What do you do, how much do you make, and how'd you get there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

DP GS 13 who works near L'Enfant Plaza, live 8 miles out of city with a commute anywhere from 35-60 minutes depending on traffic (is usually 40-45 minutes). Live in a neighborhood of 500-600k houses where most send kids to public school. Older child is now at a T50 university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

I'm the NASA Network Administrator.

NASA HQ has about 3K employees. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt has about 10K employees on center and about 8K employees that work in contactor companies scattered around the surrounding areas of Greenbelt, Seabrook, Lanham, New Carrollton, Berwyn Heights and College Park. So about 6 times the number of employees in or near the Goddard campus than at HQ downtown. Making the assumption that anyone who works at NASA must be at HQ is a pretty weak assumption.

And if you think that all of the GS-15s and ES level types work downtown, you are incorrect here too. Goddard has more management level staff than all of HQ.

I have worked at GSFC for over 30 years. I live about 15 min from campus, have a nice house, easy commute and enjoy living nearby. I know many employees who live within 30 min of campus and are quite happy about it. And most of them don't have to pay over $1M for their nice house in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

No it won't. You can easily have a place with a one hour commute and decent schools for under a million. Smaller SFH and plenty of town houses meet that requirement. Presumably his/her spouse also works. Not sure what fantasy land some of you people live in.

1 hr each way commute is not reasonable.

For you. There’s plenty of people who are willing to sit on a train two times a week listening to podcasts while they go back and forth and wfh the rest of the week

Train twice a week is an expensive commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Big law partner
2. 6.4 in 2023
3. Law school, clerkship, then a tremendous amount of hard work. I now manage a large team. But I work harder than everyone on my team. 2023 was more than 3500 hours.

Dayum. There are only 2040 hours annually in a typical 40 hour work week. So you pull 60-70 workweeks regularly?

Military officers in command do this for years at a time for $150,000 a year.

[Anonymous]

1. In house attorney
2. 400k + RSUs
3. Tier 4 undergrad that no one has heard of, PhD in organic chemistry, T14 JD, clerkship, Biglaw, then moved in house as a 5th year and have continued to climb

The chemistry PhD was about a million times harder and more competitive than law school, landing a federal appellate clerkship, or BigLaw.

I feel very lucky every day that I landed my in house role. There are only a couple dozen or so people in the whole country who get to do what I do and it's why I went to law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Teacher
2. $125,000
3. BA in unrelated field, immediately went to grad school for an MA in teaching. Been teaching 16 years.

Good for you! Proof that all teachers are not pity cases. Thank you for sharing.

[Anonymous]

ALJ
$204k plus yearly bonuses
graduated with no undergrad debt. Worked full time while going to law school at night, fed honors program, lots of internal and external details (worked in 4 fed agencies overall). Consistently active in pro bono, conferences and publishing.

I’ve had great work life balance my entire professional career bc I choose to work in nonprofit and fed. I have no law school debt (paid off abt $60k, remaining $20k forgiven by PSLF). Love my job and my colleagues. Current job is my best fed job yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's notable, so many people say "hard work", "grit", "worked my @ ss off"... do you think the guys who work on your car didn't work hard to get where they are? The person with the most grit and determination is probably the cleaning lady who walked here from Venezuela...

I'm not normally one to go crazy shouting "white privilege" but these answers seem really tone deaf. I'd love to also hear about how you got lucky.

Sooo, I am the first pp who stated grit and hard work (associate degree), and I am a Black female with locs and a very ethnic name, lmao! You assumed wayyy wrong. I will add that I am fortunate, though. You seem unaware that the feds used to employ a lot of Black, fresh-out-of-high school students, and many of us are still there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

No it won't. You can easily have a place with a one hour commute and decent schools for under a million. Smaller SFH and plenty of town houses meet that requirement. Presumably his/her spouse also works. Not sure what fantasy land some of you people live in.

1 hr each way commute is not reasonable.

