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Old 08-16-2013, 01:58 PM
 
12,098 posts, read 16,979,394 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee View Post

Of course, it's plain lunacy to major in English Language and Literature thinking that you'll be the next JK Rowling, Stephen King, and so on. The chances of hitting it big in those fields are so, so slim that you may as well try your hand at playing the lottery, but if you really hit it big, your works can pull in millions or even spawn an amusement park!

I for one am shocked by how high up that list zoology is!! I briefly debated majoring in zoology before deciding upon pre-veterinary medicine. I'm trying to think of what sort of fields these people are in to have earned so much money? I'm not sure you can even use the "oh, they're just rich kids" b/c zoology isn't really an easy major that's commonly picked by slacker rich kids. If you work in zoology, there's a good chance that you are getting down and dirty.
Zoology is/was a common pre-med major. And English is a fantastic degree if you want to go to law school.
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Old 08-16-2013, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Chicago
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Originally Posted by jobaba View Post
Zoology is/was a common pre-med major. And English is a fantastic degree if you want to go to law school.
It's hard for me to imagine why zoology would be a better major for pre-med than, say, biology, which is also on that list.

Also, I have to wonder how many students going into law school actually make it into the top 1% ? I can't imagine many do considering the glut of lawyers. I still think a good chunk of the 1%ers that majored in English Language & Literature are highly successful authors, especially those with multimedia deals.
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Old 08-16-2013, 05:24 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eevee View Post
It's hard for me to imagine why zoology would be a better major for pre-med than, say, biology, which is also on that list.

Also, I have to wonder how many students going into law school actually make it into the top 1% ? I can't imagine many do considering the glut of lawyers. I still think a good chunk of the 1%ers that majored in English Language & Literature are highly successful authors, especially those with multimedia deals.
I agree that may be where some of them come from. But I think famous authors don't necessarily major in English.

Michael Crichton has a degree in Biology and an MD. John Grishman has a degree in Economics and a JD.

Those brilliant type A personalities will find a way to get things done.
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Old 08-16-2013, 06:20 PM
 
1,356 posts, read 1,935,070 times
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Originally Posted by zombocom View Post
What is a millionaire, exactly?

If I have assets over 1,000,000, am I now a millionaire?

If that's the case, my parents are millionaires simply because they had the good sense to buy a few houses back in the 60's and 70's that went from being worth 10,000 dollars to 700,000 dollars.

However, when I think millionaire, I think it's more than just an older person who over their lifetime managed to accumulate assets that are worth a few million.

Yes that's true. Income is irrelevant so long as one is able to set aside enough disposable income to make good investments. There was a book written titled the Millionaire Next Door and the researchers interviewed a good sample of self made millionaires and compared their traits and habits to those who earn a high income. The results were the opposite of what one would expect when they think of a millionare.
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Old 08-16-2013, 06:43 PM
 
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How do we know none of those people were 1%ers before they got the degree?
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Old 08-16-2013, 07:14 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
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Originally Posted by jobaba View Post
I'm not discouraging anybody. Is it YOUR goal to be filthy rich and have more $ than you know what to do with? Then, go for it.

Having a household income of $250,000 is quite obtainable in a practical manner through hard work.

But having a household income of $750,000 typically requires either luck, or some advantages that most poor and middle class people don't necessarily have.

Most 1 percenters were born with socioeconomic advantages, which helps explain why the 1 percent is more likely than other Americans to have jobs, according to census data. They work longer hours, being three times more likely than the 99 percent to work more than 50 hours a week, and are more likely to be self-employed. Married 1 percenters are just as likely as other couples to have two incomes, but men are the big breadwinners, earning 75 percent of the money, compared with 64 percent of the income in other households.


-From the NY Times. I'm not saying they're Billy Madison. I'm not saying Caroline Kennedy dion't work hard for her $. I'm saying that if she was born Caroline Stupwick, then she'd likely not be in the 1%.
From my perspective, which is limited, it seems like getting to the $250k level is harder work than getting to the $750k. Getting to $250 with nothing to start from requires working many long hours, sacrificing family and sleep to make enough money to get through college and the early years of climbing the ladder. Once you've made it to those higher salary ranges, then you have something to invest! if you can still live like you make 1/2-1/3 of what you make (i.e., being okay with not looking like you're rich yet) the second half of the climb looks easy. Again, just my perspective, and I'm not in a high earnings bracket so there are likely things I don't see.
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Old 08-16-2013, 07:23 PM
 
6,129 posts, read 6,772,651 times
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Originally Posted by shamrock847 View Post
If you look at the list of majors, pretty much all of them are feeders to medicine, law, or business.
Change "business" to "finance", I totally agree. LOL

This boils down to "who becomes CEO of a major medical company?", "who starts a successful medical or tech company", or "who runs or starts a well paid corporate law firm"?. Add in some well paid political consultants or lobbyists, and there's your list!
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Old 08-17-2013, 09:01 AM
 
9,673 posts, read 11,028,153 times
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More often than not, the secret of entering the top 1% means you own your own gig. Corporate America has no motivation to payout $500K a year unless you are running the company or work on Wall Street. The reason why they pay CEO's well is because the board room makes the rules. Therefore they take care of themselves. So belonging to the top 1% and working for someone is the exception to the rule.

College helps people more easily enter the top 1%. That said, I know dozens of extremely successful (top 1%) that do not have a degree. But non-degreed wealthy people nearly always work for themselves. They are on average street smart and have an incredible work ethic. The non-educated wealthy person learns from books or reading on their own.

College enables you to present yourself as professional, it can boost your self esteem, it helps you network, opens you up to more disciplines etc. While I didn't use my technical degree in what I do today, it helps he with my credibility.

When I had a lot more horsepower and worked my life away, I could see dozens of ways to make $500K+ and that was 15 years ago. I am satisfied with my income working part time, living debt free and not get nailed on my taxes so I am no longer in the "top 1%". Generally the people who are in the top 1% are not in a paradigm. Too many highly educated people are in that paradigm with their structured thinking and don't think outside the box.

I sell to extremely successful people and there is a correlation to their personalities. That's one of their key traits is they know what to do and they execute the plan. They have the guts and confidence to go after what they want. Often times that means you give up a lot in other categories in life and it the reason I stopped chasing money. The difference is the 1% mentality is not afraid to "just do it". Most are college educated. But college it not a prerequisite to be in the 1% club.

Last edited by MN-Born-n-Raised; 08-17-2013 at 09:12 AM..
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Old 08-18-2013, 01:30 PM
 
9,855 posts, read 15,154,599 times
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Originally Posted by jobaba View Post
Who said anything about discouraging anybody to work hard?

I'm in my 30s. I know how hard you have to work just to put friggin food on the table and make sure that I might have a steady, non-dispensable job when I'm in my 50s, let alone pipe dreams of being in the 1%...
Claiming that luck or your parent's social status has anything to do with it is discouraging people. I am just under 30 years old myself, I worked anywhere between 70-90 hour weeks for years now in a field that I knew produces a lot of wealthy people. I was working and studying when friends and family was vacationing and relaxing. I am by far not anywhere near the top 1%, but the sacrifices I made let me break into a six figure salary in my mid 20's. I am not saying that money is everything, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort, becoming financially secure is not a pipe dream.
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Old 08-18-2013, 09:44 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hnsq View Post
Claiming that luck or your parent's social status has anything to do with it is discouraging people.
Do you really think that luck and where someone starts from do not play a part in where they end up in life?

Maybe those aren't the most important factors, but they do matter. Not that someone from a disadvantaged background can't overcome it, but they will have more obstacles than someone who starts from a better position.
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