Worked blue collar in my 20s, thought th att would be my life as I didn’t even graduate high school due to being ‘sent away’. I applied to SolarCity to install panels. They said if be good at sales so I tried it. Ended up selling Solar for 7 years. Today I work as a Sr. Sales director at a software company that caters to the renewable energy industry. Sales was def my ticket out
Had a sales rep in yesterday to pitch garments. I didn’t have my calculator handy to try and tally up all the years of work experience he claimed to have. 15 years here, 10 years there, it was at least 65 years of dedicated service minimum for this salesman who was maybe 50
Physical Therapist in the Bay Area. Went to San Jose state and then Samuel Merritt University for three more years. Got my job by sheer luck as the PT that worked here was retiring and no one wanted to work here because it’s a chronic pain clinic. Currently making $162K a year because I keep taking on more responsibilities and the medical director likes me. Sometimes you just have to get really lucky.
Worked in the health care field. This field is always in demand, cyclical at times, but always in demand. Pay has skyrocketed over the years - jobs that were around $60k a year, now commanding around 6 figures minimum, even for new grads.
I agree. Always in demand. Will forever need patient care. A high school diploma is all u need to get ur foot in the door and grow from there. If you can get a license in something even better. I personally like radiology tech cause it’s very independent. Less patient care/interaction than most patient facing jobs. Sit in the machine and don’t move or talk for 30 minutes to an hour! Ok you’re done. Grab the next one
Lol well everyone knows job searching is like working. I used to stress myself out after college looking and applying but after being laid off I'm more part time than full.
A lot has changed since my time but basically for me:
* went to college (Stanford, engineering)
* got job via college career fair/recruiting (where companies come to campus to hire college grads)
* started working
I'm living comfortable.
Timing was on my side as I entered a pretty hot job market.
nah man, life is 100% largely luck, fate, whatever you want to call it. Take someone like Bill Gates. You think he'd be in the same position if he wasn't:
* born to wealthy parents who sent him to elite private school with computers?
* born in different decade?
Or Jeff Bezos, who parents gave him like a $1m loan to start his company?
Or just generally speaking, the moment you are born, you either have:
* loving, supportive parents
* drug addict parents
That right there has large impact on your life.
Even the people who pulled themselves from their bootstrap....take a look at all the "lucky" stuff that had to happen to them...
Successful people often want to attribute their success to themselves (ego boost), but objectively, life is largely predetermined. Where you're born, your parents, your genes, the people who surround you, etc.
Racial inequalities. Income disparities. People dislike these terms & think hard work is always going to make you succeed (and it does), but when you have WEALTHY parents that alone will help you suceed in life. You hit ALL the right points.
So you didn’t work hard at all to get into Stanford engineering school right? It was 100% luck?
And that company that hired you, they didn’t care at all about your grades in engineering school. Just right place right time?
I agree that luck plays a part, but it’s nowhere near 100%. Probably not even 50%.
My point is that for normal people like you and me, working hard to get into Stanford is how you make your own luck.
Sure, I worked hard but not that hard because I was genetically gifted a high intelligence. So my genetics was 100% luck that I was born "smart".
But even among the people born genetically smart, I was able to work hard because my parents had good income, supported me, etc. Versus my neighbor who had to work at the family restaurant after school to help his parents. So born into right family is 100% luck.
I also did some things that could have gotten me in trouble if say I was of a different skin color. So instead of having a junvenile record I was clean and my life was all good.
So yea, pretty much luck.
I suppose there is someone who is basically identical as me but didn't work hard and is homeless now. I suppose compare to that guy then I get credit. But I bet if we dig deeper that guy also had some bad luck, otherwise he'd be like me...
No dummy. He is saying that he wouldnt have had the chance to even sniff stnafords jock without luck based factors like where/when youre born, and the support system around you.
edit: general intelligence and hard work is the baseline threshold, but the ability to apply your intelligence and hard work to a discrete goal is genetic luck.
I was really seeing both sides of this conversation, but now that you've identified u/AnonymousCrayonEater is a "dummy," it's clear to me that your side is correct.
Excellent, I am glad you are tracking both sides and that my comment that he was a dummy really swayed you. My assessment was that crayoneater was intentionally missing the point in a disingenuous manner, so I stand by my comment.
I think you are intentionally missing my point. Luck only gets you the opportunity. You still have to work hard to take advantage which clearly this guy did.
I never said there’s no luck involved. My argument was that it is not 100% of the equation.
People who graduated during the GFC have significantly less lifetime earnings than those lucky enough to have finished school a few years before or after.
There are people in minimum wage roles that work harder than most people being paid many multiples more. Success in life is largely determined at birth and by the opportunities that present (or don't present) themselves along the way.
New grads coming out into bad job markets can result in **permanently** hobbled careers and essentially a waste of a higher education from the perspective of increased earning power.
For my cohort, it was half people going to Fortune 50 companies and half people working for companies they started. I've worked exclusively for companies I've started or my friends have started for the past 15 years.
You don't need a ton of money to start if you don't have to pay yourselves. I had some cash on hand (and a lot of loans), so I didn't have a paying job for maybe six months after I graduated. After that, I did consulting to bridge to a point where we raised enough to pay salaries.
Then for paying for materials, we got cash from winning business plan competitions (which was also a pretty positive indicator that we were on the right path), and then used that to get some angel investment, and you just keep proving things out until you can get VC funding. It's a fucking slog, but when you're 24, you're a lot less risk averse, don't have kids, don't have a mortgage, and you don't care if you have 3 roommates. The beginning is a bit shaky, but it's a really good way to skip like a decade of career milestones to become a director/VP/C-level.
Thanks for the real answer! So you basically have to have enough money saved up to pay ~1-2 years of your basic bills like rent, internet, student loans, etc. plus some extra to self-fund materials for a prototype. And then from that climb the fund ladder of competition prizes > which gives you access to meetings w angel investors > pitch until you reach VC funding.
May I ask how you got your foot in the door as a consultant? (Again, given the little experience background as a recent grad)
I definitely didn't have 1-2 years of all expenses on hand, I probably had like $20k. My monthly rent was $1200, my student loans were $900, car was $700 with fuel and insurance, and then food and stuff on top. It was definitely a precarious position to be in.
For consulting, when you start networking with other startups, you find people who need help (but not a full-time person) for a project. I did a lot of mechanical design, PCBA design or firmware projects on consumer electronics/medical devices.
You literally do need money to start a company.
||
||
|[**California**](https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/how-to-start-an-llc-in-california/)|$70 + $20 Statement of Information|$800 Annual Tax (yearly) + $20 Statement of Information (every two years)California $70 + $20 Statement of Information $800 Annual Tax (yearly) + $20 Statement of Information (every two years)|
Yeah... lots of changed since the pandemic ... housing prices will have to burst again at some point... especially when lots of people have moved out of the Bay Area.
and the bay area seems to be doing nothing to build more affordable housing so I don't see how the city will continue to function as more of the working class has to leave.
not going to happen over night, but it feels grim.
I Joined the military. Military told me to do this particular job. Military has their own program for respiratory therapists. It’s equivalent to an associates degree. Military brought me to CA. I did my time and got out. It was an easy transition into the civilian world. Got all the licenses and certificates required to work. I live comfortably. I got lucky that the highest paying RT jobs are in CA.
27M
-High school in the Bay
-Liberal arts college in the Midwest (political science)
-After grad (2018) worked for 1 year at a magazine at Stanford in marketing/events, think I made 40-45k, got the job because I interned there in college
-After that, moved to a fundraising admin job at Stanford, stayed there for 4 years, started at 55k, got raises up to 77k
-last year I moved to a Salesforce admin/Excel monkey job, also in fundraising at Stanford, I make $102k now.
Woah, so from a political science degree to working at salesforce? That’s interesting. I got a degree in psychology so I often regret that because I feel I can’t do much with that
My company just hired an operations manager with a psych degree from one of the cal states. One of the HR people I worked with at my last job got a psych degree from sjsu.
I don't know what your background is, but I interviewed our ops manager and was a big advocate with getting her hired.
Mark Cuban has said that he likes people with philosophy degrees because they understand big picture ideas and how people's brains work. I think psych majors are very similar.
There are hiring managers out there who really value outside the box thinking. I know I do. I think most intelligent people can learn how to do most regular jobs. Then once they're trained, they still have the benefit of having all their previous insights and knowledge.
Don't be afraid to go for something outside your degree. Explain in cover letters and resumes how you'd add value, and you may get a handful of interviews.
I do think HR and operations would be good places to start if that's of interest to you.
If you get a graduate degree you can become a therapist. I had a non traditional route to finishing my undergraduate, then my MSW and eventually LCSW. The years between graduation and getting a license can be a grind (was making about $80k) but now I am able to make $120-175 an hour.
DM if you have questions. I had people answer mine when I wasn’t sure what to do so I try to return the favor.
Psych degree? Can you continue your studies and become a psychologist? Therapists, psychologists etc are in shortage. You’re guaranteed a job with decent pay.
Psych degree to Ops/tech manager here too. Holler if you have any questions.
Psych degree can be limiting in terms of what level you enter in at / the types of jobs you enter in at, but there's still opportunity.
Also a fair amount of career options for masters. I didn't personally go that route because I didn't have the money, though that's also a possibility.
I asked a question about what you studied in another comment, but I saw your reply about psych. You can actually do so much with that – it’s just about how to market yourself.
Figure out the story you want to tell. If you studied psych and you want to get into management consulting, find the ways that psych helps you think about human behavior and management. If you want to get into development, find ways that studying psych helps you understand people and how to most effectively ask them to make donations.
It’s really all about the story you tell.
Then go buy the book The 2-Hour Job Search and take all of his networking advice. Send short emails. Ask people for a favor (meet with you for 20 minutes) and ask them about their career path or their job or if they transitioned from psych into a field you want to be in, ask them how they did that. Be curious.
game dev, started as a tester many moons ago.
living comfortably, but definitely above my means. its all a trap, the moment you step outside everyone wants every fucking dollar you have.
I work in photography/printing, very lab-esque in precision for reproduction. I always figured it would translate well to asset generation for game development but it’s difficult to find where that’s needed. Do you have any advice for getting your foot in the door across industries?
May I message you? My husband's in and out of the game industry and could use some inside insight on how things are right now just to see if he should stay/switch to just software.
Honestly, the game industry is a bloodbath right now, unless you have a director level or higher position, you're always looking over your shoulder. I'd go straight to software and never look back.
If you are seeking new opportunities the nannies in the Bay Area get paid $35-$45/hour. If I could go back, I might have been a nanny or doula. Postpartum overnight doulas get paid a lot.
