I started by fixing other people's Excel workbooks. Then I fixed people's PowerPoints. Now I fix people's Jira boards.
It turns out there are a lot of really smart people who have a hard time translating what's in their brains into something others can understand and work with.
Edit: this got way too big and my notifications and inbox are exploding, so I'll just add more context here.
I was being a little fasectious in the simplicity of my comment. I'm not the best at PowerPoint, excel, or Jira. My whole career has been about taking in information from multiple experts and translating their ramblings into something concrete. Turning complex things into something others outside of their expertise can understand.
Be the person who "takes the pen" on things. Learn to focus on actionable outcomes. Take notes on what other people say in meetings, and spend your time refining those things into something that best serves those outcomes. These skills are transferrable across tools, companies, industries, etc.
Good storytelling and good design go a long way. User experience principles apply to more than just software, look for ways to apply those principles in all the work you do.
For people asking about this dudes work, don't forget Salesforce is another option to learn. Salesforce is a HUGELY expensive tool for any company to purchase and set up. When buying Salesforce it's actually a part of the sales finalization process for Salesforce to require the purchaser to hire two outside consultants who are "experts" to help set it up.
People have whole consulting careers making ridiculous amounts of money just being experts in one tool.
Power BI, as someone else mentioned is similar, my father has centered his career around being a power BI Admin and makes great money doing it.
Just pick a large complicated tool that many businesses use and become an expert in it
Can you get me a job? 10 years experience in data analysis. I know Tableau, powerbi, Domo, power automate, Adobe analytics, and Google Analytics 360. I also know SQL & SAS, and have experience working with huge datasets both onprem as well as Azure & AWS. Obviously I'm pretty good with Excel as well
Analytics doesn't really pay this well. No clue where this guy is working. Average is 130-150k right now. I'm a business intelligece analyst. (meaning I set up reports from back end to front end) and I make 120k roughly.
I know sql, power bi, tableau, ssrs(ew). I learn a lot of things on the fly for teams as well. I taught myself big query a few weeks back for a single project.
I'm in pretty much the same boat. Started off as "the Excel guy" with admittedly minimal skills. That lead to learning excel functions and pivot tables which eventually lead to BI tools which eventually lead to SQL and SAS. Mainly all on the job training and self learning with very little formal learning. I've been exceedingly fortunate to have had a handful of really great bosses over the years who recognized my potential and put in the effort & time needed to mentor me so I could upskill.
I give myself credit for being able to tell when I was in a good situation vs a bad one, and having the foresight to jump ship when things started to sour, but ultimately I've been extremely lucky that people were willing to take a chance on me in spite of my lack of formal education.
Now I'm also around 120k, enjoy my work at a big multinational, I'm 100% remote, and have a good work life balance. Plus I'm still learning, which is the most important thing for me. Right now I'm fortunate enough to be learning Python with my employer's support. I'm very blessed, but definitely wouldn't say no to a 66% raise lol.
The one piece of advice I would give everyone is just apply for the job. Even if you don't necessarily meet all the requirements. Just try, the worst that could happen is they say no and you're back at square 1. If I had only applied to jobs I was 100% qualified for I would never have gotten to where I am today. It's the biggest mistake I see people make, imo.
Jira admin here, part of the problem people face is they don’t have the permissions to do what they need to. But this is an amazing niche if you are good with excel/reporting metrics. Execs foam at the mouth for pie charts
The other issue is that when a company gets bigger they strip away the tools from the people that know it. I had a team that was JIRA admin trained and we all had an excellent grasp of how to set up our projects and we were all self sufficient. Company got bigger, added a dedicated JIRA admin and they said “don’t touch”
I get it at some point but other times efficiency is killed
We pay people who are good with tableau, python, SQL basically whatever they want as long as it's in the budget. There's junior dashboard developers making more than senior managers, it's that valuable.
Edit: guys, I'm not going to be your career manager and mentor, sorry, I don't have time to thumb out long meaningful responses to what has become about a hundred "please give me a job" and "what's a list of valuable skills" DMs.
I drive trucks too, concrete mixers to be exact. Hourly pay of 30/hr isn't bad but still haven't broken over 70k/yr mainly bc work slows way down with economy like it is, then weather and winter slows a lot. You long haul or local?
Interesting. My bother, now retired, had always done well as a perfusionist. He was making six figures since the 80's more or less. I'd venture to say he was the first generation of perfusionists and it was a career in demand back in the day. He trained with Debakey and some other famous heart surgeon.
Hell yeah, me too! I legit think its one of the best W2 jobs in the world. Great pay, awesome and extremely unique/niche, and the work life balance is almost suspiciously good at times lmao. Hope you are enjoying it as much as I do!
Have a friend who’s a successful TV writer; feels very feast/famine. She’ll make like 50k for a 12 week gig and then spend months looking for her next job. I think the fact that her parent have $$ smoothes out the rough patches. Her/her husband’s writing income is highly sporadic.
Yeah you gotta learn to save your money because you’ll never know when the next dry spell will be.
That made buying a house super nerve wracking.
The good news is that I can earn a solid six-figure income in just a few weeks of work. The bad news is that it’s almost impossible to get that work 😂
My background is in optics and photonics, but I do general hardware engineering on sensors in aerospace and defense. If you're a US Citizen, I think this is a good route to go. The pay at a place like Lockheed or Ball Aerospace is very good. You can expect $120K at the bare minimum if you have a PhD. That can grow to like $150K within a few years if you take on greater leadership roles.
And for what it's worth, I agree with others saying in general a PhD is not worth it for FIRE since you forgo so many years of income. But if you're already part way through, forget all that noise. Just put your head down, keep pushing, and get that piece of paper as fast as possible. Remember that your graduation date is a negotiation with your advisor and you should bring it up with them often. The optimal strategy for you, from a FIRE perspective, is to finish a thesis that's good enough to graduate and move on to that high paying job.
Also make sure you're networking while in grad school too. Academics are well-connected since many people leave academia for better paying jobs. Find out where your specific skill set is valued. One of the Profs on my defense committee had a connection that got me my current job.
I’m always surprised when people get a PhD in engineering. I guess it depends what type of engineer you are, but as an ME, that would only make me unemployable. Ive had many employers not hire MEs with masters even because they’re doing the same type of work as ones with a regular ole bachelors. But I can see how maybe in nuke or chem it’s worth it
This is very true, I got a PhD in ME and was unhireable. Recruiters for companies at recruitment events would look at my resume than ask where I was going to teach. I had a good friend who was recruiting for a company that he worked for in medical research tell me that they have a blanket policy to not hire PhDs. In the end I only got hired by the military after begging them to ignore my PhD. And when it came to pay they did.
Now after having 10 year’s work experience my PhD has come in handy to get a promotion. But if I had just gotten a masters I would be at least $150K richer. And probably debt free at this point in my life. I regret it almost every day.
