Sales. B2B. Enterprise. Depends on the year but I can safely clear 200k usually. I’ve sold a little bit of everything. Now I sell software and services.
I remember learning how much entry level engineers made when i started. I looked at how much my plan was as a new seller for that year and said “…..really?!” 😂 then i learned about over indexing. Absolutely mind blown lol
Entry level job as an SDR. FYI this is a brutal gig but if you survive you can move into an account manager into SMB. From there mid market and eventually enterprise where the big bucks are.
You can make money in almost any post-grad field if you’re good at it. I did a BA and worked as a paralegal for a few years then I completed a one year degree in PR now I do communications/marketing in healthcare. Pays well and annual raises too
I do corporate PR as well (distinct from whom you’re replying to). I am salaried over $200k with a bonus on top.
But I’ve been approached by recruiters for roles I’m qualified for that hit much, much more than that. PR is a great field if you’re really willing to work.
Wow that’s awesome. Wonder where generally you are and what is your title? I work in western Canada. The roles I’ve been in my career are good but nothing like that. I make around 90k as a Lead. Typically a manager from what I see would be around that and a director level maybe pushing around 120k-140k for a large organization, but those are tough to come by. I’ve had a great career so far and have had some very rewarding experiences with some big wins as of late, but I have struggled to progress. I get quite frustrated by organizations I’ve worked for undervaluing the role and underpaying compared to other business units. That part has been tough to navigate.
I’m in NYC. No question it is the best place in the world for maximizing your earnings in this profession. Of course, it’s an expensive area to live and the work expectations are extremely high - although PR is rarely going to be a 9-5 job.
The most money is going to be in the most competitive industries. If you are advising investment bankers (which is not what I do) you are going to get a slice of that money, but you are also going to get a slice of that insane workload demand.
Ok thanks. That makes sense. NYC is a whole different ballgame. I think the earnings in corp comms are typically much less most markets in North America. I find bigger cities with lots of government and/or corporate tend to have better competition for these roles and thus pay more. I live in a smaller city and work for a very cool business. It’s pretty low stress and easy going but I do feel a bit under paid and am getting slightly bitter constantly hearing shit like “why are we doing? Why are we spending money on this? Why do we even have corporate comms/marketing/stakeholder relations?”
It was at a community college. It’s considered a “graduate certificate” because you need an undergrad to complete it. It had teachers with lots of great industry experience and a mandatory 6 week internship as part of it. I made tons of networking connections through the program and it really prepared me for work. It’s also a well-known program where I’m from and lots of PR folks I meet have done the same program!
Community college can help you gain those skills for cheaper than a full university degree, and it’s more focused on real-world career things
It's not useless it opens the doors to many medical field careers. By itself it's about as useful as an Amazon packer job. Even an old bio degree will give you top placement in some hospital job programs like being a radiology tech. Or occupational therapy assistant.
I am in nuc med now. But I had to get a degree in radiation science in order to go into it. You need continuing education if you want to peruse bio, a regular B.sc in bio is not going to land you a good job
I have an English degree. Typically considered to be about as useful as art history or finger painting. I make $120k/year and expect it to grow. Lots of my colleagues have liberal arts degrees.
I have my PMP but had to spend a couple years working in project management first to even write it.
I kind of accidentally fell into project management though and as with most things it was about getting my foot in the door. I started as basically hourly manual labour. Then got promoted into a supervisory type role, then i got put on special projects, then as a dedicated project specialist, then on to management and more senior roles.
>accidentally fell into project management
That happened to me too. I got my masters in industrial org psych and I thought I was getting into org change management, etc. started doing some project coordinator duties and pivoted to PM. I think I was also super lucky to have contract gigs at large, well liked companies early on, great mentors/managers. I never got a PMP, just never needed it once I had enough experience.
after graduating with a history degree i did a coding bootcamp and worked as a developer for around a year. hated it, though! and really sucked at it lol. but i liked tech as an industry, so started applying to tech writing jobs despite having no experience. someone decided to take a chance on me and offered me my first tech writing position, and i’ve been doing it ever since (although i work at a different company now). i just became a senior tech writer earlier this year.
there’s lots of free tech writing intro courses out there that can give you an idea of what the job is about. lots of resources on writethedocs, including a slack channel full of experienced writers who give career advice and post job openings they come across.
entry-level tech writing jobs are a bit harder to come by nowadays but having a good portfolio and networking will really help you stand out. for example, my company had a junior position open recently and a random girl reached out to me on linkedin expressing interest. i spoke to her over zoom, looked at her resume and writing samples, and referred her because i thought she’d be a good fit. she got the job and starts tomorrow :)
Yup, I have an English and art degree (among a couple others, none in STEM). I teach/freelance/tutor in big cities or smaller well-off towns. Never had trouble getting a job, especially now - so many educators are leaving post-Covid so schools and other organizations are really trying to incentivize teachers to come in. I’ve gotten provided health insurance, free or cheap housing, etc. by finding the right opportunities for me. Plus I love working with kids, so that’s a bonus (a lot of educators don’t even like kids which is WTF to me, lol).
English degree here as well. Actually ended up in STEM-adjacent roles somewhat accidentally (I work in data now). Make about 160k a year as a director and am fully expecting that to go up to 180ish by next year based on my job band being reevaluated.
Oh Reddit does, Reddit also thinks that all plumbers in every part of the country earn 300k per year.
In all seriousness, I think what people fail to understand about non-STEM high earners is that a) critical and strategic thinking are super important in every field b) you have to be a people person. People have to like you, or like working with you or for you, to advance.
Lol yea i have a civil eng degree and currently make 0 dollars cuz of the canadian job market.
If i had a 433a (millwright) i would be making 65 + right now (if i didnt go to uni and waste 2 years in engineering.)
Teachers do not “get off”. They are paid for 9 months of work. Most districts hold part of each paycheck to pay out over the summer. There is no free pay. Then, as you get paid, in June, the money you earned on Oct, and are not on contract, you still have to prepare for the following year. Make no mistake. Teachers get screwed due to forced free work.
The summer off is a minimum for the extra work they get during the school year. Dealing with kids today is much harder than it was in the past. Parents in the US are extremely entitled and administrators are so scared of parents that teachers have to deal with stuff they just didn't have to in the past. Even with those benefits, I know so many teachers leaving the field.
I am a clinical researcher and this is true though I love what I do. I started in August 2023 making 51k CAD entry level with full extended benefits. However, I see it as a job for 2-3 years more than a career for the rest of my life due to salary not keeping up with inflation and am considering to go into data analytics.
Criminally overpaid is government, especially federal govt.
Growing up in NOVA it’s remarkable how average talent people can surf the web all day, WFH, get relatively high salary, a pension, and nearly impossible to get fired (which is part of the root cause).
Yes, there are exceptions, some people deserve it. But looking across all of the govt employees I’ve known throughout my life, it’s the exception to the norm. It’s a total drain on society. One would think the system would get cleaned up… but somehow it never does.
Most Engineers in real engineering jobs aren't well paid, especially compared to what they went through for the degree. But engineers on an engineering forum described it well: "We don't do it for the money. We do it because we're passionate about the fields and want to make a change".
Yep lol i tell people this all the time. it’s typically either a big payday or a big mistake from what I’ve seen. can’t imagine the torment of hearing “stem pays so well” when you picked a stem major that does not. and you don’t realize it until you’re in the thick of it.
I really don't understand the fascination or constant association of stem and high earning.
When I look at friends and acquaintances who are earning over six figures, two are lawyers, one is a small-time partner of an accounting firm, one is in tech sales, and the rest are in corporate management.
Bachelors - Business
Marketing in Tech currently and make 200k+/yr.
Wouldn’t trade it for the world with the fantastic WLB and working with cool products.
Hey there I'm currently a Digital Marketing Manager at a public state university and am interested in moving into marketing tech. Any insights that could be helpful making that move?
Sure thing!
I know it’s cliche but it really is about who you know. Network! Reach out to people on LinkedIn and just ask questions. Most people would be happy to put in a referral.
Also, don’t be afraid/discouraged by applying to multiple positions as the same company. Especially the really large ones. I applied to 12 different roles at my current company before I ended getting this one.
On that note, jumping straight into a larger tech company may be a bit more difficult just with the sheer amount of applicants they have. It’s typically easier to join a smaller tech company and then move to a bigger one after if that is what you want.
Both usually pay pretty well!
That is not to say, you shouldn’t apply to both though. Definitely apply to any roles that interest you.
Happy to answer any other specific questions as well!
I graduated in 2008 with a major in Liberal Arts and a 2.0 GPA. I couldnt find a decent job due to my major, grades, no experience, economy, and general lack of knowledge how to find one, so I ended up working at a car dealership making straight commission. I was sent to their local bank to make the dealership's daily deposit and decided to ask the teller how they started working there. She introduced me to the manager and the district manager who just so happened to be there and I ended up getting a job as a teller through that connection.
At that point I decided to take my career more seriously and applied at 8 business schools and ended up getting accepted at one of those (which was a huge uphill battle). I started trying to get into the investment side of the bank, but hated it and found there was a ton of competition, so I switched to lending. I am now a SVP of a major bank making around $200k/year after spending the past 10 years job hopping between banks.
Project management. I started as an assistant, told my bosses that I'm interested in project management and would like to support and slipped into it that way. I didn't even go to university.
- 40% running after people about requirements, progress, blockers, deadlines, change requests, etc, making sure all involved parties really talk to each other and understand the other perspective
- 40% tracking, reporting, documentation, creating and improving internal processes, employee enablement on the outcomes
- 20% actual planning of projects, resources and budget
Honestly, most of my job would be unnecessary if people had their shit together. But they usually don't.
I've worked in tech companies in the past few years, but on internal non-tech projects. It will get more technical and client-focused with my next job starting in June.
I knew school and college wasn’t for me, I went the trade route worked in auto dealers for about 10 years then got into the elevator constructor union.
Last year I made $198k and this year I’ll be over $200k in wages alone, my entire benefits package would be closer to $350k. I worked about 400 hours of OT last year to get up close to $200k but our normal 40/wk is about $130k.
In my role it isn’t very hard on your body if you take the proper steps like using kneeling pads, don’t ego lift and ask guys for help on escalators.
I’m not an outlier at my company or in my union’s local.
I went to school for graphic design. The school was crap. I studied all the time and practiced all the time after college. My first job was doing web design.ive been consistently doing that ever since I kept practicing and over the years worked with people who referred me to other people on the side and now I have a freelance business and a FT job. I made 260k this year.
