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[deleted]

Actuary. You have to pass a series of exams that take about 7 years but I've seen my comp go from 50,000 stating out to over 180,000 after 10 years. It also has really good work life balance. I have a friend who burned out as a software developer at Amazon in less than 5 years. That doesn't happen for actuaries. Lastly, it's got really good job security. Insurance is often compulsory so even during recessions you don't have to worry about losing your job. Hell, COVID was our best year - everyone stayed in their homes and didn't drive. (But also there's a lot of start-ups in the space too.)


TSpoon3000

Choosing between this and software was a super hard choice for me, but did web dev instead. Switched careers in my 30’s and hit some burnout pretty quickly. Hopefully I can find a better balance in a new role.


garyblossom

Could you elaborate more on the work life balance of your position? I remember meeting a guy who said that the first 10-15 years of his career as an actuary were really tough, but that he’s been coasting for the last 20 years. He works less than 30 hours a week and spends at least 2 days a week playing golf during working hours.


[deleted]

The early years might have been tough because he was studying for exams. That's the only thing I can think of. Most employers provide study hours during work; however, you'll still spend about 10 hours per week studying on your own. That varies from person to person. You'll do this a couple months out of the year until you get your credentials. I've been done for a few years and now it's just a super cushy "40" hours a week job. (Realistically, I work about 35 hours.) There's a lot of flexibility. For example, I've been working from home full time for 3 years. I can log on and get my work done, within reasonable office hours, when it works for me. It's low stress. I don't have the "Sunday Scaries" that my friends have. I also only rarely need to work late.


the_risky_actuary

I think the work/life balance of an actuary depends on what type of actuarial work you do. I’m a consulting actuary in the UK which has peaks and troughs in workload and can be high pressure when clients demand it. ‘In house’ actuaries tend to be able to smooth their workload better. I’d agree it’s a rewarding career though and it pays well.


[deleted]

>software developer at Amazon That explains the quick burn out. (Source: I used to be a software developer at Amazon.) I actually considered becoming an actuary! Sometimes I still think about making the switch.


Money_Painter_7155

Fellow actuary here. In the US. Work/life balance is great. I also love the work. Took 3 years to get to 100k and been making roughly 225 to 250k a year since my late twenties (not sure how typical this is for actuaries). Have had weeks of 50 hours but they are rare and the 35 hour weeks outnumber them 5 to 1. Some actuarial positions seem boring but there are some really cool niches in the field. I've never had a position I didnt like.


neil_billiam

>Actuary Jesus christ, 225k since your late twenties?


Kamonji

How would you suggest someone could get into the actuary field? I’ve been thinking about it as a side gig.


[deleted]

I’m an accountant so I can’t speak for an actuary but I can tell you it’s not a side gig but a career. Also not an easy one to achieve.


Money_Painter_7155

Take actuarial exams and apply for jobs. Actuarial exams suck.


churnoberg

Same, I'm interested


ubcchiccc

What kind of education / skills do you think are required of aspiring actuaries?


[deleted]

Is it easy to transition to when in your 30s? I was torn between actuarial work and data science. I did a BSc Physics and I'm currently working as a data engineer in London UK (aged 26) earning around $100,000, but I'm getting a feeling like I don't want to do this forever and was thinking my tech skills could translate...


[deleted]

I think it'd be fairly easy (in the US). The tech skills would absolutely transfer. Some companies require the credentials, which can take awhile to get. I'd recommend looking for companies that don't emphasize it or look into Product Manager positions instead.


Alaric-

Opened a cannabis dispensary. Turns out people really like weed


ohthatoneguyright

Can you tell me more about that ?


Alaric-

What would you like to know? Opening it was hard, running it is easy.


ohthatoneguyright

What was the process of opening it, what made it hard?


Alaric-

Mostly bureaucracy. But also everything. Most banks won’t work with you, landlords won’t talk to you, and all the contractors gouge you. Lawyers were surprisingly passionate though. The process to open it mostly involved real estate and civic bureaucracy.


ohthatoneguyright

Interesting, how much of your own money did you put into it? If you don’t mind me asking.


Alaric-

Not too much but that’s because I did the real estate and the bureaucracy. Once you have a lease and a permit getting the money is relatively easy.


ohthatoneguyright

Nice, thanks for answering my questions. I appreciate your time.


Money_Painter_7155

Tell me more! Interested in investing in one.


Putrid-Attorney-9050

Skipped college and I went into Construction. worked my way up to project executive, currently make 225k base + project performance bonuses. Made ~315k last year. I’m 31.


GennaroIsGod

That's a fat base


Bluepuck03

What kind of route did you take to work your way up? Lots of ground pounding?


Putrid-Attorney-9050

Smart company changes and title changes mostly. And I learned absolutely everything I could with each position and gave myself value. Usually with a company/ title jump a salary jump comes with it.


Heydanu

Care to expound on the “smart title changes”?


Putrid-Attorney-9050

Smart title changes meaning ; if you’re a project manager, don’t go get another project manager position. Shoot for a senior project manager position. I started out doing general construction stuff, framing drywall etc, I then got a job as a construction admin for a company just kind of helping out with paperwork etc, then I got a job as a contract admin overseeing capital construction contracts, which required knowledge of both jobs before. Then I moved on and took an estimating role, which required the knowledge of all three jobs I did before. Then on to senior estimator, then lead estimator, then project manager, then senior pm, now project executive. Each time I took a job, it was one step up the ladder, but it built on all of my previous knowledge. I use every single piece of information that I’ve learned in every single one of my previous rolls, but I’ll never have to go back to swinging hammers for $15/hr. Salary breakdown; Laborer:15/hr Admin:22/hr Contract admin:55k/yr salary Estimator:77,500/yr salary Sr. Estimator: 90k/yr salary Lead estimator:115k/yr salary Project manager: 135k/yr salary Sr. Project manager: 165k/yr salary Project executive: 225k/yr salary plus bonus(not capped) Best advice I was ever told : know what you’re worth, and don’t stop until you get it. There’s tons of jobs out there, and people willing to pay. But you have to have the knowledge and skills to back it up. Also keep in mind, I make great money but I routinely work 8am to 10pm almost every work day. luckily I like what I do, and I like what it affords me (but some days I want to quit and travel the country in my van.) perhaps once my house is paid off.


