Are you rich? Have you landed your dream job? If so, how did you do it?

[Rodney McKay]

Rich, definitely not, but I do pretty much as close to my dream job as I can reasonably expect.

I have a contract with Microsoft doing work for their education department. Ideally I wouldn't be a contractor (but I'm hoping to transition to a full-time MS employee in the next year or so), but the team of people I'm working for is fantastic, great sense of being on a team and they're all a treat to work with on a daily basis.

The other part I love is that I'm fully remote. Not having a commute anymore is absolutely fantastic, it has released so much stress from my life. It also allowed me to move to a totally different state and buy a house with my fiance down in San Diego.

And even when there are a lot of assignments due or big projects going on, it's never THAT stressful. The only stressful thing is that being on a contract means that ever 3, 6,or 9 months I have to worry a bit about my contract getting renewed. Thankfully my manager loves me and doesn't want to lose me so I'm pretty secure (but my most recent contract renewal took a while and I nearly missed a whole paycheck, but I thankfully was able to make up all the missed hours).

Took me about 5 years I think to get this job after graduating college. All the jobs between then and now were OK, but nearly all of them had issues (shitty boss at one, shitty work at another, boring work and a long commute at another). But those jobs built my experience with a variety of tools and eventually I got contacted by a recruiter and got this job and I've been here for over 2 years I think.

 

[hashtagrekt]

Okay, though I have no idea what this means.

Ah, I think I understand kind of, but if you don't want to talk about it further I get it. Sounds like it'd be a hard thing to get into.

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Very easy to enter the industry. Hire 22 year old new grads every day. Do you survive to be a partner is the question. That's where the money is. And again, rationally thinking about it, the amount of time and energy you put into this life is no where near worth the salary until you're at partner level. It's 80 hour weeks for a minimum of a decade without ever really cracking 150k. And there is no guarantee you make partner anyway. You can still top out at around 250k as a non-partner but at that point I think anyone would rather be in a job that pays maybe half but was 9-5 or something similar the entire time.

 

[KillLaCam]

Look at it by age group for more accuracy.

I'm in the top 90% for my age group.

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Oh wow. I'm too 1% for black males in my age group. I'm multiracial but couldn't really find anything that specific. That's definitely eye opening.

 

[Vex]

I couldn't even if I wanted to. I wince at even paying real money for blizz products. I'd rather farm gold in WoW and get it for "free" with a bent token than use real money. Even though technically when I was working one hour of time could buy a year of wow sub. It's a sickness.

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Nah, I get ya. I'm the same way. I never buy anything in F2P games EVER. And I never buy DLC. I'd rather drop a game than buy something because I got tired farming it. I don't allow myself spend in games. I'm just like that.

I think it is an extremely conservative approach to spending money on entertainment.

 

[jb1234]

Well, I had my dream job until my health crashed and I was forced to retire. Now I live on a $1100 a month disability check. I make it work, somehow.

 

[ToddBonzalez]

Game designer was my dream job since I learned it was a thing in 5th or 6th grade, and I'm doing that now. Am I rich? No. Definitely not.

 

[Rune Walsh]

Probably right at the line between lower/middle class. Definitely not doing my dream job although there are aspects I enjoy. I'm taking voice acting classes because it's getting close to the point where I may have to give up on some dreams. That is a tough pill to swallow.

 

[Interested Observer]

I have a job with a well known internet firm in a different continent to America (so no dealing with the Bay Area). I make more than the average in my country anyway, but I certainly wouldn't say I'm rich. I'm quite new to the job so great first impression but I'll tell you in a year if it's my dream job. My wife is a doctor so she makes ok money too. Guess we're doing ok.

In terms of making it happen, a few years ago I quit my job as a mechanical engineer and did a masters in data science. I had a lot of family support for this which really helped, I could live at home, etc. Probably couldn't have done it otherwise, but it's the best decision I've ever made. In a few years I'm going to do an MBA and hopefully I'll be fairly well set then.

 

[FTF]

No and no :/

But I have a pretty good job and am comfortable, so I can't/don't complain.

 

[Why would you do that?]

I'm not rich, but I just recently started my programming career after graduating, and I'm making very low six figures. After taxes, it's a little less than $6,000 a month. It's been mostly great, especially since my family lives in a rent controlled apartment in NYC where we pay less than $900 for our place.

But... The big problem is that I guess I'm still new to the whole thing, and I feel like my and my family's lifestyle have changed for the worse. Maybe it's just a period of living a little vicariously and frivolously, for example, we take Uber a lot more, we don't really cook anymore, and we order food out almost every day. I've ended up gaining a lot of weight in one year, and started becoming depressed, affecting my job performance. It's really upsetting for many reasons, and I know I really need to turn things around before it's too late...

