Women who Make Money

[Anonymous]

Should the BigLaw peeps be on DCUM right now? I don't think you can bill for that!

[Anonymous]

lol lotta big law with free time to post on dcum (signed, other $ making woman who has time to read dcum)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big law partner here. 48yo. Income $1m+. Career tip: get good education, work hard, look for opportunities and use them!

And sacrifice your family life for a soulless job where all you do is move money from one unethical big company to another. Don’t forget that part.

- former Biglaw partner

Fair! I wish my job were more meaningful. I do love it though...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between 35-45
Former BigLaw attorney, now a legal recruiter for elite lawyers
I will clear 1M this year, work about 20-30 hours a week
Biggest piece of advice is cultivate your relationships in a real and genuine way as early in your career as you can. Make real friends and invest in these relationships, not just random people you meet at networking events. It's not what you know but who you know becomes even more important later in your career.

No, you don’t. I know many people in the top firms in your business and none of them - NONE - is making what you’re making at your age and only working 20-30 hours a week. You must be an absolute superstar to be the sole exception.

I call bullshit.

PP ok. I don't care what you call. It is 100% true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Own a small business. 32yo. The business profited $380k last year, on track for $425k this year. One full time employee I pay $90k.

What kind of business?

[Anonymous]

For the purposes of this thread let’s define “making money” as over $300K. I’m a doctor and only make $240K.

[Anonymous]

Self Employed independent contractor CPA. 340k+ and fully remote. Bill by the hour. Best to create your own job and be your own boss. Worked out for me! Have been doing this 22 yrs and can retire anytime.

[Anonymous]

I run a small consulting firm. I make $400k year over year, work about 30 hours a week. Some tips:

1. Solve a problem for people or industries.

2. Don't get stuck in positions with "caps" on salaries.

3. If you do work for someone else, move jobs enough to make big jumps salary-wise, research salaries in that industry, always negotiate for more.

4. Decide whether you want to be a rain maker or line worker and then be the best at whatever you choose. I stayed in line work for a while because I really loved it. I make more $ now and I do like what I do but I'm glad I stayed with line work as long as I did because it makes it easier to "sell" my team.

5. Always work on your skills and invest in yourself: public speaking, etc.

6. Don't be a jerk and better yet, find ways to lift others up.

Good Luck

[Anonymous]

I am 45 an in-house counsel. Base pay in the mid-300k range and bonuses that bring me to anywhere between 500k-600k annually.

If your goal is to be self-sufficient and make money, my advice is to keep working when you have kids and ignore the mommy guilt - you can raise wonderful kids as a working mom. Go part time if you need to for awhile (I did). And when the time is right, jump into new opportunities. Had I never moved in-house, I wouldn’t make as much as I do now. Trust your gut - you know when people are in your corner and you know not to trust sketchy people who are competitive and want to bring you down. Also, do the work - the simple act of working hard and doing good work, meeting deadlines, communicating well with your coworkers are rarer than you think. I am not even close to the smartest person but I’ve managed to navigate a law firm and then being in house by being tough, wily, and strategic. Things got so much better for me as I got older and now I work for fun and money, not to climb a ladder or pay for basic necessities.

[Anonymous]

Weird how in college all my professors warned me that most lawyers hated it, now I feel like a sucker for not going to law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I run a small consulting firm. I make $400k year over year, work about 30 hours a week. Some tips:

1. Solve a problem for people or industries.

2. Don't get stuck in positions with "caps" on salaries.

3. If you do work for someone else, move jobs enough to make big jumps salary-wise, research salaries in that industry, always negotiate for more.

4. Decide whether you want to be a rain maker or line worker and then be the best at whatever you choose. I stayed in line work for a while because I really loved it. I make more $ now and I do like what I do but I'm glad I stayed with line work as long as I did because it makes it easier to "sell" my team.

5. Always work on your skills and invest in yourself: public speaking, etc.

6. Don't be a jerk and better yet, find ways to lift others up.

Good Luck

+1. 35, fully remote, salary of $320K. Was making $72K in my first role after grad school in 2015 and made very purposeful jumps to get where I am now. I also married someone who is very supportive of my career and ambitions and shares a lot of childcare responsibilities for our three young children even though he has always made more money than me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 45 an in-house counsel. Base pay in the mid-300k range and bonuses that bring me to anywhere between 500k-600k annually.

If your goal is to be self-sufficient and make money, my advice is to keep working when you have kids and ignore the mommy guilt - you can raise wonderful kids as a working mom. Go part time if you need to for awhile (I did). And when the time is right, jump into new opportunities. Had I never moved in-house, I wouldn’t make as much as I do now. Trust your gut - you know when people are in your corner and you know not to trust sketchy people who are competitive and want to bring you down. Also, do the work - the simple act of working hard and doing good work, meeting deadlines, communicating well with your coworkers are rarer than you think. I am not even close to the smartest person but I’ve managed to navigate a law firm and then being in house by being tough, wily, and strategic. Things got so much better for me as I got older and now I work for fun and money, not to climb a ladder or pay for basic necessities.

I mean, you obviously didn’t “navigate” Biglaw or you’d be a partner and making a lot more than you’re making now. Just sayin’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 45 an in-house counsel. Base pay in the mid-300k range and bonuses that bring me to anywhere between 500k-600k annually.

If your goal is to be self-sufficient and make money, my advice is to keep working when you have kids and ignore the mommy guilt - you can raise wonderful kids as a working mom. Go part time if you need to for awhile (I did). And when the time is right, jump into new opportunities. Had I never moved in-house, I wouldn’t make as much as I do now. Trust your gut - you know when people are in your corner and you know not to trust sketchy people who are competitive and want to bring you down. Also, do the work - the simple act of working hard and doing good work, meeting deadlines, communicating well with your coworkers are rarer than you think. I am not even close to the smartest person but I’ve managed to navigate a law firm and then being in house by being tough, wily, and strategic. Things got so much better for me as I got older and now I work for fun and money, not to climb a ladder or pay for basic necessities.

I mean, you obviously didn’t “navigate” Biglaw or you’d be a partner and making a lot more than you’re making now. Just sayin’

I was a partner at a mid-size firm and left to go in house, where my pay substantially increased.

So technically I successfully navigated a law firm enough to make partner, albeit not “big law,” which is why I said “law firm” and not “big law.” Either way, I was very unhappy at the firm and much happier in house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Own a small business. 32yo. The business profited $380k last year, on track for $425k this year. One full time employee I pay $90k.

What kind of business?

Niche staffing agency

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I run a small consulting firm. I make $400k year over year, work about 30 hours a week. Some tips:

1. Solve a problem for people or industries.

2. Don't get stuck in positions with "caps" on salaries.

3. If you do work for someone else, move jobs enough to make big jumps salary-wise, research salaries in that industry, always negotiate for more.

4. Decide whether you want to be a rain maker or line worker and then be the best at whatever you choose. I stayed in line work for a while because I really loved it. I make more $ now and I do like what I do but I'm glad I stayed with line work as long as I did because it makes it easier to "sell" my team.

5. Always work on your skills and invest in yourself: public speaking, etc.

6. Don't be a jerk and better yet, find ways to lift others up.

Good Luck

+1. 35, fully remote, salary of $320K. Was making $72K in my first role after grad school in 2015 and made very purposeful jumps to get where I am now. I also married someone who is very supportive of my career and ambitions and shares a lot of childcare responsibilities for our three young children even though he has always made more money than me.

Very very similar here but only one kid and I make more than my spouse! Left grad school 2015 for a low paying job at a young company in an industry I really believed in. Now $325k base, more than $600k last year but this year will be less.