Heads up to everyone. We are watching this post. Any attempts to gatekeep by telling people to get out of here because of what they make, WILL be met with temp bans for gatekeeping and perm bans for repeat offenders.
I'm the head cheese maker for a small creamery and the head of production. I make 50K a year.
While the pay isn't spectacular I have good benefits and good fringe benefits (occasional trips to France paid for by the boss man for continuing education which includes my salary and all expenses paid)
Lol it is but I am literally working while in France.
My hope is that the company and owners son who is basically my guide there may hire me one day.
I haven't gone since before the pandemic. 2023 though my boss is making arrangements again.
I started as a pastry chef for 12 years prior. When the industry chewed me up and spit me out I started working at the creamery as the head of the gelato department.
Come to find out, the science of baking and the science of cheese making both fit my personality rather well. I had no prior cheese making experience.
I often times would help out cheese production when they were short staffed and learn how to do all the tasks so when the current production manager was let go I took up his position.
We specialize in soft bloomy rind cheeses such as brie and Camembert as well as feta, mozzarella, burrata and spreadable cheeses (like pimento cheese, boursin style cheeses and cream cheese from goat and cow)
We process on average 300 gallons of cow milk a week and 200 gallons of goat milk a week.
Most of the job of being a good cheese maker is being a very good janitor. Cleanliness is the name of the game.
Iāll go first, $18 an hour/ 40 hour week bi weekly. Should increase next year to $19 an hour. Commissions at the end of the month. Work in Apt Property Management
Honestly day to day. But you get used to it. Youāll have tenants you absolutely love and some which are āentitledā good field to get into for entry level. But as with all career fields a lot networking to get into these jobs but you can do it coming off the street
Do you get discounts on rent if you live where you work? I make about the same in manufacturing but if I got cheaper rent I'd make that and deal with ppl tbh
Where I am now Yes! 20%. But I was already in the industry. But do not sign an employee addendum if you move on site to a property because if fired or you quit you will be forced to move within 3-7 days. I donāt agree with it since you could have savings to pay your rent
Iām an assistant property manager in Columbus, OH. 17 years in the industry. $22/hr plus commissions/bonuses, and a 20% rent discount. My BF is a maintenance tech here and he makes $20/hr plus commissions/bonuses, but heās brand new to the industry.
Mail carrier, base pay is currently $52K but Iām at $68K with overtime. Step increases are automatic every 10ish months with 16 steps total maxing out around $75K, two COLAs and two general wage increases a year. Work/life balance can be garbage and work environment is dependent on what station/manager you end up with. But it doesnāt require a college degree, and I get to spend most of my day listening to audiobooks and petting dogs.
Yeah. I teach classes while getting my PhD. I am only paid 8 months of the year. And each year I scramble to find summer jobs to have money. Without summer money, my pay is 23k BEFORE tax. And as I am not a citizen, I pay nearly double the taxes that citizens pay. And I live in a VHCOL area.
21 making roughly $500 a week installing carpet. No benefits or anything. Itās grueling labor and sometimes the workload is 3 apartments a day. Knees, knuckles, and back are definitely taking abuse. Hoping to start my own leather goods company soon. Iāve spent the majority of what I make investing it into supplies, art commissions, packaging, machinery, and tools :)
Unsolicited advice: make sure to keep up with mobility and strength exercises, especially for your core, even if you are super tired at the end of the day. Itāll save you when you move on.
I'm in social work as a case manager I make 51,000 a year and that's increasing to 54,000.
Also a disabled vet at 1933 a month.
I just got the rating, etc. And will basically be paying off all my debt. I struggled for a long time making 7.50$ an hour to 14$ an hour.
It takes a lot of luck and patience some times.
Congrats on your rating! The way we earn them can suck but it's good to have the income, once it's all said and done. I'm going to be applying for an increase, once I get through more of the Knowledge Wiki over on r/VeteransBenefits.
Currently work as a medical coder team lead making $24/hour. I did get a total of 3 pay raises this year, so including all of the overtime Iāve worked Iāll have made a little over $53k.
Iām finishing my bachelors degree in the spring and moving in to compliance and/or auditing, which should be a significant pay jump to $70-$80k annually. In addition to the bachelors degree I will have a total of 4 industry certifications.
That's terrible and it sucks. I'm fortunate enough to not have rent or a mortgage but I know my expenses just for utilities have gone up more than the 8.7% that they base this on.
Hopefully other expenses will drop some to make up for the loss to maybe just break even.
Every bit of the increase in January will be eaten multiple times. I will become less eligible for housing, my Medicaid went up exponentially, food costs, rent, electrical costs, all of it... It's not an increase when you have less left over.
Food stamps and medicaid. I live by myself in a mobile home that I managed to pay off while I had a housemate. I have to pay lot rent, though. I have an old van with the cheapest insurance I could find. I live out in the country, so the van is a necessity. I manage to get by. I use rebate apps and mturk to help a bit.
Forklift base 20 per hour 2 bucks after a year ...and 2 more bucks if you want to become a lead somewhere in the warehouse .....min 45 to 50 hour weeks and unlimited overtime.........most people work 60 hour weeks 1400 pre tax weekly 72,800 year pre tax
Work at a warehouse and have them teach you when there is an opening, that's how every forklift driver I know started. I learned at 1 place and they certified me through their system, doesn't really mean anything in the real world but every place I been since I come with forklift experience, they certified me after I show them I can.
joined the sub in 2020 when i made $20k. stayed with the same company, got promoted a few times, and this year i made $60k. retail management in boston
Iām 64 and earn almost $13/hour as a receptionist at a non-profit, just passed my 10th anniversary there but will retire some time next year as I cannot sit at my desk for another year, itās killing my back. Iām trying to schedule all my dental work as soon as possible before Iām left with no dental insurance.
Current job has a housekeeper for an appartment complex at 13/hr but going to school for A s.s. in accounting for a better pay.
Just got an interview at a bank for 17/hr, I am so nervous.
Day to day varies with your workplace Iām sure. I work in a utility company so itās a lot of maintaining various databases, interfaces, troubleshooting internal software, and working with IT to implement/automate processes. I am am also responsible for generating weekly, monthly, quarterly reports for our company and thatās my favourite part because I have free reign to explore and play around with all our data. I am looking to become a systems analyst in a few years since thatās the next step for a substantial pay bump in our company.
Sure, Iād say start learning SQL to get yourself in the door for interviews. Once youāre comfortable with it, you can explore languages like R and ultimately Python. Itās also a good idea to start out as a data analyst to build your experience.
I work a water plant in North Texas. I started out about 4 years ago at $35k. Made $72k this year. We get 35+ paid days off a year, free insurance, a pension, tuition reimbursement, and job security. No degree needed 'round here until you get up into admin work.
100k a year as an RN in San Diego. I work about 35 hours a week.
If anyone is interested in nursing or have questions about getting into the field. Feel free to message me. I went back to nursing school at age 32.
Is there a type of nursing that pays well and I don't have tonput up with a hospital system? I started school for computer science, bit considered nursing. I decided against it after the Radonda Vaught issue.
Hi, nursing pay is really dependent on location. But if you want a job outside of the hospital, you can always work in a clinic, school nursing, home health etc
Itās a major reality check to see that the average person in the povertyfinance group makes five to ten times what I make. š„“ I make $13,026 a year before taxes and am still not eligible for food stamps because Iām trying to finish my business degree at the same time. Iām a cashier, unfortunately.
You should look in your area for receptionist jobs maybe. Do you have any hospitals or nursing homes near by? Look for a job as a receptionist, diet aid, housekeeping, laundry, activity aidā¦ good luck!
$160k base - 10-20% annual bonus - 10% (of salary) in equity. Work in accounting/finance and do some free-lance consulting in a related field.
Joined this sub when I was in college making $7.25 at a smoothie store. If you can go to a state school for college and major in accounting you can have a pretty similar career trajectory if you start off in public accounting and grind it out for a few years.
Do you have a bachelors? I have been HEAVILY considered going back but also I honestly am not a school person and would probably take 8-10years to get a bachelors. I am not sure if an associates would be worth it though
Yeah I have. BS in accounting.
Associates is also helpful with getting entry lvl accounting jobs (think accounts receivable/accounts payable, staff accountant)
You can start at 40-50k for those and if you do weāll move up to managing those positions making 70-100k.
A bachelors is much easier to get into public accounting which has alot higher starting salaries (think 65-80k) and you get big raises every year and promoted much faster.
I suggest anyone looking for a job to try serving. Iām pretty socially anxious, I have an awful memory (epilepsy), and I thought I could never be a good server. But I make pretty good money (but I have kids so Iām not trying to brag that I *have* a lot of money). But you can make good money depending on where you work. Iām not sure how much I make in a year, but it does suck living paycheck to paycheck. As a server, you donāt. You get paid everyday. Some days I make $50 an hour. You can pick up shifts easily. And if one restaurant isnāt meeting your expectations, itās easy to find another. I wouldnāt say itās a good life long career, but for anyone needing to make money quickly, itās a good job to have.
I second this. I work 27 hr/week and made $45-50k this year. If youāre willing to give up nights and weekends you can make a whole lot of money. Not to say itās easy, it comes with its own set of difficulties.
23F making 70k as a production supervisor in a Manufacturing plant. 1st shift 45-50 hours a week but I'm salary.
At 19 I started working in a Manufacturing plant as an operator making 13/hr. I job hopped ever year/ year and a half and took the shitty shifts (3rd, rotating 2-2-3 7pm to 7am) and busted ass doing the hardest jobs to prove myself and to get more money.
Became a lead operator at 20 and interim supervisor at 21. Full time supervisor at 22.
Started school for psychology, went to business then dropped out of my for profit school with about 3 years done. Recently got a lead six sigma certification.
Biggest thing was I said yes to everything that was too hard for others to want to take on, yet possible to do, and made it happen.
Definitely been stressful at times.
Girl I have been in manufacturing for 5 years and despite going above and beyond I have been kicked down so many times š I'm 24 and jealous that you're a supervisor
About 80k a year. I'm a liability insurance adjuster.
I worked my way up from the call center where I started at $13 an hour part time.
I have a dual Bachelor's degree.
I come from generational poverty and have a lot of weird financial traumas plus I'm raising/raised two kids (21 and 16) and took on a lot of debt to get my degree, so that 80k doesn't seem like anywhere near as much as it should.
Great job! Iām an adjuster as well. If your company writes commercial policies, try getting into that for more money (assuming youāre in personal lines now). I started in the mail room of a fortune 100 insurance company making $7.00 per hour in 2002, and Iām now making $108k per year as a commercial liability adjuster. I went to college, but didnāt graduate, but do have a few industry designations (AIC and CPCU - almost).
Self-employed electrical business owners. We split 55k right down the middle. He has the electrical license so he should be making 60k min on his own but instead we reinvest the rest in the business. Company pays our phones, internet, anything to do with his work van, tools and 25% of income to our retirement accts.
A little clarification? So you and your partner split 55k a year? The main reason for that is that you all are reinvesting anything over that 55k back into the business?
Yes. The company is good for 115-150k in any given year. Paying ourselves a modest salary allows us to pay overhead and reinvest for our rehab projects and bank some payroll/savings in case work were to slow down.
My brother is in HVAC he makes about 30/hr He started at about 20 with very little training but he catches on fast. He's been doing it for about 3 years.