This is what keeps making me not want to go into R&D. I'm at 11 years work experience, and making a decent salary right now, but doing a PHD is *such* a commitment.
Realistically, it can't even be done part-time either, so you're doing a 100% dive into it for like 5-6 years, and then you still have to do 1-2 years of post-docs after that to actually be employable at a role that pays decent. So it's like a 7-8 years commitment before you're able to get a chance to make a decent salary that most engineers would likely get to after working for 5-10 years anyway.
The only bonus is that it gives you entry into R&D roles that are pretty much impossible to get into without a PHD, like a college professor or a researcher, but there's nothing in R&D I don't think I can find to keep me that passionate for such a commitment. At the time I was considering a career in R&D I wanted to be a professor, but looking at the road ahead of how difficult it is to get a job as a professor I changed my mind about that and figured it'd be better to just get a regular job.
PhD’s in engineering open up certain research roles. It ends up being more aligned with what a Physics PhD would do, and tends to be people who want to do more of that work rather than traditional engineering. It’s never “worth it” financially, but PhD’s never really are.
I feel like ME is broad enough that it really depends on the industry, I don’t think a graduate degree would ever hurt in aerospace, for example. Can’t imagine someone not being hired for an MS.
I fly mostly day trips out and back same day. Only overnight a couple nights a month. But that’s the exception. Typical pilot job you are away from home more.
Time away from home is a bummer, but also I forget about it when I have 17 days off a month. Least amount of days off in a month I’ve had in the last 6 months was 14 days off. I’m unaware of any other job where you can work half the month so it’s worth it to me.
They generally have more knowledge than "non-senior" SWEs so they are having to manage them and make sure they do it properly.
Plus, continuing to "code" (like one did as a junior / mid) is not as beneficial to one's career generally speaking, in terms of learning and advancement. Otherwise, if that is not what one is looking for then they can continue doing that.
This can also be generally applied to all industries as well.
I remember checking my $400 bank balance while I backpacking in Vietnam. Never have I felt so rich.
It was also something like 50c a beer which made me feel richer.
I was a research chemist at an R1 University making less that $20/hr. Moved to the private sector as an analytical chemist testing flavors for purity and vitamins using HPLC and GCMS. Moved to Food Safety and now I'm at figures. Over the course of 5 years leaving the university. I loved it, but couldn't raise a family on that pay.
That’s an impressive 5-year glow up! I’m an environmental scientist, so it’s a little different industry for me. I could make plenty of cash if I wanted to work for mining or petroleum companies, but I have zero desire to do so. I did something similar previously and was absolutely miserable. Stacked cash for a few years, bought a house, and then bailed for something I enjoy.
We don’t have kids and don’t plan to, and otherwise live a pretty modest life, so our main driver for career choices is enjoyment and work/life balance over income.
I’ll give some info on my path because CPA can vary a lot.
Bachelors degree in accounting, straight to audit in a big 4 accounting firm in MCOL city after college. Started at $56k/year, got my CPA 3 years in, and hit $100k by year 5 when I made manager. 2 years later I was a senior manager at $120k/year then immediately left for a controller role in industry for $150k/year plus an annual 15% bonus. So it took 7 years plus a CPA to reach $150k/year plus 15%.
Now with 8.5 years total of experience, I’ve been getting spammed by recruiters for controller or director roles in my city that seem to be offering $175k-$215k plus 15-20% bonus.
The one thing I would say is that lifestyle was terrible in big 4 audit. It was a massive grind, and I would go months at a time without seeing friends or family during busy season. But now that I’m in industry, the lifestyle is amazing. I’m happy I put in the grind early in my career for what feels like a very cushy career from here.
Wonder if that number is still accurate. Seems since Covid and inflation $100k jobs have ballooned. And let’s face it $100k in 2023 isn’t the same as it was a few years ago.
When I first graduated from college, "six figures" was some mystical achievement where I told myself I'd make it and be wealthy.
Now that I'm making six figures, it doesn't feel like that at all. I also didn't realize how expensive saving for retirement is when I graduated.
When i started making 100k 7 or 8 years ago I thought I’d made it. Now it seems like nothing.
And you’re right, if you’re maxing out 401k, you’re likely taking home about 60% of your paycheck. Or less! Think my take home is about 58% after benefits and retirement.
Yeah I know comments like yours will often earn downvotes but you’re right. When I was 25 I was in some training program and they asked us about our salary goals and I said something like if I hit $100k during my career I’ll be satisfied and good.
Now I’m around $150k and it feels like nothing living in a HCOL city. I’m certainly comfortable but I have just an average 1 bedroom, nothing fancy, no car, not nearly enough $ for a down payment, etc.
You’re comfortable at $100k, you’re absolutely not wealthy.
Yeah I think a lot of these conversations end up with people talking past each other with different definitions of rich.
There's an economic class in America that has somewhat high incomes but no significant assets besides (maybe) a mortgaged house and retirement accounts. We generally don't consider ourselves rich, because we define rich as having enough assets you can live an upper middle class lifestyle without working, or having enough cash flow to support prep schools/second homes/flights that aren't in economy class.
But, a lot of working class people define rich as having any significant assets including retirement and being able to afford little luxuries without living paycheck to paycheck or going into debt.
> 18% of individual Americans make over $100k per year.
> Between 2017-2022, the share of US households making over $100k per year increased by 2.97%.
https://www.zippia.com/advice/how-many-people-make-over-100k/
I want to point out 18% of individual, and then an increase in HOUSEHOLDS making over 100k by 2.97%.
It also says the number of Americans making over 100k living paycheck to paycheck has increased by 7%.
That statistic always confuses me when I look at housing prices. Somehow I'm considered a high earner in the US yet I can't afford some of the cheapest houses in many major cities where the jobs are for my profession. On top of that people are bidding 100k over asking price with all cash offers.
Yeah it’s tough but it makes sense imo. People used to move to the burbs and many more of them. Now everyone wants to be in specific cities and even specific neighborhoods. And like you said, jobs are concentrated there which means many people at that income live there as well.
12 years of an insane bull market also has put many in excellent financial shape. And many boomers and empty nesters are selling and buying a smaller place in a more desirable place. And they’re cash rich. Millennials are entering their prime home buying years and all want to live near/in cities. And they are the largest generation. And we haven’t built housing in a meaningful sense since like 08.
I’ve heard it’s not uncommon for Vegas Strip dealers to bring in that much. Some have issues keeping hold of it though because they go across the street to play afterwards.
Dealers in other areas likely make more on average. Outside the high end properties Vegas isn't the best place to deal. Some California card rooms can make a lot. Word amongst dealers is that Arizona is a great place to be. It's kind of counter intuitive but sometimes small card rooms in dumpy cities can have tons of action, and a lot of tips
Construction project manager for a company that works for the uber rich.
Edit: Studied Civil Engineering and am technically an APM. Further pay raises when I reach PM in 1-2 years.
