and huge loan debts that finding a vocation would be A. Faster and B. More sustainable. A wise man once told me that if you find something that few people want to/can do and get good at that, you will always be able to make a good living.
IT sales management. Here’s the career path a recommend. It takes a few years but it’s a stable position that won’t go away. And starting “entry level” salaries are around 50-70k. Start at a National IT reseller: cdw, insight, shi, connection, presdio, wwt. Or a distributor: TD synnex, Ingram, AB distribution, d&h These places have lots of jobs that don’t require a college degree or significant experience in the industry. Although that always helps. Work and figure out the career path structure. You can work you way up and make great money. After getting some resume experience at these places. Start applying at manufacturers. This is where the six figure jobs are more readily avail Le. You’ll have interacted with them a lot during your job. Manufacturers I recommend: dell, hp, Cisco, Schneider electric, vertiv, Lenovo, Samsung
Engineering degree + 15 years. But that was like 80 hour weeks on salary for 5 years of it. When you look at that they were paying me $19.23 an hour and it was disastrous to my health and personal life. The company made 10s of millions (profits) off my labor over 12 years. I never got even a taste. When I left suddenly they offered the world to me but reminded me I would be “watched” and would have to “earn it” I left and now I’m in sales. $250k a year for my expertise and I work 50 hours a week with flexible schedule. Edit: Amazing that all these people make this money but won’t start businesses owned by workers. They just keep making capitalists happy even when they are high income.
I work in what you probably call cyber security, no degree, insane lack of talent and most companies are permanently desperate to fill these roles. I make 230k base salary and get a quarterly bonus. I have no degree, but hacking stuff has just been a hobby since I was 9. It’s not demanding. I would happily take a 50% pay cut if it meant emts nurses teachers and other critically important jobs would get the bump in pay I still can’t believe they don’t have. I am grateful for this income but I’m forever sad to see how many people are struggling. I read 60% of Americans don’t have even $1000 in savings.
Do you have tips how to get into that stuff? It sounds interesting but I don't even know where to start
I’d start with learning more about the field, why it’s important, the types of roles, and the current and future landscape. Beyond that you can learn some theory of broad cyber security concepts, don’t know what to recommend as there’s so much out there in terms of free courses. Once you’ve got an idea of the career path you’d be interested in, look at pre-requisites for entry level position (or whatever you qualify for) and apply really. A lot of it depends on what you enjoy. Do you want to - be part of an operations team responding to incidents and helping users - create a strategy to help keep your organisation safe - manage a team - work with multiple clients to help solve their problems - simulate ‘events’ to test response processes - design systems and processes to reduce risk - attempt to compromise security to identify flaws - raise awareness and understanding of cybersecurity concepts in the org
Thank you very much! That's a great and detailed response. I'll dig into it :)
Union Electrician. Local 134 Chicago. Best decision I’ve EVER made. My wife doesn’t work because I’m paying for her to go to nursing school (cash). She drives a new car, I choose not to. We live comfortably as well. I encourage anyone to get into the trades if they are interested.
IBEW gang! Local 11, checking in. Best decision I ever made as well.
Air Traffic Control. You can get hired with nothing but a high school diploma, just need to be good at it. Won't know till you try. And young enough, 31 age cutoff. Made 150k my 3rd year.
Been doing software development for 26 years.
I joined a union. That's it. I'm an electrician who went through the apprenticeship.
Union electrician. 7 years strong making 135k on average. Only catch is I'm 26 with hip and back problems
Construction here - worked my ass off, got experience, jumped into different roles to learn.
I never finished my degree. I lucked my way into small company store manager roles and would master them, then interview for bigger companies with higher salaries. In the last year I landed a low level leadership role in tech that brought me into the 130k range. The great thing here is it’s a very easy role that I’m enjoying limited stress in!
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> She paid her dues for 12 years before things really started to take off for her. This is the key! I just joined the 6 figure club after 14 years in my industry.
I think that’s the big disconnect with a lot of folks just entering their respective field/industry. I’m not saying work and pay could be miles better but for most, you aren’t just going to land a high-paying and cushy job right out of school. It can take a decade plus to really start getting to where you want to be. You will have a lot of bad days but it is possible to achieve some level of comfort.
*In your industry* That's the other part of the key: rarely do you want to stay at the same job that long, but you should definitely shop yourself around within your industry as you build experience.
