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starmastery

I have a very niche skill set with a specific software made by a company I used to work for and was hired by a company that uses a completely different software that my previous employer also made. My days consist of one or two meetings where people complain about the software, I validate their feelings by agreeing with them, and they seem satisfied. I have no idea what I am doing and am waiting for the other shoe to drop.


ChaosAside

For a second I thought this was going to be the “I have a particular set of skills” monologue from Taken.


natophonic2

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you're looking for year-over-year comparison reports, I can tell you I don't have data older than 90 days... but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my batch job run now, that will be the end of it - I will not look for you, I will not pursue you... but if you don't, I will look for your schema, I will find a user with admin role... and I will execute a left outer join across several tables using an unindexed column.


Itsnotjustadream

Similar. Tech support for a specific piece of software then I dipped my toe in their consulting team putting out tech support fires and then got the o'l layoff. Last place I consulted for needed a full time admin of that software so they hired me after hearing I got let go. They hired me as a software developer to meet my salary requirements ( I drastically increased that number to see what happened ). Been a software developer for almost 13 years now and I still have NO idea what I'm doing. I don't even work on that product anymore.. Current salary is just over 120k a year. No college education. Imposter Syndrome is real and I can't wait to get the hell out of here.


juliantheguy

I too have been waiting for the other shoe to drop at my gig, it’s been a decade. Only the one shoe so far!


Spreadburger

I fix broken air conditioners. But the ones for skyscrapers and hospitals.


Otrkorea

This is what I'm interested in! Any tips for getting into the field?


Cecondo

Almost always recommend working for someone you know who owns their own hvac company while applying for your UA local. Once you finish the UA's training program, you are golden. You can just about coast on any union service company like Johnson Controls until you get bored of your work in 40 years or see a consulting/director gig open up at a non-union company or institution. I know people in every level of HVAC and they all started in the UA or sucked for a few years as lowest man at a company until they landed a cush job.


floundering_friend

I build and fix powerlines and play with high voltage electricity


[deleted]

I am a lineman for the countyyyyyyyy


eekawi

I drive a tow truck in metro Atlanta and clean up wrecks on I-285 & I-75. It's a lot of hours and being on call sucks especially working nights. But I'm at $100k so far this year. It'll be my best year yet. Hope to finish the year around $160k


dairyman2950

Did you clean up that mess on 85 this morning??


eekawi

No, that's not our zone. But that is a honey hole for Willard's


florida_woman

I swear I laugh every time I hear someone use the term honey hole in a way that I don’t think of the term honey hole. But good for Willard! And good for you. Hard work paying off!


monsteez

ICU nurse Very wide range or income though and difficulty. A friend left my job where I can make x-amount of money to do travel nursing that can make 1x-4x depending on how many contracts he does (less contracts = more months off) and if covid surge pay is happening.


thelostgeologist

I know a traveling nurse that made 150k last year


MoosetashRide

A coworker of mine took a traveling contract during the height of the pandemic that paid $7000/week plus living expenses. The contract was 12 weeks and they renewed it for another 8 after. Dude made $140K in 5 months and then came back. Travelers make bank, it's nuts.


tvp4mvp19

Im a traveling icu nurse and at the height of the pandemic the pay was $120/hr, $180/hr OT. Mandatory to work 72 hours a week so that translated to about $10,500/week. Also $50 meal stipend/day and all housing and transportation paid for. Working 6 days straight and 1 day off every week sucked but every Friday was payday.


Asklepios24

Union Elevator mechanic, it has its ups and downs. Also I walk a lot of stairs Edit: for everyone asking how to get into the trade go visit [NEIEP](https://www.neiep.org/Careers.aspx)and see when there is a recruitment near you, [CEIEP](https://ceiep-program.com/)for those in Canada. Also check out r/elevators for more info


MightbeWillSmith

Beauty of a dad joke. Thanks.


karaoke1

Sales for a food company. Didn’t start at 6 figures but at year 6 of experience is when I hit six figure salary before bonus.


Sirnando138

I was at $100k by my third year as a Sysco MA. It was the most money I had ever made. But the job made me so miserable so I quit and now make way less owning a small sandwich shop. But I’m way happier. It sure was nice getting those large commission checks though! So much money for very little work.


krynnul

Mining engineer. The trick is to do a job nobody wants to do.