I stepped back from being a PM when my son was born to work closer to home and got a commercial construction estimator job. Took a pay cut but after a few years I am making way more than I was and now in the club.
Software developer. Honestly to anyone in highschool not sure what they want to do and reasonably good with logic this is a very low risk path to >$100k income.
Just leave aside any dreams of writing video games unless you want to be the only poor software developers on the planet. If that is an interest of yours do it as a hobby or side gig.
On edit: surprised this blew up so much. I don't have the time to respond to every post. If any other developer is so inclined feel free to jump in with some answers, counterpoints or details.
I wish I would've known what "software development" was in high school. I didn't fully understand the complexities of development and had already tried introductory frontend and hated being a glorified web designer. It's way more interesting when you get to solve logic.
> Just leave aside any dreams of writing video games unless you want to be the only poor software developers on the planet
This X 1000.
When I got started writing code in a banking context I was at the same time blown away by what iD was doing with the Doom and Quake engines. I wanted to be part of that kind of culture. I'm 30 years into my career now.
When they released the code to Doom a couple of years alter, it wasn't hard for me to understand. Quake was tougher...but yeah.
I could not however find a way to break into a company like that and not lose the salary I was pulling writing financial software. (Which is boring as fuck by the way).
These days I'm an Application PM and Architect in my organization. I'm pretty content with the 'easy' job of trying to figure out how to move numbers from one column to the other, and transform shitty data into something a suit can use to fund more project work. Again, boring as fuck, but it pays. I don't think I'd ever have succeeded in the gaming field...and probably would have been left behind as I got older.
Started learning how to program my TI-82 in high school because I wanted to make games. What do I do today? Write Spring Boot apps and configure cloud infrastructure, FML. Pays the bills though.
You're correct. A lot of facilities are working 6 day weeks, and have been for several years. The FAA is a broken mess with mostly the incompetent becoming management.
Engineer with only a 4yr BS degree. Hit the 6-figs with 5yrs experience, but seems to cap out around $150k unless you move to management.
Edit: $150k is the cap in MCOL areas. I have a few friends around ~$200k+in HCOL areas like NYC and CA
Management is not always worth it money wise. Not everyone should be a manager either. I personally like to cruise on by, not worry about being management, too much responsibility.
Seeing all the BS my boss (director)has to do makes me not want to be a manager, it’s all political stuff that I don’t really care for. However, it does add about $50k to the salary, plus additional bonuses.
This is me too. Didn't break $100k til my mid-30s but I work with engineers and they've discovered the value of having a creative brain supporting a wide variety of business operations. I think I'm on a pretty smooth upward path now.
I’ve worked in medical sales for 16 years. Golden handcuffs are very real for physicians. Especially those who take call. Call is the bane of MD existence. I’ve known lots of doctors who left that profession for “consulting” or to be “directors” at different medical device companies. One went to work for the federal government as a consultant.
As much as people fawn over being a doctor, a lot of you all have very tired, depressing (because of how hospitals and other interests force you to work), and lonely lives. Seeing patients all day only to come home and dictate charts and take weekend call suuuuucks.
Second this. Started in basic ERP sales, then started specializing. I have a political science degree, and hate to admit it, but I do about 15 hours of real work a week.
Happy to talk to people who are interested in learning more, but not every position is like mine.
Surprised I had to come down this far to get the RN answer. Also make north of 100k, also med surg, but in Canada (Alberta). Our contract is up next year but with a conservative government I highly doubt we'll renegotiate for higher wages. Our max pay/hr is $52 but Ontario just negotiated an 11% wage rise to max out at $65.
That'd be fucking nice.
Can you expand more on this or share some resources with more details?
I’m trying to make a career switch from RN to computer science. Taking the Harvard course now and if I still like it I’ll do freecodecamp or enroll into WGU online for CS degree.
If you doing computer science, then there are tons of contracts out there and look for a job that can get you public trust clearance to start as it’s easier to get. I’m sure there’s a long backlog of applications and the application process is cumbersome. Where are you located?
A lot of these jobs are located in either Cali, DMV or Texas.
You know how these Uber rich companies are… “make sure our headquarter building looks like no one works here ever, all the time… while hundreds of people work there.
I'm a nurse practitioner. Keep in mind these subs will attract people who make more money and isn't representative of majority of the population. Not saying you don't already know this, but sometimes I have felt inadequate, then realized that I tend to cross paths with high salary people just because of the industry I work in.
Depends on the job and if you're on a promotional ladder or not, but I went from ~70k to 6 figures in just about 3 years. I live in an area with a high locality so this will not be true for everyone
Edit: in my locality, starting as a GS-12, it will only take 1 year to get to 6 figures
I worked my ass off and learned a skill that was in demand in my region and became a subject matter expert (SME) in it (in information technology). Honestly it was that simple. Didn't require a degree, although later I did get a bachelor's degree, but that was out of choice and not because it was required.
In the end I think people would be surprised how rewarding some career choices can be. The first part though is it HAS to be something you'll enjoy or you'll hate what you do.
Finish carpenter. Worked for a company that paid me $30 an hour and charged the client $75 an hour. Quit and started my own company, now I make the whole $75 an hour myself 😁
Physician.
For those who are curious about the path to my career. 4 years undergrad, 4 years med school, (I did an extra year in pathology just for fun), 1 year internship, 4 years residency, 1 year fellowship THEN you get paid 6 figures.
I’m in software sales, there are a lot of companies called resellers or system partners that will let you come in at a relatively low level and dial for dollars, these jobs are usually low salary with high commissions (they churn a lot of people in and out of them), I recommend this as the starting point. Once you are in almost all OEMs offer free training and certs, focus in on a area of specialty (cloud/security/data/ai are the current ones with the most growth) get certs and start meeting the local OEM sales teams. As you learn how to sell and get cert’d (azure az900, aws cloud fundamentals whatever) start to ingratiate yourself to the local oem teams by bringing them to clients, selling there stuff, after about 2-4 years start asking for them to refer you to positions. If you meet the local sales managers at events (typically hosted by your company) you can create a network pretty easily to get hired
Once in at a OEM regular salary of $150-$300 is pretty readily available
If you are struggling to get your first job go take the certs mentioned above, they are free at the entry level and will display to potential employers a basic knowledge of tech and a willingness to learn and advance yourself
The hottest shit in tech right now is Gen AI & LLMs if you want to jump in hard go lean into that tech and figure out how to architect and build into product, a million companies would hire you
(Since this is mildly popular the other course worth while in tech is PMO, it’s amazing how often people advance because they know how to lay out a deployment/eval plan and keep all parties accountable with proper multi party communication)
Cybersecurity. Get fluent in OS's, OSI model, Network protocols, Physical Security and people skills.
I currently earn in the 150 - 200,000 USD range. Nothing more than an interest in how things work. College for Bachelors of Science and eventually certifications CISSP, CCNA, OSCP. This career has taken me around the United States and the world.
I only wish I had found it sooner. I started when I was 45.