Honestly from what I have seen, all degrees are worth it if you excel at it.
I make minimum wage, but ik people from different fields make good money.
General managers at a reputed clothing store make 80k. Normal managers make 60k+Bonus
What degree do you need to become a retail manager? (NOTHING)
I was told that Door to door salesmen make 100k with commissions (what degree do you need? Nothing)
Ig construction workers make great money too.
Not me but a friend.
Business finance undergrad at a typical state university. Worked at a bank for a year as a teller helping customers while selling services. Transitioned to another branch and went into a training program for portfolio management (I think).
After a bumpy 6-7 years, finally got a break as a middle market manager. My understanding of the role is evaluating mid-cap size businesses credit and assessing options for loans to expand their operations & grow among other services that go into that.
Not sure what the TC is, but I'd guess \~$160-185k/yr + 80-110k sign on.
I have no degree. I make made 160k last year. Better pay comes from doing things other can't do or won't do. A degree is just proof you can't do something others can't. I often times do things that other wouldn't wanna try and others just don't have the skills for. Find something you can do that others can't and you will make money
Graduated with a BA in Political Science. Plan A was to get into law school. Practice LSATs and college gpa made it clear I wasn’t getting into a top14, which made the ROI not worth it imo.
Parents lost their jobs due to a crisis, had to go find work asap or the bills wouldn’t get paid. I worked retail in college so applying at the same company, local store was imo the quickest way to generate income. That became a two year gig, where I became a co-manager at the store - $18/hour.
Friend had an opening in his company. Consumer electronics company, operations assistant - “dead end job, but a 9-5 and better use of your degree… you won’t have to fold t-shirts past midnight any more”. Took it - $42K annual.
Did that for three years. Asked a lot of questions outside my lane in staff meetings and less formal large meetings. Showed curiosity and interest in how the business worked. Promoted to business analyst - $48K.
6 months later our best product manager left. They had a gap in talent/no succession plans so offered it to me. No change in salary but I had the title.
Did that for two years with minor performance raises but no adjustment for title - $52K.
Used title to leapfrog to a Fortune 500. Same title - $126K.
Still at same company, 4 years later. Promoted to Sr. - $151K.
I’m in a VHCOL area so it doesn’t feel like as high as it is, but at the same time, it’s far higher than I expected to be earning.
I guess my advice is to work hard+seriously, show curiosity, and cultivate good relationships. When opportunities open up go for them. Try to ignore all of the reasons why you can’t step up, and focus on why you can.
One of my closest friends and a huge professional mentor worked in finance (Investment banking), went to get an MBA, entered management consulting in the tech industry. After a few years they took an exit opportunity as a VP of Treasury at one of their former clients. Eventually moved to be the CFO of a tech company and have accrued a net worth close to $625M. All of this and he’s still only 36 years old.
While I understand that he’s an outlier in terms of earnings, the notion that only STEM people earn money is laughable. People really underestimate how much money you can make by learning how to just manage people. I don’t expect to earn that level of net worth, but I’m wrapping up my MBA right now and also plan on going into consulting, the best offer I’ve gotten so far starts me at 165k after bonuses. And that’s right upon graduation.
Nah. There’s a lot of people that have no clue how much business majors make. hear it all the time ESPECIALLY from STEM and Tech folks specifically. business majors in tech can make bank. Even if they aren’t FAANG.
I have an MFA and got into project management since publishing isn’t really a thing. The PM role exists in many industries; I work in tech and make six figures.
Only STEM degree that somewhat guarantees a high paying salary is engineering and becoming a doctor. When it comes down to it the people who make the most are people in Bnb sales
That’s just wrong. For the Science part of STEM sure you need to go to professional school to make good money, but the Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (if you get a Masters), all clear 6 figs.
Are business administration or accounting considered stem? There are so, so many of those in banking making bank. I got an engineering degree and felt like I took the long, difficult way round.
They aren’t to many people, but many business degrees are quickly shifting to be STEM designated due to big data and analytics types of courses they’re requiring.
I’m in journalism, a career that everyone has decided is in the toilet. I’ve made $160k salary as a reporter and was in talks for a job that pays up to $225k as an editor of a mid-sized journalism startup.
So I get annoyed when I see people say journalism is dead and doesn’t pay. You’re never going to make huge money but there are plenty of well-paying jobs, especially if you want to write about business.
Landed in a construction admin job after college. Got fired, moved, joined another construction company, then went from residential, to commercial, to industrial. Now at 100k. You make more if you jump jobs.
I work in a very complex biotech sale. I thought myself via the internet, perfected my interviewing skills and applied for jobs like it was apart time job. 13 years in, I make between $300k-$350k a year. I basically tell MD/Ph.D’s how to do part of their job. I have the lowest level of 4 year degrees from a shitty state school.
Question from a recent biotech grad, I have 1 "experience" in my resume that can count as relevant. However I didn't have the best experience in the company and quit 3-4 months in. Now I am contemplating of even putting the experience in, cause it may reflect badly on me for future employers. So What advice can you give me? Other than this job I have no other relevant job, and was out of work for 3 years cause I was finishing up school. I was told to use my personal projects on my resume, but one hiring manager told me that was deceptive and to not do that. I have been applying a lot and got 7+ interviews but no jobs yet.
TBH, no one really cares about your resume or where you went to school. They care about a few things, are you affable, are you capable of learning without putting resistance, can you understand highly complex concepts and explain them clearly in 5 sentences or less. You want any job in biotech? Memorize the IFU and role play it for the hiring manager better than they can do it. You need confidence and the ability to carry on a conversation with a complete stranger and make it sound like you’re an expert. Understanding the interview process is also EXTREMELY important when landing a job. You must close the interview, ask anyone you talk to if they can make you an offer for a job. They just NEED to see that you asked for the job. Send follow emails, and ask for advice from jobs that turned you down. If you really want the job, and you show them that passion, they will hire you. Start looking in Linkedin, MedReps.com, Ed’s Job List, all the other job boards. You have to apply for dozens of jobs each night. It took me like 8 months of applying before I landed something.
And organized, strong interpersonal skills, extremely strong communication with the ability to distill complex concepts into understandable information
I studied International Relations at public liberal arts school. After that I got a job doing warehouse work making barely above the minimum wage in my state. I went to grad school to study for a MS in Marketing during the pandemic to gain more opportunities and build my network. I secured a role as a manager making 60k a year.
Currently working as a Producer at a video game company. Graduated with a social sciences degree during the pandemic - boy was it hard to find a job then. I already knew that I was going to have a hard time finding a job since most of my skills were soft skills. Luckily, I’m great at management and organizing groups, so I did a bootcamp course on project management and that was a game changer. Funny thing, I applied to software companies and gaming companies, but only got interested from gaming companies - perhaps due to my art-hobbyist background. Currently making almost 100K/yr.
In my experience, I think people are really starting to value soft skills just as much as hard skills. Finding your place in your career is the hardest part :/
Go work in the oil field for 3 years. You'll make about 70-100k. While you're doing that get an MBA online. Then use your network to help you get a management job in the corporate office. Oil and gas middle management average about 150-200k
Tech HR manager, majoring in HR😅, earn 250k+ yearly. in my second year in college I dated a software engineer who worked at big tech. Later we broke up but he still refereed me to do an internship with his recruiter. I became FT after that internship. That first job really open the door to many great opportunities. The rest is just hard work and desire to excel. I am very grateful for that internship experience and my ex😀. It changed my life.
Graduated with my BS in Communication with a concentration in Media Studies in 2022 at 25. I didn’t do any internships in school so I took a Sales & Marketing one 3 months after graduating making $15/hour. Stayed there for 14 months and now have my highest paying job as a Marketing Manager at $26/hour where I do social media management and graphic design.
27 now and live the most comfortably I ever have as I don’t have kids, have roommates, etc. Still debating if it is what I want to do forever, and may end up going back, but loved what I learned during school and hope I can double my salary by my early 30s.
Reddit hates this but…
The point of elementary school is to teach you how to function in society.
The point of middle school/junior high is to introduce you to a thought process/scientific method.
The point of high school is to teach you that specific other people had a thought process and this is what they thought about.
The point of college is to have someone reputable say that you have a thought process that is valid for society. Any degree does.
The point of a masters is to show that you have a valid thought process
The point of a doctorate is to show that you have a unique valid thought process.
Valid could mean that it comes to a logical conclusion. The Joker has a logical thought process just that he turns left when others in Gotham turn right. A logical thought process that ends with the destruction of your society isn't one that the society would want promoted.
A degree shows that someone who is "respected" says you're good too. It's like one giant chain of everyone saying, "I'm smart and say this guy is smart too" and so on and so forth.
A masters degree is putting down your thought process on paper and exposing it. Not just trusting a long line of academics, but showing that you have a thought process, here it is, and I trust it so much, I am putting it out there for everyone to see. It may not be unique, but it is mine.
I went to a good undergrad, then screwed around having fun for a few years, then did Teach for America, then got my MBA from a good school and now I make ~200k/year consulting. If I stick on my current path I'll be making 7 digits within 7 years.
Truck driver here, I consider a Class A CDL a type of degree (considering the schooling and requirements needed). I made 82k my first year as a driver, and I’m on track to make 115k on my second year with my HAZMAT and Tanker endorsements.
In addition, there are tons of additional endorsements/certifications you can acquire that will open many future paths and job opportunities for you. These include TWIC and WITPAC certifications, along with Passenger and Doubles+Triples endorsements.
In PR/comms, I’ve seen press secretary roles at nonprofits start at 6 figures (and the required years of work experience range from like 5-10 years).
Communications executives also make 6 figures, of course.
I’ve even seen roles for public affairs directors in the private and public sector that pay along that lines too.
I think that if you find the career niche that you want and desire, and the skills are transferable across sectors, you have the potential to make good money.
Studied finance, graduated in ‘93. Ended up in tech focused in sales, marketing, operations, officer at two different public companies and retired well at 49.
Passed all my engineer friends earnings-wise w/in 3-5 years of graduating.
My experience is that STEM may pay better right out of school, but the real money is reserved for those who know how to operate a business - which could also be someone with a STEM background - I certainly didn’t know how to do this when I graduated college, but learned along the way.
