Author Topic: How do people make $100+ salary?  (Read 117018 times)

LG89

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #450 on: May 04, 2018, 08:16:46 PM »
Where I live (near Washington, DC), $100k salary is probably a bit below average.

Dead wrong.  Nowhere near that.
Think again, friend. It's expensive here, because people are making a lot of money.......
"The income per capita is $92,468, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $183,738." 
Take the kids out, and the average is above $100k.
http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/zip-code/virginia/mclean/22101

DMV resident here and wow.. even with my bonus I'm still only making $72k and I've been with my company for about 5 years now. Granted, I wasn't a STEM major. Just generic business.

it blows my mind. I see on here with sometimes close to 200k. How? What do you do and what am I not doing? lol.

This question reappears every few months.  Would it be wise to start a new forum category for "mentoring" and have individual threads within the category focus on certain careers?  then everyone with knowledge of that career could offer specific advice and those seeking that knowledge could peruse the threads and ask questions. 

In numerous discussions like this, I've offered that I think Project Planning and Scheduling is a very low-barrier, low-cost, high-reward career that can be self-taught.  But I've provided details so many times both in the forums and in PMs that I'm now tired of re-writing it.  And I never know if someone follows the advice or how it pans out.  Some people like it and some don't, so I don't think it's for everyone, but I do think just about anyone is capable of learning it on their own.  How "good" you get at it depends on how much effort you put in, what resources you use, etc.

This is a good idea. I'll be reading through your older posts for the details. Currently in a "glorified admin" PM/PA role. Really wanted to break six figures by the time I hit 30 but that's unlikely.

Glad to read through this thread to get some insight as to how to reach a six figure salary, so thanks OP! I've always wondered the same too. Especially living in the DMV and wondering who the hell buys all these McMansions (I know who). My peer group does not make 100K+ despite being (all 3): corporate drones for various BigCorps, college educated white collar workers, in our late 20s/early 30s (experienced).

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #451 on: May 07, 2018, 07:04:32 AM »
I still think it should be viewed as not a simple task to get to six figures by your early 30s.  This is a shift I've seen over the last few decades and it intrigues me from the basics of supply and demand.  You would think from a very basic understanding of economics when the median HOUSEHOLD income is well below six figures that even someone with rudimentary intelligence could determine that means that $100K+ jobs are not prevalent enough for everyone to just get there with 10 years of work.  When the average if in the low 70s and the median is in the mid 50s, basic math will tell you that many more people are below $100K than are above it.  So having you and 3 of your friends not there by your 30s is not a failure, it's just part of the process.  Patience and perspective seems to have been lost in the last 15 years and I'm not sure why, but everyone comes out of college with an expectation of making $100K and for many jobs that's just not going to happen.  For the others it still takes a lot more than just getting older and thinking it is an entitlement of a certain job.

LG89

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #452 on: May 07, 2018, 11:20:15 AM »
I still think it should be viewed as not a simple task to get to six figures by your early 30s.  This is a shift I've seen over the last few decades and it intrigues me from the basics of supply and demand.  You would think from a very basic understanding of economics when the median HOUSEHOLD income is well below six figures that even someone with rudimentary intelligence could determine that means that $100K+ jobs are not prevalent enough for everyone to just get there with 10 years of work.  When the average if in the low 70s and the median is in the mid 50s, basic math will tell you that many more people are below $100K than are above it.  So having you and 3 of your friends not there by your 30s is not a failure, it's just part of the process.  Patience and perspective seems to have been lost in the last 15 years and I'm not sure why, but everyone comes out of college with an expectation goal of making $100K and for many jobs that's just not going to happen.  For the others it still takes a lot more than just getting older and thinking it is an entitlement of a certain job.

Agreed. It's very nice to have goals to work towards isn't it? Even if you fail, you still tried.

ender

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #453 on: May 08, 2018, 05:25:07 AM »
I still think it should be viewed as not a simple task to get to six figures by your early 30s.  This is a shift I've seen over the last few decades and it intrigues me from the basics of supply and demand.  You would think from a very basic understanding of economics when the median HOUSEHOLD income is well below six figures that even someone with rudimentary intelligence could determine that means that $100K+ jobs are not prevalent enough for everyone to just get there with 10 years of work.  When the average if in the low 70s and the median is in the mid 50s, basic math will tell you that many more people are below $100K than are above it.  So having you and 3 of your friends not there by your 30s is not a failure, it's just part of the process.  Patience and perspective seems to have been lost in the last 15 years and I'm not sure why, but everyone comes out of college with an expectation of making $100K and for many jobs that's just not going to happen.  For the others it still takes a lot more than just getting older and thinking it is an entitlement of a certain job.

It's worth pointing out that the median/average household incomes are across all demographics.


In my experience, this board is highly biased toward the more educated end of the spectrum. Not even half of the American working population has college degree. Around 10% don't have a high school education. Keep in mind the demographic differences of this board with the statistics that drive the income.

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #454 on: May 08, 2018, 11:03:39 AM »
I still think it should be viewed as not a simple task to get to six figures by your early 30s.  This is a shift I've seen over the last few decades and it intrigues me from the basics of supply and demand.  You would think from a very basic understanding of economics when the median HOUSEHOLD income is well below six figures that even someone with rudimentary intelligence could determine that means that $100K+ jobs are not prevalent enough for everyone to just get there with 10 years of work.  When the average if in the low 70s and the median is in the mid 50s, basic math will tell you that many more people are below $100K than are above it.  So having you and 3 of your friends not there by your 30s is not a failure, it's just part of the process.  Patience and perspective seems to have been lost in the last 15 years and I'm not sure why, but everyone comes out of college with an expectation of making $100K and for many jobs that's just not going to happen.  For the others it still takes a lot more than just getting older and thinking it is an entitlement of a certain job.

It's worth pointing out that the median/average household incomes are across all demographics.


In my experience, this board is highly biased toward the more educated end of the spectrum. Not even half of the American working population has college degree. Around 10% don't have a high school education. Keep in mind the demographic differences of this board with the statistics that drive the income.
I can appreciate that, but there are plenty of college educated folks around that still do not have the mindset to make $100K.  It is not an automatic with a degree either, and getting out of that, "it's easy and I earned it because I went to college" is a good thing to strive for to not be upset if it does not happen.

Slee_stack

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #455 on: May 08, 2018, 11:18:14 AM »
Quote
Or for having different responsibilities/roles/titles.   A 2 year difference could also mean one person was hired under a generous administration and one wasn't -- my current employer's HR department lowballed me by $38k (I had director-level input on how to begin salary negotiations and it was wayyy off of reality).  I ended up at 77.6% of what the department head said I should be looking for.

A good friend of mine was hired about three years prior and they bent the rules to pay him more than ordinarily allowed for the position.  That isn't the case anymore!

