On Thursday, I featured a guest post from Free Money Finance that proved to be surprisingly controversial. His five steps to six figures in seven years offered solid common-sense career advice for those looking to boost their incomes. Many readers disliked the post. (Though they didn’t hate it as much as FMF’s previous guest article.)
Though I don’t share all of your complaints, I do think some of you made an excellent point: Just as money is more about mind than it is about math, so too a rewarding career is more about personal fulfillment than it is about raking in big bucks. I agree that I’d rather work at a low-paying job that I loved than make $100,000 a year at a job I hated. I’d rather be happy than rich.
In response to FMF’s post on Thursday, Mike wrote to share his predicament. He’s hoping GRS readers can help him decide what to do:

I feel [...]

This is a guest post from FMF at Free Money Finance, a personal finance blog designed to help you grow your net worth. You can subscribe to Free Money Finance here.
Historically, “making six figures” has been to income earners what “becoming a millionaire” has been for those tracking their net worths — a lofty goal achieved by only a select few. And while neither a six-figure earner nor a millionaire can bask in the luxury they could a couple decades ago, there’s no doubt that earning over $100,000 a year still puts you in a select group.
In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau says that only 5.63% of individual income earners and only 17.8% of households had incomes of $100,000 or more in 2006. So despite the drop in purchasing power from the days of old, if you earn $100k or more each year, you’re still in an elite group.
How can you get into the [...]

Yesterday, I argued that the most effective path to financial success is to boost your income. Frugality is an important part of personal finance, and you will eventually meet your goals if you simply cut your spending, but it might take you a very long time. Maybe even decades. To super-charge your savings, I believe you should look for ways to increase your income.
Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to give advice about increasing income as it is about cutting expenses. General frugality tips are applicable to everyone, but our income situations are all different. Later this week, FMF from Free Money Finance will share a guest post on how to boost your income at a traditional job. Today, I want to share some of my favorite books on entrepreneurship and career management. They offer great advice on how to the “earn more” side of the wealth equation.
Crush It!
Before we look at my book recommendations, here’s [...]

On this week’s installment of The Personal Finance Hour, Jim and I spent the hour talking with Michael Hampton, the director of Career Development at Western Oregon University. (We also had a lively parallel chatroom discussion this week.)
Network, network, network
Our discussion stressed the importance of networking. Hampton notes that your résumé isn’t your primary tool in landing a job; it’s a supporting document. You want to sell yourself by other methods and use your résumé as evidence that what you say is true.
One of the best ways to find a job is to use your network of business and professional contacts. Don’t just go out and say “what can you do for me”, though. Instead, ask questions. Ask for specific favors. And be willing to reciprocate when you are in a position of power. Support networks can also be useful. When you’re out of work, lean on your family and friends. Let them give you [...]

This is a guest post from Kerry K. Taylor, author of Squawkfox, a blog where frugal living is fun. On today’s episode of The Personal Finance Hour, Jim and I will be discussing job-hunting skills. First, though, here’s Kerry’s advice about résumés.
If you’re anything like my friends, your résumé is probably a little stale and perhaps a lot rotten. I’m sure your skills are not rotten and don’t deserve to be trashed as rubbish. But honestly, very few job hunters know how to write a résumé that lands them a job interview. Since having income is an important step towards getting rich slowly, it pays to review your résumé for rottenness before sending it out.
I’ve been on both ends of the résumé game. I’ve reviewed hundreds of résumés as part of a hiring team. I’ve also applied to numerous jobs in various fields using countless résumé types. Over the years I’ve discovered why few résumés [...]

In June, a user at Ask Metafilter wondered: What are the differences between someone who makes $100,000/year and someone who makes $30,000? As you might expect, this question generated a lot of discussion — all of it interesting.
Many commenters noted that, from their experience, high-income earners generally exhibited several of the following traits:

They maintain a strong work ethic.
They don’t watch the clock.
They seek to improve their skills.
They do quality work.
They’re flexible and adaptable.
They maintain a good social network.
They possess self-confidence.

A few commenters noted that there are two other factors that absolutely play a role in how much a person earns. Chief among these is choice of profession. Even if you’re the best damn high school physics teacher in the world, you’ll still probably earn just $50,000 or so. (But if that gives you a fulfilling life, that’s probably worth more than a high salary.)
Hard work, etc. do not guarantee a higher salary — but [...]