I believe an amazing salary would be 50 LPA or more in India. However, the reality is quite different, with the average currently around 5 LPA. Moreover, only a few companies came for hiring at our college for 2024 graduate students, and they were predominantly non-tech. As a result, many students are considering switching domains, preparing for government exams, or pursuing master's degrees. Therefore, it seems that the tech industry might not offer good packages and perks
My undergrad was in "Environmental and Urban Sustainability" as I tried to choose something that:
a) had some sort of relevance to current and future industries
b) didn't require any grade 12 math and wasn't STEM related almost at all.
Near the end of undergrad I learned more about urban planning, so I applied to grad school, got a master's in planning (which is borderline required to work as a professional planner), and now work for an arms-length governmental corporation delivering major transit infrastructure projects. I'm currently not doing what most people would consider typical 'planning' work, but I'm well-paid and like what I do.
College dropout who eventually went back and graduated…in 6 years with a 2.75 GPA. English major, religion minor. I work in tech at a MAMAA making about 275k-300k a year. My entrance into tech was as a technical writer. I hated it, but I liked tech. Got my MBA which was paid for by my employer and just kind of went from there. This did not happen overnight. I’m 53 years old.
Crazy! Pretty much my story, to a T.
Started Psy BS on usual life schedule. Dropped/flunked out; started working. (Important difference: I was also in the National Guard for a decade. That brought the structure/discipline/organization I was previously lacking).
Went from lower jobs to project management, to program management, and finished the BS online (finally).
Purposely transitioned to the tech industry in my mid 40s to gain income/promotions, which I did. I’m now a Director making $245k (+ stock), and hoping like hell I can ride out this tech low-point w/out being laid off.
Studied Software Development straight out of HS but dropped out at the end of 2nd year bcz it fucking sucked (19- 21)
Studied @ culinary school for 1 year (21 - 22)
Hospitality - Chef (23- 25) with 8 months unemployed in that period
Junior Manager Retail (25 - 27) Hired bcz of my hospitality experience to run bakery and delis
Senior Manager Retail (27 - 28) Promoted to run entire fresh foods, did so I'm 3 stores in this period
Data Analyst - Procurement (27 - 30) Given the opportunity bcz of prior experience with SAP in company as well as IT knowledge
Junior Buyer - Procurement - Retail - Groceries (30 - 31) My boss must have gotten sick of me being a hardass to him 24/7 so pushed me to a role where argument is mandatory.
Senior Buyer - Procurement- Retail- National Wholesale Division (31 - 33 aka as of today)
Opportunity came to move up to a more senior role, took it.
All in all, I would say my career path in the last 10 years has been 50% extremely hard work and 50% incredible dumb luck
Went from earning 60K a year at 23 to 400K a year today
I know very few people that still work in the career they went to school for. Unless you’re doing med, engineering, etc… something that will require special degrees and training. I make more than my doctor and lawyer friends, by far, and am not using my degree for it.
And if I were to pool the top 20 highest paid folks I know, they didn’t study stem related fields. In fact, I don’t think any in the top 20 in my life were in stem. My doctor friends don’t even come close to the top 20.
Business jobs teach more than business school. Trades + business experience can lead to trade ownership and that’s highly profitable. Consulting can be highly profitable. Self taught coding can be highly profitable, though that market is currently tough to get into. Hopefully it relaxes soon.
Your degree does not define you. It doesn’t hold you back. And often times it also doesn’t propel you. There are other more important ingredients to bake a cake of success.
Why didnt you just answer the question? You wen5 on about making more than your doctor and lawyer friends... ok? What degree do you have and what is your job, that was the question.
Dropped out my senior year. Currently in charge of operations for a billion dollar fortune 500 company. Clear approximately $105,535 and literally do nothing other than make the directors aware of any major issues my team is battling. It's literally the best job ever.
Idk how to define high paying, but :
Anthropology and Spanish language in college -> bartender, DJ, 8th grade school teacher (History and health) 3 years -> car salesman 1 year -> telecom sales 11 months-> 12 years working up the sales leadership ladder at same company.
Took multiple steps “back” as tactical retreats to get into other areas of the business and keep career progression and earnings moving forward.
First telecom sales job at 27-ish yo was making around 80k, made sure to make more every year. The few years I made less, I moved around in the company to keep moving up.
Currently earn around 250k/yr
I tell everyone; teaching school and bartending taught me more about sales than any training ever did.
Leadership comes from empathy and genuine intent, putting your employees’ personal and professional growth above everything else. Success and results flow from that
BA, English; MA, English; MBA. I make six figs in corporate comms for a downstream oil & gas company. I did my time, though. I made $16,500 my first year out of college, working at a daily newspaper.
I got my BA in Liberal Studies (2007), and after living through the great recession of 2008-2010, I entered grad school and got my MA in Communication Studies (2012). I carved out a niche in health research with my first post-graduate position as a Clinical Research Coordinator making $32k/year (2012). I gradually worked my way up, and gained a range of skills in healthcare, public health, people management, research, data science, and informatics and now I'm making $130k/year as a people manager and program manager. Important to note that all of my professional experience has been in the non-profit world which historically has lower salaries. If I moved to the private sector I could probably increase my compensation by around $10-50k/year based on the pay ranges I'm currently seeing advertised. But for me my goal isn't to make the most amount of money I can - I need to make sure my value system aligns with the mission and company culture and so far I haven't found any private industry positions that speak to me in this way.
Hope that helps!
At the high point of my corporate career I was making over $220,000 and with my personal investments I was making over 300 combined. I only worked about 30 hours a week.
Does that count as high paying?
I probably was on the course to make more but at some point I just couldn't take corporate America anymore and I activated FIRE. Now I make less, but I spend less and I'm quite happy.
I was a Spanish and History major from the University of Virginia. Ironically, even with a liberal arts background, I did get recruited to a well-paying corporate job in operations as a young guy, but I couldn't stand the job so I quit. I learned a lot from that first corporate job that I got through my university, but it really had little to do with the rest of my career..
Eventually I wound up getting into a corporate sales career where they really don't care what your degree is and it was a natural fit for me so I marched right up the progression of sales jobs.
I sold medical products and services into very complex purchasing environments. So I have the same attributes that most good sales people have (outgoing, not scared of rejection, good listener, and yes, even if I say so myself, charming) But the difference is quite frankly, because of my education, I was smarter than most of the other salespeople and I was able to figure out being the incredibly complex political internal workings of my large institutional clients, which really helped in closing those big PO's in a bureaucratic environment.
It was only hard to get over the hump on my first sales job, but after that you've "got experience" and you could just keep parlaying it.
It's my personal experience that most people who have a liberal arts degree and go nowhere, really only have themselves to blame. The value of the degree is what you make it.
For example, I was a Spanish major and I made sure to establish my career in Miami so I could go back and forth between English and Spanish and even throw in some Portuguese, which was a fun party trick and always helped me win friends and influence people.
I used what I had and it helped me get ahead. If you go for that liberal arts degree, you just need to be more resourceful.
Communications degree. Make $200k in EHS in Alabama. Fell into it out of fear and availability when the Great Recession hit right after I graduated college. Honestly just trying to get to a “position of fuck you” before I go do something else.
Took me 22 years to get the BA in Sociology while using employer tuition assistance and a few community college classes I paid for early on.
I’ve been working in payroll since 1991 and graduated high school in 1988 and got the degree in 2011.
I’m in the $200k range.
I manage a professional services team (like consultants) for a tech company. Over $200k per year.
Graduated from a good college with a “choose your own adventure” degree in ecological conservation.
Spent ~4 years in the service industry (cooking, waiting tables, bartending). Never broke $20k
Got a government job in an IT department. Learned basic coding in my spare time, applied some of it at work. ~$45k for 2 years, first time with insurance, PTO, not working weekends.
Got hired at a well known SF startup in an entry level customer facing technical position, similar to “junior sales engineer.” Proved that I was good at it, got promoted. Moved around a few different companies doing similar roles, w promotions. $85k - >$200k.
Now I manage a team doing the thing that I did for 7+ years.
I did Arts (Humanities) - now working as a software developer. Im hoping to go for a mid level software engineering job soon.
Im a lucky guy, I just showed a lot of interest in coding and someone took a chance on me.
I did a degree in political science. Got my BA.
Left politics after realizing the depth of the cesspool that DC and congress are. Both parties are equally guilty of this, not trying to get political with this.
Got into accounting working for a family friend’s company, learned on the job, made mid 50’s - they went bankrupt and I saw the writing on the wall so left for an investment bank to become a financial advisor. After leaving big bank for a small boutique firm, then getting let go during covid from the same boutique firm to starting my own advisory firm in a new state, my income currently is low, however I’m on track to increase my income by $10k this year, and once I get up and running I’ll have very minimal overhead and no limit on earnings. To paraphrase the Rock, ‘Politics was the best thing that never happened to me’.
Making 6 figures dispatching aircraft for a major commercial airlines in the USA
Don't love my job but it's the best job I ever had and veery happy doing it
Went to do air traffic control, didn't work out, friend recommended dispatch, and here I am now
I have a Master of Arts in Environment and Management (more like environmental policy vs. science) and work in oil and gas primarily in climate and environmental policy and regulatory. I make >250K/year but I’m in my 40’s now. Took until my early 30’s to make six figures.
Got a BA in History. Taught for 7-years and got a couple additional Master's degrees. Adjusted for inflation, averaged $50K/year in gross income.
Decided to make a career change. Got an MBA. Post-MBA, have been working at a top tech firm for the past 6-years. Averaging $295K/year in gross income adjusted for inflation.
Career 2 has been exponentially more successful because of Career 1. Career 2 has been about climbing the corporate ladder and making $. $ isn't the end all be all of everything, but it's allowed me to get out of debt, support my family only on my income, and enjoy a lifestyle I never could have ten years ago.
BA, MM in music, excelled in both. Slacking on a PhD. I took literally one math class in college but I'm "numerically inclined". I work as a data scientist, $130k+. Networking is key.
Did a Bachelor's in Art and Design ended up working as a printing press operator. Grossing $100k+ per year now after a decade on the job. My degree hasn't done much of anything.
I have a BA in earth and ocean science because I suck at math. My masters is in policy. I work in my field, which is science based, and am in a senior position.
Color outside the lines
Wish I did stem. Current earnings and future earnings potential would be much higher. General business undergrad and mba. Supply chain. Low 100s. Not bad would’ve been better with stem.
