Jobs that can make you six figures before you turn 30.
Outside finance, law and medicine, what jobs can a college kid aim to land that will net them six figures a year?
Hard data (examples including age, years of experience, sector, location, function, etc.) extremely welcome.
To start:
I used to work as an engineer, in the office I made $60k. In the field I made $75k + $30k of tax free stipends a year (downside being that I only came home every second weekend).
Honestly, sales.
sales is where it's at. many people can't stomach the thought of rejection or appearing sleazy, but most of the highly paid people at any company are the salespeople (MDs, CEOs, etc., are all sales guys).
the downside with sales is that you will get pigeonholed, so be sure you go into an industry that has growth opportunities and is interesting, because you will not go from pharma to tech to hardgoods, if you're pharma, you're pharma for life. the only exception would be if you went from pharma to a healthcare PE/VC fund and helped with capital raising.
several of my friends do sales in healthcare/pharma & tech, they all started out as analysts (desk jobs, low excitement), but hustled their way into client facing roles, sometimes within the firm, other times outside.
fair warning, most of the people on this forum are social retards and have a preconceived notion that sales is a terrible job, and a lot of users come from a culture (ahem, Eastern culture) where the Western style of sales is seen as offensive, so I will likely catch shit for these comments.
the reality? there are a lot of smart people in sales, it's a great paying career, but until you get established, you don't feel safe, and some people can't take the travel.
sales without travel you ask? that's PWM in a nutshell. very hard to get established before you turn 30 however.
calling on Dingdong08 SirTradesaLot and DickFuld I would think they agree, but am curious to hear their thoughts
Or, so I've heard.
.
Absolutely agree. I'll leave aside sales in the finance field (and commercial real estate because it falls under the same umbrella of not truly producing things and being obvious high potential incomes-no offense) because that's been discussed multiple times, and all of the other posts are spot on but you can make tons of money in sales and you don't necessarily have to go to a really top school like you have to for IB or to work at Google/Apple. Yes you can get into those without having gone Ivy or similar but by and large, you get in through those schools. I think too many people associate sales with used car salesmen or retail telemarketing but if you get into enterprise software and other b2b tech, industrial equipment, medical devices, or other large ticket items you can make tons of money and the sales process isn't as bad as smiling and dialing all day because you have a/the product that the business wants and/or needs, and your company produces it (not that you won't be cold calling of course). You don't easily get into those positions by going to NW Shitstain U but a decent state school and higher ranked private won't make it anywhere as close to the uphill climb as getting into a top IB/PE/HF would be.
Like bro said, no one will be that great and I highly doubt they'd be very happy if they're an introverted person who doesn't like speaking to people all day long and you need to be able to handle rejection but I know plenty of people who make as much or more than the average finance person or lawyer (read average: not everyone who starts an IB analyst program ends up being a 35 year old MD at MS, gets on a partner track at KKR or becomes a top PM at an billion dollar HF). And one of the beauties of sales is that if you're good you'll never be out of a job. Every business always needs sales and there are never enough good salespeople. And there are decent opportunities that can get you out of direct product sales into true strategic biz dev roles (setting up JV's, breaking into new international markets where you're not just trying to sell the product but simply breaking into it, in service businesses putting together and negotiation large scale MSA's with customers, and things like that) and if you're intelligent you can then move up into the executive ranks, and perhaps c-level, that are non-sales related, i.e. you're not going to be the CFO.
The wealthiest 100% self made guy I know started in sales (he grew up poor as shit). He's probably the most incredible sales/biz dev guy I've known (and I know a lot of great ones) but he left his well paying cushy exec job at a global F20 company and started a related service business. Went all in and bootstrapped, spent their savings, tapped into their retirement and life policies, etc. The guys was below average at finance, ok at ops, a disaster at HR but he could drive the top line like no one I've ever seen. We invested with him about 3 years after he founded the company and he was doing $90MM (he hardly measured anything below that-he wanted to pay his bills and the IRS-great bd, zero finance). We minority invested, which I normally hate but he basically gave us control over everything except for sales (and he was glad to because he didn't give a fuck about any of that and only wanted wealth-good clue for investment). Within 3 additional years we sold it and he personally was worth >$500MM after dilution. One of the best deals I've ever done. I don't do start up or true high tech stuff, much more salt of the earth, so it's somewhat different in those fields but 9/10 times I'd back an awesome sales guy with shortcomings than a bunch of PhD engineers or doctors (done those also). With a great sales guy you can fix most things underneath-you can hire ops, finance, HR, perfect pricing, etc and correctly structure a company and they'll most likely be ok with that-and make it go. With a bunch of much smarter engineers or doctors they'll think they're smarter than everyone else in the world and people should just buy their product because it's awesome, or if they just add another feature that'll fix sales. And that'll be a clusterfuck convincing them otherwise.
