Good High-Earning Careers Brainstorming Session
hey guys,
so i'm currently in one of those "what am i going to do with my life" phases and i was thinking about different careers that I could do that make a lot of money. I was hoping you guys could give me some ideas as well as give me what are standard salary ranges for those careers (as well as the ones I've already listed)/ what people you know who do those careers say about them, since I'm just an undergrad and you guys probably would know better than me. I've tried Googling, but haven't had too much luck.
Some ones that come to mind:
Doctor (mainly surgeons)
Orthodontists/Oral Surgeons
High-End Lawyers
Successful Entrepreneurs
Management Consultants
Investment Bankers
Venture Capitalists
Private Equity
Successful Salesmen of High-End Products (medical devices, enterprise software, planes, etc.)
from the jobs i've had so far (only summer jobs and part-time but I've had about 7 different ones over the years), I've learned that I like getting paid for performance, working independently of a boss breathing down my neck all the time (don't mind a boss who just cares if i get the work done), i like working with other people, and I like jobs where most of my coworkers at least moderately enjoy what they do.
Any insights? To you guys who already have careers, what advice would you give to someone who hasn't?
Hmm:
Trader Asset Management Select jobs in Real Estate Sport's agent Engineer Pharma ...
What's your definition of a lot of money? I used to think engineering paid well, got an undergrad in Electrical Engineering. Then I realized that
That being said, I am currently working diligently to get out of engineering and go into Management Consulting. For performance, Sales (Government Contract level) and Investment Banking could also be good choices for you.
It also depends on how fast you want to get to a high salary (say 100k). In engineering, it may take you 5-10 years out of ugrad. In other industries it may take you 2-3.
Hope that helped a little.
i guess "high income" is pretty arbitrary, but for our purposes let's put it at 100k within 3 years (about 25 if you come straight out of undergrad) and 300k within ten years (early 30s).
which of the above careers would that knock out?
what a stupid thread. good luck getting into med/dental school with this kind of attitude...
@ consulted87
you're exactly right. taking financial rewards into consideration is most definitely stupid when considering possible career choices. it's even more stupid to ask such a question on a forum with like-minded, more informed individuals who can point me in the right direction.
troll fail.
no troll. just do me this one favor, please do not 'try' go into medicine for the money. my 2cents.
Find a career that you are passionate about and the rest will fall in place. You will be good at what you do and will be rewarded for it.
^This is only true if you are passionate about a select few careers. I think the OP was asking which careers. Regardless how passionate you are about being an elementary school teacher, it will never be a path to wealth.
I don't agree with that. An elementary school teacher who is passionate and does a good job can have the opportunity to be promoted to an administrative position and rise up the ladder. School officials (at least up north) are paid really well. I know elementary school teachers making over 100k a year. Also, they can tutor on the side for around $100/hr in cash a few times a week. Take that into consideration with summers off and stellar health benefits, and teachers in some areas do pretty well for themselves.
Dumb thread.
Trading or consulting seem to fit your criteria best
agree on the stupid thread comments, but I'll throw out sales. You can sell anything under the sun and make $ if you're successful.
Takling to one of my coworkers about our current sales force and he compared them to the medical product sales groups at J&J (where he used to work). He said J&J only hired young guys that were smart and hungry. These guys would quit if they didn't make $150k in year 2 and most were at $300k+ after 5-6 years.
I doubt many went much over $3-500k, but thats a lot of money. Also, the life of a salesman can be brutal.
president congressmen stripper nba nfl mlb economist meteorologist at bank ceo dean of a college veterinarian actor/actress artist prostitute etc
Millionaire Billionaire
As E46fan91 said, find something you're passionate about and you'll be very successful. If big $$$ is your only motivator, you aren't going to be very successful.
Having said that, the following is my own estimated ranking based on earnings POTENTIAL (over total career and assuming becoming at least partner; includes annual bonus)...list excludes professional athlete, actor, singer, etc.:
Note:this is an estimate and I welcome any feedback
Private Equity (you could make $ billions; ~$400k/yr+ with top MBA and 4 yrs exp) Hedge Fund (' ' ' $ billions; ~$300k/yr+ with top MBA and 4 yrs exp) Venture Capitalist (' ' '$ billions ; ~$250k/yr+ with top MBA and 4 yrs exp) I Banker (' ' ' $100s millions; ~$300-400k/yr+ with top MBA and 4 yrs exp) CEO of F100 company (' ' ' $100s millions, ~10-50M/yr.) Management Consultant (MBB) (' ' ' $ 50-100s millions; ~$250-300k/yr+ with top MBA and 4 yrs exp) Specialized Doctor (' ' ' $ 10-50 millions, ~$500-800k/yr.) Lawyer (' ' ' $ 10s millions) Sales (' ' ' $ 10s millions)
Sounds like Consultant (somewhat independent work, challenging, big bonuses for performance) or Sales may be best for you. What are you interested in?
