People Who Earn Six Figures Explain What They Do For A Living

Fly the Friendly Skies

"Air Traffic Control"

~ yadayadab00

"That was a super popular job in the Army when I joined in 2007."

"They stopped letting active duty sign up because they’d get just one enlistment (so 3-5 years) out of them before they’d bounce and go to the civilian side making a lot more money."

~ Affectionate-Arm9547

0/10 Would Not Recommend

"Pharmacist."

"250k student loan. Super stressful job that I hate. Would not recommend."

"When I was starting school, even Walgreens took care of their people and had plenty of tech hours."

"Now you don’t even get enough help to staff the window, the cash register, entering, and filling scripts."

"I’ve worked weekends at the busiest store in the district with only one tech. It’s ridiculous."

~ XThePariahX

What Life?

"Doctor. But I sold my life and my youth. It’s not worth it."

~ euphoric-alpaca

"My husband wants to be a doctor. He's 43."

"I tell him it's not worth it because he would be paying off his student loans until or after retirement. At least that's how I imagine it would go."

~ Public_Honeydew_8997

Belly Up

"Bartender for 16 years, started making around $80k and have slowly moved up to $110k."

"I recently made a pivot to a new career but still bartend to pay the bills for now."

10/10 Would Recommend

"I'm in heavy construction. Class A Driver/Equipment Operator."

"My CDL (Commercial Drivers License) got me in the door, and I slowly learned to operate everything from excavators to directional drills."

"I can give some advice to anyone interested in trying it out, the money is there if you're willing to try."

"The trick to succeeding in heavy construction is to be confident. Not necessarily outwardly (though it does help), but confident in YOURSELF."

"Do not be intimidated by any tool or machine. Raise your hand and ask to learn EVERY chance you get.

"You'll see a lot of miserable old 45-year-olds that have been swinging a shovel or broom for 25 years and complain all day about their situation. Don't be that guy, treat this job as an education."

"Remember, the more you can do, the more you're worth."

"Keep your nose clean. Stay off the drugs and alcohol. Failing a drug test will ruin your reputation in the industry, companies talk to each other."

"And showing up hungover every morning will effect your performance and cognitive function. You do not want that."

"Never, EVER get a superiority complex about your rank/position. Operators can help use a shovel or broom too."

"Don't ever be that guy sitting in his truck/excavator watching everyone else work. Be the stud that will hop out and help carry something when you're not operating."

"Even if it's just cleaning the interior of your rig while on standby, it shows that you're part of the team."

"Going union will ALWAYS be your best bet, but its not necessary at first. I've seen guys work their a** off at private companies for a couple years, work their way up to foreman, then jump into the union as a foreman."

"It would have taken 10x as long if they had done that within the union, seniority slows things down. Go operators union. Laborers is good too, but operators make much more money."

"IBEW is also great, especially on the west coast. If you're not scared of electricity, try it out."

"Remember, this is a field that you can get into with a GED and no experience and make a damn good living, but you cannot slack. You'll pay your dues and endure some rough days."

"You'll go through some sh*tty companies and meet some sh*tty people, but eventually it will pay off. You'll meet the good people, find the good company, and be comfortable in your job. It's worth it."

~ EatMyGrandma

Let's Try It

"Staff scientist at a national lab, but don't get too excited. You go to college for 9 years first, and lots of analysis shows the better money is taking an undergrad engineering job, getting paid sooner, and working up the corporate ladder."

"I basically get to chase down whatever cool ideas I want though, within reason."

"Shoot positrons through magnets to make X-rays? Let's do it."

"Can we make a better jet engine using //redacted// for compression blades? Here's 20 million dollars, go find out."

~ Pr0methian

Crane Mode

"Crane operator in the oil industry. Easiest job I've ever had."

"$3000 to get your NCCO and $6500 to get your CDL."

"I work 12hr days but only on the crane 1-1.5hrs a shift. The other 10.5-11hrs is spent sleeping, playing Xbox, watching movies, etc..."

~ wildarcher69

"Yeah my dad is a crane operator, too."

"Six figures in his salary alone but also gets $150 per diem, since he has to live in whichever city his crane is, and his crane is nowhere near his state of residency."

~ Affectionate-Arm9547

All The Nuts And Bolts

"Aircraft mechanic."

~ gimplegs

"I work as a machine mechanic and my uncle's best friend works in aircraft."

"His schedule and on-call pay makes me suuuuper envious."

~ meetmeinthebthrm

Grow Your Own

"I own a commercial gourmet mushroom farm bringing in high six figures. Zero student debt, no wage ceiling."

"I have land right outside of a large metropolitan city where the farm is. It’s a small/medium sized farm, I have two guys working for me."

"We do four large farmers markets in the city per week and sell at around 20$ a lb and also wholesale sell directly to many restaurants in this city at 10$ a lb with deliveries going out two days a week."

"We produce around 1000 lbs a week but my goal is for that number to keep going up. My overhead is very low because the farm is on my property and all expenses I have are tax write offs making my taxes extremely low."

"I started the farm two years ago and it’s growing very fast. I’m pretty capped out at the moment with what I can directly sell to my community so I’m working on connecting with a local distributor at the moment to keep growing."

~ Brave_Badger_6617

Banking On It

"My best friend is a senior underwriter for Chase Bank. He makes about $115k."

"What's really a slap in the tits is he's a high school drop out."

~ cjtripp1433

"It seems like there is a lot of room to grow at a bank."

"A friend started an entry level job at a local bank and a few years later got hired by a mortgage broker and made $750k in 2021."

"They're having a bad year now and only making $200k. Wild."

~ 2050orBust

A Fresh Coat

"I own a house painting company. 20-30hrs a week of manual labor a week and about 10 of office/paperwork. 2 employees."

"From my perspective it is a very rewarding and fun job. I work with two of my friends, or rather one of my friends and one guy who became my friend after being hired."

"I do the jobs we want to do when we want to do them and generally have fun most days. There is a lot of stress too but I honestly like that as well, I love problem solving."

~ FlowBjj88

Reading Is Fundamental

"Public librarian in California."

"I’m at the top of our salary scale for non-managers, since I’ve been here (current job) for 11+ years."

"Gross salary is right around $100K + full benefits and a pension."

"And I actually enjoy the work, too!"

~ ZoyaZhivago

Seen Things

"I'm a court reporter/stenographer in the US."

"I was researching being a paralegal then saw an ad for this."

"I looked into it more and found a school nearby and decided to try it."

"A big part was that it was something I chose and not something I felt I was being forced into."

~ paramore814

While 6 figures isn't the boon it once was, it's still enough to live comfortably in most places.

Were you surprised by any of the jobs earning over $100k?