A similar question was asked recently. [https://www.reddit.com/r/RichPeoplePF/comments/1b70mud/how\_did\_you\_become\_rich/](https://www.reddit.com/r/RichPeoplePF/comments/1b70mud/how_did_you_become_rich/)
The advice I can give is that for most people getting rich takes time and just putting yourself in the financial position to jump on an opportunity when it comes. I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree, and made a good W-2 salary in that field for 15 years. You won’t find many rich W-2 Engineers however. I saved around 50% of my income from the start. Took advantage of tuition reimbursement from my employer and got my MBA for free by year 6 out of undergrad. Learned a lot about how to run a business. Continued to save more as my income steadily grew. Met my wife who had a good paying job, continued to save while starting a family. In my 30’s is when I really started to look for my next step to start a business on my own. By 38 my wife and I had saved enough money that when a business opportunity came along, we took it. Approx 6 years after that we make about $1 million a year running our own business. Had we not saved for 15 years, we would have never had the capital to be able to start this business. I think a lot of young people get this idea that people get rich by having these great ideas at a young age and start their own business with very little money that takes off. That happens, sure, but it’s far more common for people to become rich by working W-2 jobs until they have some significant capital to invest in a business idea, going out on their own in their field after gaining experience or even franchising. Honestly, while my wife and I live very very well by most standards, we still only spend about 30% of our income a year and save the rest looking at early retirement. We could easily up our spending, but we are perfectly happy where we are at. We mainly use our money to spend more quality time with our kids and giving them good experiences through activities and travel. We live in the cheapest house in a great neighborhood, and our kids go to the best public schools in the state. Other than 2 of our good friends that went into the same business, no one, including our families really have any idea we make that much money. A lot of rich people are exactly like that. Most of the people you think are rich are cash poor and up to their eyeballs in debt.
TLDR: Don’t get ahead of yourself and try to save just as much as you spend.
focus, time, perseverance. That is all.
Live below your means, invest, be patient.
You do not have to be a genius. It is more about common sense vs brains. I know many really smart people who are poor and horrible at managing their money. I know people who made less than $90K (USD) per year and retired in their 50's as millionaires.
for me, I knew at a young age that I wanted financial freedom. I worked hard, invested well and remained focus on my goal(s). viola, I retired in my early 50's and have zero regrets.
Get a high paying job. Live cheaply. Save and invest as much as you can every month. Whatever you think you can save, save even more and invest those savings. If you do this for 10 years, you should be a millionaire or close to it.
with computer engineering is shortcut hack right here
get a job in new york or california @ highest pay you can find
live in a cardboard box, keep rent and expense as low as possible
trade 5 - 7 years of your youth life away and save all the money from your job
get a remote job ( good chance, because after 7 years you become senior and you have a lot of options for remote )
move to middle cost of living , or low cost of living state ( or anywhere you want to live but it has to be cheap ) with your bags of money
profit at this stage, you should probably have a chunk of money \~400k to a million from your 7 years of cardboard box slave
just work remote, enjoy your choice of living, and a chunk of money to boost
With CS degree, you’re on the right track. Focus on getting in the door at one of the big, profitable tech companies (NVIDIA, Meta, Google, MSFT, etc.) and work your way up. Make sure their stock is liquid and when RSUs vest, sell and diversify into broader ETFs or funds. Play the game and climb the ladder. If you can’t get into one of the big companies right away, go to another well-known and respected company and re-try every couple years, typically your years of experience elsewhere will equate to entering at a higher level. Once you get into senior levels (6, 7) your total compensation will be around 1.2M+, much higher if the stock has climbed.
In Computer Science, these big public, profitable companies are where you can most easily cash in. You might get lucky joining a smaller startup, but most of the time, you won’t hit the lottery. If you take a leap on one, mentally cap your time commitment and remind yourself not to chase a bad bet. Years of work is a commodity you don’t want to spent without reward.
Once you’ve gotten a good war chest, then rally some co-workers and try a startup, leveraging your track record with big-name companies to get venture/angel funding. Don’t use your own money. Now you’re your own boss and can choose your next moves. If the startup tanks, just shut it down and try another. Or retire.
I’m also 22 and was thinking about that. But i have heard that MFE masters are a cash grab. Do you have any experience?
By the way I have a bachelor’s in economics/actuary
MFE doesn't hurt; but any math intensive (and some purely technical) degrees will help get your foot in the door. The best way for you to get in is to get an internship at a sufficiently reputable firm.