Well the different responsibilities is obvious, but I'm going to assume the OP to that particular comment was taking that into account.

A piece of anec-data from my own industry, where they do industry-wide salary surveys based on job title, industry, area of expertise, and years of experience shows approximately a $13k to $17k gap between men and women, at my particular years of experience and job title.  (It was $17k in 2013-14 and had dropped to $13k a couple of years ago).

Other industry-wide surveys (across many engineering disciplines) show a gap starting in year 1 or year 2.

But her emails!!
Guess I'll throw my own piece of 'anec data' in.

I don't doubt I've had an unusual career and its trendy to play the unfair wage gap, but for me, I've seen more of the opposite... Women tend to get paid more.

At the moment, I only have access to 6 salaries who work for me.  I know you know what's coming.  Guess who is paid the MOST?  Its a person who doesn't have the MOST experience and actually has the exact same responsibility of others.   Yes, this person does NOT have a penis.

Admittedly the gap is 'only' 10-15% higher. So...$15k penalty for having a penis?


That's be fun on its own, but in reality, the main driving force for the discrepency is that this person negotiated and got her higher dollar amount up front.  Others just had less demands AND/OR we were a little LESS desperate to fill a seat at a particular time.

Interestingly though, our company is not shy about willful 'reverse' discrimination.  We are regularly 'encouraged' to select female candidates 'wherever possible'.   

The same 'stuff' occurred at my last company.  We should have had a slogan 'opportunities for ovaries'.   Penis? Sorry...not manager material...

All discrimination has always annoyed me to the core, but maybe its not as one-sided as some would like to believe. 

Perhaps my anec-data will provide some solace for those non-penis folk here who are raging at the 'man'.  Trust me, I've raged at the 'woman'.  You're not alone...they do it to all of us!
« Last Edit: May 08, 2018, 11:20:11 AM by Slee_stack »

ender

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #456 on: May 08, 2018, 12:27:28 PM »
I can appreciate that, but there are plenty of college educated folks around that still do not have the mindset to make $100K.  It is not an automatic with a degree either, and getting out of that, "it's easy and I earned it because I went to college" is a good thing to strive for to not be upset if it does not happen.

In 2017 the median year income for a college graduate was 61k  - https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_001.htm

Keep in mind that's individual, not household.

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #457 on: May 08, 2018, 02:23:28 PM »
I can appreciate that, but there are plenty of college educated folks around that still do not have the mindset to make $100K.  It is not an automatic with a degree either, and getting out of that, "it's easy and I earned it because I went to college" is a good thing to strive for to not be upset if it does not happen.

In 2017 the median year income for a college graduate was 61k  - https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_001.htm

Keep in mind that's individual, not household.
I did.  The thread is not "How does my household make $100K+" it is individual, and 61K is a far cry from $100K and therefore means about 75-80% of the people will make less than that.

tomsang

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #458 on: May 08, 2018, 03:58:12 PM »
I can appreciate that, but there are plenty of college educated folks around that still do not have the mindset to make $100K.  It is not an automatic with a degree either, and getting out of that, "it's easy and I earned it because I went to college" is a good thing to strive for to not be upset if it does not happen.

In 2017 the median year income for a college graduate was 61k  - https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_001.htm

Keep in mind that's individual, not household.
I did.  The thread is not "How does my household make $100K+" it is individual, and 61K is a far cry from $100K and therefore means about 75-80% of the people will make less than that.

Career paths determine your potential.  If you are a forklift driver, you are going to have a lot of difficulty making $100k in 10 years unless you own a piece of the company.

If you are a high performing engineer, accountant, lawyer, scientist, doctor, sales person, and most professionals you will be making $100k+ in 10 years.  If you are not on that trajectory and you feel that you are a high performer, then it may be time to re-evaluate your options.  Moving to where the job is valued, changing careers, getting an education that is valued, may need to occur to make six figure type salaries.  In the CPA world, everyone is making $100k in ten years and some are making $250k+ based on how strong they are and their geographic location.   

boarder42

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #459 on: May 09, 2018, 06:36:18 AM »
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Or for having different responsibilities/roles/titles.   A 2 year difference could also mean one person was hired under a generous administration and one wasn't -- my current employer's HR department lowballed me by $38k (I had director-level input on how to begin salary negotiations and it was wayyy off of reality).  I ended up at 77.6% of what the department head said I should be looking for.

A good friend of mine was hired about three years prior and they bent the rules to pay him more than ordinarily allowed for the position.  That isn't the case anymore!

Well the different responsibilities is obvious, but I'm going to assume the OP to that particular comment was taking that into account.

A piece of anec-data from my own industry, where they do industry-wide salary surveys based on job title, industry, area of expertise, and years of experience shows approximately a $13k to $17k gap between men and women, at my particular years of experience and job title.  (It was $17k in 2013-14 and had dropped to $13k a couple of years ago).

Other industry-wide surveys (across many engineering disciplines) show a gap starting in year 1 or year 2.

But her emails!!

They presumably have different roles in different departments, given the distinction between managerial role and presumably non-managerial for the SO.

I'm not saying there's not a pay gap - just pointing out there are many factors beyond "we work at the same company."

agreed.  i make about right in between EEs Salary in the couple i originally quoted with many less years in the working world - graduated college with a EE in 2010.  and i have a female counterpart who is 1 year ahead of me at this company that makes more than me by 20-30% and another who is two years ahead who makes what i'll guess is 60-100% more than i do.  i have a male counterpart 1 year ahead who makes less than the female who is 1 year ahead.  my company have obviously taken the pay gap way too far and now by being a white male i'm being discriminated against!!! gotta love bite sized anecdotal data! 

ender

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #460 on: May 09, 2018, 07:16:31 AM »
I can appreciate that, but there are plenty of college educated folks around that still do not have the mindset to make $100K.  It is not an automatic with a degree either, and getting out of that, "it's easy and I earned it because I went to college" is a good thing to strive for to not be upset if it does not happen.

In 2017 the median year income for a college graduate was 61k  - https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_001.htm

Keep in mind that's individual, not household.
I did.  The thread is not "How does my household make $100K+" it is individual, and 61K is a far cry from $100K and therefore means about 75-80% of the people will make less than that.

According to this chart over 9% of Americans make over 100k individually. They link to tons of census docs if you are interested.

Given that includes ALL Americans and the self selection on these boards (ie I've yet to see very many people here who work at minimum wage jobs..), it's not surprising that 100k+ salaries here would appear fairly common. Especially if you look into the education and socioeconomic demographics of this forum.

mm1970

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #461 on: May 09, 2018, 10:51:42 AM »
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Or for having different responsibilities/roles/titles.   A 2 year difference could also mean one person was hired under a generous administration and one wasn't -- my current employer's HR department lowballed me by $38k (I had director-level input on how to begin salary negotiations and it was wayyy off of reality).  I ended up at 77.6% of what the department head said I should be looking for.

