All you with these high-paying jobs!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Me: $155-160K
Him: $600K last year, but should hit over $700k this year

We both work in finance (me - corporate role at a large financial institution and him - private equity).

Also to add we are both 37 and have our MBAs, which were expensive but luckily neither of us graduated with significant student loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make $140,000 and DH makes $500,000 (grants management and big law)

My sister makes $500-$700,000 depending on the year and her DH makes $350-$500,000 depending on the year (tech sales - both of them).

Tech sales for what? How do you get into tech sales?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Double biglaw. But remember I am happier to disclose my income on this board than other stats. Like, say, how many hours of screen time a day my kids have. When it’s a “good” number for you, you post it willingly. When it isn’t, you skip the thread.

Exactly this. Much happier to talk about my salary than my weight, for example. People like to bragg, even anonymously. All the people earning $50k don’t post about it here.

The OP didn’t ask us poors to post. Actually I’m not poor (in my mid-50s as a capped GS15 I’m almost up to OP’s standard but never will be) but I’m not exceptional on DCUM. On the plus side, I weigh the same 125 lbs as I did when I got married. So I’ll brag about that instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m OP and I think I now realize I have been asking two questions.

The first question is what are the $200K+ paying jobs. Not industries. Actual job descriptions. If I were to network with someone, my ask being “how do I go from (my job) to become a (high paying profession)?”

The other question I guess is where are all the middle class people. The median household income is $110K, but single family homes are a million dollars. Which I think I can answer myself. Among my friends with normal-people jobs, with $100-200K HHI, this is where they live:

- Mid-sized apartment in a DTSS high rise
- Townhouse in Germantown
- Two different couples bought decent sized SFHs in MoCo, but they had parents helped with the down payments
- One couple moved to PG county to buy a SFH, which they could afford in 2018 but probably couldn’t afford to purchase today
- One single guy bought a 900sq ft SFH in Rockville, sold to him directly by a friend, below market rate
- Older people who bought in the 80s and then saw their homes appreciate tenfold

Maybe my overall question should have been “What normal-people jobs pay enough to live the 1990s white picket fence ideal” and the answer is none of them 😂

There are more people now and more competition, DC metro as other urban metro areas with solid job markets had become more dense, which means housing near job centers and with good amenities had become very pricey and up and coming areas had been pushed further out. And this isn't just something that happened in the recent years, salaries were already out of sync with COL back in the 90s. Those of us who graduated in mid-late 90s couldn't afford this white picket fence dream of owning a comfy SFH in a conveniently located suburb with amenities. We lived with roommates and in suburban studios just like you after graduation and years later our first homes were studios in the city or townhomes in exurbs or tract SFHs in low COL states. What is your idea of a starter home? No, you can't get a 4000sq.ft upgraded home in the inner belt suburb with great schools on your salary being the lone earner, but neither could we decades ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Double biglaw. But remember I am happier to disclose my income on this board than other stats. Like, say, how many hours of screen time a day my kids have. When it’s a “good” number for you, you post it willingly. When it isn’t, you skip the thread.

Exactly this. Much happier to talk about my salary than my weight, for example. People like to bragg, even anonymously. All the people earning $50k don’t post about it here.

The OP didn’t ask us poors to post. Actually I’m not poor (in my mid-50s as a capped GS15 I’m almost up to OP’s standard but never will be) but I’m not exceptional on DCUM. On the plus side, I weigh the same 125 lbs as I did when I got married. So I’ll brag about that instead.

That’s something to brag about for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make $140,000 and DH makes $500,000 (grants management and big law)

My sister makes $500-$700,000 depending on the year and her DH makes $350-$500,000 depending on the year (tech sales - both of them).

Tech sales for what? How do you get into tech sales?

What do you mean how do you get into tech sales? You graduate with a business major and then are recruited into sales jobs for IBM or Cisco or someplace like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The way to earn more is simple. Just pull job posting of high paid job you want and get those qualifications.

Salaries are not posted when you apply, it's why she is asking. She is in tech and she wants to know who those also in tech earn 300K+ vs. what she is earning and what they do, and what skills they have and what titles they have and what companies they work for. Valid questions and it's not simple to earn more, otherwise everyone would be doing this. You have to know what to target and this changes by the year in fast evolving industries like Tech.

[Anonymous]

I am in accounting, I made similar salary as you at that age: around 140k / 34 yr old. I went to a start up and made 200k when I was 37, and got fired earlier this year, found a new job in 2 month for 220k.

[Anonymous]

Our HHI is 450K and are both federal govt lawyers.

[Anonymous]

I am an MBA and work in HR in local government, make 155k, DH is an IT guy (MS Computer Science from UIUC, in case you want details) making 500k, he is an independent consultant working on and managing 2 contracts for federal government.
Prior to this he was a Sr. Director with GDIT but he hates office politics, he made 225k there.


Combined our HHI is 655k, I think a lot of 300k+ households are dual income. If it was just me, you and I would have similar stats, I wouldn’t be living in McLean

As for real heavy hitters, we have some law firm partners on our street, business owners, 2 doctor households etc. Even in high income areas like McLean I don’t see many single income households, I guess partly because both spouses are highly educated and don’t want to waste their education. Secondly, doesn’t matter how much money one person makes ( I am not talking about the 7 figure crowd), it’s good to have a supportive spouse in case something happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Double biglaw. But remember I am happier to disclose my income on this board than other stats. Like, say, how many hours of screen time a day my kids have. When it’s a “good” number for you, you post it willingly. When it isn’t, you skip the thread.

Exactly this. Much happier to talk about my salary than my weight, for example. People like to bragg, even anonymously. All the people earning $50k don’t post about it here.

The OP didn’t ask us poors to post. Actually I’m not poor (in my mid-50s as a capped GS15 I’m almost up to OP’s standard but never will be) but I’m not exceptional on DCUM. On the plus side, I weigh the same 125 lbs as I did when I got married. So I’ll brag about that instead.

That’s something to brag about for sure.

I do too but I also earn $230K.

[Anonymous]

I recently started a new job that puts me at 200k essentially doubling my salary although it depends on hitting my sales quota (tech sales). Planning on doing it for a few years before returning to non-profit work and hoping to save $$$.

[Anonymous]

As a previous posted has stated, many people received "Bank of Mom and Dad" help with a down payment on a house, etc. So you cannot calculate their net worth based on what their job is. Their job is only one piece of the pie. (I have observed that this is especially true where I live in Bethesda. Someone will have a nice tasteful home that you know was expensive, but they have kind of "regular" jobs.)

I'm a Gen X, but I'm impressed with the Gen Z and Millenial mindset of having multiple streams of income, such as having a main job and a side gig.

Also, of course, it is crucial to be really disciplined about saving at least 20 percent if not way more of your salary (so that you can buy a home and invest).

[Anonymous]

DH & I are both 40.

My comp as an exec at a mid-cap public company:
$220K base
$90K+ bonus (not guaranteed)
$90K equity

DH’s comp as an in-house lawyer
$300K base
$100K bonus (guaranteed)

To answer your second question, there are plenty of middle class people in this country, even in HCOL areas such as the DMV, and more in LCOL areas such as the South and Midwest.

[Anonymous]

Ad agency exec.
Here’s how I did it:
- I work insanely hard and over the past 10y have worked every evening and weekend. I don’t have a ton of boundaries
- I changed jobs every 2 ish years.
- I am always job hunting. Always.