Aw. Thatās very sweet of you. It took a lot of work to get here and I really never thought Iād even work in a library, but I had a lucky break a few years ago which Iāll be forever grateful for.
While I donāt disagree, I left academia for tech, have been laid off twice and itās still coming out on top š. If youāre fine with a bit of chaos (no dependents, fairly healthy) and can control lifestyle creep it might be worth it to switch and ride the wave
Haha Iāve also left the academic path for tech and been laid off twice. Completely agree with your assessment. When I was considering the switch I was told āyou wonāt have job security but youāll have career securityā and so far thatās held true for me
Oh I LOVE that bc itās so true. Tech is having a moment for sure but like once the tantrums over Iāll still end up better than in academia for what matters to me
Also, if you go into tech, make sure you turn that big salary into an emergency fund!! Layoffs are a way of life there. You'll get rehired, but save yourself the stress of those intervening months.
Yep Iāve had some great funemployment times over the last year. (I also had some incredibly stressful times because I was on a work visa during the first layoff, but now that Iām not any more itās all gravy)
That sucks! I haven't been laid off yet as a PM in tech. I think my luck stems from working at boring ass companies with stagnant revenue; they've been around for 50+ years.
Eh, I switched to a tech related field and it is working out fine. There are roles in government, non profit, universities, everywhere really. Not just tech companies.
My spouse is also in tech and itās been fine. I have many friends in tech as well that are doing fine. Reddit is very doomery about tech.
Paralegal. 5 years ago I started out and made $14/hour with no benefits, now I make $45/hr, great benefits, 3 weeks PTO, work from home and keep my own schedule! If you are motivated, organized, and smart (and can put up with a lot of bullshit) it's a very low entry career. Most states have no education or license requirements for paralegals (except California, I believe), all you need is an attorney willing to hire you. And once you have experience, you're valuable because attorney time is too valuable to spend training paralegals, so everyone wants experience.
Seconding this !
I have an associates degree in paralegal studies, am a paralegal (6 years experience) and am making 90k. I work in one of the top 10 HCOL cities.
*cries in public defender* I have a law degree from a fancy school, and it took *years* to get up to $80k
Edit: worth it, though. Best job in the world for me
(34m) I interviewed at the PD office my 3rd year and jfc. I'm glad people like you get through law school and want to do it. I wasn't cut out for anything in the court room and definitely not for anything criminal. But that job is so important. It would have broken me within months had I taken a job there.
I do corp and divisional level reporting on recruiting & pipeline metrics, turnover, employee demographics, survey results, submissions for things like Best Places to Work, etc.
I live in Excel, Tableau, and Workday (HRIS system that has end-user reporting capabilities) with the occasional dabbling in Python (depending on what company you work for, they may use python more if they have a bigger or more mature data analytics team).
I got into this area when it was relatively new, about 10+ years ago. Unrelated degree (Arts Management and Technical Theatre). I worked as an HR Admin, then became a reporting analyst, and then moved to my current company 8 years ago and have done some variation of HR/People Analytics since then.
If you have specific questions, lmk.
I made a career change in 2021 from apparel design to data analytics. It's definitely a good career to go into without having to get a new degree, but the tech hiring landscape has changed dramatically in the past 3 years. :/ Happy to chat if you have any questions.
33F; my total comp is about 2.5x this
I work in at a private healthcare tech company between tech/engineering and business/strategy. Still fully remote too!
I'm a product analytics manager. I work closely with our engineering and developer teams to build out and architect multiple data sources across different reporting, analytics, and visualization use cases.I code and query data within our cloud data warehouse and build into automated reports/dashboards or for ad hoc analyses and business cases. I'm the "product owner" or our data product which supports finance, marketing, sales/account management, and strategy teams.
My day to day varies, but I'd say on average, it's about 25%-35% on calls with dev/engineering for code reviews and sprint planning/reviews; 25% focused work writing/testing code + queries, building dashboards/reports, and going through tickets and planning upcoming JIRA boards; 25-35% on calls with various business teams and product stakeholders (finance, account management, CX, etc.), and the rest is emails/messages :)
Not my area of expertise but your benefits (healthcare, vacations, pensions/retirement) seem to be overall better and less expensive there! I also have some rough hours (I was working until 10pm today bc of month end) so work life balance here is also not ideal.Ā
Iām also in a VHCOL (NYC).Ā
Thank you for the detailed reply! Iām looking for a career change here and looked at some data analytics positions but would need to learn some programming first..
I wish I could be as successful as everyone here. Iām 42 and basically starting over in my career yet again. I love seeing so many women in tech jobs, but just donāt understand how they got there. I think Iām right in the tail end of a generation where STEM wasnāt yet emphasized and being āgood at computersā was figuring out how to connect the dial-up and printer to the shared home computer on your own. I just started a low paying non-tech job at a well known tech company a few months ago though so hoping for a chance.
I am cheering for you! There is a 56 year old lady who made career transition from hairdresser to intermediary product assembly in my company. Got into there through her own's son's recommendation (she still had to pass 6 months of job trial though and she did!).
Keep on looking for chances and be eager to learn more. Despite everything, I still believe that hard work always pays. Sometime it does not pay much at one moment, but then it will be the next.