The biggest problem with sales is that you can improve your skills (and not simply by sending ee's to a Carnegie course) but you basically need to be born with a certain set of skills to ever become good, let alone great.
And honestly the toughest high end sales role I know is PWM. Getting semi wealthy to truly wealthy people give you their money with little brand differentiation and, at least from their pov, small differences in strategy (either because there isn't, or more likely they don't understand because investing isn't their business), has to be insanely difficult. If you can make it there, you can sell anything.
Sorry, wicked long. I start a response in word and as I get time I add. And add. And add.
Eh.
I wouldn't necessarily say sales is "where it's at."
I work in enterprise software sales and it definitely has its ups and downs. Your pay is never stable week to week, month to month, or even year to year. I crushed my number 3 years ago and earned 1.37 million dollars... This year I'll be lucky if I crack 300k. 300 grand is nothing to sneeze at, but wildly variable earnings suck. Territory, timing, and talent - in that order - will determine your pay in any given year.
I disagree on the pigeonholed statement. I've sold into several different verticals in my career and I could move into healthcare/life sciences, manufacturing, and a few others if I wanted to make the jump.
Entertaining clients at expensive restaurants and events is nice in theory, but in practice it gets old real fast.
And the travel at senior levels is exhausting.
Sales can be good if you know a lot of rich people that trust you with money. The NW Mutual is not an easy job to do unless you know people in the beginning...
The reality is it's pretty easy to crack $100K by age 30. If you simply get an MBA, you are almost guaranteed $100K + as long as you don't go into nonprofit work. Plus, there are many other ways to get there. $100K is not what it used to be.
Med Sales is the cream of the crop though.Talk about an easy job with high pay. (Has been, don't know whether that will continue with healthcare cost reform, etc.)
Used to work in sales but I didn't like the inconsistency. When I was 17 I had weeks were I was pulling 1.5-2k a week some where I was barely pulling 500. My boss was 27 and he was clearing 200-300k a year easy... really depends on how good you are at sales + how hard you're willing to work for it.
From what I can gather, Big 4 accounting will get you 6 figures before you are 30. This is from people I know personally, as well as various websites stating the same.
Have you ever read the salary reports on Going Concern? Those are the most depressing posts that I have ever read.
That's exactly the website I was referring to haha. According to their graph, you will make around $135,000 at age 30. Which, as I stated earlier, people I know personally around that age make about that.
Which isn't impressive in comparison to IB.. But hey, the OP just wanted to know which jobs get you 6 figures by 30.
gf worked at dt/PwC, her friend is a 2nd yr manager in tax, 120+15% bonus (this year), audit pays slightly lower i think. but generally for PwC theres an unspoken rule of flooring the salary at 100k when you make manager, you can make manager in 5-6 years or less if you are good with politics...so not that bad, depends on the grp. big4 valuation managers can get up to 130-140 all in first year.
Even in the mid tier firms, you should be at six figures by 30, unless you live in a low COL area.
lol BIg 4?....is it April Fools Day already?
It's not 2007 any more my friend. Big 4 will nab you 100k before 30 easy mode. The issue is that 100k today isn't what it was in 2007...
There are plenty of careers that pay well, but what separates IB, consulting, and a select few others is that they require no advanced degree and no expertise in one particular area.
Seeing the people that my wife works with... hair stylists. You can make zero money, or you can make a fuck ton of money. It's all up to you, just like sales, but on top of the sales part of things, you also have to have skill at what you do too.
A lot of skilled trades are like this actually. The only downside is that for most of them, "you have to get your hands dirty" so they are looked down upon by many people.
Asset Managers, Regional Property Managers, Leasing Brokers, Investment Sales Brokers, top Project Managers, Development Managers, Acquisitions Managers, etc. all can make over $100k in real estate and all are positions you can get before/when you're 30
Financial Technology
Was making over 150k (this counts profit sharing and bonus) at 27 with great benefits. Going to try and break 200 by 30.
I don't work more than 50 hours a week and pretty much never on weekends.
Probably need more than basic coding, with the technical skill level of new grads these days.
What companies specifically?
Companies I would suggest are Wellington, Acadian Asset Management, Putnam, Eaton Vance... I would focus on firms that see technology as a value add. I avoid Fidelity and State Street.
Also another co-worker went to work for Abrams Capital and he must be netting 250k+ a year.
I also worked with a guy who worked for Acadian beforehand and he said he had never made as much as he did there and he had CTO level jobs at other companies.
You need to be making software that affects the investment process otherwise the comp will never be there, otherwise tech is just a big cost that they will just try to trim down every year.