Basically, I haven't mentally prepared to make money like this at all, so I've been making some poor choices with my money. It's kind of scary how much things can change when you get a little money, and how fast.


But as to how I got my job... I was lucky and loved programming since I was like 9 years old. I ended up pursuing it in college, not knowing it was a lucrative career, and yeah. My advice for budding programmers out there is to find something fun to work on in your own time (for me, I found fun in making games), and just make them. Be stupidly ambitions if you want (my many "Zelda remakes" which went absolutely nowhere taught me a lot), and eventually you'll learn your limits and your strengths, and you will be able to build a nice programming portfolio with interesting things. Or at the very least, you can demonstrate to people that you actually know how to program, lol.


It isn't my dream job (that would be making games! I actually work at a bank lol) but it's close enough that I am enjoying my job. One day, though...

 

[Deleted member 33382]

Not exactly rich but I get more money than I'd need to spend in a month. I'll have my mortgage paid off in 4 years from purchase. Will have my student loan paid off in 2. And since I'm the cheapest person I know I have no idea what I'd even spend the excess money on after it's all paid off. Me and my partner have planned children so that will be the most likely money sink.

Dream job wise. I thought I had it. A job in the games industry. Making games is fun right. Yeh no. It's a job at the end of the day. I was completely eclipsed in salary by friends doing jobs 100x simpler than me in almost a year. They weren't doing nearly the hours I was doing and seemed happy and this was with switching between a few games companies.

I left games for the fintech industry and actually enjoy my job now. Haven't heard the word crunch mentioned in this industry.

I don't believe a dream job exists. Simply ask yourself if I didn't need the money, would I be here? I can't say I've met anyone who would rather work than be with there family or doing whatever hobbies they love doing.

 

[superpickleman]

I took the biggest risk of my life and abandoned a safe and steady job at a great company shortly after turning 24 to start a business with a couple of friends who like myself, had limited, or no real world business experience. We did research, got loans, made some partnerships, and struggled fucking hard for a couple of years while we established ourselves.

I turn 29 next month and have gone from trying to maintain at least a couple of thousand in my bank account after bills monthly, to being on track to making my first personal million in about a year or so. It's still super unreal to me and something I never thought I'd be able to (or even try to) accomplish. I'm pretty sure I've aged a bit quicker and shaved a few years off of my life in the process but I'd do it again if I had to.

I won't pretend like I have any sage advice to give. I always heard stories of successes like mine and brushed them off as anomalies. I'm just really glad I decided to try.

 

[Rival]

I'm in the top 10 percentile but I'm far from rich. Its a sign of the times that I can be this poor and still be considered to be far better off than most the country.

I do love my job though and most of the time it barely feels like work. I'm in a good position as my current employer offers tons of options for advancement, and because my skillet is so niche I can almost pick and choose who I work for if I decided to leave

 

[JoJo'sDentCo]

I took the biggest risk of my life and abandoned a safe and steady job at a great company shortly after turning 24 to start a business with a couple of friends who like myself, had limited, or no real world business experience. We did research, got loans, made some partnerships, and struggled fucking hard for a couple of years while we established ourselves.

I turn 29 next month and have gone from trying to maintain at least a couple of thousand in my bank account after bills monthly, to being on track to making my first personal million in about a year or so. It's still super unreal to me and something I never thought I'd be able to (or even try to) accomplish. I'm pretty sure I've aged a bit quicker and shaved a few years off of my life in the process but I'd do it again if I had to.

I won't pretend like I have any sage advice to give. I always heard stories of successes like mine and brushed them off as anomalies. I'm just really glad I decided to try.

Click to shrink...

Does making your first million mean making a million in one year or having a million in your savings?

 

[Bishop89]

Game designer was my dream job since I learned it was a thing in 5th or 6th grade, and I'm doing that now. Am I rich? No. Definitely not.

Click to shrink...

Happy doing it?
Would you change it at all?

 

[superpickleman]

Does making your first million mean making a million in one year or having a million in your savings?

Click to shrink...

Savings. That's an overly confident estimate though. That's me assuming the company's growth continues (the next round of tariffs hitting in a couple of weeks has me a bit nervous tbh), that I'll be relatively conservative with my spending, and that my side projects/investments pay off sooner than later (if at all).

 

[ToddBonzalez]

Happy doing it?
Would you change it at all?

Click to shrink...

I'm incredibly lucky to have the chance to do creative work every day, especially in my favorite medium. Couldn't imagine leaving the field. I have my gripes, but generally I'm excited to get up and go to work in the morning, and based on previous shitty employment experiences in other fields, I know that's worth a lo

 

[ToddBonzalez]

[double post, deleted]

 

[Deleted member 41178]

I'd say myself and my wife are 'well off' but not rich. We both have 6 figure incomes and love our jobs, we work from home as much as we need to and usually work roughly 35 hours a week.