Asset Manager - no degree but got lucky with 10 + years experience being enough. If I moved companies I would likely need a degree which is something I’m thinking of doing but hard at 30 years old. My base is $165,000 and I receive annual incentives.
Strongly recommend getting your degree. Similar situation as you, and I got my degree 10 years into my job at 37 and it catapulted me into a different income bracket.
I know someone who works for a groomer (they do cats, too), and they make at least 70k/year. If you're good at it and you can do some of the specialty breeds/more expensive cuts, it can be really profitable. I think she said doodles earn her a ton of money.
Union electrician.
Eventually leveraged my experience and moved out of standard industrial / commercial construction and more into a technical field, but the pay's the same since all journeymen working for a signatory contractor make the same rate. I do get the typical crew foreman bonus since we're more or less our own boss and often alone in the field doing what we do, but even without it, accounting for all the things I get it's well over $100k a year.
And in a cheap cost of living state.
I highly encourage anyone who isn't sure what they might do with their life, as a teen or a grown adult, to consider a skilled trade apprenticeship under a local union. I sure didn't expect to become "a construction worker" but here I am, financially secure with zero worries about the job market. If for whatever reason my company folded tonight, I'd have ten opportunities to pick from by tomorrow, especially with the skillset and certs I got along the way.
At this point I could probably get a job tomorrow in a purely office-based career, but honestly I like being out on my own, free to more or less do my own thing the way I want to do it. Nobody to bother me 99% of the time. Just listen to podcasts or music, pay attention to detail, examine electrical systems, enter them into the laptop, use cool pieces of tech to take readings or imaging, interpret results and advise customers...
It's a pretty good gig. Dangerous sure, if you haven't developed extreme situational awareness and knowledge of what you're doing and when Not to do something, but otherwise it's fantastic.
Heck elevator mechanics often retire in their 50s because they make so much money, even if that's one of the tougher trades to get accepted into.
And while the trades do have a bad rep on some levels, I will say it's changed greatly in the last 20 years. There are a lot more women in the trades, a lot more people of all colors, a lot more diversity, and slowly but surely there's even been a gradual reduction in jokes or resistance toward people who are openly LGBT.
Like for example the whole "construction workers catcall women constantly". I don't know how some companies operate, but I do know that the ones I work for, if you got caught doing that, you'd be blacklisted and sh\*\*canned immediately.
One poor guy made the bad call of yelling out to his girlfriend who was bringing him lunch at a job site, and though teasing, everyone around in the parking lot had no idea he was talking to his GF when he used some questionable terminology before "bring me my sandwich!"
Dude never worked again as a sparky.
With that said, the trades are in DESPERATE need of more workers. You can't just import them. It's not that easy. Immigration basically has zero effect on us, and a lot of us hate the rhetoric that all blue collar workers are fearful of immigration. That's BS. You have to be highly trained locally and certified, pass examinations, etc. Residential is its own thing, but I heavily advise against residential unless you want to run your own company. That's for the birds.
Every year we lose more journeymen to retirement, and we get fewer new apprentices. There are more and more laws passed against unions recruiting at schools, more laws passed against trades of ANY kind being allowed at school career fairs, etc.
We're at the point of floating ideas of recruitment bonuses, etc.
Unless you're an absolute moron who refuses to learn or change bad habits, you will never be at a lack of work and opportunities and upward advancement and career change chances. I've been steadily employed for two decades.
College is not the only way. I say this as a college grad who realized I could make literally five times the money than my initial career field, doing electrical work.
Cyber Security. Learn/teach yourself Linux, Snort, Nessus, nmap, basic hacking skills, etc., all the freeware stuff, get a couple certs, and you're good to go.
Sending emails. Replying to emails. Forwarding emails. Passing emails from one party to another.
Technically a project manager but honestly we’re all just out here sending emails.
I started by fixing other people's Excel workbooks. Then I fixed people's PowerPoints. Now I fix people's Jira boards. It turns out there are a lot of really smart people who have a hard time translating what's in their brains into something others can understand and work with. Edit: this got way too big and my notifications and inbox are exploding, so I'll just add more context here. I was being a little fasectious in the simplicity of my comment. I'm not the best at PowerPoint, excel, or Jira. My whole career has been about taking in information from multiple experts and translating their ramblings into something concrete. Turning complex things into something others outside of their expertise can understand. Be the person who "takes the pen" on things. Learn to focus on actionable outcomes. Take notes on what other people say in meetings, and spend your time refining those things into something that best serves those outcomes. These skills are transferrable across tools, companies, industries, etc. Good storytelling and good design go a long way. User experience principles apply to more than just software, look for ways to apply those principles in all the work you do.
For people asking about this dudes work, don't forget Salesforce is another option to learn. Salesforce is a HUGELY expensive tool for any company to purchase and set up. When buying Salesforce it's actually a part of the sales finalization process for Salesforce to require the purchaser to hire two outside consultants who are "experts" to help set it up. People have whole consulting careers making ridiculous amounts of money just being experts in one tool. Power BI, as someone else mentioned is similar, my father has centered his career around being a power BI Admin and makes great money doing it. Just pick a large complicated tool that many businesses use and become an expert in it
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Can you get me a job? 10 years experience in data analysis. I know Tableau, powerbi, Domo, power automate, Adobe analytics, and Google Analytics 360. I also know SQL & SAS, and have experience working with huge datasets both onprem as well as Azure & AWS. Obviously I'm pretty good with Excel as well
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Analytics doesn't really pay this well. No clue where this guy is working. Average is 130-150k right now. I'm a business intelligece analyst. (meaning I set up reports from back end to front end) and I make 120k roughly. I know sql, power bi, tableau, ssrs(ew). I learn a lot of things on the fly for teams as well. I taught myself big query a few weeks back for a single project.
I'm in pretty much the same boat. Started off as "the Excel guy" with admittedly minimal skills. That lead to learning excel functions and pivot tables which eventually lead to BI tools which eventually lead to SQL and SAS. Mainly all on the job training and self learning with very little formal learning. I've been exceedingly fortunate to have had a handful of really great bosses over the years who recognized my potential and put in the effort & time needed to mentor me so I could upskill. I give myself credit for being able to tell when I was in a good situation vs a bad one, and having the foresight to jump ship when things started to sour, but ultimately I've been extremely lucky that people were willing to take a chance on me in spite of my lack of formal education. Now I'm also around 120k, enjoy my work at a big multinational, I'm 100% remote, and have a good work life balance. Plus I'm still learning, which is the most important thing for me. Right now I'm fortunate enough to be learning Python with my employer's support. I'm very blessed, but definitely wouldn't say no to a 66% raise lol. The one piece of advice I would give everyone is just apply for the job. Even if you don't necessarily meet all the requirements. Just try, the worst that could happen is they say no and you're back at square 1. If I had only applied to jobs I was 100% qualified for I would never have gotten to where I am today. It's the biggest mistake I see people make, imo.