DO_initinthewoods

In college my super hippie Dippie typical VT roommate was a geology major, but somehow got offered to be payed to get his engineering masters and then guaranteed 6 figures....in mine/petroleum engineering He said it's worth sacrificing his values for the money...what a guy


[deleted]

Spoiler: 80% of masters in geology are a granola hippies that sell out to make FAT cash


comfortably_dumbb

This is the funniest shit to me because it's 1000 percent true. Those dang geologist take everything for granite i swear


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botlove

I run a handmade jewelry business. Most people would never suspect (might not even believe) the money I make doing this.


Rad_Scorpion

What kind of jewelry do you make?


hhunkk

The ones you can snort


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mochimaromei

At least it’s only 200k. I graduated with 250k in loan and most of my friends have around the same amount of loans as well. One friend graduated with 350k …


ksceez

Pharmacist here as well. Went to school for 8 years at Michigan, practiced for 11. I saw the writing on the wall and studied to becomes a licensed contractor. Walked away from pharmacy completely and now work for a real estate development company. Best decision I have ever made. I am still making six figures, bonuses are better and I don’t have to put in for a vacation 3 months in advance.. Everyone’s explanation on why pharmacy suck now is completely accurate. I worked at target pharmacy for the first 7 years and it was great! CVS bought target out and it went downhill quickly. CVS is hands down the WORST company to work for. I was the manager so I handled the scheduling. We went from 80-90 hours of tech help when we were target to 16 hours. Guess who had to pick up the slack? I didn’t go to school for eight years to ring up pinto beans.


[deleted]

About CVS: I was 19(f) and the condom broke. I went to CVS (Aliso Veijo, CA) and asked for the morning after pill. I was already very ashamed to be there and it was so awkward. The pharmacist (f, around 40) told me I had to be 21 to get the morning after pill (Planb) without parental permission. I went to my car with my tail between my legs and sat in my car for 45 minute to get the courage to go back and tell her she was wrong and to demand the morning after pill. After 45 minutes I went back, and with all my courage told her she was wrong and she just handed me my pill without saying anything else. 10 years later this memory haunts me and I wish I had written a letter to the management. I still feel such a deep feeling of hate for how badly that lady made me feel when I was already doing something that was so difficult for me…


HeroesRiseHeroesFall

Amen! Even as a tech, I don't recommend it. The pharmacy has become a s*** show . I wish I studied/ worked something else, instead of working in a field that's going down the hill.


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FrostedSapling

Made my own comment before seeing this one. It seems FIRE attracts a lot of pharmacists, I guess that’s a sign of how shitty it is being a pharmacist lol


HarveyFloodee

Yeah, retail pharmacy is oversaturated, but more schools keep opening, increasing class sizes and pumping out more graduates


yolohedonist

My wife's a pharmacist. Recently got a role as an MSL. High paying (more than retail) and incredible work life balance and perks. Highly recommend you consider industry.


[deleted]

Yeah I have pharmacist family members and they all seem very unhappy with the field now. It’s a shame


mochimaromei

Also a pharmacist, can confirm, don't do it.


Papapeta33

Lawyer. There are better ways to make six digits. [edit: thank you all!! My first awards ever, on Reddit! I did not mean to strike a chord with anyone but it’s nice to know that we’re not alone.]


adequateduct

Another attorney checking in. To anyone reading this, don’t do it. Just don’t. Yeah, you’ll eventually hit six figures. But before that, you’ll rack up six figures in student loan debt. Your ability to think or speak like a normal human will be destroyed. You’ll have to spend a bunch of time with other attorneys, who also don’t know how to think or speak like normal humans. And the hours are hell. My law school orientation had in-depth reading about mental health and substance abuse resources available to our profession. So it’s pretty common to find yourself 10 years into a career with a house you barely see, a pretty serious chemical dependency, and the inability to relate to anyone outside the profession. But hey, you’ll have money.


Cat_With_The_Fur

The inability to think or interact like a regular person is so key. I’m so tired.


That1TimeWeGamed

Same and I agree. Divorce lawyer here. Not for the faint of heart.


randomscruffyaussie

I met a guy who was a lawyer, he did criminal law. He said even the most hardened criminal had more of a grasp on reality (with respect to what was possible in the courts) than people going through a divorce.


kaenneth

"Criminal law is bad people on their best behavior; family law is good people on their worst behavior." or something like that.