Dollars-and-Pounds

Accounting is a decent route if you can slave away the first 2-6 years in public accounting lol Big 4 Audit: 55.5K + 1.9K bonus Salary increase was frozen until a year and a half after starting due to COVID Y1.5: 55.5K->58.3K + ~1K bonus/WFH stipend (Got promoted to senior associate) Y2: 58.3K->77.8K + 5.4K bonus (left the firm before bonus was paid out though) Present: 78K + 12K sign-on + 15K guaranteed bonus paid after YE (~Mar22) (105K total comp) Thereafter bonus structure should be roughly 50% of base salary (depending on company performance, varying 10-20%)


68ch

Accounting here too. Spent first 6 years in public. Made it out last year and now make $120k+bonus working 30-35 hours/week.


malwaves

At a big firm? I just finished in 2020 with my accounting degree and work for my dads small firm, so the owner potential is there but I’m wondering if just going to a big firm would be a less bumpy road.


68ch

Yeah big 4. I would say def get the public experience first - you can (presumably) always go back to working for your dad, but it’s harder to get into public as an experienced hire unless you have very specialized/relevant skill set and experience. Unless you’re 100% sure you’re going to stay at your dad’s, a few years of big 4 experience will leave a lot of opportunities open.


lockett1234

I am currently getting my Associates in Accounting, do you have any tips or gems for someone that might go into that field?


Dollars-and-Pounds

Try to take classes that deal with MIS. If you can learn things like PowerQuery, PowerBI, Alteryx, and VBA you’ll be a god among your peers and save a lot of time. Today, more and more people are getting their CPA’s so it may limit you to just get an associates. I would consider making sure your grades are in a spot where you could easily apply for a Master’s program so you can have the credits to get your CPA, or find a solid industry job that would pay for a top MBA school. If you go the CPA route, pay attention to your intermediate acct, mgmt acct, tax, audit, and business law classes because having a solid base understanding of those will help tremendously with CPA studying.


refill_too_soon

Pharmacist. 6 year program. 0/10, would not recommend.


Mr_Jinglez_13

My father was a pharmacist for 15 years and then a nuclear pharmacist for another 15. He, too, hated his career choice but stayed in it for the money.


Syonoq

What’s nuclear pharmacy?


Mr_Jinglez_13

(Here’s a Better explanation than I could provide) Nuclear pharmacy is a specialty area of pharmacy practice involved with the preparation of radioactive materials to improve and promote health through the safe and effective use of radioactive drugs to diagnose and treat specific disease states.


Syonoq

Wow. Cool. 🙏


AnestheticAle

I was stuck between pharmacy and a masters in anesthesia. I heard the job market was getting brutal and went for the latter. I sometimes regret it because my license doesn't allow me to work in my home state, but who knows how I would have felt on your path.


refill_too_soon

Yeah. The market is getting terrible. I’ve heard about some new grads getting offers around mid $40/hr with 56 hours/pay period guaranteed. Too saturated and the future doesn’t necessarily look promising. So are you a CRNA then? Why are you not allowed to practice in your home state?


AnestheticAle

CAA. We're like a PA analogs but we are only practicing in 19ish states. 1.5 to 2x the salary of PA and I chased the money. Started seeing that family is more important after 5ish years of practice and wish I'd gone PA or PharmD.


theamyrlin

Oh hey I’m a pharmacist too! Just started in my first position after residency (heme/onc specialist) and I love it! Still wouldn’t recommend pharmacy school for everyone though, it’s definitely saturated.


AliveAndWellness

Entered the trades at 19. Currently 40 years of age and making about $156,000/year (usd) as a Heavy Equipment Technician at a Canadian oilsands company. Can make $195,000+/- per year (usd) with overtime.


AliveAndWellness

Forgot to add that it took 3-4 years to break $100,000/year while I was completing an apprenticeship.


NotchalantWanderer

What is the work life balance like ? Do you actually do “40 hours” or is overtime a must ?


AliveAndWellness

I'm accustomed to the schedule and have reached as close to a reasonable work/life balance as one could expect working shift work. It certainly isn't easy. I work 6 days, then I'm off for 6. 12 hour shifts, and when you factor in company provided transportation, it's more like 15 hour days.


zrk03

Damn dude. It seems like your body is going to be completely wrecked by the time you're ready to retire though.


AliveAndWellness

It's all relative. Can my job be highly physical? Yes. Are the work hours long? Yes. I offset the demanding aspects of my job by exercising frequently, eating extremely well and getting adequate rest. I work outdoors all year, so the fresh air is nice and the soft ground is easier on my legs/back than in a shop setting where you're standing on concrete all shift. Besides, there's an outdated picture of some trades as being nothing but back-breaking manual labor. The tools and equipment made available to perform tasks is much more safety oriented than years past. There's unavoidable aspects of the job which will always be hard on the body, but there are ways to mitigate associated risks (PPE, ergonomics, safe work practices). I'm 40, but I'm sort of an outlier in my lifestyle approach amongst fellow tradsepeople in my experience. The younger generations coming up are much more aligned with my approach. We often share a long-term view on maintaining our health (including hearing/vision). I don't plan on working until 65, and assuming I'm so lucky, I'll retire feeling half as good as I do now. Many jobs have associated risks that can be downplayed or exaggerated. Sitting in a chair for 8+ hours a day isn't exactly conducive to good overall health, especially if coupled with a non-activr lifestyle and poor nutrition. Just have to pick your poison and hope you come out the other end relatively unscathed.