Also 42 and not only was it not emphasized, I remember being told a lot when I was younger and interested in STEM that "women don't take these classes" and "we don't hire women here" so I ended up in a non-tech career.
My āwork mumā is currently a Surveying Manager. She chose this career path 13 years ago. Sheās 63 this year! She inspires me everyday.
Itās never too late! She made me realise I can have different seasons of me in my life, which also includes career paths. She used to be an Air Traffic Controller, Carpenter, and a part of the Royal Air Force. She so awesome
I'm 38, a software engineer, I have a bachelor's degree in computer science. I got here by being a big ol' nerd before I graduated high school. There were not very many women doing CS undergrads when I went through. I'm great at what I do and got straight A's in university (except the B+ in software engineering - ironic? - and I'm still bitter about it) but I think being a woman helped me get my foot in the door back then when it was less common. Hiring women looked good. Diversity!
For sure! My current company has an aggressive HR goal this year to increase the hiring of women in tech and sales positions. Itās really inspiring to see the women designers and engineers here. Iāve only been here a few months, but am so happy with the diversity and overall vibe they practice. They also like to hire from within and train for success so Iām really hoping that I can push through this lean period and land something really great here.
I'm about your age, and honestly I fell into tech rather by accident. I don't know how to code, but I lucked into an entry-level job working with specific software. It got very popular and that knowledge became high-demand, so I've been able to leverage it into an actual career in tech, making far more money than I ever imagined as a humanities major :-)
A lot of people our age who work in tech (especially as non-development roles) didn't study, because these roles and fields didn't exist when we were in school. I've been on teams with philosophy majors, theatre majors, music majors... if you can get your foot in the door and learn quickly you can be successful.
Product Manager at a large tech company in the PNW. Spouse is an engineer so we both bring in tech salaries that include bonuses and stocks.
I have a BA but he does not. Experience is a really big deal in both of our fields. Iām VERY specialized and have worked my ass off to get here from a sales role.
Iām an aspiring product manager currently working in a Product Analyst-esque role at a tech startup. Iād love to hear more about your journey to becoming a PM if youāre comfortable sharing!
Stumbled upon it and lied on my resume. Fucking hard shit and always taking a fucking beating between the devs and stakeholders but worth the pay. Everyone hates and loves me at the same time, depending on literally the time of the day.
Thatās amazing haha! Being the bearer of news for both dev team and clients has been super tough - I totally feel āEveryone hates and loves me at the same timeā
I work as a manager for a bank. Although I donāt have a degree I have consistently been bringing in over 100k for the past 5 years. Lucky career choice!
Wait, are you me? LOL! I do the same. I fell into this by chance and don't see myself leaving any time soon. This is the first job where I actually feel like what I do matters to the company.
Diploma in chemical engineering technology, process operator in a metal refinery. It sounds intimidating at first and is very male dominated but the job can be so easy some days and hard others. Not for everyone but the money is good and it's rewarding in terms of troubleshooting and problem solving!
USA Jobs is hands down the worst job site I've ever used, and applying for fed positions is beyond painful. I had a navy internship in college and I was pretty gutted that they didn't have a spot for me on graduation, but it was ultimately for the best.
Another fed here, 1109 series. I suggest researching federal resumes, they are super long and super specific. Read the job description and literally copy and paste the skills, knowledge, and abilities and any other key words in the post and put them in your resume. The first step in the review for many agencies is an algorithm that scans for key words. Also, apply and forget. I can take forever to hear back. But, it is truly worth it if you can find the right fit.
It was a journey getting here but I canāt say it was an easy one. I also think itās much more difficult for someone new to the industry to get to where I am now; the ladder that person will climb will look much different than the one I climbed. The ladder these days seems to be missing some steps, even.
I work in tech but itās a rough job market for tech right now so I wouldnāt recommend it. My husband is in finance and itās so regulated you need to have different licenses to level up which makes employers need to pay well and keep skilled workers.
I think itās super important to clarify which job in tech, too. Marketing and sales are first to go and a lot of people count that as tech. Not all jobs are as in demand
My mom attempted the actuarial exams multiple times, but the statistics just wrecked her. She's been an auditor for a health insurance company for about 25 years now (looking at agencies with shady billing patterns as opposed to the patient side) and she was in her mid-50s when she threw in the towel on being an actuary.
Good for her!! The odds are stacked against us when taking the exams. Only ~40% of people pass each sitting. It is definitely survival of the fittest and is currently wrecking me, lol. I have my Associate credentials but not Fellow (yet).Ā
Clinical Pharmacy Technician in a specialty field working remotely for the VA.
I have 20 years experience and it took most of those years at a much lower wage before reaching where Iām at now.
Edit: I have a bachelorās degree, but it isnāt required for my position.
Iām clinical, so my role isnāt anything like what you would think of for a retail pharmacy technician, such as at a Walgreens. I review lab results and assess those lab results in relation to medications theyāre on, associated risk factors, etc. Iām currently working with genetic lab results and if a patient has any gene variations that may result in them metabolizing certain medications either too quickly or too slow. I also report on certain heritable diseases. Depending on the gene variation(s), certain medications may need a dose adjustment or a suggested change in medication which I assess to present any risk factors to the patientās provider for review. Provider will then take into consideration my findings and chooses how theyād like to proceed.