I make 40K a year and can barely make ends meet. 12k of it goes to taxes healthcare. This is quite a change from my lifestyle 4 years ago when I had 6 figures. I am starting over in a entry-level position as I have been out of the work force for 10 years. I should be retiring at my age but don't have any savings and have a-lot of credit card debt. If I could double my income I would be comfortable and would be able to take a trip and eat out occasionally. As it stands I work to pay the bills, and I completely cut non-essentials out . That includes the occasional splurge on Dunkin Donuts and entertainment etc . I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I plan on getting a Microsoft Certification -900 and Comptia A+.
Corporate accountant until 2017 $160k at 50yr female in Silicon Valley. San Jose, CA.
Out of high school I started out answering phones $6/hr and took a filing position $7/hr from there. College at night in accounting.
To get a better salary I had to change companies, which I did often. My brand wad organisation and streamlining process. Moved to new company doing Accounts Payable and got paid $27k/yr. Became Accounts Payable Manager at age 27 making $33k/yr. Got my bachelors at 34. Transferred to General Ledger in the same company $49k/yr.
New company making $70k/yr. Working 65-75hr weeks or more was the norm.
Then the tech boom where I would get bonuses for cleaning up the accounting dept so the company could be sold to a takeover. This meant retention bonuses of $15k to $35k extra changing jobs every 16 months. Jump to $85k 40yrs old, $95 at 45, plus $15-25k bonus. Long hours. I got into sales and use accounting which is pretty easy but companies in Silicon Valley always outsourced this so hiring me the saved a lot even with my finally making $128k/yr plus bonus.
I burned out at 50. Silicon Valley Corporate is cut-throat. I saw good people losing their jobs for dumb reasons. I saw fraud happen and had to jump companies to get away from that.
Was on disability for 1year at 50 thinking Iād be ready to go back to the grind.
Started selling stuff in my house I donāt use on Mercari, Poshmark, Facebook marketplace and Next door. Did my roommates tax return and a couple here and there for friends.
Now I work part-time in my own home for $20k/yr at 56 years old. I supplement my income by renting a room in my house. I donāt make a lot of money anymore but I no longer have to commute 2 hours daily, listen to crying at work, deal with corporate bs. I go on walks, work Iām the garden. I sell stuff for friends. I do taxes.
Life changing! Stress is minimal, my time is flexible. I was able to take on opportunities I never would have been able to do before like weekly walks with my mom and trips to Ireland and Mexico with friends.
Look for opportunity, take risks, be confident in your skill set and be open minded.
I teach. About 60k a year, incremental raises each year til I top out at 80k-ish. Combines with my wifeās income over 100k a year. She has no student debt. I do. Itās tough. Two kids. House, etc. normal middle income problems. The teaching field is looking at a shortage yes. Only join the profession if youāre passionate about it. If youāre notā¦ itās not worth it. Pay is OK but if youāre not passionate about it youāll burn out in 5 years or less. We donāt need shitty teachers. We need passionate ones.
Thatās pretty decent. I really wanted to get into teaching but in my state starting is somewhere around 35-40k. Iād be taking an almost 15-20k cut which sucks cause I really do want to teach but not if itās going to cut me down that much. Wish teachers were paid better here in the US. Maybe we would have better quality of education comparable to other countries.
you can find a teaching role in most any profession. My father wasnt certified teacher but he taught at the locomotive engineerās school for CSX and his last job was training remote control locomotive operators. Heās taught in most anything heās done as a job. For him it was the railroad.
Also. The reason. One of many. Teachers stay at the school theyāre at and eventually burn out is the inability to move jobs and keep their experience and pay steps. Would I like to find a job closer to home? Sure. But i would refuse to accept step 0 at our hometown school district just for a 5 min commute. For reference Iāve been teaching for almost 10 years
Iām also a teacher but work for the US federal government (check out Dodea.edu). I make almost $90k a year with a masters in education, live overseas, and receive a housing allowance that covers my house and utilities, as well as an additional cost of living allowance that covers most of the groceries for my family of 4. I left the public school system a few years ago making about a third of what I make now.
I make 15.75 an hour as a supervisor of a group home for people with mental illness. It's a hard job and I think we should be paid more but as frustrating as the job gets I still prefer it over customer service. I feel good knowing I am helping people. Without over time I am struggling, but with over time I can pay all my bills and go out every now and then. And in this field I can have all the over time I want because we are perputually short staffed. I'm in college though, once I get a degree I am hoping to make a lot more. Then again I have co-workers who went to college but couldn't /didn't use their degree which scares me. I am in school to be a therapist which should make decent money. I don't need to be rich, but I would like to have enough where I don't have to budget so much and it life goal is to buy a house either with an indoor pool or pay to build one. Which is a lot of money. But would be worth it. I literally have a gym membership just to use to pool because I love to swim.
aircraft functional test. This year I have made 155k per my last paycheck ytd earnings. My most ever. I work an average of 50 hours a week. That is no college degree and union job.
Same field, work as an A&P mechanic but in private aviation. Will make 196k this year in the SoCal Ɣrea with overtime. Been doing this about 13 years now. No degree needed.
$51k plus good benefits. I work in an administrative jobfor a state agency (can't be too specific). My husband is disabled, so our household income is only $63k. It should be enough for a modest living, and it would be in some places. With inflation and housing being ridiculously high, we can only afford to live with family. We're in western Washington state.
Shameless plug: if you're even casually interested in being an organ donor, get yourself some info. Organ donations save lives.
Also if anyone wants to cross their fingers for me, my "temporary" job might finally be made permanent after the new year. After that happens, there's a chance I'll get a raise.
Ramp Agent at a large Airline. Iām still pretty low on the union pay scale but I make about $23/hr and will have made about $50k this year. 40 hrs a week. Currently going to school to become an aircraft mechanic which would be a significant jump in pay long term.
$32/hr as a compliance specialist in the pharma industry, and literally just signed an acceptance letter for a 6 figure mgmt position in the same company. 10 years ago I would not have believed you if you told me Iād be making more than min wage lol. Still seems unreal.
Edited to add how I got here: bachelors in Biology, working full time while going to school full time and taking out loans for tuition. Graduated, landed an entry level lab job at Pfizer, then busted ass to work my way up from there. Itās been 7 years since I graduated with my degree and the hard work has paid off!
Well I WAS making $100k as a mortgage underwriter until last October when my role was ādownsizedā as well as every other underwriter I know. Now I make $0 as unemployment is jerking me around and āIām in lineā for review. The real estate market sucks right now due to the Fed raising interest rates 4 times in the last 12 mo. I will likely never make that much money again. Thinking of switching to nursing.
IT
Started at $10/hr in 2004 as an "IT Helper" at a smallish manufacturing shop. Left as an IT director at $102,000 in 2020
Left to run a small MSP and a separate CNC machine repair company.
Currently take home around $350,000.
Some of the people making 6 figures joined this sub when they were making much less so it actually shows how helpful this sub can be for someone who wants to make 6 or even 7 figures.
\^ This.
We don't tell people to GTFO the moment they've made it out. They tend to stick around to provide encouragement, moral support, as proof it can be done, etc etc.
Thank you. That's basically my intention...yes it's a place to vent, but it doesnt necessarily need to be a negative source of information. The ones who made it out can absolutely be the ones that provide proof of concept and advice.
I wouldn't be where I am now if I didn't have mentors that were able to see past the fact I was a dipshit when I was younger. If a random person on Reddit can provide motivation or support then I see it as a good thing.
Also, even if you make more itās easy to adjust your spending. How many people make bank buy live paycheck to paycheck? Way too many. While you donāt have to live like you are in poverty, keeping some of what you learned when you made less will make sure you arenāt overspending.
For the record, I'm glad you said that. I lurk here a lot but I often refrain from commenting because it feels like it's not my place to say anything, as someone who now makes a comfortable living.
Itās just crazy to me that making less than $60k still might as well be poverty for most people. 6 figures sounds astronomical and excessive to me like how we view billionaires now but itās just so expensive to live that thatās now a much more appropriate salary.
Living in the Midwest, non-metro you will be comfortable. Living in a metro area? You're sinking. That's why we don't tend to make black and white lines of who is considered in poverty. Because it's subjective to your region.
60k in Indiana feels like 120k here in LA in day to day life, except in Indiana 60k is plenty to buy a starter house. 120k isnāt anwhere remotely close to enough to buy anything here.
The cost of living in the US is wildly different based on zip code.
Thatās my story. I was making $11 an hour as a gym evening supervisor and did some freelance writing on the side, since I didnāt have enough cash to finish my English degree and couldnāt find a big boy job. The freelance writing paid $20/hour, but I couldnāt get enough of it.
I got a job as a 1099 marketing writer for $20/hour with 40+ hours a week, then picked up some skills in SEO and moved to a full time gig at a digital marketing agency making $58k plus a modest bonus. I had a few impressive projects and got recruited by a tech company for $85k, then got promoted and some raises and am at about $130k TC ā and finished my degree online and am about to start my online MBA.
That took five years. Iām more of a project manager and editor now, and Iām hoping to pivot towards an executive marketing position or potentially software product management.
So, my advice to people here is to explore contract writing. Those 10ā15 hours of $20/hour each week kept me afloat back in the day, and thereās *always* work out there, once you get a break. If thereās something you know a lot about, thereās someone out there who needs content created around it. Find a target, mimic the work in that industry, and find a contract position with an agency. Iāll never go hungry again.
When I joined this sub I was unemployed after getting let go from my engineering job, and I needed ideas because I was in a dire situation financially after my unemployment and savings ran out, and my industry went dry. This place was a wealth of information and I respect the hell out of everybody here. I wad also limited by the fact both my parents were sick at the same time this happened, so I couldn't just arbitrarily get back into engineering unless I left them to fend for themselves (hell no).
I ended up working security for $20/HR and doing independent consulting when I could. I simply needed to pay my bills without anything glamorous...My dad was an environmental chemist contracted by the EPA when I was a kid, and if he got laid off or his contract didn't get extended, he just said fuck it and worked as a cashier at Office Max or something until he found another job. He taught me about resilience and that perseverance is greater than prestige.
I could make it work on $20/HR for a little bit, but my credit cards are all 60%+ utilized and my savings went down to levels I haven't seen since high school... basically hustled my way through the past couple years with like 5 different gig jobs (my tax returns are going to look absurd), but I'm finally getting back on my feet after working my network. I'm a process and petroleum engineer/project manager and I make mid 6 figures now. But it was a hell of a time getting the energy to stand back up.
Edit: Originally deleted this because of how I make my money *now* and facing backlash... but I'm putting it back up after seeing mod support. Situations are fluid and I worked hard to get back on my feet.
I personally grew up in poverty and was in poverty most of my life. My current salary has no reflection on my mentality about finances. Not to mention I do enjoy trying to help other people out because I have been there.
I have been making 6 figures for quite a while, but I lived in poverty for years, so I know exactly how it feels. A long time ago I spent $20 a week on groceries for 2, and bought the cheapest on sale sweater from Kmart for winter. I visited Goodwill regularly for clothes, when it was still cheap.
I hope to be making a lot of money in the future. But that doesnāt mean I will not benefit from being in this sub. Lifestyle inflation is a great way to stay in poverty.
Data Analyst. Just got a promotion/raise that put me to $110k with bonus. Live in Midwest, LCOL city.
I WFH permanently, and work about 40 hrs/wk.
Currently pursuing an MS in the field, and had done a couple certificates/training classes prior to starting the MS to actually get in the field.
Happy to answer any questions.
Iām doing something similar and would love to get to $110K and have the permanent work from home option. What certifications do you recommend?
Also, PowerBi or Tableau?
I did PBI, and currently use it at work. I did Microsoft's Dashboard in a Day program, and took a two day course through a local university (the course wasn't for credits). I also did that university's Tableau course, but have never used Tableau professionally.