A good friend of mine was hired about three years prior and they bent the rules to pay him more than ordinarily allowed for the position.  That isn't the case anymore!

Well the different responsibilities is obvious, but I'm going to assume the OP to that particular comment was taking that into account.

A piece of anec-data from my own industry, where they do industry-wide salary surveys based on job title, industry, area of expertise, and years of experience shows approximately a $13k to $17k gap between men and women, at my particular years of experience and job title.  (It was $17k in 2013-14 and had dropped to $13k a couple of years ago).

Other industry-wide surveys (across many engineering disciplines) show a gap starting in year 1 or year 2.

But her emails!!

They presumably have different roles in different departments, given the distinction between managerial role and presumably non-managerial for the SO.

I'm not saying there's not a pay gap - just pointing out there are many factors beyond "we work at the same company."

agreed.  i make about right in between EEs Salary in the couple i originally quoted with many less years in the working world - graduated college with a EE in 2010.  and i have a female counterpart who is 1 year ahead of me at this company that makes more than me by 20-30% and another who is two years ahead who makes what i'll guess is 60-100% more than i do.  i have a male counterpart 1 year ahead who makes less than the female who is 1 year ahead.  my company have obviously taken the pay gap way too far and now by being a white male i'm being discriminated against!!! gotta love bite sized anecdotal data!
Did y'all miss the part of the "anec-data" that's based on regular, industry-wide surveys that match title, years of experience, and duties?

dudunoodle

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #462 on: May 09, 2018, 03:58:31 PM »
In IT world, it would be odd if you don't make >100K salary. I am a development resource manager so I can see all the salaries. Pretty much anyone who is remotely senior in programming and development makes more than 100K.

My good friend's husband came from another country. He used to be a waiter. When he arrived, he had to live off his American wife while working at the Mall's information booth making minimum wage. So I convinced him to get a two year tech certificate. He did. Got his first job down the street from me as a junior developer making 60K. 3 years later he was making $85K and his wife (my friend) quit her job to have a baby for the family. Now he is making over $100K. Now I call that the "American Dream".

effigy98

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #463 on: May 09, 2018, 06:45:04 PM »
200k is pretty average around the seattle area for code monkeys. No need to go to high school or college if you have grit and can self teach. A good 2/3rds of the jobs only care about your ability to answer puzzles on a whiteboard and you have a decent personality. Recent ChooseFI podcast that goes over this and what a waste college is to technology workers.

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #464 on: May 11, 2018, 12:07:05 PM »
I do think it is important to note a shade of difference here.  If the "IT world" means you work for a company whose primary business is technology (that's what it sells to its customers) that is where  what you say applies.  I have worked in the IT world in businesses who do not do tech (on purpose because I have no desire for 12+ hours days pounding out work to meet crazy release schedules) as their customer focus (read manufacturing and retail) and none of our developers make $100K.  Even our Development Manager is under than number.  I've got one developer for our ERP that makes a hair above $100K, but he's got 20 years experience. 

So just being transparent for those who might jump on the supposed gravy train of IT, that this is a niche issue.  I think to make those numbers you need to be in high tech, likely for companies where your job stability if not very strong, where the hours are long and the stress is high.  And I think that applies to a lot of jobs.  No one pays you $100K because it is easy to do.

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #465 on: May 11, 2018, 12:08:22 PM »
A good 2/3rds of the jobs only care about your ability to answer puzzles on a whiteboard and you have a decent personality.
And can you share how many of these are with startups that will be out of funding in 2-3 years?

effigy98

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #466 on: May 11, 2018, 01:48:02 PM »
A good 2/3rds of the jobs only care about your ability to answer puzzles on a whiteboard and you have a decent personality.
And can you share how many of these are with startups that will be out of funding in 2-3 years?

None... I do not know many people who are working at startups, the place is full of big names like google, facebook, amazon, microsoft, valve, zillow, expedia, etc. For 20 years experience a decent developer around here is easily clearing 300k or more. Many have side hustles too if they are good and can pad it with another 100 to 200k. If this is a Seattle or Bay area thing only (which maybe it is, I don't know) I HIGHLY recommend you move if 100k is the top end if you are in this field. We are hiring no experience people for over 100k. Another thing the long hours are a choice. Most people I work with at most put in 8 hours a day and come and go as they please for appoinments, kids soccer games, etc. I am not saying it was not hard to become good and it can be stressful at times... but wow, what a great industry to be in if you can tolerate being a desk jockey.

I understand how these numbers can sound unbelievable if you do not live here. It would sound crazy and absurd to me too if I was an outsider. My family outside the area just has no concept on how much money you can make coding in seattle or the bay area. Probably the same thing in other fields if you are in the right industry and area you can make crazy good money as well.

Edit: I will say however, having a college degree we set aside about 1/3rd of the jobs just for college interns and they get faught over by many tech companies with multiple offers before they graduate. You do not have to go thru the same difficult interviews everyone else does, it is a smoother transition into the company. If you are terrible at interviews but a good student, college still can be ok. I just hate that everyone is becoming a slave before they enter the workforce getting into massive debt that is not needed if they get creative. Start as early as possible, invest as much as you can, and in 10 years you will probably be beating the majority of college grads who are the same age as you.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2018, 02:23:16 PM by effigy98 »

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #467 on: May 11, 2018, 01:56:24 PM »
A good 2/3rds of the jobs only care about your ability to answer puzzles on a whiteboard and you have a decent personality.
And can you share how many of these are with startups that will be out of funding in 2-3 years?

None... I do not know many people who are working at startups, the place is full of big names like google, facebook, amazon, microsoft, valve, zillow, expedia, etc. For 20 years experience a decent developer around here is easily clearing 300k or more. Many have side hustles too if they are good and can pad it with another 100 to 200k. If this is a Seattle or Bay area thing only (which maybe it is, I don't know) I HIGHLY recommend you move if 100k is the top end if you are in this field. We are hiring no experience people for over 100k. Another thing the long hours are a choice. Most people I work with at most put in 8 hours a day and come and go as they please for appoinments, kids soccer games, etc. I am not saying it was not hard to become good and it can be stressful at times... but wow, what a great industry to be in if you can tolerate being a desk jockey.