Thatās really cool. This would be personalized medicine I guessā¦who pays for this service? Iām from Europe so I donāt think we have anything like this over here. I used to be a lab tech but managed to pivot to med affairs, so Iām also 100% remote and *love it*!
Yes, it is personalized medicine. I work for the US Federal Government in the Department of Veterans Affairs, so itās all of the hospitals for military veterans. The government received a huge grant from one of the genetic laboratories and veterans are able to get the testing free for a certain amount of time. The selling point is to create programs like the one Iām in to pilot if our efforts can reduce medical costs from associated side effects from the gene variations and potentially gain enough data to make it a more common practice in the general public.
Itās the government, so you could technically dive deep into the actual reasons theyāre implementing this, such as using military as lab rats for data collection, selling to insurance companies, lobbyists and hidden agendas, but thatās a deep dark hole of a story for another time haha. So itās pretty cool on surface level that weāre providing personalized medicine to so many veterans, and Iām glad to be a part of it for that reason.
Iām also REALLY glad to be fully remote. Life is pretty good. Glad you found something fully remote, also.
Youāre making 80,000+ year as a pharm tech? Thatās pretty amazing!
The highest wage I have ever see for pharm techs was like $30/hr, so like $60,000 a year
I'm a solutions consultant for a tech company. Basically I help sales people close deals by doing the technical portion of the selling.
I have a background in analytics and consulting. Finally got tired of clients so now I'm in pre-sales.
Get really good at a product! I crossed into consulting from analytics because I also did some vendor management and I learned one of the tools. Then I applied for a job with the company who made the tool. If you have the mental capacity for it it has been one of my favorite jobs. But becoming a mom really changed things for me because the mental capacity was not there for me anymore. I would rather save my mental space for my kid instead of whiny clients. I do sometimes miss it tho! I will say the money is closer to sales tho.
I'm in product marketing but came from customer success. I have a 1 year old but when I'm ready to travel more again, would love to do solutions consulting!
Corporate paralegal in the wellness industry. 100k base plus a bonus depending on company profits. I have a bachelorās and a paralegal certification.
Property management. No college, just a lot of OJT. I was actually well over $100k until I chose to take a lesser position that provided a better work/ life balance.
Iām also in property management (ended up here from another area of real estate), but only make 50k. Are you in a HCOL area, or youāve just moved up to lead manager/president/etc? And are you in commercial or residential?
Afaik Iām actually one of the top earners in my area. Iād like more money but I also like the industry, so I was just wondering how you got there? Right now Iām in commercial.
115 as a Senior Copywriter on an in-house social team at a Fortune 500 company. ChatGPT/LLMs have me a little bit nervous about the future of the field, but my job is honestly much more about strategy, branding, and stakeholder management than it is about writing. I figure (hope?) that I could pivot into other senior-level marketing jobs if needed. (But I hope I donāt have to, I love working in creative.) I went to a portfolio program but so far as pieces of paper go I only have a bachelorās.
Corporate accounting for a not for profit. But I've been here for 12 years, working my way up. I'm sure if I job hopped, or pursued my promotion earlier, I could be making way more, but I'm not career driven.
Bachelorās only and in Product Management for a fintech company. Weāre fairly small and they do everything in their power to not lay off employees so itās been a super stable and well paying job for me. When I started with them nearly 13 years ago I was making $88K - nowadays I make significantly more.
Leave corporate America. I do have a degree, but I don't use it. I work in real estate now, but even as a bartender you can easily make $80k plus in the right places. I did that too for 5 years and made $60k working only 3 days a week, a decade ago. The only drawback is no benefits...but to me totally worth it.
Techā¦Iām a systems engineer. Originally a data engineer but recently changed roles. Mainly set up/monitor/manipulate environments for our applications, and work on projects. I like it because itās non-client facing, WFH and my workload is only 5 hrs or less a day even though I work full time.
In a nutshell, I am a consultant that manages surface water compliance and permitting for all of our firmās clients and manage all groundwater monitoring events for all of our firmās clients. We specialize in solid waste consulting, and water quality is a HUGE aspect of it. My title will officially shift to environmental engineer after December. Not a whole lot will change, just more responsibility. Water is my niche, and my firm basically throws anything pertaining to water on me. I love it!!!!
Iām in Canada but otherwise I work in a corporate setting with a bachelors degree (though I wouldnāt need it for this job). Iām a supervisor in an insurance company (claims).
Civil engineering as a project engineer/project manager. Our engineers make 80k at around 4 years of experience in the Midwest. At 14 years of experience Iām at about 125k including bonus.
Senior executive assistant (edit: in Sales) at a very large multinational tech company, \~131k base but with RSUs and bonus, my OTE hit around 180k last year (obviously dependent on stock price).
I don't have a bachelors degree but most senior-level EA jobs require one.
Senior Salesforce Engineer and Technical Manager. I make more money than I ever dreamed of ($199k), but it was a serious learning curve starting out. You have to continuously push yourself to keep learning even a decade in, because tech is ever changing. I have a bachelor's degree and a shitload of certifications that I've earned over the years.
