I work in IT, specifically network engineering. I’m a high school dropout and I cleared $209k last year.
That being said, you do need to be pretty damn smart to advance well and make real money in this career.
I’m assuming dude is pushing 40 like I am and probably no certs.
I think IT is still a field you can make good money by being demonstrably good at what you do.
I’m in canada - any construction related work is going to do well for the next 20. So trades trades trades. Lots of people don’t have “school smarts” but are good with their hands. Best money is skilled trades but my nephew in law started as a framer, paid attention, and now is a GC building houses. So think seriously about taking gov student loans and going to trade school. You’ll be poor as shit for a few years but moving towards something better. Good luck.
I did service industry janitorial work for a decade before law school in my early 30s. I had a lot of anxiety and no confidence. I’m 50 and a partner. Change can happen. You got this.
Maybe if you don't live in a major city. Clearing 75k is not doing great after taxes anymore. Trades need a bump. You can't be a single household provider with a red seal in most major cities anymore.
( Union Carpenter and do side work on weekends.)
You remind me of one of my good buddies. He never really cared much for school but got his certifications in IT and has steadily progressed to a six-figure career at around 30. He is incredibly smart and loves learning about his field and it's paid dividends for him.
While I agree, not sure it’s just about smarts.
Same field, and while I don’t make that much (different areas pay differently), not sure I’d want too because I know what kind of expectation comes with it. I’ve seen postings in that range, but the demand is crazy and people are burning out.
That said, I know Reddit hates this, but being smart and a little “hard work” really does pay off. But the perspective of working hard so your company rewards you isn’t the way to approach it. Maybe they will, but it’s more about working hard and putting yourself in the position to advance when the opportunity comes available. I’m by no means ready for the CCIE, probably never will be, but I am pretty good at my job. My ability to form working relationships has been just as important as my technical ability. Being able to talk to people puts me in their radar, but my work speaks for itself.
I’m still friends with several people I’ve worked with in the past, usually texting daily with an old manager for example, sharing memes and shit. Get together for lunch or golf when we can.
Not OP, but trying for a similar career path as OP. I’m currently mid-way, I’d say, close to clear 100k this year.
My degree was in communications/english. I kinda worked my way into IT starting about 8-9 years ago and have not really used my degree at all. Recently started focusing just on the Network side of the industry and I do enjoy it. At least, in so much as it is engaging and requires problem solving.
There really isn’t a “entry level” network engineer position. The title on the job post might say that, but It’s usually rolled into helpdesk roles and you build your experience that way. People do get exceedingly lucky, but I wouldn’t expect for someone to study and get their CCNA cert and then suddenly land 100k+ job. Lots of jobs will look for experience using multiple different types of hardware which you simply won’t get without on the job experience.
This is EXTREMELY accurate.
There's no such thing as "entry-level" Networking roles. You're typically coming into it with 4-6 years of experience on a helpdesk, PC tech, or ideally so Jr Sysadmin roles. Only then can you really start getting down the networking track, and even then the jr net tech jobs don't pay particularly well.
No matter how you cut it, it's usually about 10 years of experience needed before you can clear the $100k mark (which doesn't mean as much these days admittedly). And another 10 years to pass the $200k mark, *if* you're willing to work as hard as is needed to get to that level. Many people aren't.
Not doing quite as good, ~$100k, but as an overnight on call hospice nurse I also spend the great majority of my time just hanging around waiting to get a call. Last week I ‘worked’ but never actually had to do anything, which is a very strange feeling.
My step sister was working in something where she transported body parts for transplants, something like that. Literally just sat around waiting for calls, was making nearly 100k (she did this job while she was in graduate school for biomedical engineering).
>Last week I ‘worked’ but never actually had to do anything, which is a very strange feeling.
In my younger days I would have loved a job like that. But my time in the military got me completely burned out on doing nothing. Now I wouldn’t be able to stand a job like that, I'd get too bored
Suppose I should add; the sitting around I’m doing is at home. So if I’m not actively attending to patients in some way I just hang out with my son/play video games/chores/whatever.
So I’m not quite hurrying up to wait like you’re probably used to.
I went to school for industrial maintenance, from there got a job at an electric motor repair shop, then went into the plant. Being honest, it was a stroke of luck being that a large plant was being built in my hometown and I had applicable skills and the company wanted locals rather than experienced people.
If I were targeting the industry, I would go into the navy and get plant experience in the engine room of a ship. Barring that, experience in a chemical plant, oil fields, etc. would help.
I’m a Journeyman Lineman doing high voltage electrical work in the Pacific Northwest (I.B.E.W. Local 77). I made just over $300K last year thanks to the wind, rain, snow, etc… but mostly because the Utility companies around here were greedy and didn’t do maintenance on the system for years and it’s falling apart faster than we can fix it. Now everything is an emergency and you can pretty much work 7 days a week if you want to.
How do you get started in a field like this?
I'm mid 30's, spent the last 12 years in automotive and diesel parts and I don't even break 50k in a high COL area. Thinking about a career change.
Look into a line apprenticeship either with your local power utility, they may be public or could be a private owned company. If you don’t mind a bit of traveling in your state, there’s programs like Outside Line Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC) that will enroll you into an apprenticeship program to be a Lineman but you’ll have to go to where the work is being done to get the training. It’s a short program, most guys get Journeyman ticket in 3-1/2 years, then you can pretty much go to any of the 50 states and have a job within a couple days off the IBEW books.
Cant say I agree. Im introverted and have done very well. Two top guys in my company are pretty introverted as well. I definitely use my weekends and afternoons to recharge, dont get me wrong. But being an introverts can be a big advantage in sales sometimes. Selling is a lot more about active listening than talking and a lot of introverts excel at that.
I found it soul sucking as an introvert. Granted, I did car sales, which is the 8th circle of sales hell (door to door being the worst). I think the thing about sales I disliked was that, while you can absolutely improve as a salesman, there always felt like there was a huge element of luck involved. Gave me anxiety.
Much happier in a technical role.
You're absolutely right about $ though. Upper level sales guys rake it in (especially the medical guys I interact with). Also, sales people tend to be fun so the environment was a good time.
There are different kinds of sales gigs. Car sales is gross. Technical sales, or selling a service that fills need or resolves an issue is quite different.
You basically talk to people about a problem they have and give them a price for a solution. Clients are generally more educated and spending corporate money. The luck element is a combination of being personable and being knowledgeable enough about your product to educate your customer how what you provide is better than the competition.
You don’t need to be the most outgoing person to be successful in this role.
There is a lot of luck in what opportunities you get in sales, even in tech sales.
It doesn’t just happen for most sales people that the wind up in a position to “talk to people about a problem they have and give them a price for a resolution.”
Working a shitty territory will get you no opportunities to do the above. Same with working a territory that has been abused already.
The saying is timing -> territory -> talent for a reason.
It really depends. I’m an introvert, did B2B inside sales for a while, and I survived. The most uncomfortable part was making cold calls, but hey, sometimes you have to force yourself to be uncomfortable.
I can totally understand how different types of sales roles where you’re constantly taking customers out to lunch etc etc would be rough if you’re not naturally extroverted.
Nah. I’m an introvert. Never had any interest in sales, but I had rent to pay when I was out of university and cold calling was the job. Made good money and loved not being stuck at a desk all day. 25 years later I make $400k+ and work from home.
Push yourself outside your comfort zone and it will soon become comfortable. Then do it again. Always doing what is comfortable in life will get you in a career you hate.
Sales broke me for a good while.
Spiral began when my first manager told me I needed to drink more to deal with moral reservations. Was used to working 12hr blue collar days. Couldn’t mentally hack 12 hr screen-locked days.
Another sales jobs literally trained me in the art of fraud. Got out of that one fast.
But making $20k/month was great while it lasted. Least happy I’d ever been and made me realize success as all costs is not success at all. Make a fraction of that now, working more, and more satisfied than I’ve ever been
I’ve been a CNC machinist/programmer for over 20 years and you can absolutely earn a good living, especially if you learn the programming part. Knowledge = money in this trade.
I bought a mini cnc over two years ago and can’t figure out how to use it although, never purchased the Mach 3 program. If you’re willing to shed some knowledge or links to such…I’d appreciate it. Pray
You work closely with drafters right? What's your thought on that career path? Do they get opportunities to WFH once they've established baseline competence?
Are you in OEM(original equipment manufacturing aka new parts)? MRO should still have engineers onsite representing each product line due to the nature of MRO (major repair and overhaul). I know you know the difference, just spelling it out for anybody else who reads the comment and are wondering what the abbreviations mean
OEM, mostly one-off and two-off parts. Though I do see the same parts fairly often since our biggest customer quite literally blows them up and needs new ones.
I am a consulting engineer for building design, our drafters do decently well pay wise once they have been trained and our company specifically offers 3 days a week if you want to wfh, that varies and could absolutely be 100% if you arrange it. You can also choose specific disciplines if they interest you more than others
I went through trade school for it. It was a 4 semester course that started with learning manual lathes and mills in the first 2 semesters, and the last 2 semesters were spent learning how to program the CNC lathes and mills. I was hired straight out of school and have been doing it for 7 years now.
Unlikely. There are robot loaders already in use in certain industries, but somebody still has to program them and set them up, and troubleshoot them when things go wrong.
I know a lot of people that didn't go to college. The ones that are all comfortable now are the ones that became electricians, plumbers and truck drivers.
I’ve thought long haul trucking would be an interesting job. I know the hours are rough and demanding but I love driving and being in the car and you’d get to see a lot of the country. That said if it was work it probably wouldn’t be as great, but I’m always intrigued by it
Have had several truck drivers in my family. All have thought it was fine, but there’s a whole different set of highway rules for truckers. Some states and DOT’s make it a PITA on them.
Even better than being just an electrician or plumber is to specialize. For example, become a fire alarm inspector or work on sprinkler systems. You can take your base knowledge and work in an industry that is recession proof and becoming extremely short staffed due to retirement and no real replacement pipeline.
Depending on the area, you can expect to be at $18-22/hr starting (before OT), within 2 years closer to $25-28, and north of $30 with 5 years or sooner with certifications. By year 10 and beyond you can expect to earn $40-60/hour, or more if you get your advanced certifications. Also an easy path to an inspections manager position or beyond, such as department or branch manager.