I understand how these numbers can sound unbelievable if you do not live here. It would sound crazy and absurded to me too if I was an outsider. My family outside the area just has no concept on how much money you can make coding in seattle or the bay area. Probably the same thing in other fields if you are in the right industry and area you can make crazy good money as well.
I'm happy where I'm at.  Been out in the Seattle and Bay Area for work a few times and just not places I'd enjoy living.  I know some people who work at those companies and while the hours are not there the pressure for throughput is intense so yes you usually need to be a rock star.  I must say very surprised that they are hiring no experience people at any level.  Given the cachet for the right person to be in those companies I'm sure they have people beating down the doors to work there.  I'm guessing there has to be a huge fallout rate (90%+) of those no experience developers that do not make the cut, so you get paid well for maybe a year, then you are out of a job and living in Seattle or the bay area.

effigy98

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #468 on: May 11, 2018, 02:14:30 PM »
I must say very surprised that they are hiring no experience people at any level.  Given the cachet for the right person to be in those companies I'm sure they have people beating down the doors to work there.  I'm guessing there has to be a huge fallout rate (90%+) of those no experience developers that do not make the cut, so you get paid well for maybe a year, then you are out of a job and living in Seattle or the bay area.

You still have to pass the interview which weeds out about 90% of the applicants. Spend 3 to 6 months on https://www.interviewbit.com/ and you will have most of the skills you need to get thru the interview. And if you were able to pass those questions even if you use very little of that information on the job, you have the grit needed to self teach on the job to deliver various projects for the most part. The majority of my skills came after I got the job, not before. The only hard part was the interview questions which I rarely use any of that knowledge on a day to day basis and I just crammed those for a few months before the interview.

tomsang

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #469 on: May 11, 2018, 03:24:16 PM »
I HIGHLY recommend you move if 100k is the top end if you are in this field. We are hiring no experience people for over 100k.

This advice is spot on. I don't think people appreciate the value of moving to where the jobs are located.  MMM moved from Canada to pursue better opportunities.  He busted his ass to get promotions and raises.  He then moved to where he wanted to live. 

Those saying that it is not possible, are not using your MMM logic.  It is very possible and almost impossible to not make $100k after 10 years if you are smart, hard working, and move to where the money is.  You are Mustachians!!

If the thread was how do people make $500k+ per year, I think that would generate more interesting and challenging ways to turbo charge your career.  $100k is too easy, if you are willing to flex your Mustachian ways. 

Hirondelle

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #470 on: May 12, 2018, 02:24:38 AM »
I HIGHLY recommend you move if 100k is the top end if you are in this field. We are hiring no experience people for over 100k.

This advice is spot on. I don't think people appreciate the value of moving to where the jobs are located.  MMM moved from Canada to pursue better opportunities.  He busted his ass to get promotions and raises.  He then moved to where he wanted to live. 

Those saying that it is not possible, are not using your MMM logic.  It is very possible and almost impossible to not make $100k after 10 years if you are smart, hard working, and move to where the money is.  You are Mustachians!!

If the thread was how do people make $500k+ per year, I think that would generate more interesting and challenging ways to turbo charge your career.  $100k is too easy, if you are willing to flex your Mustachian ways. 

I agree with you that the power of moving is highly underestimated and that there will be areas where it's "easy" to get to a $100k salary (usually with corresponding increased COL though). However I think you take it too far by saying that it's almost impossible to not make $100k after 10 years if you're moving where the money is.

Not every field of work has the same timeline to 100k, if this timeline exists at all. So if you picked the wrong college degree or just have a lack of talent for [insert high paying field of choice] you'd first need to get another degree to be able to get your desired job in one of those areas.

Then there's the big question of "do you even want to live there?". Now I'm a person that's very fond of moving, but I don't want to live anywhere. Sure I could've become a semi-self-taught bioinformatician, move to the bay area and make a killing. However that means that I'd have to live in an area where I don't want to live far from family. I know this is to a certain extent what MMM did, but it's not for everyone.

Also, I don't know how you grew up, but for many people from lower income families $100k DOES seem like a long stretch away and almost impossible. In my country/continent $100k salaries are hard to come by so I'm still surprised by the numbers I find here sometimes.

What I like about the example of $100k is that it's not impossibly high and that there's many ways to get there.
- Certain fields of work you're most likely to get to it (medical doctor, big law)
- Work hard in a good market (currently seen in many trades/carpentry jobs)
- Have your own business/be a contracter for a high hourly rate
- "Just" move over to a HCOL tech startup hotspot where they hire college grads with the right degree for $100k straight out of school.
So if "just move" doesn't apply to you, there's still plenty of other ways to reach a $100k in another area (probably also with lower COL).

$500k salaries are rare even in the highest cost of living areas and will require you to combine multiple of those strategies and/or start a very succesful business. I'd still be very happy to read the responses onto that though for inspiration :)

tomsang

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #471 on: May 12, 2018, 09:57:42 AM »
Not every field of work has the same timeline to 100k, if this timeline exists at all. So if you picked the wrong college degree or just have a lack of talent for [insert high paying field of choice] you'd first need to get another degree to be able to get your desired job in one of those areas.

I believe the Mustachian way is to be nimble, creative and entrepreneurial. If you are in year 2 of your career and realize that you picked the wrong field.  Go back to school and get a degree that pays more.  If you finished a degree, then you have tons of overall credits so now you need to get the credits for the education that you think that will be better off in the future. 

I also think that most trades can easily make more than $100k at year 10 in the right areas.  There are building booms in many parts of the country.  If you work your butt off for four years learning a skill, you can then start your own business.  Our builder has no college education and conservatively makes high six figures and most likely low 7 figure in building a few custom homes a year.

Mustachians don't shoot for mediocre work.  If you are a car mechanic, become the best car mechanic in the area.  Demand great pay or start your own shop.  If you have a great reputation by connecting to every person that brings their car to the shop, then you will draw people from far and away. 

Also, if you are a hard charging, smart creative person you will be in management by year 10 at most organizations.  Potentially, upper management if you have been killing it for a decade. 

I also think there are tons of side hustles that can bring in $25k a year without too much additional effort.  Being nimble and entrepreneurial, can take you into these areas. 

I was not talking about making $100k right out of college. Even though there are tons of careers that do make a $100k in the right areas with the right knowledge.  It was focusing on making $100k after 10 years. 

I truly believe that everyone can make $100k if they are willing to put in the hard work, move to where the jobs are, take some educated chances, be willing to go backwards to go forwards, etc.  Follow in MMM footsteps.  He did not put in 8 hours days and then go home and watch TV.  He was building spec homes, starting a blog, and growing other passions that pay.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2018, 10:01:23 AM by tomsang »

beer-man

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #472 on: May 12, 2018, 10:02:54 PM »
Nurse
 ER= extra
 Night shift=extra
 preceptor=extra
 charge= not there yet but will be extra


1 day of overtime in the off season
2 days of overtime in season

Around $120k
Point is I've nearly doubled my salary cause i'm willing to do things that others do not.

I did have to job hop a little to find an employer who paid more generously than others in the area, and i do have to travel 35min to work when there is a hospital that i can see out my window.

big_slacker

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #473 on: May 13, 2018, 10:23:17 AM »
I do think it is important to note a shade of difference here.  If the "IT world" means you work for a company whose primary business is technology (that's what it sells to its customers) that is where  what you say applies.  I have worked in the IT world in businesses who do not do tech (on purpose because I have no desire for 12+ hours days pounding out work to meet crazy release schedules) as their customer focus (read manufacturing and retail) and none of our developers make $100K.  Even our Development Manager is under than number.  I've got one developer for our ERP that makes a hair above $100K, but he's got 20 years experience. 