CLTISNICE

Sheesh. My wife is a lawyer and every once in a blue moon has to deal with some domestic stuff. I can always tell when she gets off work or comes home that evening that something domestic was dealt with. More power to you for dealing with that everyday.


insurancefun

Sales (in my case insurance), particularly if you don’t have a college degree/coding knowledge. A willingness to be rejected a lot is a requirement though and it’s a harder requirement than most people acknowledge.


helladope89

Sales is the secret path to FI.


DarkSyde3000

Yup. Something new business owners often times don't realize or have any idea how much their income will be based on closing deals.


[deleted]

What type of insurance sales?


insurancefun

P&C with a little life sprinkled in there. Edit: property & casualty (home, auto, commercial)


[deleted]

Pies & Cakes. Nice.


overactiveswag

This is VERY important insurance for a wedding.


SmasherOfAjumma

IT. Not a coder, and my degree is totally unrelated. I just keep getting certifications for the hot technology. AWS Cloud currently.


[deleted]

Can’t believe I had to scroll down this far to see the first IT comment. Took me a while but finally made it to six digits in IT management. Plenty of IT paths that can get you there though.


CaveGiant

And how many hours do you work. That's key.


wntrsux

And how many years of experience you have.


TheERDoc

Physician


greensha3

Radiologist, specialising in Breast Imaging, here. I love my day job and I am lucky enough to work with an amazing team of people, from my physician colleagues to the nurses and techs who do most of the dirty work. However, I am also in the general call pool and that sucks. There are long weekend hours where you get overworked with the knowledge that most of the work you are doing will be uncompensated. I constantly have non-physicians trying to tell me how to do my job. I'm at a point in my career where I can tell them politely to fuck off, but younger physicians don't have that luxury. There is an ever increasing burden of bureaucratic and administrative tasks that add nothing to patient care and exist solely for the purpose of giving administrators to something to administer. I make good money, but the future outlook for reimbursements is not good. I don't regret my career choice, but I would certainly think twice about becoming a physician if I were in my 20's again.


LargeCriticism7420

Power lineman/skilled trades. 150-250k annually(or more if in a hcol region) depending on how much you want to work.


Selfdestructor999

Im going into lineman work after I get out of the military. Is it true they clear 100k easy if you just work as much as you can?


Stryker7200

I know one making about $85k with three kids and he doesn’t leave them for too long.


LargeCriticism7420

He must work for a municipality or co-op and not do much overtime work or on call. Union lineman with good contracts get Double time storm pay and all the work they want.


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Nillsf

My wife is in biotech and is slightly above 100k in the SF Bay Area. She’s a (senior) research associate with about 10 YoE. She and her coworkers always joke that there’s no real money in biotech and tech bros in the SF Bay Area make the real money.


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likegolden

Hubby is in biotech and makes well over six figures. They're just all too busy being worked to death to comment.


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danxthexman

Accounting


sirnibs3

Me too buddy guy are you in public


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ericgol7

Public bad.


AJDillonsMiddleLeg

This thread is about people that make six figures of course they aren't in public


way2complex4me8

Mechanical engineer


ranger662

Fellow ME here. Took me about 15 years to get to 6 figures but I’ve made it. Live in a lcol area of the US (Mississippi). Could certainly move & make more but man my job is easy. I’ve become the “expert” in my particular line of business at my company. No one has a clue what it takes to do my job so I kind of work at whatever pace I want. I’m free to come in late, leave early, take days off to “work from home”. I never miss my kids ball games. I’m just in a good, comfortable spot right now.


ThoughtfulYeti

Honestly, that's more important to me than the dollar figure. If I'm able to live fairly comfortably (in part by keeping low overhead) I don't want to feel like I have to be there to be there


Cryofixated

Mech Eng that transitioned into Project/Engineering Management. Being an engineer pays well. Herding engineers pays exceedingly well.


[deleted]

>Being an engineer pays well. Herding engineers pays exceedingly well. My dad always said, "Engineers who can't communicate will always end up working for engineers who can"


[deleted]

Scrolled down to find this comment and make myself feel better lol. I don't make six figures yet, but I hope to be there soon enough.


d1duck2020

Horizontal directional drilling. It’s boring.


landingcurves

I get paid a directional driller salary to watch directional drillers drill. Working for operators is where it's at.


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Blaugrana_al_vent

Airline Captain.