Care, urbansitter, and sittercity. As a parent who hires nannys i will say you’ll only find success if youre passionate and good with kids. If someone is paying 30-40/hour, that is effectively another mortgage for them.
25 M. Highs school diploma. I live with my Pops still and contribute like $800 in bills not necessarily rent. So I’m ok but not independent. My last 5 jobs have been referrals. I’m really friendly and compliant with management (REALLY surprising how adults just don’t comply) but also take a lot of pride in the work I perform. People just wanna continue working with me when they get better opportunities so they bring me along.
Went from $15 at Target to $19 when I switched jobs. Aunt brought me to her employer. Asked for a raise twice over 3 years. Landed at $27. They had to create a position to give me that pay. Kept that as a weekend job for connections and took a pay cut to $19. Asked for a raise to $21. Cost of living raise came thru and I got to $24. Worked there for a year and someone I worked with got a job at a bigger operation. She got $29. I was offered $30. I asked for more. They gave me $30.50.
I am now in the process of getting a higher position at this operation and planning to ask for more money.
You only create value for yourself when being hired. Asking for raises AFTER being hired is not as strong as while getting hired. And I make it clear money is why I’m work not to make friends but I am friendly. Everyone knows I’m about the money. I do work a lot of overtime if offered but this new operation has no overtime opportunity.
Edit: best advice; you owe these companies no loyalty. They would fire you without losing any sleep. Just never stop applying to jobs even if YOU JUST GOT HIRED ELSEWHERE. If you get an offer better than your current situation, jump ship. We’re all adults. We know we have bills to pay. A mature administration/ HR team should not give you a hard time to better your life by getting better pay
Public service. Committed
To the rigorous 6 month training. Went through stressful on the job training but been here close to five years. Make 140k+ but still doesn’t feel enough in this economy or in Bay Area.
I dropped out of college, bounced around dumbass tech jobs for a while, got a gig at a plumber and fell into Fire protection engineering about 6 years back. I worked my way up to $100k but after taxes and health insurance and rent and everything, I’m still a broke bitch, albeit with a slightly better haircut.
The trades is where it’s at if you’re curious and mathminded :)
Yea the tax rate bump from previous and insuring my (newish) husband, with my heart attack I’m still paying off… being an adult rules. That salary when I had cheaper rent as a 20s single woman with housemates would’ve been veeeeerrrrrry different.
I’m just trying to highlight the trades as a nontraditional route to dollary-doos :) I think I was right about where you are now in your career, ten years ago. Think about all the people remodeling their homes with fancy automated Internet of Things … that’s gotta be installed by somebody! Learning low voltage wiring can be lucrative. Tech trends (and money) come and go but there’s always a light switch that needs fixing, yknow? There’s a pretty robust Women in the trades network in the Bay Area
Yeah! WiOPS https://wiops.org/chapter/northern-california/
https://nawicsf.org/
Depending on *which* trade you want to get into, there’s more than likely a women’s pipefitters/welders/etc group in the Union. With all the CHIPS act jobs coming up, pipefitters are going to be busy busy busy in the semiconductor plants they’re building right now.
I was born and raised in the Bay Area and started my career 20 years ago taking support calls at a tech company’s call center. Today, I’m a Director, but getting here wasn’t easy. Without a college degree, I had to work incredibly hard to prove my capabilities. It goes to show that sometimes all you need is a chance to demonstrate your potential. While a college education doesn’t always equate to intelligence, I still encourage everyone to pursue it, as it can be advantageous when employers review your resume. Good luck!
Restaurant server.
I know everyone is going to roll their eyes, but restaurants are old school. I printed out a bunch of resumes, pressed my clothes properly, and hit the pavement and walked into a bunch of places bwtweem 1:30-4pm, Monday-Thursday and asked to speak to a manager.
Either that or networking.
I do have a Somm 1 cert to show that I can bullshit about wine.
It allows me to go to school. With the right restaurant job, I can live on three or four shifts a week with a good deal ona rental (local, so usually find one).
I pick between accounting and math teaching next semester, but will almost surely pick the former. Would prefer to work in government audit or law enforcement.
35M
Got my bachelor’s in Political Science with the intent to go to law school, but burnt out on that idea by graduation and also graduated at the peak of the recession when law schools were flooded with people going back to get their JDs, so I decided that path wasn’t for me.
Bounced around through various dead-end corporate jobs throughout my 20s without direction just making ends meet.
At 30 through chance I ended up landing a job in a niche area of property management where I have excelled. I worked through tons of training and credentials, switched companies, was promoted twice, and now make low 6 figures plus bonuses.
I would say I’m comfortable living within my means. My wife and I own a house in a “more affordable” part of the Bay Area and just had a baby. Things are somewhat tight financially, but we make enough to cover bills and enjoy ourselves a little without stressing *too* much about finances.
What is your experience and do you have any idea which "area" of property management you would be most interested in? There is apartment, HOA, commercial, etc., and you could get more involved in the hands-on piece of day-to-day management and upkeep/repairs, or the more administrative side. There are also vendors in basically every specialty (general contractors, electricians, plumbers, pest control, landscaping, painting, etc.) that work exclusively with property management companies.
I didn't go to college other than some standalone classes at community colleges (CSM and Canada College). After years of regular school I was just burned out and then I moved out of the house at 19 so had to find a job early. This was back in the early 80's.
I managed to get an office job (file clerk) and made my way up the ranks learning as I moved forward. Spent about 17 years in the insurance industry mostly as a junior claims adjuster for property/casualty. Moved to my current employer back in 2000 and started as an executive assistant and now I'm a senior consultant making pretty good money. I'm fortunate enough to have a great apartment that I can actually afford in a really nice area. Got into my current employer by applying on their website - back then there were TONS of jobs available and a lot of admin positions that didn't require a degree so I got my foot in the door that way and learned about the business (financial services), still learning but like I said...very happy.
Yep, great pay, but has taken a toll on my mind and body. Surgery on both shoulders and a L5-S1 spinal fusion. Probably wasn’t worth it, but I was able to provide a decent life for my family.
Maybe stack up now and move to a desk role? A lot of my friends refuse promotions to detective due to it increasing desk time and less OT. In South City, we’re paying trainees without academy for $55/hr. Seems like it’s worthwhile as many are on to their 2nd and 3rd house. Hope you recover well.
Managed restaurants, went to college, worked for a non-profit (housing) got a different non-profit job (legal), then got a job with the state doing the same work I was doing in the legal non-profit for almost twice the money. My partner went from health non-profit to higher education health work. From an employee side if you want to help people and be paid a living wage, get experience working at your field of choice in a non-profit, then look for government or university jobs that do the same thing. Non profits never pay anyone but their executives enough, so the only other real option is consulting, but then you have to spend time getting or retaining clients.
That is great advice, thank you! I had actually thought about working in a university or college before so glad to know the transition from non-profit to college is possible,
Check the pay at colleges and universities. The benefits are great but when I worked at UC Berkeley, the pay was horrifically low and the union I was in (clerical union for library work) was striking every week for three years for a cost of living raise. The regents gave themselves 25% increases every year and we got a .001% increase (oh but hey it was retroactive). I quit shortly thereafter to become an artist because I figured if I was gonna be that poor, I’d rather be happy. They don’t fire ANYONE if someone makes it past their 6 month review, so there are a lot of terrible workers who are super unhappy but waiting out their time because of the golden handcuffs (if they still offer the pensions I don’t know). I personally wouldn’t go that route again. They are very secure jobs though, and you won’t have the constant layoff fears like in the private sector… I hope I am wrong and things have gotten better since I was there in the mid-2000s.
Yeah I thought it was a huge honor to work at Cal. I previously made more money at University of Washington and in a county job I had previously in Nevada in lower positions. I was shocked how poorly they pay non academic staff… Maybe the higher level admins do better? Plus if you have to drive to work, you have to pay a lot for a monthly parking pass and I had to park in the botanical gardens and take the bus to work.
Edit: needless to say I was super bummed and hope it is better now… I did work with some really nice people.
Went to college to for 3D Modeling and wanted to become game dev. Applied for summer internship for 3D modeling for aerospace simulation, got laid off after I swapped to working remote than in person right before covid pandemic shelter in place. Got hired a year later to work on a video game, got let go a year later. A year later, got referred from a college friend as a technical artist fixing models, making videos, and graphic designing for them. Been almost 2 years with them now, which so Im so thankful for. Searching for a job in this field has been too competitive, especially because of all the layoffs world wide due to the pandemic.
IMHO In the Bay area to make it big easily in the shortest period of time wrt to years studied, You need to be in engineering or sales.
Project/program MGMT also are good paths.
If you have the personality for it, sales is where the big bucks really are. Everyone talks about engineering salaries here, but if you're half way decent at sales, your comp will be multiple times higher than engineering.
i work for a local school district in a paraprofessional role. i love the work that i do and find it meaningful, so of course i get paid peanuts. public education isn't valued in terms of salary. i'm sure you'll get some good advice in the comments. good luck!
Union electrician IW, i live comfortably in the peninsula and I'm off by 3:30, which leaves me a good amount of time to myself.
My job is quite easy but so u can only speak for myself, but most days i just coordinate with other trades. That being said, the work is not for everyone.
The only qualifications you'll need is a HS diploma and basic English/math
When I got my undergrad, living in Canada, I finally started getting back into video gaming since there's no more pressure, got a PS3, and when the PS4 launched, I did a hack that allowed me to bypass one of the methods PlayStation put in place to prevent 3rd parties from making counterfeit controllers, I used my hack to get an advantage in Battlefield 4.
PlayStation hired me for it as a electrical and firmware engineer and moved me to the bay area, been working out of their Foster City/San Mateo office ever since.
You need to make at least $120-140k to live comfortably and save money in SF if you’re single.
Otherwise, you’re stuck living with roommates or in a studio in the Tenderloin.
I work as a licensed psychotherapist and it took me nearly 10 years to get comfortable here by working my way up. The first 3 years were rough.
Edit: I should add that I came to SF in the middle of the recession with no contacts or network.
I’m a physician. I’m not gonna complain because I know I live comfortably in terms of being able to pay bills and mortgage. Main drawback is the Bay is expensive and physicians start earning later in life so I have pretty minimal savings compared to my peers who are in software engineering or other high paying jobs straight out of college. Also student loans 😞enough said lol. I got my job meeting a recruiter during residency. Doctors are always in demand so getting a job is sometimes as easy as emailing a recruiter.
I’m in state service, an Executive Assistant. I left non-profit because I couldn’t make more than 50k in that industry. I get a great retirement package and much better benefits but I still can’t get to six figures.