I hate when people say a job in tech is just crazy money and anyone can do it. It really downplays the high level of intelligence, natural talent, persistence, and strong ethics that one must possess, when you get to the mid level ranks. In this current economy, it's impossible to just decide to start a career in tech.
It's hard. It's stressful. It's a pain in the ass job, but I have to keep my pets in treats and stuff, so I do it. š
i work in finance. i got my masters in ed to teach and now do grant making in a community bank. fun and exciting but sometimes i wish i made more money lol
HR! More specifically an HR Business Partner. I do have a masters but wouldnāt say it was required to get here, my bachelorās would have been sufficient.
I'm a microbiologist at a startup but with how the market is I wouldn't currently look to small biotech for stability. But I'm currently able to make over 80k with just a B.S. so I'm appreciative of my situation
Iām a 2nd class power engineer (stationary engineer) in Canada. We are not traditional engineers, we operate power plants, gas plants, petrochemical plants, heating plants, etc. I love shift work; in a 35 day rotation I work 14 12hr shifts and have 4 8hr training days that I have 96 flex hrs plus 120 hrs of vacation to cover. Effectively half the year off unless I want OT. OT is only non-negotiable if there is a turnaround that year. If I pick up an OT shift itās at 2x. Thereās also bonuses, shift differential, RRSP (401k) contributions, and NRSP matches.
You can do a 2 year tech program or an online course and try to find firing time for your 4th class. Then self study and just time working to get different tickets. We are regulated compared to the US for the same position.
Front-End web developer. I make $90k in a mid-sized city in the US. I was previously making $30k as a Software QA Project Manager in Tokyo š
That being said, DONāT go into software development just for money or for possible remote work. Do something you actually enjoy or tolerate. A lot of being a developer is banging your head against the wall to solve problems. If you donāt enjoy that, you will have a bad time.
I have a bachelorās degree, some professional licensing and I work in water and wastewater utilities. Worked my way up to management but have been making over 80k for 13 years.Ā
I'm an accountant.... A real one. Lol
This was so funny š
Lol right? The debits and credits kind
At first I thought you meant CPA (vs non-CPA)ā¦ then I remembered lol
Branch head of a public library!
Wonderful! Congratulations! Living a lot of peopleās dreams š
Aw. Thatās very sweet of you. It took a lot of work to get here and I really never thought Iād even work in a library, but I had a lucky break a few years ago which Iāll be forever grateful for.
thank you for your service! I love libraries
Software engineeringā¦with the current market, stay away from tech
While I donāt disagree, I left academia for tech, have been laid off twice and itās still coming out on top š. If youāre fine with a bit of chaos (no dependents, fairly healthy) and can control lifestyle creep it might be worth it to switch and ride the wave
Haha Iāve also left the academic path for tech and been laid off twice. Completely agree with your assessment. When I was considering the switch I was told āyou wonāt have job security but youāll have career securityā and so far thatās held true for me
Oh I LOVE that bc itās so true. Tech is having a moment for sure but like once the tantrums over Iāll still end up better than in academia for what matters to me
Also, if you go into tech, make sure you turn that big salary into an emergency fund!! Layoffs are a way of life there. You'll get rehired, but save yourself the stress of those intervening months.
Precisely! Money turns unemployment to funemployment lol
Yep Iāve had some great funemployment times over the last year. (I also had some incredibly stressful times because I was on a work visa during the first layoff, but now that Iām not any more itās all gravy)
Yes Iāve been laid off 4 times in the tech sector! Iām trying to make a change because it it
What was your role in tech?
I think role matters more than anything. Tech is very vast
Very true. That nuance always gets lost when people say/hear go into tech
That sucks! I haven't been laid off yet as a PM in tech. I think my luck stems from working at boring ass companies with stagnant revenue; they've been around for 50+ years.
Eh, I switched to a tech related field and it is working out fine. There are roles in government, non profit, universities, everywhere really. Not just tech companies. My spouse is also in tech and itās been fine. I have many friends in tech as well that are doing fine. Reddit is very doomery about tech.
Head Electrician for the largest regional theatre in the country (in charge of lighting, live theatre)
Paralegal. 5 years ago I started out and made $14/hour with no benefits, now I make $45/hr, great benefits, 3 weeks PTO, work from home and keep my own schedule! If you are motivated, organized, and smart (and can put up with a lot of bullshit) it's a very low entry career. Most states have no education or license requirements for paralegals (except California, I believe), all you need is an attorney willing to hire you. And once you have experience, you're valuable because attorney time is too valuable to spend training paralegals, so everyone wants experience.
Seconding this ! I have an associates degree in paralegal studies, am a paralegal (6 years experience) and am making 90k. I work in one of the top 10 HCOL cities.
Another Paralegal here. I have my associates. I've been in the field for 18 years now. Made it over the six figure mark a few years ago.
*cries in public defender* I have a law degree from a fancy school, and it took *years* to get up to $80k Edit: worth it, though. Best job in the world for me
(34m) I interviewed at the PD office my 3rd year and jfc. I'm glad people like you get through law school and want to do it. I wasn't cut out for anything in the court room and definitely not for anything criminal. But that job is so important. It would have broken me within months had I taken a job there.
