Money. Who’s got it these days?
That is to say, who has a nice, cushy, well-paying job that allows them to pay the bills and then some? Well, recently, Reddit user oopdoopmaria asked the question we’re alllll wondering in today’s day and age: “Six-figure earners, what do you do to get that?” And y’all…you can bet I read all the answers through TWICE.
So if you’re as interested as I am…read on to see just how people are making real moolah nowadays.
1.“Game writer. I essentially write screenplays, do worldbuilding and characters, and advise artists on how to create environmental storytelling moments in addition to characters and assets. For cinematics, I have driven the creative vision and advised on the art style to fit the budget and create compelling pieces. During recording season, I go through audition tapes and pick actors, then work with them in the recording session by offering suggestions on performance and doing ‘flash rewrites’ if they can’t pronounce a written line or if it sounds clumsy.”
—u/Phaerixia
2.“Senior designer close to making art director. I taught myself the programs over the course of a year. I started at $30 p/h and kept moving companies. Within three-quarters of a year, I went from 65K to 112K. Once I make AD (hopefully 2025), [I’ll make] 150K plus a bonus. Basically, keep moving and asking for more money.”
—u/Valyerpal
3.“I work 24 weeks a year in a kitchen in a seasonal cruise ship port town. Then I sit on the beach.”
However, be warned: “I took six days off this summer and averaged 11 hours a day.”
—u/Alwaysonvacation2
4.Similarly…”Corporate hotel management has worked well for me. I get amazing travel benefits and live where people vacation. Tourist areas already generally have a higher cost of living, so the base pay starts off much higher than it normally would elsewhere. The best thing is off-season. I sit on my ass for ten weeks a year before vacation time.”
—u/AardQuenIgni
5.“I’m basically a middleman that doesn’t need to exist. The Navy emails me, ‘Hey, our flight computer failed. We need another one.’ Then I email Boeing, Rockwell Collins, or whoever and say, ‘Hey, this flight computer failed. We need another one.’ Then I email a third company and say, ‘Hey, there is a flight computer on the way. I need it delivered to base asap.’ Then I email the Navy and say, ‘Hey, the flight computer is on the way.’ I’m a ‘Senior Logistics Analyst.'”
—u/Kolipe
6.“Airline pilot. I work 12-15 days a month (sometimes significantly less) and bring in ~$200k/yr. The company also provides a 16% direct contribution to my 401k. If I chose to hustle a bit, I could pretty easily do close to $300k. The captains at the top of the pay scale are pulling in close to $500k/yr without trying too hard.”
—u/snafu0390
7.“Traffic striping! I sat in the back of a paint truck and painted roads, or I used a thermoplastic applicator to mark crosswalks. I’m now a crew chief who oversees the work, but it’s a small niche trade that isn’t being replaced by robots anytime soon. Eventually? Absolutely. But not for a long, long while. I’m in the Pacific Northwest, but our guys make anywhere from 110k-180k depending on overtime. [We get] union benefits. I get just under ten weeks off a year.”
—u/spennyblack30
8.“Project Geologist at a Gold Mine. [I spent] four years at university, sweated my ass off at an RC Drill rig in 45°C, froze my ass off at a coreyard in 5°C, and now I’m chilling at a computer 3D modeling and getting paid $200k. Life is good.”
—u/_Majin_Vegeta_
9.“Computer Science. I started with six figures at 22. I started earning a quarter million at 25. I’m obviously super thankful and lucky my dumb 14-year-old self thought computers were cool and took related classes in high school. On the other hand, I think I’m way overpaid for what I do and worry I’m a fraud in a house of cards that will crumble any second.”
—u/Tabs_555
10.“I took a four month coding bootcamp course between 2018-2019, focusing on JavaScript and web development. I got a job as a paid software dev intern making $25/hour, which turned into a full-time job making $75k/year. I switched jobs twice, making more money at each. I now work as a software developer remotely, and I’ve been with the same company for about two years now, making $125k/year plus bonuses. I have no college degree.”
—u/NetParking1057
11.“Firefighter. [I’m] just barely over the six-figure threshold. One promotion to Lieutenant. Twenty-three years of seniority. I work in a relatively high COL area, and I have a strong union.”
—u/Horseface4190
12.“Anesthesiology, 650k+. Most days, I’m amazed I’m getting paid so much, but every time I’m on call, I see why that is.”
