Chicago is only worth the cost if you have a Corporate career? (Virginia: real estate, apartment)

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Berteau

Everyone working in a corporate office in Chicago is basically on track to 6 figures by age 30, with a lot of room to climb after that due to the sizes and number of major corporate jobs. You can't say that for Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, etc.

Neither of these sentences are true.

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

Neither of these sentences are true.

Based on my experience and friends I know it is. Also based on the poster I quoted. I know for a fact that the average starting salary from Big 10 colleges with business degrees in Chicago is 60-70k a year, so one or two promotions will get you to 6 figures with bonus. Do you work in Chicago for a large corporation in their office and what is your position?

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Berteau

Based on my experience and friends I know it is. Also based on the poster I quoted. I know for a fact that the average starting salary from Big 10 colleges with business degrees in Chicago is 60-70k a year, so one or two promotions will get you to 6 figures with bonus. Do you work in Chicago for a large corporation in their office and what is your position?

Okay, unless you're friends with everyone your statement is false.


Also, the person you quoted specifically talked about a single person who works at CDW in sales or marketing or something. That's not at all a representative sample of the population you're discussing. I don't know anyone that's had a compensation trajectory like that. I'm not disagreeing that it exists, I just know very few people that have been in roles like that. I know someone in their early 20s that made 6 figures (base salary) in consulting straight out of undergrad last year. I assume that's not the norm for all business positions.


1. It's very possible to work in Chicago in a corporate environment in a skilled position (i.e. not admin - not that admins don't have a skill, the pay scale is simply different) and not get to 6 figures by age 30. This is with performing pretty well. I'm not saying it's impossible to get to 6 figures, I'm just saying that not everyone is on track for that, and it's not due to lack of ability. Some companies don't have openings to promote people to and some people may prefer not to job hop, etc. Most of my friends have reached 6 figures by this point - we're around age 32 to 35, but most of us hadn't by 30, a few did though. Some still haven't reached that without any career setbacks. Some are well beyond the 6 figure mark, too.


2. It's possible to do this in cities like Milwaukee, Indy, etc. but less likely as salaries are lower overall. If one is an exceptional performer in their field it's possible to make it to 6 figures by 30.


I'm not completely disagreeing with you about whether it's possible, but I disagree with most statements made in absolutes because it's dishonest.


I spent several years in public accounting, currently out of public accounting, work as an accountant for a company. My entire career has been in Chicago.

[OKParker]

Originally Posted by Berteau

That is impressive. And what I'm saying is most people can't or don't have the opportunity to make those quick pay jumps in the same time periods or at all in smaller markets with a smaller corporate presence. Everyone working in a corporate office in Chicago is basically on track to 6 figures by age 30, with a lot of room to climb after that due to the sizes and number of major corporate jobs. You can't say that for Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, etc.

What do you attribute to such a rapid pay increases in you and your friends jobs?

Most important trait I've noticed in office jobs is likability. Second after that is communication. Third, technical skills.

I would say that being likable and able to communicate with minimal technical skills is good enough to hit 6 figures by 30-32. If you have good technical skills, you should be able to do so between 26-30.

My friends who hit 6 figs before they were 30 (or are on track to do so), were mainly just people who you would like to be around. As much as I hate saying it, in my experience, a lot of frat bros see success.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by OKParker

Most important trait I've noticed in office jobs is likability. Second after that is communication. Third, technical skills.

I would say that being likable and able to communicate with minimal technical skills is good enough to hit 6 figures by 30-32. If you have good technical skills, you should be able to do so between 26-30.

My friends who hit 6 figs before they were 30 (or are on track to do so), were mainly just people who you would like to be around. As much as I hate saying it, in my experience, a lot of frat bros see success.

I agree about likability and communication skills. From what I’ve seen it’s possible to be liked only by a direct superior or two to help with advancement while still being disliked by many other coworkers.

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by coldwine

Consider your own question for just a moment.

You can pursue a corporate career literally anywhere.

If you are not working for big business, where the hell else would you go but Chicago or NYC? There are very, very few places to support yourself as an artist. You wouldn't move to Lubbock, Texas to pursue an acting career.

No. You can't work in the corporate headquarters of a global Fortune 500 company anywhere. Simply just driving through rosemont or suburbs you see the headquarters of huge well known Fortune 500 corporations that you would know if you were from out of town. You don't see that widespread or at all in other cities. All indianapolis has is Eli Lilly that is comparable. And you can't work in consulting or for the accounting big 4 anywhere. You cant work in investment banking or trading anywhere either. There were none of these opportunities where I grew up, which is why most people leave to cities like Chicago for their careers.

