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).

Big Law and lobbyists are everywhere in this town.

Next, consider GovCon and specialties in IT and Finance. A lot of dual incomes at a certain age ie military retirement pensions that kicks in while you continue working a career job - that's double income right there.

Sales is always going to generate income. BD/Partners and MD are plenty in DC. You have the public sector here so a ton of smaller GovCon entrepreneurs and defense contractor executives to boot.

The real juicy jobs are the ones that pay a lot are aren't managerial (VP/EVP) - so the ones that are specialty individual contributors which are niche - DH doesn't do a whole lot and makes $200k + amazing benefits/PTO. Bonus is 10-15% on top annually. He just sits at home (WFH now) and maybe has a meeting a day as a Manager.

There's making a lot but working a lot and then there's being human and enjoying your life and time but still making enough. To me, a great career takes into consideration how much passion you have for your industry/role but also how committed you are are willing to be long-term in order to make what you want from it. Working your way up to Big Law Partner is great once you hit the jackpot but you know, I don't want to work like a psycho for 10+ years. You can absolutely find a way to do both. You have to be very smart, know your strengths and manage your expectations for both time and money, but you can definitely make $250k without killing yourself. Luck is important too of course but as long as you are wanting the right thing for yourself, you can make it happen.

My mentor once told me that the easiest thing to do is to make money and he's right. It's the other stuff you would have to do and considerations to make that happen that are harder.

^^ we are not lawyers.

you are funny OP. Network, get into management, ect. So some higher level work if you can, for awhile, then ask for a raise to match.

I have a really narrow specialized knowledge and did stuff with it thus making a name for myself. Now I run a thing. I worked with this other guy at a previous job who also had specialized knowledge but he was so entitled. He thought that he should earn more than me b/c of his particular degree and he's older. Well, he didn't DO. You know what I mean? Just...I don't know what he did with his time. He's still there and his income climbs about 3-5% yr. Frankly, he's lucky to have a job.

OP, I think you're not accounting for all the lawyers who live in the DC area. If they work in BigLaw or even in smaller law firms, they are making significant amounts of money that skew these numbers. I am a partner at a medium sized law firm, for example. I expect to make $500K this year. With DH's salary our HHI will be about $700K.

I was a lobbyist for a decade (making 100k-200K over that decade) and when I moved jobs, I made 250 and next over 300 base. Bonus last year was 100k. i feel like i won the job jackpot. Im an exec at a trade association

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 😂

I think what you’re missing is 1) better/higher roles are not advertised in ordinary ways. They’re filled internally by people working to do better or externally by accomplished outsiders through recruiting firms; 2) there are no “normal” $200k jobs that don’t require specialized knowledge and/or added responsibilities.

Oftentimes, younger professionals assume that their salary and position will organically grow. By that, I mean that their employer will provide explicit, concrete steps to achieve the next rung on the ladder. It takes a while for many to realize that they are responsible for their career and development. It's a huge mindset shift from school where the next course, next reading, next assignment is outlined for you and the student just needs to follow directions to graduate to the next ladder rung/grade.

A big part of that thought is learning from others who have succeeded. You can know your strengths and your interests and aptitudes, but you can’t get ahead on just making random guesses as to what your next move should be, or just continuing to grind and toil away and hope you get chosen for promotion. It’s part of working smarter as opposed to harder. And working smarter involves knowing what kind of work leads to more money and success, and what kind of work is just toiling on a hamster wheel. So you learn from the examples of others and then apply it to your own skills.

law

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

+1

Anonymous wrote:

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 😂

I think what you’re missing is 1) better/higher roles are not advertised in ordinary ways. They’re filled internally by people working to do better or externally by accomplished outsiders through recruiting firms; 2) there are no “normal” $200k jobs that don’t require specialized knowledge and/or added responsibilities.

Oftentimes, younger professionals assume that their salary and position will organically grow. By that, I mean that their employer will provide explicit, concrete steps to achieve the next rung on the ladder. It takes a while for many to realize that they are responsible for their career and development. It's a huge mindset shift from school where the next course, next reading, next assignment is outlined for you and the student just needs to follow directions to graduate to the next ladder rung/grade.

Anonymous wrote:It seems like everyone who discloses their income makes over $200K as an individual/$400K HHI.

I'm sure you realize how exceptional you are, given that even in high-cost, high-income areas, you are the cream of the crop. What exactly is it that you do? Are you all big law partners and plastic surgeons? C-Suite executives? And you have time to trawl around internet forums during the work day?

I felt like I scored when I landed a six-figure job in my early 30s. I still live pretty modestly, especially since I'm single. I make enough to have a condo, a car, and a dog. I still make above the median FAMILY/HOUSEHOLD income in MOCO as a household of one. I have a great job at a great company.

And yet... here you all are making multiples of what I make. And I know there has to be some truth to that, because the cost of SFHs require those kind of incomes. So somebody is making that kind of money, lots of somebodies. I don't feel myself a slouch making $130K at 35, but I don't see myself on track to making $300K anytime soon. In fact, and it could be a degree of imposter-syndrome here, I'm worried that if i ever did get laid off, I'd have trouble finding a similar job for similar pay, and I face the issue that if I continue to get promoted, I'll be too expensive and more likely to be cut. So what are all these uber-lucrative jobs around here? We can't ALL be senior management and executives. Where are all these crazy-paying jobs (and how can I get one?)

OP, many of these couples had constant family help, with parents paying for their colleges, weddings, house, kids private school, some even have their parents paying for their vehicles - of course they seem rich!

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

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 😂

Median HHI includes single people and retired people, who may not be living in a typical SFH. You should look more at the median HHI of DINKs or families with kids to see who is affording the homes. Anyway, in our case our HHI was $150k but our parents helped us out.

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 😂

I think what you’re missing is 1) better/higher roles are not advertised in ordinary ways. They’re filled internally by people working to do better or externally by accomplished outsiders through recruiting firms; 2) there are no “normal” $200k jobs that don’t require specialized knowledge and/or added responsibilities.

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 😂

We have a HHI of $250k and live in a SFH in Potomac, but we bought in 2015. We would not be able to afford the same house at today’s prices and interest rates. There’s no secret, we just got lucky with the timing.