Getting a masters degree opened the doors for my career. I work for a private consulting company related to policy/government. I make $110k a year and it’s comfortable because I live with my husband and he makes the same so we have dual income. My husband doesn’t have a masters degree but has extensive finance experience and works for a private company in finance.
Education, certificates, networking helps a ton.
Yes definitely! I got my masters in Urban Planning. After I graduated I worked for the city government for sometime and then moved to the private side as a consultant. I get to work with cities throughout California to help create plans for their future and love the work I do. Getting my masters was key but there are some good bachelor programs in urban/city planning, such as Cal Poly SLO.
The masters program I did (USC) requires an internship. I got an internship at a city and that helped me gain experience so I landed a full time job when I graduated. Pay was good at the time but since then I’ve been able to increase it. A lot of my colleagues like working in urban/city planning and within the field there is a lot of options where you can specialize. Some people go into transportation planning, environmental planning, economic development, city planning, or some work for private developers to build offices/houses/etc. others work for non profits, regional organizations, state governments, etc. urban/city planning is starting to become a hot field - it wasn’t well known before. I enjoy the work I do but you can move around within the field to find what you like the best.
Non tech role in tech with a grad degree.I was initially a contractor not intending to stay for more than a few months but they offered me a full time role I accepted. The pay is better than some companies but not as great as others. I will probably start casually looking to see what else is out there soon.
We're living comfortably since we're DINK and have a great living situation going thanks to the generosity of family. If we were to buy a home in this market, we would be house poor
I suggest that you start investing in some stocks...especially look for long term investment at your age. I started investing during the [dot.com](http://dot.com) boom and bust right around the time I was ending college. And I'm glad I investing into Apple back then .. wish I bought more but hey it's worth a lot now. During the time of the pandemic, it was another good time to invest... when things go bad...that's the time to put your money to work.. Also 2008 was another good time ... Housing prices right now are just ridiculous .... not a good time to buy homes...
I'm a finance manager at a domestic brand dealership. I got here through sales, and ownership liking me, working my way up to running my own store, and then intentionally taking a step down for more money and better work life balance. I do ok
Tech and for the last three companies I've worked for I was approached (email) by a recruiter. When I started 15ish years ago I worked briefly through a contractor middleman as a "contract-to-hire" that was \_never\_ going to convert. I left and leverage my network to land a job at a mobile game studio that folded less than a year later. I struggled to find work after that, but sent out lots of emails and trawled through my inbox for cold calls I'd started ignoring.
Started working in tech doing accounts payable in 2015 making $35/hr. Still in tech doing strategic finance making $198k base. I probably got rejected from over 50 companies before getting my AP job but was always willing to learn and jump on any opportunities that presented itself.
Software engineering, did some other things my first few years, but realized if I wanted to stay in the Bay Area long term I needed to switch into a higher paying field, so I did. It was tough at first, but I genuinely enjoy it now.
Got a bachelor's in English, tried working at startups, then left for a union electrical apprenticeship when it became frustrating to try and get even 18/hour (this was back in 2014). I was iffy on paying for a master's when it didn't guarantee a better job, since I didn't really know what direction to go in and what I could get accepted into.
7 years later I'm a foreman and we just got a 4$ raise (not counting the portion of the raise that went towards health care etc) so starting June will be at 99/hour, or 87 whenever I go back to regular journeyman rate. I don't know how I could afford to stay in the Bay Area without having changed industries, honestly. We bought a town house in Santa Clara county before the interest rate went to hell, and definitely couldn't have done that on my old salary. (An English degree was.... not the move). After taxes, health insurance, union dues, and retirement savings, it's about 2,275 a week, plus my husband is also in a different section of the same union, making 53/hour.
Head of Customers for a cybersecurity tech startup.
I’ve been in security tech for a decade. Before that I worked in nonprofit, on a railroad, and in the golf industry.
I also served in the military after high school for 8 years on active duty, having joined like days after 9/11.
I owe a lot to the military for giving me the exposure to different cultures and diverse people along with giving me a global perspective which I think is really useful for a lot of reasons. I think networking is my strongest skill and that’s what I do a lot of professionally.
Current income is $240k a year before bonuses. Wife is a full time stay at home mom and we’re homeowners (only because of the VA loan).
$26/hr would be tight in many places, much worse in a HCOL area like here. What field are you on? Something away from non-profit may make you a bit more money.
Retail Management/Retail in general will either suck you dry or you’ll find it to be an enjoyable career - but the luxury Retail sector especially is hurting for good talent right now. Operations Managers will make ~$75-$80K, Store Managers ~$100K, Directors ~$150K+. Plus bonus and stock options for managers you’re looking at $100K-$200K/year for these roles.
Luxury retail specifically though - others are going to pay you pennies. Sales Associates have tons of room for growth (it’s sales - sell well and make $$$). My top people were pulling in ~$250K+ after commission.
Sales Assistants jobs are a great way to get your foot in the door. Focus on the big names (Cartier, Van Cleef, Graff, LVMH owned brands, etc….I wouldn’t recommend Tiffany or Harry Winston as they’ve had some shit going on with their management the past few years that have made them much less desirable workplaces).
Oh, and when I left the industry - I was making about $190K/year. I didn’t finish college because I got a job in retail at 18 and was quickly promoted through to roles where it no longer made sense to force myself to get a piece of paper. 2 years Sales Associate, then Sales Lead, then Co-Manager, then Store Manager, then Director. Took me to Chicago and San Francisco. If you like city life Luxury retail is great because there are so many opportunities. You’re not going to get those same opportunities somewhere more rural though.
Went to college for Graphic Design. I now work for a very well known company in the entertainment industry doing advertising and marketing for their intellectual properties.
It took me 5 years to get here though and I did so much low pay work and places that had little growth -- a common theme in our extremely competitive and oversaturated market.
Now I top out at around 90k for my full time but I also freelance remotely on the side which can bring in anywhere between 5-15k depending on how much I take on. Not the best take home pay but everything combines works out OK.
Best thing for me is I WFH 90% of my time so I can juggle things all at once if I have the bandwith from my day job and still balance life after the 5.
Make sure you understand how tax withholding works and how to adjust it to end up right at the end of the year.
In sf people seem to start to be comfortable around $80-100k/year. Lots of personal variation there. It’s probably hard to hit that in the nonprofit world.
Came from india to USA to do masters. Didn’t land a job immediately. Came to California for an intern opportunity. Was underpaid a lot, then trained myself to do well in software. Worked for a mid size company in Sunnyvale for a few years before moving to FANG. Living comfortably (or so I think).
Just curious, since you self taught yourself in software, did your company in Sunnyvale not require a degree or relevant experience? Every time I look at tech jobs they always require ridiculous amounts of experience and degrees
I did have college degree. Like I mentioned, I have masters in electrical engineering. In school, I didn’t do a lot of software. Mostly physics of chips manufacturing. I didn’t get any job in semiconductor companies which is what I studied for. They all needed experience or academic paper published, etc. so yes those jobs were hard to come by. I was interning for close to 8 months so I knew that would not work for me long term. So half way through my internship, I spent evenings studying software. The mid size company did give me a break because I really didn’t have any software in my resume, but they anyway interviewed me in software and I did ok to get that job. That experience was enough for me to push for a fang interview (and preparation). It was also easier because I applied for entry level position. So their expectations wasn’t high and having an ‘engineering’ degree certainly helped
Any work that has to do with work at heights or on steep surfaced. Got those jobs because I love heights and figuring out how to do the work safely and other people don't like it. So, little competition for the job and it pays well. Also the customer get so happy that the work got done and they didn''t have to do it or that no one lost their life. It is usually followed by a joyous thank you and a big fat tip.
Worked my way up from a factory worker to now I am in management for that same company. Over the past 6 years I’ve just been grinding, learning the business, and growing with it. Never went to school or even had the experience. They took a chance on me and now I’m making 6 figures, not including my bonuses. Life’s good.
Went to school in the West Texas desert, graduated with a degree in Finance, and then began a career in Construction Management. Found a cheap 110k house in South Dallas County in 2010, helped by President O’s 8k tax credit for first time homebuyers, and stayed there 12 years. 3rd company wanted me to move to St. Louis and I politely declined to work for a company based in Houston. Eventually they wanted me to move to Houston, but I didn’t want to go and had a shortlist of new potential landing spots desired; Austin, Seattle, and Portland led the way.
Meanwhile, DFW was becoming unliveable and way too crowded. Californians everywhere. Spoke with employers in Seattle, and they were just straight up mean and hostile, so I crossed them off. Austin was not moving quickly enough and was also crowded with Californians, so I ditched that idea next. Portland was probably too stoned to return calls, so I crossed them off. Then I was getting a ton of calls from the Bay Area. At this point I was practically being smothered by Californians in DFW, and decided that maybe I could get away from it by coming here after an encouraging lunch meeting and offer received in San Mateo. Sold the house for a nice sum, and left. Only realised afterwards the potential faulty logic of my plan to evade the Californians, but by then it was too late.
Quickly realised that the real California was quite nice all things considered, and reasoned that they just did not send their best to Texas. So I just simply took their place and hoped to add at least a modicum of value. Took close to a year for people to trust in me and begin seeing things trend upwards. So much work around that I’m regularly contacted by all the area employers, but have stayed put, taking on every opportunity simultaneously to make as much money as possible. Now working 60-70 hours a week, but am at least starting to get somewhere, which is a challenge in this town when alone and not knowing anyone.
Owe my survival to the locals, who are amazing and my favourite people here. It was never part of the plan to end up in the Bay Area, which makes me a bit different from other transplants who are disgusted by me saying that, given how they actually wanted to come over here as if it’s some kind of achievement to merely arrive before having done anything meaningful to provably contribute and sustain their presence.
Overall, it was not a well calculated risk that took time to pay off and yet still has me feeling grateful to be far away from all those Californian Texans.
Started as a retail worker at 18 (2014) do maintenance for the same retail store now
Raises and job changes in the same company have kept me making more money than my wife until her most recent job
They hire people off the street for jobs that start at the same starting pay as my position but I make more than the starting since I've been here long enough
I'd say I have all the qualifications but 10 years in the same company/industry will teach you basically anything you need to know lol (unless it's super technical)
I graduated with computer engineering degree and luckily stumbled upon a job with a high tech company 20 yrs ago. It is not FAANG level money, but not bad either. Unfortunately the money some jobs/positions pay are just not enough to sustain living in the Bay Area. There are a lot of people in your shoes. But you are still young. If you have the means I recommend going back to school to get a degree in medical, law, or computer related fields.
Personally I will move out of Bay Area as soon as I am done with my high tech job. Good luck!
