$60,000 a year and up jobs, how do you get ther? (degrees, average)

[BackinHenderson]

I graduated college in 2006 with a degree in business administration and I feel like I've been spinning my tires since then.
Any of you making this much money or more I'd like to hear from you on your path that got you there today.

[kevinm]

Change jobs.

[pyrotech]

I'm just about there, but I'm at my first real 'career' type job. I got here by graduating with honors in engineering, several internships, and lots of hard work.

[Z3N1TH 0N3]

I don't think there's any particular way to get there. I think job hopping for the first several years of your career plays a crucial part to it though. The old, conservative nay-sayers will tell you this is dangerous, and risky, and that you shouldn't do it "if you know what's good for you, sonny". That is because they live by an old-school mentality where you stay with your employer for several years, kind of like a family. This is an extremely outdated paradigm. My philosophy is give them 2-4 years of your time. If your career is not evolving in that time, you should look for another position. Do that until you get to a point where you're comfortable.

I graduated in 2008 and this is what I have learned so far. If you want a raise from your current employer, you have to have leverage for best results. All the hooplah about creating a list of your accomplishments and presenting them to your boss is respectable, but is rarely effective in the cases I've heard. You need to have another job in hand. If you really like your current employer, you can give them a chance to match the offer. Depending on how crucial your role is, they may or may not counter-offer.

I have managed to finagle two decent size raises out of my employer over the past three years. Though I'm still grossly underpaid, it's still better than what I started out at. The only way I was able to get these raises is when I told them I had another offer in hand. They decided to keep me on both times, so I must have been worth something to them (it's a small company, so every experienced man counts).

[Jesse69]

I graduated with a BSME in 1992 but only broke $60K+/yr in 2007 with my last job.

[BackinHenderson]

Whew, for a second there I thought I was way behind. Sounds like I could be making $60 a year tomorrow, or maybe by the time I'm 40, or maybe never.

[Miss Crabcakes]

Still not there and I graduated in 2001. But I think Z3N1TH 0N3 is on to something. When I left one job for another for larger pay, my then supervisor even told me that to make more money, you have to leave sometimes.

Sadly, I already know I'll have to leave my current job after a few years, if no increases come my way.

[slackjaw]

I'd agree with that.

Often even with promotions it is difficult to get any serious increases in salary staying in one company, I think most of my larger salary jumps have been from changing jobs.

Good luck BackInHenderson.

[Mtaylo24]

I agree with job hopping. I graduated in 2007. Started temping for $10 an hour. Wasn't givien an opportunity to advance so i left and got another for $11.00/hr, they didn't want to increase pay after a year, so I left them started another job for $13.50 an hour, been then a year and got a raise to $14.05. That job was cool, but I just got hired for a job w/ another company that pays $17.75/hr.

[Hemlock140]

My son-in-law started at about that salary but had dual degrees in business and engineering, with a 4.o average. His employer gives additional starting pay for the 2nd degree and the gpa. Most people start at about $50k and have to put in a few years with raises and promotions to get there.

The trick is to have the right degree that's in demand, from a local big company that likes to hire from your college, that takes lucky timing and doesn't happen as much since about 2008.