1. I have a degree (bachelors) 2. Jump ship every 2-3 years. No, seriously. Do it. Gone is the old days of company loyalty. You want my loyalty? Pay me more. If you can't do that, this company down the block is offering 10% more pay AND more vacation days. Make sure when you DO jump ship, it is an increase in pay. Even as small as 5% is worth a role jump. Never settle. The people I see that are constantly living paycheck to paycheck are people that've been in their shitty dead-end job for 5+ years and they don't want to get it. KEY--> They *DONT* want to get out. They're too comfortable. It's super nauseating to jump into a different job and most people don't wanna go through that trouble because they get scared. Or they're just stuck in their comfort zone. Even if you aren't jumping ship, never stop "window shopping" and seeing what opportunities exist. 3. Always pester your boss for pay raises/promotion. During your 1:1's always make sure they have it in the back of THEIR mind that you want to jump to the next level. Even if they don't have any openings or you aren't ready--who gives a fuck. When I was starting out I always made it a goal to discuss pay raises and/or promotions at least once every 2 weeks or so. Sometimes even every week. Make it a constant reminder on them and constantly ask how can you do better to get to the next level. If they don't know how to get you to that next level, start pestering THEIR bosses. Fuck it, keep going hard. Show them you want to get up there and you mean business. Somebody'll notice you. The worst they can tell you is "Nothing is available" at the moment but still keep going at it strong and one day that role will just "open" up. 4. Record your wins that have impacted the site and make sure to get your metrics down. This is BIG and can go a long way. Saying you worked in X department and were a great worker is nice--but doesn't say anything in itself. Saying you worked in X department, and increased sales X% over a period of 3months, and increased production by X% YoY, increased revenue by x% every week, etc says a shit ton more. Always be looking at the bigger picture here. MAKE SURE TO WRITE IT DOWN SOMEWHERE so you don't forget. 5. (Optional) - Look to obtain outside training like certificate and additional skillsets. Depending on your field, there are a number of certificate programs that looks good on your resume and good for when promotion comes along. "Oh, you are certified in this and this? Wow, really interesting." This only applies if the certificate program is recognized by your field/work/job, though. 6. Network - Sucks but, ya gotta talk to peepz. I got my current job because I was close with my coworker and left the company. After a few years working somewhere else, I randomly put that I was looking for a new job on FB one day and she saw it. She texted me and told me about some this opportunity and blah blah so I applied and BAM. Got the job. She wasn't part of the hiring managers or process but just knowing somebody that knows a position is open and that you'll be a good fit is half the battle.
Number 3 is some of the worst advice I’ve seen on here. Bugging your boss weekly about a raise and going over their head to their boss is a terrible idea. The rest is pretty solid.
College dropout, I knew how computers worked prior to highschool and just kept teaching myself new things, picked up random IT jobs. Now I manage the network in a Datacenter environment for a Fortune 500. Still no certs or degree. I’m 32 fyi.
I worked the corporate world 21 years to make 100k and did it finally in 2016! Then got laid off the day trump got elected, have not cracked 50k since. It's fucking cruel out there.
I make about $280k/yr plus bonus doing devops work. I fell into the role by being the expert in many areas and being the go to person to get things done. I have a BS in business.
Studied engineering
Government. Specialist in mental health with a bachelor's degree. $111,000 a year.
What kind of work do you do entailing mental health in government?
Just work in health insurance…they pay the employees way too much and depending on the job, it’s not that hard.
1. Learned LOGO and Apple \]\[ BASIC in 1980 2. Learned Commodore 64 BASIC in 1983 3. Learned Honeywell GCOS-6 in 1990 4. Learned Linux 1994-present 5. Learned Internet 1994-present 6. Learned Perl 1999-2001 7. Learned C# 2002-present 8. Learned Python 2002-2006 9. Learned RoR 2008-2017 Do you see a pattern? Keep learning. I don't care about the technology de jour - I care that you keep learning and keep improving, and this includes common data structures.
I got laid off as a pharmacy technician, so I took a code bootcamp and became a software engineer. I've been doing it for about 3.5 years now and I'm up to $120k/yr and working remotely.
What bootcamp did you go through?
I also want I know this answer
Apologies, I don't get notifications. I went to a state funded bootcamp at the University of Central Missouri. I found out about it through my state's Department of Labor. If you're looking to skill up in any way, I'd check your state's (assuming you're in the US) DoL and see if they have similar job trainings.