—u/Calvariat
13.“Pharmacist here. … [I make] $140k, I work 42.5 hrs a week, [and I get] five weeks vacation a year. I did a residency and specialized. I get to work from home two days a week, too. I have lots of flexibility and high job satisfaction with my patient population. Stressful, sure, but less stressful than a lot of careers. And I feel like I make a difference. To be fair, I worked really hard in school, had a full scholarship to undergrad (yay, no more student loans), and got lucky with my job. My husband is a pharmacist (specialist), too, and we have a great life.”
—u/Halloweentwin2
14.“I got out of prison in 2011. I jumped on a drilling rig, got hurt (shoulder issue), and then ended up as what we call a ‘third party grease hand’ in the oilfield. I worked 100-120 hours per week for a few years with no days off, but I made $180-200k/yr back then. I got burned out and just flat-out quit. I made a decent name for myself as a good hand and got offered a ‘plug hand’ job running frac plugs. That was a pretty good gig, making around $200k working 12-hour shifts and a 14-on-7-off schedule. I got laid off and moved around a bit.”
“I ended up getting a sales offer for an oilfield supply company at the beginning of 2021. Now I’m an outside sales manager with a $130k salary and a nice company truck, and I’m home every evening by 5. I’ve worked my ass off everywhere I’ve gone. I made some great contacts to help me get to where I’m at. I can probably go back to the field for a lot more money, but I’m able to take my kids to school in the morning and tuck them in every night. The oilfield in west Texas is different than anywhere else, though. I have no formal education and three felonies. With a lot of hard work and a little luck, anyone can make over $100k out here.”
—u/BeastOfTheField83
15.“I dwive twuck.”
“But for real, I worked a bunch of different jobs before starting to drive commercially. I realized I enjoy driving a lot. And I got good at it. Now, having my commercial license for two years, I make just about 100k. I work for a food distributor locally and it’s got a good union and benefits. Tough labor at times and traffic sucks in NY, but hey, it’s an honest, respectable job with respectable pay.”
—u/NotLoggedon
16.“Financial analyst. I went back to school in my thirties after getting laid off by a big insurance company I worked for. I got a degree in accounting, decided to push things further, and got a master’s in finance. I graduated at 40 years old and went from a 40k job to an 80k job. Three years later, I’m making 120k, working from home, and love my job. I have like 65k in student loans, so that kind of sucks, but I make enough now that I was able to change my life. I left an abusive ex, bought a house last year, and got a new puppy. I’m dating someone amazing and pursuing my hobbies in my free time. [It was] literally life-changing.”
“Anyone reading this: don’t be afraid to change directions at any point in your life. It was scary making huge life changes so late in the game, but it was so worth it. It was scary being the older guy in class—especially that first year when my classes were mostly 18-year-olds fresh out of high school. It’s intimidating, but trust me, it’s worth it.”
—u/Anakin-vs-Sand
17.“State job in IT.”
—u/Taurothar
“Many government jobs can do this, although not all. In my area, even city or county jobs (especially in IT) can pull between $85k-$120k depending on the position.”
—u/CitizenHuman
“Government IT worker here — I completed a two-year college program, did an internship with a local municipality, completed two Microsoft certifications (AZ-900 & AZ-104), and received an offer a few months after graduation at the state level.”
—u/KJR506
18.“Actuary. I price insurance plans. You have to take a series of certification exams in probability and finance, mostly which serve as a barrier to entry. It’s a very linear path to making six figures. It’s not fun, it’s not easy, and there are other jobs that take less work for more money…but you’ll easily make six figures in your late 20s, earlier for some folks.”
—u/venomoushealer
19.“I manage social media content creators. My two biggest accounts are golden retrievers that clear seven figures a year.”
—u/LyrxWithAWhy
20.Essentially any union trade job: “[I’m a] pipefitter in a union. In Arizona, the commercial journeyman rate is $48.20. It only takes an OT day or two to crack 100k.”
—u/Raiko99
“Up here in Seattle, the plumbers I work with are at $71. They got by far the best deal out of all the trades in their last contract negotiation (I’m just a heavy equipment operator at a measly $58).”
—u/boisterile
“Yep, union electrician here. We make like 154k just working 40 hours.”
—u/BiigVelvet
“Union carpenter. I’m set to clear 100k a year after taxes with the hours and location I’m working at now.”
—u/No-Sea-2529
“Use UnionPayScales.com to check out wages of union trades for those who are curious.”