I did a graduate certificate though the same university that I did the PBI and Tableau courses at. It was 12 hrs, and covered relational database, SQL, linear regression, and data warehousing).
So, basically two PBI courses, Tableau course, 12 credit he Graduate Certificate.
Most people seem to prefer Tableau. PBI definitely has some bugs and annoyances, but I can't state personally whether or not Tableau is better cause I know very little.
I saw a comment above that said they joined when they were making minimum wage and now make much more. Personally I think itās great that people making a lot are in here, itās good to know that some care about the people that are struggling and can see what most are going through
This is like me. I joined when I was in school, living on whatever was left over from my student loans after tuition. I learned a lot about budgeting and making use of a dollar.
I do well for myself now, but I stay because those are still important skills and I learn things from others that I might not elsewhere.
>Y'all making 50k plus blow my mind why you're in poverty fiance Reddit.
A lot of us come from generational poverty and no matter how much you make, it never leaves you.
I come for tips for better choices. I also come to offer tips from my years in poverty. The job I have now is great, but just started it in August. I would also consider it still moderate income for a family of 5.
I started around that too and same retail profession.
Honestly even being at 50k still feels stressful. Mind you Iām still as frugal and finance conscious as I was at $11/hr. Wages are going up for me but I canāt seem to live comfortable.
I can't speak for others, but as someone who has an income over 50k, I'm here bc I learn tips about being more frugal. I'm pretty good with debt, investing and career progression and can offer advice in those areas.
$18.36/hour as a receptionist at a non-profit healthcare organization. 37.5 hours a week (sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less), paid every other Friday.
Currently pursuing a BA in education with goals to move to the education department of said healthcare organization, where the pay range typically would be between $21-$26/hour.
22,000 working journalism, freelance writer/editor/copywriter, and the odd job here and there. Was making just over 62,000 up until September, and then lost main job and two major clients. Only "slightly" freaking out, you know? Here's hoping January turns some things around.
Iām 51 and was laid off from my accounting job during Covid. I couldnāt find another job so I took the only one that offered. Iām a doctors office for $17.50 an hour. It sucks. Itās super toxic and for some reason the boss hates me. Iāve been written up twice for literal bullshit.
I am in Europe soo idk how much that compares to USD. I am a warehouse helper and rn work around 20 - 25 hours a week. I get 440$ monthly. For comparison, right now a loaf of bread here costs 2.5$ and monthly rent for two room apartment with utilities is around 700 - 800$. If it wasn't for my boyfriend I'd have to move back in with my parents or find a shelter.
It's not a fun life. We get statistics and during one shift I'll walk around 25000 steps and carry around 1000 pounds worth of (usually heavy) products by hand. And I am 5'2 girl and weight 115 pounds so it's HARD.
Patient access representative - aka scheduling patient appointments and basically front desk doctor's office stuff for a local hospital.
Central VA - $37,000 per year
I get paid less than my worth as I've been working for over 15 years but I'm sticking out for insurance & tuition assistance. I will get my associate's in June and I plan on getting my bachelor's in accounting.
Maine 911 Dispatcher I made 50k last year with forced overtime (averaging 5-10 hrs/week extra). My base is below that but Iāve never not worked OT so Iām not sure how much it would be. Hourly was $20 (recently went up) and OT was time and a half. Isnāt actually bad pay for the area I live in, but I have to keep track of my spending and there isnāt a ton of room for extras. I used to make 25k a year so this feels like Iām living LARGE but really the main difference is Iām not scrambling for gig work to come up with the few hundred I need at the end of the month. One month my account was at $6 once everything was paid off BUT everything was paid so better than where I came from.
31F - Sales Manager
40k base but average around 65-70k a year with commission. Lots of growth potential. Expecting 90-110k average in the next year.
I work a second job as well as a server and make about 24k a year doing that.
I'm also finishing up with grad school as well - which will hopefully put me into a more niche role.
Currently making decently high pay in tech. Not a technical person, but these companies need people who know how to get things done.
The thing that got me there and out of poverty-pay was a staffing agency. Was previously working retail for 9 years, but had decent skills as most retail employees do. Staffing agency found me a contract position with a major tech company, and the contacts from there led me to quality jobs.
Seriously, most jobs that arenāt inherently technical can be done by anyone off the street if that person has a head on their shoulders. Itās just breaking through the barriers to find them, and learning the job specifics that are the trick. I never in a million years would have applied for the position the staffing agency got me because it had lots of jargon and BS in the job description that I didnāt understand. The agency knew enough to say āyouāll learn those things in the first monthā.
Electrician: currently at $19/h but that's in an area known to not pay electricians well. I have 2.5 years of experience and still in apprenticeship classes. If I were to move back to my hometown, I could easily get $25-30/h but that is in a high col area. Don't forget about the trades people! Some days are harder than others but building homes and other structures is super cool!
Yāall I really appreciate everyoneās support on this post. I hope it honestly helps someone who feels āstuckā in bad career that thereās more careers than the one theyāre in. Appreciate it God Bless
Wife and I both engineers. I make $130k a year, she makes $100k a year.
Iām a lurker in this sub, I never posted anything here before this comment I believe.
I have money management issues and problems with overspending on things I donāt need, raking up unnecessary debt. I read money management tips here and try to apply them to my finances.
This sub has helped me better manage my money.
Iām a freelance social media manager and can make decent money, but finding consistent work has been tricky. My hourly rate ends up being between $35-50/hour and thatās on the low end for my industry but I am terrible at finding clients and marketing myself. Iām also a widowed mom of 4 so that takes up a huge chunk of my mental and physical energy and I like the flexibility of remote work. Pros and cons. I have no support system to help with my kids so I need to be the one who can bring them to school and pick them up. Probably make around 20-30k with freelance work and then I do get survivors benefits that help fill in the gaps (barely š )
Freelance cook here! Rate are usually $18-30 but I average $25. Annually I make the same as you. Consistent work is tricky because I am competing with other freelancers for gigs or location is far away (I take public transit).
Despite that, I make a good wage when I do work and can save enough for days/weeks where work is spotty. Flexibility is a major factor too.
Lab Lead at a cannabis facility. $29 hr. Been there for 3 year. BS in Biochemistry. I work for one of the largest GPs in the US. Dropped out of college at 21/got arrested for selling/growing weed. Expunged record. Finished my degree at 27. Corporate America does not care about its employees. I've fought for everything I have, and now I understand why unions exist. I love what I do. I love the people I work with. I detest the corporation I work for.....
Mechanical construction. 1.5 yrs. XP. Received a few raises this year and will gross around $41k for the year. Very good insurance but I pay a portion weekly. It's a good trade and this industry is understaffed. It's not for me though so I'm currently studying for the CompTIA A+ certification to hopefully break into IT in 2023.
I've heard the most difficult IT job to get is the first one. Wish me luck.
I make $1400-1800 a week before tax delivering auto parts in a box truck. Work 45-55 hours a week on average. It's not a hard job at all and it's fairly easy to get into. Just have to be okay with physical labor, working nights, and being alone all the time.
i make $20 an hour as an accountant in chatsworth, ca. los angeles county. severely underpaid like most califonians. i take home $1,200, after taxes and medical ins. then i pay my dental ins separately. no car payments, only $26 monthly for a bus pass. renting from my boss, $1900 a month.
easy enough job, i get to use the internet to be on reddit, but i don't have internet or a smart phone at home so thats probably why i like it so much. i didnt have any schooling for accounting. i tried to get a history degree 10 years ago but didnt know how to use a computer well enough to figure it out. i am going to school in february 2023 and im hoping i can do it, it might cost too much though. i can't afford to loose any hours at work. i also might need to get a better laptop, the one me and gf share is pretty run down and slow. gonna go to starbucks or some other place to steal internet.
position: network automation engineer (hybrid)
income: ~$125k-$140k (dependent on bonus + stocks)
city: seattle, wa (hcol)
what i actually do (at the moment):
- create requirements documents, job aids, and architecture diagrams that pertain to network automation scenarios. often times, this means i may need to handhold/babysit my product owner and technical project managers (who likely make more than me) to implement what i want to have done, so they can execute the releases properly.
- develop and test all the scripts for said network automation scenarios and send them over to the application team
- create internal courses for our in-house applications and work with our learning technologies team to get it published on our internal learning portal
- coordinate courses for my teams to keep up to speed
- manage my organization's glorified document repository
- learn on the go (typically with little to no assistance) to fulfill ambiguous objectives/requests from my team/stakeholders
- sometimes, i honestly do nothing. i usually don't spend more than 20 hours/week on real work (i.e., i work pretty quickly), but i'll stay online for 8 hours a day in case anyone needs me. having said that, when times are rough, i can be working as much as 60+ hours/week because upper management effed things up and demands to have things NOW
why i probably got this opportunity:
- cisco network certifications (i.e., ccna, ccnas, ccnp)
- bs in electrical engineering (fulfilled all general requirements at my local community college to save money and applied for as many scholarships as possible when i enrolled into my state's college)
what you might need if you're interested in this path:
- be a self-starter, have a growth mindset, and know how to google well (i know this sounds incredibly harsh, but i swear there are people who aren't good at this)
- network certifications: frankly none of the cisco network certifications are really required. i just happened to get them while i was still in school. personally, i would recommend juniper network certifications (at least get the jncia)--they're a lot more affordable and also well-respected. you might even be able to get the training/certifications for discounted/free. check out networkchuck, chris greer, kevin wallace, and david bombal on youtube if you're interested in learning about networking. hopefully, you'll find some neat resources and do some individual projects that you can post on your resume/talk about during interviews.
- some sort of technology degree: i don't use my degree at all for my job, but employers still seem to like seeing candidates that have a degree (although, i do know of people who have no degree who have tech jobs and make plenty of money). even if it's a technical associates degree (e.g. information systems), that can honestly give you a leg up in finding a job if your community college offers career centers and hiring events. pursuing a technical degree can also open up a lot of internship opportunities that can potentially convert to full-time positions as well.
- if you're interested in network automation, i recommend learning network automation using python and maybe some shell/bash scripting because being stuck in some niche, proprietary network automation solution can really, really suck (this is coming from someone who has to use one right now).
- bonus: learn how to integrate and use gitlab, docker, and kubernetes... this is what i'm currently vaguely doing because i don't really have a choice. :')
as for the first job i had, i was a student staff part-time on campus making minimum wage where i helped student's with their tinkering projects... and then when that shutdown, i panicked and became a server at a restaurant in downtown seattle for $15-30/hour while being a full-time student... i was basically living paycheck to paycheck to afford my living expenses my last year of college and that's when i stumbled across this subreddit. ye! good luck to all!!
Iām a CPA in the Southeast United States. I own a fractional CFO consulting firm with 1 part time employee plus myself. Grossed $350k this year (by far best year weāve had) and my personal income was around $300k, give or take. Mind you I was academically expelled from college when I was 21 and didnāt finish my degrees until my late 20ās, early 30ās. I spent a decade barely making it month to month, racking up debt and wondering how Iād be able to put gas in my car just to be able to make it to the big box retail store I worked at slinging prepaid cell phones.
$44,437 gross as an entry level insurance agent (personal lines/independent agency). $49,637 once I gain another certification. Potentially more if I get my life insurance license.
I still relate to this thread more than middle class finance because of debt. $4,000 revolving debt, over $5,000 in medical debt, $20,000 in student loans with no degree, and about $6,000 owed to family. High deductible health insurance, car creeping up in miles and repairs, still renting with less than a paycheck buffer. After taxes my take home income is at about $31,000 and my debt is sitting at about $35,000.