I recently had an interview with Wellington and got dinged for wanting be 100% management in 10 years. The company I currently work at has a lot more potential in the next 5 years than that. This is one of the things I hate about tech, some places want business savvy tech guys to run teams and others prefer MBAs to run the show.
Also you can just focus on getting a job at Google, FB etc... I have no idea what the culture is like at these places but Glassdoor says you can mint pretty good money.
Agree 1000%..I work in wealth management at a top bank and we have a serious push for anything "fintech" related...I am CFA lvl II and I am seriously considering shifting to IT in finance ...HFT...cyber security...all great paying fields....
Average base for "information security analyst" = 85k a year so you have great odds at breaking 100k easily...
Specialized fields of engineering can net you 6 figures before 30 easily. Think O&G
Completely agree...until you remember WTI is trading sub 50. Petroleum engineers have some of the best hours/ pay out there but you do have the risk of commodity pricing. On a related note, field engineers for various OFS companies can easily clear 100k your first few years and you only need a basic college degree. Of course this caries the same hours as IB but you are on a rig the whole time.
This big time. I have tons of friends who graduated in three or four years ago with degrees in Pet. E working for big names like Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, etc. They were getting 120k and plus offers right and left. People in the industry couldn't stop talking about the shortage of engineers. Now almost to a man they are laid off and searching for work. O&G is legendary for overhiring and overfiring in response to the commodities markets. Definitely sucks to have your job security be essentially subject to the Cap Ex mood of the day in an industry.
Now plumbers, there's something there'll always be a market for. Not as appealing a career choice to the Tiger Moms out there though I guess.
Sales can definitely be incredibly lucrative. I've talked with some guys who sell insurance products to businesses who make plenty of money. Problem is I think there's a ton of survivorship bias in successful sales people. I would add product management as an interesting gig that blends sales, marketing, and even a bit of finance as a career that can definitely get you to six figures pretty quickly. I know everyone on this site is finance or bust, but getting into a marketing function at some CPG companies can be an incredibly good gig.
If you move into a senior position, expect to sell a lot. Or fail.
100% agreed that people at the top always need to sell. I suppose my point was that for the risk averse, an average life (that is, the people who don't "make it") in finance, marketing, accounting might look better than average guy in sales. Granted, if like Dingdong said, if you've got what it takes you really kill it.
Software dev, west coast or London, cyber security out of DC and a lot of other tech roles get to that level too. Military when you factor in deferred compensation (pension). Consulting has really good comp, I'm actually interested in the MBA route for that.
Surprised nobody has mentioned actuary or computer science.
Doesn't that plateau incredibly quickly though? Same for engineering. You can make $80-90k/yr straight out of college, but unless you go to the c-suite, you're maxing at ~$150k/yr after ~5-10 years on the job. That is still a hell of a lot of money to be making regardless of where you are in life.
Most top tech firms pay 100-125 to new grad software engineers
You hit the ceiling pretty early and there's not much salary growth compared to investment banking/law but petroleum engineers make a great income right out of undergrad. Starting salary is usually 90-110k with a pretty sizeable bonus.
^
Or, if you don't want to spend all your time coding and like project managing / talking to other people more, be a Product Manager at one of these firms and get paid even more money.
Know what else can make you 6 figures before you turn 30? Trades. Plumbing, electrician, mechanic, whatever. Not always possible to hit six figures that young, but it has been done. You start young, though - apprenticing as young as your teens. But that means that by the time Mr. KKR is pulling his first all-nighter you'll already have been years on the job. And nobody's gonna tell you that the trades are easy work.
Two friends making the most money 1 year after I graduated (a while back).
Geology graduate who went to work in mineral exploration in Australia when the going was good. Bachelors degree only.
No GCSEs, No A-Levels, No Degree Ex-Infantryman working private security in Iraq, when the bullets were flying.
Both made over 6 figures GBP.
software engineering and sales
If the goal is just to gross $100k before the age of 30, almost any career can do this. That would be 7-8 years experience assuming you start straight out of college. Most large companies can/will promote a very high performer to a $100k+ position after 7-8 years.
A very good plumber, electrician, etc. can make $100k before 30. I know a couple guys from highschool who have their new farm house paid off in full and own various lifted pickups without any debt as a result. Not the lifestyle many here would be after, but there's something to be said for having no debt to speak of and more money than your country boy self knows what to do with.
nobody mentioned consulting, but very easy to make 6 figs before 30.
Most well known tech companies (fb/Google/ms/Intel/etc) pay fresh grad (hardware/software engineers) a starting salary of around $95k. A friend with under 5 yrs of exp is getting paid $121k at Apple and had been offered even higher salary before at ms and Intel. Sign in bonus was $20k and in addition you get pretty good share-based comp.