For you. There’s plenty of people who are willing to sit on a train two times a week listening to podcasts while they go back and forth and wfh the rest of the week

Train twice a week is an expensive commute.

VRE, MARC, and Metro are not expensive and the Federal Government offers transit subsidies. Maybe stop making shit up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Surprised by how low these salaries are. I’m in a bubble!

No, you're just being a jerk.

I am surprised by how high these all are but I live in a completely opposite bubble.

[Anonymous]

I made $800K in 2024. I am a legal recruiter for high end law firm partners and senior associates. I was a partner in a law firm for many years before going into recruiting. It's a good life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

No it won't. You can easily have a place with a one hour commute and decent schools for under a million. Smaller SFH and plenty of town houses meet that requirement. Presumably his/her spouse also works. Not sure what fantasy land some of you people live in.

1 hr each way commute is not reasonable.

For you. There’s plenty of people who are willing to sit on a train two times a week listening to podcasts while they go back and forth and wfh the rest of the week

Train twice a week is an expensive commute.

I commute on MARC from Frederick three times a week, it's $6.50 each way. Much better than gas and parking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

No it won't. You can easily have a place with a one hour commute and decent schools for under a million. Smaller SFH and plenty of town houses meet that requirement. Presumably his/her spouse also works. Not sure what fantasy land some of you people live in.

1 hr each way commute is not reasonable.

Really? I have done a longer commute that that. That is my commute for most of the last 25 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

No it won't. You can easily have a place with a one hour commute and decent schools for under a million. Smaller SFH and plenty of town houses meet that requirement. Presumably his/her spouse also works. Not sure what fantasy land some of you people live in.

1 hr each way commute is not reasonable.

Really? I have done a longer commute that that. That is my commute for most of the last 25 years.

For both parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clearly the DCUM middle class making $400k+ are shy to reveal their path to success. Thanks to the 1M lawyer

1) NASA engineer
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite engineering degree and masters, hooked up with a NASA mission I believed in and thought would make world better place. Regret not following the money into tech or defense, mommy tracked last decade and reluctant to take a risk because of DH more demanding and better paying job which disrupt our working parent juggle mid air.

1) NASA scientist
2) $190k
3) excelled in high school, elite science degree and top Ph.D., joined NASA to do great things and love it, but took 15 years post-Ph.D. to get to a GS15 and there’s no promotion from here.

So jealous, you are so happy, how do you afford to live here, and wonder if you should have detoured to make a nest egg when your classmates probably went to become quants, and then pivot to start their own space company at 40 after earning millions? My peers basically all did this and I was the dope being idealistic and not selling out to do “science”. Share you wisdom for contentment!

PP. I can share my route to contentment but it probably wouldn’t work for most DCUM folks. First, I’m not strongly motivated by money. Yes, the possibility of leaving science and earning much much more has always been present, but I didn’t ever take those off-ramps. So I worked very hard in my 20s for almost nothing, then worked very hard in my 30s to catch up to everyone, and by my early 40s I’d arrived at a position with no upward mobility. Nobody who cares about money would do any of this. Second, I’m motivated by the impact of what I do. I’m working at a very high level on a very large project that will change our understanding of the universe. What could be better than that!

PP here. I wasn’t motivated by money until we had kids and had to buy a house — I always lived simply, but with kids there are base level of support that gets very expensive very fast. Do you have kids?

He makes $190k! Are you telling me you think you can't afford kids on that salary?

NASA is downtown near Lenfant plaza. A home with decent schools and commute will cost $1M.

No it won't. You can easily have a place with a one hour commute and decent schools for under a million. Smaller SFH and plenty of town houses meet that requirement. Presumably his/her spouse also works. Not sure what fantasy land some of you people live in.

1 hr each way commute is not reasonable.

Really? I have done a longer commute that that. That is my commute for most of the last 25 years.

For both parents?

Why not, one parent does in something like tues and thurs, another on Monday and Wednesday. Both get monthly transit subsidies, so the trip dosnt cost anything, and they get 45-60 mins to read or listen to podcasts are get into arguments with strangers on DCUM