We have some rich friends though who own very very expensive cars, houses, boats, fly first class on every trip they take etc. They are what I'd class as rich.

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

Not rich, but I'd say we are upper middle class. My fiancee has her own law firm, and makes 6+ figures. I'm a senior financial/risk analyst making 6+ figures. I recently sold a condo in DC that I lost a ton of money on, and we recently bought an awesome, custom built new home. I'm 35 and she's 31. The crazy thing is a lot of our friends own multiple properties.

If I had no ambition I would say I have the perfect job. I've been there a little over two years, and have slowly started 'working' from home more and more. I now go into the office only once a week, and without hyperbole I can say that I put in no more than five hours of actual work a week - it is insane. Ideally I want to be a Chief Risk Officer, which is why I'm killing myself in grad school at the moment.

 

[Wackamole]

No. And it's not a goal of mine. Wouldn't mind a bit more financial independence but when i look at rich people there is little to be jealous about. I'm fine with making enough to be comfortable in a job ai love and live a happy life with the people i love.

 

[baron doggystyle von woof]

I am definitely not rich, but because of some luck (bought a house when the economy was at its worst) I keep some money left which I can save or spend on nice things.

My dream job was so to be a professional soccer player. I was very close but at age 32 that ship had passed a long time.

Now I work at IT which is alright. However I want to switch to a job which makes more impact. Perhaps an energy transition job or teaching.

 

[Deleted member 36708]

I don't believe in a dream job. I do feel like I'm wealthy in spirit and knowledge. I'm fine with this.

 

[DJwest]

A part of my family makes a comfortable living where they can take a trip every year or two to someplace like Disneyworld, they however would not call themselves rich because my Mom's business has boomed and she makes way more than them. They would be called rich, however, by a vast percentage of the country that has never vacationed outside its borders.

My mom makes low 6 figures, but she doesn't think she is rich because she still has to budget for stuff like their 2-3 trips they do to Europe, or US, etc, and she makes less than my dad after he was promoted to his current job.

My dad makes mid-high 6 figures but he wouldn't consider himself rich because he doesn't have that much money left after paying for the country club memberships, boat maintenance, HOA fees, private school for my younger siblings, and trips he takes to like the Pacific islands. Also he make way less than his boss.

His boss has personal, private planes. Owns factories all over the world, has a private landing strip next to his vacation house on a beautiful lake in Europe. I have vacationed with him, and he would say he is rich, but not proper rich. The proper rich are the oil-barons he has to negotiate with.... etc, etc. etc.

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Country club memberships? Boat maintenance? Private school and vacations abroad? You guys sound rich to me lol. Your dad's boss is wealthy.

For those rich people. I beg you for help.

I am 27, with a wife and first child on the way. I got a job in the NHS and that was enough to save money for a deposit on a house. Things were going well, was working hard and things were neatly falling into place. I never intended to be rich I just intended to provide adequately for my family.
About a year ago I had a motorbike accident. I was in hospital for a little while, and have since dealt with severe memory loss and a decrease in cognitive function. It wasnt my fault. The police think it was a hit and run but never found any suspects.
Because of this I was not able to keep my job as I could not keep up with the expectations required of the role. I fell back on my trade of cheffing, but soon realised I couldn't even do that well anymore. Hell I even forgot how to chop garlic.
Drifting from job to job for months. I hemorraghed money trying to keep it all together. Now I stand thousands of pounds in debt. I have a stable cashier job that is aware of my shortcomings and prior problems, but it is national minimum wage. It pays the bills but cant pay the debt with is going up month by month with interest.
I doubt I'll ever be able to get into a well paid role again due to my head injury. I'm physically able enough and mentally sound enough to be ineligible for benefits or help.
I type here a defeated man who can barely keep up the fight to survive, only my wife and unborn child keeps me fighting. But I'll never win. I'll never get on top of it.

Anyone who is financially rich could help me. Its pennies to you, but it will literally change my life around and let me provide safely for my family for the rest of my life. I don't want more than I need. Just to wipe away the debt and have some semblace of peace again. Even if I never get my memories and cognitive abilities back, I can still give my child a good life with no burdens.

Sorry if this is against the ToS. But i'm at breaking point and I only want to do the right thing for my loved ones.

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I'm sorry to hear that. You should consider what other posters said and consult a lawyer. All the best

Still working to becoming a tenure-track professor, but I earned my PhD almost two years ago and am working as a postdoctoral scientist right now. I love research, and I can very easily land a research job in industry or government work if I decide not to pursue a professorship further, or if I simply can't land a position (there are hundreds of candidates for each open position, usually).

As for money? I made very little as an undergrad and grad student, but didn't take on any debt due to grants, scholarships, fellowships, working part time, and help from my parents (for undergrad). I earned something like $250,000 in grants and scholarships during my 9 total years of undergrad plus grad school.