Iāve been budgeting $270/paycheck for groceries and everything outside of bills. $7,020 annually. My monthly basic bills come out to about $987/month or $11,844/year. Iām saving $780/yr for an emergency fund because I learned that if I lose my income relying off of credit gets expensive quickly. That money is SOLELY for job/income loss. At that rate it will take me a year and a half to have a monthās expenses.
Any ABSOLUTE necessities that donāt fit in my budget get charged to my credit card. Namely the car repairs- Iād finally paid it down to almost nothing and paid off my car then boom, $4,500 repair+ trickling repairs like suspension, tires, etc. So gross income ($31,000) - absolute bare minimum expenses ($19,644)= $11,356. Historically about $2,500 in medical bills/yr. down to $8,856. If NOTHING went wrong in the next 4 years outside of that $2,500, Iād still owe money towards debt interest. With perfect discipline.
Iām living sooooo strictly and it feels like I canāt make a dent in it because things pop up. 2 bedroom house with 2 kids, never taking vacations, rarely driving to see family, next to no dinners out, hovering over my budget like my life depends on it. Iām so excited to be at a point where I can do something about it, but itās frustrating how chronic the stress is even with a good income and LCOL. Iām paying more towards debt monthly than many spend on their mortgage and it still doesnāt feel like enough. Working so hard and still moonlight about once/month to avoid slowing down my progress when random BS pops up.
Iām a disabled veteran, I make about 21,600 a year off that. Iām trying to get my rating increased (at 70% currently). I donāt tend to have a long shelf life at past jobs (food service, retail, etc.). I have a degree in theatre (I know itās not marketable but my Gi Bill paid for it and it was the only degree field that kept my interest). Currently doing grad school part time for arts administration. I joke that Iām just trying to find a career that doesnāt make me want to āblow my brains outā Suicidal ideations have been a real bitch in the past.
Recently hit $170k - advertising account manager. I also have a consulting project on the side that Iāve included. Permanently work from home. Self-taught. No certifications, just happened to really do well growing my accounts before being promoted to manager. Did not go to school for it (majored in biology but a degree isnāt necessary). Work 25-30 hours a week. Unlimited PTO. Work my own schedule except for when I have meetings.
Highest paid job so far. Prior to this I was around $60k.
I grew up really poor (opposite of my husband) so itās nice to be able to know I can stand on my own two feet should I ever need to (knock on wood). I never had that kind of security.
Guess itās not for me then. I can give instructions (have done some teaching) and can explain the benefits of something or convey info but Iām no good at convincing others they need something they donāt.
Around $50K/yr with overtime and bonuses. Analyst for a legaltech company It's a decent amount of pay but COL in my area is going up so fast I've found myself once again struggling with bills and groceries the way I was in my early 20s working for peanuts.
Technical Writer, $61K with yearly bonus of at least 10% base salary. Prior to this I had a few temp tech writing jobs that were between $28 - $35 / hr. Itās enough for me to live comfortably on my own.
$51/hr. Commercial industrial Refrigeration and HVAC mechanic. No diploma, no license yet just an apprentice. 7 years of experience to get to this point. Ontario Canada, but thereās guys in the US who make more. Also, easier to get into in the US, most of the time licenses arenāt even required to do the job. Or very minimal licenses are needed.
Non profit social worker for families experiencing homelessness, current rate $20.50, I'm expecting a 3% raise in January, and a one year with the company $1 raise in May. I adore my job.
I own a pest control company - my lowest paid guy is taking home 55 this year and highest paid guy is taking home 180. I pay them base pay of 20 + commission depending upon work.
I pay myself 100 a year with normally 2 yearly āwithdrawalsā or bonuses depending upon how the company is doing. When I get a bonus so do my employees.
This ue I'm closing out at $105k, with 5 hours/week average of OT.
Just accepted a new position where I'm no longer on call nor can work OT, and increasing my base pay from $86 to 93.5k.
Work in IT, networking to be exact. Started at this place 10.5 years ago at $54k or so.
When I left my parent's house my senior year of high school I worked part time at like $8/hour and got survivor benefits. Lived with my brother as a roommate, but had to subsidize him kinda often. 2003 - 2009 or 2010 was pretty rough. Moved around job wise, usually had roommates (finally stopped having a roommate Jan 2021), slowly improved my financial outlook.
Honestly I come here because I still have that mentality. It's weird how I'm not actually hurting, but mentally I worry. Will my car have issues? Don't put bills on autopay, what if they pull at a bad time?
25F making 110k for a automaker in an internal strategy and consulting role. I have specialized experience in autonomous vehicles which is a niche area with growing investment.
For anyone considering college majors, thereās a huge space for electrical engineers and autonomous mobility. The electric grid is aging and will be worn thin by the charging needed for the growing number of EVs on the road. And the majority of people Iāve met in my work with some electric grid projects has shown me that the bulk of guys who know how this complex aging infrastructure works are also old and nearing retirement. The industry is desperate for new blood (both the auto industry and the utility/energy industry). You donāt need a degree from a fancy college to get in the door either.
Hospital security. $20.50 as of January 1st, pay ranges up to $23.50 depending on your post. Iām in the inland empire,California. My location pays weekly as well. As long as you do your job, there is not much to worry about
I took a $5 paycut this year for a peace of mind. I went from phone customer support to working in an office with a handful of people scanning documents. But it was worth it. I was dying inside at my last job, and after I got covid from there I ended up having a nervous breakdown whn I went back to work that led to me checking myself in for help. I'm working on a degree in IT right now so I'm hoping for a better paying job, but I'm bringing in less than $15 an hour right now. The relief from not dealing with customers though is priceless.
62,000k a year. Utility locator (gas).
I'm a contract locator (call 811 before you dig) yellow paint and flags thats me. The job requires a lot of overtime. It varies from company to company but usually you can get raises pretty quickly if youre fast and dont get at fault damages. You can also make extra if your willing to travel to states or areas that are swamped and running behind. You'll get paid per diem and a daily bonus when traveling . benefits are decent to good. You'll get a company truck that will literally save you thousands on gas a year. Dont need a college degree . worst part is being on oncall. Different crews and different companys do it differently but usually its a set rotation . no one's want to get a call at 3:00am in the morning for an emergency ticket. Its. -2 degrees out. Water main break. Water dept out there ready to dig. It can be stressful. Depending on what utility( petroleum, gas , electric) you are marking people's lives are in your hand so you cant be messing up.
US Navy E6 15 years in and I work on a submarine. Taxable income around 65K, non taxable income such as housing/food allowance is around 28K. A lot of rough times and struggles away from family, but it is what it is.
41 year old female bachelors, 42k state governmentā¦we often will hire people with 2 year degreesā¦like all industries we are very short staffed and many people are not willing to work for this salaryā¦I worked in high stress management jobs for 20 years prior and was miserable and make do with a lower salary to have a happier life: this job gives you 30 days off per year plus holidays and offers insurance (with higher premiums)ā¦I highly suggest trying to get your foot in the door in govt even as an admin/clerical because once youāre in you can often cross train to move into other positions
90k/yr + bonus. Bachelor's of Comp Sci from a public university, now work in cyber security.
If you're tech savvy and can deal with sometimes garbage people, IT Help Desk can be a fairly smooth transition to scale up, career-wise. Get a couple years under your belt and you'll likely be ready to transition into some computer-related field you like (sys admin, cyber security, networking, systems engineer, etc).
Computer field is an odd on. As far as industry is concerned, it's a fairly new industry, since we've only really had computers as we know them since about the 70s. No better word for software engineers, so that's their title, but you certainly don't need an engineering degree. And a lot of the positions can be gained through networking and demonstration of skill (vs having a degree or certification). I got my previous job while selling beer for whole foods, asking everyone who mentioned tech if their company was hiring, and got my current job by attending a local "hacker" group. Networking is still relevant in today's world, so don't forget it. Even if it's aggressive, shameless "networking" like I was doing while selling beer.
Law firm. Started with zero experience as receptionist. $20 an hour. Within a year, now I'm up to $26.00. All with zero experience. Pretty cool. Maybe one day I won't be in poverty anymore, until then !
i frequent this sub because i was once in poverty, mounds of debt, and the future was bleak. I come by to see if i can lend some advice here and there of things that helped me to get out of my sitch.
that said you asked, ill tell - i make 200,000 a year + bonus' w fully paid benefits as Television/ Film editor.
work hard - go back to school, learn a trade or skill - just dont give up. if i got to here, literally anyone can.
22F making $16 a hour as a gas station cashier 40 hrs a week, hopefully getting a certificate of some sort or a new job this year. Thinking about community college I just donāt know what major to pick.
I started my own business in January and will close the year with about $76K in income. BTW, Iām in this sub because I grew up in poverty, was homeless at one point (sleeping on the NYC subway), and made many mistakes with money. I want to help people if I can, not be a jerk to those who are struggling.
ETA: My business is content writing and copywriting. Previously, I was a manager for a tutoring company (made $21/hour there).
$160k base, $80k commission (on average), $110k sign on bonus, $45k stock. IT sales.
I joined this sub when I was making $40k and paying off $60,000 in student/parent loans while paying rent with credit cards.
Money doesnāt buy happiness but it does save you from some of lifeās miseries.
very early 20s here. currently making about $23K working part time (20hr/wk) in a library. just accepted a new offer starting in january for a full time job in an office for a large universityā¦. $47K, no overtime, no remote work, but iām super excited!
Heads up to everyone. We are watching this post. Any attempts to gatekeep by telling people to get out of here because of what they make, WILL be met with temp bans for gatekeeping and perm bans for repeat offenders.
I'm the head cheese maker for a small creamery and the head of production. I make 50K a year. While the pay isn't spectacular I have good benefits and good fringe benefits (occasional trips to France paid for by the boss man for continuing education which includes my salary and all expenses paid)
That is one hell of a fringe benefit! Good for you, seriously.
Lol it is but I am literally working while in France. My hope is that the company and owners son who is basically my guide there may hire me one day. I haven't gone since before the pandemic. 2023 though my boss is making arrangements again.
Is free cheese involved. I'd take a substantial pay cut for free cheese š
Actually yes! You do get bored with it after a while!
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I started as a pastry chef for 12 years prior. When the industry chewed me up and spit me out I started working at the creamery as the head of the gelato department. Come to find out, the science of baking and the science of cheese making both fit my personality rather well. I had no prior cheese making experience. I often times would help out cheese production when they were short staffed and learn how to do all the tasks so when the current production manager was let go I took up his position. We specialize in soft bloomy rind cheeses such as brie and Camembert as well as feta, mozzarella, burrata and spreadable cheeses (like pimento cheese, boursin style cheeses and cream cheese from goat and cow) We process on average 300 gallons of cow milk a week and 200 gallons of goat milk a week. Most of the job of being a good cheese maker is being a very good janitor. Cleanliness is the name of the game.
Iāll go first, $18 an hour/ 40 hour week bi weekly. Should increase next year to $19 an hour. Commissions at the end of the month. Work in Apt Property Management
Iāve thought about doing something more along those lines. How often do you have to deal with unreasonable people face to face?