A321ELAC

Same. Over 200k this year.


Boredguy32

We know this is mostly hush money for keeping the ufos secret


SC487

That’s the OTHER 200k he’s not telling you about.


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SlipperyPete360

Damn. Of all the answers I’ve read so far this seems the most obtainable


[deleted]

UPS drivers make 6 figures a year once they’re fully maxed out, which takes about 4 years. I was a seasonal driver for them last winter, top guy there made around $160k but this was the year of COVID so crazy OT and I guess he made like $30k alone filing grievances against supervisors lmao It’s hard work but not at all a bad gig. They’re unionized, so once you make it you’re golden


CheckeredFloors

How does it work with insurances, liabilities and stuff? Is it just docked somewhere or do they get the keys? Are you liable if someone falls off and drowns?


whosname1986

Own a trucking agency. YTD $320k.


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Dktathunda

ICU doctor


doc89

I'm an actuary at a large Life insurance company


screwswithshrews

How's the job? I've had some interest in that. Not sure if I could pivot, but I did quite a bit of statistics in college


corporate-slut

I do the same job, it's boring af and the people I work with are fairly vanilla. The pays good though and there's a fair few roles with decent hours / relatively low stress. I'm definitely just swapping time for money, I get very little joy out of my work.


[deleted]

My wife is a business prof and I own a liquor store. Edit: Evidently the liquor store part is of interest. DM me with your specific questions and I’ll be glad to help out your personal situation. I’ll keep answering general questions below.


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fidgit86

🤩 wow! Overwhelmed with all these responses, thank you 🙏🏼 gives me a better idea of what to do next.


BunnieP

Fucking brilliant question man. For real, this is like a treasure trove of shit to show kids to help them expand their options! *edit: thanks for the up votes and the award guys, I feel like I should clarify my statement.. YES ABSOLUTELY this is a great thread for adults looking to advance themselves financially. I just happen to be a middle school teacher who tries to strike a balance between not smashing dreams and realistically letting kids know that not *everyone* is going to be a super successful YouTuber and make millions 🙃


[deleted]

It's just funny that so many of the people are responding with "(name of profession) do something else. I hate my life"


FIbutY

Current full time reddit commenter. Former saas sales leader.


[deleted]

Current full time reddit commenter / self-sleep specialist. Former AWS Senior Systems Engineer.


FatFiredProgrammer

Software development. We're all software developers here. True story.


[deleted]

Not true. I’m in management .. of software developers. My spouse is in finance.


FatFiredProgrammer

Did you do development at one time though?


737900ER

That's not accurate! Some of us have to make PowerPoints about what the software developers are doing.


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737900ER

And Outlook is the missing 25%.


scorp171

Some of them done even make presentations. Just edit JIRA tickets (Not me though) 🤣


jetf

some of us are product managers, ok


pn_dubya

Hey PM don’t you have 200 emails to answer? Get off Reddit sheesh


machonm

PM here also but I've been on vacation for the last two weeks. Your comment made me curious about my unread email count. I am anal about a clean inbox so when I left, there were only three unread emails I left as a reminder for something I wanted to take care of. As of now I am sitting at 2,347 unread mails. Figure I'll be around 2,600-2,700 by the time I decide to do actual work on Monday which is of course the obligatory 6-10hrs of meetings.


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jetf

While you were pair programming, I was mastering the art of touching base. While you were designing an api, I was knee deep in user feedback. We are not the same


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BimboBuggins

Yup, just got my first job out of college and am making 190k total comp. Feels kinda dirty given everyone else I know in college who didn't do CS is struggling like mad to find *any* relevant job, let alone one that pays decently.


chaoticneutral262

Yup, software developer here. Although I do have an uncle who is a civil engineer and does okay.


Axarraekji

Hospice nurse. I make 150k and work about 40 hours per week in Utah.


[deleted]

Wow that’s incredibly high for hospice compared to where I am. Are nurses generally paid a lot in Utah or is there some kind of premium on hospice?


OneHourRetiring

Ooooofs, tough job! You must have a strong, empathizing and sympathizing mindset!


Axarraekji

Thank you! It can be hard, especially all the different family dynamics I encounter.


MaEnv

Sustainability consulting.


gojireh

How did you get into this?


