- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
So DH and I are trying to get to a place where we can feel comfortable buying a house and having kids. Right now, we both have salaries in the upper 30s and both have bachelor's degrees, his in a specific science field and mine in a general liberal arts subject. We started looking for jobs out of school in the midst of the recession and were happy to (eventually) find jobs within our fields that were well paying enough to afford our wedding and to save a bit each month. But now after three years we are at the point of wanting to move on and are having a hell of a time finding jobs that pay what we need to afford our plans of house/kids comfortably and to be able to make it if one of us loses our job. We are aiming at jobs that pay closer to $50k per year.
My question is, if you have a job that pays more than $50k per year, what do you do? What field are you in? Do you travel or work crazy hours? What kind of schooling/training do you have beyond a four-year degree?
We don't particularly want to go back to school at this point, but were wondering how other people with similar education and background were finding well paying jobs or what fields these jobs were in.
We both make more than that and we are in "business" with MBAs in very very large corporations.
I dont care for my job which is a good thing I just got laid off so I will start looking to use my business skills for a company I can stand behind. I would like to work for a smaller company, which would also mean less pay probably but to me itll be worth it
I'm a scientist for a multi-national drug company. I develop new antibiotics for drug-resistant bacteria. I work around 35-40 hours per week and do not travel. I have a master's degree. I make in the high $70's including my bonus with 2 year's experience. But, I also live in Boston, where that doesn't go as far (in grad school, my stipend was $30,000/yr and that barely put food on the table, to give you an idea).
I have a liberal arts bachelor's degree and was making between $33 and 45K in jobs I had before grad school (before the downturn, until 2007). Surprisingly, the most money I made was as an administrative assistant. It wasn't a particularly high-paying firm, but the benefits were great and that helped me save a lot of the salary that might otherwise have gone to contributing to health insurance premiums and retirement (they gave me 10% of my annual salary as a bonus in a retirement account, so I focused more on short-term savings goals than I otherwise would have).
I could have made more (probably close to $50K at least) if I'd stayed at that firm a few more years and moved up in that field, but I was bored and I felt I needed to make at least $80K to be comfortable, so I went back to school. Unfortunately the economy then crashed and I'm not making my aimed-for salary, plus I have a lot of new student debt (which I never had before). I do make more than $50K (as a lawyer) and I don't have to travel, but my hours are TERRIBLE. Knowing what I know now, I would have chosen the first option: stay bored, work normal human hours, have a lot more money saved. :)
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
I don't, but my fiance does, so I'll tell you about his experience.
- started at the company as a part-time intern while in college
- got promoted to a salaried position and worked part-time until he graduated (bachelors in finance), and then began working full-time
-another position opened up above him and he got another promotion and a substantial raise (well into the 50s)
He is the Director of Communications and puts together the company's monthly magazine, takes pictures at their events (he works for a trade association for the apartment industry), runs all of their social media, and more.
Travel is minimal (although he is going to New York next week for a conference regarding print media - but that was his own idea for education about his specific position).
Work week is 40 hours, with regular 9-5 for the most part, unless he has to work an evening event for the members of the association - which happens maybe 2-3x a month.
Small company (about 15 people on staff), great benefits, great pay.
He's 25.
I have a BFA in design and BS in sciences, but I work on a specialized type of graphic design--accessibillity for people with disabilities--so it's got a bit of coding built in.
Sometimes the hours can be nuts, but they're flexible. I work from home as a full time telecommuter so that's nice.
Unfortunately, this question is a bit loaded. Salary is highly dependent on more than just field....things like your location, your particular skill set, your position at your employer (how many other people can do what you do? how replaceable are you?), and even your negotiating power when it comes to your starting salary and yearly raises all make a huge difference on how much you make.
Plus, just because you cross that 50k threshold...you have to factor in other things...like how comprehensive are your benefits, and how much can you still sock away pretax so you arent SLAMMED on taxes. Once you jump into another tax bracket, if you aren't careful, you can get killed...especially if you don't own a house yet, or max out your retirment contributions.
If you want to jump into the next salary bracket, I would see what would make you stand out in your field--what is the most unique skill you can add to your job that would make you more in-demand?
Just my .02! :)
Oh, and my husband is in Healthcare IT - manages digital medical records for a major Boston hospital. He has a bachelors in Computer Engineering, and makes about $110,000/yr. He probably works 35 hours a week. He does have a 24 hr beeper for server problems, but it rarely goes off.
FI is an engineer for a power company. He holds a class 2 liscense.