So just being transparent for those who might jump on the supposed gravy train of IT, that this is a niche issue.  I think to make those numbers you need to be in high tech, likely for companies where your job stability if not very strong, where the hours are long and the stress is high.  And I think that applies to a lot of jobs.  No one pays you $100K because it is easy to do.

I work for one of the big west coast tech companies in the seattle area and want to give some perspective on this just as effigy does above so you know he's not just talking out of his ass. ;)

I'm a senior engineer on the infrastructure side of things and design/build some of the worldwide IT infra for 'big tech', we make similar $$ to what effigy quotes. And like he says it sounds absurd and unreal but it's no lie. Just about everyone in the building makes over $100k, Sr level high 100's to mid 200's. Principal level mid 200's-low 300's total comp. I hope he's talking total comp, otherwise I should learn to slang some code. :D

Every once in a while there will be a troubleshooting incident or a site deployment that goes long but that is pretty rare. 8-10 is the norm where I work and the schedule is very flexible around family or life stuff. I WFH 2-3 times a week and choose my own hours for the most part. I know people working at all the top 5 and this is pretty normal. AMZN I think is the exception, but even there it's team specific. If you're working on a sweatshop team people either jump teams or jump ship to Redmond. ;)

In terms of pressure, I mean how do you define that? Of course there are timelines and big projects but that's why you go to work for big tech. We design for big capacity and redundancy, high risk changes are vetted technically and go through a review process. And by the time you've got 10+ years in your field you ought to know WTF you're doing and not be freaking out about launching something. I'm definitely not stressed out or under extreme pressure all the time. Sure there are occasional incidents but that's true of any job. If you're under constant high pressure/high stress situations then you're doing it wrong.

Just wanted to throw this out so that people don't have the wrong idea in their head about having to sacrifice too much for this type of job. There are WAY worse jobs for worse money.
« Last Edit: May 13, 2018, 07:51:58 PM by big_slacker »

swampwiz

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #474 on: May 14, 2018, 06:36:06 AM »
I think highly paid jobs are basically the payoff from a long, expensive period of study & internship and the housing-cost offset that is required to entice someone to take a job in a high housing-cost locale relative to a normal-cost locale.  Add I would add that later in a career, it is the payoff from the stress of working very hard to show oneself as worthy of moving up the career ladder.

The great thing about being a Moustacher is that since the power-stroke time of life (i.e., working) is much shorter, so all that essentially built-up equity would be wasted relative to someone on a more normal career-life trajectory.

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #475 on: May 14, 2018, 07:18:15 AM »
All interesting points, and was nice to hear why my software from those companies to so darn expensive.  I make well over $100K and hit that number about 6 years out of college working in IT in manufacturing, but it look a lot of branding in that space to get myself known by the business as someone they could count on and who could deliver on the big projects.  I also saw lots of aspiring colleagues flame out and not make it anywhere near the sun. 

It is hard for me to wrap my head around how simple you all make it seem of in those areas, but obviously several of you are doing it and saying it is almost automatic out there, so it shows the truth of the result.  Just amazing that those companies too that type of money around to people.  I do wonder how your verison of "not so hard" would compare to other areas of the country, meaning I wonder how much of that is bias built on the fact that those west cost cultures are built around people being pretty busy, so a Mustachian really just taking things simply would seem super relaxing compared to all the stuff going on.  After all, we've also seen the articles from ex-Googlers, Facebookers and Amazoners who talk about the hellish conditions they left.  Glad it is working out so well for you guys.  Sounds like it is a lot of fun for you and that's wonderful.  Thanks for offering perspective on the ground there.  I'm too much of a people person to have enjoyed the prospect of coding all day long.  I moved out of that space pretty quickly, but I certainly have seen the consistent position of developer in the Top 10 jobs for a long, long time and understand in hiring some developers how much demand there is in that space.  Certainly would have to drive up salaries and in those spaces where there is even more shortage it looks like it drives things up even more.  Good for you guys.

ETA:  I also agree the willingness to move and live in certain places plays a role.  I have spent enough time out in the Bay Area to know I would not do well there.  Just does not align in a way to make me happy.  Just as I've spent enough time in NYC to know the same about that place.  I think it would be frustrating if I was on this hamster wheel of wanting to maximize income, but I'm OK with where I'm at and the weather I enjoy more and the plethora of people who mesh well with my personality versus feeling like a fish out of water in those other locations makes my happy where I am.  I think MMM was blessed to find a place he could make good money (I also do not recall MMM saying he made $100K at his job, I think he said he was in the 90s).  and that also aligned with his lifestyle.  Seattle and CA are just not those for me.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2018, 07:27:06 AM by caracarn »

big_slacker

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #476 on: May 15, 2018, 07:39:19 AM »
All interesting points, and was nice to hear why my software from those companies to so darn expensive.  I make well over $100K and hit that number about 6 years out of college working in IT in manufacturing, but it look a lot of branding in that space to get myself known by the business as someone they could count on and who could deliver on the big projects.  I also saw lots of aspiring colleagues flame out and not make it anywhere near the sun. 

It is hard for me to wrap my head around how simple you all make it seem of in those areas, but obviously several of you are doing it and saying it is almost automatic out there, so it shows the truth of the result.  Just amazing that those companies too that type of money around to people.  I do wonder how your verison of "not so hard" would compare to other areas of the country, meaning I wonder how much of that is bias built on the fact that those west cost cultures are built around people being pretty busy, so a Mustachian really just taking things simply would seem super relaxing compared to all the stuff going on.  After all, we've also seen the articles from ex-Googlers, Facebookers and Amazoners who talk about the hellish conditions they left.  Glad it is working out so well for you guys.  Sounds like it is a lot of fun for you and that's wonderful.  Thanks for offering perspective on the ground there.  I'm too much of a people person to have enjoyed the prospect of coding all day long.  I moved out of that space pretty quickly, but I certainly have seen the consistent position of developer in the Top 10 jobs for a long, long time and understand in hiring some developers how much demand there is in that space.  Certainly would have to drive up salaries and in those spaces where there is even more shortage it looks like it drives things up even more.  Good for you guys.

ETA:  I also agree the willingness to move and live in certain places plays a role.  I have spent enough time out in the Bay Area to know I would not do well there.  Just does not align in a way to make me happy.  Just as I've spent enough time in NYC to know the same about that place.  I think it would be frustrating if I was on this hamster wheel of wanting to maximize income, but I'm OK with where I'm at and the weather I enjoy more and the plethora of people who mesh well with my personality versus feeling like a fish out of water in those other locations makes my happy where I am.  I think MMM was blessed to find a place he could make good money (I also do not recall MMM saying he made $100K at his job, I think he said he was in the 90s).  and that also aligned with his lifestyle.  Seattle and CA are just not those for me.