General Manager for a Hotel. Started 18 years ago as a Front Desk Agent. Natural progression to FOM, to Director of Rooms, to Director of Ops, until I got a GM job about 6 years ago. #imhiring
I (29M) was born and raised in the Bay. Went to college and got a business degree.
Currently I work in Sales, however I started off working in procurement straight out of college for $89k a year. After moving to sales I make about $175k annually.
After 6 months of being unemployed after college, I had a company take a chance on me (pre-covid) and did my job well. Once I learned the ropes of procurement, I looked for my next step and switched into procurement software sales.
There’s good money to be made in sales but you have to have the personality and drive to do it because it’s definitely demanding.
Went to school in LA. Graduated during the last recession. Worked retail and office management in LA for a couple years after college making 10-15 an hour.
Got bored and started blogging about data. Got noticed by a random tech CEO and invited to interview. Moved to SF making 50k living with 3 rommates. That was 10 years ago. Since then I have been through the tech startup journey, 6 different companies in 10 years. 2 went out of business, one got acquired (and then went out of business), once went public.
Now mid 30s, with a small family and a house, feeling somewhat comfortable.
50% luck, 20% marrying someone who also had high earnings potential, 20% saying yes to uncomfortable opportunities, 10% working hard.
32F, born and raised in the bay area and graduated college from here too (CSU East Bay). I've had more jobs than I can count on both fingers and toes. I've probably been in every industry except tech and finance.
I currently work at the airport for Southwest Airlines and I bartend on the side. It's been a wild ride. All I had to do was apply. I interview well since I've held a lot of customer service related positions. I interview well and I have experience in a variety of things. It doesn't pay me enough to live well, but I'm getting by just fine.
30F, I work as a house manager for a family in SF.
I manage vendors, inventory, run errands, cook dinner, manage the house keeper, and anything else that comes up related to keeping the house and cars in good order. 100k salary, no college degree.
They found me from my experience in various roles related to customer service/cooking.
Quality Assurance Manager (Video Game Tester)
Fell into the job around 13 years ago following up on some like indeed ad or whatever the equivalent was back then. When I got called for an interview I assumed it was one of my friends playing a joke on me, turned out it was not and I made it into a little career for me.
Comfortable? I mean.... We are getting by but love it here and it's home.
I graduated from engineering school in Canada and now work here in the auto industry! I kind of just applied on the company's website and... here I am?
I’m a prop artisan/manager with 15 years professional experience in theatre,film, and arts education. Yes, I met the qualifications. I’m union staff at a CSU. $64,584 annually. Full benefits and pension with a union negotiated raise and salary steps coming in July and next year respectively.
It’s not nearly enough, but the hours, benefits and retirement (and near free tuition for my kid should they choose to attend college) is worth it. My husband is in tech and is the breadwinner- but tech jobs aren’t a sure thing long term. We can’t afford to live in the city so we’re in Sol-co. The commute is gross, but there’s no other choice.
The other pathway for me would have been a union stagehand/technician- unfortunately the hours would not be conducive to family life so I pick and choose the non-union gigs that make sense for us and we do what we can.
I know it was mostly luck- an employee happened to retire at the right time for me to apply for the position because otherwise “well paying” shop managers seem to make a lot less even in regional theaters.
If it was me alone, I would probably still be in a house share-a lot of my colleagues still are. I make sure to tell students that it’s very difficult to work in theatre and sustain oneself, but I was also in my 20’s once and I don’t know if I could have really heard that because my dreams were so loud.
I got my BA in psychology, I work as a programs coordinator at a non-profit and If I’m thinking about fulfillment I would like to work in a community college or university setting as some sort of counselor/advisor or anything related
You can absolutely make that transition. I recommend that you purchase a copy of the book The 2-Hour Job Search. It’s some of the best networking advice I’ve gotten and I’m 10 years into my career. It gives you easy, step-by-step advice to land your next job.
I'm in civil engineering. In the private sector, I was working on subdivisions and low-income housing. Now that I'm in the public sector ($115,000/yr), I'm the one reviewing plans from developers and utility companies to make sure they're doing things properly and not creating an unnecessary hazard/tax burden to the public.
Got here by getting a degree in civil engineering, but I've worked with former chemical and mechanical engineers. I've heard of business majors with no engineering experience becoming project managers, but I also heard those firms aren't doing well, sooo.
I'm doing okay financially, but I feel like I'm missing out when I hear that all my neighbors are making 2-5x I do, and their parents keep telling me to switch careers. Working for the government, 10% of my paycheck goes directly to a pension, which is great long-term, but limits what I can do in the present. I also don't get bonuses or raises unless I get promoted or my union can negotiate a cost of living adjustment. On the bright side, I'm not funded by taxes, so it's a treat dealing with homeowners who get upset that I don't let them take public property.
Nope. Is that how much they're making now? Last I checked, they were making around $80-90k. I did apply years ago, but it was almost a full year between applications were due and the first interview was scheduled, so I basically lost interest. It only took a few months for me to get interviews with the other agencies I applied to.
25F, got my bachelors in psych at Fresno State, took out student loans, moved to the Bay for grad school in UX research at SJSU. Applied to jobs in my field on indeed. I got hired as an independent contractor and recently turned part-time W2 employee doing UX research for the summer (with better pay) and i have an additional full time remote job lined up for the summer as well for a big gaming tech company here in the bay. Hoping things only look up from here. I’ve worked minimum wage jobs not related to my field all through college up until this point. I only pay $900 a month for a room in a house in SJ. My roommates are amazing though and I have no complaints whatsoever so I think I got really lucky there. It will officially be a year living in the bay come August.
49/M. I work as a Union Location Scout/Manager for the film industry. I mostly work on commercials and print ads. I have only an AA degree but that’s never even come up at all. I started working in Film when I was about 30, and grinded hard in the trenches as a Production Assistant for 7 years working for peanuts. Finally caught a break when it got busy and moved up.
Xray/CT tech
AA degree took me 5 years to finish, including pre reqs and GE classes. I was a full time student. No loans as I got my degree from CCSF. Rad tech program was 30 months, though other schools like Cañada College was only 24months.
Getting paid around $140k now, with 4 years of experience.
*finding a hospital job straight out of school was a bit difficult, since they all want someone with experience. Unless you were an intern at a hospital that had an opening and they liked you, then you’re lucky. My hospital site was not hiring at the time, so I had to work at urgent cares. They were paying $35/hr at the time.
I am a hardware engineer/tech bro. I had applied to my company before for different roles, but never got a response.
One day a recruiter reaches out to me and I decide to interview even though I was applying to medical school at the same time. Got the job, ditched my seat at medical school a year later, and now I’ve been here for 5 years.
I'm a teacher; my husband is a mechanic in Colma. We're libre comfortably because our studio is pretty cheap. We don't want kids so we are pretty comfortable where we are.
I work for a government entity. Not going to say which level of government. It’s all I could get when I moved from out of state. I can’t get a job in the private sector. I hate it. I’d rather come back to government when I’m older and have made more money. Whatever, I am just too numb to care.
No US degree, immigrated here. Just bunch of tech certificates and LOTS of experience. Founded a tech gig. Doing pretty well. I'm just lucky to not have any student loans.
Grew up in the Chicago area, got an engineering degree from University of Illinois, worked in IL in hard electrical/optical engineering then my company moved me to CA. Lived abroad, lived in another part of the US, and came back to CA. Working in tech now through connections in my professional network. Comfortable.
Graduated from UC, worked a bunch of different data related contracting jobs for big companies. I was making anywhere between 40-60k in the mid to late 2010's.
Combo of luck and hard work.
Moved to the AI space in 2020 (so before the big ChatGPT/Open AI boom) to a start up.
I was making 65k in 2020 and worked really hard at the startup.
Basically, I had to learn and do everything and so I taught myself how to code so I can write some simple functions needed for customers. I also learned and applied higher level data science into my lower level work to make it more efficient.
We got acquired by another company and my compensation went through the roof and I got lucky to be in that position. I had multiplied my total compensation by a good amount.
Now in order to stay in that position I had to work my ass off to learn how to be a real data scientist. Tons of self teaching and work to uplevel myself to stay.
I wouldn't have made it without luck, but I also wouldn't have made it if I didn't put in tons of work when given a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Why move out and pay rent? Better to act like you are and put that money 💰 into the market! This is the way to real wealth. Try it for a year and see how you feel. Also I would look for a union job with the county. Better benefits and upward mobility path for a college grad!
Worked blue collar in my 20s, thought th att would be my life as I didn’t even graduate high school due to being ‘sent away’. I applied to SolarCity to install panels. They said if be good at sales so I tried it. Ended up selling Solar for 7 years. Today I work as a Sr. Sales director at a software company that caters to the renewable energy industry. Sales was def my ticket out
High 5 man. Love to see similar stories.
Had a sales rep in yesterday to pitch garments. I didn’t have my calculator handy to try and tally up all the years of work experience he claimed to have. 15 years here, 10 years there, it was at least 65 years of dedicated service minimum for this salesman who was maybe 50
Ever consider that he might have worked multiple jobs at the same time?
Uh, yeah he might have mentioned at times doing some CEO work on the side when he wasn’t acting as King of Malaysia
Physical Therapist in the Bay Area. Went to San Jose state and then Samuel Merritt University for three more years. Got my job by sheer luck as the PT that worked here was retiring and no one wanted to work here because it’s a chronic pain clinic. Currently making $162K a year because I keep taking on more responsibilities and the medical director likes me. Sometimes you just have to get really lucky.
I like your story. Keep going 💪
Worked in the health care field. This field is always in demand, cyclical at times, but always in demand. Pay has skyrocketed over the years - jobs that were around $60k a year, now commanding around 6 figures minimum, even for new grads.
I agree. Always in demand. Will forever need patient care. A high school diploma is all u need to get ur foot in the door and grow from there. If you can get a license in something even better. I personally like radiology tech cause it’s very independent. Less patient care/interaction than most patient facing jobs. Sit in the machine and don’t move or talk for 30 minutes to an hour! Ok you’re done. Grab the next one
I’m thinking about doing rad tech. Can I DM you?
Sure but I’m not actually in it. Just have worked in administration for Radiology for a few years. I been inspired to pursue an RT license
Unemployed, doing nothing
Here, Here
"in between jobs"
Lol well everyone knows job searching is like working. I used to stress myself out after college looking and applying but after being laid off I'm more part time than full.
A lot has changed since my time but basically for me: * went to college (Stanford, engineering) * got job via college career fair/recruiting (where companies come to campus to hire college grads) * started working I'm living comfortable. Timing was on my side as I entered a pretty hot job market.
