Money makes the world go round. It isn't everything but it is important.
So when we work hard we want to be compensated with as much financial gain as possible.
But so many of us seem to be stuck in careers and positions that keep us struggling with earning the most coin.
So that leaves you wondering... what do I have to do to score a job that can net me three figures a year?
Redditor Iamyes_okwanted to hear from all the people whose jobs put them in a tax bracket a lot of us strive to be in, they asked:
"People who make 100k+ a year, how did you do it?"
Let me get a pen and paper because I need some wisdom on this.
There has got to be a way for a struggling artist to get financial security.
Drive
"Uber driver in NYC. 50 hrs driving is tough in city but at least they’re paying good, also it depends what type of car you drive, regular car (UberX) can’t make that much. And WAV cars which is only in NYC and pays 30% more for even UberX trips, if you got Wheelchair rider $15 bonus per trip. In addition there is Uber black, SUV and they make good money also but u need a luxury car." ~ scheduleIT
Hunkering Down
"8 years after college. Security Engineer." ~ prtekonik
"Similar, got a PhD and hunkered down for a few years to gain expertise in a well paying field. Sacrifice your time and social life to gain a valuable skill. And market yourself. You are a commodity. I sacrificed a few years to focus on school, but after that I’ve had a better than normal life."
"In fact, I have tons of time now and a high paying career. I was trying to say invest in yourself. And build a reputation as the best in your field. I can see where that last part might sound too capitalistic. But just have a reputation and skill set to move jobs as you like—and that require skills but branding yourself into someone companies want to hire can add to your flexibility and pay." ~ Regular-Violinist-71
Computer Science
"Electrical engineering undergrad, went back for a computer science Masters because the company I was working for was willing to pay for it. If all you're looking for is to cross the 100k threshold, just do well with an undergrad CS degree. Kids are hitting that straight out of college these days." ~ Mikeavelli
10 Years
"10 years in the Navy, working on electronics/RADAR. Now a DOD contractor. Still no degree, but I'm a little over half-way done." ~ T0BYs_Grundle
GiphyAll interesting ideas.
I couldn't be an electrician though.
I'd be burning down city blocks, not a good idea.
Finished Elsewhere...
"I was a journalist for a few years, making 55k at my last job. Then, I quit and did a three-month software engineering boot camp. Took 10 months to get a job offer after that, because of the pandemic economy, but that first job in tech paid 100k." ~ mfuechec
GiphyWork Away
"I wrote a buttload at first, but it really boils down to having a set of skills and knowledge that is both in demand and hard for others to obtain. Never stop growing and always find peers at your level and above your level to absorb knowledge, skills, and strategies from. I work in healthcare data, specifically the value-based care reform part of it. There are plenty of analysts I've worked with that are happy to cruise at 60-90k for 10 years because it isn't stressful."
"And there are others who are more ambitious and are hitting 200k+ before 10 years (by becoming leads or managers or principle analysts). Hit 100k after my 4th year and 4th job. Especially if you are young, there is no point in company loyalty if you're letting them gape your anus. Do what's good for you." ~ ST_POST_ACOLYTE
Top 10%
"I don't make $100K by my sister and BIL do."
"Sister: Director of Accounting and Finance at a multi billion dollar company. $160,000."
"BL: Partner at a large firm: $190,000. Once he becomes equity partner since he was promoted young his salary will be $300,000-$1M."
"Both graduated top 10% of their class and received highest honors in their masters." ~ CanadianCrownCorp
Be Competent
"I don’t make six figures but know a lot of people that do and one of the most common things I’ve noticed is when they meet someone that is more successful or more skilled than them they don’t see them as a threat or challenge. Instead of trying to compete and seem better they learn from them and don’t want to be better than they are right now, but want to be better than they are in the future." ~ Pristine-Ad-469
These Low Effort Jobs Have Surprisingly High Salaries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...Privilege
"I’m 28. I could say it’s because of my degree, but really? My degree isn’t remotely worth 6 figures and the reality is because of my parents. Both my parents work in the entertainment/media industry and have for over 30+ years now. When I was applying for jobs out of college."
"My dad said he could simply get me a job (at a large, well known production company) because he’s very close with several people there. And he wasn’t lying. I did still do an interview, but in all reality that was really just a formality. They ended up training me for what I had to do anyway."