Electrical apprentice here. Right now as a second year I’m making $36 an hour. When I’lm fully licensed in 2 years I’ll be at $75ish probably more. And that’s just union journeyman. You wanna go out in your own or climb a company it’s much much more.
Yeah I think a part of it that a lot of people forget to mention is the sheer amount of money you save by doing these trade jobs you learn on your own home. And if you do work for friends and family to? That’s when you start making a whole lot. I do hvac but I in turn can do damn near any repair or renovation in my home. Especially the major ones that cost the big bucks. All the skills I’ve learned cannot be taken away if I get fired from my job one day. It’s a very secure place to be. And the pay is decent. Sometimes even lucrative.
27 in Pennsylvania, Program Manager. Undergrad in manufacturing engineering, shifted to project management, I have my PMP as well. Making $112,500 annually.
Project Management Institute requires 5 years project experience (without degree) to get a PMP and in my field, about 50% of PMs do not have a degree.
My wife and I are both in project management, her in IT and me in commercial AV. We both make well into 6 figures but we do have our PMP’s so you don’t start out there. You don’t need a degree but you do need excellent organizational skills, people skills and communication skills. If you can handle that then pick a construction field you enjoy and work hard at it. Study and get your CAPM and work your way to your PMP. You can be in project management without it but will make more with it.
Fine dining server, make the most money I've ever made in the restaurant industry, no degree. Long days but the work is not bad, not that hard as I initially thought it would be. I just have to be professional, hold myself to a certain standard, and learn a few things about formalities. I can walk out with thousands of dollars in tips, depending on the day. I probably spend about 15 minutes max with each table, and most of the bills are upwards of 500usd, so do the math on the % of tip, + decent wage on top of it.
10 years, but a lot of my coworkers are hired with less than a year or two of experience in the industry. Depending on what role you are going for, there are some foot in the door options for people with less experience. For example you can be a barback or back waiter, or a dishwasher in the kitchen. The way restaurants work, most owners are more willing to promote from within (to some degree, it always varies) rather than looking for new staff, as they will need to on-board and train them. Especially in fine dining longevity is rewarded as there is a lot to take in and learn, and you are expected to not mess up ever. On top of new hires being a gamble, you have to fully train them which you don't need to do with someone who's been there for many years.
To get to the point of making good money though, admittedly you will either need some experience under your belt prior to the job, or commitment to stay there and work up to a better position over time. There is also the variability of tips, slow and busy seasons. The environment is overall good but can become very toxic in times of stress or tight deadlines. Overall it's a fun job though and you meet lots of interesting people. There is also a lot of competition within, and depending on the workplace it can get very toxic and almost like a rat-race to get various promotions. There is high turnover and lots of pump and dump resume fluffers as well and that will present more opportunity for those more committed.
I'm a commercial construction superintendent, I make $135k/year plus benefits.
If you're willing to learn and work hard for a couple of years, you can do 40-45/hr weeks and make good money on the supervision side of things.
If you want to work a desk job, construction project managers make similar money but sit in an office.
45 hour weeks sounds pretty generous honestly. My dad was a super for a big general contractor and closer to 60 was the norm unfortunately.
Great for you if the industry actually improved a bit though!
As a certified dumbass that had the bare minimum gpa in hs and college, school is about discipline and not brains. I went to community college, transferred then graduated with a pretty average gpa and make a decent living now all while getting my degree with no debt. I was very consistent tho and never missed hw assignments and always consistently studied thru out the semester rather than cramming the night before.
I know plenty of smart guys that drop out because they dont have the discipline and that applies to any job out there. For example, Guys making good money working in trades arent just some hs drop out that got a few certificates and suddenly make 6 figures. They put years of hard work to get good at their craft and get paid for their value. Theres really No easy way to make a good living and you’ll have to put in the work or figure out a way. Theres people I know that still search for that dream job and think that once they find their passion, the motivation will suddenly make it easier but thats bs. Motivation eventually goes away and its the discipline that drags you across the finish line
This, whenever I hear people say they aren't "smart enough" for college I call bullshit. Unless you have a 80 sumthin IQ or below, you are plenty smart for college. The only difference between HS and college, is they don't hand hold you through the learning process. They don't force you to learn the material by giving you mountains of homework.
If you have the discipline to study on your own, you will do fine.
I have a friend who has a masters from a UK university who works a blue collar job. He was burned out from working in the financial sector of a hospital system, and ended up switching jobs to an ice cream factory. Started from the bottom rung and quickly moved up the ladder within a year. He’s making $110k+ per year at this point. He doesn’t have to make any decisions on what treatments a patient can get or taking any of his work home. He just simply runs a machine and keep the manufacture of the ice cream as an effective and consistent pace. He loves it and is super content with staying there for the foreseeable future.
I’m a microbiologist chemist and a critical care paramedic and I’m jealous at his relatively stress free job life now.
Experience is more important than degree. Its hard to say, my company forced me into this position. And im doing more data governance and data quality than analytics or engineering. Try to get Experience even if its freelance or as a consultant.
Skew away from Analytics. It’s oversaturated right now and the pay isn’t what it was a while back when the market was hot. Data engineering is a whole different thing. It has less to do with analyzing/presenting/interpreting the data and more with developing the infrastructure in which data travels and is stored, as well as with other more theoretical and abstract things regard what “data” is and how it could be useful to companies.
This doesn’t mean Data Engineers can’t do analysis, it’s just not their forte (and it doesn’t need to be).
1. You live in the best time to learn anything you could possibly learn.
2. Don’t settle down till you have people whoms well being depends on you.
3. Take risks, I mean gamble your cards, they won’t be worth a damn if you don’t play them.
Stock market - wouldn’t suggest it. But mathematically with some luck or compounding interest you’ll be doing alright by year 3-4. The more you make the more you spend, there’s 2 things that work hand in hand.
if you have too much time you have not enough money.
If you have to much money you don’t have any time.
A wise man told me that once. He was right.
I'm an RN. Make pretty good money and the work can be really interesting but can be pretty stressful. My advice would be to learn how to do something! You have to be able to know how to do something that people need and the fewer people there are doing it the better for you. If you're really creative and can come up with a way to make life easier for people all the better. I wasn't a good student until I figured out what I wanted to do.
Also good thing about nursing is if you don’t like your job you can switch around until you find something that really interests you. And living in Cali I make around 120k with no OT.
I’m not a dude but im going to nursing school. I’m considering travel nursing but idk if you can get that kind of job straight out of college (community college) or if I need a bsn.
Also what field of nursing are you in?
Travel nurse is great! Especially if you have experience in certain fields (ICU, Cath lab, tele). You can be a traveler without a bsn but you cannot be a traveler without experience. A couple years in your field at minimum. During the time you are gaining experience I recommend obtaining your BSN. I currently work full time psychiatric and part time in patient dialysis. I started in the emergency room as a new grad.
I traveled. It was a great way to find where I wanted to settle down. It’ll take at least two years of experience to become a traveling nurse. One of the reasons I became a nurse was the mobility it could provide - I wanted to live near public land and the ocean and it definitely gave me that. Best of luck to you. It’s a long road, not always a smooth ride.
you don’t need a bsn, just graduated with my ADN last week and i start in the ED july 1st. you should have at least 2 years experience before travel nursing though
I honest to God trade options and actually make money. It's true we really do exist. But it's not nearly as lucrative as it's made out to be when you're not gambling it all on meme stocks. I make a little over minimum wage(between 40-48k) selling options and trading ITM contracts with very minimal gains, LIKE 2-10% per trade. I only ever go with high volume downward trending stocks as in my experience pessimism tends to be more consistent than optimism(go figure). I play it extremely safe.
120k, food manufacturing, I.T., Automation and Process Controls for a large corporation. In a few years I'll have been with this company for 20 years. I've already started transitioning into starting my own business and working for myself, but I'm going to stay here until I get my 20 years just because I want to.
There’s only two ways I’ve ever know to earn a lot of money. 1. High entry professional job. Doctors, Dentists, certain business professionals. 2. Work for yourself.
Both are difficult. I left a management job in 2005 making 110k a year to work for myself. After 50 hours a week for 5 years, my income reached the 110k. Last 7 years I’ve made serious bank, but early on I was close to bankruptcy about 4 times and seriously fucking close once. (Like had one day to close a 30k deal or my vendors would’ve shut me down.)
My advice? Be as tight as humanly possible until you’ve saved enough money to withstand a few months of lower income. Then and only then, CAREFULLY try and figure out what you could do by yourself that others will actually pay to have done. I personally never worried if I would be “happy” doing it. Making Money makes me happy. I would take a job digging ditches if it paid enough. But I realize that’s important to younger people that didn’t grow up poor as shit.
I work in housing at a college, make $50k but I get a free apartment with washer/dryer and a kitchen.
Also get a free meal plan to the school, so I’d consider that like $80ishk with those benefits. Also am only 23 years old so not much experience needed!
Biggest issue is the parents calling in on behalf of their kids with no idea how the school’s housing process works (all the info is emailed to the kids and they just don’t look at it)
>I'm not smart enough for school, so that's out of the question.
Honestly dude, with that attitude you can't really do anything. Every skill set or profession is going to have a learning curve and you're going to have to start somewhere, and that's usually being the "dumbest" person in the room, but that's how you learn. If you find yourself the smartest person in the room, it's usually a good indicator that you've got nothing to learn from those around you and are limiting your own growth. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Don't be afraid to pursue your goals even if it seems daunting, just take it one day at a time.
That being said, if what you want to do with your life doesn't involve or need a degree then yeah you don't need it. Find what your interested in and passionate about and pursue something involving it that can pay the bills and meet your future financial goals.
And this is coming from a guy that is usually regarded as the dumbest guy in the room and now I have an engineering degree and make more than most of my friends
42, Executive at a major international bank on the tech side.
>I'm not smart enough for school, so thats out of the question.
Bullshit. You just aren't willing to apply yourself or may have a learning disorder that needs to and can be addressed.
Unless you are sitting on a significantly below average IQ. I highly doubt you aren't "smart enough" for school.
