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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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![/quote]

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![/quote]

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?[/quote]

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

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

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. [/quote]

Seriously this discussion is nuts. 190k with a spouse who also have at least a low six figure salary is a very lucky life. I live in Arlington on around that and know we are very wealthy. People are losing their minds. [/quote]

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