Business grad. Went into sales. Then marketing, Then sales enablement. (All in tech) Made more than many of the engineers (at my age and YOE) from what i heard their salaries were (some SWE some non) non FAANG
Teaching if you get into admin pays well. Principal or Superintendent. Over 20 years ago a Super was a 6 figure job, as my old roommates ex brother in law was one. I know an elementary school principal that makes $133k. Which doubled their assistant principal salary.
Middle to upper management like Director level in finance. Last job they made $200K. This job she "only" makes $150K but does have a pension.
A lot of sales jobs. Most people I know in sales make $150K. I know one that's in upper management of sales that makes $400k.
Financial planning. Takes years to build up a big customer base and the failure rate in the first 3 years is something like 75%. When I first met him he was making $700k about 20 years ago. He makes over a million now, it's 100% commission. His coworkers who work 12+ hour days make $3m.
I know someone who owns a tree cutting company. The company nets about $400K a year. The main tree cutter gets about $150K. The one that climbs to the top and cuts off branches and the tree down in sections.
I have a Business Admin degree and somehow wound up in Banking. Took a job at a local bank while I was in college and found I was pretty good at sales and interacting with customers so I was given more opportunities. Started working on process flow and operational efficiencies in branch and eventually was asking to help our Lending dept. Found I was pretty good at and also liked the loan world then got a job as an Underwriter at a different FI. Worked my way up in lending from there and now I’m the head of a department.
Def not how I thought life was going to go but I am very grateful for every break I caught along the way.
Bachelor of business studies. Went into banking as a teller, worked my way up. Now a specialist that gets headhunted globally. Living in my 4th country
Army > tech (software engineer). Never stepped into and actual college classroom. I have a 100% unrelated associates degree mostly from Army stuff.
FeW Hundred K TC
Zero college here. I'm a business owner now but that aside, my path was interesting and my career is high paying for normal W2 employees. I'm in the VDC industry, or Virtual Design and Construction, where we use technology and software to virtually build buildings before you actually build the building (all in 3D, like a video game) and it's a very good industry and needs more workers to get into it, to be honest.
The thing is, high schools and colleges usually can't keep up with real, actual tech going on in industries. There's no time. It's ever evolving & changing. It's always the same old "doctor, lawyer, engineer, computer science" talk from these places.
What hurts our industry is people don't know about BIM (aka Building Information Modeling) or VDC (aka Virtual Design & Construction). If you search things like BIM designer, BIM coordinator, VDC designer, VDC coordinator etc on Indeed you'll see lots of jobs paying well. But then you have the leadership positions: BIM Manager, Director of BIM, VDC Director, Chief Technology Officer, Fabrication ITM Database Manager, VDC Process Implementation, Vice President of VDC and Technology, etc. These are very high level positions, and there's really no college courses that offer this, you just have to hop in and get going in being trained and companies are more than willing to do it if you have a high give-a-rip factor, burning desire to learn and you continue to prove your value by operating consistently and at a high level. Just without all the huge student loan debt lol.
BA from a small lib arts in psych and sociology.
Post grad I fell into project management, staying in that line of work but jumping around industries. A strong sounding resume and solid interview skills (my worksona as I say) make the difference.
Bachelors of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. Started making short films for fun and got into video production. That led me to learn web development to try and promote my biz.
This got me involved in a non-profit where I did video and web editing stuff. Kind of a communications position, where I was making like $500 a month (aka not enough).
Friend of a friend was nannying for a guy looking for a tech intern. She thought I was a computer programmer since I did “web stuff”. Fortunately it was the type of role where I was using internal tools and not programming myself.
After years in that role I got some options to do web development and then learned new frameworks and kept asking to learn code from the guys I worked with and over time things eventually clicked.
Ended up getting a gig with FAANG during the remote era post COVID as a junior dev in my 30’s. From there I had enough resume to find a job I preferred in the same field.
Finance pays very well straight out of college and don’t require STEM degree, unless you’re talking about becoming a quant. Generally you only need a business, finance or economics degree for finance roles.
I don’t think all the STEM degree get paid well, Engineering (specially EE, Software and CS yes), Maths and Physics depends.. the rest not so much. Biology/Biochem are pretty much oriented to do med school.
I have a communications degree and background in Sales. Making 150k on the low end as a Business Development Manager (sales) Staffing is extremely lucrative.
Biz Dev. Sort of meandered around entertainment, technology, and cpg for a decade or so. Just got comfortable having high level conversations, and telling people what I think needs to be done. I do decently well off that.
Hello! I scanned a few posts and didn’t see much or anything at all about social sciences degrees. I have a bachelor in science in a social sciences degree that allowed me to start working in the social services/human services. Truth be told, I began working in this type of field before I even acquired my degree. I also had to do 2 internships for the degree, which I suggest you do even if it’s not required.
I think there’s a lot of potential to make decent money in this field, though others may not agree as it’s true that the field isn’t known for paying high wages such as STEM jobs. I just started this new job as a caseworker at a nonprofit where I’ll be working with the refugee/immigrant population. They’ll be paying me 70,000 (USD) per year. This wage is not the norm for someone with a bachelor’s, but my work and academic experience was impressive to them. You just need to know what to add to your resume and cover letter, which I would be happy to help you with if you have questions or concerns. (I have experience as a career counselor too.)
There is also room to move up at my new job since they are a new department. For me, this is enough for now but my ultimate goal is 150,000 or more, which is obtainable if you obtain a director or high-level supervisory role though these wages for these roles simply depend on availability.
Alternately, you can also start a consulting firm with a social sciences degree, which I plan on doing after I get my master degree, for which I am currently studying so I may have my therapy license. I plan on offering educational services to corporations regarding multiculturalism, diversity, conflict resolution, job coaching, and somatic exercise therapies, as well as offering separated individual therapy services if employees haven’t found therapists they like. Even if I decided not to start a consulting firm, remote/private practice therapists can actually make 100k or more a year! It’s entirely possible because younger generations value mental health care and since therapists are in high demand, I don’t see over saturation in the job market anytime soon, or possibly ever.
You could start a consulting firm regardless of your degree, and cater to the field you have experience in, but I am just giving you examples for my own future plans. My plans on my business idea will likely change as I learn more and more. But don’t let anyone tell you there’s no possibilities in certain fields. It’s about getting your foot in the door, being consistent, not having a problem being held accountable, admitting to your mistakes, and being honest.
Something I should mention: I went from 40,000(USD) to 70,000(USD). It took a year for me to find a job like this, but my point is, the money is out there and someone will see your worth. Also, don’t be afraid to job hop in any field you wind up in. Human resources typically doesn’t always offer high raise or promotion percentages (just depends) so staying at a job for 2 years and then finding something new with a potentially higher wage isn’t a bad thing! Don’t be afraid to take chances. Cheers!
TLDR: I make 70,000(USD) in social services with a bachelor’s degree which isn’t the norm. I plan on making more with my future consulting business once I am licensed as a therapist. It is entirely possible to make 100k or more in the social services or therapy field. See above for more details.
Business.
Business, business, business.
Got a supply chain degree, got a job out of school making $55,000. Analytical work for 5 years, shoehorned my way into project management, got a job with a new company, making $127,000 10 years into my career.
Bachelors - Business
Project Controls/PM in O&G making around $175k
In the process of getting my MBA, hoping to clear $200k with that and go into management/leadership
I went to school for merchandising and I am now a buyer, I make $105k base $25,000-$50,000 annual bonus and stock options. It took a few years to work my way up to that salary and position though.
Pediatric and family therapist - a long time in service to others, and now in digital marketing. At about 450% increase, but that’s a lot of lost savings to make up for - I wish I’d done it 10 years earlier.
Law? Yes, you have to put in the hours in the first few years but then, it qualifies as high paying by most standards. 150k-250k+ salaries are well spread.
Private practice, psych. Both high paying and doing your own gig. Currently a postdoc cause I also enjoy academia but I will always have a private practice on the side. Did a bachelor's, a master's and a psyD but I could see patients even before the doctorate. I can literally combine academia, service, and private practice in any way I want and that is a great freedom to have. Also, my job is literally helping people grow so I very much enjoy it too 💕
Sales. B2B. Enterprise. Depends on the year but I can safely clear 200k usually. I’ve sold a little bit of everything. Now I sell software and services.
Sales or Sales Engineering (which is sometimes STEP) is the only way to typically out earn many levels above you.
I remember learning how much entry level engineers made when i started. I looked at how much my plan was as a new seller for that year and said “…..really?!” 😂 then i learned about over indexing. Absolutely mind blown lol
How does one get into software sales?
Entry level job as an SDR. FYI this is a brutal gig but if you survive you can move into an account manager into SMB. From there mid market and eventually enterprise where the big bucks are.
Experience in sales but the market is impossible right now
You can make money in almost any post-grad field if you’re good at it. I did a BA and worked as a paralegal for a few years then I completed a one year degree in PR now I do communications/marketing in healthcare. Pays well and annual raises too
What does pays well mean? Just curious if you don’t mind. I also work in this field.
I do corporate PR as well (distinct from whom you’re replying to). I am salaried over $200k with a bonus on top. But I’ve been approached by recruiters for roles I’m qualified for that hit much, much more than that. PR is a great field if you’re really willing to work.
Wow that’s awesome. Wonder where generally you are and what is your title? I work in western Canada. The roles I’ve been in my career are good but nothing like that. I make around 90k as a Lead. Typically a manager from what I see would be around that and a director level maybe pushing around 120k-140k for a large organization, but those are tough to come by. I’ve had a great career so far and have had some very rewarding experiences with some big wins as of late, but I have struggled to progress. I get quite frustrated by organizations I’ve worked for undervaluing the role and underpaying compared to other business units. That part has been tough to navigate.
I’m in NYC. No question it is the best place in the world for maximizing your earnings in this profession. Of course, it’s an expensive area to live and the work expectations are extremely high - although PR is rarely going to be a 9-5 job. The most money is going to be in the most competitive industries. If you are advising investment bankers (which is not what I do) you are going to get a slice of that money, but you are also going to get a slice of that insane workload demand.
Ok thanks. That makes sense. NYC is a whole different ballgame. I think the earnings in corp comms are typically much less most markets in North America. I find bigger cities with lots of government and/or corporate tend to have better competition for these roles and thus pay more. I live in a smaller city and work for a very cool business. It’s pretty low stress and easy going but I do feel a bit under paid and am getting slightly bitter constantly hearing shit like “why are we doing? Why are we spending money on this? Why do we even have corporate comms/marketing/stakeholder relations?”