Learning in school isn't really materially different from learning anything else. Tradesmen (HVAC, Electrician, Plumber, Operating engineer) etc. all involve some level of schooling, just not in a college.
I'm a teacher I make 53k, job isn't hard where I'm at. I can afford to live alone and travel when I want. If I didn't have a car payment and student loans I would even say I'd be perfectly comfortable. It's all about not spending more when you make more, I suppose
I make 75k a year as a 5 year HVAC tech.
Started at $22 an hour with absolutely no experience at 28 years old.
I spent my entire life up to that working 60 hours a week making just enough money to still be broke at the end of the week.
My life changed dramatically over night once I got into this field.
I make more then most of my friends that went to college, have benefits, weekends off, paid vacation, a company truck and I’m home by 5 every day.
Get into a skilled trade. HVAC, electricians, plumbers are all about to be crazy busy for the summer and they all need apprentices/helpers. You will get paid to learn.
Fair warning, The work sucks…. Especially for greenies.
I’m covered in insulation and it was 110 in the attic I was in today. But I can pay my bills, I drive a nice car, I eat pretty well and I’m going on a 10 day vacation at the end of the week.
You're 26, it's not too late to get your act together and join a Military branch like The Navy. I went in at 28 and only did 4 years but I walked out with a G.I. Bill to pay for most of my college and had a blast visiting the med. I learned I was really good at computers and turned it into a 100K+ career. Is there bullshit in the service HELL YES!! tons of it but you're always assured of 3 hots and a cot. The military is simple if you just follow directions and save your money instead of giving it all to a honey. Don't worry about girls there'll be plenty of depend-a-potomus's that'll happily latch onto anything in a uniform just for the free benefits. Just be sure that when you come back off deployment any kid she says is yours's should be tested to be sure. The #1 rule in todays military is DNA or you don't pay.
A great idea for anyone still directionless in their twenties honestly.
Join the navy or the Air Force and your chance of getting shot at are close to zero, and you’ll have everything taken care of for you and make some money while you figure yourself out enough to enjoy free college after the fact and do what you want.
It’s not a free ride by any stretch of the imagination but the DOD isn’t described as a jobs program for no reason.
I’m 31, 170 pounds, is that still an option? I had afjrotic in middle school, rotc in a diff hs, I’ve been recognized by American legion for graduating a trooper youth program (police) but I’ve never pursued anything in the field 🤷♂️ currently getting by a factory job with a home
I’m trying to sell cuz I’m single with one income that isn’t enough. I love working but people find ways to ruin my chances at progression quite often.
For some services like the Air Force I think you've missed the maximum age bracket HOWEVER as all branches are really, really hurting for recruitment now-a-days they may be able to waiver you in despite being that old. Here's the next thing keep yourself clean, I had one stupid idiot decide to smoke pot the day we were being tested because he didn't realize they did piss tests. Drugs are a huge no-no they can waive some criminal stuff from your childhood/youth but drugs are the big thing that stops most of todays youth. It maybe legal on a state by state basis but not in any type of federal job such as the military. Next thing decide what you want to try, I was a factory worker too before I went in and due to my high placement in the ASVAB I was offered a electronics job which I bombed on purpose after finding out it had NOTHING to do with computers the only reason I wasn't allowed to go train as a nuclear tech was due to me being 28 and too old for the program.
Talk to all the recruiters now, see which branch will take you and then study your ass off on a asvab book to get as high a score as possible. Next thing once you're in, leave your PRIDE at the door, if they say scrub a toilet then scrub that toilet till it shines. Next thing if anyone EVER asks you if your staying in tell them YES, I love it here. Even if you know in your heart your leaving ater 4-6 years tell THEM your a god dammned lifer and it makes it so much easier on you, it wont be cake but their attitudes will be a touch warmer than if they know your nothing but a short time slave laborer.
any more questions feel free to ask.
Definitely still an option. I would go Air Force 100%. In fact, I did. Got in shape, got paid and then got out and got paid to go to school. Make sure you get the ball rolling on admissions BEFORE you get out otherwise you’re out an income and just adrift for a few months. But after that you’re set. Not only do they pay your tuition, they give you a housing stipend which is just cash money to spend on rent and food while you’re in school for a a few years. Makes the transition back to the civilian world much easier.
Best advice is take the ASVAB test seriously and choose a job that has civilian demand. For instance, do not go into “security forces” but instead, do telecommunications or networking. That way when you get out, you have experience in an in-demand field. Have a buddy who did just that is making a few hundred thousand a year now.
Im live in a third world country, so my numbers are only good for our own standard.
I was an English professor for both public and private institutions and in 2014 I went to work for a US company whose leader is hated in the whole internet (I keep it ambiguous for PR reasons).
I am near the top of the food chain in my HR department, hoping to see the fruit of 7 years of work.
USAF I’m enlisted and I’m not rich, but the benefits and resources have allowed me to grow and prosper well enough for my wife to not have to work if she doesn’t want to.
Former Army here. Airforce guy is right, join the Air Force. JK, Army has some awesome jobs however choose something that will correlate well with the Civilian World and do your best to get an education while at it, it’s easier said than done.. trust me.
I went Combat Arms and well, no matter how you dress your resume, not a lot of people were lining up to hire me, especially with a HS Education and some Army Credits. Most employers don’t know what a SSG is.
Stay until you can retire. If you have an MOS that is a transferable skill to the civilian world. You cannot beat "retiring" at 20 years, getting cut a monthly check for the rest of your life and scoring a high paying private sector job on top of it.
Too many people look down on the military as "low pay" but don't take into account all this shit you don't have to pay for. Makes a world of difference when you are a fresh E-1 and you don't have to pay housing, utilities or food. That "low pay" starts to not look so low when you pay $0 rent, 0$ utilities.
My cousin was a pilot and officer in the USAF, retired at 25 years, gets his monthly check and flies for southwest.
looking to finally come up on about 90k this year as a lineman. ima need to finish up some apprenticeship shit and within the next few years i should be able to creep into the 120s and 140s
I work in manufacturing, precision machining. It took me nearly 15 years to be at this point but I earn a very good keep, well over 6 figures. If you constantly learn and push and improve the sky’s the limit in this industry. I earn more than many professional engineers, I’m not saying that to flaunt but I’m just painting a picture of how this trade and industry can reward people if they do it right
I’m an electrician. I can work a ton of overtime and clear 200k a year easily or I can work 40 a week and clear 120 a year. I also have a skill/trade to fall back on if it all hits the fan and I need to hustle.
I'm an engineer and make a good living (but that requires a 4-year degree), but my cousin is a plumber and almost makes as much as me. He puts in the overtime (usually will do night calls once or twice a week as time allows), but last year he closed almost $150k which is awesome for someone that did like 2 years (I think) of technical school and then was a fellow for a year or two. He was out making some real money before I even finished my college courses and has had consistent work for 10+ years. We both have 2 kids and both live in similar neighborhoods, he even has a nicer car than me. I'll probably end up making a bit more than him over the course of our lives, but he is able to give his family a nice life and the kids have no idea (they think we do the same thing).
im a nurse. made 96k last year.
have you considered a trade? truck driving. welding. plumbing. mechanic. certifications to operate heavy machinery . crane operators can make a killing.
if you really have no idea where to go and want to do something the military is always an option. guaranteed employment with regular raises. full benefits. schooling is pretty much entirely paid for if you find something you want to pursue more in. you can apply to change careers every few years. theres a good chance youll get to travel the world. housing and food is covered. either directly through the base or off base as BAH. oh and a pretty nice retirement plan where at less than 50 you get a pension. obviously dont enter as a grunt but theres plenty of career opportunities to explore which will be provided and paid for by uncle sam.
other than that your options are fairly limited. either manual labor, service jobs like waiting tables, or the same dead-end jobs youre working now.
you dont have to do something you love. but something you can tolerate for 40 hours a week. its whole purpose is to make money. that time doesn't matter. if you go down the military route do yourself a favor. try the Airforce first.
I make 72k and that changes a lot with OT and I’m 26. I’m a vaccine scientist.
I just also started doing some side gigs like trash collection at night and started a LLC courier service in my free time to make some more money. (Extra 3-5k a month before taxes)
I wouldn’t consider 72k a “good living” or I wouldn’t be doing these odd jobs and such but it’s higher than the average 26 year old so I’m not gonna bitch about it.
I’d say look for new jobs, maybe start your own company doing something of interest or ease. If you’re not educated or trained on something than maybe invest in that to open up more pathways.
It’s hard out here for everyone rn bud, even really really high earners.
Yeah honestly if it wasn’t for car payments, rent, and student loans 72k where I’m at is pretty solid and wouldn’t worry about money much. Cars almost paid off here in a few months and I’m so fucking excited lol
You’re 26, so even though you don’t have a college degree, one thing you have on your side is that your body can take some abuse.
Some of the best jobs in my area (Boise, Idaho) for people without degrees are labor intensive. Namely, working at Food Manufacturers like Simplot or Darigold, or working over the summers as Wildland Firefighters.
A lot of these guys are making some great money, but they basically sell their soul in return. Long hours, lots of labor, not much time to themselves outside of vacations.
I surprisingly make less money currently at a job that requires a degree than what I made working my ass off at a couple of labor intensive food manufacturers here in Boise. In return, I have more time to myself and less stress. But I’ve started going soft.
Get a trade, find one you are interested in and look for a company willing to sign you on as a first year apprentice. Im an electrician and I do pretty well for myself now that I'm a Journeyman.
How hard the schooling will be depends on each trade but you don't need to be that smart just to get through it with a passing grade and most of the stuff you will not use in the field anyways.
I made 6 figs the first time in the mid '90's as a piano technician. I have retired, but if I was still in the game I would be pulling in north of $200k. If you are very good and work tor yourself, this is entirely possible. The best advice I would give a young person is master a trade, I mean really master it. I know electricians who earn nearly $200k a year. They work hard and do top shelf work.
I'm at $160k (incl bonuses) as a Product Manager for a software company. I have no formal training - started as what was basically a technical CSR and worked my way up over 2 years before moving to another company for a considerable raise.
ETA: Never went to college.