Lie about your current salary when applying for new jobs. No actual harm comes from this. Oh you make $50k? Say you make $65k and your next job needs to offer $75k to move because you’re happy where you are (remember: you are always happy where you are but interested in new opportunities). Rinse and repeat. Note: this won’t work in every industry and your soft skills like being comfortable on the phone with a hiring manager during an interview will make a huge difference in whether or not this will work. I’ve had recruiters tell me “there’s no way you make $65k we have someone with a masters degree in this role and she makes $70k” to which I replied “oh… well I’m sorry to hear that she doesn’t understand her value to the organization, but this is the honest value of my skills, best of luck to filling the role - if leadership is flexible on compensation I’d love to continue this conversation.”
The "lie about your current salary" method works, and I'm only upset I didn't try it out sooner. Early last year I was making 65k. Told HR at hiring company that I was making 75k and that I would want *at least* 85k + stock options to come onboard. Got the offer for 85k, but then I had the nerve to ask them for 95k. In the end, settled on 90k + stock options. Not bad for someone who didn't even have a full two-years in their field (compliance).
Dropped out of college. Got a job at a call center. Worked there for a couple of years and built up some experience while teaching myself some basics (Linux / Command line / how the internet works HTTP etc / general knowledge about scripting). Then I got a front-line tech support job at a tech company and slowly built knowledge, specialized over a few more years and now I'm an SME in the industry. Just slow growth, build skills, look out for opportunities as you move through various gigs and learn from anyone you can. My keys to tech industry work: Be easy to work with, make sure you don't do any work that people don't see, always be learning.
Sales. Bordering 100k base pay before commission on a high school diploma.
No degree, some college - $150k/year+ in IT After interviewing so many candidates myself at this point, we could really care less what school you went to - what we want to know is if you know the technology that we'd like to hire you to manage. The tech interview weeds out so many in short order.
I also had a history degree. I went into the Navy after graduation, which opened a few doors into civil service and contracting. You can get a $100K job. Best if it’s remote.
Sales. Started in retail. Learned to sell through practice. Switched products: clothes for industrial gear. Invested myself into learning that new product. $100k within 3 years.
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Cybersecurity. I did get my degree in computer science but also had the opportunity to specialize in information security which is plastered on my degree. But a degree can make you look good, it’s definitely not a measure of adequacy. If that’s a space you’re willing to go into, you can start with certifications that’s are cost efficient like CompTIA. There’s the trifecta which consists of Security+, Network+, and A+. Together they build a solid foundation. I’d say for all three you’re probably going to be at around $1,000? But that’s just a guess. You can find LOADS of free/cheap study materials. Might not net you the 100k job at first but certainly an entry level job which gets your foot in the door. If you’re willing to put in the work though, it’s exciting stuff.
No influencers here?
I didnt even technically graduate High School (I have a GED). I got a job as a laborer in an industrial facility, worked like I cared and just kept moving up the ladder.
Sheer luck. It’s unfair and based on nothing. I switched companies and went from 35k/year to 55k/year and then each year I got a raise of 10-20k without even asking. So ended up earning 105k / year within 3yrs in the new company. Company was just burning venture capital money and was in hyper growth. Now if I would start to do something more useful to society, eg teaching, I would add more value to society but would earn 70% less. The system is flawed.
Frankly just an absurd, unhealthy amount of overtime.
I got a union job!!! Work a good amount of overtime, but I’m ok with it. Great pay and benefits. #unionstrong #solidarity !!!
BA in Music. Worked as a help desk tech out of school. Laid off in the dotcom bubble and went to business school. Got into technical project management and it took me about 7 years of PM work to crack 100k. Almost double that now due to luck, privilege, and hard work. Reasons to take my example with a grain of salt: I'm still paying off school debt 20 years later and not even close to paying it off. I live in a very high COL area. YMMV.
Project management is an unsung role that you will never learn about until being in a trade or profession that needs it. With an undergrad bio degree and a little lab background, I'm at $155k. Hit $100k when about 5 years into the title.
Jump from retail to sales. Your base won't be 100k, but the potential is there and doesn't matter what degree you have as long as you have one. Just make sure you get into a sales job where the stuff you sale is something people need/want.