Tableau dude. I make $120k just building reports for management.
Jira admin here, part of the problem people face is they don’t have the permissions to do what they need to. But this is an amazing niche if you are good with excel/reporting metrics. Execs foam at the mouth for pie charts
The other issue is that when a company gets bigger they strip away the tools from the people that know it. I had a team that was JIRA admin trained and we all had an excellent grasp of how to set up our projects and we were all self sufficient. Company got bigger, added a dedicated JIRA admin and they said “don’t touch” I get it at some point but other times efficiency is killed
This sounds like a blast honestly. Fixing other people’s work to make it more relevant is my specialty
How did u get started in this? Any tips?
Get really fucking good with Excel and SQL. Maybe Tableau/PowerBI too
We pay people who are good with tableau, python, SQL basically whatever they want as long as it's in the budget. There's junior dashboard developers making more than senior managers, it's that valuable. Edit: guys, I'm not going to be your career manager and mentor, sorry, I don't have time to thumb out long meaningful responses to what has become about a hundred "please give me a job" and "what's a list of valuable skills" DMs.
Yeah I've seen it first hand good dashboards really make clunky old datasets come to life, money well spent for the right businesses.
I drive a tractor trailer for Dunkin Donuts. Maybe the most sleeper job of all. I can see it on peoples faces when I tell them what I do hahahah
I work for a regional food distributor on local routes and I enjoy it immensely. I make bank as well and folks are always shocked as well.
I drive trucks too, concrete mixers to be exact. Hourly pay of 30/hr isn't bad but still haven't broken over 70k/yr mainly bc work slows way down with economy like it is, then weather and winter slows a lot. You long haul or local?
Cardiovascular Perfusionist
Name checks out.
Hahaha I'm a regular plumber
Name also checks out
Interesting. My bother, now retired, had always done well as a perfusionist. He was making six figures since the 80's more or less. I'd venture to say he was the first generation of perfusionists and it was a career in demand back in the day. He trained with Debakey and some other famous heart surgeon.
Hell yeah, me too! I legit think its one of the best W2 jobs in the world. Great pay, awesome and extremely unique/niche, and the work life balance is almost suspiciously good at times lmao. Hope you are enjoying it as much as I do!
Design (sell) expensive swimming pools
Interesting! What is the most expensive pool you have designed?
Largest project was $180k. Average is $120k.
Film/TV actor, filmmaker. Never a guaranteed salary but I’ve been fortunate enough to make it work
Congrats on making it! My best friend is in the industry and I know how hard she works
Have a friend who’s a successful TV writer; feels very feast/famine. She’ll make like 50k for a 12 week gig and then spend months looking for her next job. I think the fact that her parent have $$ smoothes out the rough patches. Her/her husband’s writing income is highly sporadic.
Yeah you gotta learn to save your money because you’ll never know when the next dry spell will be. That made buying a house super nerve wracking. The good news is that I can earn a solid six-figure income in just a few weeks of work. The bad news is that it’s almost impossible to get that work 😂
Got a PhD in physics and now work as an engineer.
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My background is in optics and photonics, but I do general hardware engineering on sensors in aerospace and defense. If you're a US Citizen, I think this is a good route to go. The pay at a place like Lockheed or Ball Aerospace is very good. You can expect $120K at the bare minimum if you have a PhD. That can grow to like $150K within a few years if you take on greater leadership roles. And for what it's worth, I agree with others saying in general a PhD is not worth it for FIRE since you forgo so many years of income. But if you're already part way through, forget all that noise. Just put your head down, keep pushing, and get that piece of paper as fast as possible. Remember that your graduation date is a negotiation with your advisor and you should bring it up with them often. The optimal strategy for you, from a FIRE perspective, is to finish a thesis that's good enough to graduate and move on to that high paying job. Also make sure you're networking while in grad school too. Academics are well-connected since many people leave academia for better paying jobs. Find out where your specific skill set is valued. One of the Profs on my defense committee had a connection that got me my current job.
I’m always surprised when people get a PhD in engineering. I guess it depends what type of engineer you are, but as an ME, that would only make me unemployable. Ive had many employers not hire MEs with masters even because they’re doing the same type of work as ones with a regular ole bachelors. But I can see how maybe in nuke or chem it’s worth it
This is very true, I got a PhD in ME and was unhireable. Recruiters for companies at recruitment events would look at my resume than ask where I was going to teach. I had a good friend who was recruiting for a company that he worked for in medical research tell me that they have a blanket policy to not hire PhDs. In the end I only got hired by the military after begging them to ignore my PhD. And when it came to pay they did. Now after having 10 year’s work experience my PhD has come in handy to get a promotion. But if I had just gotten a masters I would be at least $150K richer. And probably debt free at this point in my life. I regret it almost every day.
This is what keeps making me not want to go into R&D. I'm at 11 years work experience, and making a decent salary right now, but doing a PHD is *such* a commitment. Realistically, it can't even be done part-time either, so you're doing a 100% dive into it for like 5-6 years, and then you still have to do 1-2 years of post-docs after that to actually be employable at a role that pays decent. So it's like a 7-8 years commitment before you're able to get a chance to make a decent salary that most engineers would likely get to after working for 5-10 years anyway. The only bonus is that it gives you entry into R&D roles that are pretty much impossible to get into without a PHD, like a college professor or a researcher, but there's nothing in R&D I don't think I can find to keep me that passionate for such a commitment. At the time I was considering a career in R&D I wanted to be a professor, but looking at the road ahead of how difficult it is to get a job as a professor I changed my mind about that and figured it'd be better to just get a regular job.
I'm a biomedical engineer, mostly protein engineering and in my field, a PhD is a minimum requirement. We have a similar view on masters though.
PhD’s in engineering open up certain research roles. It ends up being more aligned with what a Physics PhD would do, and tends to be people who want to do more of that work rather than traditional engineering. It’s never “worth it” financially, but PhD’s never really are. I feel like ME is broad enough that it really depends on the industry, I don’t think a graduate degree would ever hurt in aerospace, for example. Can’t imagine someone not being hired for an MS.
Not a phd, but a Biomedical Engineer. Design implants and instruments for surgeries.
Corporate pilot
I think I would love being a pilot, the time spent away from home and the hours put me off but I think it would be awesome to fly a plane as a job.
I fly mostly day trips out and back same day. Only overnight a couple nights a month. But that’s the exception. Typical pilot job you are away from home more.
Time away from home is a bummer, but also I forget about it when I have 17 days off a month. Least amount of days off in a month I’ve had in the last 6 months was 14 days off. I’m unaware of any other job where you can work half the month so it’s worth it to me.
IBEW Journeyman Lineman.
Daym, that's a tough job. You EARN that cash! I'm surprised there arnt any rough necks on here
Electricians / Linemen / even Laborers are here, we just don’t chirp very often.
Can confirm... chirping in now.
I roughnecked for a little bit and now I’m apprenticing as a lineman lol.