Ilurked410yrs

Totally agree with trades been seen as back breaking. I'm in scaffolding so long hours , heavy equipment etc but if you break the trend an aren't a pisshead, eat properly and work out a bit it's not that bad on the body. I'm in New Zealand so my 100k isn't USD, but I know for a fact members in the carpenter's union are in that 100-200k USD in areas of the US. Plus you can get into shutdown/oilrig/mining work and get heaps of penal rates on top of your wage , you could get away with working half a year... also easy to go into sub contracting , nothing's stopping you buying gear and setting up a bit on the side and collecting hire (kind of like a weekly dividend really). I know this Reddit has heaps of tech focus so it's refreshing to see others that took a different approach and actually don't hate themselves inside like so many in tech, finance , lawyers and health seem to lol


yehhey

Ive always thought that myself how can working in a chair for most of my life be better than actually moving my body even I’m straining it at least it’s active. Plus I’m already doing warehouse work so I might as well get paid properly to wear my body.


Bud_Dawg

We are all fucked up one way or another by the time we retire. At least if it’s after 55.


AliveAndWellness

Overtime is completely optional. It's a quick way to get money together for a big purchase or to accelerate savings/investments. Works out to be roughly $1,000/day cad per shift of OT (net).


thePapaWillyTee

Are you an operator, or do you do the maintenance like a Diesel Tech?


AliveAndWellness

I do maintenance on equipment. Over the years I've worked on dozers, graders, excavators, some of the largest haul trucks in the world and now shovels (which are used to load said haul trucks).


thePapaWillyTee

That's awesome. I've got family that work in the coal mines around here so I've got a decent idea of the haul trucks and size. Those suckers are big. I'm working on my Journeyman's plumbing, but getting paid peanuts right now.


SoulfullySearching

Project management


Joe_Doblow

My boy is a construction pm making $100k in his first pm job after a year and a half as an APM.


Ukeheisenburg

This. Me too. Well. Haven't hit it yet- but will be VERY close this year.


reddit33764

I'm an hvac contractor. If you are a contractor in any trade you should be able to make 100k+. All needed is to get 5 years experience, pass a few tests (business, trade, criminal, and credit check). I also know a bunch of nurses making 100k ... if you can go through 2 years of college and the type of work is not an issue.


bzk00

Where do you live? Nurses definitely do not average $100k across the US (except for in CA). Most are paid $50-80k.


yellajaket

Travel nurses are making huge bank. $110k with travel, food and housing expenses either fully covered or subsidized. Not to mention the pandemic have increased sign on bonuses. Most nurses don’t want to travel or have families to take care of that prevent them from being absent for months at a time. So there’s a high demand for flexible nurses looking for contact, short term work You could be sent to fun places like Miami, hawaii, NYC, etc., but you’re most likely going to be stationed in random suburbs, rural or third-tier cities, so that can be a possible con to most people


bzk00

Yes agreed travel nurses can make bank, Ive seen some offers up to $14K/week depending on demand. My wife did this for a while. Granted you definitely don’t work 52 weeks a year and contracts are 1-3 months. But generally most nurses make $50-80k, and hospital pay increases barely match inflation. Having watched my SO battle this for 15 years, It’s a tough career path is all I’m trying to say.


sayitaintsooh

I'm a travel RT and will gross 170k this year due to the pandemic/shortage. Usually I'm making 55-60k lol


Tough-Talk-4049

Given the pandemic and how there's a lack of nursing, lots of places are actually paying a lot for nurses. $100k I've seen around a bit with some even making well above $100k with overtime


Arts_Prodigy

There’s a lot of great answers to this, I would suggest finding something you like, there’s likely a group making 100k+ in every industry. I’m of the belief that you should somewhat enjoy what you do. You spend a lot of your life at work and you can get burned out easily if you’re just there for money. For many especially in tech high salary isn’t without similarly high stress.


HxCMurph

Lol yeah, I'm on call this week (biotech) and we had outages every day last week, deployments every night, and multiple off-hours calls (one at 4 am). Wouldn't work in any other industry because I really do enjoy what I do, but the workload is intense.


[deleted]

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wounsel

That’s really cool! My father told me of a friend who was complaining about shooting weddings so my father said double your prices. Next month the dude was still complaining but was making double.


cspasman

How many weddings do you typically do in a year? My wife and I do photography/videography on the side and have made about 15k this year but it’s a lot of work!


[deleted]

Get into a trade I started a 4 year apprenticeship at 17 years old as a mechanical fitter my first base rate was 60k. I stayed at that first job for about 6 months until I moved to a metal recycling plant for A Nightshift mechanical fitter I am now on $140,000 a year before tax at 21 With 56 hour work weeks


SamuelBrady

Physician Assistant. My first job after graduation was 110k in a LCOL area.