"I want to say I’m aware of the privilege I’ve had my entire life. I’m also aware that it isn’t this easy for most people. My parents haven’t always helped me out with EVERYTHING but I would be straight up lying if I didn’t admit that they’ve helped me with most things including where I work." ~ itsniceinpottsfield
"One month on and one month off, year-round. Good money and paid travel. Started out as a deckhand and worked my way up. Mostly on-the-job training and a few classes that I had to pay for along the way. Each class lead a raise in pay. My college degree in Forestry is largely irrelevant." ~ northstar42
Degrees Needed
"PhD in anthropology and moved into the field of UX (user experience, in the tech industry), getting a job as a UX designer (and now researcher) for a software company. I initially started grad school thinking I wanted an academic career, but as I was finishing I realized I needed a break from academia and learned about the booming field of UX."
"Was able to take a human-centered design course in my last possible semester of grad school, which allowed me to get some projects under my belt, learn some new methods and techniques, and pick up the lingo of the field. I went to a tech career fair on campus and got a callback from one of the companies I talked to, and the rest is history."
"Despite the memes about humanities and social sciences degrees being worthless, they're actually becoming quite valuable in the tech and design industries." ~ ThatNeonZebraAgain
Give & Take
"By giving a ton of crap about what I am doing. And taking a lot of crap and dealing with it." ~ blowafuse
"Yeah it is true that hard work and being good at your job is not a guarantee for success by any means, but it certainly helps." ~ redsfan23butnew
Doing Extra
"Overtime lots of overtime. With my high school diploma I’m currently welding on some of the baddest vehicles on the planet." ~ Various_Mind_5467
Bulletproof
"Be right. Take the time to become an expert. Care about your work, and the people you work with. If you become stagnant, leave. Help yourself, and your employer all the time. Become un-fireable." ~ gehuffman
bulletproof machine gun GIF by Warner ArchiveGiphyJust did them to do them really?
"Honestly some times it’s just pure luck. A lot of people on here giving the 'worked my butt off, studied hard' etc. and that’s all well and good, but sometimes it’s luck as well and making the right moves. Sure, I have a masters degree but honestly I don’t feel like I worked all that hard on either of them. Just did them to do them really? (Paying for it now though with loans)."
"In the end I just figured out every weird job I had was basically sales at the end of the day. Then I parlayed that I to sales type work. And applied to industry that pay well (pharma, med device) got completely lucky to get into that and just keep working when I’m there. I honestly feel like I’ve gotten lucky along the way and ended up here… that may be a crappy answer to some, but it’s honest." ~ BraveCat45
Bottoms Up
"I can't speak for myself but my fiancé. No college degree but he worked his butt off and slowly moved up. Started at the bottom entry level of his industry and learned everything he could, got promoted, did the same again and again and again and ten years later became a director of operations. Hard work does not always pay off but his did and he is still working his ass off to learn as much as his can." ~ Not_Quite_B
Get Ready
"Be prepared. I'm going to sound like a tight a**, but when I worked a laborer job, I took any course offered. I did my job, didn't complain and was prepared. Every promotion I got, I could outline what I had learned. I worked hard, but had work life balance. But nothing was beneath me. Some jobs were pretty gross, but I did them with a cheerful heart and just kept getting promoted. But I learned money isn't everything. I have enough. Now it's about family and positive experiences." ~ cisco54
I'm Crafted
"Discovered a passion for technology in the late 70s/early 80s. Threw myself into it and kept learning. It's been my craft for almost 40 years and has served me well. I don't do it for money. I do it because I genuinely love building systems and automating processes. The money comes because I love what I do." ~ barrywalker71
Women Roar
"Graduate degree in the sciences. Being a female in a traditionally male industry. Working hard. Tolerating bureaucracy and bullsh**. Not being thin skinned. Knowing which fights to pick. Learning the office politics and using them." ~ Raggmommy
walking stick jungle GIF by Katy PerryGiphySay Hello...
"Started as a customer service rep taking phone calls. Figured out how to get top performing and focus on the metrics that leadership thought mattered. Played the corporate game, climbed the ladder. Took about 10 years to make it to a Sr Analyst/Consultant level and have my first $100k year."
"The best part is, I have no student loans and maybe $10k in debt not including my home loan. Not sure how realistic that is anymore since so many entry level positions are being outsourced, but for me hard work and perseverance has paid off." ~ Beholder84
Get It...
"Lots of college and hard work. I didn’t have as much fun as a lot of my friends and put my life on hold about 8-10 years longer than they did (for marriage/kids/house). I also moved to cities where I didn’t know anyone to take the best offers." ~ mtaa4
All plausible ways to gain some pennies.
Let's see what we can accomplish.
Money, money, money... it's a rich man's world.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.