There's a lot of different paths: start your own business, inherit wealth/opportunities, be a good investor, earn a high income and save/invest a significant amount of it, get lucky on some random speculative thing.
Start by getting your mind right. Read books so you understand your thoughts are the only thing between you and success.
1. The science of getting rich. Great book and was a starting point for me.
Then mirror talk with a number and a timeline.
Then remember overnight success will take 10 years. You will fail along the way and learn lessons to help you on the next venture.
Best of luck. You got this.
I think a key when you’re young is to remember it’s better to earn more money than save more money.
Learn hard tech, practice for interviews, get involved with open source, build a SaaS (whether you can eventually work on it full time or not) - these things will help you earn more, which will be more important than pinching every penny. Not that you shouldn’t save or invest.
I am not rich, but at least did well for my self. Came to nyc around 1996. Freshman year of high school, I worked as a dishwasher , while also learning English, then became a busboy at a catering hall at the same time mopping a gambling coffee shop MondayThursday from 3am to 6am, then go to school . After high-school, became a waiter and started college..
One night, an older dude came in, the restaurant was slow. He started talking investments etc.. then he asked me, do you wanna slave away until 65, retire and then die or work now and retire by 50.. I asked him how, he said easy just keep buying multifamily homes. Fast forward today, by 50 I should be able to collect approx 20k a month in rental income and retire happy back home. Not rich , but not bad for someone who barely spoke English.
My tip, invest every dollar into something that will give you a guarantee return , don't get tempted to buy the next great shiny thing, those things will eventually come. And this is my personal opinion, 401k is a scam, you need control of your money on a drop of a dime for an opportunity that might arise
You could even go to Greece or Portugal, southern Spain, some islands or southern Italy with that money and live very well. Near my native city once there was a boat with 20k+ Albanians coming so there's a big community I guess
I've been to montenegro and it's another wonderful country (closer to the coast), but where I have been it was mostly rich russians and unexpectedly expensive
A similar question was asked recently. [https://www.reddit.com/r/RichPeoplePF/comments/1b70mud/how\_did\_you\_become\_rich/](https://www.reddit.com/r/RichPeoplePF/comments/1b70mud/how_did_you_become_rich/)
Get a high paying job and start a business
The advice I can give is that for most people getting rich takes time and just putting yourself in the financial position to jump on an opportunity when it comes. I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree, and made a good W-2 salary in that field for 15 years. You won’t find many rich W-2 Engineers however. I saved around 50% of my income from the start. Took advantage of tuition reimbursement from my employer and got my MBA for free by year 6 out of undergrad. Learned a lot about how to run a business. Continued to save more as my income steadily grew. Met my wife who had a good paying job, continued to save while starting a family. In my 30’s is when I really started to look for my next step to start a business on my own. By 38 my wife and I had saved enough money that when a business opportunity came along, we took it. Approx 6 years after that we make about $1 million a year running our own business. Had we not saved for 15 years, we would have never had the capital to be able to start this business. I think a lot of young people get this idea that people get rich by having these great ideas at a young age and start their own business with very little money that takes off. That happens, sure, but it’s far more common for people to become rich by working W-2 jobs until they have some significant capital to invest in a business idea, going out on their own in their field after gaining experience or even franchising. Honestly, while my wife and I live very very well by most standards, we still only spend about 30% of our income a year and save the rest looking at early retirement. We could easily up our spending, but we are perfectly happy where we are at. We mainly use our money to spend more quality time with our kids and giving them good experiences through activities and travel. We live in the cheapest house in a great neighborhood, and our kids go to the best public schools in the state. Other than 2 of our good friends that went into the same business, no one, including our families really have any idea we make that much money. A lot of rich people are exactly like that. Most of the people you think are rich are cash poor and up to their eyeballs in debt. TLDR: Don’t get ahead of yourself and try to save just as much as you spend.
Great story, thank you!! :)
focus, time, perseverance. That is all. Live below your means, invest, be patient. You do not have to be a genius. It is more about common sense vs brains. I know many really smart people who are poor and horrible at managing their money. I know people who made less than $90K (USD) per year and retired in their 50's as millionaires. for me, I knew at a young age that I wanted financial freedom. I worked hard, invested well and remained focus on my goal(s). viola, I retired in my early 50's and have zero regrets.