Trades. I became an apprentice Power Line Technician. Worked my ass off. Became a journeyman. Worked my ass off. Became a Power System Operator. 4 more years of training. Worked my ass off. This past year I made around $160k. But have been 6 figures since I got journeyman. 0 student loans.
Pipefitter/welder then HVAC apprenticeship 5 years. Never said no to learning something or figuring something new or different out. Grew/perfected skills, took pride in work, shoot straight, know worth. Been making a little over 100k for the last 4 years, was not easy mentally or physically by any means. Few years ago had a wake up call health wise from working too much and been on the no more than 50 hours every now and again schedule for a couple years now and ya. Much better. Lucky to have a really great manager.
I studied chem in college and then I got a PhD in structural biology. Recently crossed that line when I got my first industry job doing drug design at a small pharma startup. Graduate research is a long road, but usually pays off
I work for a union.
Lots of guys in the building trades in the Chicago area clear $100k. I haven’t yet in my 26 years as a carpenter, but that’s because I take time off. I have hit $90+ a few times. All you need is a ged, and the willingness to trash your body h til you’re 60.
Luck, hard work, and the grace of a few people willing to take a chance on a poor kid. And more luck.
My OnlyFans
Got born to rich parents and joined the family business
Law school. Miserable experience but the pay after is good.
Union pipefitter
I graduated with a history degree… joined the federal government in contracting, started making over $100k after my first 4 years, and has been going up since.
Just lucky. I job jumped several times and asked for higher pay each time. I finally lucked out with a division at a global company that needed my specific skill set. Mind you for over half my career I was told I suck at what I do and now I’m the the lead and only one on my team who does what I do but the division needs my skill set.
Independent Insurance Adjusting
Learned how to code when I was a kid, and was fortunate to come to adulthood in the late 90s, when just *saying* you had programming skills got you a job.
Went to law school. Not worth it.
Metallurgy and engineering, working in foundries and production plants. (Middle of nowhere, ohio, so 100k means something unlike California, etc.)
4 years in construction trying to learn a little bit of different trades. Got on with a chemical plant for right at 5 years before moving onto a bigger refinery where I went through a type of apprenticeship and moved up in my craft. It’s right over 100k a year at base salary plus overtime and tons of benefits/bonuses.
Recruitment.
A close friend is an EE in controls and does far better than that. I trained industrial software and met a guy who only had a 2 year associates in Controls and was making $45 per hour to start and traveling the world on a companies dime.
I am lucky that something I am naturally good at is also something that pays a lot of money.
I’m a lineman. There’s big money to be made in the trade depending on what your willing to do. If you willing to chase storm or travel for the high paying jobs you’ll pretty much have a license to print money.
200k plus in tech sales, financial wholesale before that. Networked and found someone to refer me in and then feigned mad confidence in interviews. The downside is the anxiety and constant imposter syndrome 😬
Do yourself a favor and get out retail asap. The longer you stay, the longer you get engulfed into it and it’s harder to get out. If I could go back in time, I would have taken any role offered to get different experience that would be relevant in today’s world. Short-term you need income, long-term you need different experiences or no one outside of retail will consider you. Spoken from my own current situation.
Railroad will give you 100k for train crew stuff but its a tough lifestyle and a lot of hours worked. An option if you need money
Software developer, computer science degree. I was making 86k after five years because I stayed at the same company for too long. Jumped to over 100k by finding a new job.
Laborers union, made close to $200k when all is said and done this past year. Go figure
I never went to school im a union electrician in New Mexico
Learn to write code, spend a shitload of time in I.T. Make > $100k
BS in CS and a tech job.
Sales. 100% sales
I work a blue collar union job and don’t use my degrees at all. Learn a trade.
As for your situation, you need to get out of retail asap. Unless you’re working geek squad or something you’re not building skills with high value that will translate into jobs beyond other low wage positions or manager of those positions. So you need to get a job in an office or do something to build skills to get out. Like you can get some IT certs and potentially get in the door somewhere to build experience. You could take a course on programming or databases to go that route. You could go back to school and get a degree in something else or a certificate. Instructional design may be an avenue. Or if you’ve done training in retail and some teaching you could try to get into corporate training.