My husband makes over 50K - he is a grant manager for the American Diabetes Association. This is his 2nd job with the company after a promotion. He does travel a few times a year for their conferences that they have. He only has a Bachelors degree and has been working for his company for almost 3 years.
Also, many of my friends make over 50K and almost all of them are consultants. Thats big in the DC area. I really couldnt tell you exactly what they do. One of them used to work for Booz Allen Hamilton and now she works for the government. I also have a friend that makes over 50K who is an event planner and another who is in public relations. None of these people have anything beyond a Bachelors degree and have only been out of college for 3-4 years.
It also depends a little on where you live. I'm in engineering, with a 4 year bs, no one was coming out of school making less than 50k .. normal 40 hour week for the most part for a tech company. The problem with your avg engineering company is that you start high, and dont really go as high vs business people who start lower 20s/30s, but in 5-10 years, they now make more than I do. I think i need a new job....
I have a 3-year degree (Arts- Geography), FI has a 4-year (Science -Human Kinetics).
We both make $50K+ each.
FI is a teacher.....enough said..... :p
I work for a university -admissions, event planning & recruitment. I travel, sit at a desk (depending on the week/month) and hours are wonky. Some days I never stop working, some days I'm told to stay home because of those crazy hours (boss is great). I love my job, it's always changing with the different portfolios I have. That being said, it is a high impact job, high stress, if I screw up....it's a big deal so it has to be done right every day. But the paycheque makes it worth it for what little education I have and the opportunities it has given me.
@rachel_leigh: what region of the country are you in? that has a lot of influence over salary. Boston, DC, and San Fran are 3 of the most ridiculously expensive areas of the country, so we basically HAVE to make more money....and employers scale accordingly. If we were to say, live in rural Alabama, we wouldn't be pulling in the same kind of income.
I'm currently not making 50k per year, but when I graduate I will. I already have a bachelors degree and was making in the high 30's with that- I went back to school for a nursing degree because my husband is in the military and we move a lot. I needed a career that would travel.
My husband is a naval officer and makes above 50k. His hours vary greatly- last week he spent over 100 hours at work. Sometimes he's at work and away from home 7-8 months of the year. Other times he works a 40-50 hour work week. His job comes with such great benefits, it's worth it. We have health/dental care, great retirement plan, housing allowances, etc.. He also moves up in rank for the first four years automatically so his pay is always increasing. It's a pretty sweet deal.
My sister is 23 years old and earns 80k/year- she did not go to college and doesn't have any training. She's a car salesperson. She started as an internet manager (basically someone who answers customer emails/basic questions) and parlayed that into a position at the largest chevrolet dealership in Michigan. She works 70-80 hour work weeks.
DH and I both make over $50K and we both have bachelors degrees in engineering (him - industrial, me - biomedical). He's been working for just over 2 years and I'm at a few months shy of the 2 year mark.
I work in Regulatory Affairs for a large medical device company. I make submissions for new / changed products to the FDA and other similar agencies. I work a standard 40 hour week. I dislike my current job and am currently trying to transfer within the company to a field position that would require traveling around to the hospitals within my city.
DH works in healthcare consulting and travels most weeks Monday-Thursday. He works from home on Fridays. With travelling, he doesn't always have typical 9-5 hours but doesn't usually have to put in more than 40-45 hours a week.
ETA: Our degrees are from the university that is #1 and #3/#4 (depending on the year) in our respective fields.
We are both in the IT field, with just a BS degree, and make over 50k. We just happened to both have a job in college which hired us on full time after we graduated.
I'm a lawyer (law school, bar, etc). I don't care for it most of the time.
My husband is a corporate accountant. He works for an insurance company in the investments area doing derivatives stuff. I don't fully know what that means :) He works pretty regular hours (9-6ish or sometimes 9-8 when it is busy). He likes it. He doesn't have any advanced degrees, just a bachelors in accounting.
DH and I are both in finance and each make significantly over 50K. We only have bachelors degrees but we went to a well-known business school for undergrad. One way to get into finance is to get an MBA at a good school. However, the hours are really, really long and travel may be involved.
I think PP brought up a good point about location - both salaries and cost of living are going to vary depending where you are.
I am 30, have worked my way up at a large corporation over the past 7 years. I function as either a business analyst or project manager. I do not have an undergrad degree. I was probably in my job for 4+ years before I was able to move within the organization and see substantial increases in pay.
I am fairly satisfied with my job and hope to continue to working here particularly since I work from home. Sometimes the hours are long but I'm paid on an hourly basis so it's not bad especially when i can do it in my pajamas.