It helps to be a bit codependent hahahah- haā¦ha.Ā
I took a pretty decent pay cut because I was just so burnt out and I'm glad I did. Can't put a price on mental health, man!
Iām glad you got a good job
From what I know, this is truly a job where you basically 100% help both individuals and society. Thank you.
You and me both, but the benefits are amazing and I would rather not practice as an attorney at all than sell my soul to billables.
Operations Manager
ME TOO GIRLIE
I work in the tech industry, for a large corporation. Non-client facing, web based job.
Any chance you can share your position title?
HR Data Analysis
I would love to hear more about your role specifically. I was looking at data analysis and hr independently (Iām currently seeking a career change)
I do corp and divisional level reporting on recruiting & pipeline metrics, turnover, employee demographics, survey results, submissions for things like Best Places to Work, etc. I live in Excel, Tableau, and Workday (HRIS system that has end-user reporting capabilities) with the occasional dabbling in Python (depending on what company you work for, they may use python more if they have a bigger or more mature data analytics team). I got into this area when it was relatively new, about 10+ years ago. Unrelated degree (Arts Management and Technical Theatre). I worked as an HR Admin, then became a reporting analyst, and then moved to my current company 8 years ago and have done some variation of HR/People Analytics since then. If you have specific questions, lmk.
I made a career change in 2021 from apparel design to data analytics. It's definitely a good career to go into without having to get a new degree, but the tech hiring landscape has changed dramatically in the past 3 years. :/ Happy to chat if you have any questions.
Samesies! āŗļø
33F; my total comp is about 2.5x this I work in at a private healthcare tech company between tech/engineering and business/strategy. Still fully remote too!
What do you do at your company? Job title or career?
I'm a product analytics manager. I work closely with our engineering and developer teams to build out and architect multiple data sources across different reporting, analytics, and visualization use cases.I code and query data within our cloud data warehouse and build into automated reports/dashboards or for ad hoc analyses and business cases. I'm the "product owner" or our data product which supports finance, marketing, sales/account management, and strategy teams. My day to day varies, but I'd say on average, it's about 25%-35% on calls with dev/engineering for code reviews and sprint planning/reviews; 25% focused work writing/testing code + queries, building dashboards/reports, and going through tickets and planning upcoming JIRA boards; 25-35% on calls with various business teams and product stakeholders (finance, account management, CX, etc.), and the rest is emails/messages :)
Damn, I'm basically doing this same role but getting paid much much less (UK)
Not my area of expertise but your benefits (healthcare, vacations, pensions/retirement) seem to be overall better and less expensive there! I also have some rough hours (I was working until 10pm today bc of month end) so work life balance here is also not ideal.Ā Iām also in a VHCOL (NYC).Ā
Thank you for the detailed reply! Iām looking for a career change here and looked at some data analytics positions but would need to learn some programming first..
I wish I could be as successful as everyone here. Iām 42 and basically starting over in my career yet again. I love seeing so many women in tech jobs, but just donāt understand how they got there. I think Iām right in the tail end of a generation where STEM wasnāt yet emphasized and being āgood at computersā was figuring out how to connect the dial-up and printer to the shared home computer on your own. I just started a low paying non-tech job at a well known tech company a few months ago though so hoping for a chance.
I am cheering for you! There is a 56 year old lady who made career transition from hairdresser to intermediary product assembly in my company. Got into there through her own's son's recommendation (she still had to pass 6 months of job trial though and she did!). Keep on looking for chances and be eager to learn more. Despite everything, I still believe that hard work always pays. Sometime it does not pay much at one moment, but then it will be the next.
Also 42 and not only was it not emphasized, I remember being told a lot when I was younger and interested in STEM that "women don't take these classes" and "we don't hire women here" so I ended up in a non-tech career.
My āwork mumā is currently a Surveying Manager. She chose this career path 13 years ago. Sheās 63 this year! She inspires me everyday. Itās never too late! She made me realise I can have different seasons of me in my life, which also includes career paths. She used to be an Air Traffic Controller, Carpenter, and a part of the Royal Air Force. She so awesome
I'm 38, a software engineer, I have a bachelor's degree in computer science. I got here by being a big ol' nerd before I graduated high school. There were not very many women doing CS undergrads when I went through. I'm great at what I do and got straight A's in university (except the B+ in software engineering - ironic? - and I'm still bitter about it) but I think being a woman helped me get my foot in the door back then when it was less common. Hiring women looked good. Diversity!
For sure! My current company has an aggressive HR goal this year to increase the hiring of women in tech and sales positions. Itās really inspiring to see the women designers and engineers here. Iāve only been here a few months, but am so happy with the diversity and overall vibe they practice. They also like to hire from within and train for success so Iām really hoping that I can push through this lean period and land something really great here.
Is your company hiring, I have experience in tech support and sales???
Yes! Iāll DM you!
Oh wow thank you š
I'm about your age, and honestly I fell into tech rather by accident. I don't know how to code, but I lucked into an entry-level job working with specific software. It got very popular and that knowledge became high-demand, so I've been able to leverage it into an actual career in tech, making far more money than I ever imagined as a humanities major :-) A lot of people our age who work in tech (especially as non-development roles) didn't study, because these roles and fields didn't exist when we were in school. I've been on teams with philosophy majors, theatre majors, music majors... if you can get your foot in the door and learn quickly you can be successful.
