Do you make over 120K? What did you do to get there?

[Anonymous]

PhD in a technical field, now a GS-15. I put in "law associate hours" during grad school and earned maybe $20k per year then.

[Anonymous]

I think I should have been a lawyer...I think I would have been good at it, and could have put in the time before I had kids, oh well...now I am far, far away from 6 figures, but I am happy, so that's got to count for something.

[Anonymous]

PhD economist, work for government. I make $130K per year. Worked at consulting firm out of college for 3 years, then 5 years of grad school, and I've been with the government for 12 years.

About half the time the job can be demanding and intense while I'm at work (especially for the last year or so!); the other half the time things are calm. I typically work 2-3 weekends a year, but the hours are mostly pretty normal.

I generally like it. I could make a lot more in the private sector (consulting/lobbying) or working for an international organization, but the hours and stress would be much worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I should have been a lawyer...I think I would have been good at it, and could have put in the time before I had kids, oh well...now I am far, far away from 6 figures, but I am happy, so that's got to count for something.

It's the MOST important thing. If you really have a thing for going to law school, go after your kids are older. I went to a night school and there were many 40, 50, and even 60 year olds in my class.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, because D.C. has a shortage of lawyers, for one.

[Anonymous]

Medicine.

Demanding? Depends on your perspective.

4 years of medical school, 4 years of residency, 3 years of fellowship.

I gave up my 20's and early 30's, and the first 2.5 years of my DD1's life.

Love my job, and currently work part-time-ish at 80%.

[Anonymous]

If you earn over 120K, what do you do for a living?

self-employed consultant doing a variety of written products including speeches, lobbying materials, op-eds, reports for non-profit and political clients. This grew out of my legal career that careened toward advocacy.
I do this from home 25-45 hours per week depending upon my clients' needs.

Is your job demanding?

Yes in that I have extremely high standards and because I bill by the hour, which means not dipping around on the internet and taking coffee breaks. No in that I have no commute, work in flip flops, and pick my kid up from school at 3:30.

Did it take long to get to your current wage?

Three years of law school, a judicial clerkship, and 11 years of legal practice and lobbying until I could legitimately quit, print some business cards, and find people who want to pay me up to $200/hour to write for them. But not to get to this wage. I made $160k plus bonuses at a big firm in 1999.


Do you feel you had to give something up in order to get there?
Most of my "giving up" happened when I became a mother. I gave up my thoughts of running a big organization. People ask me why I didn't try get a position in the Administration or even on the Hill. and I tell them that they'll see why when they become parents. I could probably make a lot more than I do in my little consulting business but I want to stick with non-profit clients (whom I charge far less than my few corporate ones) and I don't want to work overtime except in a client's emergency. I'm sure that I could have done a lot more with my fancy Ivy degrees than I have done, but I'm happy enough and I've got a good life.

[Anonymous]

OP here - so there is a little bit of a trend. Seems like many people who have responded put a lot of hard time in early on and proved their worth and in some cases this has allowed for not only a high wage but some flexibility.

Guess I am doing this sort of backwards. I didn't give up my 20s one bit - I worked in nonprofit in NYC and wasn't terribly driven in my career at that time. Stayed in nonprofit until I became a SAH. I don't have any regrets but want to be deliberate in shaping my career path now that I am in the private sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - so there is a little bit of a trend. Seems like many people who have responded put a lot of hard time in early on and proved their worth and in some cases this has allowed for not only a high wage but some flexibility.

Guess I am doing this sort of backwards. I didn't give up my 20s one bit - I worked in nonprofit in NYC and wasn't terribly driven in my career at that time. Stayed in nonprofit until I became a SAH. I don't have any regrets but want to be deliberate in shaping my career path now that I am in the private sector.

Glad to see so many lawyers on this thread enjoy their jobs. I know about twenty and they are all miserable, including my husband.

[Anonymous]

I work 60% time and make about $125k. I have an advanced degree from an Ivy, and was a SAHM for several years when my kids were little. Before than, I burned a lot of midnight oil in a management consulting firm. I re-entered the workforce after my SAHM stint at less than what I made before I had kids, and I'm no longer eligible for bonuses, but I feel very lucky for the schedule flexibility and the fact that work stress rarely bleeds into my "real" life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Here we go again.......

No kidding! It's so obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

I wrote a book seven years ago when I was dirt poor. Luckily I had a friend who thought it was worth publishing. She knew the right people, and I made a lot of money.

I journal now, but haven't tried to publish anything since I got married and had a child. Purely by choice.

[Anonymous]

Inherited 500k, invested it and no longer work. We make 20k - 30k a month on our investments/trading/rentals.

[Anonymous]

If you earn over 120K, what do you do for a living?
I am a Realtor


Is your job demanding?
Yes, but I have high expectations for my work and usually am on call 7 days a week


Did it take long to get to your current wage?
4+ years


Do you feel you had to give something up in order to get there?
Sometimes. My schedule is flexible so we have a nanny 3 days a week and my husband is home on the weekends while I am out. However, i feel on my "days off" I'm on my blackberry a whole lot more than I want to when spending time with my daughter. In the last 2 weeks, I've started to turn my phone off in the afternoons when we are playing and it has been fantastic. Most importantly, no deals have fallen apart. My clients actually support my decision nto have "mommy daughter days" vs. answering their calls and wish they could do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work 60% time and make about $125k. I have an advanced degree from an Ivy, and was a SAHM for several years when my kids were little. Before than, I burned a lot of midnight oil in a management consulting firm. I re-entered the workforce after my SAHM stint at less than what I made before I had kids, and I'm no longer eligible for bonuses, but I feel very lucky for the schedule flexibility and the fact that work stress rarely bleeds into my "real" life.

Did you go back to consulting or something different? In our firm advanced degrees are prized but so is business development. There is no hard and fast move up or out rule, but there is some value on those who are ambitious. And certainly in hard economic times those who are willing to burn the candle at both ends are in a more solid position. Now that you are back in the workforce do you feel any pressure to continue moving up the ladder? Or can you stay part-time for a while?