Sales is the quickest way to FI for the majority of humanities grads.
It does two things simultaneously; the anxiety is enough to make you hate working for a living and the paycheck ls large enough to enable a high savings rate.
I'll be FI in two years at 35-the majority of the income necessary to make the leap will have come from tech sales.
This is the truth. I'm 29, have been in a sales role since finishing school in 2010. Started off selling cars (awful experience - managers were slimy), got a job as a manufacturers rep in the building materials industry with a 38K salary, commission rate of .002% for the Mid-Atlantic region, company truck, expense account, and 401K. I didn't make a lot of money but I lived with my parents, or in hotels so was able to save a ton which I used to buy my house near the market bottom in December of 2011.
Stayed in the same industry but became an independent rep (1099). Much higher salary/commission - clearing about $105K but had to cover all my own expenses and invest with a SEP account to lower my taxable income. Lot of travel and time away from home, lot of stress, and a lot of volatility. We lost 3 major manufacture contracts in 2 months and I was let go as they decided to fold my territory into another rep's who'd been with the company longer.
Now i'm in technology sales. Our products are relatively new to the market and very niche. Company is very young, I am one of three salesmen for the company. Also, the sales cycle is extremely long, 6-12-18 months depending on the industry our product goes into. As I've only been here about 14 months, I haven't seen any big project orders yet. Expect this year's Net income to be about $67K, next year to be 75-80, and if I stick with it, 100K the following year. Also have matching 401K through vanguard up to 5%, benefits, and 3 weeks vacation. No company vehicle, but they do reimburse $.40/mile and tolls, and company phone and PC.
Job is not extremely stressful overall, though there are periods where problems arise that I am not capable of handling (engineering/IT related) which is very frustrating. Along with the long sales cycle.
However, I like the fact that my income isn't set in stone and that I can influence it. But, becoming FIRE has become more and more appealing over the last 2 years as I've been getting worn out from the rat race. And the trade off of the stress and additional hours are worth the ability to sock away extra income for savings and/or toys.