And you can do many jobs outside of NYC and Chicago that aren't "big business". (whatever that even means). Healthcare, education, manufacturing, construction, retail, etc.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Berteau

No. You can't work in the corporate headquarters of a global Fortune 500 company anywhere. Simply just driving through rosemont or suburbs you see the headquarters of huge well known Fortune 500 corporations that you would know if you were from out of town. You don't see that widespread or at all in other cities. All indianapolis has is Eli Lilly that is comparable. And you can't work in consulting or for the accounting big 4 anywhere. You cant work in investment banking or trading anywhere either. There were none of these opportunities where I grew up, which is why most people leave to cities like Chicago for their careers.

And you can do many jobs outside of NYC and Chicago that aren't "big business". (whatever that even means). Healthcare, education, manufacturing, construction, retail, etc.

I agree about how widespread Fortune 500 companies are in Chicago/NY/DC, etc vs smaller cities. There’s other decent sized companies but it’s a reasonable point you’re making. Same with consulting.

Regarding public accounting at a Big 4, they all have offices in like the 50 largest metro areas in the country, some smaller cities even like Billings, Boise, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Albany, etc. Same goes for the next tier of firms, at least as far as most of the 50 largest metro areas. They will have much smaller offices in those cities but the opportunities exist, albeit in fewer numbers.

[ryanthegoldengod]

Originally Posted by Chicago South Sider

If you are spending more than 20% of your gross income on housing and other expenses it's not worth it, no matter where you live. If you are making at least $20k per month you can afford to spend more than 20% on expenses.

20 percent of gross? Wow. That's hard to do in most places.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by Berteau

No. You can't work in the corporate headquarters of a global Fortune 500 company anywhere. Simply just driving through rosemont or suburbs you see the headquarters of huge well known Fortune 500 corporations that you would know if you were from out of town. You don't see that widespread or at all in other cities. All indianapolis has is Eli Lilly that is comparable. And you can't work in consulting or for the accounting big 4 anywhere. You cant work in investment banking or trading anywhere either. There were none of these opportunities where I grew up, which is why most people leave to cities like Chicago for their careers.

And you can do many jobs outside of NYC and Chicago that aren't "big business". (whatever that even means). Healthcare, education, manufacturing, construction, retail, etc.

Yes.

You can work at a corporate office anywhere. You do not have to work at a company's headquarters for any reason.

My point stands. You can be an office lackey dying at a cubicle anywhere in the United States. The same is not true of careers outside corporate employment.

Also, as a JD CPA (I am a tax attorney) who has worked with two of the Big 4, you can also do that literally anywhere. They have offices in every single state.

I'm not sure why you suddenly care about headquarters, which is rarely where the "big work" gets done. This is especially true of the Big 4, where you will be sent wherever the hell they choose to send you.

You asked about corporate work. Corporate work is available everywhere. If you want a lifetime of hell working for Deloitte (headquartered in NYC), you can pursue that anywhere.

Furthermore, can you please explain to me how healthcare, education, manufacturing, construction, and retail are not "big business"? I was not aware that these multibillion dollar industries (there's more to education than teaching) are somehow only offering opportunities in the six largest cities in the US because they are not "big business".

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by coldwine

Yes.

You can work at a corporate office anywhere. You do not have to work at a company's headquarters for any reason.

My point stands. You can be an office lackey dying at a cubicle anywhere in the United States. The same is not true of careers outside corporate employment.

Also, as a JD CPA (I am a tax attorney) who has worked with two of the Big 4, you can also do that literally anywhere. They have offices in every single state.

I'm not sure why you suddenly care about headquarters, which is rarely where the "big work" gets done. This is especially true of the Big 4, where you will be sent wherever the hell they choose to send you.

You asked about corporate work. Corporate work is available everywhere. If you want a lifetime of hell working for Deloitte (headquartered in NYC), you can pursue that anywhere.

Furthermore, can you please explain to me how healthcare, education, manufacturing, construction, and retail are not "big business"? I was not aware that these multibillion dollar industries (there's more to education than teaching) are somehow only offering opportunities in the six largest cities in the US because they are not "big business".

Your definition of "big business" is not at all the same thing my post was referring to. If you work in healthcare or education you say you work in healthcare or education as a teacher or nurse. You don't say I work in "big business",as the term is very vague. Do the executives of the corporation work from the office? If not, it's not what I am talking about. So yes, you can work in a cubicle for a business or be employed by a business anywhere, but that is not what I am referring to and I already described it in enough detail already without a need to reexplain it.