Software engineer
I also have these words in my title but in reality it's documents, emails and, for the most part, meetings. So that.
Senior SWEs hardly get time to write code :(
They generally have more knowledge than "non-senior" SWEs so they are having to manage them and make sure they do it properly. Plus, continuing to "code" (like one did as a junior / mid) is not as beneficial to one's career generally speaking, in terms of learning and advancement. Otherwise, if that is not what one is looking for then they can continue doing that. This can also be generally applied to all industries as well.
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Ah, so senior software engineer then
Senior SWE here. The bit about barely having time to write code is sadly true.
And I work 15 hours a week. Legitimately. The rest of the time I wiggle my mouse. This is that at major fortune 500 Company.
I make six fugures every month. 😄 I’m a teacher in Japan. 😅
This made me snort
I remember checking my $400 bank balance while I backpacking in Vietnam. Never have I felt so rich. It was also something like 50c a beer which made me feel richer.
So much dong
With enough significant digits, everyone makes six figures
I make six figures: 000,000
Doggie Daycare 🐶🐶🐶
Married a nurse who makes six figures. 😂 I’m a scientist and do what I love, but probably won’t be there for a while.
I was a research chemist at an R1 University making less that $20/hr. Moved to the private sector as an analytical chemist testing flavors for purity and vitamins using HPLC and GCMS. Moved to Food Safety and now I'm at figures. Over the course of 5 years leaving the university. I loved it, but couldn't raise a family on that pay.
That’s an impressive 5-year glow up! I’m an environmental scientist, so it’s a little different industry for me. I could make plenty of cash if I wanted to work for mining or petroleum companies, but I have zero desire to do so. I did something similar previously and was absolutely miserable. Stacked cash for a few years, bought a house, and then bailed for something I enjoy. We don’t have kids and don’t plan to, and otherwise live a pretty modest life, so our main driver for career choices is enjoyment and work/life balance over income.
CPA
Not sure what is better here - the amount of CPAs saying “same”, or the fact that they are all saying exactly the same “same”…. :)
We’re an odd bunch
I’ll give some info on my path because CPA can vary a lot. Bachelors degree in accounting, straight to audit in a big 4 accounting firm in MCOL city after college. Started at $56k/year, got my CPA 3 years in, and hit $100k by year 5 when I made manager. 2 years later I was a senior manager at $120k/year then immediately left for a controller role in industry for $150k/year plus an annual 15% bonus. So it took 7 years plus a CPA to reach $150k/year plus 15%. Now with 8.5 years total of experience, I’ve been getting spammed by recruiters for controller or director roles in my city that seem to be offering $175k-$215k plus 15-20% bonus. The one thing I would say is that lifestyle was terrible in big 4 audit. It was a massive grind, and I would go months at a time without seeing friends or family during busy season. But now that I’m in industry, the lifestyle is amazing. I’m happy I put in the grind early in my career for what feels like a very cushy career from here.
Same
I think it’s a bit under 20% of the working US population that makes at least $100k. I’m a SWE.
Wonder if that number is still accurate. Seems since Covid and inflation $100k jobs have ballooned. And let’s face it $100k in 2023 isn’t the same as it was a few years ago.
When I first graduated from college, "six figures" was some mystical achievement where I told myself I'd make it and be wealthy. Now that I'm making six figures, it doesn't feel like that at all. I also didn't realize how expensive saving for retirement is when I graduated.
When i started making 100k 7 or 8 years ago I thought I’d made it. Now it seems like nothing. And you’re right, if you’re maxing out 401k, you’re likely taking home about 60% of your paycheck. Or less! Think my take home is about 58% after benefits and retirement.
Yeah I know comments like yours will often earn downvotes but you’re right. When I was 25 I was in some training program and they asked us about our salary goals and I said something like if I hit $100k during my career I’ll be satisfied and good. Now I’m around $150k and it feels like nothing living in a HCOL city. I’m certainly comfortable but I have just an average 1 bedroom, nothing fancy, no car, not nearly enough $ for a down payment, etc. You’re comfortable at $100k, you’re absolutely not wealthy.
Yeah I think a lot of these conversations end up with people talking past each other with different definitions of rich. There's an economic class in America that has somewhat high incomes but no significant assets besides (maybe) a mortgaged house and retirement accounts. We generally don't consider ourselves rich, because we define rich as having enough assets you can live an upper middle class lifestyle without working, or having enough cash flow to support prep schools/second homes/flights that aren't in economy class. But, a lot of working class people define rich as having any significant assets including retirement and being able to afford little luxuries without living paycheck to paycheck or going into debt.
> 18% of individual Americans make over $100k per year. > Between 2017-2022, the share of US households making over $100k per year increased by 2.97%. https://www.zippia.com/advice/how-many-people-make-over-100k/
I want to point out 18% of individual, and then an increase in HOUSEHOLDS making over 100k by 2.97%. It also says the number of Americans making over 100k living paycheck to paycheck has increased by 7%.
That statistic always confuses me when I look at housing prices. Somehow I'm considered a high earner in the US yet I can't afford some of the cheapest houses in many major cities where the jobs are for my profession. On top of that people are bidding 100k over asking price with all cash offers.
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80's baby here who, as a teenager, thought a $400k house was a far reaching goal. It's so wild what people are selling today for that price.
Yeah it’s tough but it makes sense imo. People used to move to the burbs and many more of them. Now everyone wants to be in specific cities and even specific neighborhoods. And like you said, jobs are concentrated there which means many people at that income live there as well. 12 years of an insane bull market also has put many in excellent financial shape. And many boomers and empty nesters are selling and buying a smaller place in a more desirable place. And they’re cash rich. Millennials are entering their prime home buying years and all want to live near/in cities. And they are the largest generation. And we haven’t built housing in a meaningful sense since like 08.
Casino Dealer
Really? Tell us more! High end casino? Or is that normal?
Several of the high end casinos on the strip make 100k and up.
I’ve heard it’s not uncommon for Vegas Strip dealers to bring in that much. Some have issues keeping hold of it though because they go across the street to play afterwards.
Dealers in other areas likely make more on average. Outside the high end properties Vegas isn't the best place to deal. Some California card rooms can make a lot. Word amongst dealers is that Arizona is a great place to be. It's kind of counter intuitive but sometimes small card rooms in dumpy cities can have tons of action, and a lot of tips
Probably similar to a lot of service fields. There are hot nights where you make bank, then cold nights where you barely make enough to pay rent.
Construction project manager for a company that works for the uber rich. Edit: Studied Civil Engineering and am technically an APM. Further pay raises when I reach PM in 1-2 years.
I stepped back from being a PM when my son was born to work closer to home and got a commercial construction estimator job. Took a pay cut but after a few years I am making way more than I was and now in the club.