Just a few more comments:

About the not that hard thing. You have to be intelligent, self-disciplined (to a point) and good at what you do to make the higher level positions/incomes listed. But assuming you are you don't have to hit the lottery, just do a good job and play the game. I think the point is these jobs are not C level positions that very few can attain with connections, education, politics, etc. You don't have to kill yourself or others to land them. :D

I don't understand the comment about West coast culture built around being busy. I'm definitely a west coast guy (PacNW and Norcal) but have worked all around the country. IMO west coast is WAY more laid back than midwest (work hard boyscout culture) or especially east coast (busy blunt culture).

You gotta realize not all of WA or CA are bustling big cities. Moving for career is one thing, but it doesn't mean you have to live in a city. I can visit a city but F no am I living in one. Here is my town:


mm1970

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #477 on: May 15, 2018, 10:17:12 AM »
All interesting points, and was nice to hear why my software from those companies to so darn expensive.  I make well over $100K and hit that number about 6 years out of college working in IT in manufacturing, but it look a lot of branding in that space to get myself known by the business as someone they could count on and who could deliver on the big projects.  I also saw lots of aspiring colleagues flame out and not make it anywhere near the sun. 

It is hard for me to wrap my head around how simple you all make it seem of in those areas, but obviously several of you are doing it and saying it is almost automatic out there, so it shows the truth of the result.  Just amazing that those companies too that type of money around to people.  I do wonder how your verison of "not so hard" would compare to other areas of the country, meaning I wonder how much of that is bias built on the fact that those west cost cultures are built around people being pretty busy, so a Mustachian really just taking things simply would seem super relaxing compared to all the stuff going on.  After all, we've also seen the articles from ex-Googlers, Facebookers and Amazoners who talk about the hellish conditions they left.  Glad it is working out so well for you guys.  Sounds like it is a lot of fun for you and that's wonderful.  Thanks for offering perspective on the ground there.  I'm too much of a people person to have enjoyed the prospect of coding all day long.  I moved out of that space pretty quickly, but I certainly have seen the consistent position of developer in the Top 10 jobs for a long, long time and understand in hiring some developers how much demand there is in that space.  Certainly would have to drive up salaries and in those spaces where there is even more shortage it looks like it drives things up even more.  Good for you guys.

ETA:  I also agree the willingness to move and live in certain places plays a role.  I have spent enough time out in the Bay Area to know I would not do well there.  Just does not align in a way to make me happy.  Just as I've spent enough time in NYC to know the same about that place.  I think it would be frustrating if I was on this hamster wheel of wanting to maximize income, but I'm OK with where I'm at and the weather I enjoy more and the plethora of people who mesh well with my personality versus feeling like a fish out of water in those other locations makes my happy where I am.  I think MMM was blessed to find a place he could make good money (I also do not recall MMM saying he made $100K at his job, I think he said he was in the 90s).  and that also aligned with his lifestyle.  Seattle and CA are just not those for me.

Just a few more comments:

About the not that hard thing. You have to be intelligent, self-disciplined (to a point) and good at what you do to make the higher level positions/incomes listed. But assuming you are you don't have to hit the lottery, just do a good job and play the game. I think the point is these jobs are not C level positions that very few can attain with connections, education, politics, etc. You don't have to kill yourself or others to land them. :D

I don't understand the comment about West coast culture built around being busy. I'm definitely a west coast guy (PacNW and Norcal) but have worked all around the country. IMO west coast is WAY more laid back than midwest (work hard boyscout culture) or especially east coast (busy blunt culture).

You gotta realize not all of WA or CA are bustling big cities. Moving for career is one thing, but it doesn't mean you have to live in a city. I can visit a city but F no am I living in one. Here is my town:


Oooh. Pretty.

In my experience, East Coast is way more hard core than west coast.  Comparing DC and CA here.

Chris22

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #478 on: May 15, 2018, 04:25:17 PM »
Wife and I are both over $100k base, plus 10%+ (depending on company performance) bonus (HHI of ~$250k before bonuses).  We both work in corporate finance for big companies (F250).  We're an interesting case study because we've been working almost the exact same amount of time (~12 years, we are in our mid 30s), in the same field, with similar degrees (her finance, me accounting, I have an MBA but no CPA, she has no advanced degrees).  Our titles are both "manager"; she manages of a team of 7 and me a team of 5.  I have worked for 5 companies in 12 years (two 5 year stints, 2 short stints, plus 6 months and counting at my current employer).  She worked for 2 companies total (~4 years at one and ~8 at the other current one).  I believe my moving around/job hopping has contributed to my currently earning ~$15k more than her, plus I have the MBA (from a local, not prestigious school).  Most of our friends work similar corporate jobs, and I would be shocked if any of them make less than $100k, except for the ones who are elementary school teachers (HS teachers with 10 years in are over $100k here).  We're in a mid/high COL area outside Chicago (high taxes, but COL is not as bad as East/West coasts). 


Paul der Krake

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #479 on: May 16, 2018, 12:23:25 AM »
After all, we've also seen the articles from ex-Googlers, Facebookers and Amazoners who talk about the hellish conditions they left.
You realize that just the 3 companies you cited employ tens of thousands of regular programmers, right? Not executives or particularly senior people, just bread and butter employees.

It'd be shocking if there weren't any disgruntled ex-employees willing to write about their experience.

sol

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #480 on: May 16, 2018, 08:23:45 AM »
You realize that just the 3 companies you cited employ tens of thousands of regular programmers, right?

For perspective, Facebook has about 25k employees, google has about 62k employees, and amazon... wait for it...  over a half million.

People talk about these three companies like they are roughly the same size, but in reality Facebook is basically a mom and pop store compared to amazon.

Chris22

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #481 on: May 16, 2018, 08:31:09 AM »
You realize that just the 3 companies you cited employ tens of thousands of regular programmers, right?

For perspective, Facebook has about 25k employees, google has about 62k employees, and amazon... wait for it...  over a half million.

People talk about these three companies like they are roughly the same size, but in reality Facebook is basically a mom and pop store compared to amazon.

How many of the Amazon jobs are fulfillment/blue collar/hourly type though?  I'll bet if you compared apples:apples in terms of white collar/professional/tech jobs, Amazon isn't that different than FB/Google.  Most of Amazon's headcount is just labor supporting their physical product given that Google and FB products are mostly virtual. 