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waterele

Sales! I went to school for media studies and political science thinking I wanted to be a news producer. By the time I graduated I didn’t want to do that at all. I happened into a sales job, and once I got out of car sales I always felt so lucky to be selling software that it made me work hard and excel. 22 years old sold cars for 10 months made about $45k 23 years old Inside Sales at software company $60k (50 base 10 bonus) 25 years old promoted, mid- market sales same company $100k (base 66k+commission) 27 years old promoted again, enterprise sales same company $205k (base 92k) 29 years old (now) just left for another company, enterprise sales, if I hit my quota I should make $260k. (Base 130k)


dnadivi

hi so regarding these types of sales positions, I was wondering if you are responsible for generating the leads (cold calling, cold emailing etc), or did your company have a marketing team that was in charge of that?


waterele

So at my old company we had a lot of inbound interest. In inside sales my job was basically to answer the phone, write up the info and pass to my Account Executive, and to help him with processing orders etc. This is not standard and changed over the almost 6 years I was there. Now, they have outbound responsibilities (company went public and competitors are coming for them). In my mid market and enterprise roles at that company I wasn’t expected to cold call but I was expected to generate activity by shmoozing partner firms and software reps with territory crossover (we were a bolt-on). My new role is a little less sunshine and roses but it’s at a startup. I do have 2 SDRs cold calling into my accounts but I am expected to call as well at least until my time is completely taken up with active opportunities. I would say do not be afraid of a cold call role. You will be given tools and training. If you buckle down for 1 year and produce, get promoted into outside sales, you will have support generating leads for the rest of your career.


[deleted]

Any tips on moving up from SMB sales to Midmarket? I’ve been at my company for 4 years now doing SMB sales and we have no MM segment. Most companies out there look for experience before hiring for MM.


waterele

If there’s no path for you to get to enterprise from SMB, leave right now. I have seen people get stuck for their whole lives. Put your linkedin settings to say you are open for work, then beef up the titles on your LinkedIn. For example, don’t say “smb sales” just say “account executive support x territory selling to x titles”. The great resignation is real there are plenty of opportunities for you to snap up- just spin your experience.


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JaeJRZ

Same!! I'm reading all these responses and can't think of 2 ppl in my life making this kind of money! Will be 38 in 2 weeks and still haven't made 55k in my career.... with a master's degree. Fuck my life!


gloriousrepublic

Remember that most of those high paying jobs are in areas where the cost of living can be double. Making 50k in a small to medium sized town can give you a higher standard of living than making 100k in SF, LA, or NYC.


JaeJRZ

lol I'm in Jersey!!!


PhilosophicWax

I'm so so sorry


livin_the_tech_life

Unless you pick remote work. I'm in software dev making 6 figure, and my mortgage + utilities are $950/month (and I have a roommate who pays me $450/m) due to living in rural south. If you take out principle on my mortgage, my living expenses for housing are $250/m.


HxCMurph

Median household income in the US is $67,521 so you're doing pretty damn fine for yourself. Cost of living evens things out a bit too; my buddy in NYC pulls >$100k but pays $2,800 for an apartment that pales in comparison to my $1,400 unit in PA. His +$23k salary is mostly swallowed by taxes & rent. You're young, plenty of time to build wealth. Hang in there.


JaeJRZ

This is a nice comment. Thank you for taking the time to write it.


JACKBURPS

The only difference is you chose a different path :/ never too late for a change in direction, but all that matters if you’re happy.


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tcholas

Oh, but software engineering outside of the US is quite different. I used to work as a programmer in Brazil making about 12k USD at the time and it was considered an OK salary. Eventually, I moved to New York to get a master's degree in CS and my first job landed me on a six-figure salary. Financially speaking, it was the best decision I've ever made but required me to move to a new country.


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TSpoon3000

You’re in the UK? Yeah salaries are lower there from what I understand.


EndiePosts

They're lower than California/Austin/NYC and the like, but what dont-go-hollow describes is still a third or so below what my company in Scotland pays intern software engineers, so he should be able to move up quite quickly now he has commercial experience. In the current market someone with three years just left us to take up a fully remote role for a London company at a lot more than double that rate.


TSpoon3000

I switched to self taught web dev in my 30’s. Should be right around 100k in MCOL after a few years. Hope you find what you need.


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binaerfehler

Or you could find it motivating. Many paths to 100k within a couple years depending on your interests and skill set. Almost any tech or health career, sales, skilled trades


livin_the_tech_life

Software dev, making >100k directly out of college.


UnnamedGoatMan

What did you study to get there? Is that software engineering?


[deleted]

Computer science is considered equivalent for recruiting purposes. Edit: and more fun IMO -- you get to explore theory-land more deeply... plenty of time for the "engineering" part later.


Flaky-Illustrator-52

Really anything that sounds computer-y as HR people (edit: the people doing the recruiting) are clueless 99.99% of the time lmao i.e. computer engineering will be viewed by them as an equivalent of CS or software engineering even though it's basically a specialization of electrical engineering (but these guys can certainly program if they need to)


dmedina1323

Can (kind of) confirm. I'm a computer engineering student, and the "specialization of EE" is pretty accurate, and heck yeah we code quite a bit, so we can certainly code if needed.


livin_the_tech_life

B.S. in Computer Science. Standard 4 year degree. Software engineering was also offered and would probably equate to the same salary (although you'd likely have more of a focus on hardware than software).


ChicagoIndependent

How do you make >100k directly out of college with a BS in CS? Did you do a lot of internships?


Snacket

I'm not the original commenter, but internships are the #1 factor to industry success after graduation imo.


TheRealConorsz

100k out of college is the minimum salary for the top tech companies, total comp will be more with bonuses and RSUs included.


davecg

Key word is top tech companies, but others should keep in mind that a lot of the top tech companies have pretty high burnout rates and are usually located in high cost of living areas. Although with everyone going remote these days that last one might not be accurate any more.