However, compared to other people my age, I'm very wealthy for two reasons:

1) Grandparents passed away and left me a good amount of money when I was 19.
2) I invested 100% (literally) of that money into the stock market and mutual funds during the 2008-2009 stock market crash, all the way to the bottom. I'm now very wealthy because I held all of it through the crash, and realistically could retire just on that money when I'm older without saving another penny as long as I keep it invested and don't waste it. I do save even more, though.

So, the main reason I'm wealthy is due to old money, but I think that I get at least some credit for being a teenager that inherited money and had the foresight to invest all of it and live as if I never had it in the first place. I thank teenage me every. damn. day.

Click to shrink...

If I ever have children, teaching them about financial independence would be a priority. Wish I was taught that saving early was absolutely essential.

1) Yes I have a trust fund and I receive enough money every month that I don't have to work if I don't want to. I know I'm one of the luckiest people alive for having this tremendous blessing, and unlike my shitty sister I try my best never to take it for granted and I'm trying to live as best as I possibly can in spite of it.

2) I landed a high-level position at a corporate bank (one of the largest in the world) through many years of dedicated hard work. It's not my dream job, but I've always loved Finance and Accounting and in general I'm happy there. I went to a good school and landed an internship and worked my way up ever since. However, I would have never been able to go to a good school in the first place if my trust fund didn't pay for it, so I do recognize the TREMENDOUS inherent privilege I've received in that regard.

3) I never want to stop working because I think it's fundamentally imperative for all humans to work as hard as they possibly can and contribute to the betterment of society as much as possible, even if they don't have to.

4) I'm a novelist in my spare time, but I haven't achieved any financial success in that regard and I don't care about ever becoming successful. I do it because I have an urge to write and create art. If I ever become a famous author, I'm still going to keep working at my day job. I despise the stereotype against trust fund babies and I'm working my hardest to dismantle that narrative.

5) The one luxury I allow myself to have is an enormous video game collection stored off-site. I live in a small apartment and I dress simply with few possessions and I cook my own meals. I also volunteer at a Buddhist monastery every week and participate in the Sangha.

6) I'm a big believer in charity and I try to give to social services as much as I can financially, like to homeless shelters and the Food Bank of NYC and Zen Mountain Monastery. I've also thought about joining a monastery myself. If you're wealthy, it's so important to recognize your civic duty to the less fortunate instead of selfishly hoarding wealth like a miser. It disgusts me to my core when I see rich people who flaunt and hoard their wealth so frivolously while so many people suffer.

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You sound like a pretty good person. At least you clearly understand that you've been dealt great cards at this cruel game of life. Kuddos

My wife and I make over $230k but I am miserable. My boss hates me and I have been working 16 hours a day all week.

Click to shrink...

Holy fuck. This sounds like hell. Have you tried finding a new job? I mean, 16 hours a day???

This thread needs a response from a certain opulent member..

Click to shrink...

tabris you're needed here bro lol

Did you get feedback from any as to what qualification you're missing? I know I need a portfolio. That's why I'm in a code camp.

Click to shrink...

No I didn't. I just finished my Masters though and it seems like being a chartered accountant is the next requirement I need.

My net worth is about $12 million right now. I moved to Japan twenty years ago, was a big consulting firm lawyer and partner until retiring last year at 40. Made regular six figures until my annual salary crossed $600,000 back around 2014. Also have a pension that I didn't fully vest into due to retiring at my age but will still pay me $70,000 annually for life. When my crypto exploded and I cashed out over $2 mil cash, I said that's enough of salaryman life for me and retired. At this point my money will just exponentially increase at a rate I'm comfortable with for my kids an their kids.

Outside of the crypto thing when I was middle-aged, there was no get rich quick scheme or shortcut. I worked 80-100 hour weeks for nearly 20 years.

Tabris has never been near my wealth and I used to troll him on gaf as well lol.

Click to shrink...

I wish I had invested in crypto earlier :(

Seeing who is successful and their attitudes towards it certainly makes their political posts/ideologies better understood.

Click to shrink...

Uh oh

I landed my dream job a week after my wife landed hers.

We worked together to craft a five year plan to move to an area we love in jobs that we would love.

After a ton of sacrifice (having to live in the dumpster fire that is New Jersey and not having days off together) we pulled it off. She finished her doctorate, I finished a master's degree and we kept pushing each other to excel.

Now we are making over four times what we were when we started this plan.

Click to shrink...

You guys are lucky to have each other, you sound like a real team. Hopefully I can one day find a supportive partner that makes me a better person

I make 6 figures.
No college degree
Barely graduated high school

Showed up worked hard everyday at the same shitty job for 10 years.

Finally changed companies to take care of my family. Got promoted within 8 months now bringing home the bacon.