OurTown

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #482 on: May 16, 2018, 10:24:12 AM »
I make north of $100k and I have a little side gig that pulls in an extra $20k.  DW makes a little north of $50k.  Compared to other folks that's not really a shit-ton of money.  The arbitrage for us is living in a LCOL metro area, so we can live comfortably middle class and save a lot more than we could in California, NY, NJ, Connecticut, etc.

slappy

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #483 on: May 16, 2018, 11:12:44 AM »

elnion

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #484 on: May 16, 2018, 12:16:45 PM »

I work for one of the big west coast tech companies in the seattle area and want to give some perspective on this just as effigy does above so you know he's not just talking out of his ass. ;)

I'm a senior engineer on the infrastructure side of things and design/build some of the worldwide IT infra for 'big tech', we make similar $$ to what effigy quotes. And like he says it sounds absurd and unreal but it's no lie. Just about everyone in the building makes over $100k, Sr level high 100's to mid 200's. Principal level mid 200's-low 300's total comp. I hope he's talking total comp, otherwise I should learn to slang some code. :D


Those numbers actually sound kind of low for total comp at the major west coast tech companies. I'm a mid-level SRE at Google and make a little over $200k/yr total comp not including extra on-call compensation. If we have Principle Engineers making under $500k total comp, then something is going very wrong.

As far as work conditions go, working at Google feels fairly laid back to me. I have my complaints, and work certainly tends to pile up until it becomes stressful unless you manage expectations and limit the work in progress queue well, but it's generally very 9-5ish unless I'm on-call, which I'm compensated for as well (in either dollars or extra PTO, my choice).

toganet

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #485 on: May 16, 2018, 12:42:06 PM »
You realize that just the 3 companies you cited employ tens of thousands of regular programmers, right?

For perspective, Facebook has about 25k employees, google has about 62k employees, and amazon... wait for it...  over a half million.

People talk about these three companies like they are roughly the same size, but in reality Facebook is basically a mom and pop store compared to amazon.

How many of the Amazon jobs are fulfillment/blue collar/hourly type though?  I'll bet if you compared apples:apples in terms of white collar/professional/tech jobs, Amazon isn't that different than FB/Google.  Most of Amazon's headcount is just labor supporting their physical product given that Google and FB products are mostly virtual.

Amazon's workforce is skewed toward the lower end of the payscale, since in many ways they are a logistics company that happens to have a good website, make original content, and oh yeah, offer cloud services that power a good chunk of the internet.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/30/technology/google-median-salary-rank-facebook-amazon-apple/index.html

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #486 on: May 16, 2018, 12:47:14 PM »
You realize that just the 3 companies you cited employ tens of thousands of regular programmers, right?

For perspective, Facebook has about 25k employees, google has about 62k employees, and amazon... wait for it...  over a half million.

People talk about these three companies like they are roughly the same size, but in reality Facebook is basically a mom and pop store compared to amazon.

How many of the Amazon jobs are fulfillment/blue collar/hourly type though?  I'll bet if you compared apples:apples in terms of white collar/professional/tech jobs, Amazon isn't that different than FB/Google.  Most of Amazon's headcount is just labor supporting their physical product given that Google and FB products are mostly virtual.

Amazon's workforce is skewed toward the lower end of the payscale, since in many ways they are a logistics company that happens to have a good website, make original content, and oh yeah, offer cloud services that power a good chunk of the internet.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/30/technology/google-median-salary-rank-facebook-amazon-apple/index.html

From the info Bezos recently released on Prime members and their recent quarterly earnings we also know the 50% of their revenue comes from simply having people pay for a service, which is a nice gig if you can get it.

grandep

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #487 on: May 16, 2018, 01:17:57 PM »
Coincidentally, I just saw this article pop up...

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/us-cities-with-the-most-six-figure-salaries-available.html

These lists really aren't that helpful unless you take COL into account. For example, $100k in Dallas, TX is equivalent to ~$178k in Boston, ~$189k in NY, and ~$280k in SF.

big_slacker

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #488 on: May 16, 2018, 01:39:20 PM »
Those numbers actually sound kind of low for total comp at the major west coast tech companies. I'm a mid-level SRE at Google and make a little over $200k/yr total comp not including extra on-call compensation. If we have Principle Engineers making under $500k total comp, then something is going very wrong.

As far as work conditions go, working at Google feels fairly laid back to me. I have my complaints, and work certainly tends to pile up until it becomes stressful unless you manage expectations and limit the work in progress queue well, but it's generally very 9-5ish unless I'm on-call, which I'm compensated for as well (in either dollars or extra PTO, my choice).

PacNW or Bay? PacNW runs lower but COL is as well.

Roadrunner53

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #489 on: May 16, 2018, 01:47:47 PM »
Get a job with a Research and Development company. People in that industry get paid extremely well.

elnion

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #490 on: May 16, 2018, 01:59:56 PM »
PacNW or Bay? PacNW runs lower but COL is as well.

Bay Area. CoL is quite high, but San Jose (where I live) is still a bit less than San Francisco which is what a lot of people seem to compare to for the BA.

Even at the CoL differences though, it's close to a wash at entry/mid-level and senior/staff/principle sounds low at ~$300k.

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #491 on: May 16, 2018, 02:43:58 PM »
PacNW or Bay? PacNW runs lower but COL is as well.

Bay Area. CoL is quite high, but San Jose (where I live) is still a bit less than San Francisco which is what a lot of people seem to compare to for the BA.

Even at the CoL differences though, it's close to a wash at entry/mid-level and senior/staff/principle sounds low at ~$300k.
I still believe this has to be company dependent.  Our LA office did not have salaries much higher than our midwest offices for the same positions.  We had people fighting to move from LA to our midwest office so they could actually live on the salary they made versus struggling out in LA.

elnion

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #492 on: May 16, 2018, 03:02:31 PM »

I still believe this has to be company dependent.  Our LA office did not have salaries much higher than our midwest offices for the same positions.  We had people fighting to move from LA to our midwest office so they could actually live on the salary they made versus struggling out in LA.

For sure, though there's deeper issues than pay-at-position-X in play at least at Google. IIRC, there's a CoL adjustment that has slightly more for the Bay Area and NYC, though it's not too big and purchasing power-wise you're better off in, e.g. Chicago. But that's only true at any given moment in time. The larger pay issue is that advancement tends towards the Bay Area and NYC, because those are the biggest offices and generally have the bigger projects/more influential teams/etc (at least in the US). Standard corporate politics type stuff. For example, I'm on a high-profile infrastructure team that would be hard to match at another office, and while Google tries to be really fair about stuff, it's still an organization made up of humans. I imagine a similar phenomena might happen at other companies, where the location pay disparity is ultimately driven more by the positions available than pay for a given position.

For someone trying to FI, the optimal path (with respect to Google) is probably taking a job at a major office and then transfer to, say, Boulder or Chicago, after getting up a few rungs and locking in a solid base salary + equity set up. Of course, that depends on your personality too. I don't find the Bay Area particularly stressful, but it seems like it rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

Chris22

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #493 on: May 16, 2018, 03:18:45 PM »
PacNW or Bay? PacNW runs lower but COL is as well.

