Do you know anyone who gets stuck in a low paid corporate job?

[Lmoot]

 Also I bought my house at 25, in late 2009 near bottom of the recession, got the full $8000 FTHB credit and the mortgage was still more than twice my yearly income at the time; oh, and it was also a total gut fixer-upper. I am seven years in and have been paying it down on top of the fixed payments, fixing it up along the way as my income went up, (at one time I was cooking and doing laundry at family members' houses and using the bathroom at the park next-door…for nearly a year). Eventually I also fixed up a studio apartment on the property and rented that out for most of the seven years I've owned the house. So Cost-of-living while a factor is not the only or even the main reason I will be paying it off early. Ingenuity and a positive can-do attitude goes a long way. I hope you get to find that out for yourself one day.

 Also I did work during the six months. I had two jobs, my part-time job and a seasonal job. I just wasn't working full-time. And I don't plan on ending my career sitting at home working on the computer. I'll do it for a few more years, and then probably quit and go back to school  after getting a couple more properties that will pay my tuition and living costs while in school.

[Fishindude]

Contrary to popular belief, there are some corporations out there that treat their employees very well, pay them fair market value for their work, and also pay additional bonuses for personal and company financial performance above and beyond the norm.  This type of corporation generally seeks self motivated, very driven people. 

People that are content to put in their 8 to 5, five days a week and never take on any additional workload, challenges, etc. rarely get too far.  They top out in a position and gripe when all they get is an annual cost of living adjustment.   You have to ask for more, and be willing to take risk and move on to other opportunities if they are not available at your present employer.

[stasherus-maximus]

I am "stuck" in an academic job and have always made between 40-50k. Currently at 49k. My wife also makes close to 50k.

A lot of friends and family think we are really struggling financially. We rent a tiny old house and drive 15+ year old vehicles. We buy used everything and are basically minimalists. So we receive hints and questions, and sad looks, and even offers of help all the time.

Sure, we don't make large impressive salaries, we don't drive nice cars or wear expensive clothes. We don't eat out multiple times per week. Strange thing is, we believe we are happier than a lot of people we know who do all those things. I think we are doing great! People focus on it a lot, but to me, salary is only one factor in one's comfort with where they are at in their career (...or job. To me, it's just a job). A lot depends on:

• whether one is partnered (can invest all of spouse's salary plus more)
• lives in LCOL or HCOL area (when I see the amount some people pay for mortgage and taxes my head explodes)
• how many hours per week they work (if I make 50k at 40 hrs and feel like I never have time to all the things I want, why would I want 100k if it means I work 80 hrs and I go insane?)
• stress levels at work (most of the time the folks earning 100k are not only working lots of hours, but also stressed as hell. No thanks.)
• debt levels (a lot of the jobs that pay in the upper range also require expensive college degrees that saddle people with huge debts.)

 

 
If you play your cards right and get a bit lucky, you can do pretty well, if not better than, a lot of non-mustachian high-earners when it comes to FIRE. Even though I earn less than a lot of people I know:

• We are debt-free
• We never work over 40 hours per week
• We save around 60-70% of income
• We have access to 457b, 403b, HSA, Roth IRA, so a lot of that money is pre-tax.
• We have a decent pension system. I should get around 25k at age 60, wife should get the same
• We accrue 14 hrs leave time per month. Also accrue 8 hrs sick leave per month. 
• The freedom in this job is hard to beat. As long as the work gets done there is no one looking over my shoulder. Laid-back boss who hates meetings. Small team of good coworkers. Go home each day to eat lunch. Leave every day at 4:50 (to beat a bit of student traffic).
• My life does not revolve around work. I am not on call 24/7. I don't receive emails/texts/calls outside of the office - ever.

I have hobbies/passions that I could never ever get paid for. Working a non-stressful job leaves me just enough energy to go home and work on those things which give my life meaning. I'd never be able to do that in a high-stress 100k 70-80hr type job.

Writing these things out makes me feel very grateful. I realize not everyone has it this good. And I feel like an ass for sometimes complaining the work itself gets kinda boring or I don't earn as much as feel I should. But it's those intangibles and side items that can really make up the difference. I hope people consider these just as much when they are job-seeking and job-hopping or feeling left out of the corporate rat race. It's all about finding your comfort level and balance. Don't give up until you do.

(Lastly, you big-shot fancy-pants out there, don't assume everyone earning below 50k are miserable no-talent sloths. Some of us know what we're doing and why we're doing it and are a-okay with the choices we've made.)