Already thinking about the next move up.

My success has always come from the core belief that the people around me were great at ideas and I was the person to help make them better.

Just my experience OP good luck on your journey.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for sharing!

Figures are fine but have zero issue admitting from 23-39, even with a family, my worked owned me. I got to travel the world for business and wine and dine and all that jazz, but in the end, would a 9-5 been better for my physical and mental health? Probably.

I can say I've escaped monetary stress, but I probably escaped that by the time I was 29. So even pulling the trigger and saying fuck everything at 40 was a tough call because your identity becomes the rat race.

Click to shrink...

I'm 31 and also hope to retire by my mid 40s. I'm single and really wouldn't mind killing myself now that I still have strength, save and invest as much as I can so I can cross the "rich" finish line as soon as possible.

I took the biggest risk of my life and abandoned a safe and steady job at a great company shortly after turning 24 to start a business with a couple of friends who like myself, had limited, or no real world business experience. We did research, got loans, made some partnerships, and struggled fucking hard for a couple of years while we established ourselves.

I turn 29 next month and have gone from trying to maintain at least a couple of thousand in my bank account after bills monthly, to being on track to making my first personal million in about a year or so. It's still super unreal to me and something I never thought I'd be able to (or even try to) accomplish. I'm pretty sure I've aged a bit quicker and shaved a few years off of my life in the process but I'd do it again if I had to.

I won't pretend like I have any sage advice to give. I always heard stories of successes like mine and brushed them off as anomalies. I'm just really glad I decided to try.

Click to shrink...

Amazing. It takes balls to quit a stable job and start something without knowing the outcome. I sometimes wish I had the courage.

Not rich, but I'd say we are upper middle class. My fiancee has her own law firm, and makes 6+ figures. I'm a senior financial/risk analyst making 6+ figures. I recently sold a condo in DC that I lost a ton of money on, and we recently bought an awesome, custom built new home. I'm 35 and she's 31. The crazy thing is a lot of our friends own multiple properties.

If I had no ambition I would say I have the perfect job. I've been there a little over two years, and have slowly started 'working' from home more and more. I now go into the office only once a week, and without hyperbole I can say that I put in no more than five hours of actual work a week - it is insane. Ideally I want to be a Chief Risk Officer, which is why I'm killing myself in grad school at the moment.

Click to shrink...

Good to have found someone else in the Finance field. Do you mind if I asked you a few questions? Which certifications are essential where you work? I'm considering pursuing the CFA charter and maybe ACCA.

 

[Horst Fear]

German here, making 3200eu after taxes each month and living in a more rural region. i'm doing pretty good but i also have no desire in things most people love like traveling and having a expensive car.
I wouldnt call me rich but it could be much worse, like my brother who works more, harder and only get 1400eu.

 

[Soda]

I ever have children, teaching them about financial independence would be a priority. Wish I was taught that saving early was absolutely essential..

Click to shrink...

This is a good thing to mention. My parents basically involved me with all money decisions even when I was a little kid, although when I was very young and they were in debt (my dad started a small business and had something like $100,000 in debt via a business loan) they didn't involve me in what I assume was a lot of their stress and fears from their debt. They especially talked to me / around me about money in a way that normalized the idea of saving, investing, and budgeting. By the time I inherited money from my grandparents, it seemed like the only responsible choice I had was to invest it. I did this while working as a cashier at Walmart during the summer between college semesters.

 

[PanickyFool]

To the "not rich but.. "

You are rich.

 

[dosh]

My job is pretty close to what I wanted to do as a kid. It's still a job though, with everything that entails, but I'm probably professionally happier than most.

Money wise, I'm well off, but nothing fancy and mostly because I rarely spend money on non-essential stuff - most months I put about a third of the money I make aside, which has given me a solid rainy fund and allowed me to recently buy an apartment.

 

[The Albatross]

I'm in my 'dream field' I guess. I don't really believe in a dream job, but I'm a Sr. Software Engineer on a managerial track, at a good company that pays well, and I have reasonable living expenses.

I don't "feel rich," I have a modest house, modest car, and my wife and I don't spend money like "we're rich," But generally, if we need something we usually have the means to buy it. Still, we have to budget and big expenses are still painful but we usually make them work... Like we have a newborn and we're looking at a daycare cost of $1400/mo, which is like middle tier normal daycare for our community (there's cheaper ones and more expensive ones, but this one is nearby and seems decent enough). That daycare expense is like "how the fuck are we going to afford this...?" But, I'm not like freaking out about it, I just kind of know "fuck, we don't have $1400 extra a month right now ... but... we'll make it work." So, we're not rich by any means, but we have the means to be able to finagle the money we bring in to make things work. Still, I look at some of my friends in 2500 sq foot houses, and these like really large colonials and I'm like "Goddam, how do they afford that..." But it goes both ways... My wife and I go out to dinner a lot (at least we did before having a baby...), I have the latest videogame consoles, usually new computer equipment, etc., and friends could look at me and say "damn, how does he afford that stuff?"

