Just finished an article and wondering what percentage of CC posters make this kind of dough? Not as total family income but just one person’s basic salary. Which majors in future would lead to salary this high?
( Only guess percentage for statistics, don’t volunteer personal information)
No such income in my own household, but a relative makes in the $400K+ range; he’s an attorney.
No idea on the number of CC posters, although it seems it does skew higher SES than average.
Most people I know who make that base salary have MBAs (and work as corporate execs or consultants), and/or work in banking and/or law and/or are a physician specialist. The primary care physicians and dentists I know do not make close to that number. Chicagoland is my geography.
Going forward I think lucrative undergrad majors are CS, Math, economics but people with almost any major can be successful. Not sure on the future value of MBAs, seems to be falling out of favor a bit.
VPs and CEOs of large companies (eng/MBA)
Certain MD specialities
Investment bankers (finance/MBA)
The folks we know personally who make money in this range didn’t get there until their 40s.
I would guess 5-10% of CC posters but am totally just guessing.
Internet entrepreneurs! 
The typical graduate from any college any major will not reach that high a base pay rate. Variable bonuses, commissions, stock option gains, etc. may bring a few more into that pay level for a specific year, but even that is not so common.
For someone who does not inherit a successful business or at least a C-level job in a medium to large business, one has to continue to compete beyond college, major, and professional school. For example:
In terms of forum posters, probably those who complain about being “middle class but do not get college financial aid anywhere” are likely to have that pay level.
Entrepreneurs usually don’t start at $300k plus salaries. It is not the salary where they make the dough… it is the stock options. Like the several Uber employees (not drivers) on my bus who were loudly salivating about their new net worth…
In finance, the base salary isn’t necessarily high, but bonuses can be several multiples of the base.
Very few people make $300K+ as a basic salary. A lot more make this as total all-in income with stock options, bonuses, commissions, incentives etc.
A lawyer(associate) in big law makes around $300K in base salary after 7 grueling years if he survives there at all.
Specialists in medicine can make this base income, but by the time they achieve this salary, they will be in their mid 30’s.
Due to “extenuating circumstances”.
Lots of investment/finance jobs make well over that in total comp, not only investment banking.
Some commercial pilots with much seniority are bumping against that level.
I know surgeons who make that much and more.
Ditto lawyers.
Some people who start companies.
Bay Area. Tech Engineering (mechanical and software) + MBA. 50+. Not C-suite but VP/SVP/GM. I know a few.
Actually, @ucbalumnus , the “middle class scholarship” in CA, which is a whopping $4600, phases out after $120K income. So, no, those of us who are worrying about how we’re going to pay for college make absolutely nothing close to $300K. I guess we have to take the mockery along with the help on CC.
I’d like to see these numbers normalized for the number of years spent in colleges (studying, not partying) and training, the number of required and earned degrees, licenses and certifications, the number of work hours per week (especially in training and early career), as wells as the size of professional school loans. The grass is always greener…
Salaries in this range are often small business owners/entrepreneurs esp in knowledge businesses and people who combine two unlikely fields to create a specialized set of knowledge.
Actually the older lawyer, doctor, cpa firm owner often don’t make this kind of dough. Have tons of doctor friends and lawyer friends only 1 lawyer who is tied to a strong firm makes this much. Dictots di well but have high insurance and costs so net isnt 400k unless they are specialists. Others in this range are those in property management, very high level consulting, investment banking and finance( not as good as it used to be). Most in this range have more viability in income than the norm. (This is true of entrepreneurial folks and consultants in any case). I think you would find many more in the 300k category than 400. And there are many people who have businesses that make quite a bit more than 300k ( especially fields you never thought of)
What do people study matter less than how hard they work and how much risk they take. People at this level work 60-80 hours a week from 22-45( at least) then many run their own gig. Most are risk takers. Some have tried multiple businesses before they make a lot of momey.
Don’t know how this might relate to the CC community, but a $300K income would put one at almost the 96th percentile for all households in the US –
https://www.shnugi.com/income-percentile-calculator/?min_age=18&max_age=100&income=300000#results
It isn’t the base pay, but the stock options that get people to this level. If you reach VP or AVP in a Fortune 1000 company, you are likely to get there.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s at least 5%, perhaps even 10% on CC, based on the posts I’ve read about vacations, wardrobes, cars and other expenditures as well as colleges. However, I could be wrong as I tend to assume that people only spend on those things when they have the cash and not when loans are required. I should know better since I’ve seen several foreclosures where the borrowers also drove expensive cars and had a lake or beach house as well, but everything was either leased or bought on credit.
The folks I know who make that kind of base salary generally did not achieve it until they were over 50. Most are or were in C-suite roles at large banks or working in investments, while one is a dentist and a couple are lawyers.The engineers I know (in the South) rarely earn over $150K, are quite frugal and proud of it.
My small anecdotal evidence about college and training shows that none of the people I know who are high earners attended a “name” college. Obviously the dentist and lawyers completed additional training beyond their undergrad studies, but few of those in banking and finance earned an MBA or other graduate degree, although some are CPAs. Among younger people in those professions it seems to be more common to go for an advanced degree just to be considered for certain jobs. All of the higher earning individuals I know attended either state schools or small private universities where they earned full or partial academic scholarships, worked part time and/or had help from their parents. None took out loans.
Partly because of our experience, and that of friends and colleagues, our children opted to go to state schools where they were awarded academic scholarships and we covered the rest of the costs. One of them could achieve the level of income under discussion but not for another decade or more.
Put two engineers or scientists earning $120k - 150k under one roof in a low cost of housing area, and suddenly the household can afford those wardrobes, cars, and vacations folks have been talking about.
Or inheritances come into play.