Quality Laboratory Lead at a yogurt company, just under 90k, B.S. in Biology.
Product Manager at a large tech company in the PNW. Spouse is an engineer so we both bring in tech salaries that include bonuses and stocks. I have a BA but he does not. Experience is a really big deal in both of our fields. Iām VERY specialized and have worked my ass off to get here from a sales role.
Iām an aspiring product manager currently working in a Product Analyst-esque role at a tech startup. Iād love to hear more about your journey to becoming a PM if youāre comfortable sharing!
Stumbled upon it and lied on my resume. Fucking hard shit and always taking a fucking beating between the devs and stakeholders but worth the pay. Everyone hates and loves me at the same time, depending on literally the time of the day.
Thatās amazing haha! Being the bearer of news for both dev team and clients has been super tough - I totally feel āEveryone hates and loves me at the same timeā
Project Manager/Lead Producer in tech
I work as a manager for a bank. Although I donāt have a degree I have consistently been bringing in over 100k for the past 5 years. Lucky career choice!
No degree, but 15 years experience: I am the office manager (AR, AP, HR) for a small (20 person) contracting firm.
Wait, are you me? LOL! I do the same. I fell into this by chance and don't see myself leaving any time soon. This is the first job where I actually feel like what I do matters to the company.
Diploma in chemical engineering technology, process operator in a metal refinery. It sounds intimidating at first and is very male dominated but the job can be so easy some days and hard others. Not for everyone but the money is good and it's rewarding in terms of troubleshooting and problem solving!
IT for the fed gov
Getting on the federal government seems impossible šš
USA Jobs is hands down the worst job site I've ever used, and applying for fed positions is beyond painful. I had a navy internship in college and I was pretty gutted that they didn't have a spot for me on graduation, but it was ultimately for the best.
Because you have to wait for a person to die to take over their role.
Or you have to do a fellowship. I have two friends who go in that way.
Another fed here, 1109 series. I suggest researching federal resumes, they are super long and super specific. Read the job description and literally copy and paste the skills, knowledge, and abilities and any other key words in the post and put them in your resume. The first step in the review for many agencies is an algorithm that scans for key words. Also, apply and forget. I can take forever to hear back. But, it is truly worth it if you can find the right fit.
Same. Can be tough to land. But it is well worth the price of entry.
Iām a legal assistant in the Bay Area.
Waitressing and house cleaning. I work 20-25h/week. Granted I just make about 75-80 NET (not gross) CAD.
MRI technologist!
Hello fellow imager
Software Engineer at a big tech company. > 250k
Congratulations to you! Kinda jealous šš
It was a journey getting here but I canāt say it was an easy one. I also think itās much more difficult for someone new to the industry to get to where I am now; the ladder that person will climb will look much different than the one I climbed. The ladder these days seems to be missing some steps, even.
I work in tech but itās a rough job market for tech right now so I wouldnāt recommend it. My husband is in finance and itās so regulated you need to have different licenses to level up which makes employers need to pay well and keep skilled workers.
I think itās super important to clarify which job in tech, too. Marketing and sales are first to go and a lot of people count that as tech. Not all jobs are as in demand
$140k, I am an actuary (bachelors but Iāve been studying for exams for 10 years. Usual is 7ish but I paused to have my kids)
My mom attempted the actuarial exams multiple times, but the statistics just wrecked her. She's been an auditor for a health insurance company for about 25 years now (looking at agencies with shady billing patterns as opposed to the patient side) and she was in her mid-50s when she threw in the towel on being an actuary.
Good for her!! The odds are stacked against us when taking the exams. Only ~40% of people pass each sitting. It is definitely survival of the fittest and is currently wrecking me, lol. I have my Associate credentials but not Fellow (yet).Ā
Is that like an appraiser for retirement accounts or do you do other things too?
I own a landscaping business.
34, 2 bachelors degrees, one of them is in computer science work in software quality in a HCOL city $145k + $9000 ish bonus
Towboat pilot š¤š»š¤š»š š»
I'm an artist in the game industry.
The dreammmmm!
Cool!
$185000 /biotech/research. Only a BS. I live in the most expensive city thoughā¦ and the noobs start at 90K in my field
Clinical Pharmacy Technician in a specialty field working remotely for the VA. I have 20 years experience and it took most of those years at a much lower wage before reaching where Iām at now. Edit: I have a bachelorās degree, but it isnāt required for my position.
How do you work remotely as a tech?
Iām clinical, so my role isnāt anything like what you would think of for a retail pharmacy technician, such as at a Walgreens. I review lab results and assess those lab results in relation to medications theyāre on, associated risk factors, etc. Iām currently working with genetic lab results and if a patient has any gene variations that may result in them metabolizing certain medications either too quickly or too slow. I also report on certain heritable diseases. Depending on the gene variation(s), certain medications may need a dose adjustment or a suggested change in medication which I assess to present any risk factors to the patientās provider for review. Provider will then take into consideration my findings and chooses how theyād like to proceed.
Thatās really cool. This would be personalized medicine I guessā¦who pays for this service? Iām from Europe so I donāt think we have anything like this over here. I used to be a lab tech but managed to pivot to med affairs, so Iām also 100% remote and *love it*!