Bay Area. CoL is quite high, but San Jose (where I live) is still a bit less than San Francisco which is what a lot of people seem to compare to for the BA.

Even at the CoL differences though, it's close to a wash at entry/mid-level and senior/staff/principle sounds low at ~$300k.
I still believe this has to be company dependent.  Our LA office did not have salaries much higher than our midwest offices for the same positions.  We had people fighting to move from LA to our midwest office so they could actually live on the salary they made versus struggling out in LA.

That may be true if you transferred within the company, but I find it hard to believe they were able to hire people into the company from the local economy in LA if they were paying significantly under market wages. 

big_slacker

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #494 on: May 17, 2018, 07:07:27 AM »
Just want to get back to the total comp thing. How are you defining total? Are you including RSUs with a vesting schedule? Or just base + bonus?
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 09:10:48 AM by big_slacker »

caracarn

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #495 on: May 17, 2018, 07:55:31 AM »
PacNW or Bay? PacNW runs lower but COL is as well.

Bay Area. CoL is quite high, but San Jose (where I live) is still a bit less than San Francisco which is what a lot of people seem to compare to for the BA.

Even at the CoL differences though, it's close to a wash at entry/mid-level and senior/staff/principle sounds low at ~$300k.
I still believe this has to be company dependent.  Our LA office did not have salaries much higher than our midwest offices for the same positions.  We had people fighting to move from LA to our midwest office so they could actually live on the salary they made versus struggling out in LA.

That may be true if you transferred within the company, but I find it hard to believe they were able to hire people into the company from the local economy in LA if they were paying significantly under market wages.
All our LA people were hired there, so I'd have to assume they were market wages, which is why it is stunning to me to see these kinds of numbers because our CA office was in no way paying those salaries and we had no issue finding people.

tomsang

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #496 on: May 17, 2018, 09:29:45 AM »
All our LA people were hired there, so I'd have to assume they were market wages, which is why it is stunning to me to see these kinds of numbers because our CA office was in no way paying those salaries and we had no issue finding people.

Again, I don't believe it is industry or geographically isolated.  For those in a high demand industry it is a slam dunk day one.  For others it is more than doable if you are smart, hardworking, willing to relocate, move jobs, etc.

I know a dump truck driver that makes six figures and he is not in a major city.  Virtually, all police officers make greater than six figures after 10 years and they are also eligible for a great pension.  Fire and other services as well.

Any senior level construction person would be making six figures after a decade because there is a building boom in many places across the US and World. 

If you are able and willing to move to where the jobs are then I don't see much of a hurdle to hitting six figures.

Based on your posts I would think that you should be looking for a career at a different company.  The unemployment rate is ridiculously low right now.  A smart, hard working person should be bringing home significantly more compensation than you are currently making.

elnion

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #497 on: May 17, 2018, 10:38:30 AM »
Just want to get back to the total comp thing. How are you defining total? Are you including RSUs with a vesting schedule? Or just base + bonus?

Me, I assume? Base + Bonus + RSUs, annualized basis. My vesting is quarterly, no cliff, and gets refreshed with a new 4-year grant after end-of-year performance reviews. I don't hold on to my shares (and will be enrolling in auto-sale once I'm able to), and since they're in a liquid publicly traded company, they're basically cash albeit subject to some market variance between grant and vest time.

I would not count RSUs/options in my total comp if I were at a startup without a public share market.

Are you talking only base + bonus? That would definitely lower the numbers a bit. Comp is designed long-term around RSUs, as the increasing refreshes mean that RSUs match and potentially exceed the base salary, particularly at higher levels where RSU grants outpace salary bumps.

Roadrunner53

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #498 on: May 17, 2018, 12:10:54 PM »
I worked in Food Research and Development for a super large corporation that is world wide. I was a low man on the totem pole and made $60K+. I didn't start off making that much but was there for many years. There were food scientists, microbiologists, technologists, engineers, project managers, head of R&D, and many other positions. Those people made big, big bucks. It was a Monday thru Friday job for the most part. I used to travel a lot and would leave for my destination mostly on Sundays and got paid double time to fly on a plane across the country. Sometimes I would travel with my boss and with my double time I think I made more than them per hour! However, I was hourly and they were salary so they didn't get any extra money but could take comp time. R&D typically had DEEP pockets and you could buy just about anything you wanted for the lab. No questions asked. Raises were always very generous and I was promoted twice. Loved that job but they moved out of my state and I decided not to move. I also worked for another R&D company but it was a crappy company and they were teeter tottering financially. Horrible environment. The pay was decent, benefits were good, not great. I hung in there because of 'my age' until they laid off 5 of us. They were not a big corporation. They were just one small company of about 50 people. If you go for R&D look for the big ones like P&G, Cocoa Cola, Pepsi, General Mills and many others. The smaller companies struggle with money and selling their inventions or products. The only good thing about one of these small crap companies is a stepping stone for a new college graduate. They can suck up technology like a sponge and stick around for a year or so then bail for a better company. That is what I would do. Unless the small crap company has a real breakthrough, there is no future there. With an international company you can have opportunities to work in other countries for a few years. This is a real career booster. When you return to the states after an assignment, there is usually always a promotion for you.

As a side note, I would also suggest that you learn a second and third language. This is another thing that will help you up the ladder. French, Spanish and Chinese would be my choices.

big_slacker

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Re: How do people make $100+ salary?
« Reply #499 on: May 17, 2018, 12:31:54 PM »
Just want to get back to the total comp thing. How are you defining total? Are you including RSUs with a vesting schedule? Or just base + bonus?

Me, I assume? Base + Bonus + RSUs, annualized basis. My vesting is quarterly, no cliff, and gets refreshed with a new 4-year grant after end-of-year performance reviews. I don't hold on to my shares (and will be enrolling in auto-sale once I'm able to), and since they're in a liquid publicly traded company, they're basically cash albeit subject to some market variance between grant and vest time.

I would not count RSUs/options in my total comp if I were at a startup without a public share market.

Are you talking only base + bonus? That would definitely lower the numbers a bit. Comp is designed long-term around RSUs, as the increasing refreshes mean that RSUs match and potentially exceed the base salary, particularly at higher levels where RSU grants outpace salary bumps.

Yes, I was talking base + bonus, sorry for the confusion. I guess I should include RSUs for long term employees (Sr/Principal level) since they're not so much in danger of hopping somewhere else and having to ramp up a vest schedule. I just have that mode of thinking because I've known quite a few folks lured to AMZN with what looks like on paper a generous comp package but heavily loaded with RSUs. A year or two later they're sick of 12-14 hour days and don't even care about 'losing' that stock.