What job/career consistently pays well?

[Parrotheader]

I agree with one of the people above talking about investment bankers. I know a couple people who do that who make more off their yearly bonus than I do on my annual salary and they're only in their late 20s - and ironically none of them are exactly of the intellectual caliber you'd expect of somebody that young making that much money. One was a finance major and the other an accounting major with his CFA certification (or whatever the accounting equivalent to an engineer's PE is.) That being said, that field seems mind-numbingly boring to me.

Generally speaking, I still think of engineers as being one of the most consitent high paying jobs with a BACHELORS degree available. Many tech fields do well as well, but in the current job market seem to be much less stable than most of the old school engineering fields.

 

[rudeguy]

some non-technical jobs pay very well too, but in general you have to work your way up the ladder. We call it paying our dues...work in the stores for 10+ years, put up good numbers, then you will start advancing. Our store manager makes 75k+ a year, his boss about double that, and the guys at hq make about 150k plus, but all those guys had to put in the time and show they were worthy of the pay

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: Jzero
The key isn't the pay, it's living within your means. I can't imagine that after tax and cost of living, you would have nothing left making $50k/year. I am making less than $50k/year yet I have managed to put away $20k in the last 2 years, buy a car and I rarely think twice about what I buy. Perhaps it's where you live or your frame of reference, but $50-$100k seems like a pretty comfortable lifestyle.

not where I live. My rent is about $20K per year.

 

[dirtboy]

If you were the CEO of a Fortune 500 company you'd probably be consistently paid well.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Originally posted by: dirtboy
If you were the CEO of a Fortune 500 company you'd probably be consistently paid well.

Not as well as Bill gates. I win.

 

[Utterman]

I suggest going to med school and become a surgeon. Engineers make the best surgeons, plus make a lot of money with their skills.

 

[Rkonster]

Originally posted by: 777php
Dentistry pays on average upwards of $75k a year, unfortunately you have to look in people's nasty mouths all day.

Lots of dentists make much than that, with much less work than the average doctor.

 

[Ylen13]

Originally posted by: OS
Ok, I guess I recently finished my BSEE and when I sat down and thought about it, engineers don't really make that much money. Starting is around 50K/yr and when I consider taxes, rent, living expenses, etc. there isn't really anything left. And it seems like engs cap out at ~100K a year, but that's usually with a masters and many years of experience.

So being an good american who can't save worth sh*t, I'd rather think about another career path while I'm still young. So what careers are out there that consistently make significantly more than that?

You really want to know, well its killer for hire. Yes that job pays the most but it has couple of set backs. 1)U maybe killed while trying to kill someone 2) unless u are really good and lucky cops will know about you and will be after you 3)you will have hide from cops all of the time and will not have time/ability to spend the money that you made after successful hit.

 

[jaeger66]

n/m

 

[weezergirl]

it just depends how you handle your money and if you know how to invest. i know a lot of engineers who are "rich" and can afford nice things. i'm an engineer fresh out college as you already know, living in LA who's not hurting for money at all. i think i live pretty comfortably with a lot of money left over.
and yeah....u could go the doctor/lawyer route but do you really wanna go through more schooling? i think engineers have it best. and eventually if you are that determined you can move up the ranks and get paid 100k+. you have 1 up on most ppl who work in engineering companies just cuz you can speak english well. seoirusly...so many ppl here are fobs. hehe.
i'd stick with engineering..it's the safest/easiest way to be paid well in my opinion.

 

[yoda291]

multi-billionaire seems to pay out really well.

honestly, if you're having trouble living in your means, move somewhere where you don't have 1/3 of your check taken out in taxes for a while and save up. Then come back.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: Utterman
I suggest going to med school and become a surgeon. Engineers make the best surgeons, plus make a lot of money with their skills.

if there is one thing you shouldn't go into for the money, i'd have to say it's a surgeon. just the schooling itself is intesnse enough. but lets look at the actual job. are you willing to work 36 hours straight on a regular basis? are you willing to be on call 24-7? not have much time with your family? put another human being's life literally in your hands?

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Hoober
What jobs are out there, besides high level executives and investment people that consistently make six figures or more?

Lots of them. It's just that most of them are in high-end sales positions... selling real estate, financing, cars (a talented car salesperson can easily make over $100k/yr., believe it or not), investments, etc.

 

[ryzmah]

High level executive, lawyer, doctor, large commission sales.

Actually, if you're just going for the cash I'd consider becoming an actuary. Starting scale is comparable to engineers but I think salary growth is faster and the job could lead into becoming a chief financial officer or some other executive position. If you can get past the ASA or ACAS (depending on area of work) you could be at $70k in 2-4 years. If you pass all your exams, 10 years experience puts you in the 100-150k pay range if you are still doing actual actuarial work - if you get into an executive position it could be higher.