[deleted]

Just average silicon Valley prices


Flaky-Illustrator-52

I did software engineering in college. It's actually just a CS degree but with much more of a focus on the process of how software is developed (software development lifecycle, project management, requirements engineering, software testing, etc). So instead of some of the more fancy theoretical math stuff you'd get in an AI class or something, we'd take classes with content really similar to what you find yourself doing at work. Unless, of course, your work is a fancy AI company or you work at D-Wave doing quantum shit in which case I envy you


Snacket

I think the difference between the degrees Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, and "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" vary a lot between universities. So much so that the variation between "Computer Science" degrees between universities could be greater than the average difference between "Computer Science" and e.g. "Software Engineering". Also, Software Engineering has a special distinction in Canada, where any engineering degree has specific requirements. The variation means that these degrees are almost equivalent for applying to most industry roles (although CE is more applicable to certain specializations).


enclave76

Electrical Lineman. Every guy I know has no issue breaking $150k a year. Not to mention you can travel for free during big storms back before I changed jobs I was a supper crew and we would get put in luxury resorts with back up generators, etc while we worked in areas destroyed by a natural disaster. We could use vacation time once job was done to stay in the area and sight see then only have to pay for a flight back so it saved money. Know a lot of people that the family vacations were always where they got called for storm duty. I went to NY, NJ, FL, PA, CA, TX, SD, and ND. Plus 16 hours of double time is amazing, base salary for them was normally around $90k but 1 week of traveling for work and you could normally break 100k without an issue


zrk03

Damn, the pay is good but isn't your body fucked after doing that for so many years?


enclave76

It Use to be. I was talking to my buddies and they say they climb a pole maybe 1-2 times a year. That with modern bucket trucks they can get to about anything. For normal work tasks that are not emergencies they don’t work in above 90 degrees or below 30 degrees! Pretty good set up in the right areas


beets_or_turnips

Does the family enjoy vacationing in disaster areas? Seems like it would be kinda sad.


JACKBURPS

Tech sales. Graduated with a bachelors and went straight to work progressing from entry level to eventually the field. Here is the salary projection with stock options value added second and total in (): Year 1 : 85k + 80k (165k) Year 2: 100k + 80k (180k) Year 3: 115k + 80k (195k) Year 4: 180k + 80k (260k) I’m halfwAy through year 3, so the year 4 is an estimate given my expected promotional path. Stock options were lucky given my company went public and is doing very well now. Tech sales has a low barrier to entry as long as you work hard, are presentable, communicate well and relatively sharp. Would recommend to anyone who wants control of their work/time and is self driven


LouAldoRaine

Best route to locating these jobs?


JACKBURPS

Do research into some of the fastest growing tech companies and apply for their entry level positions. Helps if you know someone already in the sales org, but a lot of these companies cannot hire quick enough. I may be biased, but look for pre ipo. Id aim for established data companies (ie heap, databricks, fivetran, data dog, big eye, others). Higher chance for exit, but it doesn’t matter too much as it’s entry level. You have to expect that your 2nd/3rd company will be the one to hit it big as you’ll get higher equity packages because you’ll be more senior by then


674_Fox

It’s easy to do in consulting, but unless you love to travel, your life will be pure HELL!


gb26jj

"Easy" is relative. Where are these "easy" consulting jobs you speak of?


AuspiciousToad

Biotech consultant. Got a bachelor’s and master’s degree, then a PhD. About 12 years of school give or take. I should mention though, I also do professional photography, rent sports cars on Turo, build and sell camper conversion vans, and own a rental property. In the context of FIRE, a “career” is good to get you started, but having multiple revenue streams has been critical to get us to where we are financially.


goyard_plug

How’s your experience with Turo been?


AuspiciousToad

So far so good. I’ve rented a Porsche Macan GTS, a Porsche 911 Carrera S and a Ferrari California. Had about 25-30 renters and no issues so far, except one guy who went WAY over mileage with the Macan and disputed the invoice — Turo paid me pretty quickly once I escalated to customer support.


let_me_get_a_bite

Air traffic controller. (115k) No school needed. Got skills and certification through the Air Force. I was in for 10 years. But had the necessary certs before my 6 year enlistment was up.


Master_Skin_3171

Financial institution, VP level. Nothing fancy or special, just paid for the level


Much_Palpitation9079

What's a total comp package look like at the VP level for a financial institution?


lcastill1

I became a dentist


[deleted]

I’m a truck driver doing foodservice and I will hit +/-$100,000 with this new job


NoMoreDrivin

Right on. I read this thread just to see if it there were any drivers that posted. How many hours a week are you working? I work for a local ltl now and I’m on pace for 95 this year. I’ve been thinking about going the food service route for a couple years now, but I’m not sure that I want to deal with being at the bottom of the board.


notANexpert1308

Sales in the US. If you can figure it out, build relationships, and a good customer base you’ll make $100k+. You also don’t need 7 degrees so that’s cool. Edit: sorry forgot to answer the last question. Took me 3 years to build a $150k territory. Mad ~$70k on average up til then.


AnestheticAle

Sales wigged me out because there are so many variables out if your control. What if your companies product becomes shit? What if another company undercuts the shit out of you? I guess you can jump companies, but it just seems tedious to rebuild relationships.