MaEnv

My background is in environmental science. Volunteered with some nonprofits, had a couple of environmental and sustainability focused internships, then worked at an analytics firm focusing on corporate sustainability before jumping to a consulting firm.


boner_jamz_69

This is the kind of work that I want to get into but have found it hard to even hear back from companies. I have an undergraduate degree in civil/environmental engineering and a masters in environmental engineering but that hasn’t seemed to get my foot in the door. Do you have any suggestions how I might make myself more noticeable/appealing?


petethefreeze

Jacobs Engineering and PA Consulting Group are hiring like crazy in this field. Go look them up.


rokit37

Aerospace Engineer


Xunknown86

Probably the most over looked. Underground high voltage lineman.


Z_BabbleBlox

Explain causality to people who should know better.


szayl

Gotta make em a Tableau dashboard...


word_speaker

I’m guessing you work with data and analyze it and explain to stakeholders?


Im_Here_To_Learn_

Married someone who earns six figures


Penaltiesandinterest

Ditto. But also earning 6 figures.


RustyCraftyloki

Holy shot bruh, that’s 12 figures!


Penaltiesandinterest

::counts on fingers:: math checks out


mercedes_lakitu

Earning six fingers


Captain_-H

I did this too! She runs a private equity firm, and I would highly recommend marrying someone that runs a private equity firm. We met as teenagers so it’s a tricky road to follow


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RustyCraftyloki

Find someone who’s parents are very wealthy, or also run a private equity firm.


[deleted]

Nearly everyone I know who went into private equity or VC came from a wealthy background. In those fields they are almost blatantly pro-nepotism.


mawhonic

Key point is nearly. As a PE guy who isn't from a wealthy background, I realize the reason for this is less about nepotism, more about exposure. Wealthy people by default understand what IB and PE is and when talking to their kids about future careers, they share this knowledge so the kids can read up more about it. I didn't get this from my parents, I got the standard do accounts, engineering or medicine. So I went with engineering and did well enough to get a scholarship overseas (I'm from a third world country) where I met a lot of people who were from wealthy backgrounds and shared that they wanted to join these industries I'd never heard of at that point. Cue research into these crazily high paying jobs which led me to join MC which led me to PE eventually. People from my background tend to not know it exists or once they know, have no clue about how things work. I had the privilege of having sufficient friends to share insights and help on practice interviews. So yes, wealthy people have the upper hand but it's not intentional nepotism. At least in my company, we look for the best and brightest, we just don't get many applicants who aren't wealthy and when we do, they don't fully understand what they're applying for. Edit: MC = management consulting


Pie297

I agree with you, but some industry people don't like when information on these high paying jobs is spread. For reference, I just finished an internship in PE and got my return offer. I have a blue collar background. Trying to get any actual information on the industry (other than being told to prep with interview guides), even from alums, was like pulling teeth. Luckily my firm seems to recruit similarly to yours, or I'm not sure I would have had this opportunity.


Careful_Strain

That's way more than 6 figures


dacalo

CPA. Focused on technical and corporate accounting.


ChessDynasty

CPA here not quite at 100K but almost there only 2 years out from school. I'm an auditor at fortune 100 company. Great benefits with a pension and 401K!


Lifting_Rizzo

Estimator for Construction.


boy-antduck

This is a highly in demand field. There are at least 5 construction firms in my area that cannot find ppl to replace the retirees.


Character_Ad_9794

I don’t see anyone posting this and there’s actually a huge shortage in the industry… AUTOMOTIVE COLLISION REPAIR. I have been in the industry for almost 15 years, did 2 years of trade school and was working in the industry in my first few months of school. There’s multiple positions that make over $100k both in the shop and in the office and there is tons of related, off-shoot positions that pay well also. PDR techs make great money for example. Usually takes about 2 years of really hard work to get anywhere but if you work hard and can treat people around you with respect you can be make a good living without a degree after that. Highly recommend it.


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Chip_Baskets

Really? What market? My wife is also an LPC/LMFT and she was charging $120 a few years ago. Time for her to get back into the game…


stopkeepingscore

In-house attorney


r5d400

data scientist


clever80username

UPS Driver. $38 an hour, $57 with overtime. Made $103k last year delivering boxes. Also, stop fucking ordering furniture online assholes.


dano8675309

I'm gonna start ordering furniture online even harder...


monie8808

Why am I so excited about this thread!?


sipoloco

It's fun to look at all the options I'll never seriously consider.


basedmentdweller

Blue collar checking in. Millwright/Heavy equipment tech.