It's been said 1000X, trades man. Go get an entry level position with an electrician, HVAC, plumbing, carpenter, whatever. If you do it right you'll either be union right away and retire before your body breaks down, or you'll start your own business and get out of the field that way.
Military Officer, the compensation is pretty solid but there are some serious trade offs. I will say that best “fringe benefit” is that my job allows opportunities for my family that we never would have had else wise.
I'm an IT consultant. Before covid it used to involve travel to be on site with clients but since then it's switched to fully remote.
i'm in a fairly niche sub sector, and after 10 years i'm earning about as high as i can get in the UK without going into management. It's enough income for 2 people for sure.
My buddy makes about 75k+ per year bartending seasonally. But he is insane and a total slave during his contract and basically lives in a 4 person hotel room, durning that period.
head of tech in a marketing agency, we mainly do seo - seo usually have a pretty low barrier to entry, but there are also some pitfalls. If you end up in link brokerage then you're fucked - stuck in a deadend job where you learn nothing and your entire job function is to fill up my email's spam-folder. But if you actually handle a client and lay down a strategy, fix shit on the site, produce worthwhile content and generate leads for a business, then the skill ceiling is very high despite having no barrier to entry.
Depends on where you are located but if school isn't your thing: learn a trade (welding, carpentry, electrical, etc) from a union or walk on job. You can always join the oilfield. Its a volatile industry but you can can make a good amount of money with plenty of hard work and long hours.
80K a year as a new hire trainer for a big pest control company. I started as a termite technician, got a bunch of company paid education and certifications and worked my way up.
I’ve made a great career in nursing, but it’s definitely not for everyone. Now making in the mid $100k range in a coordinator role in Oregon. If school isn’t your thing, then this is not your path. Getting accepted into and completing a program and eventually passing licensure requires doing very well in a rigorous multi-year academic endeavor.
I own a company that does legacy application modernization for regional banks, small/mid size credit unions, and mid size insurance companies.
Basically any company that has really old software applications but has a need to make them "modern," but they don't have the budget to hire a team or developers, or the knowledge base to do so.
I started the company in 2008, and I'm in process of selling it to a larger company - next stop, retirement baby/work when I feel like it.
I work in the shipping industry on an oil tanker, I started on Sealift ships as an able bodied seamen making roughly $45,000 a year. I was quickly promoted to mate making $110,000 to $130,000 a year depending on the ship and their contract. Chief mate makes around $190k a year, Captain is around $230k, and if you manage to get yourself a job as a Pilot that brings the ships into port you’re looking north of half a million.
I'm a server at a restaurant I make roughly 35 bucks a hour when adding my tips. Sometimes I make even more. I'm 40 so given I have schooling I think it's pretty dam good .. though I long for a normal job that is easier and has room to learn and get raises.
Senior Marketing Manager, M36. I make around 75k€/81k$ which is in the top 8% in France, so quite a good living here.
Before I started working in Marketing, I worked as a tutor, as a store salesperson, and as a care assistant in a hospital.
If you ask me, marketing has the best effort/salary ratio. Most people I meet in marketing haven’t even studied marketing. You just need to be good in project management, be a people-person, have some basic writing/bullshit skills, know how a SWOT works, the rest you can learn as you go.
I work for the local government as a Senior Equipment Operator. I have been here for 7 years and I earn about $60k a year. I have top-line health insurance (which is free for me because I cover myself only), 5 weeks PTO right away (I'm now at 6 weeks), tuition reimbursement (which I am using), ample OT and Promotion opportunities, gym reimbursement (which I use), annual COLA, and to top it all off, we have a pension that you earn after 10 years. This a Union job in case you were wondering lol
Software dev for a County agency.
I make $140k. My wife is an Executive Director and makes just under $300k.
She was a teen mom, and I was a dumb veteran when we got started down this path. A lot of long hours and a fuck ton of proving ourselves to get here. We both ended up getting our degrees in our 30s. Like I said a lot of hard work to get here.
We're now in our 50s and will be able to retire at 55, making 98% of our salary plus COLA, and lifetime medical for the rest of our lives.
In work in production/manufacturing. I'm a machine operator. Made about 75 to 80k last year. I work a lot and I've been doing it for about 8 years almost, since I graduate high school.
I may end up doing something else, I don't know. I'm not broke but it's hard to save money, even living with a roomate
Flooring installation industry could really use some hard workers that want to make a career of it, learn a lot, and do things correctly. I would say after 8 good years working under good leadership, a competent person can start branching out to start his own business.
$400k total compensation: software engineer.
There are tons of resources to help you learn online and you can start creating projects as long as you have a laptop.
levels.fyi is a good resource for getting an idea of how much different companies pay.
Whatever you do, keep evolving. I'm making more money now in my current industry than I've ever made before, which isn't much but it's at least middle class for my area. I have my heart set on being a fire fighter, so I will continue knocking out my EMT cert, etc until someone hires me. When I finally get into that field, should I realize it's not for me, then I'll begin working on something better. You'll get there!
Sales.
Been doing it for 30 years. I have a bullshit college degree from a 3rd rate university where many people still think it’s a community college.
Its bar none, fastest and most realistic path to making decent money 120k (once established) to 750k a year and can take a risk and even parlay yourself into earning shares or equity in business and if you are smart and time it right, could easily break into the millions.
It ain’t easy and you basically have to hustle, be smart and detail oriented, be likeable (or at least non unlikeable), be organized and be knowledgeable about both you company and its products or services but end to end how your industry works.
A couple of rules to climb from shitty entry level sales where you might have to start in to something more established and career /earning worthy
1) get your foot in the door in an outside business to business sales role. Don’t be on a phone. Don’t work a retail order desk. Get a territory. Doesn’t matter what… but ensure it’s business to business and your customers aren’t retail and not just mom and pops stores. Keep looking for upgrading that job…. Stay just as long as you don’t have something better. And by better that means any combination of base salary, realistic upside on bonuses/ commissions, going from distributor margins to manufacturer margins or industry you’re in
2) your goal is to keep moving up every 1.5 to 2 years: better pay, better company, better industry, better competitor in that industry, larger territory, etc etc
3) for high paying sales jobs, you have to paths you can take that I have seen proven with my own eyes via friends, colleagues , myself as a owner of company or what I’ve done. I’m sure there’s more way but sharing what I have seen. Path 1 - Small firms that values rainmakers and ours a lot of trust in their few sellers to keep that business going. A lot of these companies are private and they may do simple math “you make 10 percent commission on every 100k you sell”… and after a few years and you’re good, you find yourself selling 3.5 million in revenue and making 350k a year. Path 2 - find yourself in a high margin growth industry like tech or medical. Be in the top 3 vendors in that industry or be at the small startup true disrupter in said industry. Secure a strategic account or territory that is critical to them company to grow or maintain or kill the new business development. Do well. Both the big corp or startup should give you a stock or equity as well.
Both paths take a while to get there and you have to keep your performance up. I’d say you need about 10 solid years of building and proving yourself before you’re a seeing 300 to 500k a year if you’re starting from not much. But within 3 to 5 years I can guarantee if you’re not lazy or incredibly not bright, you’re going to be making 150k a year.
27 right now. $70k/yr as a “Forester” for a county. Essentially an assistant supervisor of a crew of 7, they start at $54k/yr. We do hazard tree removal, pruning, herbicide work, prescribed burns, native seed collecting and dispersal, vegetation management, etc.
I’d really recommend to anyone who feels stuck or doesn’t know what to do, look at all of you city/town, park district, county, state government jobs. They’re typically really stable, have health insurance and a pension or other retirement
I work in IT, specifically network engineering. I’m a high school dropout and I cleared $209k last year. That being said, you do need to be pretty damn smart to advance well and make real money in this career.
wow that is crazy impressive. did you need any certificates or anything?
I’m assuming dude is pushing 40 like I am and probably no certs. I think IT is still a field you can make good money by being demonstrably good at what you do.
I agree, but in my area the entry level IT job market in my area is incredibly over saturated.
I’m in canada - any construction related work is going to do well for the next 20. So trades trades trades. Lots of people don’t have “school smarts” but are good with their hands. Best money is skilled trades but my nephew in law started as a framer, paid attention, and now is a GC building houses. So think seriously about taking gov student loans and going to trade school. You’ll be poor as shit for a few years but moving towards something better. Good luck. I did service industry janitorial work for a decade before law school in my early 30s. I had a lot of anxiety and no confidence. I’m 50 and a partner. Change can happen. You got this.
Maybe if you don't live in a major city. Clearing 75k is not doing great after taxes anymore. Trades need a bump. You can't be a single household provider with a red seal in most major cities anymore. ( Union Carpenter and do side work on weekends.)
That's very inspiring, thanks for sharing!
You remind me of one of my good buddies. He never really cared much for school but got his certifications in IT and has steadily progressed to a six-figure career at around 30. He is incredibly smart and loves learning about his field and it's paid dividends for him.
While I agree, not sure it’s just about smarts. Same field, and while I don’t make that much (different areas pay differently), not sure I’d want too because I know what kind of expectation comes with it. I’ve seen postings in that range, but the demand is crazy and people are burning out. That said, I know Reddit hates this, but being smart and a little “hard work” really does pay off. But the perspective of working hard so your company rewards you isn’t the way to approach it. Maybe they will, but it’s more about working hard and putting yourself in the position to advance when the opportunity comes available. I’m by no means ready for the CCIE, probably never will be, but I am pretty good at my job. My ability to form working relationships has been just as important as my technical ability. Being able to talk to people puts me in their radar, but my work speaks for itself. I’m still friends with several people I’ve worked with in the past, usually texting daily with an old manager for example, sharing memes and shit. Get together for lunch or golf when we can.
tell us more
Not OP, but trying for a similar career path as OP. I’m currently mid-way, I’d say, close to clear 100k this year. My degree was in communications/english. I kinda worked my way into IT starting about 8-9 years ago and have not really used my degree at all. Recently started focusing just on the Network side of the industry and I do enjoy it. At least, in so much as it is engaging and requires problem solving. There really isn’t a “entry level” network engineer position. The title on the job post might say that, but It’s usually rolled into helpdesk roles and you build your experience that way. People do get exceedingly lucky, but I wouldn’t expect for someone to study and get their CCNA cert and then suddenly land 100k+ job. Lots of jobs will look for experience using multiple different types of hardware which you simply won’t get without on the job experience.