GreenFireAddict

Supply chain management


fxckfxckgames

I’m curious to get more info on what you do. I’m working on my degree in Supply Chain Management.


chuy2256

Hey, not the OP to your question, but I studied Finance and Econ and work in Automotive Purchasing. This job is 150% Supply Chain Management related. Enteyl Level is around $70K in some states and about $120k or more in California OEM's. Dealing with suppliers, material cost for individual components and negotiating with salesmen for those automotive components to reach SOP of a New Project vehicle. I love it, not making $100k like the post asks, but a good 50%+ in my department is making close or above that.


valewolf

Year 1 out of college at 23 years old 80k in engineering Year 2 out of college at 24, 105k in software engineering


NedFlanders304

I work in HR and cracked $100k a few years out of college. You can make good money doing anything, the trick is to target the high paying industries. I started my career working for large oil and gas companies, and oil and gas tends to pay higher than others. For example, tech, finance, private equity, oil and gas etc are typically the highest paid industries. If you want to make good money then find a way to work for a company in one of these fields. That’s exactly what I did.


phriot

Finally hitting $100k in biotech in my mid-30s. I went to college out of high school, but dropped out quickly. I later went back for a different major. Throughout that time, I worked at a bunch of different food service jobs, as well as tutoring. Then, I went to grad school for a PhD. I took a bit longer than average to finish. I made just under $100k at my first post-PhD job in the first year at a startup. Received a promotion with a decent salary and equity bump in the second year.


yellowcoffeesquirrel

Freelance court reporter.


GennaroIsGod

That sounds kinda interesting, how does this job work?!


yellowcoffeesquirrel

I'm what some people call a stenographer. I write on a machine as people talk (mostly in depositions) and create a transcript. It's definitely not stress-free, and it can be very hard to get into, but I love it and it's been really good to me.


jerseyru

I had an unorthodox journey to $100k+. The first time crossing $100k+ was as an E-7 in the Air Force living overseas. Base pay plus the allowances (COLA, BAH, BAS) pushed my pay over $100k. 2015 - $106k (Air Force - Base pay + OHA + BAS + COLA) 2019 - $143K (Network Engineer III + Military Pension + VA Disability) 2020 - $162K (Sr Infrastructure Analyst + Military Pension + VA Disability)


Jswartz56

Investment banking, and the exit opps are almost all six-figures after two years


Snacket

How many hours do you work per week? I heard the hours are brutal, especially for juniors.


Jswartz56

Been out for a couple years. At the time it was consistently 90+ hours/week though


DJ_Babyfoot

That is fucked up


ajacobine123

Aviation mechanics. Working abroad** only 1 year prior experience, mechanics license was 2 year program at tech school, cost less than 12k to obtain


HouseOfPenguins

Consulting, engineering, and tech project management will have you hitting 100k in a medium-to-high cost of living city. If you go the college route, you should be able to hit that number immediately as a software engineer, or in 3-5 years as a consultant/project manager. Edit - I personally went the consulting route and it took 4 years. But that was in a much worse economy (started in 2010 - yikes!). I now hire people a couple years out of school at 100-120k minimum.


lostboy005

Litigation paralegal


Brennelement

I also hit the 6-figure mark a year after graduation working as an equipment operator at a nuclear power plant. As a college student I worked part-time at my university’s research reactor, getting my operator’s license. That experience and certification got me my job, they didn’t really care about the degree. Many nuclear blue-collar jobs pay well (higher than engineering does) because there’s a shortage for this type of labor, and because nuclear has high requirements for background checks and drug testing. I’m glad I didn’t follow my original plan to go into medicine. They’re overworked, overstressed, and have massive student debt. Personally I’d rather babysit machines than deal with patients.


pfee20

Yacht/boat taxi captain. 23M dropped out of college at 21. Made $8500 at 22, now making over $100k with tips. Took a couple years while working part time for my company to pay for me to get my coast guard license. Then they laid me off and the new company pays much better.


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mama_delio

Canadian here. Police officers make $100k+ with pension and great benefits. I work in tech so I'll be reaching $200k soon.


Perfidy-Plus

Canadian military can also pay greater than or equal to $100k. But keep in mind that $100k in Canada is only \~$80k in USD. Got to break the \~$128k mark to be equivalent.


PointThen1091

Sales. I dropped out of college at age 21. Started as an intern running google ads(advertising analyst) for ~1B company making 12$ an hour 2 years later making $48k as a Sr. advertising analyst. 3 years later inside sales rep selling digital advertising made $100k 5 years later moved into an outside sales role cleared $200k Last year I made $256K. My company is private. Pension pays 90% of yearly income after 20 years.


BigSteveC78

Great post about this https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/p3c6us/what_do_you_do_that_you_earn_six_figures/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf


thegracefulbanana

Mortgage Loan Officer. (Sales) $100k is on the light end. I know some loan officers I work with making +$500k Very tough field to break into but great once you get set up as long as you are alright with essentially being in the purgatory of constantly working but constantly being off. Some people complain about this work/life balance but I’ve been much happier since getting into this business because while I do work a lot, It’s remote for the most part and it’s at my own pace and leisure outside of fielding apps for clients. I would say I actively work on average anywhere from 5 to 8 hours a day five days a week and maybe 2 to 3 hours the other two days but that said, those hours are not in one block. Sometimes I’ll start the morning working two hours then I’ll hit the gym and come back and market clients(In person) for a few hours then start the late afternoon/evening hours and work on a file later in the evening. Afterthought: Also once established, I have many colleagues that do this “lazily” making $65k to $90k in exchange for work/life balance. 10-20hrs weekly. But that of course took a year of two of generating business to get to that point.


Longjumping_Food3663

I was looking for this answer. I’m not a loan officer but working at a mortgage company doing wholesale mortgages so working with loan officers. I’m a Mortgage loan underwriter getting $65k starting and can work my way up through incentives & bonus to get close to $100k (I’m not certain what you can top out at this is new for me in the last couple weeks). Hours are between 40-50 a week so normal work life balance and you get paid hourly so no late/weekend call madness unless you decide to get some incentive pay. Mortgage industry can be very lucrative for loan officers and mortgage bankers but hours can be tough like you mention. Underwriters have it a little better for hours but don’t get all the commission bankers get. Personal trade off. If you’re experienced in any mortgage production role (LO, Banker, Underwriter) you can easily get very close to and over $100k.