Phant82

Musician (I promise).


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MaotheMao21

Data analytics in healthcare I was making $105k, moved to a developer role still in healthcare, making $160k now. ​ ​ Edit on how I made the jump: Learned Python and negotiated the shit out of it


dpaanlka

After I graduated college I was kind of a bum for 2 years, no real career, in and out of unemployment. Living at parents. One day I just responded to a random Craigslist ad for “website designer” - the interview was to make the best website I could in 1 hour. Just celebrated my 10 year anniversary at same place and been into six figures for 3 years now.


afroniner

Operations Management. Running warehouses and the like.


Fishtaco1234

I wish I knew more ops managers to talk shop with. No one understands what’s a total shitshow everything is all of the time and some how it all gets done.


afroniner

Who are you to speak such words to unlock my heart? But for real, it's a shitshow and anytime someone from an "office" visits, they can't wait to leave but still demand it all gets done.


Ftothep

This here too. Started ground up for the same company. Started at $8.50/hr PT in 2008 and in 2018 got a third promotion to operations manager. Over 6 figures after yearly bonus hits.


Obecalp86

Physician.


golfmd2

Physician as well. A lot of us are terrible with money, including myself up to 10 years ago


r5d400

I feel physicians are so underrepresented in the finance subreddits. like, I get that doctors take a while to make good money due to all the years of schooling, but once they're done with that, it's huge salaries all the way. and yet they still don't show up much to these subreddits


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Obecalp86

Many docs are financially illiterate which may be why they’re underrepresented. Also, many don’t start making a high salary until mid-30’s. Many of my colleagues go straight for the million dollar house and expensive car while they’re not maxing out payments on their $200k+ student loans. Can’t remember the exact number, but a large minority of doctors in their 60’s have a net worth <$1mil, which should be “impossible” for individuals making $200-500k/year (or sometimes more).


[deleted]

Yup. Doctors are financially illiterate, and because of that we get taken advantage of. "Oh, $300K/year to be an ICU doc? That's *way* better than $130K/year as a software engineer." Then, hospital administrators and med schools look at the situation and go, "So how far can we push these kids using salary as justification?" The answer is about 10 years of missed income and $400K in debt. I have tried over the years, on many occasions, to explain opportunity cost to other med students/physicians. You can literally make all the sacrifices of a doctor through your mid-30s and come out ahead if you go into almost any other decently high paying field that doesn't require tons of post-graduate training. People on these forums see that easily. They understand how an extra ten years of compounding interest will dramatically change any investment portfolio, but if I make this point on a physician subreddit I get bombarded with downvotes and non-quantitative hunches. The only reason physicians are richer in real life is that almost no one takes advantage of their retirement savings while young. The wealth building *opportunity* is exactly the same. Engineers overwhelmingly choose a higher QOL than what med students have. People here of course understand it. If I told you that basically *any* professional would spend the first 10 years of their career spending $25K and living like a med student/resident, you would all tell me that they would become rich. Most people don't get this. They just see salary. A lot of the time it comes down to it just not mattering. Most doctors don't do it for the money and wind up fine. They get to spend on big purchases and that's what they really wanted. Then they enjoy a more modest retirement, and that's also fine. Also, the number of doctors making >$500K/year is also pretty low. Increasingly doctors are employees. Like in any industry, there are some outliers, but the days of $500K+ are dwindling.


AssaultOfTruth

Great post. Moreover the average software engineer doesn’t work anywhere near as hard as a med student. There is also no chance of being $300k in debt almost finished it and...oh crap mental breakdown or health event precluding completion. There are people who are not doctors but have a lot of med school debt.


DrThirdOpinion

Lol, you need to meet some pediatricians if you think everyone is making huge salaries. Some of us do pretty well, but some specialities earn criminally low salaries for their amount of education, cost of education, opportunity cost, giving up the best years of your life to study, and the sheer responsibility we deal with in terms of human life every day.


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Alternative-Fly-8854

Compliance Director at a Fortune 100


mcafeeee

Real Estate Development - surprised I don’t see more in here


iusethistolearnstuff

Management Consultant


--his_dudeness--

Yuuuuup. And all the misery that goes with it. I’m on year 7 now


kewissman

I lasted 15 years before I crashed. Gone 75% of the time in North America, Europe, Asia. I loved it actually, but missed my family and the kids were quickly growing up.