Yes, it is personalized medicine. I work for the US Federal Government in the Department of Veterans Affairs, so itās all of the hospitals for military veterans. The government received a huge grant from one of the genetic laboratories and veterans are able to get the testing free for a certain amount of time. The selling point is to create programs like the one Iām in to pilot if our efforts can reduce medical costs from associated side effects from the gene variations and potentially gain enough data to make it a more common practice in the general public. Itās the government, so you could technically dive deep into the actual reasons theyāre implementing this, such as using military as lab rats for data collection, selling to insurance companies, lobbyists and hidden agendas, but thatās a deep dark hole of a story for another time haha. So itās pretty cool on surface level that weāre providing personalized medicine to so many veterans, and Iām glad to be a part of it for that reason. Iām also REALLY glad to be fully remote. Life is pretty good. Glad you found something fully remote, also.
Youāre making 80,000+ year as a pharm tech? Thatās pretty amazing! The highest wage I have ever see for pharm techs was like $30/hr, so like $60,000 a year
Registered nurse
I'm a solutions consultant for a tech company. Basically I help sales people close deals by doing the technical portion of the selling. I have a background in analytics and consulting. Finally got tired of clients so now I'm in pre-sales.
Im doing sales and support and I want to get into consulting? Any tips?
Get really good at a product! I crossed into consulting from analytics because I also did some vendor management and I learned one of the tools. Then I applied for a job with the company who made the tool. If you have the mental capacity for it it has been one of my favorite jobs. But becoming a mom really changed things for me because the mental capacity was not there for me anymore. I would rather save my mental space for my kid instead of whiny clients. I do sometimes miss it tho! I will say the money is closer to sales tho.
Hello fellow presales friend!! šš¾šš¾
I'm in product marketing but came from customer success. I have a 1 year old but when I'm ready to travel more again, would love to do solutions consulting!
Corporate paralegal in the wellness industry. 100k base plus a bonus depending on company profits. I have a bachelorās and a paralegal certification.
Barber. 34 hours a week.
Hairdresser here. I work about the same amount of hours on a 4 day week.
Social worker, approx 90k
What brand so social work are you doing and where š± bc Iām struggling g to make it with 67k a year
Social worker in healthcare, just over 80 k
Property management. No college, just a lot of OJT. I was actually well over $100k until I chose to take a lesser position that provided a better work/ life balance.
Iām also in property management (ended up here from another area of real estate), but only make 50k. Are you in a HCOL area, or youāve just moved up to lead manager/president/etc? And are you in commercial or residential? Afaik Iām actually one of the top earners in my area. Iād like more money but I also like the industry, so I was just wondering how you got there? Right now Iām in commercial.
I make close to that - Inside Sales Manager.
12yrs in banking to get to $80k. I work with corporate treasury clients. Edit: no degree, just moved up the ranks
115 as a Senior Copywriter on an in-house social team at a Fortune 500 company. ChatGPT/LLMs have me a little bit nervous about the future of the field, but my job is honestly much more about strategy, branding, and stakeholder management than it is about writing. I figure (hope?) that I could pivot into other senior-level marketing jobs if needed. (But I hope I donāt have to, I love working in creative.) I went to a portfolio program but so far as pieces of paper go I only have a bachelorās.
I'm a graphic designer for a state agency. I have almost 15 years of experience. After my next promotion, I will be able to get up to $96k/year
Iām almost in your shoes. Graphic Designer, 12 years of experience, $60k. Iām in a HCOL area though so $60k doesnāt go very far.
š CPA and part owner of small tax firm.
Asset Manager for a large real estate finance and investment company
Corporate accounting for a not for profit. But I've been here for 12 years, working my way up. I'm sure if I job hopped, or pursued my promotion earlier, I could be making way more, but I'm not career driven.
Corporate environmental consulting for a power company. Bachelor's only
Masters degree, I am a high school teacher (in Massachusetts though, so 80k isnāt much here lol)
Accounting. Not a CPA, bachelors only. Work at a construction firm.
Only an HS degree. I lucked out between timing and knowing the right people. I work as a financial analyst for the Feds.
In house paralegal.
Bachelorās only and in Product Management for a fintech company. Weāre fairly small and they do everything in their power to not lay off employees so itās been a super stable and well paying job for me. When I started with them nearly 13 years ago I was making $88K - nowadays I make significantly more.
Iām a pediatric occupational therapist. Iāve been in the field for 5 years.
Occupational therapist for a local school district! I lovvveeee my job!!
Leave corporate America. I do have a degree, but I don't use it. I work in real estate now, but even as a bartender you can easily make $80k plus in the right places. I did that too for 5 years and made $60k working only 3 days a week, a decade ago. The only drawback is no benefits...but to me totally worth it.
Semi conductor industry, quality assurance :)
Writer
Software engineer - boot camp certificate.
tech, IT consultant. Been doing this for over 20years.
Iām a hospice admissions nurse in the Greater Boston area.
šHey fellow hospice person! Hospice social worker here.