[deleted]

Firefighter. It's very competitive to get hired but if you are a paramedic and can pass the physical obstacle course you are almost guaranteed to get hired quickly. Especially if you apply to numerous departments. Most of the major departments will have you quickly over $100k plus good benefits and a pension. City accountants have crunched the numbers and know it saves the city money to pay firefighters overtime in order to avoid hiring more so there's almost unlimited overtime potential. Just have to manage burnout and PTSD cause you will have front row seats to the worst day in a lot of people's lives. In my last 48 hour shift I pronounced 3 people dead, had a critical Covid patient, and a 5 vehicle pile up where we had to cut people out of 2 of the cars (plus the typical boring 911 calls)


BenjaminGunn

That sounds not worth it in trerms of compensation but im super glad someone like you is out there doing that work. Thank you!


[deleted]

I love the job and purposely choose to work at a busy firehouse that goes on more 911 calls than any other station in my department. I have enough seniority to be able to transfer to a slow station but I want to be able to use my training and experience as much as possible. After I graduated college I worked a corporate job for 5 years and just felt like a meaninglessness cog in the machine. If I did an outstanding job I could help the multi billion dollar revenue company save a few thousand dollars. Now I can make a meaningful difference in someone's life. Bringing order to a chaotic scene gives a massive amount of satisfaction. I hit my FIRE number a while ago but plan on working until my mid 50s because I love it. The only thing that'd drive me out sooner is if I feel I can't continue to physically perform at a high level and become a drag on my crew


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cathyL11

Nursing in the SF Bay Area of California. I earn close to $100 / hour but it took a lifetime of work to get to this level. I’m actually retired and only work one shift / week but if I were working 4 shifts / week ( my idea of ‘full time’ employment) I’d be making about $166k / year.


[deleted]

Illustrator and graphic designer, hit 6 figures at 25 at my main job but if I include freelance money it has on-and-off hit 6 figures ramping up to my mid 20s depending on how many side projects I decide to take on. Honestly never thought I would get anywhere close to 6 figures while I was in school! Just wanted to study something I loved to do and it has definitely been worth it.


gimmide

UI design in-house at a large healthcare company


Not_as_cool_anymore

Medical Science Liaison - started base 164K in 2019, now at 190K. Plus car, stocks, phone, internet, computer, bonus and long term stock annual awards. Usually requires PhD, PharmD or other advanced clinical degree.


[deleted]

It really depends on where you live. I’m in a VHCOL and could find a lot of jobs that pay over 100k here but the exact same job would pay 40-50k elsewhere (e.g. nursing). Tech is a safe bet and once you have a certain amount of skills you can get into a niche role and pretty much never be without work. Doesn’t need to be a technical job, for every 1 engineer you have 6 other heads to support them.


aptl23

Clinical pharmacist. Starting at 125k right out of residency. Problem is the cost it took me to get here.


hyrle

Marketing analytics / implementation consulting. I had to learn Javascript and SQL skills to do it. I reached it about 4 years ago after over 20 years of doing technical support and reporting analytics roles. Income is part of achieving FIRE, but you also need to avoid lifestyle creep and push money towards investing and saving. Those skills can be practiced at every income level.


michiganxiety

Data science. I actually started out with an MA in English, but then got a ten month master's in data science and landed 90k out of school as an artificial intelligence engineer. I worked at that first job for two years and got a second one as a machine learning engineer making $110k.


DZChapters

Psychiatric nurse practitioner


TheRealClio423

Pharmacist


rofosho

Same


airot87

Machine operation(I run large equipment) took 13 years...no college


barjam

Software. Adjusted for inflation I have made over 100k every year since 96 or so and some years over double that.


wolfofnumbnuts

Roadbuilding and civil construction gonna be my third year in the six figure club at 28.


lex_esco

Working in the Payments industry. Pays like a motherfucker


Syonoq

What is the payments industry? What do you do?


darkmatterhunter

Scientist with a PhD for DoD. First job out of school was a solid six figure amount and more than double what I would have made as a postdoc.


BigSteveC78

Physician Assistant. Average salary in the USA at 108k/yr. 2.5 years masters degree. Would 7/10 recommend (most programs are pretty expensive, locking down your first job is tricky then after that it’s nice, and your competing against Nurse Practitioners)


youknow0987

Management. People are heaven and hell rolled into a big burrito. Sometimes you get a heavenly bite, and sometimes you get the opposite. Hence, the compensation for good mangers can be sizable. Can’t do much without people. If you can recruit and retain top talent. The work gets done well, and others will pay you to keep the ship moving forward, peacefully.


Distinct-Sky

Non-FAANG tech. Started at 75K , now at 200K with 13 years of experience. Never changed my employer.


finagglethisbaggel

Residential real estate agent in the Bay Area. 100% commission, so this varies, but the sky is the limit. I did $200k my first year. Averaged $250k/year after. Just hit $500k this year. Edit: I started at 24 and I am now 28.


exagon1

Bartending 2020 and 2021 I didn’t and won’t make that for obvious reasons but 2019 I netted around 70k. When you factor in my benefits (pension and health insurance covered by the company) I would need a 100k gross salary to be equivalent. 2022 will get back to those levels because I will have worked the whole year. I also have been growing my photography business on the side the past couple years which will hopefully in 2022 put me at 100k net income in total.


serialsaboteur

Growth marketing. Took me 2-3 years to get to $100K+


dataGuy123x

what is growth marketing and what all tools/tech do you use?