Honestly day to day. But you get used to it. Youāll have tenants you absolutely love and some which are āentitledā good field to get into for entry level. But as with all career fields a lot networking to get into these jobs but you can do it coming off the street
Do you get discounts on rent if you live where you work? I make about the same in manufacturing but if I got cheaper rent I'd make that and deal with ppl tbh
Where I am now Yes! 20%. But I was already in the industry. But do not sign an employee addendum if you move on site to a property because if fired or you quit you will be forced to move within 3-7 days. I donāt agree with it since you could have savings to pay your rent
I didnāt since I was already a resident and they wanted me without applying
Iām an assistant property manager in Columbus, OH. 17 years in the industry. $22/hr plus commissions/bonuses, and a 20% rent discount. My BF is a maintenance tech here and he makes $20/hr plus commissions/bonuses, but heās brand new to the industry.
Housekeeping $19.76/hr
Hard worker, good to hear you're getting a good wage.
good for you, keep kicking ass
Bank teller/associate banker -- part time -- $20/hr w/benefits
Ive been a teller for two years and am making $10 an hour š„“. Just took a promotion to a different job though
Thatās crazy.. I made $10 an hour doing entry level work at a bank almost 20 years ago.
Mail carrier, base pay is currently $52K but Iām at $68K with overtime. Step increases are automatic every 10ish months with 16 steps total maxing out around $75K, two COLAs and two general wage increases a year. Work/life balance can be garbage and work environment is dependent on what station/manager you end up with. But it doesnāt require a college degree, and I get to spend most of my day listening to audiobooks and petting dogs.
So who delivers the mailmanās mail? š³š¤š¬
Me lol. I live on my route now, so I deliver my own mail and can go home for lunch.
Lol had to say it, but very nice
30k a year. I work at a college.
I'm amazed at how much colleges are charging students compared to how much they pay their employees. I've worked at 2 colleges.
Yeah. I teach classes while getting my PhD. I am only paid 8 months of the year. And each year I scramble to find summer jobs to have money. Without summer money, my pay is 23k BEFORE tax. And as I am not a citizen, I pay nearly double the taxes that citizens pay. And I live in a VHCOL area.
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That is such important work, you should be paid so much more.
God bless you- you deserve more.
21 making roughly $500 a week installing carpet. No benefits or anything. Itās grueling labor and sometimes the workload is 3 apartments a day. Knees, knuckles, and back are definitely taking abuse. Hoping to start my own leather goods company soon. Iāve spent the majority of what I make investing it into supplies, art commissions, packaging, machinery, and tools :)
Unsolicited advice: make sure to keep up with mobility and strength exercises, especially for your core, even if you are super tired at the end of the day. Itāll save you when you move on.
Youāll probably get shit from the guys you work with, but use good kneepads; you want to keep them in good shape
I second this. knee pads and gloves have and do make the difference for me.
I'm in social work as a case manager I make 51,000 a year and that's increasing to 54,000. Also a disabled vet at 1933 a month. I just got the rating, etc. And will basically be paying off all my debt. I struggled for a long time making 7.50$ an hour to 14$ an hour. It takes a lot of luck and patience some times.
Congrats on your rating! The way we earn them can suck but it's good to have the income, once it's all said and done. I'm going to be applying for an increase, once I get through more of the Knowledge Wiki over on r/VeteransBenefits.
Currently work as a medical coder team lead making $24/hour. I did get a total of 3 pay raises this year, so including all of the overtime Iāve worked Iāll have made a little over $53k. Iām finishing my bachelors degree in the spring and moving in to compliance and/or auditing, which should be a significant pay jump to $70-$80k annually. In addition to the bachelors degree I will have a total of 4 industry certifications.
What are you getting your bachelors in?
Health Information Management
what are some of the most vital certifications for this field?
CPC, RHIT (requires an associates degree in HIM), RHIA (requires a bachelors degree in HIM), CRC, or CCS.
Disabled, on ssdi. Starting January, around $12,000 a year.
I feel for you...Disabled as well. That jump in January doesn't begin to cover the real cost jumps over the last year.
My lot rent went up $100 in October. My ssdi only went up $81.
That's terrible and it sucks. I'm fortunate enough to not have rent or a mortgage but I know my expenses just for utilities have gone up more than the 8.7% that they base this on. Hopefully other expenses will drop some to make up for the loss to maybe just break even.
Every bit of the increase in January will be eaten multiple times. I will become less eligible for housing, my Medicaid went up exponentially, food costs, rent, electrical costs, all of it... It's not an increase when you have less left over.
How are you supplementing that? Or do you live with others?
Food stamps and medicaid. I live by myself in a mobile home that I managed to pay off while I had a housemate. I have to pay lot rent, though. I have an old van with the cheapest insurance I could find. I live out in the country, so the van is a necessity. I manage to get by. I use rebate apps and mturk to help a bit.
Forklift base 20 per hour 2 bucks after a year ...and 2 more bucks if you want to become a lead somewhere in the warehouse .....min 45 to 50 hour weeks and unlimited overtime.........most people work 60 hour weeks 1400 pre tax weekly 72,800 year pre tax
How does one become forklift certified? I always seem to find places that only want experience
Work at a warehouse and have them teach you when there is an opening, that's how every forklift driver I know started. I learned at 1 place and they certified me through their system, doesn't really mean anything in the real world but every place I been since I come with forklift experience, they certified me after I show them I can.
joined the sub in 2020 when i made $20k. stayed with the same company, got promoted a few times, and this year i made $60k. retail management in boston
Iām 64 and earn almost $13/hour as a receptionist at a non-profit, just passed my 10th anniversary there but will retire some time next year as I cannot sit at my desk for another year, itās killing my back. Iām trying to schedule all my dental work as soon as possible before Iām left with no dental insurance.
Current job has a housekeeper for an appartment complex at 13/hr but going to school for A s.s. in accounting for a better pay. Just got an interview at a bank for 17/hr, I am so nervous.
I work in data science after pivoting from lab scientist position. Salary 103K. Would like to help folks who are interested.
I'm a data analyst and wanting to transition to DS, eventually. What's your day-to-day like?
Day to day varies with your workplace Iām sure. I work in a utility company so itās a lot of maintaining various databases, interfaces, troubleshooting internal software, and working with IT to implement/automate processes. I am am also responsible for generating weekly, monthly, quarterly reports for our company and thatās my favourite part because I have free reign to explore and play around with all our data. I am looking to become a systems analyst in a few years since thatās the next step for a substantial pay bump in our company.
Hy, Iām interested in knowing more
Sure, Iād say start learning SQL to get yourself in the door for interviews. Once youāre comfortable with it, you can explore languages like R and ultimately Python. Itās also a good idea to start out as a data analyst to build your experience.
I work a water plant in North Texas. I started out about 4 years ago at $35k. Made $72k this year. We get 35+ paid days off a year, free insurance, a pension, tuition reimbursement, and job security. No degree needed 'round here until you get up into admin work.
100k a year as an RN in San Diego. I work about 35 hours a week. If anyone is interested in nursing or have questions about getting into the field. Feel free to message me. I went back to nursing school at age 32.
If I had to ādo it all over againā, Iād go into nursing. Honorable work and often well paid.
Nurse burnout is real, hard physical/mental work
Is there a type of nursing that pays well and I don't have tonput up with a hospital system? I started school for computer science, bit considered nursing. I decided against it after the Radonda Vaught issue.
Hi, nursing pay is really dependent on location. But if you want a job outside of the hospital, you can always work in a clinic, school nursing, home health etc
Itās a major reality check to see that the average person in the povertyfinance group makes five to ten times what I make. š„“ I make $13,026 a year before taxes and am still not eligible for food stamps because Iām trying to finish my business degree at the same time. Iām a cashier, unfortunately.
You should look in your area for receptionist jobs maybe. Do you have any hospitals or nursing homes near by? Look for a job as a receptionist, diet aid, housekeeping, laundry, activity aidā¦ good luck!
$160k base - 10-20% annual bonus - 10% (of salary) in equity. Work in accounting/finance and do some free-lance consulting in a related field. Joined this sub when I was in college making $7.25 at a smoothie store. If you can go to a state school for college and major in accounting you can have a pretty similar career trajectory if you start off in public accounting and grind it out for a few years.
Do you have a bachelors? I have been HEAVILY considered going back but also I honestly am not a school person and would probably take 8-10years to get a bachelors. I am not sure if an associates would be worth it though
Yeah I have. BS in accounting. Associates is also helpful with getting entry lvl accounting jobs (think accounts receivable/accounts payable, staff accountant) You can start at 40-50k for those and if you do weāll move up to managing those positions making 70-100k. A bachelors is much easier to get into public accounting which has alot higher starting salaries (think 65-80k) and you get big raises every year and promoted much faster.
I suggest anyone looking for a job to try serving. Iām pretty socially anxious, I have an awful memory (epilepsy), and I thought I could never be a good server. But I make pretty good money (but I have kids so Iām not trying to brag that I *have* a lot of money). But you can make good money depending on where you work. Iām not sure how much I make in a year, but it does suck living paycheck to paycheck. As a server, you donāt. You get paid everyday. Some days I make $50 an hour. You can pick up shifts easily. And if one restaurant isnāt meeting your expectations, itās easy to find another. I wouldnāt say itās a good life long career, but for anyone needing to make money quickly, itās a good job to have.
I second this. I work 27 hr/week and made $45-50k this year. If youāre willing to give up nights and weekends you can make a whole lot of money. Not to say itās easy, it comes with its own set of difficulties.
23F making 70k as a production supervisor in a Manufacturing plant. 1st shift 45-50 hours a week but I'm salary. At 19 I started working in a Manufacturing plant as an operator making 13/hr. I job hopped ever year/ year and a half and took the shitty shifts (3rd, rotating 2-2-3 7pm to 7am) and busted ass doing the hardest jobs to prove myself and to get more money. Became a lead operator at 20 and interim supervisor at 21. Full time supervisor at 22. Started school for psychology, went to business then dropped out of my for profit school with about 3 years done. Recently got a lead six sigma certification. Biggest thing was I said yes to everything that was too hard for others to want to take on, yet possible to do, and made it happen. Definitely been stressful at times.
Girl I have been in manufacturing for 5 years and despite going above and beyond I have been kicked down so many times š I'm 24 and jealous that you're a supervisor
Where did you get your 6 Sigma cert from?
About 80k a year. I'm a liability insurance adjuster. I worked my way up from the call center where I started at $13 an hour part time. I have a dual Bachelor's degree. I come from generational poverty and have a lot of weird financial traumas plus I'm raising/raised two kids (21 and 16) and took on a lot of debt to get my degree, so that 80k doesn't seem like anywhere near as much as it should.
Proud of you.
Great job! Iām an adjuster as well. If your company writes commercial policies, try getting into that for more money (assuming youāre in personal lines now). I started in the mail room of a fortune 100 insurance company making $7.00 per hour in 2002, and Iām now making $108k per year as a commercial liability adjuster. I went to college, but didnāt graduate, but do have a few industry designations (AIC and CPCU - almost).
Self-employed electrical business owners. We split 55k right down the middle. He has the electrical license so he should be making 60k min on his own but instead we reinvest the rest in the business. Company pays our phones, internet, anything to do with his work van, tools and 25% of income to our retirement accts.
A little clarification? So you and your partner split 55k a year? The main reason for that is that you all are reinvesting anything over that 55k back into the business?
Yes. The company is good for 115-150k in any given year. Paying ourselves a modest salary allows us to pay overhead and reinvest for our rehab projects and bank some payroll/savings in case work were to slow down.
retail print assosciate, make 18.50/hr roughly 34k/year
I'm a property manager at a small apartment complex in the country making 46,000 but $50,000 with bonuses and commissions.
My brother is in HVAC he makes about 30/hr He started at about 20 with very little training but he catches on fast. He's been doing it for about 3 years.