But, if I went back to when I was 23 -- broke and $11k in credit card debt scraping to get by paying my rent -- and told myself at 33+ I'd make the amount of money that I make, I either wouldn't believe it or I'd think I'd be stupid filthy rich. But, we don't feel rich, we just feel normal. We have a small safety net in accessible savings to fall back on for a few months if the hard times came.

How I got to where I am is a mix of being good at what I do and being lucky. I developed an application when I was in college for the school, the school hired me to maintain it after I graduated. I kind of made the equivalent of Facebook for the admissions department, before those things were really easy to build on your own (~2005). I worked at the college for ~4ish years before one of my earlier bosses at the school, who had left about a year after I worked there, offered me a job in the health insurance field doing engineering... I didn't accept that job but used that to negotiate a higher salary by about $30,000 at the school. Eventually, about 2 years later, that same manager eventually did hire me at a software company he was working on, and I've been there for ~7 years. Oddly, he ended up getting fired not long after I started, but I've progressively done really well there, been promoted twice, and I'm a team lead now, moving towards becoming a team manager within the next few years. I get a lot of offers elsewhere but this company has paid me well, I'm in a comfortable role with good movement up, and my commute is reasonable... if I were to leave to get paid more i'd almost certainly have to trade that for a longer commute.

So, the luck comes into play in that my specialty in 2005 was developing social communities. But, I made my own luck in that was something I liked doing and was good at. And, that got me connected to the manager who poached me and brought me where I am now, but he got fired, and I've stuck around and been successful there because I've been good at what I do. So, I'm lucky in that way specifically, but I've also made my own luck in some degree. THe stuff that I specialize in now is stuff that I pursued on my own... About a year ago someone at my company who I really respect reached out to me and said, "So Albatross I've heard that you're the React expert here, can you help me with something...?" Now, this is like a 3500 person company of really brilliant people, way way way smarter than me, I'm a freaking dolt, but I was like "oh... well... I don't feel like the React expert, but if that's what you've heard... sure.. how can I help?" So, I have normal 'imposter syndrome' with most of my development work, but that was one of those moments where I thought like, "hmm... maybe I'm not an imposter..?" Tying it back into luck and making my own luck, I'm now leading most of our React development, or in the mix in some way, and that was something that I just kinda picked up a few years ago on my own, outside of any requests, just to kinda learn it... and so while I'm lucky to be in the role I'm in, I think a lot of that luck is the result of positive decisions I've made to pursue things, and It hink I can go back through my career and see these lucky situations that we the result of some effort that I made, but that effort was because of some lucky situation, and so on, and it's a little chicken and egg.

Still, at 22 and 23, I didn't think I'd be doing what I'm doing. I thought at the time that I Was going to be a college professor, I was about to start applying to grad schools again to pursue a masters/phd in a political science, and I always thought the work I was doing for the college was a hobby that paid the bills but it wasn't going to be my career. Well, luck and making my own luck made it my career.

 

[Border]

I'm not sure if other people's climb to the top is going to be particularly helpful or instructive.....

 

[Macheezmo]

My wife and I make about 90k/year together. We're not rich, but we're both way better off than we were in our childhoods so we're still really happy and feel kinda rich. But dream job? Nope. I originally want to be a game programmer, but as I went to college and got a decent hang of coding, I watched my friend just understand everything right away and then just quit college and get a really good job. I just felt like I wasn't cut out for it so I gave up.

 

[Spine Crawler]

i do have a well paying job but my dream job would make me poor. i would also say that a job will never make you rich. you need passive income to become rich.

 

[Kieli]

I wish my parents had taught me even a modicum of financial knowledge, assuming they had any. Barely know what stocks are and I hear about the DOW Jones or S&P and have no clue what the numbers represent.

 

[Braaier]

I'm doing okay. I save enough to be able to retire in my early 50s, but I'll probably continuing working until my boys are out of college. I wouldn't say I have my dream job, but it pays well and I have a ton of flexibility. I'm also very well thought of which goes a long way. I'm at the point where I can move up, but it would require moving and I'm not quite ready to do that.

 

[Hogendaz85]

I'm struggling and hate my job. It's not challenging enough and literally sometimes I'm embarrassed about it when I'm in front of people at work like I think shit they could learn and do this in no time.

Also it's kind of pricey where I live too so I feel even more poor. I got a 50% pay increasing when I got this job coming from my last job but I had to move and feel even more poor.

Health insurance increased a bit. Car insurance doubled rent went up almost $500 a month. And I hate the job whereas before I loved what I was doing.

Damn now I'm depressed.