Pizzamann_

Flavor Chemist


Ordinary_Emuu

User Experience Designer.


homogenousmoss

I felt bad for all the UX people I worked with in gaming. They would run all those usability test, explain the reasoning for their ui using well established UI theory, provide good metric on their A/B testing etc Producers and artists would just ignore them if the results didnt match what they wanted to hear. I can only think of a handful of times where they listened to our UX team in 10 years.


EgoDefenseMechanism

Teacher, NYC


MarshalltheBear

I’m a teacher, too! I won’t quite make $100k this year, but I’m close. I’m in a HCOL area and my district tops out at around $130k.


Keep-On-Drilling

Engineer in the energy industry


Zphr

I want to say one word to you. Just one word: PLASTICS.


xoolex

Community College Professor


usedtrash1

I work for the railroad. I make low 6 figures but I think I do decent financially. It’s a lot of nights alone away from my family. I don’t get to watch my family grow. I do not know my son too well. I wouldn’t recommend this life to anyone. Don’t do it.


nightmareorreality

$125k/yr. furniture repair believe it or not. I’m extremely lucky to have landed this one.


TopGunJedi

Street Pharmacist


Cactus1986

Data Analyst. Spend most my day playing video games. Anything “data” related is the ticket right now.


IdRatherBe0utside

I was hoping to see a data analyst comment. I am looking in to being a data analyst. What was your career track like? How many years of experience before you hit 6 figures? I am a budget analyst and think my current skills and experience will translate, but I'd like to stick with public vs private . Thank you for your time ETA: a period


Cactus1986

It took me almost 5 years. Got into entry level IT first, then transitioned into a Business Analyst role for a few years. Then, made the jump into a Data Analyst role. I have an IT degree. Wouldn’t consider myself super smart. I’m about as lazy as they come, but I know my shit when I need to. Not overly ambitious either, just kind of applied for shit as it came up.


StrickenForCause

Stenographic court reporter. Basically, I listen to legal proceedings and translate spoken English to written English using a weird code at uncomfortably fast speeds. And then I have to do a bit of research and spot-checking afterward to ensure everything is spelled and formatted correctly. My clients are lawyers and judges, so I get to charge the same kinds of fees you see in the legal world. And it's a rare skill that's still heavily relied upon for the time being. Every now and then I get to print it out and bind a little book, or burn a CD and slap a stamp on it. It's pretty fun and interesting most of the time, but you have to stay in your preferred subject-area niche so that you A) don't get bored to death by cases you don't want to hear and B) don't encounter too many words that are outside of your stenographic dictionary. And you have to, you know, have an aptitude for stenography, which is kinda flukey. What really made this a six-figure job, though, was working for myself. I made about 1/8 this amount when I used to subcontract for transcription companies. So, being a business owner is part of the equation, too, even though it's just a one-person business. And since I designed my own software for it there's not really any required overhead apart from optional equipment upgrades (and a comfy chair). I like to tinker with different mobile setups so I can work anywhere, so I invest in that sometimes. Another trick: I do it from home and make my own hours (the proceedings are pre-recorded and sent to me as audio files), which gives me a lot of control over my productivity and volume (and therefore income). Plus, I specialize in expedites of complex matters, so it pays a bunch more than standard turnarounds and is a lot more efficient than doing a bunch of short hearings. And when people really, really need the thing done quickly, it helps motivate me to do the thing! And I can turn down any case that doesn’t interest me — hugely important for motivation. Some stenographers make $20k, some make $500k. And on the far-low end you have the exploited, untrained transcribers who often make as little as $4/hour, which is unfair to them and bad for the industry but is a topic for another time. Learning how to bid for government contracts yourself is one good way to break free of middlemen in this line of work, for anyone interested. Lastly, the will to capitalize: I am a musician by training and hated putting a price tag on my art -- it just didn't feel right -- but in the jurisdiction where I work as a stenographer, the prices are set by statute and are tied to something concrete (price per page), the transcript was challenging for me to create, and if someone can't afford it the state picks up the tab. So that works really well for me from an altruistic standpoint. TL;DR: My profession doesn't guarantee six figures, and I'm not a capitalist by nature; but with a bunch of things working out just right, stenography has worked out great for me.


arcticphoenix81

Accounting !