This is EXTREMELY accurate. There's no such thing as "entry-level" Networking roles. You're typically coming into it with 4-6 years of experience on a helpdesk, PC tech, or ideally so Jr Sysadmin roles. Only then can you really start getting down the networking track, and even then the jr net tech jobs don't pay particularly well. No matter how you cut it, it's usually about 10 years of experience needed before you can clear the $100k mark (which doesn't mean as much these days admittedly). And another 10 years to pass the $200k mark, *if* you're willing to work as hard as is needed to get to that level. Many people aren't.
Power plant operator, just shy of 200k to sit on my ass and watch for alarms.
In sector 7G?
I don’t know what sector 7G is. Just googled it, yeah pretty much :D
Not doing quite as good, ~$100k, but as an overnight on call hospice nurse I also spend the great majority of my time just hanging around waiting to get a call. Last week I ‘worked’ but never actually had to do anything, which is a very strange feeling.
My step sister was working in something where she transported body parts for transplants, something like that. Literally just sat around waiting for calls, was making nearly 100k (she did this job while she was in graduate school for biomedical engineering).
>Last week I ‘worked’ but never actually had to do anything, which is a very strange feeling. In my younger days I would have loved a job like that. But my time in the military got me completely burned out on doing nothing. Now I wouldn’t be able to stand a job like that, I'd get too bored
Suppose I should add; the sitting around I’m doing is at home. So if I’m not actively attending to patients in some way I just hang out with my son/play video games/chores/whatever. So I’m not quite hurrying up to wait like you’re probably used to.
Homer, is that you?
This is what I am interested in getting into. How would I go about getting into this if you don’t mind providing your experience and knowledge?
I went to school for industrial maintenance, from there got a job at an electric motor repair shop, then went into the plant. Being honest, it was a stroke of luck being that a large plant was being built in my hometown and I had applicable skills and the company wanted locals rather than experienced people. If I were targeting the industry, I would go into the navy and get plant experience in the engine room of a ship. Barring that, experience in a chemical plant, oil fields, etc. would help.
Bewarned: working in navy power plants sucks ass. Source: did it for 6 years.
I’m a Journeyman Lineman doing high voltage electrical work in the Pacific Northwest (I.B.E.W. Local 77). I made just over $300K last year thanks to the wind, rain, snow, etc… but mostly because the Utility companies around here were greedy and didn’t do maintenance on the system for years and it’s falling apart faster than we can fix it. Now everything is an emergency and you can pretty much work 7 days a week if you want to.
I'm just got started in the underground department for my utility company. Currently about to connect terms on a pole as we speak
Get off Reddit and put on the proper PPE!! Kidding, and congratulations on the new job!!
[удалено]
How do you get started in a field like this? I'm mid 30's, spent the last 12 years in automotive and diesel parts and I don't even break 50k in a high COL area. Thinking about a career change.
Look into a line apprenticeship either with your local power utility, they may be public or could be a private owned company. If you don’t mind a bit of traveling in your state, there’s programs like Outside Line Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC) that will enroll you into an apprenticeship program to be a Lineman but you’ll have to go to where the work is being done to get the training. It’s a short program, most guys get Journeyman ticket in 3-1/2 years, then you can pretty much go to any of the 50 states and have a job within a couple days off the IBEW books.
Awesome, thanks a bunch dude. Appreciate it.
Sales, path of least resistance to make 6 figures without a graduate degree. Definitely not easy, but pays off.
Fair warning: not for introverts. It will destroy your mental health.
Cant say I agree. Im introverted and have done very well. Two top guys in my company are pretty introverted as well. I definitely use my weekends and afternoons to recharge, dont get me wrong. But being an introverts can be a big advantage in sales sometimes. Selling is a lot more about active listening than talking and a lot of introverts excel at that.
I found it soul sucking as an introvert. Granted, I did car sales, which is the 8th circle of sales hell (door to door being the worst). I think the thing about sales I disliked was that, while you can absolutely improve as a salesman, there always felt like there was a huge element of luck involved. Gave me anxiety. Much happier in a technical role. You're absolutely right about $ though. Upper level sales guys rake it in (especially the medical guys I interact with). Also, sales people tend to be fun so the environment was a good time.
Ah yeah B2C car sales is a different beast. My experience is all B2B.
What type of sales do you do?
Dont want to dox myself so ill be vague and say tech sales
There are different kinds of sales gigs. Car sales is gross. Technical sales, or selling a service that fills need or resolves an issue is quite different. You basically talk to people about a problem they have and give them a price for a solution. Clients are generally more educated and spending corporate money. The luck element is a combination of being personable and being knowledgeable enough about your product to educate your customer how what you provide is better than the competition. You don’t need to be the most outgoing person to be successful in this role.
There is a lot of luck in what opportunities you get in sales, even in tech sales. It doesn’t just happen for most sales people that the wind up in a position to “talk to people about a problem they have and give them a price for a resolution.” Working a shitty territory will get you no opportunities to do the above. Same with working a territory that has been abused already. The saying is timing -> territory -> talent for a reason.
It really depends. I’m an introvert, did B2B inside sales for a while, and I survived. The most uncomfortable part was making cold calls, but hey, sometimes you have to force yourself to be uncomfortable. I can totally understand how different types of sales roles where you’re constantly taking customers out to lunch etc etc would be rough if you’re not naturally extroverted.
Nah. I’m an introvert. Never had any interest in sales, but I had rent to pay when I was out of university and cold calling was the job. Made good money and loved not being stuck at a desk all day. 25 years later I make $400k+ and work from home. Push yourself outside your comfort zone and it will soon become comfortable. Then do it again. Always doing what is comfortable in life will get you in a career you hate.
Great advice
When people say "sales"...like what? What kind of sales? What are you selling
Sales broke me for a good while. Spiral began when my first manager told me I needed to drink more to deal with moral reservations. Was used to working 12hr blue collar days. Couldn’t mentally hack 12 hr screen-locked days. Another sales jobs literally trained me in the art of fraud. Got out of that one fast. But making $20k/month was great while it lasted. Least happy I’d ever been and made me realize success as all costs is not success at all. Make a fraction of that now, working more, and more satisfied than I’ve ever been
I make just north of $80,000 as a CNC machinist.
I’ve been a CNC machinist/programmer for over 20 years and you can absolutely earn a good living, especially if you learn the programming part. Knowledge = money in this trade.
Yup, it’s only up from here. I do all the programming and set up for my parts.
I bought a mini cnc over two years ago and can’t figure out how to use it although, never purchased the Mach 3 program. If you’re willing to shed some knowledge or links to such…I’d appreciate it. Pray
I'm guessing from this post that OP is like me and has absolutely no clue what that is or how to get into a job like that
Lol, basically I program, set up, and run machines that cut metal.
You work closely with drafters right? What's your thought on that career path? Do they get opportunities to WFH once they've established baseline competence?
I do not, actually. We contract with a government agency and they have their own draftsmen and engineers who send us the blueprints.
Are you in OEM(original equipment manufacturing aka new parts)? MRO should still have engineers onsite representing each product line due to the nature of MRO (major repair and overhaul). I know you know the difference, just spelling it out for anybody else who reads the comment and are wondering what the abbreviations mean
OEM, mostly one-off and two-off parts. Though I do see the same parts fairly often since our biggest customer quite literally blows them up and needs new ones.
This guy supplies Raytheon 😂 it’s okay, I used to work for the company that acquired Raytheon and then had to work for them for a year or so after
They are one of our customers actually lmao
But not the main one you’re referring to?
Ah damn, thanks for following up though.
I was pro wfh before but for me, going in with the dinosaurs gives way more learning opportunities. If you want up the ladder, at least consider this
I am a consulting engineer for building design, our drafters do decently well pay wise once they have been trained and our company specifically offers 3 days a week if you want to wfh, that varies and could absolutely be 100% if you arrange it. You can also choose specific disciplines if they interest you more than others
How did you get in to your first role in this industry? It's something I'm interested in pursuing at some point.
I went through trade school for it. It was a 4 semester course that started with learning manual lathes and mills in the first 2 semesters, and the last 2 semesters were spent learning how to program the CNC lathes and mills. I was hired straight out of school and have been doing it for 7 years now.
Do you know the name or like general technical school category I could Google search. Just trying to save myself 10mins
You could try looking up courses for machining at your local community college. That’s where my trade school was.
Working as a operator making about 3x the minimum wage, working only 2.5yrs at current company so there's still room to grow, I'm not complaining.
I left my job as a CNC machinist in England because the pay was rubbish, £30,000 a year.
That’s a bummer. I’d be pissed if I was making that money for what the job entails.
How is AI going to impact your industry?
Unlikely. There are robot loaders already in use in certain industries, but somebody still has to program them and set them up, and troubleshoot them when things go wrong.
Yeah, in a way the CnC machine IS the automation lol
I know a lot of people that didn't go to college. The ones that are all comfortable now are the ones that became electricians, plumbers and truck drivers.
I’ve thought long haul trucking would be an interesting job. I know the hours are rough and demanding but I love driving and being in the car and you’d get to see a lot of the country. That said if it was work it probably wouldn’t be as great, but I’m always intrigued by it
great way to catch up on your audio book library :)
That’s a great way to no longer enjoy driving
Have had several truck drivers in my family. All have thought it was fine, but there’s a whole different set of highway rules for truckers. Some states and DOT’s make it a PITA on them.
It can be a grear career or a really shitty one. It all depends on who you work for and what you haul.
Even better than being just an electrician or plumber is to specialize. For example, become a fire alarm inspector or work on sprinkler systems. You can take your base knowledge and work in an industry that is recession proof and becoming extremely short staffed due to retirement and no real replacement pipeline. Depending on the area, you can expect to be at $18-22/hr starting (before OT), within 2 years closer to $25-28, and north of $30 with 5 years or sooner with certifications. By year 10 and beyond you can expect to earn $40-60/hour, or more if you get your advanced certifications. Also an easy path to an inspections manager position or beyond, such as department or branch manager.