My FI was in your position. He went back to school for a MBA in business. This has definitely increased his opportunities.
I'm an Admin Assistant at an electricity company. I make $63K. BUT this company pays extremely well and all my other Admin friends don't make nearly as much. It sounds like the average is $35-45K
ETA: Forgot to mention my schooling. I have a diploma from taking a 2 year program for Administrative Assistant at college.
FI and I each have 4 year degrees from a top 10 university.
I work in operations/technology project management for a financial firm. Hours are usually 9-6 M-F with weekend work once ever 6 weeks or so. (I have my Series 7 and Series 63 certifications.) I was a biology major. My career has nothing to do with my actual degree.
FI works in technology & computer forensic investigations at a small private company. He works longer hours (and often has weekend work) but also gets paid overtime as well as getting company stock. (He was a comp sci major and has some other specialized certifications but no extra schooling)
However, we currently live in NYC and are looking to move to London so cost of living is very high for us even with our higher salaries.
I am 26 and he is 27. He's been doing the same type of work since graduating college, I did 2 years in my line of work, 2 years in financial servicing, and am now back to project management work.
I'm thinking about getting my MBA, but more because I'm interested in getting a graduate degree and more schooling then for the change of career/bump in salary.
My Dh makes over 50K...he works in finance, for a hedge fund. He actually doesn't have any additional formal training besides college. He started interning while in college at a mutual fund or bank or something, and then got a part time job/internship while in college at a hedge fund. The starting salary in finance tends to be pretty high (not including bonus), so it's definitely a lucrative field. However it's not for everyone--I personally have no interest in learning about currency exchange rates and market trends, lol. He also works hard--12 hour days on the regular, with longer hours if something big is going on.
I have just a B.A. - previously worked as a paralegal making $70k (if I chose to work OT, I could have made upwards of $90k+). Currently working in marketing in a law firm making same. Husband is a 10th year attorney so he makes significantly more, but did have to go to school to get his J.D.
It really depends on where you live. I work about 40-45 hours a week and don't travel (I traveled a lot in my old job). I have a B.S. degree and about 5 years in the field. I live in MA where the cost of living is ridiculous so even though I earn over $50K, it doesn't get me very far.
We don't have high paying jobs yet (We're both in grad school) but after graduating FI is hoping to get about $40-50,000 working full time for an architecture firm. Once he becomes a licensed architect (that will take several years and lots of tests) his salary will go up. I don't really know how much b/c the market isn't great right now, but some of the people he used to work with made about $80,000 a year.
I have a bachelor's degree and FI has a GED. We both hold the same position in a marine transportation company (he worked his way up, while I used my degree to get the position). We both make six figures (he makes about $3K more due to longevity). We are both relief captains on towboats that push barges full of different cargoes to chemical/gas docks. Our hours keep us away from home a lot, but there are other options in the marine transportation industry that pay well but also don't have as rigorous work schedules.
@lefeymw: When you say you are in "business" what do you mean? Could you tell me what your job title is?
@spaniel: I actually started out as an admin asst although I also did all of the work for the position I have now as well. Business has really taken off so now I work soley as a research editor. I feel like I am underpaid, but attempts to remedy this situation have not gone well. Part of the problem is that I work for a tiny company so there is not really any room for growth/upward movement beyond what I have already done.
@MrsDulce: I understand your points are they are well taken! I know that location and skill set have a lot to do with it. I am mostly interested in what field people found well paying jobs without having graduate degrees.
It seems like a lot of people here and other people I talk to have had success with engineering, business, finance and technology related degrees. I felt like we were making good choices when we picked our majors, but now I feel like we made mistakes. It is especially hard for my husband because getting his BS degree was his second go at school after the telecom industry fell out. Now he has a degree and experience in plant biotechnology but it feels like the industry is waning and he is not getting anywhere.
Edit: We live in Portland Oregon where the unemployment rate is extremely high, so I feel like this gives my boss the upper hand in raises, bonuses, etc. I do get fairly good benefits, but whenever I ask for a raise he waves my insurance benefits in my face and says that my raise went into increased premiums. :(
I will be the odd one out here and say that I don't have a degree. I have a 2 year diploma and make a bit over 55k.
I have been working straight out of college. I work in social services (social work). I work for a school board so that is why I get paid A LOT better then most people in my field. I work 8-5.
I will be a lawyer in a few months! Already have a job lined up, and I will be making over $50k. It's an 8-5 job.
