Anonymous wrote:wow, I'm shocked that this is norm. Im 28 and make 77K with 12% bonus and after several quick promotions feel like I have plateaued and am looking for something higher paying now. To be honest what worked for me was to get in a company with lots of growth potential and work my butt off to stand out and get promoted. I was in the 70Ks before I even finished my degree. Keep applying and moving around, learning everything you can about the company!

What field are you in? Are you in non profits?

wow, I'm shocked that this is norm. Im 28 and make 77K with 12% bonus and after several quick promotions feel like I have plateaued and am looking for something higher paying now. To be honest what worked for me was to get in a company with lots of growth potential and work my butt off to stand out and get promoted. I was in the 70Ks before I even finished my degree. Keep applying and moving around, learning everything you can about the company!

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you have a degree and if so, in what?

English Lit from a public ivy.

Thinktanks paying next to nothing is common knowledge. There are several threads on exactly that issue. Low pay coming in, and low pay even if you work your way up.

Anonymous wrote:I'm 43 and that's my salary. If that makes you feel any better...

Do you have a 4 year degree? Do you live in DC metro area?

OP, do you have a degree and if so, in what?

I'm 43 and that's my salary. If that makes you feel any better...

Apply apply apply.

In my experience, you only get a raise when you get a new job.

Anonymous wrote:Non profits pay poorly. Did you not know that before hand? If you want to make more money, you will need to go into the private industry.

I have to say, though, that $38K even for nonprofit seems low. My first job out of college in '93 was for a nonprofit, and I was paid $26K. I switched to private industry a few years later.

They do at the entry level. Once promoted, people usually make 55K.

Anonymous wrote:ThIs will come off as rude so I apologize but...

A lot of people our age (I'm 29) are in similar situations. The solution is to either take out loans to go back to school in order to Move forward in your career/switch careers entirely or realize that what you're doing now is a dead end and find something else.

I don't know much about the NGO scene But if you've tried all the angles to move up and they don't work, your only options are above.

Are they? I feel like no one I know is! All the people at my job level are 22-25 years old! I was hired when I was 26 and the people hired with me moved on to other jobs or got promoted. Now I work at an entry level capacity with fresh college grads. When I was there age, I was an unpaid intern so the fact that I worked my butt off only to land the same jobs as these people makes me feel deeply ashamed.

I want to go to graduate school but have no funds.

Non profits pay poorly. Did you not know that before hand? If you want to make more money, you will need to go into the private industry.

I have to say, though, that $38K even for nonprofit seems low. My first job out of college in '93 was for a nonprofit, and I was paid $26K. I switched to private industry a few years later.

OP - your early 30s are huge jumps in your career and salary.
I was making roughly that at 28 in my primary job (I had a second as an adjunct professor and made another ~15k annually) but things were tight.
6 years later I making 3 -4x as much, in a single job, depending on my bonus amounts. Don't despair, good things are coming now that you have some experience under your belt.
I'd also echo the person who said don't believe reality tv. I'd add: or facebook, or half of what you read on DCUM in Money & finance.

Not sure what to tell you. This was fifteen years ago but I made $30K as a GS-9 straight out of grad school. You aren't alone. This is what 28 often looks like, unless you've busted your a$$ and now work in a big law firm or on wall street.

Don't believe reality tv.
Good luck.

ThIs will come off as rude so I apologize but...

A lot of people our age (I'm 29) are in similar situations. The solution is to either take out loans to go back to school in order to Move forward in your career/switch careers entirely or realize that what you're doing now is a dead end and find something else.

I don't know much about the NGO scene But if you've tried all the angles to move up and they don't work, your only options are above.

I've been stuck in the hellhole that is the Washington think tank and NGO scene. First I slaved away as an unpaid intern and now I make hardly anything. My life is at a standstill. I haven't even been able to move out of the suburbs or finance further schooling.

Please help!