Be forewarned, to just break in to any of the above fields/positions, except sales, law, or doctor, will be extremely difficult. Companies aren't gonna pay big $$$ to just anyone. And even if you are lucky enough to make it into one of the high finance fields or consulting at MBB, be prepared to sell your soul. You're gonna have to work hellish hours (80-100hrs./wk) and take a lot of crap from managers/clients, especially in finance (IB, PE, HF, VC). You'll have to decided if the $$$ is worth it. I am trying to break into a MBB consulting firm because consulting is where my interests lie and if I'm successful and enjoy my work, I'll be handsomely rewarded.
@ Mr. Stubbs
As far as breaking into stuff goes, I'm not going to be arrogant and say that I'm not worried about it at all, but I feel like I have as good a chance as anybody given my resume.
And yeah, I know that passion is the most important thing. But I wish that that wasn't the most common advice to someone my age. Since I've tried very little due to my age, I don't know WHAT my passion is. So I figure I might as well pick a high-earning career that I THINK I'll enjoy and figure it out as I go along.
but thanks, your detailed data was very helpful ;-)
Understood. Just wanted to give you a head's up to what you would be getting into.
Are you in college yet? I would try to wait until you have taken a few classes in college before deciding what specific career to pursue. But, you must have more interest in one filed than another, i.e. more interest in business than medical field. Start from there and then find out as much as you can about the specific jobs in that field.
I know it's hard to choose a career path. It took me a lot of research, college courses, and soul-searching to figure out what I wanted to do.
Good luck!
If you're good at something you will be financially successful, if you are mediocre, you will be mediocre regardless. MC is hardcore up or out so if you go in it for the short term payoff, you're likely to fall into the out bucket. IB same way.
I think people tend to forget about generic corp executives. 60 hour weeks, actually taking planned vacations, and making high six/low 7 figures in your late 40's/early50's is not a bad gig. Hard part is that you don't know if you're on the high track or the low track until your several years in, v. several months in other industries.
pick something you enjoy and give it a shot for a few years.. if you dont like it.. head to b school... if your the best in any industry you will get paid.. i know people in edcuation making more money then me. also keep in mind how many people are also trying to get the same jobs... so pick one and you should be fine... and 200k is not a lot of money.. 400k is not either.. 600k plus is.... so keep that in mind
I think it's all on your frame of reference. I grew up in a firmly middle class household in the south and the vast majority of my friends and acquaintances are middle class. To me, 200k is a lot of money, let alone 400k or 600k+.
Seeing all the talk on all the various threads on this forum with people throwing out (what are to me) ridiculous numbers for salaries and saying it's not a lot of money has been mind boggling for me. I know that puts me in the minority among the people on this forum....
I grew up dirt poor in Texas and majority of my friends and acquaintances are dirt poor too. 200k is a lot of money to some people but this is a finance site and in terms of finance(investment banking, trading, equity research) 200k is not a lot of money. Thats a few $1,000 from a 2nd year analyst and all in maybe a year 0 assoicate(signing, base, stub) so dont tell me that bullshit from your "frame of reference".
If they are big numbers then either 1) get use to it or 2) chooce another career. When you meet a 25 year old clearing 150k and its not a huge deal or a 35 clearing a million your learn its just finance.
200k in the south is worth a lot more than 200k in NY....
unless your leaving at both places at the same time who cares
Monty, not everyone is in NY. Where you live can have a huge impact on whether the amount of money you earn is "a lot."
Just for this example, I'm going to hypothesize that peacerenity is making his career choice and weighing Atlanta vs NYC. He'd have to earn a lot more in NYC to match that $200k salary in Atlanta: http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=200000&city1=51304000&city2=53651….
I just picked $200k as an arbitrary number for this example. If I decided to become a specialist surgeon and could expect to pull in $400-500k once I settled into the field (haven't looked at numbers for them in a long time, so not sure if they are correct), I would much prefer to live in a place where I can get the most bang for my buck.
*Peacerenity, don't mean to offend or anything, just using you as an example for the sake of this scenario, since it is mostly on topic.
@ habu987
haha no problem. i know exactly what you mean about 200k going a lot further in the south than in nyc, as i'm from the south as well.
for those who were asking, i'm a junior at princeton right now. i've already got a job lined up for the summer but it feels strange that next year at this time i'll be picking a career, most likely without having had any direct experience in that field. thus, i'm doing the next best thing and trying to pick something that's similar to jobs i've enjoyed before. so i figured i might as well ask you guys.
i will bet you a grand your not doing whatever you intern with now or start next year in 5 years post college. your not picking a career but a job to start to grow your career.. if you dont like you can get off the train at any time.. i did just that at month 19 after college.
you done all these jobs before?
Doctor (mainly surgeons) Orthodontists/Oral Surgeons High-End Lawyers Successful Entrepreneurs Management Consultants Investment Bankers Venture Capitalists Private Equity Successful Salesmen of High-End Products (medical devices, enterprise software, planes, etc.)
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