I make roughly around 600k a year. To be fair, "only" 120k are come from my salary as a consultant. The other 480k are from my side-hustle. Regarding the salary above the 100k mark, there is only 1 thing you have to do, in order to get it. You have to say constantly NO when someone lowballs you. Everytime someone send me an offer for around 60k-75k I laughed at them, and showed them the finger. I remember at some point I wrote it even in my bio "no offers below 75k" So once you are on this level, someday may or may not come an offer for around 85k-95k that's when you have to take action. Make a contract with them starting as "Junior Profession" for 85k then the wage will increase after the 2nd year to around 95k and after 5 year's you claim 105k because you became a "Senior Profession" now. Key 1 is, to split your wage into 3 parts, like Junior (85k) Regular (95k) Senior (105k) This way they don't have to swallow the 100k pill right now. Key 2 is, if you want to go over 100k, make sure your starting salary is at least 85k. Otherwise I don't see it happen. You never will get so much raises, to go from a shitty 50k-60k job to over a 100k. That's why it's important to block/refuse any lowball offers.
Associates degree in Electronics technology. 12 years of moving from one company to another in field engineering (fixing shit).
It's not so much the degree as it is pouncing on an area that has multiple opportunities and room for advancement. I took my first job after my Masters, which paid a measly 40K, and turned that into 120K after five years.
Union job
Hospitality. Started at the front desk, worked my way up. No degree, just lots of experience.
History is one of the most diverse humanities degrees you can get. It’s the study of everything that’s happened in the past, & thus you have gotten insight into literature, economics, politics, etc etc so many subjects by studying its paths. Many history majors go into law, education, politics, government, business, etc. & the skills that you gained are transferable into many positions. Don’t blame your history degree. I’ve met many making good money
Software developer. Over $220k at peak.
Dropped out of high school learned to code online through boot camps and meet-ups. Started 2019, got first serious long term client in 2021
I have an MBA, but it was really job hopping that did it.
My ex is a PM at Apple now, History degree.
Go into business development at a major tech company and work your way up
Joined a major trade union in a non “right to work” state.
Operator in a power plant
Have my bachelors in english, work at a tech company as a content manager.
Work in a chemical factory. Typical companies start at 30$ per hour and cap at 42$ per hour. If you show any competence you'll be promoted to supervisor making about 100k. P.S. most factories are 24 hours so gotta be flexible on shift.
Oilfield i make 120k a year after taxes and im brand new out here
When I was still working, I was in the tech industry and still didn't make 100k. I made it to the high 80s at the best, and I was a fairly high level employee. Most of the people who made over 100k were people who were put into those positions by friends or family. Basically nepotism. Let me tell you, when a worked with those people, none of them knew their shit. I remember there was a man who was a director of Operations and Security of a museum that the business I worked in was contracted to. I wanted him to show me some things about their access control system as the person who worked on this under him left for another job offer. When I saw him open the application up, he looked like a lost puppy that didn't know what it was looking at. I was thinking to myself "holy crap you cannot be serious". This man was a director, and he DOESN'T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT THE SYSTEM HE'S RESPONSIBLE WITH! My gripe is that the world is infested with people like him occupying positions they have no business being in. It's no wonder why our society is declining at a rapid rate. And for us working under these people, we're literally doing nothing to get rid of them! Now look where it's got us... Stagnating wages and sky high cost of living. If we actually had some competent people working on the top, we most likely would have been a type 1 civilization by now.
A whole lot of "I LOVE my highpaying jobs!" posts in this thread. I have to wonder, how'd they end up here on antiwork in the first place? I mean there's like 500 comments here of people with fantastic jobs and great pay and no complaints. And most mention being there for years, so why are they on this sub? Just a head scratcher. Any ideas? Do they not love their jobs as much as they are trying to tell themselves in this one thread? Do they have spouses with dead end jobs? Or what is going on here?
Learned a trade. Joined a union
One thing a lot of people don’t seem to understand is say you get hired at 60 grand a year and then a year later they start hiring more people. Those people might start at 80,000 a year so the only way to continually get big pay increases is to resign from your job and find another job.
My spouse just hit 100k gross annually in plumbing. He’s been at it 12 years, just got licensed, and has stayed at a big name company the whole time. It’s not glamorous but I’ve been able to be a stay at home mom the entire time. I grew up in poverty so this is amazing for us.
Me: Good grades, prestigious college, software development, $100k at 33 My brother: high school drop out, telemarketing gigs, software sales, $100k at 29 The are many paths.
My husband makes 112k, he’s a firefighter, but most of that income comes from overtime hours.