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Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

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Re: Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

#51

Post by [deleted] »

acangiano wrote: post #17
baddox wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you need to elaborate on what you mean by "not that much these days." According to a bit of Googling, 100k in NYC is about 48k where I live. 48k family income around here for a family with 2 adults and 2 children is far from rich, but it's fairly reasonable middle class and it's certainly doable with a modicum of responsible finance-handling.

$100K in expensive cities is equivalent to a squarely middle class income elsewhere. Not a bad life by any means, but it's far from, "I can't imagine what I would do with that much money". Six figures are still six figures with responsible management of one's finances, but it's not the well-off lifestyle some may imagine.

[deleted]

Re: Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

#52

Post by pdaviesa »

IMHO the largest salary jumps happen when you switch companies. Once you start with a company, you're pretty much locked into their payscale and salary increases happen in much smaller increments. Ideally, you would stay at a company long enough to get the requisite experience for the next career level and then switch to a new company and negotiate a healthy salary bump. With that said, my highest paid friends are typically the most dissatisfied with their jobs - something to consider.

Re: Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

#53

Post by apsurd »

tastybites wrote: post #47
apsurd wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just want to chime in real quick re: all that's required to earn that much is show up on time and be good at your job. I liked the "all thats required" bit, because as it were, I am fully employed remotely, and while I don't make $100k, I seriously wake up at noon, code at 3am when I damned well feel like it, and overwhelmingly love managing myself. (oh yeah, zero commute). So I guess you'd be right, "all you have to…

Clearly it's subjective. Working a schedule that fits your preferences has a huge value associated with it. Others prefer cash, and lots of it.

fwiw, just read your updates. I think your post came off as confrontational so naturally people get defensive. Since rereading it, I think you mean well; people should know their worth and work toward maximizing that worth. So recognizing that there are farther stars out there to shoot for is a good thing! And for those engineers that get offended by the OP's comment, actually its quite good news! You are worth way more than you have settled for.

I don't have an opinion one way or the other, just my two cents.

Re: Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

#55

Post by jsavimbi »

Time and experience. A kid out of school isn't going to crack that figure because a) they have no real-world experience and b) if any of the more experienced people find out they'll have a brain drain on their hands. Yes, you'll hear stories about this and that, but always ask for a pay stub as proof when someone opens their mouth.

I've been making over $100K for several years now and even though I recently joined a startup, I held the rate up over other offers. The key is to work somewhere that requires specialized skills and understands the value of hiring someone experienced who can self-manage their work on various aspects of a project and produce results that will win more business. Make your contributions a positive part of the bottom line and you will receive no hassles.

I tend to work with technology-first firms, avoiding business-first firms as they tend to view developers as resources, not assets. Also, in this day and age, if you don't write code or have an intimate IP unique to the product, you don't get a seat at the table and you should steel yourself for a sales job or worse.

Also, keep your skills fresh (edge, not bleeding edge) and avoid dreamers, MBA types and serial wantrepreneurs.

Re: Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

#56

Post by philwelch »

tastybites wrote: post #34
Tyrant505 wrote: post #2

From someone who's been failing startups since 2000, I can't imagine what I would do with that much money... It's really baffling..

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you're an entrepreneur and you "can't imagine" what you'd do with $100k, you might be in the wrong line of work. Allocating capital is a big part of being in business.

I can easily imagine how to invest anywhere up to tens of billions of dollars. Spending a $100k salary for personal enjoyment is another question.

Re: Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

#58

Post by pxlpshr »

tastybites wrote: post #38
neilc wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the Bay Area and a few other places, you're absolutely right -- but there are other places where $100k for a software engineer is pretty generous pay. Of course, the cost of living in those places is typically a lot less than in the Bay Area.

I've worked with professionals located in SF, LA, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Atlanta, St. Louis, Ann Arbor, Boston, New York, DC, Miami, and Charleston. $100k is still the minimum professional salary for someone who has a highly skilled, technical job like sr. engineer, architect, investment banker, CPA, attorney, etc.

You're arguing a point that's a given; a professional that's highly skilled. I believe the intent of the question posted on Reddit was what it took to get there.

Re: Redditors earning $100k+ a year, what are your secrets to your success?

#59

Post by teuobk »

The secret -- the difficulty -- isn't one of having a $100k+ income so much as it is not spending it all. Live like you have a $60k salary, and not only will you still be able to afford a comfortable lifestyle, but you'll also be able to put away tons of cash.

As for actually finding those jobs? If you're willing to do consulting/contracting, ask your friends who are doing consulting/contracting for large companies. They're the ones who are most likely to be in the know about opportunities.

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