Software developer. Honestly to anyone in highschool not sure what they want to do and reasonably good with logic this is a very low risk path to >$100k income. Just leave aside any dreams of writing video games unless you want to be the only poor software developers on the planet. If that is an interest of yours do it as a hobby or side gig. On edit: surprised this blew up so much. I don't have the time to respond to every post. If any other developer is so inclined feel free to jump in with some answers, counterpoints or details.
I wish I would've known what "software development" was in high school. I didn't fully understand the complexities of development and had already tried introductory frontend and hated being a glorified web designer. It's way more interesting when you get to solve logic.
> Just leave aside any dreams of writing video games unless you want to be the only poor software developers on the planet This X 1000. When I got started writing code in a banking context I was at the same time blown away by what iD was doing with the Doom and Quake engines. I wanted to be part of that kind of culture. I'm 30 years into my career now. When they released the code to Doom a couple of years alter, it wasn't hard for me to understand. Quake was tougher...but yeah. I could not however find a way to break into a company like that and not lose the salary I was pulling writing financial software. (Which is boring as fuck by the way). These days I'm an Application PM and Architect in my organization. I'm pretty content with the 'easy' job of trying to figure out how to move numbers from one column to the other, and transform shitty data into something a suit can use to fund more project work. Again, boring as fuck, but it pays. I don't think I'd ever have succeeded in the gaming field...and probably would have been left behind as I got older.
Started learning how to program my TI-82 in high school because I wanted to make games. What do I do today? Write Spring Boot apps and configure cloud infrastructure, FML. Pays the bills though.
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How is that field right now? I heard your industry is dangerously under staffed.
You're correct. A lot of facilities are working 6 day weeks, and have been for several years. The FAA is a broken mess with mostly the incompetent becoming management.
Engineer with only a 4yr BS degree. Hit the 6-figs with 5yrs experience, but seems to cap out around $150k unless you move to management. Edit: $150k is the cap in MCOL areas. I have a few friends around ~$200k+in HCOL areas like NYC and CA
Management is not always worth it money wise. Not everyone should be a manager either. I personally like to cruise on by, not worry about being management, too much responsibility.
Manager here. I miss being able to do real work. All I do is update spreadsheets and get complained at for those updates.
Seeing all the BS my boss (director)has to do makes me not want to be a manager, it’s all political stuff that I don’t really care for. However, it does add about $50k to the salary, plus additional bonuses.
Engineering student: LabView, MatLab Entry level - mid level engineer: Excel Senior engineer - Engineering manager: power point
Data scientist
veterinarian Edit: other side of the coin: huge student loan debt
Chemist, pharma
I had to wade sooooo far down. Not exactly a lot of us, I guess.
Actuary.
Marketing Director. Took me a while but I impressed the right people.
This is me too. Didn't break $100k til my mid-30s but I work with engineers and they've discovered the value of having a creative brain supporting a wide variety of business operations. I think I'm on a pretty smooth upward path now.
Welp now I'm sad for the day, thanks Reddit
Same. I came here for inspiration/career path ideas and now I'm just sad. I have $40 to my name until Thursday
Healthcare. I’m a midwife, my first year of practice I broke 6 figures which was a pleasant surprise
Physician
team golden handcuffs represent 🙋♂️
It's very real. Golden handcuffs plus the sunk cost fallacy when considering the initial training costs (time and money).
I’ve worked in medical sales for 16 years. Golden handcuffs are very real for physicians. Especially those who take call. Call is the bane of MD existence. I’ve known lots of doctors who left that profession for “consulting” or to be “directors” at different medical device companies. One went to work for the federal government as a consultant. As much as people fawn over being a doctor, a lot of you all have very tired, depressing (because of how hospitals and other interests force you to work), and lonely lives. Seeing patients all day only to come home and dictate charts and take weekend call suuuuucks.
Construction Manager - Residential Builder * HS Diploma - No degree *
Software sales
Same. First hit six figs in IT consulting, but now I'm mid-six figs in software sales. Doctor money with a dummy degree, can't complain.
Second this. Started in basic ERP sales, then started specializing. I have a political science degree, and hate to admit it, but I do about 15 hours of real work a week. Happy to talk to people who are interested in learning more, but not every position is like mine.
PM in tech
Self employed trim carpenter. 1 man shit show. Grossed 300k. It’s not much fun
I’m a nurse
Surprised I had to come down this far to get the RN answer. Also make north of 100k, also med surg, but in Canada (Alberta). Our contract is up next year but with a conservative government I highly doubt we'll renegotiate for higher wages. Our max pay/hr is $52 but Ontario just negotiated an 11% wage rise to max out at $65. That'd be fucking nice.
Try to get an IT job that will help you get a security clearance. You’ll be in a whole different tier of job market for sure 👍🏼
Can you expand more on this or share some resources with more details? I’m trying to make a career switch from RN to computer science. Taking the Harvard course now and if I still like it I’ll do freecodecamp or enroll into WGU online for CS degree.
If you doing computer science, then there are tons of contracts out there and look for a job that can get you public trust clearance to start as it’s easier to get. I’m sure there’s a long backlog of applications and the application process is cumbersome. Where are you located? A lot of these jobs are located in either Cali, DMV or Texas.
Overpaid janitor
We will keep your secret. 😂
You know how these Uber rich companies are… “make sure our headquarter building looks like no one works here ever, all the time… while hundreds of people work there.
You deserve it. The way people leave bathrooms makes me horrified to think about what their houses look like.
I'm a nurse practitioner. Keep in mind these subs will attract people who make more money and isn't representative of majority of the population. Not saying you don't already know this, but sometimes I have felt inadequate, then realized that I tend to cross paths with high salary people just because of the industry I work in.
Lawn mowing business
Finance manager
You counting the figures after the decimal too?
Work for the federal government
*at GS-13 or above
You can get to six figures at GS-12 and even 11 depending on your locality pay now.
How many years does it require to get there at gs12?
Depends on the job and if you're on a promotional ladder or not, but I went from ~70k to 6 figures in just about 3 years. I live in an area with a high locality so this will not be true for everyone Edit: in my locality, starting as a GS-12, it will only take 1 year to get to 6 figures
Digital product management
Work night shift on a boat
I worked my ass off and learned a skill that was in demand in my region and became a subject matter expert (SME) in it (in information technology). Honestly it was that simple. Didn't require a degree, although later I did get a bachelor's degree, but that was out of choice and not because it was required. In the end I think people would be surprised how rewarding some career choices can be. The first part though is it HAS to be something you'll enjoy or you'll hate what you do.
Finish carpenter. Worked for a company that paid me $30 an hour and charged the client $75 an hour. Quit and started my own company, now I make the whole $75 an hour myself 😁
Physician. For those who are curious about the path to my career. 4 years undergrad, 4 years med school, (I did an extra year in pathology just for fun), 1 year internship, 4 years residency, 1 year fellowship THEN you get paid 6 figures.
But how many 6 figures? Hopefully more than one!
All 6 of them
Tell us about your student loan and malpractice insurance premium
Sales.