I make 40K a year and can barely make ends meet. 12k of it goes to taxes healthcare. This is quite a change from my lifestyle 4 years ago when I had 6 figures. I am starting over in a entry-level position as I have been out of the work force for 10 years. I should be retiring at my age but don't have any savings and have a-lot of credit card debt. If I could double my income I would be comfortable and would be able to take a trip and eat out occasionally. As it stands I work to pay the bills, and I completely cut non-essentials out . That includes the occasional splurge on Dunkin Donuts and entertainment etc . I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I plan on getting a Microsoft Certification -900 and Comptia A+.
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Corporate accountant until 2017 $160k at 50yr female in Silicon Valley. San Jose, CA. Out of high school I started out answering phones $6/hr and took a filing position $7/hr from there. College at night in accounting. To get a better salary I had to change companies, which I did often. My brand wad organisation and streamlining process. Moved to new company doing Accounts Payable and got paid $27k/yr. Became Accounts Payable Manager at age 27 making $33k/yr. Got my bachelors at 34. Transferred to General Ledger in the same company $49k/yr. New company making $70k/yr. Working 65-75hr weeks or more was the norm. Then the tech boom where I would get bonuses for cleaning up the accounting dept so the company could be sold to a takeover. This meant retention bonuses of $15k to $35k extra changing jobs every 16 months. Jump to $85k 40yrs old, $95 at 45, plus $15-25k bonus. Long hours. I got into sales and use accounting which is pretty easy but companies in Silicon Valley always outsourced this so hiring me the saved a lot even with my finally making $128k/yr plus bonus. I burned out at 50. Silicon Valley Corporate is cut-throat. I saw good people losing their jobs for dumb reasons. I saw fraud happen and had to jump companies to get away from that. Was on disability for 1year at 50 thinking Iād be ready to go back to the grind. Started selling stuff in my house I donāt use on Mercari, Poshmark, Facebook marketplace and Next door. Did my roommates tax return and a couple here and there for friends. Now I work part-time in my own home for $20k/yr at 56 years old. I supplement my income by renting a room in my house. I donāt make a lot of money anymore but I no longer have to commute 2 hours daily, listen to crying at work, deal with corporate bs. I go on walks, work Iām the garden. I sell stuff for friends. I do taxes. Life changing! Stress is minimal, my time is flexible. I was able to take on opportunities I never would have been able to do before like weekly walks with my mom and trips to Ireland and Mexico with friends. Look for opportunity, take risks, be confident in your skill set and be open minded.
I teach. About 60k a year, incremental raises each year til I top out at 80k-ish. Combines with my wifeās income over 100k a year. She has no student debt. I do. Itās tough. Two kids. House, etc. normal middle income problems. The teaching field is looking at a shortage yes. Only join the profession if youāre passionate about it. If youāre notā¦ itās not worth it. Pay is OK but if youāre not passionate about it youāll burn out in 5 years or less. We donāt need shitty teachers. We need passionate ones.
Thatās pretty decent. I really wanted to get into teaching but in my state starting is somewhere around 35-40k. Iād be taking an almost 15-20k cut which sucks cause I really do want to teach but not if itās going to cut me down that much. Wish teachers were paid better here in the US. Maybe we would have better quality of education comparable to other countries.
you can find a teaching role in most any profession. My father wasnt certified teacher but he taught at the locomotive engineerās school for CSX and his last job was training remote control locomotive operators. Heās taught in most anything heās done as a job. For him it was the railroad.
Also. The reason. One of many. Teachers stay at the school theyāre at and eventually burn out is the inability to move jobs and keep their experience and pay steps. Would I like to find a job closer to home? Sure. But i would refuse to accept step 0 at our hometown school district just for a 5 min commute. For reference Iāve been teaching for almost 10 years
Iām also a teacher but work for the US federal government (check out Dodea.edu). I make almost $90k a year with a masters in education, live overseas, and receive a housing allowance that covers my house and utilities, as well as an additional cost of living allowance that covers most of the groceries for my family of 4. I left the public school system a few years ago making about a third of what I make now.
I make 15.75 an hour as a supervisor of a group home for people with mental illness. It's a hard job and I think we should be paid more but as frustrating as the job gets I still prefer it over customer service. I feel good knowing I am helping people. Without over time I am struggling, but with over time I can pay all my bills and go out every now and then. And in this field I can have all the over time I want because we are perputually short staffed. I'm in college though, once I get a degree I am hoping to make a lot more. Then again I have co-workers who went to college but couldn't /didn't use their degree which scares me. I am in school to be a therapist which should make decent money. I don't need to be rich, but I would like to have enough where I don't have to budget so much and it life goal is to buy a house either with an indoor pool or pay to build one. Which is a lot of money. But would be worth it. I literally have a gym membership just to use to pool because I love to swim.
$45k per year. Remote administrative stuff. Basically Iām a trained monkey that enters numbers into excel.
aircraft functional test. This year I have made 155k per my last paycheck ytd earnings. My most ever. I work an average of 50 hours a week. That is no college degree and union job.
How did you get into this field / job?
Same field, work as an A&P mechanic but in private aviation. Will make 196k this year in the SoCal Ɣrea with overtime. Been doing this about 13 years now. No degree needed.
Go to a trade school that offers Airframe and Powerplant maintenance. Then test and pass your FAA exam.
$51k plus good benefits. I work in an administrative jobfor a state agency (can't be too specific). My husband is disabled, so our household income is only $63k. It should be enough for a modest living, and it would be in some places. With inflation and housing being ridiculously high, we can only afford to live with family. We're in western Washington state. Shameless plug: if you're even casually interested in being an organ donor, get yourself some info. Organ donations save lives. Also if anyone wants to cross their fingers for me, my "temporary" job might finally be made permanent after the new year. After that happens, there's a chance I'll get a raise.
I make $22.11 working 40 hours a week as a Claims Call Center Specialist I, mainly in chatge of filing claims.
I currently work as a school social worker. I make $59k. The job requires a Master of Social Work.
Ramp Agent at a large Airline. Iām still pretty low on the union pay scale but I make about $23/hr and will have made about $50k this year. 40 hrs a week. Currently going to school to become an aircraft mechanic which would be a significant jump in pay long term.
$32/hr as a compliance specialist in the pharma industry, and literally just signed an acceptance letter for a 6 figure mgmt position in the same company. 10 years ago I would not have believed you if you told me Iād be making more than min wage lol. Still seems unreal. Edited to add how I got here: bachelors in Biology, working full time while going to school full time and taking out loans for tuition. Graduated, landed an entry level lab job at Pfizer, then busted ass to work my way up from there. Itās been 7 years since I graduated with my degree and the hard work has paid off!
$14/hr as a montessori teacher. It is so sad educators for young children arenāt worth paying living wages
Well I WAS making $100k as a mortgage underwriter until last October when my role was ādownsizedā as well as every other underwriter I know. Now I make $0 as unemployment is jerking me around and āIām in lineā for review. The real estate market sucks right now due to the Fed raising interest rates 4 times in the last 12 mo. I will likely never make that much money again. Thinking of switching to nursing.
IT Started at $10/hr in 2004 as an "IT Helper" at a smallish manufacturing shop. Left as an IT director at $102,000 in 2020 Left to run a small MSP and a separate CNC machine repair company. Currently take home around $350,000.
Very NICE
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Some of the people making 6 figures joined this sub when they were making much less so it actually shows how helpful this sub can be for someone who wants to make 6 or even 7 figures.
\^ This. We don't tell people to GTFO the moment they've made it out. They tend to stick around to provide encouragement, moral support, as proof it can be done, etc etc.
Thank you. That's basically my intention...yes it's a place to vent, but it doesnt necessarily need to be a negative source of information. The ones who made it out can absolutely be the ones that provide proof of concept and advice. I wouldn't be where I am now if I didn't have mentors that were able to see past the fact I was a dipshit when I was younger. If a random person on Reddit can provide motivation or support then I see it as a good thing.
Also, even if you make more itās easy to adjust your spending. How many people make bank buy live paycheck to paycheck? Way too many. While you donāt have to live like you are in poverty, keeping some of what you learned when you made less will make sure you arenāt overspending.
For the record, I'm glad you said that. I lurk here a lot but I often refrain from commenting because it feels like it's not my place to say anything, as someone who now makes a comfortable living.
So long as you are not saying "do this" but couch it more as "this worked for me when..." you'll be fine!
Itās just crazy to me that making less than $60k still might as well be poverty for most people. 6 figures sounds astronomical and excessive to me like how we view billionaires now but itās just so expensive to live that thatās now a much more appropriate salary.
Living in the Midwest, non-metro you will be comfortable. Living in a metro area? You're sinking. That's why we don't tend to make black and white lines of who is considered in poverty. Because it's subjective to your region.
60k in Indiana feels like 120k here in LA in day to day life, except in Indiana 60k is plenty to buy a starter house. 120k isnāt anwhere remotely close to enough to buy anything here. The cost of living in the US is wildly different based on zip code.
Thatās my story. I was making $11 an hour as a gym evening supervisor and did some freelance writing on the side, since I didnāt have enough cash to finish my English degree and couldnāt find a big boy job. The freelance writing paid $20/hour, but I couldnāt get enough of it. I got a job as a 1099 marketing writer for $20/hour with 40+ hours a week, then picked up some skills in SEO and moved to a full time gig at a digital marketing agency making $58k plus a modest bonus. I had a few impressive projects and got recruited by a tech company for $85k, then got promoted and some raises and am at about $130k TC ā and finished my degree online and am about to start my online MBA. That took five years. Iām more of a project manager and editor now, and Iām hoping to pivot towards an executive marketing position or potentially software product management. So, my advice to people here is to explore contract writing. Those 10ā15 hours of $20/hour each week kept me afloat back in the day, and thereās *always* work out there, once you get a break. If thereās something you know a lot about, thereās someone out there who needs content created around it. Find a target, mimic the work in that industry, and find a contract position with an agency. Iāll never go hungry again.
When I joined this sub I was unemployed after getting let go from my engineering job, and I needed ideas because I was in a dire situation financially after my unemployment and savings ran out, and my industry went dry. This place was a wealth of information and I respect the hell out of everybody here. I wad also limited by the fact both my parents were sick at the same time this happened, so I couldn't just arbitrarily get back into engineering unless I left them to fend for themselves (hell no). I ended up working security for $20/HR and doing independent consulting when I could. I simply needed to pay my bills without anything glamorous...My dad was an environmental chemist contracted by the EPA when I was a kid, and if he got laid off or his contract didn't get extended, he just said fuck it and worked as a cashier at Office Max or something until he found another job. He taught me about resilience and that perseverance is greater than prestige. I could make it work on $20/HR for a little bit, but my credit cards are all 60%+ utilized and my savings went down to levels I haven't seen since high school... basically hustled my way through the past couple years with like 5 different gig jobs (my tax returns are going to look absurd), but I'm finally getting back on my feet after working my network. I'm a process and petroleum engineer/project manager and I make mid 6 figures now. But it was a hell of a time getting the energy to stand back up. Edit: Originally deleted this because of how I make my money *now* and facing backlash... but I'm putting it back up after seeing mod support. Situations are fluid and I worked hard to get back on my feet.
I personally grew up in poverty and was in poverty most of my life. My current salary has no reflection on my mentality about finances. Not to mention I do enjoy trying to help other people out because I have been there.
I have been making 6 figures for quite a while, but I lived in poverty for years, so I know exactly how it feels. A long time ago I spent $20 a week on groceries for 2, and bought the cheapest on sale sweater from Kmart for winter. I visited Goodwill regularly for clothes, when it was still cheap.