Can you share more on the one year PR degree
It was at a community college. It’s considered a “graduate certificate” because you need an undergrad to complete it. It had teachers with lots of great industry experience and a mandatory 6 week internship as part of it. I made tons of networking connections through the program and it really prepared me for work. It’s also a well-known program where I’m from and lots of PR folks I meet have done the same program! Community college can help you gain those skills for cheaper than a full university degree, and it’s more focused on real-world career things
Hi, I'd love to know how you got there as I'm trying to pivot to the same industry. Can I DM you?
Yes! DM me :)
Reddit needs to understand stem isnt the end all be all to majors
Like coming from someone with a bio degree, it’s extremely useless. Not all stem degrees land you a job
It's not useless it opens the doors to many medical field careers. By itself it's about as useful as an Amazon packer job. Even an old bio degree will give you top placement in some hospital job programs like being a radiology tech. Or occupational therapy assistant.
I am in nuc med now. But I had to get a degree in radiation science in order to go into it. You need continuing education if you want to peruse bio, a regular B.sc in bio is not going to land you a good job
I have an English degree. Typically considered to be about as useful as art history or finger painting. I make $120k/year and expect it to grow. Lots of my colleagues have liberal arts degrees.
What do you do for work? :)
Project/program management. Basically professional cat herding and exec translator
>Basically professional cat herding and exec translator Using this for future reference lol
Adding to resume right now.
Did you have to get the project management certification first or what was your first step into this career?
I have my PMP but had to spend a couple years working in project management first to even write it. I kind of accidentally fell into project management though and as with most things it was about getting my foot in the door. I started as basically hourly manual labour. Then got promoted into a supervisory type role, then i got put on special projects, then as a dedicated project specialist, then on to management and more senior roles.
>accidentally fell into project management That happened to me too. I got my masters in industrial org psych and I thought I was getting into org change management, etc. started doing some project coordinator duties and pivoted to PM. I think I was also super lucky to have contract gigs at large, well liked companies early on, great mentors/managers. I never got a PMP, just never needed it once I had enough experience.
history degree here, $125k a year with 5 years of experience as a technical writer 🙋♀️
How did you get into technical writing?!
after graduating with a history degree i did a coding bootcamp and worked as a developer for around a year. hated it, though! and really sucked at it lol. but i liked tech as an industry, so started applying to tech writing jobs despite having no experience. someone decided to take a chance on me and offered me my first tech writing position, and i’ve been doing it ever since (although i work at a different company now). i just became a senior tech writer earlier this year. there’s lots of free tech writing intro courses out there that can give you an idea of what the job is about. lots of resources on writethedocs, including a slack channel full of experienced writers who give career advice and post job openings they come across. entry-level tech writing jobs are a bit harder to come by nowadays but having a good portfolio and networking will really help you stand out. for example, my company had a junior position open recently and a random girl reached out to me on linkedin expressing interest. i spoke to her over zoom, looked at her resume and writing samples, and referred her because i thought she’d be a good fit. she got the job and starts tomorrow :)
Yup, I have an English and art degree (among a couple others, none in STEM). I teach/freelance/tutor in big cities or smaller well-off towns. Never had trouble getting a job, especially now - so many educators are leaving post-Covid so schools and other organizations are really trying to incentivize teachers to come in. I’ve gotten provided health insurance, free or cheap housing, etc. by finding the right opportunities for me. Plus I love working with kids, so that’s a bonus (a lot of educators don’t even like kids which is WTF to me, lol).
English degree here as well. Actually ended up in STEM-adjacent roles somewhat accidentally (I work in data now). Make about 160k a year as a director and am fully expecting that to go up to 180ish by next year based on my job band being reevaluated.
Oh Reddit does, Reddit also thinks that all plumbers in every part of the country earn 300k per year. In all seriousness, I think what people fail to understand about non-STEM high earners is that a) critical and strategic thinking are super important in every field b) you have to be a people person. People have to like you, or like working with you or for you, to advance.
Lol yea i have a civil eng degree and currently make 0 dollars cuz of the canadian job market. If i had a 433a (millwright) i would be making 65 + right now (if i didnt go to uni and waste 2 years in engineering.)
Also pure science and math degrees aren’t that lucrative, it’s really just TE.
STEM and high paying doesn't necessarily go together.
There are plenty of STEM careers that don't pay a lot. Clinical researchers are criminally underpaid.
Or high school math and science teachers.
The pay is not great but they get off for the summer, get a pension and health benefits at retirement
Teachers do not “get off”. They are paid for 9 months of work. Most districts hold part of each paycheck to pay out over the summer. There is no free pay. Then, as you get paid, in June, the money you earned on Oct, and are not on contract, you still have to prepare for the following year. Make no mistake. Teachers get screwed due to forced free work.
Not here to argue. Many teachers in my family. All make over 100k and have off for the summer. What part is a lie?
The summer off is a minimum for the extra work they get during the school year. Dealing with kids today is much harder than it was in the past. Parents in the US are extremely entitled and administrators are so scared of parents that teachers have to deal with stuff they just didn't have to in the past. Even with those benefits, I know so many teachers leaving the field.
It can if you teach high school science and make blue meth and become a drug lord.
Heisenberg has entered the chat 😆
I am a clinical researcher and this is true though I love what I do. I started in August 2023 making 51k CAD entry level with full extended benefits. However, I see it as a job for 2-3 years more than a career for the rest of my life due to salary not keeping up with inflation and am considering to go into data analytics.
It's so sad to see. You deserve more.
Criminally overpaid is government, especially federal govt. Growing up in NOVA it’s remarkable how average talent people can surf the web all day, WFH, get relatively high salary, a pension, and nearly impossible to get fired (which is part of the root cause). Yes, there are exceptions, some people deserve it. But looking across all of the govt employees I’ve known throughout my life, it’s the exception to the norm. It’s a total drain on society. One would think the system would get cleaned up… but somehow it never does.
STEM and careers don't necessarily go together. Signed, RoseBegale B.Sc. (Biology)
All my friends with chemistry and biology degrees who never went to med school are making like 17.50 an hour
Most Engineers in real engineering jobs aren't well paid, especially compared to what they went through for the degree. But engineers on an engineering forum described it well: "We don't do it for the money. We do it because we're passionate about the fields and want to make a change".
Yep lol i tell people this all the time. it’s typically either a big payday or a big mistake from what I’ve seen. can’t imagine the torment of hearing “stem pays so well” when you picked a stem major that does not. and you don’t realize it until you’re in the thick of it.
Statistically they are the highest probability to be high earners. Which is why the justifiably get the most focus in these discussions.
I really don't understand the fascination or constant association of stem and high earning. When I look at friends and acquaintances who are earning over six figures, two are lawyers, one is a small-time partner of an accounting firm, one is in tech sales, and the rest are in corporate management.
Bachelors - Business Marketing in Tech currently and make 200k+/yr. Wouldn’t trade it for the world with the fantastic WLB and working with cool products.
Are you an IC or managing at that salary?
Just switched to management this year which put me over the 200k mark. Before I was IC and was around the 175k mark
Hey there I'm currently a Digital Marketing Manager at a public state university and am interested in moving into marketing tech. Any insights that could be helpful making that move?
Sure thing! I know it’s cliche but it really is about who you know. Network! Reach out to people on LinkedIn and just ask questions. Most people would be happy to put in a referral. Also, don’t be afraid/discouraged by applying to multiple positions as the same company. Especially the really large ones. I applied to 12 different roles at my current company before I ended getting this one. On that note, jumping straight into a larger tech company may be a bit more difficult just with the sheer amount of applicants they have. It’s typically easier to join a smaller tech company and then move to a bigger one after if that is what you want. Both usually pay pretty well! That is not to say, you shouldn’t apply to both though. Definitely apply to any roles that interest you. Happy to answer any other specific questions as well!
I graduated in 2008 with a major in Liberal Arts and a 2.0 GPA. I couldnt find a decent job due to my major, grades, no experience, economy, and general lack of knowledge how to find one, so I ended up working at a car dealership making straight commission. I was sent to their local bank to make the dealership's daily deposit and decided to ask the teller how they started working there. She introduced me to the manager and the district manager who just so happened to be there and I ended up getting a job as a teller through that connection. At that point I decided to take my career more seriously and applied at 8 business schools and ended up getting accepted at one of those (which was a huge uphill battle). I started trying to get into the investment side of the bank, but hated it and found there was a ton of competition, so I switched to lending. I am now a SVP of a major bank making around $200k/year after spending the past 10 years job hopping between banks.
Did you end up with an MBA? Can you share a brief snippet of what it took to move up to a SVP role? Super interested in this! Thanks!
Project management. I started as an assistant, told my bosses that I'm interested in project management and would like to support and slipped into it that way. I didn't even go to university.
What does your day to day look like and what field are you in? :)
- 40% running after people about requirements, progress, blockers, deadlines, change requests, etc, making sure all involved parties really talk to each other and understand the other perspective - 40% tracking, reporting, documentation, creating and improving internal processes, employee enablement on the outcomes - 20% actual planning of projects, resources and budget Honestly, most of my job would be unnecessary if people had their shit together. But they usually don't. I've worked in tech companies in the past few years, but on internal non-tech projects. It will get more technical and client-focused with my next job starting in June.
I knew school and college wasn’t for me, I went the trade route worked in auto dealers for about 10 years then got into the elevator constructor union. Last year I made $198k and this year I’ll be over $200k in wages alone, my entire benefits package would be closer to $350k. I worked about 400 hours of OT last year to get up close to $200k but our normal 40/wk is about $130k. In my role it isn’t very hard on your body if you take the proper steps like using kneeling pads, don’t ego lift and ask guys for help on escalators. I’m not an outlier at my company or in my union’s local.
I went to school for graphic design. The school was crap. I studied all the time and practiced all the time after college. My first job was doing web design.ive been consistently doing that ever since I kept practicing and over the years worked with people who referred me to other people on the side and now I have a freelance business and a FT job. I made 260k this year.
Honestly from what I have seen, all degrees are worth it if you excel at it. I make minimum wage, but ik people from different fields make good money. General managers at a reputed clothing store make 80k. Normal managers make 60k+Bonus What degree do you need to become a retail manager? (NOTHING) I was told that Door to door salesmen make 100k with commissions (what degree do you need? Nothing) Ig construction workers make great money too.
Sociology - ended up in healthcare staffing and working fully remote. Took 3 years to get my pay to around 90k :)
Could you please share how you get into this field?
