Anonymous
Post 11/07/2022 21:42     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:My DS graduated from college about 3 years ago and makes around $100k. His first-year salary surpassed my salary in year 15 of teaching. It's no wonder anybody wants to teach. Thankfully he is nearly done paying back his student loans and is saving his money wisely.


My oldest daughter spent the first seven years of her career in IB and another three years in M&A. She made a lot of money in that ten years span and also invested wisely during that time. When she walked away after ten years, she had a net worth of around 15M, enough to not worry about money ever again. She is now a biology teacher at a private school because she wants to make a difference in young people's lives, and she is very happy with her choice. She is also married to a poor public high school teacher but he is the love of her life. Her only regret is that she wished she could have met him sooner.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2022 03:37     Subject: Re:Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
I am a speech language pathologist making $100k. I subsidize that with some contacting work on the side so my income is more like $140k. I am working HARD for this income and likely won’t ever make much more aside from COLA. I see my friends careers taking off and I often think about what else I could have done!
Anonymous
Post 11/06/2022 20:31     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am a social worker working as a private practice therapist. I do pretty well - after taxes, I bring home about $70k, which is fine with me (like other PPs, it's more than my dad ever made). We don't live in the DMV anymore, cost of living is lower. It was harder when we lived in DC, but it was still pretty okay there.

I could earn more, but I have made choices in my practice that for me are ethically the right thing to do (e.g., I'm in network with insurance, don't charge more than $100/session for private pay, don't charge for phone calls, don't charge cancellation fees, etc.). If I was charging the same cash rates as my clients, I would probably double my income, but because my $70k is fine for us and I value being able to not compromise my own ethics. If I cared less about that, I would have stayed in corporate America and climbed that ladder.


FWIW also, I heard from social worker therapists like me earlier in my career who very much framed it as "go to SW school, it's a versatile degree, I make $100k+ in private practice, etc." I think that's a little bit irresponsible because no one makes this kind of money right out of school, you have to have clinical licensure which takes time, and most SW I know started in community mental health, where a someone with a bunch of unrelated work experience will be offered a "good salary" of $49k.


Genuine question: why do you consider corporate = unethical? Isn’t that a bit black and white?


+100. I have worked in corporate America as an attorney -- for a hotel corporation and a corporation that manufactures furniture. These are companies that try to offer a service/product and make a profit. The companies are ethical companies that employ a lot of people, and pay good salaries. Are those evil things?


They may not be “evil,” but they’re neutral at best. You’re selling out for sure.
Anonymous
Post 11/06/2022 20:24     Subject: Re:Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
I do regret it. I had an opportunity to make a shift out of academia a few years ago and chose wrong because I didn't understand how hiring worked in private industry, but government was transparent and made me a firm offer first. My friends who went into tech instead are making so, SO much more than me working remotely from their chosen beautiful cities, and I live in a townhouse in a DC exurb. Idiocy. But "a decade in government at age 40" sure isn't the same position for making a shift to tech as "brand new PhD with no gray hairs."
Anonymous
Post 11/06/2022 17:28     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:Another journalist here. (I haven't even read the entire thread but I'm sure there are at least half a dozen posts from us.)

It is low pay, long hours, holidays, weekends and the career involves dealing with negative and soul-crushing images and information while occasionally being verbally attacked by angry people who see you as some sort of enemy of democracy.

Yes, there are lots of regrets but I'm not even sure choosing journalism is the key regret. I wish I would have been able to wiggle my way into one of the holy grail positions early enough. I didn't need a lot of money but it would have been nice not to have been taken advantage of for so long. It's one thing to work at a paper that slowly folds (unfortunately very common); it's another thing to work for media organizations that have money but know they can pay you less or rotate a handful of freelancers because there are a ton of people willing to take your spot.


What are the holy grail positions of journalism?
Anonymous
Post 03/16/2022 13:03     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mid-50s female with an advanced degree. The best decision BY FAR that I made was marrying a good guy and building that foundation over nearly three decades now. My job (I don't actually think most jobs are careers, sorry) in media ended up being high stress for little pay -- something I wish I had realized in school. Juggling it all got to be too much once we had children. I "retired" at 44 with my husband's blessing. He *wanted* me to quit because I was so stressed out all the time. Once I did, it was like a calming peace came over our household. I do not regret quitting. He makes good money as a scientist. I tell my DDs off to college soon to work toward a job you enjoy doing, but never make your job your entire life. Build a family. It is its own form of security, too.


So you’re basically telling your DDs to marry someone wealthy. All fine and good but that advice in a vacuum is a mistake IMO.


NP- my dad was a newspaper reporter for his entire career. He did well, front page by-lines at major papers but made no money. I saw my mom have to carry the family and how hard that was for her. It made me realize the importance of a an equal earning spouse, and I looked for that in a partner.
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2022 22:53     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:Same but I am 48. However, with the payscale it takes forever to finally make this much money. As a single mom, I really had to be tight with my budget for many years. That is why they lose staff in MOCO because how slow the salary scale moves. The starting salary is decent though (not when I started back in 2000, it was like 28k.

Like you though, I agree the benefits are good, pension etc. I could not be a teacher in other states though. The salary is terrible!!!!!! [

quote=Anonymous]I am a teacher age 44. I am almost at the top of the salary range at 103k. Sad to know it won’t really ever get higher. At the same time, I have good flexibility. Time with family. Nice summers. Every day is different. Like my students. Good benefits. Job for life, followed by a pension. I can’t complain about the balance at all. Now focused on investing and keeping a low cost of living.