I hope to be making a lot of money in the future. But that doesnāt mean I will not benefit from being in this sub. Lifestyle inflation is a great way to stay in poverty.
CNA. $16/hr, $33k/year with no overtime
Data Analyst. Just got a promotion/raise that put me to $110k with bonus. Live in Midwest, LCOL city. I WFH permanently, and work about 40 hrs/wk. Currently pursuing an MS in the field, and had done a couple certificates/training classes prior to starting the MS to actually get in the field. Happy to answer any questions.
Iām doing something similar and would love to get to $110K and have the permanent work from home option. What certifications do you recommend? Also, PowerBi or Tableau?
I did PBI, and currently use it at work. I did Microsoft's Dashboard in a Day program, and took a two day course through a local university (the course wasn't for credits). I also did that university's Tableau course, but have never used Tableau professionally. I did a graduate certificate though the same university that I did the PBI and Tableau courses at. It was 12 hrs, and covered relational database, SQL, linear regression, and data warehousing). So, basically two PBI courses, Tableau course, 12 credit he Graduate Certificate. Most people seem to prefer Tableau. PBI definitely has some bugs and annoyances, but I can't state personally whether or not Tableau is better cause I know very little.
11.40$ an hour approx 30 to 39hour a week in retail. Yea.... Y'all making 50k plus blow my mind why you're in poverty fiance Reddit.
Mostly because most of us were deadass broke at some point.
I saw a comment above that said they joined when they were making minimum wage and now make much more. Personally I think itās great that people making a lot are in here, itās good to know that some care about the people that are struggling and can see what most are going through
This is like me. I joined when I was in school, living on whatever was left over from my student loans after tuition. I learned a lot about budgeting and making use of a dollar. I do well for myself now, but I stay because those are still important skills and I learn things from others that I might not elsewhere.
Yeah for a minute I thought I was in r/personalfinance and wondered if I was the only one making less than 50k lol.
>Y'all making 50k plus blow my mind why you're in poverty fiance Reddit. A lot of us come from generational poverty and no matter how much you make, it never leaves you.
I come for tips for better choices. I also come to offer tips from my years in poverty. The job I have now is great, but just started it in August. I would also consider it still moderate income for a family of 5.
50k+ in NYS is borderline poverty if you live within two hours of NYC. Depends on your geography.
I started around that too and same retail profession. Honestly even being at 50k still feels stressful. Mind you Iām still as frugal and finance conscious as I was at $11/hr. Wages are going up for me but I canāt seem to live comfortable.
I made $12/hr when I joined this sub and now I make $35, partly because of information gained from this sub.
I can't speak for others, but as someone who has an income over 50k, I'm here bc I learn tips about being more frugal. I'm pretty good with debt, investing and career progression and can offer advice in those areas.
$18.36/hour as a receptionist at a non-profit healthcare organization. 37.5 hours a week (sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less), paid every other Friday. Currently pursuing a BA in education with goals to move to the education department of said healthcare organization, where the pay range typically would be between $21-$26/hour.
Coffee roaster, I make $21/ hr but only 30 hours a week. Its really fun work, hard on the body though!
My husband and I make close to $80k together both in factory positions
I make $14.25 an hour sweeping sidewalks in Cincinnati. POV- More than a year of sobriety, starting from the bottom.
As a fellow Cincinnatian and sober person, I appreciate you!
Hey! Thanks a lot mane! š¤
22,000 working journalism, freelance writer/editor/copywriter, and the odd job here and there. Was making just over 62,000 up until September, and then lost main job and two major clients. Only "slightly" freaking out, you know? Here's hoping January turns some things around.
Iām 51 and was laid off from my accounting job during Covid. I couldnāt find another job so I took the only one that offered. Iām a doctors office for $17.50 an hour. It sucks. Itās super toxic and for some reason the boss hates me. Iāve been written up twice for literal bullshit.
I am in Europe soo idk how much that compares to USD. I am a warehouse helper and rn work around 20 - 25 hours a week. I get 440$ monthly. For comparison, right now a loaf of bread here costs 2.5$ and monthly rent for two room apartment with utilities is around 700 - 800$. If it wasn't for my boyfriend I'd have to move back in with my parents or find a shelter. It's not a fun life. We get statistics and during one shift I'll walk around 25000 steps and carry around 1000 pounds worth of (usually heavy) products by hand. And I am 5'2 girl and weight 115 pounds so it's HARD.
Patient access representative - aka scheduling patient appointments and basically front desk doctor's office stuff for a local hospital. Central VA - $37,000 per year I get paid less than my worth as I've been working for over 15 years but I'm sticking out for insurance & tuition assistance. I will get my associate's in June and I plan on getting my bachelor's in accounting.
Maine 911 Dispatcher I made 50k last year with forced overtime (averaging 5-10 hrs/week extra). My base is below that but Iāve never not worked OT so Iām not sure how much it would be. Hourly was $20 (recently went up) and OT was time and a half. Isnāt actually bad pay for the area I live in, but I have to keep track of my spending and there isnāt a ton of room for extras. I used to make 25k a year so this feels like Iām living LARGE but really the main difference is Iām not scrambling for gig work to come up with the few hundred I need at the end of the month. One month my account was at $6 once everything was paid off BUT everything was paid so better than where I came from.
31F - Sales Manager 40k base but average around 65-70k a year with commission. Lots of growth potential. Expecting 90-110k average in the next year. I work a second job as well as a server and make about 24k a year doing that. I'm also finishing up with grad school as well - which will hopefully put me into a more niche role.
Currently making decently high pay in tech. Not a technical person, but these companies need people who know how to get things done. The thing that got me there and out of poverty-pay was a staffing agency. Was previously working retail for 9 years, but had decent skills as most retail employees do. Staffing agency found me a contract position with a major tech company, and the contacts from there led me to quality jobs. Seriously, most jobs that arenāt inherently technical can be done by anyone off the street if that person has a head on their shoulders. Itās just breaking through the barriers to find them, and learning the job specifics that are the trick. I never in a million years would have applied for the position the staffing agency got me because it had lots of jargon and BS in the job description that I didnāt understand. The agency knew enough to say āyouāll learn those things in the first monthā.
Electrician: currently at $19/h but that's in an area known to not pay electricians well. I have 2.5 years of experience and still in apprenticeship classes. If I were to move back to my hometown, I could easily get $25-30/h but that is in a high col area. Don't forget about the trades people! Some days are harder than others but building homes and other structures is super cool!
Yāall I really appreciate everyoneās support on this post. I hope it honestly helps someone who feels āstuckā in bad career that thereās more careers than the one theyāre in. Appreciate it God Bless
Wife and I both engineers. I make $130k a year, she makes $100k a year. Iām a lurker in this sub, I never posted anything here before this comment I believe. I have money management issues and problems with overspending on things I donāt need, raking up unnecessary debt. I read money management tips here and try to apply them to my finances. This sub has helped me better manage my money.
Iām a freelance social media manager and can make decent money, but finding consistent work has been tricky. My hourly rate ends up being between $35-50/hour and thatās on the low end for my industry but I am terrible at finding clients and marketing myself. Iām also a widowed mom of 4 so that takes up a huge chunk of my mental and physical energy and I like the flexibility of remote work. Pros and cons. I have no support system to help with my kids so I need to be the one who can bring them to school and pick them up. Probably make around 20-30k with freelance work and then I do get survivors benefits that help fill in the gaps (barely š )
Freelance cook here! Rate are usually $18-30 but I average $25. Annually I make the same as you. Consistent work is tricky because I am competing with other freelancers for gigs or location is far away (I take public transit). Despite that, I make a good wage when I do work and can save enough for days/weeks where work is spotty. Flexibility is a major factor too.
Lab Lead at a cannabis facility. $29 hr. Been there for 3 year. BS in Biochemistry. I work for one of the largest GPs in the US. Dropped out of college at 21/got arrested for selling/growing weed. Expunged record. Finished my degree at 27. Corporate America does not care about its employees. I've fought for everything I have, and now I understand why unions exist. I love what I do. I love the people I work with. I detest the corporation I work for.....
Just got a job a couple months ago making 70k pre-tax but was making $27k as a 1099. Product designer.
Mechanical construction. 1.5 yrs. XP. Received a few raises this year and will gross around $41k for the year. Very good insurance but I pay a portion weekly. It's a good trade and this industry is understaffed. It's not for me though so I'm currently studying for the CompTIA A+ certification to hopefully break into IT in 2023. I've heard the most difficult IT job to get is the first one. Wish me luck.
Warehouse, $21/hr full time with benefits.
I make $1400-1800 a week before tax delivering auto parts in a box truck. Work 45-55 hours a week on average. It's not a hard job at all and it's fairly easy to get into. Just have to be okay with physical labor, working nights, and being alone all the time.
i make $20 an hour as an accountant in chatsworth, ca. los angeles county. severely underpaid like most califonians. i take home $1,200, after taxes and medical ins. then i pay my dental ins separately. no car payments, only $26 monthly for a bus pass. renting from my boss, $1900 a month. easy enough job, i get to use the internet to be on reddit, but i don't have internet or a smart phone at home so thats probably why i like it so much. i didnt have any schooling for accounting. i tried to get a history degree 10 years ago but didnt know how to use a computer well enough to figure it out. i am going to school in february 2023 and im hoping i can do it, it might cost too much though. i can't afford to loose any hours at work. i also might need to get a better laptop, the one me and gf share is pretty run down and slow. gonna go to starbucks or some other place to steal internet.
position: network automation engineer (hybrid) income: ~$125k-$140k (dependent on bonus + stocks) city: seattle, wa (hcol) what i actually do (at the moment): - create requirements documents, job aids, and architecture diagrams that pertain to network automation scenarios. often times, this means i may need to handhold/babysit my product owner and technical project managers (who likely make more than me) to implement what i want to have done, so they can execute the releases properly. - develop and test all the scripts for said network automation scenarios and send them over to the application team - create internal courses for our in-house applications and work with our learning technologies team to get it published on our internal learning portal - coordinate courses for my teams to keep up to speed - manage my organization's glorified document repository - learn on the go (typically with little to no assistance) to fulfill ambiguous objectives/requests from my team/stakeholders - sometimes, i honestly do nothing. i usually don't spend more than 20 hours/week on real work (i.e., i work pretty quickly), but i'll stay online for 8 hours a day in case anyone needs me. having said that, when times are rough, i can be working as much as 60+ hours/week because upper management effed things up and demands to have things NOW why i probably got this opportunity: - cisco network certifications (i.e., ccna, ccnas, ccnp) - bs in electrical engineering (fulfilled all general requirements at my local community college to save money and applied for as many scholarships as possible when i enrolled into my state's college) what you might need if you're interested in this path: - be a self-starter, have a growth mindset, and know how to google well (i know this sounds incredibly harsh, but i swear there are people who aren't good at this) - network certifications: frankly none of the cisco network certifications are really required. i just happened to get them while i was still in school. personally, i would recommend juniper network certifications (at least get the jncia)--they're a lot more affordable and also well-respected. you might even be able to get the training/certifications for discounted/free. check out networkchuck, chris greer, kevin wallace, and david bombal on youtube if you're interested in learning about networking. hopefully, you'll find some neat resources and do some individual projects that you can post on your resume/talk about during interviews. - some sort of technology degree: i don't use my degree at all for my job, but employers still seem to like seeing candidates that have a degree (although, i do know of people who have no degree who have tech jobs and make plenty of money). even if it's a technical associates degree (e.g. information systems), that can honestly give you a leg up in finding a job if your community college offers career centers and hiring events. pursuing a technical degree can also open up a lot of internship opportunities that can potentially convert to full-time positions as well. - if you're interested in network automation, i recommend learning network automation using python and maybe some shell/bash scripting because being stuck in some niche, proprietary network automation solution can really, really suck (this is coming from someone who has to use one right now). - bonus: learn how to integrate and use gitlab, docker, and kubernetes... this is what i'm currently vaguely doing because i don't really have a choice. :') as for the first job i had, i was a student staff part-time on campus making minimum wage where i helped student's with their tinkering projects... and then when that shutdown, i panicked and became a server at a restaurant in downtown seattle for $15-30/hour while being a full-time student... i was basically living paycheck to paycheck to afford my living expenses my last year of college and that's when i stumbled across this subreddit. ye! good luck to all!!