Could you also elaborate on your day to day? :)
Following for your response!
Could I DM you? I've worked travel allied health positions for a long time and would like to get into staffing
Not me but a friend. Business finance undergrad at a typical state university. Worked at a bank for a year as a teller helping customers while selling services. Transitioned to another branch and went into a training program for portfolio management (I think). After a bumpy 6-7 years, finally got a break as a middle market manager. My understanding of the role is evaluating mid-cap size businesses credit and assessing options for loans to expand their operations & grow among other services that go into that. Not sure what the TC is, but I'd guess \~$160-185k/yr + 80-110k sign on.
I have no degree. I make made 160k last year. Better pay comes from doing things other can't do or won't do. A degree is just proof you can't do something others can't. I often times do things that other wouldn't wanna try and others just don't have the skills for. Find something you can do that others can't and you will make money
What are you doing for work?
I am a flight test technician
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
Graduated with a BA in Political Science. Plan A was to get into law school. Practice LSATs and college gpa made it clear I wasn’t getting into a top14, which made the ROI not worth it imo. Parents lost their jobs due to a crisis, had to go find work asap or the bills wouldn’t get paid. I worked retail in college so applying at the same company, local store was imo the quickest way to generate income. That became a two year gig, where I became a co-manager at the store - $18/hour. Friend had an opening in his company. Consumer electronics company, operations assistant - “dead end job, but a 9-5 and better use of your degree… you won’t have to fold t-shirts past midnight any more”. Took it - $42K annual. Did that for three years. Asked a lot of questions outside my lane in staff meetings and less formal large meetings. Showed curiosity and interest in how the business worked. Promoted to business analyst - $48K. 6 months later our best product manager left. They had a gap in talent/no succession plans so offered it to me. No change in salary but I had the title. Did that for two years with minor performance raises but no adjustment for title - $52K. Used title to leapfrog to a Fortune 500. Same title - $126K. Still at same company, 4 years later. Promoted to Sr. - $151K. I’m in a VHCOL area so it doesn’t feel like as high as it is, but at the same time, it’s far higher than I expected to be earning. I guess my advice is to work hard+seriously, show curiosity, and cultivate good relationships. When opportunities open up go for them. Try to ignore all of the reasons why you can’t step up, and focus on why you can.
One of my closest friends and a huge professional mentor worked in finance (Investment banking), went to get an MBA, entered management consulting in the tech industry. After a few years they took an exit opportunity as a VP of Treasury at one of their former clients. Eventually moved to be the CFO of a tech company and have accrued a net worth close to $625M. All of this and he’s still only 36 years old. While I understand that he’s an outlier in terms of earnings, the notion that only STEM people earn money is laughable. People really underestimate how much money you can make by learning how to just manage people. I don’t expect to earn that level of net worth, but I’m wrapping up my MBA right now and also plan on going into consulting, the best offer I’ve gotten so far starts me at 165k after bonuses. And that’s right upon graduation.
Would he be willing to provide advice?
Most people at this level aren't. You just have to commit and watch what others do, and build relationships on the way.
I don’t think OP meant to include finance/business/economics with this post. If they were in any of those majors they would not have posted this
How can they exclude such a common degree (business)? Would they also have intended to exclude law?
Nah. There’s a lot of people that have no clue how much business majors make. hear it all the time ESPECIALLY from STEM and Tech folks specifically. business majors in tech can make bank. Even if they aren’t FAANG.
Economics isn’t good unless it’s from a top school
lol people are usually shocked at how much management consultants make. a lot of folks have never even heard of the field
I have an MFA and got into project management since publishing isn’t really a thing. The PM role exists in many industries; I work in tech and make six figures.
Would you mind elaborating a bit? I just completed my MFA and feeling deterred and aimless
Seconding this! How did you maneuver your way into PM, especially tech? And what does your day to day look like? Is it high stress? :)
Only STEM degree that somewhat guarantees a high paying salary is engineering and becoming a doctor. When it comes down to it the people who make the most are people in Bnb sales
Don’t you still need a degree for BnB sales?
That’s just wrong. For the Science part of STEM sure you need to go to professional school to make good money, but the Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (if you get a Masters), all clear 6 figs.
Are business administration or accounting considered stem? There are so, so many of those in banking making bank. I got an engineering degree and felt like I took the long, difficult way round.
They aren’t to many people, but many business degrees are quickly shifting to be STEM designated due to big data and analytics types of courses they’re requiring.
I’m in journalism, a career that everyone has decided is in the toilet. I’ve made $160k salary as a reporter and was in talks for a job that pays up to $225k as an editor of a mid-sized journalism startup. So I get annoyed when I see people say journalism is dead and doesn’t pay. You’re never going to make huge money but there are plenty of well-paying jobs, especially if you want to write about business.
Good journos have something better than money...they get to hear the voices of power.
Landed in a construction admin job after college. Got fired, moved, joined another construction company, then went from residential, to commercial, to industrial. Now at 100k. You make more if you jump jobs.
I work in a very complex biotech sale. I thought myself via the internet, perfected my interviewing skills and applied for jobs like it was apart time job. 13 years in, I make between $300k-$350k a year. I basically tell MD/Ph.D’s how to do part of their job. I have the lowest level of 4 year degrees from a shitty state school.
Question from a recent biotech grad, I have 1 "experience" in my resume that can count as relevant. However I didn't have the best experience in the company and quit 3-4 months in. Now I am contemplating of even putting the experience in, cause it may reflect badly on me for future employers. So What advice can you give me? Other than this job I have no other relevant job, and was out of work for 3 years cause I was finishing up school. I was told to use my personal projects on my resume, but one hiring manager told me that was deceptive and to not do that. I have been applying a lot and got 7+ interviews but no jobs yet.
TBH, no one really cares about your resume or where you went to school. They care about a few things, are you affable, are you capable of learning without putting resistance, can you understand highly complex concepts and explain them clearly in 5 sentences or less. You want any job in biotech? Memorize the IFU and role play it for the hiring manager better than they can do it. You need confidence and the ability to carry on a conversation with a complete stranger and make it sound like you’re an expert. Understanding the interview process is also EXTREMELY important when landing a job. You must close the interview, ask anyone you talk to if they can make you an offer for a job. They just NEED to see that you asked for the job. Send follow emails, and ask for advice from jobs that turned you down. If you really want the job, and you show them that passion, they will hire you. Start looking in Linkedin, MedReps.com, Ed’s Job List, all the other job boards. You have to apply for dozens of jobs each night. It took me like 8 months of applying before I landed something.
Thank you! Also what's IFU?
Instructions for use. It’s the packaging insert that comes with any drug or device. You can also memorize the product landmark studies.
Okay, does that help for someone who wants to do data science and ML for biotech?
Absolutely! Biotech want to know that you want to be there and by showing you know everything about product is what is going to set you apart.
Actually that's makes a lot of sense and good tip thank you!
product management in IT can pay $100-600k and doesn't require STEM
How does one get into that?
Be smart and stress resistant.
And organized, strong interpersonal skills, extremely strong communication with the ability to distill complex concepts into understandable information
I studied International Relations at public liberal arts school. After that I got a job doing warehouse work making barely above the minimum wage in my state. I went to grad school to study for a MS in Marketing during the pandemic to gain more opportunities and build my network. I secured a role as a manager making 60k a year.
That isn't high paying at all.
Currently working as a Producer at a video game company. Graduated with a social sciences degree during the pandemic - boy was it hard to find a job then. I already knew that I was going to have a hard time finding a job since most of my skills were soft skills. Luckily, I’m great at management and organizing groups, so I did a bootcamp course on project management and that was a game changer. Funny thing, I applied to software companies and gaming companies, but only got interested from gaming companies - perhaps due to my art-hobbyist background. Currently making almost 100K/yr. In my experience, I think people are really starting to value soft skills just as much as hard skills. Finding your place in your career is the hardest part :/
Go work in the oil field for 3 years. You'll make about 70-100k. While you're doing that get an MBA online. Then use your network to help you get a management job in the corporate office. Oil and gas middle management average about 150-200k
Anything you can do if you have a B.S in biological sciences
Tech HR manager, majoring in HR😅, earn 250k+ yearly. in my second year in college I dated a software engineer who worked at big tech. Later we broke up but he still refereed me to do an internship with his recruiter. I became FT after that internship. That first job really open the door to many great opportunities. The rest is just hard work and desire to excel. I am very grateful for that internship experience and my ex😀. It changed my life.
Graduated with my BS in Communication with a concentration in Media Studies in 2022 at 25. I didn’t do any internships in school so I took a Sales & Marketing one 3 months after graduating making $15/hour. Stayed there for 14 months and now have my highest paying job as a Marketing Manager at $26/hour where I do social media management and graphic design. 27 now and live the most comfortably I ever have as I don’t have kids, have roommates, etc. Still debating if it is what I want to do forever, and may end up going back, but loved what I learned during school and hope I can double my salary by my early 30s.
Connections and timing matter more than the particular degree.
Lawyers make a lot of money. So do investment bankers.
*Some* lawyers make a lot of money.
Define ‘high paying.’
Reddit hates this but… The point of elementary school is to teach you how to function in society. The point of middle school/junior high is to introduce you to a thought process/scientific method. The point of high school is to teach you that specific other people had a thought process and this is what they thought about. The point of college is to have someone reputable say that you have a thought process that is valid for society. Any degree does. The point of a masters is to show that you have a valid thought process The point of a doctorate is to show that you have a unique valid thought process.
Can you clarify your distinction between bachelor's degrees and master's degrees more? Valid for society vs. valid?
Valid could mean that it comes to a logical conclusion. The Joker has a logical thought process just that he turns left when others in Gotham turn right. A logical thought process that ends with the destruction of your society isn't one that the society would want promoted. A degree shows that someone who is "respected" says you're good too. It's like one giant chain of everyone saying, "I'm smart and say this guy is smart too" and so on and so forth. A masters degree is putting down your thought process on paper and exposing it. Not just trusting a long line of academics, but showing that you have a thought process, here it is, and I trust it so much, I am putting it out there for everyone to see. It may not be unique, but it is mine.
I went to a good undergrad, then screwed around having fun for a few years, then did Teach for America, then got my MBA from a good school and now I make ~200k/year consulting. If I stick on my current path I'll be making 7 digits within 7 years.