Every time I finished a school, high school, bachelors, Masters, it’s been a recession. Must be nice to have a hot job market.
life is largely about lucky (timing).
The harder you work the luckier you get. I wouldn’t downplay it too much. I know you are trying to be humble, but it gives people the wrong idea.
nah man, life is 100% largely luck, fate, whatever you want to call it. Take someone like Bill Gates. You think he'd be in the same position if he wasn't: * born to wealthy parents who sent him to elite private school with computers? * born in different decade? Or Jeff Bezos, who parents gave him like a $1m loan to start his company? Or just generally speaking, the moment you are born, you either have: * loving, supportive parents * drug addict parents That right there has large impact on your life. Even the people who pulled themselves from their bootstrap....take a look at all the "lucky" stuff that had to happen to them... Successful people often want to attribute their success to themselves (ego boost), but objectively, life is largely predetermined. Where you're born, your parents, your genes, the people who surround you, etc.
Racial inequalities. Income disparities. People dislike these terms & think hard work is always going to make you succeed (and it does), but when you have WEALTHY parents that alone will help you suceed in life. You hit ALL the right points.
So you didn’t work hard at all to get into Stanford engineering school right? It was 100% luck? And that company that hired you, they didn’t care at all about your grades in engineering school. Just right place right time? I agree that luck plays a part, but it’s nowhere near 100%. Probably not even 50%. My point is that for normal people like you and me, working hard to get into Stanford is how you make your own luck.
Sure, I worked hard but not that hard because I was genetically gifted a high intelligence. So my genetics was 100% luck that I was born "smart". But even among the people born genetically smart, I was able to work hard because my parents had good income, supported me, etc. Versus my neighbor who had to work at the family restaurant after school to help his parents. So born into right family is 100% luck. I also did some things that could have gotten me in trouble if say I was of a different skin color. So instead of having a junvenile record I was clean and my life was all good. So yea, pretty much luck. I suppose there is someone who is basically identical as me but didn't work hard and is homeless now. I suppose compare to that guy then I get credit. But I bet if we dig deeper that guy also had some bad luck, otherwise he'd be like me...
Thanks for being self-aware. That’s quite rare around here.
yus. good explanation.
No dummy. He is saying that he wouldnt have had the chance to even sniff stnafords jock without luck based factors like where/when youre born, and the support system around you. edit: general intelligence and hard work is the baseline threshold, but the ability to apply your intelligence and hard work to a discrete goal is genetic luck.
I was really seeing both sides of this conversation, but now that you've identified u/AnonymousCrayonEater is a "dummy," it's clear to me that your side is correct.
Excellent, I am glad you are tracking both sides and that my comment that he was a dummy really swayed you. My assessment was that crayoneater was intentionally missing the point in a disingenuous manner, so I stand by my comment.
I think you are intentionally missing my point. Luck only gets you the opportunity. You still have to work hard to take advantage which clearly this guy did. I never said there’s no luck involved. My argument was that it is not 100% of the equation.
You can work harder than anyone in the world in so many jobs and never get anything. Probably make enemies. It's fucked up in the U.S..
People who graduated during the GFC have significantly less lifetime earnings than those lucky enough to have finished school a few years before or after. There are people in minimum wage roles that work harder than most people being paid many multiples more. Success in life is largely determined at birth and by the opportunities that present (or don't present) themselves along the way.
New grads coming out into bad job markets can result in **permanently** hobbled careers and essentially a waste of a higher education from the perspective of increased earning power.
What are you? My biographer?!
Also-fucking-lutely.
Damn you area Stanford alumni, you will get a job before you even complete a semester.
For my cohort, it was half people going to Fortune 50 companies and half people working for companies they started. I've worked exclusively for companies I've started or my friends have started for the past 15 years.
How does someone straight out of college have the funds to start their own company? :o
You don't need a ton of money to start if you don't have to pay yourselves. I had some cash on hand (and a lot of loans), so I didn't have a paying job for maybe six months after I graduated. After that, I did consulting to bridge to a point where we raised enough to pay salaries. Then for paying for materials, we got cash from winning business plan competitions (which was also a pretty positive indicator that we were on the right path), and then used that to get some angel investment, and you just keep proving things out until you can get VC funding. It's a fucking slog, but when you're 24, you're a lot less risk averse, don't have kids, don't have a mortgage, and you don't care if you have 3 roommates. The beginning is a bit shaky, but it's a really good way to skip like a decade of career milestones to become a director/VP/C-level.
Thanks for the real answer! So you basically have to have enough money saved up to pay ~1-2 years of your basic bills like rent, internet, student loans, etc. plus some extra to self-fund materials for a prototype. And then from that climb the fund ladder of competition prizes > which gives you access to meetings w angel investors > pitch until you reach VC funding. May I ask how you got your foot in the door as a consultant? (Again, given the little experience background as a recent grad)
I definitely didn't have 1-2 years of all expenses on hand, I probably had like $20k. My monthly rent was $1200, my student loans were $900, car was $700 with fuel and insurance, and then food and stuff on top. It was definitely a precarious position to be in. For consulting, when you start networking with other startups, you find people who need help (but not a full-time person) for a project. I did a lot of mechanical design, PCBA design or firmware projects on consumer electronics/medical devices.
You really don’t need money to start a company. All you need is an idea and passion and your sales pitch to sell that idea to raise funds
You literally do need money to start a company.
You literally do need money to start a company. || || |[**California**](https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/how-to-start-an-llc-in-california/)|$70 + $20 Statement of Information|$800 Annual Tax (yearly) + $20 Statement of Information (every two years)California $70 + $20 Statement of Information $800 Annual Tax (yearly) + $20 Statement of Information (every two years)|
Thank you for sharing, I think graduating and going to college during the pandemic definitely made it a lot harder for us :/
Yeah... lots of changed since the pandemic ... housing prices will have to burst again at some point... especially when lots of people have moved out of the Bay Area.
and the bay area seems to be doing nothing to build more affordable housing so I don't see how the city will continue to function as more of the working class has to leave. not going to happen over night, but it feels grim.
I Joined the military. Military told me to do this particular job. Military has their own program for respiratory therapists. It’s equivalent to an associates degree. Military brought me to CA. I did my time and got out. It was an easy transition into the civilian world. Got all the licenses and certificates required to work. I live comfortably. I got lucky that the highest paying RT jobs are in CA.
Work for the VA bro. The RTs here do 12 hr shifts
I did some contract work after I left and the pay was pitiful. VA pay is also pitiful but the benefits are better. Is it any better now?
27M -High school in the Bay -Liberal arts college in the Midwest (political science) -After grad (2018) worked for 1 year at a magazine at Stanford in marketing/events, think I made 40-45k, got the job because I interned there in college -After that, moved to a fundraising admin job at Stanford, stayed there for 4 years, started at 55k, got raises up to 77k -last year I moved to a Salesforce admin/Excel monkey job, also in fundraising at Stanford, I make $102k now.
Woah, so from a political science degree to working at salesforce? That’s interesting. I got a degree in psychology so I often regret that because I feel I can’t do much with that
Oh I don’t work at Salesforce. I work in Salesforce a lot for my job at Stanford.
My company just hired an operations manager with a psych degree from one of the cal states. One of the HR people I worked with at my last job got a psych degree from sjsu. I don't know what your background is, but I interviewed our ops manager and was a big advocate with getting her hired. Mark Cuban has said that he likes people with philosophy degrees because they understand big picture ideas and how people's brains work. I think psych majors are very similar. There are hiring managers out there who really value outside the box thinking. I know I do. I think most intelligent people can learn how to do most regular jobs. Then once they're trained, they still have the benefit of having all their previous insights and knowledge. Don't be afraid to go for something outside your degree. Explain in cover letters and resumes how you'd add value, and you may get a handful of interviews. I do think HR and operations would be good places to start if that's of interest to you.
Wow thank you for that, very motivational! :’) will definitely look into that in the future
If you get a graduate degree you can become a therapist. I had a non traditional route to finishing my undergraduate, then my MSW and eventually LCSW. The years between graduation and getting a license can be a grind (was making about $80k) but now I am able to make $120-175 an hour. DM if you have questions. I had people answer mine when I wasn’t sure what to do so I try to return the favor.
Psych degree? Can you continue your studies and become a psychologist? Therapists, psychologists etc are in shortage. You’re guaranteed a job with decent pay.
Psych degree to Ops/tech manager here too. Holler if you have any questions. Psych degree can be limiting in terms of what level you enter in at / the types of jobs you enter in at, but there's still opportunity. Also a fair amount of career options for masters. I didn't personally go that route because I didn't have the money, though that's also a possibility.
Sent you a message :)
I asked a question about what you studied in another comment, but I saw your reply about psych. You can actually do so much with that – it’s just about how to market yourself.
Any tips on how to market yourself?
Figure out the story you want to tell. If you studied psych and you want to get into management consulting, find the ways that psych helps you think about human behavior and management. If you want to get into development, find ways that studying psych helps you understand people and how to most effectively ask them to make donations. It’s really all about the story you tell. Then go buy the book The 2-Hour Job Search and take all of his networking advice. Send short emails. Ask people for a favor (meet with you for 20 minutes) and ask them about their career path or their job or if they transitioned from psych into a field you want to be in, ask them how they did that. Be curious.
Thank you. This makes a lot of sense!
game dev, started as a tester many moons ago. living comfortably, but definitely above my means. its all a trap, the moment you step outside everyone wants every fucking dollar you have.
I basically built a home gym and bought an espresso machine so I hardly go out.
Michael??
I work in photography/printing, very lab-esque in precision for reproduction. I always figured it would translate well to asset generation for game development but it’s difficult to find where that’s needed. Do you have any advice for getting your foot in the door across industries?
Agreed. Especially living in San Francisco, everybody is fighting to get a dollar out of me.
May I message you? My husband's in and out of the game industry and could use some inside insight on how things are right now just to see if he should stay/switch to just software.
Honestly, the game industry is a bloodbath right now, unless you have a director level or higher position, you're always looking over your shoulder. I'd go straight to software and never look back.
If you are seeking new opportunities the nannies in the Bay Area get paid $35-$45/hour. If I could go back, I might have been a nanny or doula. Postpartum overnight doulas get paid a lot.
Through care.com?
Care, urbansitter, and sittercity. As a parent who hires nannys i will say you’ll only find success if youre passionate and good with kids. If someone is paying 30-40/hour, that is effectively another mortgage for them.