OP, one fact not mentioned is standard of living. while silicon valley and NYC (tech & finance) jobs will likely get you to 6 figures by 30, you won't living "rich." this is why I'd suggest sales in somewhere like chicago, charlotte, ATL, or even Florida.
just a thought.
Bro,
Ya, I considered that, and you're right. Unfortunately the whole cost of living discussion complicates matters too much. I think most of us know that NYC, London, San Fran, Sydney, Vancouver, etc. are expensive cities. As a result we should adjust some of the figures in this thread with their implied locations.
On a related note, I thought the graphics on this page were pretty interesting: http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/commentaries/Happiness-Benchm…
On this page, the well known "happiness salary" of $75k is adjusted for the cosst of living nationwide, up to a maximum of $104k in New York. It's actually this article that prompted me to posting my original question in this thread. My thinking was that a $100k/yr salary was the fail safe "happiness level" salary nationwide. Quite simply, I wanted to get some insight on the types of careers that could make one "happy".
the happiest client I ever had was a guy who did dry cleaning deliveries, he never made more than $40k a year (saved a ton and ended up wealthy however). some of the biggest cynics in this world are part of the 0.01%.
there is not always a correlation between income and happiness, be careful in picking a career solely for the money.
It's actually pretty easy to rent a quality studio for $1000-$1500/mo in SF or NYC (or less with a roommate or two) if you look hard enough with practically every other utility expense roughly equal to what you'd be paying anywhere else. And if you buy (late 20's or whenever) it freezes your rent payment and will be a great investment over some property in a no-name place that merely goes up with inflation and nothing more. It's people who engage in the scene and piss away money on all the attractions/bullshit who don't save anything. And that's their own fault.
People have a tendency to spend what they make in general. Local taxes suck in CA/NY, but assuming $200K a year, it's still only a few thousand more over the national average and a few extra % in sales tax. There are huge tangible advantages to living in SF/NYC over a Fargo or Cleveland if one takes advantage of them. SF/NYC is practically always better than making some shitty salary in a flyover state with a weak economy and minimal industry.
People have far more control over their cost of living than they think.
I'm curious as to where in SF you could rent a quality studio for 1500. It seems like that price is only doable if you're willing to split a larger apartment with roommates.
Definitely agree that sales makes the best. At my company some of the top sales guys become "Director of Sales West Region" and get a base salary of 300k to do nothing because they can easily get poached by competitors. Kind of pisses me off considering most of these guys are idiots who freak out when we send out our weekly report because their "numbers from September are missing". It's November you idiot.
Any front office position in a F500 company should get you there. By front office I mean the function that owns the P&L. F500s (non-tech) pay fresh MBAs ~120k all-in in the first year and most of these MBAs are ~29-30.
Almost any career will make you 100k before 30. But 100k nowadays isn't really that much. $150 is the new $100.
Are you serious? That's simply not true. In 2013, only 20% of US households made more than $100k.
Dentists, podiatrists, PAs, nurse anesthetists, marketing at companies that care about it e.g. assistant brand manager at a CPG.
PA's get paid pretty well. Know a 25 year old PA making 125k in their first job. Salary won't increase much through the years but definitely a great starting point
Porn
Commercial real estate investment sales.
i'd love to share this thread with the typical 40-yr old wal mart shopper living in missouri who thinks that our 'class system' is unfair. so many ways to make a decent living.
So they finally got dial up in Missouri? Or would you print it out?
Lol @ CRE +1
It's not easy to make 100k in any field. But is is possible to earn over 100K in just about any field. You will not earn 100K working the line at McDonald's. But if you put in your time and move up to management and do well at that, I know several people who own fast food chains that bring good managers into the fold of their ownership groups and give them a small percentage in addition to a good salary to manage their various sites. No one said it would be easy but it is possible.
Almost every engineer friend I have is in O&G someway or another, and all easily passed 100k by the age of 26/27, whether it be downstream, mid, or up-stream. My old college roommate is 28 and makes $180k.
Is your friend working in the office or on site? If on site, what are the site living conditions and hours like?
On site. I think he started out three weeks on and 1.5 to 2 weeks off, but has since moved into the office 50% of the time. Living conditions are pretty nice - shared town-homes of high quality. I don't know his daily hours.
Start a smut blog i.e. Barstool
Software engineering at a top company (Google, Facebook, etc.) will earn you >=150K all in after your first year.
Of course, it's pretty hard to become good enough to get hired by those companies.
Quite a few petroleum engineering friends made 100k at 22. But gone are those days with current oil prices.
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