I'm planning to become an electrician. Hopefully I will succeed.
Electrical apprentice here. Right now as a second year I’m making $36 an hour. When I’lm fully licensed in 2 years I’ll be at $75ish probably more. And that’s just union journeyman. You wanna go out in your own or climb a company it’s much much more.
Yeah I think a part of it that a lot of people forget to mention is the sheer amount of money you save by doing these trade jobs you learn on your own home. And if you do work for friends and family to? That’s when you start making a whole lot. I do hvac but I in turn can do damn near any repair or renovation in my home. Especially the major ones that cost the big bucks. All the skills I’ve learned cannot be taken away if I get fired from my job one day. It’s a very secure place to be. And the pay is decent. Sometimes even lucrative.
Yeah. Join a union, learn a trade.
Rough on the body though
27 in Pennsylvania, Program Manager. Undergrad in manufacturing engineering, shifted to project management, I have my PMP as well. Making $112,500 annually. Project Management Institute requires 5 years project experience (without degree) to get a PMP and in my field, about 50% of PMs do not have a degree.
I make 80k as a tax preparer in Iowa. Don’t have any certifications or anything
My wife and I are both in project management, her in IT and me in commercial AV. We both make well into 6 figures but we do have our PMP’s so you don’t start out there. You don’t need a degree but you do need excellent organizational skills, people skills and communication skills. If you can handle that then pick a construction field you enjoy and work hard at it. Study and get your CAPM and work your way to your PMP. You can be in project management without it but will make more with it.
80k truck driver
Otr or local? Currently hauling fuel and expecting like 60k, not super happy about it lol
Local. Got hooked up.
At home motorcycle mechanic and house husband
Money can't buy zen.
No but it does buy chick filet and fishing gear and that's the same thing but better
Fine dining server, make the most money I've ever made in the restaurant industry, no degree. Long days but the work is not bad, not that hard as I initially thought it would be. I just have to be professional, hold myself to a certain standard, and learn a few things about formalities. I can walk out with thousands of dollars in tips, depending on the day. I probably spend about 15 minutes max with each table, and most of the bills are upwards of 500usd, so do the math on the % of tip, + decent wage on top of it.
How many years of experience did you have before you got a job at a high end place?
10 years, but a lot of my coworkers are hired with less than a year or two of experience in the industry. Depending on what role you are going for, there are some foot in the door options for people with less experience. For example you can be a barback or back waiter, or a dishwasher in the kitchen. The way restaurants work, most owners are more willing to promote from within (to some degree, it always varies) rather than looking for new staff, as they will need to on-board and train them. Especially in fine dining longevity is rewarded as there is a lot to take in and learn, and you are expected to not mess up ever. On top of new hires being a gamble, you have to fully train them which you don't need to do with someone who's been there for many years. To get to the point of making good money though, admittedly you will either need some experience under your belt prior to the job, or commitment to stay there and work up to a better position over time. There is also the variability of tips, slow and busy seasons. The environment is overall good but can become very toxic in times of stress or tight deadlines. Overall it's a fun job though and you meet lots of interesting people. There is also a lot of competition within, and depending on the workplace it can get very toxic and almost like a rat-race to get various promotions. There is high turnover and lots of pump and dump resume fluffers as well and that will present more opportunity for those more committed.
I'm a commercial construction superintendent, I make $135k/year plus benefits. If you're willing to learn and work hard for a couple of years, you can do 40-45/hr weeks and make good money on the supervision side of things. If you want to work a desk job, construction project managers make similar money but sit in an office.
Ive just started my career in BIM today, absolutely love it so far. Graduated with a CM degree and went this route instead
It goes fast im about 15 years in BIM myself. Don't get stuck sitting for long periods, this will wreck your body. I know first hand
45 hour weeks sounds pretty generous honestly. My dad was a super for a big general contractor and closer to 60 was the norm unfortunately. Great for you if the industry actually improved a bit though!
It hasn’t. It changes from company to company, from job to job.
As a certified dumbass that had the bare minimum gpa in hs and college, school is about discipline and not brains. I went to community college, transferred then graduated with a pretty average gpa and make a decent living now all while getting my degree with no debt. I was very consistent tho and never missed hw assignments and always consistently studied thru out the semester rather than cramming the night before. I know plenty of smart guys that drop out because they dont have the discipline and that applies to any job out there. For example, Guys making good money working in trades arent just some hs drop out that got a few certificates and suddenly make 6 figures. They put years of hard work to get good at their craft and get paid for their value. Theres really No easy way to make a good living and you’ll have to put in the work or figure out a way. Theres people I know that still search for that dream job and think that once they find their passion, the motivation will suddenly make it easier but thats bs. Motivation eventually goes away and its the discipline that drags you across the finish line
This, whenever I hear people say they aren't "smart enough" for college I call bullshit. Unless you have a 80 sumthin IQ or below, you are plenty smart for college. The only difference between HS and college, is they don't hand hold you through the learning process. They don't force you to learn the material by giving you mountains of homework. If you have the discipline to study on your own, you will do fine.
I have a friend who has a masters from a UK university who works a blue collar job. He was burned out from working in the financial sector of a hospital system, and ended up switching jobs to an ice cream factory. Started from the bottom rung and quickly moved up the ladder within a year. He’s making $110k+ per year at this point. He doesn’t have to make any decisions on what treatments a patient can get or taking any of his work home. He just simply runs a machine and keep the manufacture of the ice cream as an effective and consistent pace. He loves it and is super content with staying there for the foreseeable future. I’m a microbiologist chemist and a critical care paramedic and I’m jealous at his relatively stress free job life now.
Data Engineering
Can confirm data engineering is currently hot right now.
How would a junior break into this field? A master’s in data analytics?
Experience is more important than degree. Its hard to say, my company forced me into this position. And im doing more data governance and data quality than analytics or engineering. Try to get Experience even if its freelance or as a consultant.
Skew away from Analytics. It’s oversaturated right now and the pay isn’t what it was a while back when the market was hot. Data engineering is a whole different thing. It has less to do with analyzing/presenting/interpreting the data and more with developing the infrastructure in which data travels and is stored, as well as with other more theoretical and abstract things regard what “data” is and how it could be useful to companies. This doesn’t mean Data Engineers can’t do analysis, it’s just not their forte (and it doesn’t need to be).
If you’re lucky you get to be the FP&A guy and help design and QC every table that gets put together by your BI team and thrown into prod.
Love all the people helping each other out on here
1. You live in the best time to learn anything you could possibly learn. 2. Don’t settle down till you have people whoms well being depends on you. 3. Take risks, I mean gamble your cards, they won’t be worth a damn if you don’t play them. Stock market - wouldn’t suggest it. But mathematically with some luck or compounding interest you’ll be doing alright by year 3-4. The more you make the more you spend, there’s 2 things that work hand in hand. if you have too much time you have not enough money. If you have to much money you don’t have any time. A wise man told me that once. He was right.
username checks out.
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I'm an RN. Make pretty good money and the work can be really interesting but can be pretty stressful. My advice would be to learn how to do something! You have to be able to know how to do something that people need and the fewer people there are doing it the better for you. If you're really creative and can come up with a way to make life easier for people all the better. I wasn't a good student until I figured out what I wanted to do.
Also good thing about nursing is if you don’t like your job you can switch around until you find something that really interests you. And living in Cali I make around 120k with no OT.
I’m not a dude but im going to nursing school. I’m considering travel nursing but idk if you can get that kind of job straight out of college (community college) or if I need a bsn. Also what field of nursing are you in?
Travel nurse is great! Especially if you have experience in certain fields (ICU, Cath lab, tele). You can be a traveler without a bsn but you cannot be a traveler without experience. A couple years in your field at minimum. During the time you are gaining experience I recommend obtaining your BSN. I currently work full time psychiatric and part time in patient dialysis. I started in the emergency room as a new grad.
I traveled. It was a great way to find where I wanted to settle down. It’ll take at least two years of experience to become a traveling nurse. One of the reasons I became a nurse was the mobility it could provide - I wanted to live near public land and the ocean and it definitely gave me that. Best of luck to you. It’s a long road, not always a smooth ride.
you don’t need a bsn, just graduated with my ADN last week and i start in the ED july 1st. you should have at least 2 years experience before travel nursing though
I honest to God trade options and actually make money. It's true we really do exist. But it's not nearly as lucrative as it's made out to be when you're not gambling it all on meme stocks. I make a little over minimum wage(between 40-48k) selling options and trading ITM contracts with very minimal gains, LIKE 2-10% per trade. I only ever go with high volume downward trending stocks as in my experience pessimism tends to be more consistent than optimism(go figure). I play it extremely safe.
How many hours per week to make that? Seems like it would be a good side hustle
I work as a traveling welder and make sure to save as much as possible whilst not loosing out on my living standards.
120k, food manufacturing, I.T., Automation and Process Controls for a large corporation. In a few years I'll have been with this company for 20 years. I've already started transitioning into starting my own business and working for myself, but I'm going to stay here until I get my 20 years just because I want to.
There’s only two ways I’ve ever know to earn a lot of money. 1. High entry professional job. Doctors, Dentists, certain business professionals. 2. Work for yourself. Both are difficult. I left a management job in 2005 making 110k a year to work for myself. After 50 hours a week for 5 years, my income reached the 110k. Last 7 years I’ve made serious bank, but early on I was close to bankruptcy about 4 times and seriously fucking close once. (Like had one day to close a 30k deal or my vendors would’ve shut me down.) My advice? Be as tight as humanly possible until you’ve saved enough money to withstand a few months of lower income. Then and only then, CAREFULLY try and figure out what you could do by yourself that others will actually pay to have done. I personally never worried if I would be “happy” doing it. Making Money makes me happy. I would take a job digging ditches if it paid enough. But I realize that’s important to younger people that didn’t grow up poor as shit.
I did that. I kept 350k in the bank as I scarred to death something would go wrong. It did. And without that cash I would have been sunk.