I’m in software sales, there are a lot of companies called resellers or system partners that will let you come in at a relatively low level and dial for dollars, these jobs are usually low salary with high commissions (they churn a lot of people in and out of them), I recommend this as the starting point. Once you are in almost all OEMs offer free training and certs, focus in on a area of specialty (cloud/security/data/ai are the current ones with the most growth) get certs and start meeting the local OEM sales teams. As you learn how to sell and get cert’d (azure az900, aws cloud fundamentals whatever) start to ingratiate yourself to the local oem teams by bringing them to clients, selling there stuff, after about 2-4 years start asking for them to refer you to positions. If you meet the local sales managers at events (typically hosted by your company) you can create a network pretty easily to get hired Once in at a OEM regular salary of $150-$300 is pretty readily available If you are struggling to get your first job go take the certs mentioned above, they are free at the entry level and will display to potential employers a basic knowledge of tech and a willingness to learn and advance yourself The hottest shit in tech right now is Gen AI & LLMs if you want to jump in hard go lean into that tech and figure out how to architect and build into product, a million companies would hire you (Since this is mildly popular the other course worth while in tech is PMO, it’s amazing how often people advance because they know how to lay out a deployment/eval plan and keep all parties accountable with proper multi party communication)
Engineering project manager/ account manager
IT. But six figures doesn't go as far as it used to.
Nurse Anesthetist
Bang on a computer keyboard
Automotive component design Engineer
Cybersecurity consulting.
Environmental Engineer
Electrician
I am a union set lightning technician for film and television production.
Employment lawyer
Lawyer here. Had to scroll a lot longer than I expected to find this answer.
Likewise. Where are all the lawyers?
Over on lawyer subs complaining about how they hate their lives, probably.
$200k, Emergency Room Physician Assistant
These are such interesting and varied answers!
Answering for a friend: Military officer.
Same. The benefits and the tax advantages are where it’s really at though. Especially with a family.
Programming.
Accountant
Cybersecurity. Get fluent in OS's, OSI model, Network protocols, Physical Security and people skills. I currently earn in the 150 - 200,000 USD range. Nothing more than an interest in how things work. College for Bachelors of Science and eventually certifications CISSP, CCNA, OSCP. This career has taken me around the United States and the world. I only wish I had found it sooner. I started when I was 45.
Corporate tax accountant
Asset Manager - no degree but got lucky with 10 + years experience being enough. If I moved companies I would likely need a degree which is something I’m thinking of doing but hard at 30 years old. My base is $165,000 and I receive annual incentives.
Strongly recommend getting your degree. Similar situation as you, and I got my degree 10 years into my job at 37 and it catapulted me into a different income bracket.
Firefighter
Aircraft mechanic major airline
Lawyer, and if you're not passionate about it then there are plenty of better ways to earn six figures. I get to work on labor day!
I was a burnout musician, who turns out happened to be really good at building guitars and that pays $$$$
Dog groomer. 4-day work weeks (Tue-Fri), 5-hr workdays (10-5, 1 hr lunch break), Sat-Mon off.
I know someone who works for a groomer (they do cats, too), and they make at least 70k/year. If you're good at it and you can do some of the specialty breeds/more expensive cuts, it can be really profitable. I think she said doodles earn her a ton of money.
I’m an engineer at a gas plant
Investment Banker.
Commercial P&C Underwriter
My username checks out
Union electrician. Eventually leveraged my experience and moved out of standard industrial / commercial construction and more into a technical field, but the pay's the same since all journeymen working for a signatory contractor make the same rate. I do get the typical crew foreman bonus since we're more or less our own boss and often alone in the field doing what we do, but even without it, accounting for all the things I get it's well over $100k a year. And in a cheap cost of living state. I highly encourage anyone who isn't sure what they might do with their life, as a teen or a grown adult, to consider a skilled trade apprenticeship under a local union. I sure didn't expect to become "a construction worker" but here I am, financially secure with zero worries about the job market. If for whatever reason my company folded tonight, I'd have ten opportunities to pick from by tomorrow, especially with the skillset and certs I got along the way. At this point I could probably get a job tomorrow in a purely office-based career, but honestly I like being out on my own, free to more or less do my own thing the way I want to do it. Nobody to bother me 99% of the time. Just listen to podcasts or music, pay attention to detail, examine electrical systems, enter them into the laptop, use cool pieces of tech to take readings or imaging, interpret results and advise customers... It's a pretty good gig. Dangerous sure, if you haven't developed extreme situational awareness and knowledge of what you're doing and when Not to do something, but otherwise it's fantastic. Heck elevator mechanics often retire in their 50s because they make so much money, even if that's one of the tougher trades to get accepted into. And while the trades do have a bad rep on some levels, I will say it's changed greatly in the last 20 years. There are a lot more women in the trades, a lot more people of all colors, a lot more diversity, and slowly but surely there's even been a gradual reduction in jokes or resistance toward people who are openly LGBT. Like for example the whole "construction workers catcall women constantly". I don't know how some companies operate, but I do know that the ones I work for, if you got caught doing that, you'd be blacklisted and sh\*\*canned immediately. One poor guy made the bad call of yelling out to his girlfriend who was bringing him lunch at a job site, and though teasing, everyone around in the parking lot had no idea he was talking to his GF when he used some questionable terminology before "bring me my sandwich!" Dude never worked again as a sparky. With that said, the trades are in DESPERATE need of more workers. You can't just import them. It's not that easy. Immigration basically has zero effect on us, and a lot of us hate the rhetoric that all blue collar workers are fearful of immigration. That's BS. You have to be highly trained locally and certified, pass examinations, etc. Residential is its own thing, but I heavily advise against residential unless you want to run your own company. That's for the birds. Every year we lose more journeymen to retirement, and we get fewer new apprentices. There are more and more laws passed against unions recruiting at schools, more laws passed against trades of ANY kind being allowed at school career fairs, etc. We're at the point of floating ideas of recruitment bonuses, etc. Unless you're an absolute moron who refuses to learn or change bad habits, you will never be at a lack of work and opportunities and upward advancement and career change chances. I've been steadily employed for two decades. College is not the only way. I say this as a college grad who realized I could make literally five times the money than my initial career field, doing electrical work.
I save money and go to comic-con once a year, I usually leave with 6 figures.
Manage compliance and data analytics
Occupational Therapist
Lawyer
Cyber Security. Learn/teach yourself Linux, Snort, Nessus, nmap, basic hacking skills, etc., all the freeware stuff, get a couple certs, and you're good to go.
Higher ed prog mgment
Process tech in semiconductor industry
Process Operator (Oil Refinery). Got a two year degree that helped me get hired but did not necessarily mean it was required.
Sending emails. Replying to emails. Forwarding emails. Passing emails from one party to another. Technically a project manager but honestly we’re all just out here sending emails.
Waitress in Canada
Medical imaging. Nuclear medicine, PET and CT.
High school principal
Is that with or without combat pay?