I’ve written a lot about how you can save money, about how frugality and thrift can help you to get rich slowly. But another way to save more than you earn is to increase your income. Paul’s Tips offers a guide to getting a job that pays more than $100,000 a year.
How do people get themselves into a position of earning good incomes at young ages? Why do some people work hard for minimum wage while others have cushy jobs that are well-paid? Most importantly, how can you become one of the latter? I’ll attempt to provide a definitive answer for the last question. I’ll lay out a system you can use and clear steps you can follow towards moving into a job paying more than $100,000 a year. I’ll also give you ways to make sure that such a job comes with good conditions.
The seven steps are:
- Choose the right profession. If a high income is your goal, then research salary surveys. You might start by sifting through the list of the best jobs in America.
- Become educated in your chosen profession. If you’re young, pursue the appropriate degree. If you already have a career, take classes part time, or pursue alternative qualifications. (After only a year of part-time classes, I was able to land a job computer programming.)
- Choose the right location. “If you’re aiming at moving into the finance industry, then New York City obviously offers far more opportunity than rural Kansas.”
- Polish your resumé. A resumé won’t get you a job, but it will get your foot in the door. It’s a key first step.
- Improve your interview skills. Practice, practice, practice. Read the Paul’s Tips article on improving your interview skills. A good interview can compensate for other weaknesses.
- Get an entry-level job in your chosen profession. Play the numbers: apply to many places and conduct many interviews. When you get your job, stick with it to get the experience you need to advance.
- Change jobs and employer. By changing your environment, you can increase your pay, experience different corporate cultures, and reduce risk.
- Change jobs and employer again. Once you’ve reached this point, you’re ready to find the perfect job with a balance of income and good working conditions.
These are basic steps for any career, of course, but they’re key to maximizing your income, if that’s your goal. (There are other possible career goals: helping others, high quality of life, self-fulfillment, etc.) For more information, read the entire guide at Paul’s Tips.
And remember: a high-paying job isn’t an exemption from sensible financial choices. A frugal lifestyle and a high income can be an excellent route to an early retirement. But like anyone, you must be willing to make sacrifices now to live the future you envision.
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I pretty much followed these steps early on in my career, much by accident, and I knew a guy who had jumping from job to job as part of his career plan. It definately works and I highly reccomend it, but you have to have a lot of ambition and drive to pull it off.
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I couldn’t believe how well this works. I just changed jobs (from my entry-level job), and while I was at my first job, there were times I was convinced I’d be lowly paid forever. It seemed like I wasn’t doing any tasks I enjoyed, so, I thought, how could I ever parlay that into something high-paying? But what I didn’t realize until I started interviewing for the current gig is that I’d been developing concrete skills. My salary went up 45% overnight–not because I had a perfect career path planned out but because I learned to enjoy the skill-building (certainly not the content, oy) of the entry-level job.
Great advice, Paul!
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You really need to love what you do.
The more the system pays you, the more the system wants you to commit to it. However, if you own the system – then you can pay yourself whatever you want.
(If you’re a bit slow the system = the company you are working for)
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[...] Not everyone is ready to aim for a $100,000 job. On AskMetafilter, a user writes: I need to find some sort of long-term employment that will put me on my way to establishing financial independence from my family and also provide me with meaningful work experience. This is made difficult as I am eighteen, I only have a GED, and my resume leaves much to be desired. I do not have any prior work or volunteer experience, and nepotism is not an option. What should I be doing? [...]
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[...] Get a Job Paying More Than $100,00 [...]
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