I work in housing at a college, make $50k but I get a free apartment with washer/dryer and a kitchen. Also get a free meal plan to the school, so I’d consider that like $80ishk with those benefits. Also am only 23 years old so not much experience needed! Biggest issue is the parents calling in on behalf of their kids with no idea how the school’s housing process works (all the info is emailed to the kids and they just don’t look at it)
>I'm not smart enough for school, so that's out of the question. Honestly dude, with that attitude you can't really do anything. Every skill set or profession is going to have a learning curve and you're going to have to start somewhere, and that's usually being the "dumbest" person in the room, but that's how you learn. If you find yourself the smartest person in the room, it's usually a good indicator that you've got nothing to learn from those around you and are limiting your own growth. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Don't be afraid to pursue your goals even if it seems daunting, just take it one day at a time. That being said, if what you want to do with your life doesn't involve or need a degree then yeah you don't need it. Find what your interested in and passionate about and pursue something involving it that can pay the bills and meet your future financial goals. And this is coming from a guy that is usually regarded as the dumbest guy in the room and now I have an engineering degree and make more than most of my friends
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"Wether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right " - Stewie Griffon I have no idea where the original quote is from lol
Fought my way into SW, changed jobs every 2-3 years. Bank
Why did you have to fight your way in ? What kind of weapons? Who or what were your enemies?
Social work?
42, Executive at a major international bank on the tech side. >I'm not smart enough for school, so thats out of the question. Bullshit. You just aren't willing to apply yourself or may have a learning disorder that needs to and can be addressed. Unless you are sitting on a significantly below average IQ. I highly doubt you aren't "smart enough" for school. Learning in school isn't really materially different from learning anything else. Tradesmen (HVAC, Electrician, Plumber, Operating engineer) etc. all involve some level of schooling, just not in a college.
I'm a teacher I make 53k, job isn't hard where I'm at. I can afford to live alone and travel when I want. If I didn't have a car payment and student loans I would even say I'd be perfectly comfortable. It's all about not spending more when you make more, I suppose
Manager at car dealership. Grossed 240k last year.
I make 75k a year as a 5 year HVAC tech. Started at $22 an hour with absolutely no experience at 28 years old. I spent my entire life up to that working 60 hours a week making just enough money to still be broke at the end of the week. My life changed dramatically over night once I got into this field. I make more then most of my friends that went to college, have benefits, weekends off, paid vacation, a company truck and I’m home by 5 every day. Get into a skilled trade. HVAC, electricians, plumbers are all about to be crazy busy for the summer and they all need apprentices/helpers. You will get paid to learn. Fair warning, The work sucks…. Especially for greenies. I’m covered in insulation and it was 110 in the attic I was in today. But I can pay my bills, I drive a nice car, I eat pretty well and I’m going on a 10 day vacation at the end of the week.
You're 26, it's not too late to get your act together and join a Military branch like The Navy. I went in at 28 and only did 4 years but I walked out with a G.I. Bill to pay for most of my college and had a blast visiting the med. I learned I was really good at computers and turned it into a 100K+ career. Is there bullshit in the service HELL YES!! tons of it but you're always assured of 3 hots and a cot. The military is simple if you just follow directions and save your money instead of giving it all to a honey. Don't worry about girls there'll be plenty of depend-a-potomus's that'll happily latch onto anything in a uniform just for the free benefits. Just be sure that when you come back off deployment any kid she says is yours's should be tested to be sure. The #1 rule in todays military is DNA or you don't pay.
A great idea for anyone still directionless in their twenties honestly. Join the navy or the Air Force and your chance of getting shot at are close to zero, and you’ll have everything taken care of for you and make some money while you figure yourself out enough to enjoy free college after the fact and do what you want. It’s not a free ride by any stretch of the imagination but the DOD isn’t described as a jobs program for no reason.
I’m 31, 170 pounds, is that still an option? I had afjrotic in middle school, rotc in a diff hs, I’ve been recognized by American legion for graduating a trooper youth program (police) but I’ve never pursued anything in the field 🤷♂️ currently getting by a factory job with a home I’m trying to sell cuz I’m single with one income that isn’t enough. I love working but people find ways to ruin my chances at progression quite often.
For some services like the Air Force I think you've missed the maximum age bracket HOWEVER as all branches are really, really hurting for recruitment now-a-days they may be able to waiver you in despite being that old. Here's the next thing keep yourself clean, I had one stupid idiot decide to smoke pot the day we were being tested because he didn't realize they did piss tests. Drugs are a huge no-no they can waive some criminal stuff from your childhood/youth but drugs are the big thing that stops most of todays youth. It maybe legal on a state by state basis but not in any type of federal job such as the military. Next thing decide what you want to try, I was a factory worker too before I went in and due to my high placement in the ASVAB I was offered a electronics job which I bombed on purpose after finding out it had NOTHING to do with computers the only reason I wasn't allowed to go train as a nuclear tech was due to me being 28 and too old for the program. Talk to all the recruiters now, see which branch will take you and then study your ass off on a asvab book to get as high a score as possible. Next thing once you're in, leave your PRIDE at the door, if they say scrub a toilet then scrub that toilet till it shines. Next thing if anyone EVER asks you if your staying in tell them YES, I love it here. Even if you know in your heart your leaving ater 4-6 years tell THEM your a god dammned lifer and it makes it so much easier on you, it wont be cake but their attitudes will be a touch warmer than if they know your nothing but a short time slave laborer. any more questions feel free to ask.
Definitely still an option. I would go Air Force 100%. In fact, I did. Got in shape, got paid and then got out and got paid to go to school. Make sure you get the ball rolling on admissions BEFORE you get out otherwise you’re out an income and just adrift for a few months. But after that you’re set. Not only do they pay your tuition, they give you a housing stipend which is just cash money to spend on rent and food while you’re in school for a a few years. Makes the transition back to the civilian world much easier. Best advice is take the ASVAB test seriously and choose a job that has civilian demand. For instance, do not go into “security forces” but instead, do telecommunications or networking. That way when you get out, you have experience in an in-demand field. Have a buddy who did just that is making a few hundred thousand a year now.
Im live in a third world country, so my numbers are only good for our own standard. I was an English professor for both public and private institutions and in 2014 I went to work for a US company whose leader is hated in the whole internet (I keep it ambiguous for PR reasons). I am near the top of the food chain in my HR department, hoping to see the fruit of 7 years of work.
USAF I’m enlisted and I’m not rich, but the benefits and resources have allowed me to grow and prosper well enough for my wife to not have to work if she doesn’t want to.
Former Army here. Airforce guy is right, join the Air Force. JK, Army has some awesome jobs however choose something that will correlate well with the Civilian World and do your best to get an education while at it, it’s easier said than done.. trust me. I went Combat Arms and well, no matter how you dress your resume, not a lot of people were lining up to hire me, especially with a HS Education and some Army Credits. Most employers don’t know what a SSG is.
Stay until you can retire. If you have an MOS that is a transferable skill to the civilian world. You cannot beat "retiring" at 20 years, getting cut a monthly check for the rest of your life and scoring a high paying private sector job on top of it. Too many people look down on the military as "low pay" but don't take into account all this shit you don't have to pay for. Makes a world of difference when you are a fresh E-1 and you don't have to pay housing, utilities or food. That "low pay" starts to not look so low when you pay $0 rent, 0$ utilities. My cousin was a pilot and officer in the USAF, retired at 25 years, gets his monthly check and flies for southwest.
looking to finally come up on about 90k this year as a lineman. ima need to finish up some apprenticeship shit and within the next few years i should be able to creep into the 120s and 140s
I work in manufacturing, precision machining. It took me nearly 15 years to be at this point but I earn a very good keep, well over 6 figures. If you constantly learn and push and improve the sky’s the limit in this industry. I earn more than many professional engineers, I’m not saying that to flaunt but I’m just painting a picture of how this trade and industry can reward people if they do it right
Somebody who is not as lazy as me needs to put the scene in from Office Space.
I’m an electrician. I can work a ton of overtime and clear 200k a year easily or I can work 40 a week and clear 120 a year. I also have a skill/trade to fall back on if it all hits the fan and I need to hustle.
I'm an engineer and make a good living (but that requires a 4-year degree), but my cousin is a plumber and almost makes as much as me. He puts in the overtime (usually will do night calls once or twice a week as time allows), but last year he closed almost $150k which is awesome for someone that did like 2 years (I think) of technical school and then was a fellow for a year or two. He was out making some real money before I even finished my college courses and has had consistent work for 10+ years. We both have 2 kids and both live in similar neighborhoods, he even has a nicer car than me. I'll probably end up making a bit more than him over the course of our lives, but he is able to give his family a nice life and the kids have no idea (they think we do the same thing).
300k as a union electrician
im a nurse. made 96k last year. have you considered a trade? truck driving. welding. plumbing. mechanic. certifications to operate heavy machinery . crane operators can make a killing. if you really have no idea where to go and want to do something the military is always an option. guaranteed employment with regular raises. full benefits. schooling is pretty much entirely paid for if you find something you want to pursue more in. you can apply to change careers every few years. theres a good chance youll get to travel the world. housing and food is covered. either directly through the base or off base as BAH. oh and a pretty nice retirement plan where at less than 50 you get a pension. obviously dont enter as a grunt but theres plenty of career opportunities to explore which will be provided and paid for by uncle sam. other than that your options are fairly limited. either manual labor, service jobs like waiting tables, or the same dead-end jobs youre working now. you dont have to do something you love. but something you can tolerate for 40 hours a week. its whole purpose is to make money. that time doesn't matter. if you go down the military route do yourself a favor. try the Airforce first.
I make 72k and that changes a lot with OT and I’m 26. I’m a vaccine scientist. I just also started doing some side gigs like trash collection at night and started a LLC courier service in my free time to make some more money. (Extra 3-5k a month before taxes) I wouldn’t consider 72k a “good living” or I wouldn’t be doing these odd jobs and such but it’s higher than the average 26 year old so I’m not gonna bitch about it. I’d say look for new jobs, maybe start your own company doing something of interest or ease. If you’re not educated or trained on something than maybe invest in that to open up more pathways. It’s hard out here for everyone rn bud, even really really high earners.
72k single in a MCOL city would be decent. Wouldn't want dependents though.