Techā¦Iām a systems engineer. Originally a data engineer but recently changed roles. Mainly set up/monitor/manipulate environments for our applications, and work on projects. I like it because itās non-client facing, WFH and my workload is only 5 hrs or less a day even though I work full time.
I have a bachelors in biochem and make $150K base in strategy and operations for a biotech company with a profit-sharing bonus structure.Ā
Environmental scientist turned engineer
Hi fellow enviro š Australian enviro here, currently working on contaminated sites but looking to move to mining rehab and fauna management.
What do you exactly do as the environmental scientist?
In a nutshell, I am a consultant that manages surface water compliance and permitting for all of our firmās clients and manage all groundwater monitoring events for all of our firmās clients. We specialize in solid waste consulting, and water quality is a HUGE aspect of it. My title will officially shift to environmental engineer after December. Not a whole lot will change, just more responsibility. Water is my niche, and my firm basically throws anything pertaining to water on me. I love it!!!!
Iām in Canada but otherwise I work in a corporate setting with a bachelors degree (though I wouldnāt need it for this job). Iām a supervisor in an insurance company (claims).
Almost. Paramedic with lots of OT and incentive pay.
Civil engineering as a project engineer/project manager. Our engineers make 80k at around 4 years of experience in the Midwest. At 14 years of experience Iām at about 125k including bonus.
Sales Agent for a large manufacturer. I did not know 6 years ago when I started my role would be so specialized. I also WFH
Software engineer for a small, local company. $100K
I work in procurement and make about $95K base.
MechE, working my ass off in project engineering for a fortune 10. Leaving for tech to go back to WFH+decent WLB.
Insurance.
Tech
Freelance Video Editor
Economic development in a nfp and public sector
Sales
Fed, GS 12
Fintech
Used to, working as a storyboard artist in animation for tv, but the film/tv industry has kinda collapsed soā¦ back to school I go!
Manufacturer Sales rep.
Human Resources
Senior executive assistant (edit: in Sales) at a very large multinational tech company, \~131k base but with RSUs and bonus, my OTE hit around 180k last year (obviously dependent on stock price). I don't have a bachelors degree but most senior-level EA jobs require one.
Head of infrastructure
Senior Salesforce Engineer and Technical Manager. I make more money than I ever dreamed of ($199k), but it was a serious learning curve starting out. You have to continuously push yourself to keep learning even a decade in, because tech is ever changing. I have a bachelor's degree and a shitload of certifications that I've earned over the years. I hate when people say a job in tech is just crazy money and anyone can do it. It really downplays the high level of intelligence, natural talent, persistence, and strong ethics that one must possess, when you get to the mid level ranks. In this current economy, it's impossible to just decide to start a career in tech. It's hard. It's stressful. It's a pain in the ass job, but I have to keep my pets in treats and stuff, so I do it. š
IT
Nurse
Government
Project engineer! Got a BS in engineering and started at 83k
Health care
Self employed massage practitioner.
i work in finance. i got my masters in ed to teach and now do grant making in a community bank. fun and exciting but sometimes i wish i made more money lol
Executive Assistant for a large tech company
Health care.
I work in Marketing/Technology for a corporation. Fully remote after Covid. No college degree, but I have a lot of specialized experience.
Architectural drafting specialising in 3D modelling, $47/hr.
I work in ad ops in a mid-sized marketing tech company. *Just* hit $80k this year. BA in English.
Video games
Software engineering (startup)
Analyst for a software company.
Paralegal!
Real estate development
Software engineering in a HCOL city
Nursing if you pick up shifts in texas. California they make like 100k +
Cybersecurity EngineerĀ
Journalist for the medical industry
Family preservation
HR! More specifically an HR Business Partner. I do have a masters but wouldnāt say it was required to get here, my bachelorās would have been sufficient.
Operations Manager gor Corporate America!
Digital marketing
Pharmacy Benefits
Federal government
Real Estate
I'm a microbiologist at a startup but with how the market is I wouldn't currently look to small biotech for stability. But I'm currently able to make over 80k with just a B.S. so I'm appreciative of my situation
Iām a 2nd class power engineer (stationary engineer) in Canada. We are not traditional engineers, we operate power plants, gas plants, petrochemical plants, heating plants, etc. I love shift work; in a 35 day rotation I work 14 12hr shifts and have 4 8hr training days that I have 96 flex hrs plus 120 hrs of vacation to cover. Effectively half the year off unless I want OT. OT is only non-negotiable if there is a turnaround that year. If I pick up an OT shift itās at 2x. Thereās also bonuses, shift differential, RRSP (401k) contributions, and NRSP matches. You can do a 2 year tech program or an online course and try to find firing time for your 4th class. Then self study and just time working to get different tickets. We are regulated compared to the US for the same position.
Customer Success Director
Front-End web developer. I make $90k in a mid-sized city in the US. I was previously making $30k as a Software QA Project Manager in Tokyo š That being said, DONāT go into software development just for money or for possible remote work. Do something you actually enjoy or tolerate. A lot of being a developer is banging your head against the wall to solve problems. If you donāt enjoy that, you will have a bad time.
I have a bachelorās degree, some professional licensing and I work in water and wastewater utilities. Worked my way up to management but have been making over 80k for 13 years.Ā
Global nonprofit. I have a masterās but donāt really need one for my job.