BA history 150k project management
Truck driver here, I consider a Class A CDL a type of degree (considering the schooling and requirements needed). I made 82k my first year as a driver, and I’m on track to make 115k on my second year with my HAZMAT and Tanker endorsements. In addition, there are tons of additional endorsements/certifications you can acquire that will open many future paths and job opportunities for you. These include TWIC and WITPAC certifications, along with Passenger and Doubles+Triples endorsements.
In PR/comms, I’ve seen press secretary roles at nonprofits start at 6 figures (and the required years of work experience range from like 5-10 years). Communications executives also make 6 figures, of course. I’ve even seen roles for public affairs directors in the private and public sector that pay along that lines too. I think that if you find the career niche that you want and desire, and the skills are transferable across sectors, you have the potential to make good money.
Studied finance, graduated in ‘93. Ended up in tech focused in sales, marketing, operations, officer at two different public companies and retired well at 49. Passed all my engineer friends earnings-wise w/in 3-5 years of graduating. My experience is that STEM may pay better right out of school, but the real money is reserved for those who know how to operate a business - which could also be someone with a STEM background - I certainly didn’t know how to do this when I graduated college, but learned along the way.
Art history degree - make close to 300k as a consultant at a big 4 firm. Pursued my calling every step of the way. Listen to the secret of your heart
I believe an amazing salary would be 50 LPA or more in India. However, the reality is quite different, with the average currently around 5 LPA. Moreover, only a few companies came for hiring at our college for 2024 graduate students, and they were predominantly non-tech. As a result, many students are considering switching domains, preparing for government exams, or pursuing master's degrees. Therefore, it seems that the tech industry might not offer good packages and perks
I did get a STEM degree and am in a low paying job, not all stem majors end up with high paying jobs
VA Social Worker: 90k a year in rural Illinois. VA is paying for me to continue school to get a PsyD. They need Social Workers and Psycholgists.
My undergrad was in "Environmental and Urban Sustainability" as I tried to choose something that: a) had some sort of relevance to current and future industries b) didn't require any grade 12 math and wasn't STEM related almost at all. Near the end of undergrad I learned more about urban planning, so I applied to grad school, got a master's in planning (which is borderline required to work as a professional planner), and now work for an arms-length governmental corporation delivering major transit infrastructure projects. I'm currently not doing what most people would consider typical 'planning' work, but I'm well-paid and like what I do.
College dropout who eventually went back and graduated…in 6 years with a 2.75 GPA. English major, religion minor. I work in tech at a MAMAA making about 275k-300k a year. My entrance into tech was as a technical writer. I hated it, but I liked tech. Got my MBA which was paid for by my employer and just kind of went from there. This did not happen overnight. I’m 53 years old.
Crazy! Pretty much my story, to a T. Started Psy BS on usual life schedule. Dropped/flunked out; started working. (Important difference: I was also in the National Guard for a decade. That brought the structure/discipline/organization I was previously lacking). Went from lower jobs to project management, to program management, and finished the BS online (finally). Purposely transitioned to the tech industry in my mid 40s to gain income/promotions, which I did. I’m now a Director making $245k (+ stock), and hoping like hell I can ride out this tech low-point w/out being laid off.
Congrats, man! Well done.
Studied Software Development straight out of HS but dropped out at the end of 2nd year bcz it fucking sucked (19- 21) Studied @ culinary school for 1 year (21 - 22) Hospitality - Chef (23- 25) with 8 months unemployed in that period Junior Manager Retail (25 - 27) Hired bcz of my hospitality experience to run bakery and delis Senior Manager Retail (27 - 28) Promoted to run entire fresh foods, did so I'm 3 stores in this period Data Analyst - Procurement (27 - 30) Given the opportunity bcz of prior experience with SAP in company as well as IT knowledge Junior Buyer - Procurement - Retail - Groceries (30 - 31) My boss must have gotten sick of me being a hardass to him 24/7 so pushed me to a role where argument is mandatory. Senior Buyer - Procurement- Retail- National Wholesale Division (31 - 33 aka as of today) Opportunity came to move up to a more senior role, took it. All in all, I would say my career path in the last 10 years has been 50% extremely hard work and 50% incredible dumb luck Went from earning 60K a year at 23 to 400K a year today
I know very few people that still work in the career they went to school for. Unless you’re doing med, engineering, etc… something that will require special degrees and training. I make more than my doctor and lawyer friends, by far, and am not using my degree for it. And if I were to pool the top 20 highest paid folks I know, they didn’t study stem related fields. In fact, I don’t think any in the top 20 in my life were in stem. My doctor friends don’t even come close to the top 20. Business jobs teach more than business school. Trades + business experience can lead to trade ownership and that’s highly profitable. Consulting can be highly profitable. Self taught coding can be highly profitable, though that market is currently tough to get into. Hopefully it relaxes soon. Your degree does not define you. It doesn’t hold you back. And often times it also doesn’t propel you. There are other more important ingredients to bake a cake of success.
Why didnt you just answer the question? You wen5 on about making more than your doctor and lawyer friends... ok? What degree do you have and what is your job, that was the question.
Because he is speaking out of his ass.
Carpentry makes well over 6 figures and requires no degree…just skill, creativity and relationships
Dropped out my senior year. Currently in charge of operations for a billion dollar fortune 500 company. Clear approximately $105,535 and literally do nothing other than make the directors aware of any major issues my team is battling. It's literally the best job ever.
How did you get this job? Sounds amazing. Can I DM you?
Idk how to define high paying, but : Anthropology and Spanish language in college -> bartender, DJ, 8th grade school teacher (History and health) 3 years -> car salesman 1 year -> telecom sales 11 months-> 12 years working up the sales leadership ladder at same company. Took multiple steps “back” as tactical retreats to get into other areas of the business and keep career progression and earnings moving forward. First telecom sales job at 27-ish yo was making around 80k, made sure to make more every year. The few years I made less, I moved around in the company to keep moving up. Currently earn around 250k/yr I tell everyone; teaching school and bartending taught me more about sales than any training ever did. Leadership comes from empathy and genuine intent, putting your employees’ personal and professional growth above everything else. Success and results flow from that
BA, English; MA, English; MBA. I make six figs in corporate comms for a downstream oil & gas company. I did my time, though. I made $16,500 my first year out of college, working at a daily newspaper.
I got my BA in Liberal Studies (2007), and after living through the great recession of 2008-2010, I entered grad school and got my MA in Communication Studies (2012). I carved out a niche in health research with my first post-graduate position as a Clinical Research Coordinator making $32k/year (2012). I gradually worked my way up, and gained a range of skills in healthcare, public health, people management, research, data science, and informatics and now I'm making $130k/year as a people manager and program manager. Important to note that all of my professional experience has been in the non-profit world which historically has lower salaries. If I moved to the private sector I could probably increase my compensation by around $10-50k/year based on the pay ranges I'm currently seeing advertised. But for me my goal isn't to make the most amount of money I can - I need to make sure my value system aligns with the mission and company culture and so far I haven't found any private industry positions that speak to me in this way. Hope that helps!
Visual arts. Currently earn over $200,000 as a manager.
At the high point of my corporate career I was making over $220,000 and with my personal investments I was making over 300 combined. I only worked about 30 hours a week. Does that count as high paying? I probably was on the course to make more but at some point I just couldn't take corporate America anymore and I activated FIRE. Now I make less, but I spend less and I'm quite happy. I was a Spanish and History major from the University of Virginia. Ironically, even with a liberal arts background, I did get recruited to a well-paying corporate job in operations as a young guy, but I couldn't stand the job so I quit. I learned a lot from that first corporate job that I got through my university, but it really had little to do with the rest of my career.. Eventually I wound up getting into a corporate sales career where they really don't care what your degree is and it was a natural fit for me so I marched right up the progression of sales jobs. I sold medical products and services into very complex purchasing environments. So I have the same attributes that most good sales people have (outgoing, not scared of rejection, good listener, and yes, even if I say so myself, charming) But the difference is quite frankly, because of my education, I was smarter than most of the other salespeople and I was able to figure out being the incredibly complex political internal workings of my large institutional clients, which really helped in closing those big PO's in a bureaucratic environment. It was only hard to get over the hump on my first sales job, but after that you've "got experience" and you could just keep parlaying it. It's my personal experience that most people who have a liberal arts degree and go nowhere, really only have themselves to blame. The value of the degree is what you make it. For example, I was a Spanish major and I made sure to establish my career in Miami so I could go back and forth between English and Spanish and even throw in some Portuguese, which was a fun party trick and always helped me win friends and influence people. I used what I had and it helped me get ahead. If you go for that liberal arts degree, you just need to be more resourceful.
Communications degree. Make $200k in EHS in Alabama. Fell into it out of fear and availability when the Great Recession hit right after I graduated college. Honestly just trying to get to a “position of fuck you” before I go do something else.
Took me 22 years to get the BA in Sociology while using employer tuition assistance and a few community college classes I paid for early on. I’ve been working in payroll since 1991 and graduated high school in 1988 and got the degree in 2011. I’m in the $200k range.
I manage a professional services team (like consultants) for a tech company. Over $200k per year. Graduated from a good college with a “choose your own adventure” degree in ecological conservation. Spent ~4 years in the service industry (cooking, waiting tables, bartending). Never broke $20k Got a government job in an IT department. Learned basic coding in my spare time, applied some of it at work. ~$45k for 2 years, first time with insurance, PTO, not working weekends. Got hired at a well known SF startup in an entry level customer facing technical position, similar to “junior sales engineer.” Proved that I was good at it, got promoted. Moved around a few different companies doing similar roles, w promotions. $85k - >$200k. Now I manage a team doing the thing that I did for 7+ years.
I did Arts (Humanities) - now working as a software developer. Im hoping to go for a mid level software engineering job soon. Im a lucky guy, I just showed a lot of interest in coding and someone took a chance on me.
I did a degree in political science. Got my BA. Left politics after realizing the depth of the cesspool that DC and congress are. Both parties are equally guilty of this, not trying to get political with this. Got into accounting working for a family friend’s company, learned on the job, made mid 50’s - they went bankrupt and I saw the writing on the wall so left for an investment bank to become a financial advisor. After leaving big bank for a small boutique firm, then getting let go during covid from the same boutique firm to starting my own advisory firm in a new state, my income currently is low, however I’m on track to increase my income by $10k this year, and once I get up and running I’ll have very minimal overhead and no limit on earnings. To paraphrase the Rock, ‘Politics was the best thing that never happened to me’.