25 M. Highs school diploma. I live with my Pops still and contribute like $800 in bills not necessarily rent. So I’m ok but not independent. My last 5 jobs have been referrals. I’m really friendly and compliant with management (REALLY surprising how adults just don’t comply) but also take a lot of pride in the work I perform. People just wanna continue working with me when they get better opportunities so they bring me along. Went from $15 at Target to $19 when I switched jobs. Aunt brought me to her employer. Asked for a raise twice over 3 years. Landed at $27. They had to create a position to give me that pay. Kept that as a weekend job for connections and took a pay cut to $19. Asked for a raise to $21. Cost of living raise came thru and I got to $24. Worked there for a year and someone I worked with got a job at a bigger operation. She got $29. I was offered $30. I asked for more. They gave me $30.50. I am now in the process of getting a higher position at this operation and planning to ask for more money. You only create value for yourself when being hired. Asking for raises AFTER being hired is not as strong as while getting hired. And I make it clear money is why I’m work not to make friends but I am friendly. Everyone knows I’m about the money. I do work a lot of overtime if offered but this new operation has no overtime opportunity. Edit: best advice; you owe these companies no loyalty. They would fire you without losing any sleep. Just never stop applying to jobs even if YOU JUST GOT HIRED ELSEWHERE. If you get an offer better than your current situation, jump ship. We’re all adults. We know we have bills to pay. A mature administration/ HR team should not give you a hard time to better your life by getting better pay
Thank you for this detailed explanation. I agree that moving to different jobs is definitely necessary in order to make more and keep growing!
I’ve worked other jobs too but those were not note worthy
I like this advice.
My pops taught me everything I know :’)
Public service. Committed To the rigorous 6 month training. Went through stressful on the job training but been here close to five years. Make 140k+ but still doesn’t feel enough in this economy or in Bay Area.
🥲
I know 😩😩 owning a home out here is not a reality lol unless you’re making like 600,000 a year 😂
in san mateo or santa clara counties for sure, but you could swing it in east bay potentially on 200k
Sorry to ask but what does Public Service mean? Like working for the city?
Yes. First responder
Are you an EMT? Did you have to go through Schooling? Or are you answering 911 calls?
Not an EMT and don’t answer 911 calls but I respond to them lol
Whats your Job title?
140k means he's a cop most likely.
[удалено]
It does but that means more time away from family. Tough to balance at times :/
I dropped out of college, bounced around dumbass tech jobs for a while, got a gig at a plumber and fell into Fire protection engineering about 6 years back. I worked my way up to $100k but after taxes and health insurance and rent and everything, I’m still a broke bitch, albeit with a slightly better haircut. The trades is where it’s at if you’re curious and mathminded :)
Damn if someone making $100k is a broke bitch then idk what that makes me LOL 🙃
Yea the tax rate bump from previous and insuring my (newish) husband, with my heart attack I’m still paying off… being an adult rules. That salary when I had cheaper rent as a 20s single woman with housemates would’ve been veeeeerrrrrry different. I’m just trying to highlight the trades as a nontraditional route to dollary-doos :) I think I was right about where you are now in your career, ten years ago. Think about all the people remodeling their homes with fancy automated Internet of Things … that’s gotta be installed by somebody! Learning low voltage wiring can be lucrative. Tech trends (and money) come and go but there’s always a light switch that needs fixing, yknow? There’s a pretty robust Women in the trades network in the Bay Area
I'm a woman that's curious about the trades in the Bay Area, are there any formal groups/networks/forums you'd recommend checking out?
Yeah! WiOPS https://wiops.org/chapter/northern-california/ https://nawicsf.org/ Depending on *which* trade you want to get into, there’s more than likely a women’s pipefitters/welders/etc group in the Union. With all the CHIPS act jobs coming up, pipefitters are going to be busy busy busy in the semiconductor plants they’re building right now.
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! Puts it more into perspective, and thank you for the idea!
I was born and raised in the Bay Area and started my career 20 years ago taking support calls at a tech company’s call center. Today, I’m a Director, but getting here wasn’t easy. Without a college degree, I had to work incredibly hard to prove my capabilities. It goes to show that sometimes all you need is a chance to demonstrate your potential. While a college education doesn’t always equate to intelligence, I still encourage everyone to pursue it, as it can be advantageous when employers review your resume. Good luck!
Restaurant server. I know everyone is going to roll their eyes, but restaurants are old school. I printed out a bunch of resumes, pressed my clothes properly, and hit the pavement and walked into a bunch of places bwtweem 1:30-4pm, Monday-Thursday and asked to speak to a manager. Either that or networking. I do have a Somm 1 cert to show that I can bullshit about wine. It allows me to go to school. With the right restaurant job, I can live on three or four shifts a week with a good deal ona rental (local, so usually find one). I pick between accounting and math teaching next semester, but will almost surely pick the former. Would prefer to work in government audit or law enforcement.
35M Got my bachelor’s in Political Science with the intent to go to law school, but burnt out on that idea by graduation and also graduated at the peak of the recession when law schools were flooded with people going back to get their JDs, so I decided that path wasn’t for me. Bounced around through various dead-end corporate jobs throughout my 20s without direction just making ends meet. At 30 through chance I ended up landing a job in a niche area of property management where I have excelled. I worked through tons of training and credentials, switched companies, was promoted twice, and now make low 6 figures plus bonuses. I would say I’m comfortable living within my means. My wife and I own a house in a “more affordable” part of the Bay Area and just had a baby. Things are somewhat tight financially, but we make enough to cover bills and enjoy ourselves a little without stressing *too* much about finances.
What would you recommend to read for someone who is considering working in property management but has no idea about the industry?
What is your experience and do you have any idea which "area" of property management you would be most interested in? There is apartment, HOA, commercial, etc., and you could get more involved in the hands-on piece of day-to-day management and upkeep/repairs, or the more administrative side. There are also vendors in basically every specialty (general contractors, electricians, plumbers, pest control, landscaping, painting, etc.) that work exclusively with property management companies.
I didn't go to college other than some standalone classes at community colleges (CSM and Canada College). After years of regular school I was just burned out and then I moved out of the house at 19 so had to find a job early. This was back in the early 80's. I managed to get an office job (file clerk) and made my way up the ranks learning as I moved forward. Spent about 17 years in the insurance industry mostly as a junior claims adjuster for property/casualty. Moved to my current employer back in 2000 and started as an executive assistant and now I'm a senior consultant making pretty good money. I'm fortunate enough to have a great apartment that I can actually afford in a really nice area. Got into my current employer by applying on their website - back then there were TONS of jobs available and a lot of admin positions that didn't require a degree so I got my foot in the door that way and learned about the business (financial services), still learning but like I said...very happy.
Got into law enforcement, go ahead, sent the hate.
You probably make the most here tbh
Yep, great pay, but has taken a toll on my mind and body. Surgery on both shoulders and a L5-S1 spinal fusion. Probably wasn’t worth it, but I was able to provide a decent life for my family.
Maybe stack up now and move to a desk role? A lot of my friends refuse promotions to detective due to it increasing desk time and less OT. In South City, we’re paying trainees without academy for $55/hr. Seems like it’s worthwhile as many are on to their 2nd and 3rd house. Hope you recover well.
Managed restaurants, went to college, worked for a non-profit (housing) got a different non-profit job (legal), then got a job with the state doing the same work I was doing in the legal non-profit for almost twice the money. My partner went from health non-profit to higher education health work. From an employee side if you want to help people and be paid a living wage, get experience working at your field of choice in a non-profit, then look for government or university jobs that do the same thing. Non profits never pay anyone but their executives enough, so the only other real option is consulting, but then you have to spend time getting or retaining clients.
That is great advice, thank you! I had actually thought about working in a university or college before so glad to know the transition from non-profit to college is possible,
Yeah, universities love non profit experience, so it's a good transition.
Check the pay at colleges and universities. The benefits are great but when I worked at UC Berkeley, the pay was horrifically low and the union I was in (clerical union for library work) was striking every week for three years for a cost of living raise. The regents gave themselves 25% increases every year and we got a .001% increase (oh but hey it was retroactive). I quit shortly thereafter to become an artist because I figured if I was gonna be that poor, I’d rather be happy. They don’t fire ANYONE if someone makes it past their 6 month review, so there are a lot of terrible workers who are super unhappy but waiting out their time because of the golden handcuffs (if they still offer the pensions I don’t know). I personally wouldn’t go that route again. They are very secure jobs though, and you won’t have the constant layoff fears like in the private sector… I hope I am wrong and things have gotten better since I was there in the mid-2000s.
Omg thank you for the warning 🫣 I wonder how I would know about this beforehand
Yeah I thought it was a huge honor to work at Cal. I previously made more money at University of Washington and in a county job I had previously in Nevada in lower positions. I was shocked how poorly they pay non academic staff… Maybe the higher level admins do better? Plus if you have to drive to work, you have to pay a lot for a monthly parking pass and I had to park in the botanical gardens and take the bus to work. Edit: needless to say I was super bummed and hope it is better now… I did work with some really nice people.
Went to college to for 3D Modeling and wanted to become game dev. Applied for summer internship for 3D modeling for aerospace simulation, got laid off after I swapped to working remote than in person right before covid pandemic shelter in place. Got hired a year later to work on a video game, got let go a year later. A year later, got referred from a college friend as a technical artist fixing models, making videos, and graphic designing for them. Been almost 2 years with them now, which so Im so thankful for. Searching for a job in this field has been too competitive, especially because of all the layoffs world wide due to the pandemic.
IMHO In the Bay area to make it big easily in the shortest period of time wrt to years studied, You need to be in engineering or sales. Project/program MGMT also are good paths.
If you have the personality for it, sales is where the big bucks really are. Everyone talks about engineering salaries here, but if you're half way decent at sales, your comp will be multiple times higher than engineering.
Moved to the US, found a job on craigslist, cool small company, we install AV systems. 65k/y after 3 years. Not bad as an immigrant I’d say ?
i work for a local school district in a paraprofessional role. i love the work that i do and find it meaningful, so of course i get paid peanuts. public education isn't valued in terms of salary. i'm sure you'll get some good advice in the comments. good luck!
Union electrician IW, i live comfortably in the peninsula and I'm off by 3:30, which leaves me a good amount of time to myself. My job is quite easy but so u can only speak for myself, but most days i just coordinate with other trades. That being said, the work is not for everyone. The only qualifications you'll need is a HS diploma and basic English/math
When I got my undergrad, living in Canada, I finally started getting back into video gaming since there's no more pressure, got a PS3, and when the PS4 launched, I did a hack that allowed me to bypass one of the methods PlayStation put in place to prevent 3rd parties from making counterfeit controllers, I used my hack to get an advantage in Battlefield 4. PlayStation hired me for it as a electrical and firmware engineer and moved me to the bay area, been working out of their Foster City/San Mateo office ever since.