I make six figures but I've working in my field for 13 years. I have an MBA and work in financial/data analytics. I'm a Vice President (actually not that impressive of a title, there are hundreds of other VP's where I work) and manage a small group of analysts. It was mostly seniority and promotions that got me to my current salary level. When I started here 9 years ago, I was making exactly half of what I was making now (but still more than $50K). My job is pretty comfortable in that I can make own hours (I choose to work 10 am to 7pm) and I can work from home one day a week.
My husband works for the same company in IT, specifically server support. He makes mid 60K's. He complains it's not much but he has it much easier than I do. He can work from home everyday if he wants to. He's on call a lot and sometimes works nights and has to carry a pager most weekends, but he gets paid overtime for those. He has a bachelor's degree in sociology so he was lucky to land a job in that field. He got it through independent study and certification exams that qualified him for the position. I wouldn't mind switching to a lower paying job if it meant I can work from home all the time.
I've been interning with a company for over 2 years now and a beginning analyst starts around $57k-$59k. This particular position requires an engineering degree, but I'm also interviewing for a financial analyst position with a different company. This other company could care less what your degree is in as long as you obtain the necessary analytic skills to get the job done (basic algebra, critical thinking, problem solver, detail oriented, good with Excel, etc.) The starting pay is comparable.
ETA: it can be a little stressful to meet deadlines, but work hours are normal 40/week unless a major deadline is coming up.
this is a ridiculous question. a LOT depends on where you live. $50k in Chicago or New York isn't the same as $50k in Alabama.
I'm a lawyer and work for the government, making close to 100K. I love my job, but despised the whole law school process. My hours are very flexible and I work about 40 hours a week, so I would say I'm pretty lucky in the job department. If you ever consider law, I highly recommend getting a job with the government.
@qwerty1: That is SO true.
Rent/Cost of Living in NYC is ridiculous.
We started looking at apartments to buy, but even with looking at $700k places we were looking at small 1 bedroom apartments that may or may not have a doorman.
I forgot to mention in my 1st post - taxes also make a HUGE difference. This is something I knew but did not really appreciate until I started working this job. In our tax bracket, we end up paying like 50% total. So it might sound impressive to say that I make a six figure salary...but I don't ever see a good chunk of it!
My husband and I both make over 50K a year (my DH makes alot more then I do). I have a 4 year degree and am a buyer for a retail company in Canada. I work anywhere from 40-70 hours a week depending on the season. I travel about once a month to all over the US and Canada. My Husband works in the cellular industry managing a retail location. He has a 4 year degree in music but obviously is not using it. He only works 40 hours a week and does little to no traveling.
My job is crazy stressful with no work life balance, my husband on the other hand has an amazing work life balance and makes more then I do. So in my case salary doesn't match the work load but the perks of my job are the things that keep me from looking for another job.
@GirlWithARing: I hear you there. The tax hit is really rough. When FI and I get married, we'll actually end up worse off from a tax standpoint because of our combined salaries.
@GirlWithARing: Yup it's pretty discouraging. I never want to get DH started on a discussion about taxes because he gets pretty worked up, lol.
We're both consultants, both in IT and both just shy of 6 figures. We both started out as developers, but now we're both on the business side.
But we also live in one of the more expensive parts of the country and despite this are going to have a hard time buying a nice/decent sized house.
Wow! Thanks for all the feedback. It is interesting to see the differences between people who have worked their way up to better paying positions versus those who started making good pay right out of school. This makes me feel like I need to at least get into a different company that is bigger and offers the capacity for career advancement. It is just scary to think about leaving when it was so hard to get the job I have now.
I will probably get my master's eventually, but I want to wait until I know what I want to study so I will probably wait to get it until after we have kids. But I know that having an advanced degree will obviously lead to increased pay. Although I am pretty sure that I have no interest in law school, ever. Just not for me. But getting an MBA sounds like something to consider.
Like I said before, I understand the cost of living difference based on location. I am mostly just trying to learn more about well paying jobs that people have and how they got them. While the cost of living here is obviously not as high as some major cities, I am enjoying hearing the responses about a lot of jobs that I never even knew existed.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| fivemonthsnotice | 17 |
| ticatica | 14 |
| Mrs. Chai | 11 |
| MrsOliveBird | 11 |
| aussiebee | 11 |
| BellaDee | 11 |
| pinkandsparkly | 10 |
| Lyndzo | 10 |
| LammChop | 8 |
| countrygirl62312 | 8 |
Sorry, there are no users yet.