What do you pay for healthcare premiums? Do you know how much a retiree pays?
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2022 11:30     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Same but I am 48. However, with the payscale it takes forever to finally make this much money. As a single mom, I really had to be tight with my budget for many years. That is why they lose staff in MOCO because how slow the salary scale moves. The starting salary is decent though (not when I started back in 2000, it was like 28k.

Like you though, I agree the benefits are good, pension etc. I could not be a teacher in other states though. The salary is terrible!!!!!! [

quote=Anonymous]I am a teacher age 44. I am almost at the top of the salary range at 103k. Sad to know it won’t really ever get higher. At the same time, I have good flexibility. Time with family. Nice summers. Every day is different. Like my students. Good benefits. Job for life, followed by a pension. I can’t complain about the balance at all. Now focused on investing and keeping a low cost of living.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2022 23:46     Subject: Re:Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
I don't regret my fields (education, nonprofits) but I do regret stopping out for an advanced degree that didn't get me anywhere (stuck in the adjunct professor path for a while but back in the nonprofit world now).
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2022 23:42     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Yes. Teacher. Although i am no longer teaching in a school- and making more money doing educationally-related things.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2022 23:22     Subject: Re:Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:My spouse and I are both teachers. I don't consider us low earners at all, actually, but DCUM might. Our salaries are good, the health insurance is cheap, our retirement money is awesome, and we have lots of time off and we do meaningful work with students and families that we care deeply about.

My husband doesn't regret his career, but there are some days that I do. Not because of the salary. We have everything we need and nearly everything we want. (Though we are both people who don't want much.) When I am feeling regretful, it is because of things like heavy over testing, lack of play, developmentally inappropriate everything,student and parent behaviors have been a lot.

This past fall I would come home, cry or pass out for the night by 7 p.m.,or spend the night scanning for a new job and applying anywhere and everywhere. I truly thought I was just going to walk out mid year, this late in my career. Things have gotten better, though. I'm hoping I can hang in until retirement.


How cheap is "cheap"? Just curious.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2022 22:14     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:Yes. At the time though, librarian starting salaries were not that much lower than other professions. The divide really took off in the 2000s.

I would never encourage any young person to become a teacher or librarian now, unless they have family money..


Another librarian here. I don't regret it because I love what I do, but it would be really hard to live off my salary as a single person or with a similarly low-earning spouse. I think a lot of teachers and librarians have spouses who bring in the real incomes. And teachers are paid much better than librarians.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2022 22:07     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mid-50s female with an advanced degree. The best decision BY FAR that I made was marrying a good guy and building that foundation over nearly three decades now. My job (I don't actually think most jobs are careers, sorry) in media ended up being high stress for little pay -- something I wish I had realized in school. Juggling it all got to be too much once we had children. I "retired" at 44 with my husband's blessing. He *wanted* me to quit because I was so stressed out all the time. Once I did, it was like a calming peace came over our household. I do not regret quitting. He makes good money as a scientist. I tell my DDs off to college soon to work toward a job you enjoy doing, but never make your job your entire life. Build a family. It is its own form of security, too.


So you’re basically telling your DDs to marry someone wealthy. All fine and good but that advice in a vacuum is a mistake IMO.


I'm a middle aged guy with a fancy degree, decades of experience and will never sniff a $100k income or pension. I wish someone had told ME to marry someone wealthy!
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2022 21:13     Subject: Re:Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:Nurse.
Yes, the low salaries grate after 20 years in the field and no real increases. I just took a new job ($115K--woo hoo!) but prior to this I was making about the same salary for the past 10 years: $90K (in a variety of positions--so yes, I moved around). I know people associate nursing with the astronomical salaries that nurses are making these days as Covid travel nurses but when it comes down to it, the average nursing salary in DC is something like $75K.

I will say that I have loved the work: I've done interesting and impactful things in a large variety of settings.
I will also say that I'm married to a doctor whose salary pays our mortgage. My colleagues who are not married to a higher earner (most of them) live all sorts of great distances from DC because they can't afford to live closer in.



I'm also an RN-I'm very curious as to what and where your position is (I'm assuming it's around DC?). I've been a nurse for 15 years-I have my CCM (case management certification) and make in the low $80k's doing case management in the Baltimore area. I like aspects of the job but I feel overworked and kind of stuck.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2022 16:31     Subject: Low earning professionals, do you regret your career?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am a social worker working as a private practice therapist. I do pretty well - after taxes, I bring home about $70k, which is fine with me (like other PPs, it's more than my dad ever made). We don't live in the DMV anymore, cost of living is lower. It was harder when we lived in DC, but it was still pretty okay there.

I could earn more, but I have made choices in my practice that for me are ethically the right thing to do (e.g., I'm in network with insurance, don't charge more than $100/session for private pay, don't charge for phone calls, don't charge cancellation fees, etc.). If I was charging the same cash rates as my clients, I would probably double my income, but because my $70k is fine for us and I value being able to not compromise my own ethics. If I cared less about that, I would have stayed in corporate America and climbed that ladder.


FWIW also, I heard from social worker therapists like me earlier in my career who very much framed it as "go to SW school, it's a versatile degree, I make $100k+ in private practice, etc." I think that's a little bit irresponsible because no one makes this kind of money right out of school, you have to have clinical licensure which takes time, and most SW I know started in community mental health, where a someone with a bunch of unrelated work experience will be offered a "good salary" of $49k.


Genuine question: why do you consider corporate = unethical? Isn’t that a bit black and white?


+100. I have worked in corporate America as an attorney -- for a hotel corporation and a corporation that manufactures furniture. These are companies that try to offer a service/product and make a profit. The companies are ethical companies that employ a lot of people, and pay good salaries. Are those evil things?