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

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain or post the link for the monthly transit subsidy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain or post the link for the monthly transit subsidy?

Ask your agency. Under an old executive order, agencies are supposed to offer it as a benefit. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/04/26/00-10552/federal-workforce-transportation

[Anonymous]

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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.

I’m the NASA scientist who posted upthread. Yes, I work at HQ and my commute is more than an hour each way, because that’s where we had to go in order to afford a nice SFH with decent public schools. Sure I’d love have a shorter commute but would have to give on one of the other things. Spouse is also in government, also about an hour commute. It’s hard to avoid in DC on a fed salary, even a dual fed salary.

And echoing what someone said earlier, NASA folks are great to work with. Super friendly, super collaborative, no vicious competition. That’s worth a 50% pay cut, to me at least.

[Anonymous]

Anyone who thinks a 1 hour commute is unreasonable must not know anyone who works in NYC.

[Anonymous]

1) GS-15 Fed Atty - Retired Military
2) $250k with retirement and salary
3) military academy, military paid for law school, worked, broke body, deployed multiple times to Iraq/Afghanistan

Get to telework 3 days a week after 24 years active-duty. Not a bad life. Spouse is also a fed attorney.

[Anonymous]

1) Federal Program Analyst
2) $191K
3) Joined feds from the Big 4 in 2018 as a GS-13/14. Applied to my current role in 2021.

[Anonymous]

1) Staff scientist
2) 61k
3) PhD, post doc, publications, long hours in the lab

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain or post the link for the monthly transit subsidy?

Here’s the info for DHS
https://www.dhs.gov/employee-resources/transportation-benefits

[Anonymous]

Software Developer
150k working 25-30 hours/week
BS from second tier school (comp Sci)
Was stay home mom for many years, but went back to work when kids got older.

[Anonymous]

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.

That sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Software Developer
150k working 25-30 hours/week
BS from second tier school (comp Sci)
Was stay home mom for many years, but went back to work when kids got older.

Do you work remotely or from home? Or part time in office?

[Anonymous]

1. Cybersecurity consultant
2. $200K thereabouts
3. Masters in foreign policy with an important foreign language, worked for godawful defense contractor for three years but got on one cyber threat intel project, got laid off, took a bunch of Udemy courses, got hired for cybersecurity threat intel team, moved up, earned CISSP, saved money, started my own business.

Cliche but the key is to continue to innovate, don’t get comfortable, take some risks but hedge your bets. The scariest thing professionally is to be doing the same thing for too long. Change is good.

[Anonymous]

I commute for an hour a day each way. I can’t afford to live where I teach. Both of my parents had similar commutes. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

[Anonymous]

1. Law firm administrator
2. ~$250K
3. Got a lucky opportunity, smart/hardworking enough to make the most of it, and have an incredibly high tolerance for BS and self-important jackasses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I commute for an hour a day each way. I can’t afford to live where I teach. Both of my parents had similar commutes. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

Well, when you were a child latch key kids were the norm, and kids free ranged with other kids more.

Now you have to have kids in SACC for hours, and they miss out on team sports and other opportunities.

How much did your parents even see you? I guess if you are a teacher at least you can leave by 4pm every day?