 

[DJwest]

I'm in my 'dream field' I guess. I don't really believe in a dream job, but I'm a Sr. Software Engineer on a managerial track, at a good company that pays well, and I have reasonable living expenses.

I don't "feel rich," I have a modest house, modest car, and my wife and I don't spend money like "we're rich," But generally, if we need something we usually have the means to buy it. Still, we have to budget and big expenses are still painful but we usually make them work... Like we have a newborn and we're looking at a daycare cost of $1400/mo, which is like middle tier normal daycare for our community (there's cheaper ones and more expensive ones, but this one is nearby and seems decent enough). That daycare expense is like "how the fuck are we going to afford this...?" But, I'm not like freaking out about it, I just kind of know "fuck, we don't have $1400 extra a month right now ... but... we'll make it work." So, we're not rich by any means, but we have the means to be able to finagle the money we bring in to make things work. Still, I look at some of my friends in 2500 sq foot houses, and these like really large colonials and I'm like "Goddam, how do they afford that..." But it goes both ways... My wife and I go out to dinner a lot (at least we did before having a baby...), I have the latest videogame consoles, usually new computer equipment, etc., and friends could look at me and say "damn, how does he afford that stuff?"

But, if I went back to when I was 23 -- broke and $11k in credit card debt scraping to get by paying my rent -- and told myself at 33+ I'd make the amount of money that I make, I either wouldn't believe it or I'd think I'd be stupid filthy rich. But, we don't feel rich, we just feel normal. We have a small safety net in accessible savings to fall back on for a few months if the hard times came.

How I got to where I am is a mix of being good at what I do and being lucky. I developed an application when I was in college for the school, the school hired me to maintain it after I graduated. I kind of made the equivalent of Facebook for the admissions department, before those things were really easy to build on your own (~2005). I worked at the college for ~4ish years before one of my earlier bosses at the school, who had left about a year after I worked there, offered me a job in the health insurance field doing engineering... I didn't accept that job but used that to negotiate a higher salary by about $30,000 at the school. Eventually, about 2 years later, that same manager eventually did hire me at a software company he was working on, and I've been there for ~7 years. Oddly, he ended up getting fired not long after I started, but I've progressively done really well there, been promoted twice, and I'm a team lead now, moving towards becoming a team manager within the next few years. I get a lot of offers elsewhere but this company has paid me well, I'm in a comfortable role with good movement up, and my commute is reasonable... if I were to leave to get paid more i'd almost certainly have to trade that for a longer commute.

So, the luck comes into play in that my specialty in 2005 was developing social communities. But, I made my own luck in that was something I liked doing and was good at. And, that got me connected to the manager who poached me and brought me where I am now, but he got fired, and I've stuck around and been successful there because I've been good at what I do. So, I'm lucky in that way specifically, but I've also made my own luck in some degree. THe stuff that I specialize in now is stuff that I pursued on my own... About a year ago someone at my company who I really respect reached out to me and said, "So Albatross I've heard that you're the React expert here, can you help me with something...?" Now, this is like a 3500 person company of really brilliant people, way way way smarter than me, I'm a freaking dolt, but I was like "oh... well... I don't feel like the React expert, but if that's what you've heard... sure.. how can I help?" So, I have normal 'imposter syndrome' with most of my development work, but that was one of those moments where I thought like, "hmm... maybe I'm not an imposter..?" Tying it back into luck and making my own luck, I'm now leading most of our React development, or in the mix in some way, and that was something that I just kinda picked up a few years ago on my own, outside of any requests, just to kinda learn it... and so while I'm lucky to be in the role I'm in, I think a lot of that luck is the result of positive decisions I've made to pursue things, and It hink I can go back through my career and see these lucky situations that we the result of some effort that I made, but that effort was because of some lucky situation, and so on, and it's a little chicken and egg.

Still, at 22 and 23, I didn't think I'd be doing what I'm doing. I thought at the time that I Was going to be a college professor, I was about to start applying to grad schools again to pursue a masters/phd in a political science, and I always thought the work I was doing for the college was a hobby that paid the bills but it wasn't going to be my career. Well, luck and making my own luck made it my career.

Click to shrink...

Being good at something you enjoy doing which also happens to be commercially viable is a match made in heaven.

I'm not sure if other people's climb to the top is going to be particularly helpful or instructive.....

Click to shrink...

Not necessarily, I just need motivation lol

i do have a well paying job but my dream job would make me poor. i would also say that a job will never make you rich. you need passive income to become rich.

Click to shrink...

yes and no. If your job pays you really well and you have significant disposable income then you can build a portfolio that will make you passive income. But it starts with the salary.

 

[rokkerkory]

Reading everyone's stories on here warms my heart esp for those that hustled and now in a better spot. For those still hustling, keep it up! Things will get better. Wish everyone has a nice comfy life.