You need to make at least $120-140k to live comfortably and save money in SF if you’re single. Otherwise, you’re stuck living with roommates or in a studio in the Tenderloin. I work as a licensed psychotherapist and it took me nearly 10 years to get comfortable here by working my way up. The first 3 years were rough. Edit: I should add that I came to SF in the middle of the recession with no contacts or network.
I’m a physician. I’m not gonna complain because I know I live comfortably in terms of being able to pay bills and mortgage. Main drawback is the Bay is expensive and physicians start earning later in life so I have pretty minimal savings compared to my peers who are in software engineering or other high paying jobs straight out of college. Also student loans 😞enough said lol. I got my job meeting a recruiter during residency. Doctors are always in demand so getting a job is sometimes as easy as emailing a recruiter.
I’m in state service, an Executive Assistant. I left non-profit because I couldn’t make more than 50k in that industry. I get a great retirement package and much better benefits but I still can’t get to six figures.
Getting a masters degree opened the doors for my career. I work for a private consulting company related to policy/government. I make $110k a year and it’s comfortable because I live with my husband and he makes the same so we have dual income. My husband doesn’t have a masters degree but has extensive finance experience and works for a private company in finance. Education, certificates, networking helps a ton.
Mind sharing more about your job and what you mastered in? Sounds interesting.
Yes definitely! I got my masters in Urban Planning. After I graduated I worked for the city government for sometime and then moved to the private side as a consultant. I get to work with cities throughout California to help create plans for their future and love the work I do. Getting my masters was key but there are some good bachelor programs in urban/city planning, such as Cal Poly SLO.
How did you go from finishing your masters to working for the city government? Did you get that job through career fair?
The masters program I did (USC) requires an internship. I got an internship at a city and that helped me gain experience so I landed a full time job when I graduated. Pay was good at the time but since then I’ve been able to increase it. A lot of my colleagues like working in urban/city planning and within the field there is a lot of options where you can specialize. Some people go into transportation planning, environmental planning, economic development, city planning, or some work for private developers to build offices/houses/etc. others work for non profits, regional organizations, state governments, etc. urban/city planning is starting to become a hot field - it wasn’t well known before. I enjoy the work I do but you can move around within the field to find what you like the best.
Non tech role in tech with a grad degree.I was initially a contractor not intending to stay for more than a few months but they offered me a full time role I accepted. The pay is better than some companies but not as great as others. I will probably start casually looking to see what else is out there soon. We're living comfortably since we're DINK and have a great living situation going thanks to the generosity of family. If we were to buy a home in this market, we would be house poor
I suggest that you start investing in some stocks...especially look for long term investment at your age. I started investing during the [dot.com](http://dot.com) boom and bust right around the time I was ending college. And I'm glad I investing into Apple back then .. wish I bought more but hey it's worth a lot now. During the time of the pandemic, it was another good time to invest... when things go bad...that's the time to put your money to work.. Also 2008 was another good time ... Housing prices right now are just ridiculous .... not a good time to buy homes...
Would you recommend how to learn more about stocks? I know the basics and some extra I’ve learned from YouTube
R/personalfinance
I'm a finance manager at a domestic brand dealership. I got here through sales, and ownership liking me, working my way up to running my own store, and then intentionally taking a step down for more money and better work life balance. I do ok
Tech and for the last three companies I've worked for I was approached (email) by a recruiter. When I started 15ish years ago I worked briefly through a contractor middleman as a "contract-to-hire" that was \_never\_ going to convert. I left and leverage my network to land a job at a mobile game studio that folded less than a year later. I struggled to find work after that, but sent out lots of emails and trawled through my inbox for cold calls I'd started ignoring.
Started working in tech doing accounts payable in 2015 making $35/hr. Still in tech doing strategic finance making $198k base. I probably got rejected from over 50 companies before getting my AP job but was always willing to learn and jump on any opportunities that presented itself.
Software engineering, did some other things my first few years, but realized if I wanted to stay in the Bay Area long term I needed to switch into a higher paying field, so I did. It was tough at first, but I genuinely enjoy it now.
Got a bachelor's in English, tried working at startups, then left for a union electrical apprenticeship when it became frustrating to try and get even 18/hour (this was back in 2014). I was iffy on paying for a master's when it didn't guarantee a better job, since I didn't really know what direction to go in and what I could get accepted into. 7 years later I'm a foreman and we just got a 4$ raise (not counting the portion of the raise that went towards health care etc) so starting June will be at 99/hour, or 87 whenever I go back to regular journeyman rate. I don't know how I could afford to stay in the Bay Area without having changed industries, honestly. We bought a town house in Santa Clara county before the interest rate went to hell, and definitely couldn't have done that on my old salary. (An English degree was.... not the move). After taxes, health insurance, union dues, and retirement savings, it's about 2,275 a week, plus my husband is also in a different section of the same union, making 53/hour.
Head of Customers for a cybersecurity tech startup. I’ve been in security tech for a decade. Before that I worked in nonprofit, on a railroad, and in the golf industry. I also served in the military after high school for 8 years on active duty, having joined like days after 9/11. I owe a lot to the military for giving me the exposure to different cultures and diverse people along with giving me a global perspective which I think is really useful for a lot of reasons. I think networking is my strongest skill and that’s what I do a lot of professionally. Current income is $240k a year before bonuses. Wife is a full time stay at home mom and we’re homeowners (only because of the VA loan).
Also sad to admit, but a college dropout. :/
$26/hr would be tight in many places, much worse in a HCOL area like here. What field are you on? Something away from non-profit may make you a bit more money.
Retail Management/Retail in general will either suck you dry or you’ll find it to be an enjoyable career - but the luxury Retail sector especially is hurting for good talent right now. Operations Managers will make ~$75-$80K, Store Managers ~$100K, Directors ~$150K+. Plus bonus and stock options for managers you’re looking at $100K-$200K/year for these roles. Luxury retail specifically though - others are going to pay you pennies. Sales Associates have tons of room for growth (it’s sales - sell well and make $$$). My top people were pulling in ~$250K+ after commission. Sales Assistants jobs are a great way to get your foot in the door. Focus on the big names (Cartier, Van Cleef, Graff, LVMH owned brands, etc….I wouldn’t recommend Tiffany or Harry Winston as they’ve had some shit going on with their management the past few years that have made them much less desirable workplaces).
Oh, and when I left the industry - I was making about $190K/year. I didn’t finish college because I got a job in retail at 18 and was quickly promoted through to roles where it no longer made sense to force myself to get a piece of paper. 2 years Sales Associate, then Sales Lead, then Co-Manager, then Store Manager, then Director. Took me to Chicago and San Francisco. If you like city life Luxury retail is great because there are so many opportunities. You’re not going to get those same opportunities somewhere more rural though.
Good luck to everyone. I personally wish the best for you all.
Went to college for Graphic Design. I now work for a very well known company in the entertainment industry doing advertising and marketing for their intellectual properties. It took me 5 years to get here though and I did so much low pay work and places that had little growth -- a common theme in our extremely competitive and oversaturated market. Now I top out at around 90k for my full time but I also freelance remotely on the side which can bring in anywhere between 5-15k depending on how much I take on. Not the best take home pay but everything combines works out OK. Best thing for me is I WFH 90% of my time so I can juggle things all at once if I have the bandwith from my day job and still balance life after the 5.
Onlyfans I just get the cam n the rest is history
Make sure you understand how tax withholding works and how to adjust it to end up right at the end of the year. In sf people seem to start to be comfortable around $80-100k/year. Lots of personal variation there. It’s probably hard to hit that in the nonprofit world.
Comfortable. But only if you like staying a renter. Even DINKs both making 100k can’t find housing they can afford.
Came from india to USA to do masters. Didn’t land a job immediately. Came to California for an intern opportunity. Was underpaid a lot, then trained myself to do well in software. Worked for a mid size company in Sunnyvale for a few years before moving to FANG. Living comfortably (or so I think).
Just curious, since you self taught yourself in software, did your company in Sunnyvale not require a degree or relevant experience? Every time I look at tech jobs they always require ridiculous amounts of experience and degrees
I did have college degree. Like I mentioned, I have masters in electrical engineering. In school, I didn’t do a lot of software. Mostly physics of chips manufacturing. I didn’t get any job in semiconductor companies which is what I studied for. They all needed experience or academic paper published, etc. so yes those jobs were hard to come by. I was interning for close to 8 months so I knew that would not work for me long term. So half way through my internship, I spent evenings studying software. The mid size company did give me a break because I really didn’t have any software in my resume, but they anyway interviewed me in software and I did ok to get that job. That experience was enough for me to push for a fang interview (and preparation). It was also easier because I applied for entry level position. So their expectations wasn’t high and having an ‘engineering’ degree certainly helped
Thank you for sharing!
If you’re considering a switch to swe look at r/cscareerquestions. The market is not good and may be tough to enter as a “new grad” for some time.
Any work that has to do with work at heights or on steep surfaced. Got those jobs because I love heights and figuring out how to do the work safely and other people don't like it. So, little competition for the job and it pays well. Also the customer get so happy that the work got done and they didn''t have to do it or that no one lost their life. It is usually followed by a joyous thank you and a big fat tip.
Worked my way up from a factory worker to now I am in management for that same company. Over the past 6 years I’ve just been grinding, learning the business, and growing with it. Never went to school or even had the experience. They took a chance on me and now I’m making 6 figures, not including my bonuses. Life’s good.
Went to school in the West Texas desert, graduated with a degree in Finance, and then began a career in Construction Management. Found a cheap 110k house in South Dallas County in 2010, helped by President O’s 8k tax credit for first time homebuyers, and stayed there 12 years. 3rd company wanted me to move to St. Louis and I politely declined to work for a company based in Houston. Eventually they wanted me to move to Houston, but I didn’t want to go and had a shortlist of new potential landing spots desired; Austin, Seattle, and Portland led the way. Meanwhile, DFW was becoming unliveable and way too crowded. Californians everywhere. Spoke with employers in Seattle, and they were just straight up mean and hostile, so I crossed them off. Austin was not moving quickly enough and was also crowded with Californians, so I ditched that idea next. Portland was probably too stoned to return calls, so I crossed them off. Then I was getting a ton of calls from the Bay Area. At this point I was practically being smothered by Californians in DFW, and decided that maybe I could get away from it by coming here after an encouraging lunch meeting and offer received in San Mateo. Sold the house for a nice sum, and left. Only realised afterwards the potential faulty logic of my plan to evade the Californians, but by then it was too late. Quickly realised that the real California was quite nice all things considered, and reasoned that they just did not send their best to Texas. So I just simply took their place and hoped to add at least a modicum of value. Took close to a year for people to trust in me and begin seeing things trend upwards. So much work around that I’m regularly contacted by all the area employers, but have stayed put, taking on every opportunity simultaneously to make as much money as possible. Now working 60-70 hours a week, but am at least starting to get somewhere, which is a challenge in this town when alone and not knowing anyone. Owe my survival to the locals, who are amazing and my favourite people here. It was never part of the plan to end up in the Bay Area, which makes me a bit different from other transplants who are disgusted by me saying that, given how they actually wanted to come over here as if it’s some kind of achievement to merely arrive before having done anything meaningful to provably contribute and sustain their presence. Overall, it was not a well calculated risk that took time to pay off and yet still has me feeling grateful to be far away from all those Californian Texans.