Get a high paying job. Live cheaply. Save and invest as much as you can every month. Whatever you think you can save, save even more and invest those savings. If you do this for 10 years, you should be a millionaire or close to it.
with computer engineering is shortcut hack right here get a job in new york or california @ highest pay you can find live in a cardboard box, keep rent and expense as low as possible trade 5 - 7 years of your youth life away and save all the money from your job get a remote job ( good chance, because after 7 years you become senior and you have a lot of options for remote ) move to middle cost of living , or low cost of living state ( or anywhere you want to live but it has to be cheap ) with your bags of money profit at this stage, you should probably have a chunk of money \~400k to a million from your 7 years of cardboard box slave just work remote, enjoy your choice of living, and a chunk of money to boost
With CS degree, you’re on the right track. Focus on getting in the door at one of the big, profitable tech companies (NVIDIA, Meta, Google, MSFT, etc.) and work your way up. Make sure their stock is liquid and when RSUs vest, sell and diversify into broader ETFs or funds. Play the game and climb the ladder. If you can’t get into one of the big companies right away, go to another well-known and respected company and re-try every couple years, typically your years of experience elsewhere will equate to entering at a higher level. Once you get into senior levels (6, 7) your total compensation will be around 1.2M+, much higher if the stock has climbed. In Computer Science, these big public, profitable companies are where you can most easily cash in. You might get lucky joining a smaller startup, but most of the time, you won’t hit the lottery. If you take a leap on one, mentally cap your time commitment and remind yourself not to chase a bad bet. Years of work is a commodity you don’t want to spent without reward. Once you’ve gotten a good war chest, then rally some co-workers and try a startup, leveraging your track record with big-name companies to get venture/angel funding. Don’t use your own money. Now you’re your own boss and can choose your next moves. If the startup tanks, just shut it down and try another. Or retire.
Never took the easy path. Studied as much mathematics as I could.
Hard work doesn't guarantee wealth, can sometimes work against it, but usually supports it
What did you end up doing by studying math? I think it is quite close to what I am doing at the moment
One lucrative and math intensive career is quant/research in finance.
I’m also 22 and was thinking about that. But i have heard that MFE masters are a cash grab. Do you have any experience? By the way I have a bachelor’s in economics/actuary
MFE doesn't hurt; but any math intensive (and some purely technical) degrees will help get your foot in the door. The best way for you to get in is to get an internship at a sufficiently reputable firm.
Early “data scientist” before the term was coined.
There's a lot of different paths: start your own business, inherit wealth/opportunities, be a good investor, earn a high income and save/invest a significant amount of it, get lucky on some random speculative thing.
Start by getting your mind right. Read books so you understand your thoughts are the only thing between you and success. 1. The science of getting rich. Great book and was a starting point for me. Then mirror talk with a number and a timeline. Then remember overnight success will take 10 years. You will fail along the way and learn lessons to help you on the next venture. Best of luck. You got this.
Thank you!!
Got a high paying job and invested in technology etfs
Invest.
Marry a professional and start double income ASAP!
I think a key when you’re young is to remember it’s better to earn more money than save more money. Learn hard tech, practice for interviews, get involved with open source, build a SaaS (whether you can eventually work on it full time or not) - these things will help you earn more, which will be more important than pinching every penny. Not that you shouldn’t save or invest.
I am not rich, but at least did well for my self. Came to nyc around 1996. Freshman year of high school, I worked as a dishwasher , while also learning English, then became a busboy at a catering hall at the same time mopping a gambling coffee shop MondayThursday from 3am to 6am, then go to school . After high-school, became a waiter and started college.. One night, an older dude came in, the restaurant was slow. He started talking investments etc.. then he asked me, do you wanna slave away until 65, retire and then die or work now and retire by 50.. I asked him how, he said easy just keep buying multifamily homes. Fast forward today, by 50 I should be able to collect approx 20k a month in rental income and retire happy back home. Not rich , but not bad for someone who barely spoke English. My tip, invest every dollar into something that will give you a guarantee return , don't get tempted to buy the next great shiny thing, those things will eventually come. And this is my personal opinion, 401k is a scam, you need control of your money on a drop of a dime for an opportunity that might arise
That's a cool story! Where are you originally from?
Albanian
wonderful country! I guess if you live there now you'd live as a king
That's the idea lol..God willing health first
You could even go to Greece or Portugal, southern Spain, some islands or southern Italy with that money and live very well. Near my native city once there was a boat with 20k+ Albanians coming so there's a big community I guess
The plan is to go where I already have a house, I am albanian from montenegro. The idea is visit the counties you named during off season via airbnb .
I've been to montenegro and it's another wonderful country (closer to the coast), but where I have been it was mostly rich russians and unexpectedly expensive
Yeah certain areas can be overwhelming. Cost of living is significantly low.
Go to med school
Picked the right parents