I am getting married in a month, total cost of wedding, clothes, trip costs (destination wedding) is about 50-52k. Happy to say we'll just be able to write a check and be OK with it. Def not rich however thoughtful planning has gone into it to make it doable.

Next year or 2, plan to get a porsche 911. More hustling needed then :)

 

[Doom_Bringer]

Long story short I pursued my passion which is software development. Decided to go back to school in late 20's for another degree, worked at walmart while completing the degree for a year and 2 months. Continued coding, improving skills (which I continue to do today).

I also stopped listening to the negative people who were holding me back (oh don't go for another degree, programming jobs are getting outsourced etc)

 

[Dennis8K]

Dream jobs = mo money for you guys, huh?

 

[moneywoes]

Not rich at all but I just wanted to add that social mobility is really small in the US

 

[Spine Crawler]

Being good at something you enjoy doing which also happens to be commercially viable is a match made in heaven.

Not necessarily, I just need motivation lol

yes and no. If your job pays you really well and you have significant disposable income then you can build a portfolio that will make you passive income. But it starts with the salary.

Click to shrink...

well a wellpaying job helps but it isnt enough thats what im saying.

also you can make passive income without a high paying salary (stocks, but also things like getting a highly followed aocial media account or writing a book etc.). its probably easier though as you get access to a lot more options (buying real estate for example)

 

[tabris]

Title is pretty self explanatory. I'm in dire need of motivation and ideas lol. My current job sucks and I'm doing my best to move. I'm certainly not rich but I have an emergency fund that could keep me afloat for several months.

Click to shrink...

I'm in sales / consulting. While not my dream job (that would be a chief urban planner for a large metropolitan city), it pays considerably more then that and the most important thing is my hard work and skill directly equates to money earned due to uncapped commissions. While most other jobs your hard work and skill hopefully gets you recognition for a promotion but that's dependent on someone's perception of your hard work and skill.

Tabris?

Click to shrink...

tabris you're needed here bro lol

Click to shrink...

I'm here :)

This might be controversial, but to me, rich is each member of a household having his or her own bathroom.

Click to shrink...

A Google alert just went off inside an extravagant finished in marble at the top of a Trump building.

Click to shrink...

This is full bathroom 1 out of 2.

Tabris has never been near my wealth and I used to troll him on gaf as well lol.

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah for sure, there's a lot of people on this forum above my wealth. They just don't know how to spend money like me :) You and your family will be living super comfortably in your 70s while I'll be in state housing but I will have had the memories of some incredible experiences.

 

[BakedTanooki]

I only get Hartz 4 and still feel rich.

 

[Stinkles]

I grew up poor as church mice, so while I am by no means rich, I would certainly appear that way to childhood me. I have my dream job. I have my dream car (which to be fair was a very realistic dream car to have) and my house has at least two rooms we hardly use. In fact, housing has been one area where I was tremendously lucky. Bought and sold at all the right times to get a bigger, better place through luck rather than judgment.

When I was a kid we had a single black and white TV, no car, no dad, two sisters and our electricity was on a coin-operated meter, so the lights would go out and stay out till you came up with a fifty pence piece. I had no idea what color the Daley's were, so I would ask friends at school.

We went hungry a few times too - that was worse than having the power go out. My mom worked three jobs to keep us afloat.

 

[Lockness Mobster]

Not rich but doing fairly good nowadays. In 5-6 years time I went from dead broke, pay check to pay check living,and shitty paying job to excellent job,excellent woman in my life,new house,brand new car this year and $$$ in the bank. Still live paycheck to paycheck tho :)

 

[GamerJM]

I'm fairly well off financially because I come from a well off family, my job doesn't pay that well or at least not yet. So I can't really help there other than to say get lucky.

And my job is boring bullshit but it's still probably better than 90% of jobs out there so whatever. My dream job would probably be being a super successful Twitch steamer who somehow doesn't show his face or something which isn't feasible.

 

[Malleymal]

Around 200k household income with a little one on the way. No way do I feel rich. At the same time I never want for anything.

I love my job, would I say dream job? Probably not, but it pays the bills and keeps me happy.

 

[deftones r cool]

No and no.

Im broke, uneducated, and absolutely miserable like 90% of the time

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

I'm not rich, though money-wise I'm doing "okay." I mean, I rent, but I could afford a cheap house and at some point will hopefully get one. Kinda depends on a few factors outside of my control.

My job is also not a dream job by any means, but it has moments of being really fun and/or pretty cool, which is more than I can say about any other job I've had. I'm content to stay where I'm at for awhile.

Hopefully one day I'll write a novel publishing houses will want to buy. Nope to the first three, but this fourth one is a strong probably not!

 

[Zackat]

Not my dream job, but it pays the bills. I want to get back into biotech. I got laid off and had to go into a different field.