<p>Recently I find myself wondering what the parents of the FP/major donor income catagory of parents do for a living. What kind of profession should one pursue if they would like to someday send their kids to BS without “struggling”? Assuming your child won’t be inheriting a fortune, what profession would they need to enter to reach the highest income levels?</p>
<p>Doctor
Lawyer
Investment Banker (til recently)</p>
<p>“Doctor” is far too general a category. There is a wide spectrum of income among physicians, depending on specialty or subspecialty and nature of practice. In fact, the majority of physicians in this country earn below 200k, so they belong to a group that would struggle to cough up the yearly 50k.</p>
<p>-Investment banker/hedge fund manager/private equity (even now)
-Real Estate moguls
-Management consultants
-Corporate lawyers
-Entrepreneurs/company founders
-Heirs</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t think the average MD can afford them.</p>
<p>I think in our current economy, many of the ^^ would now qualify for FA.</p>
<p>Add dabbling professionals with trust funds and students with wealthy grandparents</p>
<p>I don’t fully understand what you want to know. Often there is a difference between most full pay parents and major donors. There are many full pay families who still struggle to do it but believe strongly in education. Major donor families represent a different level of wealth. </p>
<p>Some people use their salary income to make investments while living below their means. As a result, for some, wealth can be the result of both professional income and investment income. In fact, many people with deep pockets do not depend on salary income. So, if you want your children to be able to pay for their children to go to boarding school, one path is to save and invest. Investments take many different forms, such as start-ups, real estate rentals, unique collections, etc. plus the unusual suspects like the stock market. If they go into lucrative professions, they can use the income to build wealth. </p>
<p>I’ve also found a higher than expected percent of older parents at independent schools.</p>
<p>I would like to see my kids do better than we did and I just didn’t know what the next step is to making our family better off with each subsequent generation.</p>
<p>burb parent: I agree investments are probably the key. </p>
<p>Living under your means another solid piece of advice. We were doing pretty well with that until now- we will be living right up to our means while paying for BS.</p>
<p>We are both merit scholarship /FA so we are a long way from full pay. But the other three families that I know who have gone through this process this year are the following:</p>
<p>ER Doctor / wife SAHM- given $20,000 FA - child is not going because she did not get the merit scholarship to cover the other $20,000</p>
<p>OB GYN / wife SAHM (family money - husband was multimillionaire before med school)- two girls in boarding school both are full pay </p>
<p>Oncologist / wife OB/GYN - full pay</p>
<p>I don’t know that I would encourage my child into a high paying profession so he or she could afford to pay for bs. Do you then encourage them only to marry someone who earns a lot of money?</p>
<p>I want to be an heiress when I grow up! 
</p>
<p>Pan: As far as doctors- I know they aren’t millionaires and they work very hard- I do much of what they do and work along side them in my profession. There are some specialities and surgical areas where a lot of money can be made however. I chose pediatrics because I love it even though I could make a lot more money in surgery or ER.</p>
<p>Keylyme- no obviously I wouldn’t recommend that he marry someone for money! I married DH when he had nothing but a BS degree and no job for the first 2 yrs of our marriage due to a slowdown in his industry at the time. </p>
<p>I guess I am naiive and had no idea there were that money people at BS whose parents are making $400,000 and up ( as some people noted on other threads). So I just found myself wondering what in the heck these people do for a living. Kinda silly of me.</p>
<p>Dad: Been with quite a few startups which worked out well
Mom: Historian but later went and got a degree in business/finance… So currently works with the toxic acids. Now got a job as a financial officer in a corporation, overseas! </p>
<p>We move around a lot because of this crap!</p>
<p>Dad: head lawyer for biggest hospital company in the U.S
Mom:writer</p>
<p>Yesh.</p>
<p>Which books has she written? That’s awesome… I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but it’s not like I have the patience.</p>
<p>Hasn’t been published and I don’t know the titles. Its more of a hobby than a profession =/ I think she just does it because she enjoys it</p>
<p>Ah, I see. I start writing “novels”, but after 50 pages (computer pages) I go on a tangent and my story sucks.</p>
<p>SO! The Camel comes all the way into the tent very soon.!!! Impossible to ignore him now isn’t it?</p>
<p>Next year’s Sophomores through Seniors who entered these schools as Full Pay kids in previous years and have Parents who unfortunately lost their jobs as:
-Investment banker/hedge fund manager/private equity
-Real Estate moguls
-Management consultants</p>
<p>These parents having worked in the NorthEast corridor and been SLAMMED by this economy.
Where does the money come from to send their children off to boarding school next year to finish their 1-3 years of time left to graduate? IS this where much of the anticipated Waitlist movement is to come from?
Anyone got a clue? I don’t.</p>
<p>There is a huge difference between your “garden variety” MD or lawyer, even in the NYC area, and many of the people who are major donors at private schools. Many of the major donors OWN companies of a pretty good size (eight to 9 figures), some of which you may have heard of, and others pretty big, but not commonly known. The MD’s donate, but not in the top tiers. In my D’s day school, a few of the kids are reportedly not returning next year, and they are medical families (with one or two parents working in medicine.) Reportedly, they did not find the added value for their family. </p>
<p>One of the schools mentioned a bit on this board has a family of major donors who also attended the same university that I did, and give tons there (buildings named etc.). I think they made their money owning an investment bank years ago (that is no longer a stand alone bank.)</p>
<p>At my D’s previous school, the main benefactor and next tier were all in commercial real estate. This we know has ups and downs.</p>
<p>Now, I am VERY inexperienced in the whole BS scene. I am just asking - I know many people have been planning for their kids’ education before the kids were even born, so if they are not experiencing a long term unemployment or they haven’t invested their education fund in too risky business, wouldn’t they still have the money to support their kids through for a couple of more years? We’re talking about people who mad huge bucks when they did have their jobs. I know they have suffered huge losses as well, but to them is the $50,000 a year such a big deal? They may have to move what’s supposed to be college fund for boarding schools, but wouldn’t you want them to finish their high school now that they have started, and hope the market bounces back when it’s college time? Again, I am just asking.</p>
<p>-Engineer with patents.
-Engineer who sold small internet company
-Middle-class alumni family who would stop eating and cancel health insurance before applying for FA. FP with pride!
-two owners of a small woodworking/millwork companies
-owner of 5 perpetually empty Chinese restaurants.</p>
<p>FP does not equal rich.</p>
<p>Few would jeopardize what’s left of their retirement nest egg to send their kid for three more years at a BS.
I think a national voucher system would be good, where FP parents at private schools get their Public school tax dollars back. Not that it would enable a broke restaurateur to keep their son/daughter in a BS. Not that this isn’t the wrong person in the White House for that.</p>
<p>Excellent point Sarum. Is it wise to jeopardize a nest egg or a college fund for a discretionary expense like boarding school? I am frankly amazed that so many do it. I know my son would not be happy going to boarding school and, once there, not having the freedom to go get a pizza or go to the movies anytime he desires.</p>