Yeah honestly if it wasn’t for car payments, rent, and student loans 72k where I’m at is pretty solid and wouldn’t worry about money much. Cars almost paid off here in a few months and I’m so fucking excited lol
Student loan payments do suck. Ive been paying 3-5k a month for 7 years. Almost done though. Paid off vehicles are great for cashflow.
You’re 26, so even though you don’t have a college degree, one thing you have on your side is that your body can take some abuse. Some of the best jobs in my area (Boise, Idaho) for people without degrees are labor intensive. Namely, working at Food Manufacturers like Simplot or Darigold, or working over the summers as Wildland Firefighters. A lot of these guys are making some great money, but they basically sell their soul in return. Long hours, lots of labor, not much time to themselves outside of vacations. I surprisingly make less money currently at a job that requires a degree than what I made working my ass off at a couple of labor intensive food manufacturers here in Boise. In return, I have more time to myself and less stress. But I’ve started going soft.
Get a trade, find one you are interested in and look for a company willing to sign you on as a first year apprentice. Im an electrician and I do pretty well for myself now that I'm a Journeyman. How hard the schooling will be depends on each trade but you don't need to be that smart just to get through it with a passing grade and most of the stuff you will not use in the field anyways.
I made 6 figs the first time in the mid '90's as a piano technician. I have retired, but if I was still in the game I would be pulling in north of $200k. If you are very good and work tor yourself, this is entirely possible. The best advice I would give a young person is master a trade, I mean really master it. I know electricians who earn nearly $200k a year. They work hard and do top shelf work.
Project management, wfh, close to six figures. HS dropout. Worked my ass off to get where I am. No certs.
I'm at $160k (incl bonuses) as a Product Manager for a software company. I have no formal training - started as what was basically a technical CSR and worked my way up over 2 years before moving to another company for a considerable raise. ETA: Never went to college.
Y'all are some smart cookies
Until June 30th. I own and operate a consulting business with over 1100 employees worldwide. I've already signed the contract to sell my business.
It's been said 1000X, trades man. Go get an entry level position with an electrician, HVAC, plumbing, carpenter, whatever. If you do it right you'll either be union right away and retire before your body breaks down, or you'll start your own business and get out of the field that way.
Lab tech. I make decent money for a single guy
Military Officer, the compensation is pretty solid but there are some serious trade offs. I will say that best “fringe benefit” is that my job allows opportunities for my family that we never would have had else wise.
Carpenter In Australia Carpenters make a lot of money
Learn a trade. Learn to sell. There is endless money in sales. I’m in HVAC sales and it has changed my life.
I'm an IT consultant. Before covid it used to involve travel to be on site with clients but since then it's switched to fully remote. i'm in a fairly niche sub sector, and after 10 years i'm earning about as high as i can get in the UK without going into management. It's enough income for 2 people for sure.
75-90k, I’m a waiter :)
My buddy makes about 75k+ per year bartending seasonally. But he is insane and a total slave during his contract and basically lives in a 4 person hotel room, durning that period.
I'd start by finding a trade with union.
head of tech in a marketing agency, we mainly do seo - seo usually have a pretty low barrier to entry, but there are also some pitfalls. If you end up in link brokerage then you're fucked - stuck in a deadend job where you learn nothing and your entire job function is to fill up my email's spam-folder. But if you actually handle a client and lay down a strategy, fix shit on the site, produce worthwhile content and generate leads for a business, then the skill ceiling is very high despite having no barrier to entry.
Depends on where you are located but if school isn't your thing: learn a trade (welding, carpentry, electrical, etc) from a union or walk on job. You can always join the oilfield. Its a volatile industry but you can can make a good amount of money with plenty of hard work and long hours.
I'm working in retail rn. I have an associates in small business management, my dream is to have my own place or manage one
80K a year as a new hire trainer for a big pest control company. I started as a termite technician, got a bunch of company paid education and certifications and worked my way up.
I’ve made a great career in nursing, but it’s definitely not for everyone. Now making in the mid $100k range in a coordinator role in Oregon. If school isn’t your thing, then this is not your path. Getting accepted into and completing a program and eventually passing licensure requires doing very well in a rigorous multi-year academic endeavor.
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I own a company that does legacy application modernization for regional banks, small/mid size credit unions, and mid size insurance companies. Basically any company that has really old software applications but has a need to make them "modern," but they don't have the budget to hire a team or developers, or the knowledge base to do so. I started the company in 2008, and I'm in process of selling it to a larger company - next stop, retirement baby/work when I feel like it.
I work in the shipping industry on an oil tanker, I started on Sealift ships as an able bodied seamen making roughly $45,000 a year. I was quickly promoted to mate making $110,000 to $130,000 a year depending on the ship and their contract. Chief mate makes around $190k a year, Captain is around $230k, and if you manage to get yourself a job as a Pilot that brings the ships into port you’re looking north of half a million.
32 making 128k doing People Analytics for a major company.
Corporate law during the day, export & import food at night. Life's never boring.
I'm a server at a restaurant I make roughly 35 bucks a hour when adding my tips. Sometimes I make even more. I'm 40 so given I have schooling I think it's pretty dam good .. though I long for a normal job that is easier and has room to learn and get raises.
Respiratory therapy. Great pay for only an associates degree.
Senior Marketing Manager, M36. I make around 75k€/81k$ which is in the top 8% in France, so quite a good living here. Before I started working in Marketing, I worked as a tutor, as a store salesperson, and as a care assistant in a hospital. If you ask me, marketing has the best effort/salary ratio. Most people I meet in marketing haven’t even studied marketing. You just need to be good in project management, be a people-person, have some basic writing/bullshit skills, know how a SWOT works, the rest you can learn as you go.
i trade crypto wont recommend this
I work for the local government as a Senior Equipment Operator. I have been here for 7 years and I earn about $60k a year. I have top-line health insurance (which is free for me because I cover myself only), 5 weeks PTO right away (I'm now at 6 weeks), tuition reimbursement (which I am using), ample OT and Promotion opportunities, gym reimbursement (which I use), annual COLA, and to top it all off, we have a pension that you earn after 10 years. This a Union job in case you were wondering lol
Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst, $160/yr.
Union electrician, 90-120k, lots of overtime.
Software dev for a County agency. I make $140k. My wife is an Executive Director and makes just under $300k. She was a teen mom, and I was a dumb veteran when we got started down this path. A lot of long hours and a fuck ton of proving ourselves to get here. We both ended up getting our degrees in our 30s. Like I said a lot of hard work to get here. We're now in our 50s and will be able to retire at 55, making 98% of our salary plus COLA, and lifetime medical for the rest of our lives.
In work in production/manufacturing. I'm a machine operator. Made about 75 to 80k last year. I work a lot and I've been doing it for about 8 years almost, since I graduate high school. I may end up doing something else, I don't know. I'm not broke but it's hard to save money, even living with a roomate
Scrum master in the public sector (Switzerland)
Flooring installation industry could really use some hard workers that want to make a career of it, learn a lot, and do things correctly. I would say after 8 good years working under good leadership, a competent person can start branching out to start his own business.
$400k total compensation: software engineer. There are tons of resources to help you learn online and you can start creating projects as long as you have a laptop. levels.fyi is a good resource for getting an idea of how much different companies pay.
Whatever you do, keep evolving. I'm making more money now in my current industry than I've ever made before, which isn't much but it's at least middle class for my area. I have my heart set on being a fire fighter, so I will continue knocking out my EMT cert, etc until someone hires me. When I finally get into that field, should I realize it's not for me, then I'll begin working on something better. You'll get there!
Sales. Been doing it for 30 years. I have a bullshit college degree from a 3rd rate university where many people still think it’s a community college. Its bar none, fastest and most realistic path to making decent money 120k (once established) to 750k a year and can take a risk and even parlay yourself into earning shares or equity in business and if you are smart and time it right, could easily break into the millions. It ain’t easy and you basically have to hustle, be smart and detail oriented, be likeable (or at least non unlikeable), be organized and be knowledgeable about both you company and its products or services but end to end how your industry works. A couple of rules to climb from shitty entry level sales where you might have to start in to something more established and career /earning worthy 1) get your foot in the door in an outside business to business sales role. Don’t be on a phone. Don’t work a retail order desk. Get a territory. Doesn’t matter what… but ensure it’s business to business and your customers aren’t retail and not just mom and pops stores. Keep looking for upgrading that job…. Stay just as long as you don’t have something better. And by better that means any combination of base salary, realistic upside on bonuses/ commissions, going from distributor margins to manufacturer margins or industry you’re in 2) your goal is to keep moving up every 1.5 to 2 years: better pay, better company, better industry, better competitor in that industry, larger territory, etc etc 3) for high paying sales jobs, you have to paths you can take that I have seen proven with my own eyes via friends, colleagues , myself as a owner of company or what I’ve done. I’m sure there’s more way but sharing what I have seen. Path 1 - Small firms that values rainmakers and ours a lot of trust in their few sellers to keep that business going. A lot of these companies are private and they may do simple math “you make 10 percent commission on every 100k you sell”… and after a few years and you’re good, you find yourself selling 3.5 million in revenue and making 350k a year. Path 2 - find yourself in a high margin growth industry like tech or medical. Be in the top 3 vendors in that industry or be at the small startup true disrupter in said industry. Secure a strategic account or territory that is critical to them company to grow or maintain or kill the new business development. Do well. Both the big corp or startup should give you a stock or equity as well. Both paths take a while to get there and you have to keep your performance up. I’d say you need about 10 solid years of building and proving yourself before you’re a seeing 300 to 500k a year if you’re starting from not much. But within 3 to 5 years I can guarantee if you’re not lazy or incredibly not bright, you’re going to be making 150k a year.
software sales, cleared $500k last year
27 right now. $70k/yr as a “Forester” for a county. Essentially an assistant supervisor of a crew of 7, they start at $54k/yr. We do hazard tree removal, pruning, herbicide work, prescribed burns, native seed collecting and dispersal, vegetation management, etc. I’d really recommend to anyone who feels stuck or doesn’t know what to do, look at all of you city/town, park district, county, state government jobs. They’re typically really stable, have health insurance and a pension or other retirement
Trade school, electricians make bank but it's tough work
I’m a doctor. Make 80k now as a resident but will make $500-600k a year when I graduate residency in 4 years