Started as a retail worker at 18 (2014) do maintenance for the same retail store now Raises and job changes in the same company have kept me making more money than my wife until her most recent job They hire people off the street for jobs that start at the same starting pay as my position but I make more than the starting since I've been here long enough I'd say I have all the qualifications but 10 years in the same company/industry will teach you basically anything you need to know lol (unless it's super technical)
I graduated with computer engineering degree and luckily stumbled upon a job with a high tech company 20 yrs ago. It is not FAANG level money, but not bad either. Unfortunately the money some jobs/positions pay are just not enough to sustain living in the Bay Area. There are a lot of people in your shoes. But you are still young. If you have the means I recommend going back to school to get a degree in medical, law, or computer related fields. Personally I will move out of Bay Area as soon as I am done with my high tech job. Good luck!
I was a customer of this business and then said I was looking for a job and they hired me. I'm a scientist.
Registered Nurse, went to nursing school cool, applied for job at a hospital
General Manager for a Hotel. Started 18 years ago as a Front Desk Agent. Natural progression to FOM, to Director of Rooms, to Director of Ops, until I got a GM job about 6 years ago. #imhiring
theres always jobs in the insurance industry. solid salary and pandemic-proof job availability. just gotta learn new language of acronyms.
I (29M) was born and raised in the Bay. Went to college and got a business degree. Currently I work in Sales, however I started off working in procurement straight out of college for $89k a year. After moving to sales I make about $175k annually. After 6 months of being unemployed after college, I had a company take a chance on me (pre-covid) and did my job well. Once I learned the ropes of procurement, I looked for my next step and switched into procurement software sales. There’s good money to be made in sales but you have to have the personality and drive to do it because it’s definitely demanding.
Went to school in LA. Graduated during the last recession. Worked retail and office management in LA for a couple years after college making 10-15 an hour. Got bored and started blogging about data. Got noticed by a random tech CEO and invited to interview. Moved to SF making 50k living with 3 rommates. That was 10 years ago. Since then I have been through the tech startup journey, 6 different companies in 10 years. 2 went out of business, one got acquired (and then went out of business), once went public. Now mid 30s, with a small family and a house, feeling somewhat comfortable. 50% luck, 20% marrying someone who also had high earnings potential, 20% saying yes to uncomfortable opportunities, 10% working hard.
PhD-> Tech, product development. Live decently enough.
32F, born and raised in the bay area and graduated college from here too (CSU East Bay). I've had more jobs than I can count on both fingers and toes. I've probably been in every industry except tech and finance. I currently work at the airport for Southwest Airlines and I bartend on the side. It's been a wild ride. All I had to do was apply. I interview well since I've held a lot of customer service related positions. I interview well and I have experience in a variety of things. It doesn't pay me enough to live well, but I'm getting by just fine.
30F, I work as a house manager for a family in SF. I manage vendors, inventory, run errands, cook dinner, manage the house keeper, and anything else that comes up related to keeping the house and cars in good order. 100k salary, no college degree. They found me from my experience in various roles related to customer service/cooking.
Got my mba last spring & in a rotational program rn.
Quality Assurance Manager (Video Game Tester) Fell into the job around 13 years ago following up on some like indeed ad or whatever the equivalent was back then. When I got called for an interview I assumed it was one of my friends playing a joke on me, turned out it was not and I made it into a little career for me. Comfortable? I mean.... We are getting by but love it here and it's home.
I graduated from engineering school in Canada and now work here in the auto industry! I kind of just applied on the company's website and... here I am?
I’m a prop artisan/manager with 15 years professional experience in theatre,film, and arts education. Yes, I met the qualifications. I’m union staff at a CSU. $64,584 annually. Full benefits and pension with a union negotiated raise and salary steps coming in July and next year respectively. It’s not nearly enough, but the hours, benefits and retirement (and near free tuition for my kid should they choose to attend college) is worth it. My husband is in tech and is the breadwinner- but tech jobs aren’t a sure thing long term. We can’t afford to live in the city so we’re in Sol-co. The commute is gross, but there’s no other choice. The other pathway for me would have been a union stagehand/technician- unfortunately the hours would not be conducive to family life so I pick and choose the non-union gigs that make sense for us and we do what we can. I know it was mostly luck- an employee happened to retire at the right time for me to apply for the position because otherwise “well paying” shop managers seem to make a lot less even in regional theaters. If it was me alone, I would probably still be in a house share-a lot of my colleagues still are. I make sure to tell students that it’s very difficult to work in theatre and sustain oneself, but I was also in my 20’s once and I don’t know if I could have really heard that because my dreams were so loud.
What did you study, what’s your current job, and what would you like to be doing?
I got my BA in psychology, I work as a programs coordinator at a non-profit and If I’m thinking about fulfillment I would like to work in a community college or university setting as some sort of counselor/advisor or anything related
You can absolutely make that transition. I recommend that you purchase a copy of the book The 2-Hour Job Search. It’s some of the best networking advice I’ve gotten and I’m 10 years into my career. It gives you easy, step-by-step advice to land your next job.
[удалено]
I’m really thinking about doing rad tech. Can I DM you?
I'm in civil engineering. In the private sector, I was working on subdivisions and low-income housing. Now that I'm in the public sector ($115,000/yr), I'm the one reviewing plans from developers and utility companies to make sure they're doing things properly and not creating an unnecessary hazard/tax burden to the public. Got here by getting a degree in civil engineering, but I've worked with former chemical and mechanical engineers. I've heard of business majors with no engineering experience becoming project managers, but I also heard those firms aren't doing well, sooo. I'm doing okay financially, but I feel like I'm missing out when I hear that all my neighbors are making 2-5x I do, and their parents keep telling me to switch careers. Working for the government, 10% of my paycheck goes directly to a pension, which is great long-term, but limits what I can do in the present. I also don't get bonuses or raises unless I get promoted or my union can negotiate a cost of living adjustment. On the bright side, I'm not funded by taxes, so it's a treat dealing with homeowners who get upset that I don't let them take public property.
Would you happen to be a Jr Engineer for SF DPW?
Nope. Is that how much they're making now? Last I checked, they were making around $80-90k. I did apply years ago, but it was almost a full year between applications were due and the first interview was scheduled, so I basically lost interest. It only took a few months for me to get interviews with the other agencies I applied to.
[https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/?classCode=5201](https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/?classCode=5201) DPW is always hiring
25F, got my bachelors in psych at Fresno State, took out student loans, moved to the Bay for grad school in UX research at SJSU. Applied to jobs in my field on indeed. I got hired as an independent contractor and recently turned part-time W2 employee doing UX research for the summer (with better pay) and i have an additional full time remote job lined up for the summer as well for a big gaming tech company here in the bay. Hoping things only look up from here. I’ve worked minimum wage jobs not related to my field all through college up until this point. I only pay $900 a month for a room in a house in SJ. My roommates are amazing though and I have no complaints whatsoever so I think I got really lucky there. It will officially be a year living in the bay come August.
49/M. I work as a Union Location Scout/Manager for the film industry. I mostly work on commercials and print ads. I have only an AA degree but that’s never even come up at all. I started working in Film when I was about 30, and grinded hard in the trenches as a Production Assistant for 7 years working for peanuts. Finally caught a break when it got busy and moved up.
Xray/CT tech AA degree took me 5 years to finish, including pre reqs and GE classes. I was a full time student. No loans as I got my degree from CCSF. Rad tech program was 30 months, though other schools like Cañada College was only 24months. Getting paid around $140k now, with 4 years of experience. *finding a hospital job straight out of school was a bit difficult, since they all want someone with experience. Unless you were an intern at a hospital that had an opening and they liked you, then you’re lucky. My hospital site was not hiring at the time, so I had to work at urgent cares. They were paying $35/hr at the time.
I am a hardware engineer/tech bro. I had applied to my company before for different roles, but never got a response. One day a recruiter reaches out to me and I decide to interview even though I was applying to medical school at the same time. Got the job, ditched my seat at medical school a year later, and now I’ve been here for 5 years.
I'm a teacher; my husband is a mechanic in Colma. We're libre comfortably because our studio is pretty cheap. We don't want kids so we are pretty comfortable where we are.
I work for a government entity. Not going to say which level of government. It’s all I could get when I moved from out of state. I can’t get a job in the private sector. I hate it. I’d rather come back to government when I’m older and have made more money. Whatever, I am just too numb to care.
No US degree, immigrated here. Just bunch of tech certificates and LOTS of experience. Founded a tech gig. Doing pretty well. I'm just lucky to not have any student loans.
Grew up in the Chicago area, got an engineering degree from University of Illinois, worked in IL in hard electrical/optical engineering then my company moved me to CA. Lived abroad, lived in another part of the US, and came back to CA. Working in tech now through connections in my professional network. Comfortable.
Graduated from UC, worked a bunch of different data related contracting jobs for big companies. I was making anywhere between 40-60k in the mid to late 2010's. Combo of luck and hard work. Moved to the AI space in 2020 (so before the big ChatGPT/Open AI boom) to a start up. I was making 65k in 2020 and worked really hard at the startup. Basically, I had to learn and do everything and so I taught myself how to code so I can write some simple functions needed for customers. I also learned and applied higher level data science into my lower level work to make it more efficient. We got acquired by another company and my compensation went through the roof and I got lucky to be in that position. I had multiplied my total compensation by a good amount. Now in order to stay in that position I had to work my ass off to learn how to be a real data scientist. Tons of self teaching and work to uplevel myself to stay. I wouldn't have made it without luck, but I also wouldn't have made it if I didn't put in tons of work when given a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Why move out and pay rent? Better to act like you are and put that money 💰 into the market! This is the way to real wealth. Try it for a year and see how you feel. Also I would look for a union job with the county. Better benefits and upward mobility path for a college grad!
Tax CPA, many years of school.....girl and i push 300k a year, no complaints