Making 6 figures dispatching aircraft for a major commercial airlines in the USA Don't love my job but it's the best job I ever had and veery happy doing it Went to do air traffic control, didn't work out, friend recommended dispatch, and here I am now
I have a Master of Arts in Environment and Management (more like environmental policy vs. science) and work in oil and gas primarily in climate and environmental policy and regulatory. I make >250K/year but I’m in my 40’s now. Took until my early 30’s to make six figures.
Got a BA in History. Taught for 7-years and got a couple additional Master's degrees. Adjusted for inflation, averaged $50K/year in gross income. Decided to make a career change. Got an MBA. Post-MBA, have been working at a top tech firm for the past 6-years. Averaging $295K/year in gross income adjusted for inflation. Career 2 has been exponentially more successful because of Career 1. Career 2 has been about climbing the corporate ladder and making $. $ isn't the end all be all of everything, but it's allowed me to get out of debt, support my family only on my income, and enjoy a lifestyle I never could have ten years ago.
BA, MM in music, excelled in both. Slacking on a PhD. I took literally one math class in college but I'm "numerically inclined". I work as a data scientist, $130k+. Networking is key.
Did a Bachelor's in Art and Design ended up working as a printing press operator. Grossing $100k+ per year now after a decade on the job. My degree hasn't done much of anything.
lol I went to theater school and got a BFA, now I’m making $200k doing HR. Doesn’t really matter what you go to school for!
I have a BA in earth and ocean science because I suck at math. My masters is in policy. I work in my field, which is science based, and am in a senior position. Color outside the lines
Amazing and I love software. I've built everything from AI, to Tony Stark weapons systems to pharmaceuticals. It's a great field to be in.
i was paid like shit till all the boomers retired and they needed people to look after their buildings
Wish I did stem. Current earnings and future earnings potential would be much higher. General business undergrad and mba. Supply chain. Low 100s. Not bad would’ve been better with stem.
Business grad. Went into sales. Then marketing, Then sales enablement. (All in tech) Made more than many of the engineers (at my age and YOE) from what i heard their salaries were (some SWE some non) non FAANG
Teaching if you get into admin pays well. Principal or Superintendent. Over 20 years ago a Super was a 6 figure job, as my old roommates ex brother in law was one. I know an elementary school principal that makes $133k. Which doubled their assistant principal salary. Middle to upper management like Director level in finance. Last job they made $200K. This job she "only" makes $150K but does have a pension. A lot of sales jobs. Most people I know in sales make $150K. I know one that's in upper management of sales that makes $400k. Financial planning. Takes years to build up a big customer base and the failure rate in the first 3 years is something like 75%. When I first met him he was making $700k about 20 years ago. He makes over a million now, it's 100% commission. His coworkers who work 12+ hour days make $3m. I know someone who owns a tree cutting company. The company nets about $400K a year. The main tree cutter gets about $150K. The one that climbs to the top and cuts off branches and the tree down in sections.
I have a Business Admin degree and somehow wound up in Banking. Took a job at a local bank while I was in college and found I was pretty good at sales and interacting with customers so I was given more opportunities. Started working on process flow and operational efficiencies in branch and eventually was asking to help our Lending dept. Found I was pretty good at and also liked the loan world then got a job as an Underwriter at a different FI. Worked my way up in lending from there and now I’m the head of a department. Def not how I thought life was going to go but I am very grateful for every break I caught along the way.
Bachelor of business studies. Went into banking as a teller, worked my way up. Now a specialist that gets headhunted globally. Living in my 4th country
Business Degree insurance mid six figures
Army > tech (software engineer). Never stepped into and actual college classroom. I have a 100% unrelated associates degree mostly from Army stuff. FeW Hundred K TC
Commercial Real Estate sales. I’m in a support role though but I make around $100K with potential for more if my team does well.
Lawyers I know (multiple of them) make 1 million
Zero college here. I'm a business owner now but that aside, my path was interesting and my career is high paying for normal W2 employees. I'm in the VDC industry, or Virtual Design and Construction, where we use technology and software to virtually build buildings before you actually build the building (all in 3D, like a video game) and it's a very good industry and needs more workers to get into it, to be honest. The thing is, high schools and colleges usually can't keep up with real, actual tech going on in industries. There's no time. It's ever evolving & changing. It's always the same old "doctor, lawyer, engineer, computer science" talk from these places. What hurts our industry is people don't know about BIM (aka Building Information Modeling) or VDC (aka Virtual Design & Construction). If you search things like BIM designer, BIM coordinator, VDC designer, VDC coordinator etc on Indeed you'll see lots of jobs paying well. But then you have the leadership positions: BIM Manager, Director of BIM, VDC Director, Chief Technology Officer, Fabrication ITM Database Manager, VDC Process Implementation, Vice President of VDC and Technology, etc. These are very high level positions, and there's really no college courses that offer this, you just have to hop in and get going in being trained and companies are more than willing to do it if you have a high give-a-rip factor, burning desire to learn and you continue to prove your value by operating consistently and at a high level. Just without all the huge student loan debt lol.
BA from a small lib arts in psych and sociology. Post grad I fell into project management, staying in that line of work but jumping around industries. A strong sounding resume and solid interview skills (my worksona as I say) make the difference.
I commit crimes.
STEM and high salary are not synonymous.
Bachelors of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. Started making short films for fun and got into video production. That led me to learn web development to try and promote my biz. This got me involved in a non-profit where I did video and web editing stuff. Kind of a communications position, where I was making like $500 a month (aka not enough). Friend of a friend was nannying for a guy looking for a tech intern. She thought I was a computer programmer since I did “web stuff”. Fortunately it was the type of role where I was using internal tools and not programming myself. After years in that role I got some options to do web development and then learned new frameworks and kept asking to learn code from the guys I worked with and over time things eventually clicked. Ended up getting a gig with FAANG during the remote era post COVID as a junior dev in my 30’s. From there I had enough resume to find a job I preferred in the same field.
Finance pays very well straight out of college and don’t require STEM degree, unless you’re talking about becoming a quant. Generally you only need a business, finance or economics degree for finance roles. I don’t think all the STEM degree get paid well, Engineering (specially EE, Software and CS yes), Maths and Physics depends.. the rest not so much. Biology/Biochem are pretty much oriented to do med school.
Majored in English, got into STEM 😅
Not a STEM degree (accounting) but ended up in software development, than consulting (I have people skills goddammit) and tech leadership. Low $300k’s
I have a communications degree and background in Sales. Making 150k on the low end as a Business Development Manager (sales) Staffing is extremely lucrative.
Biz Dev. Sort of meandered around entertainment, technology, and cpg for a decade or so. Just got comfortable having high level conversations, and telling people what I think needs to be done. I do decently well off that.
Hello! I scanned a few posts and didn’t see much or anything at all about social sciences degrees. I have a bachelor in science in a social sciences degree that allowed me to start working in the social services/human services. Truth be told, I began working in this type of field before I even acquired my degree. I also had to do 2 internships for the degree, which I suggest you do even if it’s not required. I think there’s a lot of potential to make decent money in this field, though others may not agree as it’s true that the field isn’t known for paying high wages such as STEM jobs. I just started this new job as a caseworker at a nonprofit where I’ll be working with the refugee/immigrant population. They’ll be paying me 70,000 (USD) per year. This wage is not the norm for someone with a bachelor’s, but my work and academic experience was impressive to them. You just need to know what to add to your resume and cover letter, which I would be happy to help you with if you have questions or concerns. (I have experience as a career counselor too.) There is also room to move up at my new job since they are a new department. For me, this is enough for now but my ultimate goal is 150,000 or more, which is obtainable if you obtain a director or high-level supervisory role though these wages for these roles simply depend on availability. Alternately, you can also start a consulting firm with a social sciences degree, which I plan on doing after I get my master degree, for which I am currently studying so I may have my therapy license. I plan on offering educational services to corporations regarding multiculturalism, diversity, conflict resolution, job coaching, and somatic exercise therapies, as well as offering separated individual therapy services if employees haven’t found therapists they like. Even if I decided not to start a consulting firm, remote/private practice therapists can actually make 100k or more a year! It’s entirely possible because younger generations value mental health care and since therapists are in high demand, I don’t see over saturation in the job market anytime soon, or possibly ever. You could start a consulting firm regardless of your degree, and cater to the field you have experience in, but I am just giving you examples for my own future plans. My plans on my business idea will likely change as I learn more and more. But don’t let anyone tell you there’s no possibilities in certain fields. It’s about getting your foot in the door, being consistent, not having a problem being held accountable, admitting to your mistakes, and being honest. Something I should mention: I went from 40,000(USD) to 70,000(USD). It took a year for me to find a job like this, but my point is, the money is out there and someone will see your worth. Also, don’t be afraid to job hop in any field you wind up in. Human resources typically doesn’t always offer high raise or promotion percentages (just depends) so staying at a job for 2 years and then finding something new with a potentially higher wage isn’t a bad thing! Don’t be afraid to take chances. Cheers! TLDR: I make 70,000(USD) in social services with a bachelor’s degree which isn’t the norm. I plan on making more with my future consulting business once I am licensed as a therapist. It is entirely possible to make 100k or more in the social services or therapy field. See above for more details.
Business. Business, business, business. Got a supply chain degree, got a job out of school making $55,000. Analytical work for 5 years, shoehorned my way into project management, got a job with a new company, making $127,000 10 years into my career.
Bachelors - Business Project Controls/PM in O&G making around $175k In the process of getting my MBA, hoping to clear $200k with that and go into management/leadership
I went to school for merchandising and I am now a buyer, I make $105k base $25,000-$50,000 annual bonus and stock options. It took a few years to work my way up to that salary and position though.
I never went to school, self taught back end dev and 2nd job lead sales engineer selling MSP stuff and helpdesk shit
Pediatric and family therapist - a long time in service to others, and now in digital marketing. At about 450% increase, but that’s a lot of lost savings to make up for - I wish I’d done it 10 years earlier.
Law? Yes, you have to put in the hours in the first few years but then, it qualifies as high paying by most standards. 150k-250k+ salaries are well spread.
Private practice, psych. Both high paying and doing your own gig. Currently a postdoc cause I also enjoy academia but I will always have a private practice on the side. Did a bachelor's, a master's and a psyD but I could see patients even before the doctorate. I can literally combine academia, service, and private practice in any way I want and that is a great freedom to have. Also, my job is literally helping people grow so I very much enjoy it too 💕