This is probably a pretty personal question but I am always so curious and would love to know some people's experiences.....
For those of you that make quite a bit of money (I am thinking $75,000 or more a year), how did you get there and how long did it take you?
I ask because I know within my profession it is possible to make a fairly good salary, even up in the 6 figures. I just don't really know how to get there or how long it will take.
Feel free to tell me to mind my own business if you want.
Re: s/o jobs and salary
:::crickets:::
Kidding!
I don't know if this is helpful, but with my degree in my field I "could" be making 75k+ a year. I'm not, because I chose to work for a non-profit. But there are trade-offs that make the lower salary acceptable for me, especially now with the baby. I have a very flexible work schedule, a lot of paid time off, and good health benefits for myself (DD is under DH's plan).
If I were in a job that paid 75+ I would be working WAY more hours per week, and probably a lot more night and weekend commitments. It is something that I will probably move towards when DD gets a little older.
As far as what it would take for me to get there, I would say: an advanced degree, at least 10 years experience in my field, at least 5 as a manager or supervisor, and a proven record of successful program growth/advancement.
I made over 75k at my last job, up from 40k at my previous job.
When I interviewed for the job, they asked me what I was looking for in terms of salary. I knew what the 'going rate' was for my role, and told them what I wanted, and surprisingly, they gave me $2500/year more.
Not going to say what we make
DH got a big jump when he took the job in TN. One of the big reasons why we agreed to move here, away from our family. The company was pretty much told that they had to hire DH in order to keep their big client. DH was a little hesitant and the client told DH what they said to the company so he knew the ball was in his court. From the time the company first starting contacting DH to come work for them until he actually agreed was about 6 months. I always say the easiest way to move up in your career is to go to another company.
I have moved up a lot within my own company through a lot of hard work and late nights. Before having kids, DH and I worked all.the.time. I was often still in the office at 7pm, and you know what so was my SVP. He saw this and brought me up quickly. I get around a 5% raise every year plus my bonus increases every year along with the raises I have received with each promotion (5 promotions in 6 years).
ETA: I am kind of stuck as far as promotions are concerned for my current job. But that is fine with me. I could do what I do now for the rest of my working life and be happy. I am not near the ceiling of my job code's salary cap so I will still be eligible for raises for awhile. Honestly, I don't think my job is worth the salary cap so I don't expect for that to ever be an issue.
Wow. That is a huge jump from one year to the next. Congrats! Were you looking for a job that was paying that much more or did your years of experience put you there?
I would love to try to find a job that pays more but I am afraid to apply to certain ones because I think they are out of my league.
How do you get to a management job when you don't have any experience? Do I just have to find a company that will give me a chance? The CPA firm that I work for now is really small and there isn't much room for growth.
Total luck. I dropped out of law school after a semester becaue I hated it and ended up bartending for a couple months. That wasn't going to pay the bills so I started applying to every and any job. I ended up at a large brokerage firm in a shitty position. Fastforward a year, DH got a job out of state and I was able to transfer internally to a new position with much higher pay.
My pay is salary + monthly and annual bonuses. The higher producing team you're on the better your bonuses. I ended up with one of the best teams in our complex.
DH has a Masters in Engineering. His pay is largely tied to his performance and number of years employed. His pay has went up 60% in six years.
This is what I am thinking. There is a treasury analyst job at a huge manufacturing business that I want to apply for. They require 1-3 years of accounting experience, which I have. There is no salary specification but my H says even if it is a small hit to my salary now it may have better opportunity for growth in the future. I think I am going to apply on Monday and just see what happens. It would be a longer commute but it may be worth it.
The job actually found me. Even though I was in account management, I made it a point to stay close to our VPs of Sales and Business Development, they always have the connections.
Our VP of bus. dev. knew that I wasn't really happy at my company, so when he ran into the VP of sales for a local competitor at a trade show, he offered up my name when they said they were looking for a Program Managers. Two weeks later, I had the job, and I was only 23 at the time, with less than 2 years' experience in my field.
I am a big proponent of making friends in high places, and not being afraid to leave one company for a better opportunity.
Yikes. Yes, the money sounds good but I don't think I would be able to handle that schedule.
This! My first job out of college was at a non-profit, I loved it but made like no money. I did a lot of networking over the few years I was there and when a similar position at a for profit became available I knew the right people and got it, it more than doubled my salary, and during my years there I moved up into management. When we moved, I used my connections again to network and get into the company I wanted to work for. It is all who you know!
Jumping in here to say Happy Birthday to your DD! She is adorable. As for salaries, I don't make 75K yet, but I did jump about $25K when I moved from news to PR. Being in a nonprofit, the salaries don't go as high, and we have a wage freeze right now. If they were to reinstate raises, I could see that in the next 5-7years, I'd think.
I think mine is a combination of industry and experience. I think I hit $75K five years ago - I've been in the industry for 12 years. Honestly, a big part of it was hopping jobs when I was younger - I was able to get a much better pay bump by switching companies and negotiating a starting salary than through an annual raise. I make in line with the industry though - software isn't easy and it doesn't value work-life balance. Oh, and I only have a BA, if that matters.
My husband worked hard for years to get his job. He wanted to be a firefighter, got his bachelors, worked seasonal jobs and volunteered a ton, but everything shifted to big city departments wanting paramedic firefighters. He went back to school for over a year to be a paramedic. Between work and school I saw him a few times a month. After he finished school he needed 6 months to a year of experience as a medic so he had to work 6 hours from home and rented a room in a garage. He got his dream job at 28, 4 years out of college and went from making like 40k a year to 6 figures with overtime. He can move up in his job and make a lot more.
I went to school to teach elementary school so I never planned on making a bunch of money. Now I opened my own daycare and preschool and will make more then if I was teaching, because I don't have to pay for childcare.
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This x 49393948.
Or work your a off with 50 to 70 h work weeks and make yourself invaluable to your company, while keeping yourself on the market and networking. When you inform your boss of a new offer you are going to take, you will likely get a counter. I think you can pull that stunt once every 2 to 3 years. Make sure the offer is real though, because your "bluff" or not bluff could get called and then what are you going to do?
Of course it depends on the industry.
Eta: a MS degree [or higher, or addtl certifications] also bumps you up a bracket in my field.
Married my love 6/11/11 | MMC 10/11/11 | Eliza Frances born 9/18/12 | Rhett Garland born 2/24/14
Honestly, we both got lucky. DH is an allstar IT guy. He was being recruited by another company and our partner found out and paid for him to stay.
We both have 8+ years of experience and have made ourselves well known. We also worked ridiculous hours pre-baby. We made a lot of concessions to get where we are. We could also probably both make much more if we jumped companies, but the benefits keep me put until I am done having babies.
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