—u/SirSquidlicker
21.“Finance. I move money around for rich people/companies. Basically, I made friends with people more successful than me, and they kinda just dragged me along for the ride.”
—u/hazysin
“Also finance. Imagine doing the same regular office job you currently do but for more money and less patient people.
I worked in data engineering, then advertising, and then healthcare. Now it’s finance, and it’s the same work, but the pay is 30% higher, and the office has a beer fridge and ping-pong tables.
I get recruiters messaging me with opportunities fairly regularly, and honestly, I don’t see myself leaving finance because nobody else offers anything close.”
—u/HuntedWolf
22.“[I] make about 130k a year working at a data center hosting AI. Most of the time, I watch YouTube videos or browse Reddit.”
—u/RustyNK
23.“I name things. Companies and ad agencies hire me to name restaurants, businesses, golf courses, supplements, clothing lines…anything. My background is copywriting at ad agencies.”
—u/GhostNutz
24.“Officer in the United States Coast Guard. Plus, [it provides] free healthcare, dental, 30 days off a year, and free college (paid for my BS and MS). Not bad. Plus, in four years, I retire and still collect half my paycheck for the rest of my life.”
—u/wakevictim
25.“Network Engineer (routers, firewalls, switches, wifi, cloud, etc.) working in NYC for financial companies. The pay is good or even great, but it is stressful. For some customers, if the internet is out for 60 seconds, it’s a big fucking deal, and if it happens enough, you can lose your job. [It requires] very advanced technical skills and knowledge, which is ever expanding year after year.”
—u/kwiltse123
26.“I am just a technician for a Fusion company. I make just shy of $150k. I did not go to college, or schooling of any kind. I do have 15+ years of working as some sort of mechanical and electrical engineering tech for companies like Boeing, Microsoft, other fusion companies, and SpaceX. I started my working career 24 years ago at a grocery store, making $7.45 hr, and didn’t start earning above $30 until seven years ago. The best advice I can give: get that ADHD (or whatever you need) medication now — not tomorrow or next week, now. Same with therapy.”
—u/NotJohnLithgow
27.“Air traffic control.”
—u/Jettisoned_
“Same here, been in it for 11 years. It’s worked out well for me and my family, but if I could start over, I’m not so sure I’d take this route again. I can say that the stress and work schedule has definitely impacted my life negatively. I feel like I’m aging faster than the average person.”
—u/Mntn-radio-silence
28.“Veterinarian. I make about 150k a year, which is far less than my human medicine counterparts. As a general practitioner, I do family medicine, emergency medicine, radiology, dentistry, soft tissue surgery, oncology, and end-of-life care, all for multiple different species and patients who can’t tell me anything. And at least once a day, someone tells me I’m ripping them off and just in it for the money.”
—u/Kikisashafan
29.“[I make] over six figures in HR. Never get comfortable in a position, and always try to learn something new. Don’t settle. I would usually stick it out with a company for 12 months, then update my resume and start browsing. Little upgrades in role, responsibilities, and salary are what led me to where I am now.”
—u/throwthatoneawaydawg
30.“Heavy equipment operator. [It’s] a lot of time away from home in remote locations, doing extremely repetitive work for 12 plus hours a day for weeks or months at a time.”
—u/Party_Bardy
31.“Mechanic at a Nuclear Power Plant. I worked as a welder/fabricator for a few years and went back to school for Machining. I worked as a machinist for a while. Someone I knew who worked at the power plant told me a position was open, and they needed a machinist. I applied and got in. Been there a couple of years, still training and getting qualifications, but it’s going good.”
—u/Zerba
32.“I work as a physician assistant. It’s great: way less school than a doctor, more flexibility (not stuck in a specialty), and pretty great pay and benefits, as there is a real demand. I get to help patients, and ultimately, the responsibility (read: liability) is on the doctor. I would recommend it to anyone interested in medicine but unsure about MD vs. RN vs. PT. You don’t get to make the final call if there is a difference of opinions, and the word ‘assistant’ is literally in your job title, so you need to know your ego can handle it, but the work/life balance and pay really are pretty great.”
—u/budsdud
33.“Ultrasound technologist. Competitive school, [and it’s a] difficult job, but you make good money with a two-year degree! If you’re in the right location.”
—u/whitneythegreat
34.And finally…”Lawyer. There are better ways to make six digits.”
—u/stylishheader85
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