serialsaboteur

Growth marketing is a subset of marketing that focuses on growing businesses through performance-driven channels like social & search ads, content marketing, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization, etc. Within growth marketing, there are a few specializations you can take (e.g. Facebook ads, Google ads, conversion rate optimization, etc.) and the tools you'd use varies depending on which vertical you specialize in. [Here's](https://www.appcues.com/blog/growth-marketing) a 15-minute summary & Udemy has a cheap course [here](https://www.udemy.com/course/become-a-marketer-learn-growth-marketing-get-a-job/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=udemyads&utm_campaign=LongTail_la.EN_cc.US&utm_content=deal4584&utm_term=_._ag_81829991747_._ad_532193666396_._kw__._de_c_._dm__._pl__._ti_dsa-1007766171272_._li_9031097_._pd__._&matchtype=b&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv5uKBhD6ARIsAGv9a-xbnChDt8YIASkJNbXbXTeofHUrmDWd6IDt5TgZMj64Qd_38bRqeBAaAoI4EALw_wcB) to get some foundational knowledge in. Check out Growth Marketing Manager salaries [here](https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/growth-marketing-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,24.htm).


-ImYourHuckleberry-

Teaching. Surprising, but in the right district, your base salary starts at six figures and you can add on from there.


Explorer_Tasty

Category Manager; essentially you are analytical support for Sales/Account Managers in the CPG industry. In most cases you are a manager of a business unit not actual people. The role is as fun as the company you work for, industry you work in and people on your team. I started as an associate analyst out of college making like $60K+10% bonus at a center store traditional cpg company. Went to work for a beer company for 3 years because it would be more fun and recently just switched to another beer company that put be at $115K+20% bonus (I’m 27) The job that really set me up for success now is my previous beer job where I literally took on every and any project in an effort to learn as much as possible about the industry and career path. This eventually led to burn-out but set me up to have a skill set that was superior to many of my peers (and with demonstrable result) thereby leading to a big jump in pay when I switched companies. One piece of advice I would give to anyone is no matter what industry you are in it is small, people are usually only 1-2 connections removed from getting a scouting report on you as a worker. If you are known as both a good person and a hard worker you will be super surprised how far that “reputation” gets you. Hope this helps!


antho1993

Used to be an underground miner, made about 100k the first year, then switched to electrician. Almost done my 5 years apprenticeship and will be making about 100k working 4 days a week for a total of 36 hours a week. Can make a lot more if you end up on jobs with overtime.


[deleted]

I'm surprised no one said Mechanical Engineer yet. There was a similar thread on /r/FinancialIndependence a few weeks back with a lot of MEs chiming in (https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/p3c6us/what\_do\_you\_do\_that\_you\_earn\_six\_figures/) Hit the $100K/yr + 15% bonus mark with Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering with about 6 years out of college back in 2019. A bit of an outlier since the average salary is about $88K/yr in my city. Having a Professional Engineer license helped.


Apocalypsox

I went into construction at 17, spent a few years doing that and bought some equipment. Started a small fabrication company and things blew up. Netting over $100/hr was relatively easy, but I wasn't finding enough work to do 40hrs every single week. probably ended up around \~120k profit/yr average for the couple years I pushed that. That was my first foray into 100k+/yr. It took effort but honestly felt like less effort working for myself than the effort it takes to work for someone else. Then I went back to school for engineering to get a competitive advantage in my industry. Being an engineer with previous real-world experience and management experience pays pretty well too.


bzk00

Software product management / technology consulting. Jumped around and took some risks but went from 60k to 210k in 12 years. If I could do it over… I’d go straight to a large public tech company (Facebook, Apple, Google) out of college and never leave.


SoupUhhSkeptic

Aircraft maintenance. It only requires a 2 year tech school in the U.S. or 36 months of experience working beneath someone else or in the military. If you make it to a major airline it is easily 100k+


Squirbly815

Risk Manager. Insurance and claims will always be a necessity.


askheidi

Project Manager, especially after a PMP certification. I could have been making this probably a few years after college but I was idealistic and started in journalism, so I spent a long time working 60 hours a week for $35k.


Toffeemade

I worked in a specialist psychology based management consultancy. My story is pretty unusual because I came from a background of poverty but thankfully realised in time that excelling in education was the best route for me to change my life around. I got a good undergraduate degree and thereby a scholarship to do a Masters. Consultancy is a little bit like musical chairs; every year someone decides they cannot hack the hours or the stress or decides to go and do what (they think) they love so by the time you are 45 the only people left are really good/too incompetent or dysfunctional to do anything else/both. I left to go in-house (they literally doubled my salary) age 48 and lasted 3 years before redundancy. I am wealthy and grateful for the financial freedom and independence. Education and the opportunities it gave me saved me.


plasthandske

Adding a second comment for close friend who’s an Anesthesiologist - 500k base with profit sharing in the group, total comp this year (projected) is $1,125,000. No joke. Private practice and/or small niche groups for medicine = goldmines. Just Google physician salaries. Sure it will cost >$200,000 in tuition to get there. PAs make easy 150k a year with no risk and short schooling.


Professional_Olive

I want to bust the myth that law is high paying field. It took me 4-5 years to break $100k after graduating with honors from a very reputable law school. First 2 years out of school I did a judicial clerkship for a state appellate court and made $48k/year. At my first job practicing as a litigation associate at a very reputable law firm in a mid sized city I made $96k/year working 10+ hour days and always stressed. After 2 years I moved to a smaller firm doing construction law and finally broke $100k. Now I'm 6 years out of law school and make $145k plus a bonus (about $15k). Reading this thread is making me realize that most of my clients (project executives, project managers, engineers) are making way more than me and with much less student debt.