 

[Static911]

Originally posted by: CrazyDe1
Start your own business. The thing about engineering is it leads to opportunities such as management which pay really really well. For example, my uncle is barely 30 and hes now makin 145k. He started off as an entry level asic designer and now hes upper level management...

Engineering allows you to get your foot in the door and prove you're valuable while making a decent amount of money in the meantime. The true opportunities come when you get promoted within to management...

That's why instead of going for a masters in a technical area I'm gettin a BS in a technical field and will probably get an mba later down the line hoping a company pays for it...

Bingo. I never understood why college students majored in "business". I mean, having business skills and business sense is something you have it or not. You can't teach a dumb person common sense. It's something you are born with or not born with unless you have a will like no other to learn. To be a engineer and doctor is a skilled profession and requires class time and practise; hence, you must go through school. This isn't to say education is not important; it is, however, to put into perspectives, a skilled profession, in my opinion, tops at around $150,000/year.

If I ever had to stress something, I tell college students who have a business sense to major in a skilled profession. My father got a BS in electrical engineering and later got an MBA and started his company. Twenty years later, his business is beyond successful since he is pioneering a new industry.

Ethan

 

[rocadelpunk]

most salaries take into consideration cost of living...as the memphis guy said...it's not like across the board 50k.

seriously though, you worry too much about money, find something that you do...if you're really worried about money, do the 85k thing with 16hr work days. burn out and have your wealth.

you know if you find a significant other who makes the median, that's about 87 k out of college according to your figures

i doubt you'll be making that much right out of college anyway, unless you're super smart and have great qualities. I'll grant you that having a house does cost a lot, but I really don't know too many people who buy a house the first year out of college...

at least find a roomate to split costs. what else are you gonna spend that? I'm 18 now, I can't imagine spending like 15k+ a year. and that's a really high estimate...blah back to homework.

 

[StageLeft]

Medical doctor, and you'll get more return for your buck probably by taking that money the engineer makes and investing it properly instead of losing more money-making years and getting more debt with a change of career.

 

[rocadelpunk]

lest we forget the 250k in debt you'll be in for medical school : )

 

[flot]

Being an engineer is really one of the better ways to go.

As others have pointed out, $50k isn't something to sneeze at. Also figure if you're good at what you do, you can probably assume you'll make a little more after a few years, so at least by the time you're 30 you might be looking at a $60k a year salary.

That's pretty good, assuming you live somewhere with a reasonable cost of living. And it's definitely consistant - there's usually a demand for engineers as long as the economy is in reasonable shape. Compare that to other "higher paying" professions and I think you'll see that in many of thsoe cases, high pay = high risk.

 

[PCMarine]

Also if you have a wife and don't have kids, you are likely to have two incomes.

 

[melly]

Originally posted by: OS
Ok, I guess I recently finished my BSEE and when I sat down and thought about it, engineers don't really make that much money. Starting is around 50K/yr and when I consider taxes, rent, living expenses, etc. there isn't really anything left. And it seems like engs cap out at ~100K a year, but that's usually with a masters and many years of experience.

So being an good american who can't save worth sh*t, I'd rather think about another career path while I'm still young. So what careers are out there that consistently make significantly more than that?

good thing english teachers are not paid a lot. congrats on finishing your BSEE, though why not do something on the side, such as get a real-estate licence or invest in some rental properties?

 

[rocadelpunk]

become a professional basketball player.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: weezergirl
it just depends how you handle your money and if you know how to invest. i know a lot of engineers who are "rich" and can afford nice things. i'm an engineer fresh out college as you already know, living in LA who's not hurting for money at all. i think i live pretty comfortably with a lot of money left over.
and yeah....u could go the doctor/lawyer route but do you really wanna go through more schooling? i think engineers have it best. and eventually if you are that determined you can move up the ranks and get paid 100k+. you have 1 up on most ppl who work in engineering companies just cuz you can speak english well. seoirusly...so many ppl here are fobs. hehe.
i'd stick with engineering..it's the safest/easiest way to be paid well in my opinion.

lol thanks Kim, good to hear that you're getting by ok.

 

[Spamela]

Originally posted by: OS
Ok, I guess I recently finished my BSEE and when I sat down and thought about it, engineers don't really make that much money. Starting is around 50K/yr and when I consider taxes, rent, living expenses, etc. there isn't really anything left. And it seems like engs cap out at ~100K a year, but that's usually with a masters and many years of experience.

So being an good american who can't save worth sh*t, I'd rather think about another career path while I'm still young. So what careers are out there that consistently make significantly more than that?

100K isn't enough for you? no amount of $ will ever be enough unless you DO WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Spamela
100K isn't enough for you? no amount of $ will ever be enough unless you DO WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO.

Werd.

2 extremely important things about life and careers:
- It ain't what you make, it's what you spend. Learn to save money.
- If you don't like your job, you'll never be successful at it and you'll never be happy in life, even when you're bringing home the big checks.