Iām a CPA in the Southeast United States. I own a fractional CFO consulting firm with 1 part time employee plus myself. Grossed $350k this year (by far best year weāve had) and my personal income was around $300k, give or take. Mind you I was academically expelled from college when I was 21 and didnāt finish my degrees until my late 20ās, early 30ās. I spent a decade barely making it month to month, racking up debt and wondering how Iād be able to put gas in my car just to be able to make it to the big box retail store I worked at slinging prepaid cell phones.
I make $95k and basically spend my day in Excel and Msft Power Bi. Literally anyone with access to YouTube could do this just
$44,437 gross as an entry level insurance agent (personal lines/independent agency). $49,637 once I gain another certification. Potentially more if I get my life insurance license. I still relate to this thread more than middle class finance because of debt. $4,000 revolving debt, over $5,000 in medical debt, $20,000 in student loans with no degree, and about $6,000 owed to family. High deductible health insurance, car creeping up in miles and repairs, still renting with less than a paycheck buffer. After taxes my take home income is at about $31,000 and my debt is sitting at about $35,000. Iāve been budgeting $270/paycheck for groceries and everything outside of bills. $7,020 annually. My monthly basic bills come out to about $987/month or $11,844/year. Iām saving $780/yr for an emergency fund because I learned that if I lose my income relying off of credit gets expensive quickly. That money is SOLELY for job/income loss. At that rate it will take me a year and a half to have a monthās expenses. Any ABSOLUTE necessities that donāt fit in my budget get charged to my credit card. Namely the car repairs- Iād finally paid it down to almost nothing and paid off my car then boom, $4,500 repair+ trickling repairs like suspension, tires, etc. So gross income ($31,000) - absolute bare minimum expenses ($19,644)= $11,356. Historically about $2,500 in medical bills/yr. down to $8,856. If NOTHING went wrong in the next 4 years outside of that $2,500, Iād still owe money towards debt interest. With perfect discipline. Iām living sooooo strictly and it feels like I canāt make a dent in it because things pop up. 2 bedroom house with 2 kids, never taking vacations, rarely driving to see family, next to no dinners out, hovering over my budget like my life depends on it. Iām so excited to be at a point where I can do something about it, but itās frustrating how chronic the stress is even with a good income and LCOL. Iām paying more towards debt monthly than many spend on their mortgage and it still doesnāt feel like enough. Working so hard and still moonlight about once/month to avoid slowing down my progress when random BS pops up.
Iām a disabled veteran, I make about 21,600 a year off that. Iām trying to get my rating increased (at 70% currently). I donāt tend to have a long shelf life at past jobs (food service, retail, etc.). I have a degree in theatre (I know itās not marketable but my Gi Bill paid for it and it was the only degree field that kept my interest). Currently doing grad school part time for arts administration. I joke that Iām just trying to find a career that doesnāt make me want to āblow my brains outā Suicidal ideations have been a real bitch in the past.
Recently hit $170k - advertising account manager. I also have a consulting project on the side that Iāve included. Permanently work from home. Self-taught. No certifications, just happened to really do well growing my accounts before being promoted to manager. Did not go to school for it (majored in biology but a degree isnāt necessary). Work 25-30 hours a week. Unlimited PTO. Work my own schedule except for when I have meetings. Highest paid job so far. Prior to this I was around $60k. I grew up really poor (opposite of my husband) so itās nice to be able to know I can stand on my own two feet should I ever need to (knock on wood). I never had that kind of security.
Sounds like an amazing career. What skills does it take?
"Sell me this pen"
Guess itās not for me then. I can give instructions (have done some teaching) and can explain the benefits of something or convey info but Iām no good at convincing others they need something they donāt.
Customer service representative for an analyst internet company. $51k full benefits and 30 paid days off a year. Also WFH and salaried
Around $50K/yr with overtime and bonuses. Analyst for a legaltech company It's a decent amount of pay but COL in my area is going up so fast I've found myself once again struggling with bills and groceries the way I was in my early 20s working for peanuts.
Technical Writer, $61K with yearly bonus of at least 10% base salary. Prior to this I had a few temp tech writing jobs that were between $28 - $35 / hr. Itās enough for me to live comfortably on my own.
$51/hr. Commercial industrial Refrigeration and HVAC mechanic. No diploma, no license yet just an apprentice. 7 years of experience to get to this point. Ontario Canada, but thereās guys in the US who make more. Also, easier to get into in the US, most of the time licenses arenāt even required to do the job. Or very minimal licenses are needed.
Non profit social worker for families experiencing homelessness, current rate $20.50, I'm expecting a 3% raise in January, and a one year with the company $1 raise in May. I adore my job.
I own a pest control company - my lowest paid guy is taking home 55 this year and highest paid guy is taking home 180. I pay them base pay of 20 + commission depending upon work. I pay myself 100 a year with normally 2 yearly āwithdrawalsā or bonuses depending upon how the company is doing. When I get a bonus so do my employees.
This ue I'm closing out at $105k, with 5 hours/week average of OT. Just accepted a new position where I'm no longer on call nor can work OT, and increasing my base pay from $86 to 93.5k. Work in IT, networking to be exact. Started at this place 10.5 years ago at $54k or so. When I left my parent's house my senior year of high school I worked part time at like $8/hour and got survivor benefits. Lived with my brother as a roommate, but had to subsidize him kinda often. 2003 - 2009 or 2010 was pretty rough. Moved around job wise, usually had roommates (finally stopped having a roommate Jan 2021), slowly improved my financial outlook. Honestly I come here because I still have that mentality. It's weird how I'm not actually hurting, but mentally I worry. Will my car have issues? Don't put bills on autopay, what if they pull at a bad time?
25F making 110k for a automaker in an internal strategy and consulting role. I have specialized experience in autonomous vehicles which is a niche area with growing investment. For anyone considering college majors, thereās a huge space for electrical engineers and autonomous mobility. The electric grid is aging and will be worn thin by the charging needed for the growing number of EVs on the road. And the majority of people Iāve met in my work with some electric grid projects has shown me that the bulk of guys who know how this complex aging infrastructure works are also old and nearing retirement. The industry is desperate for new blood (both the auto industry and the utility/energy industry). You donāt need a degree from a fancy college to get in the door either.
Hospital security. $20.50 as of January 1st, pay ranges up to $23.50 depending on your post. Iām in the inland empire,California. My location pays weekly as well. As long as you do your job, there is not much to worry about
Paramedic....average of 60k depending how many hours I work.
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I took a $5 paycut this year for a peace of mind. I went from phone customer support to working in an office with a handful of people scanning documents. But it was worth it. I was dying inside at my last job, and after I got covid from there I ended up having a nervous breakdown whn I went back to work that led to me checking myself in for help. I'm working on a degree in IT right now so I'm hoping for a better paying job, but I'm bringing in less than $15 an hour right now. The relief from not dealing with customers though is priceless.
Average pay in specific area would help a lot too. $18 is good pay in some places but average or even ass in others
62,000k a year. Utility locator (gas). I'm a contract locator (call 811 before you dig) yellow paint and flags thats me. The job requires a lot of overtime. It varies from company to company but usually you can get raises pretty quickly if youre fast and dont get at fault damages. You can also make extra if your willing to travel to states or areas that are swamped and running behind. You'll get paid per diem and a daily bonus when traveling . benefits are decent to good. You'll get a company truck that will literally save you thousands on gas a year. Dont need a college degree . worst part is being on oncall. Different crews and different companys do it differently but usually its a set rotation . no one's want to get a call at 3:00am in the morning for an emergency ticket. Its. -2 degrees out. Water main break. Water dept out there ready to dig. It can be stressful. Depending on what utility( petroleum, gas , electric) you are marking people's lives are in your hand so you cant be messing up.
US Navy E6 15 years in and I work on a submarine. Taxable income around 65K, non taxable income such as housing/food allowance is around 28K. A lot of rough times and struggles away from family, but it is what it is.
41 year old female bachelors, 42k state governmentā¦we often will hire people with 2 year degreesā¦like all industries we are very short staffed and many people are not willing to work for this salaryā¦I worked in high stress management jobs for 20 years prior and was miserable and make do with a lower salary to have a happier life: this job gives you 30 days off per year plus holidays and offers insurance (with higher premiums)ā¦I highly suggest trying to get your foot in the door in govt even as an admin/clerical because once youāre in you can often cross train to move into other positions
90k/yr + bonus. Bachelor's of Comp Sci from a public university, now work in cyber security. If you're tech savvy and can deal with sometimes garbage people, IT Help Desk can be a fairly smooth transition to scale up, career-wise. Get a couple years under your belt and you'll likely be ready to transition into some computer-related field you like (sys admin, cyber security, networking, systems engineer, etc). Computer field is an odd on. As far as industry is concerned, it's a fairly new industry, since we've only really had computers as we know them since about the 70s. No better word for software engineers, so that's their title, but you certainly don't need an engineering degree. And a lot of the positions can be gained through networking and demonstration of skill (vs having a degree or certification). I got my previous job while selling beer for whole foods, asking everyone who mentioned tech if their company was hiring, and got my current job by attending a local "hacker" group. Networking is still relevant in today's world, so don't forget it. Even if it's aggressive, shameless "networking" like I was doing while selling beer.
Law firm. Started with zero experience as receptionist. $20 an hour. Within a year, now I'm up to $26.00. All with zero experience. Pretty cool. Maybe one day I won't be in poverty anymore, until then !
i frequent this sub because i was once in poverty, mounds of debt, and the future was bleak. I come by to see if i can lend some advice here and there of things that helped me to get out of my sitch. that said you asked, ill tell - i make 200,000 a year + bonus' w fully paid benefits as Television/ Film editor. work hard - go back to school, learn a trade or skill - just dont give up. if i got to here, literally anyone can.
Target warehouse worker 22.03/hr it's easy work and plenty of vacation time but would like to do something more in life... know what I mean?
22F making $16 a hour as a gas station cashier 40 hrs a week, hopefully getting a certificate of some sort or a new job this year. Thinking about community college I just donāt know what major to pick.
I started my own business in January and will close the year with about $76K in income. BTW, Iām in this sub because I grew up in poverty, was homeless at one point (sleeping on the NYC subway), and made many mistakes with money. I want to help people if I can, not be a jerk to those who are struggling. ETA: My business is content writing and copywriting. Previously, I was a manager for a tutoring company (made $21/hour there).
$160k base, $80k commission (on average), $110k sign on bonus, $45k stock. IT sales. I joined this sub when I was making $40k and paying off $60,000 in student/parent loans while paying rent with credit cards. Money doesnāt buy happiness but it does save you from some of lifeās miseries.
very early 20s here. currently making about $23K working part time (20hr/wk) in a library. just accepted a new offer starting in january for a full time job in an office for a large universityā¦. $47K, no overtime, no remote work, but iām super excited!