People Who Earn $200k+ Are Revealing Their Jobs, And I’m Rethinking Every Decision I’ve Ever Made
With the global economy being… whatever the hell it is, we all know that a dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.
I think all of us would like to get our hands on as many dollars as we can, but how are people doing it? Well, Reddit user u/DaEffie recently asked the r/AskReddit community: “People who are making 200k+ a year, what do they do?” Some of these answers are more achievable than you might think!
1.“Flavor chemist here. $200k plus a bit more in profit sharing into the 401k. I only have a BS in biochemistry. The flavor/fragrance industry is mostly learned on the job. My first job out of college 10 years ago paid $37k, but was a foot in the door, and I made the most out of i.t”
Nansan Houn / Getty Images
2.“I am a silversmith and metalsmith and have my own business. I was very lucky when I started in 2008/2009. I started on Etsy and had some luck selling. I am pretty good on social media, so that helped a lot, making small videos and just making a ton of things until you sell. I now sell on Etsy, eBay, Amazon, and my own sites. I have a local co-op shop too, and some things I sell right away over social media when I post. But it’s a lot — and I mean A LOT — of work (10-12 hr days).”
—u/nicilaskin
3.“It’s shocking how much money can be made in the car business on the sale side with only a high school diploma. Not here to debate the ethics of it, but I work for a family-owned dealership and I know of at least four people in sales that made $200k last year in various positions.”
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—u/daytonavol
4.“I sell propane and propane accessories.”
5.“I’m a Geologist (environmental remediation and compliance). I work for a public agency assisting with construction and development. With about 15 years of experience, I hold a master’s in applied geology and a bachelor’s in geophysics. In general, I’d suggest working as a consultant long enough to make contacts in industry and then jump ship asap. More money and less travel.”
Miguel Habano / Getty Images
—u/radio_710
6.“I’m a clinical psychologist who works primarily as a therapist. My fee is $300 per session, and my sessions last 50 minutes. I have about 15 sessions per week, half of them take place in an office I sublet, and the other half are over Zoom from home. I have very, very low overhead, so it’s a very high profit margin. Total dream career.”
–u/Greymeade
7.“Wife and I are airline pilots, we make just over $600k combined. My wife works 9 days a month, and I work 16. We graduated from college in 2009/2010. We have worked extremely hard and are very grateful to be where we are.”
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—u/Jaydee888
8.“I’m a union plumber working in commercial/industrial construction. Five years of trade school and countless hours working on my torch skills to stand out from the rest. I do a lot of high-tech and medical work. I make foreman scale, which is about $71 an hour with occasional overtime, and then benefits, which include full family medical and a solid pension as well. I’ve already made a little over $85k this year, and that’s with taking about two weeks off.”
—u/MistaDuMa
9.“My wife and I both work in sales. I sell and rent industrial equipment, my wife is in medical sales. I’m not quite to $200k yet, but she is. Not trying to simplify our jobs because they are complex at times, but half of it is just showing up and asking for the customer’s business.”
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10.“I read other people’s emails and argue about what’s in them. (Litigation attorney at a big firm).”
11.“Owner of multiple small businesses here. That’s how it’s done. Start your own thing. You would be amazed how much people are willing to pay for menial/undesirable tasks to be completed. I won’t give specifics of what my service businesses are, but the ideas are not hard to find. Examples: My local Facebook groups are always looking for dryer vent cleaners and handymen (those aren’t my niches). I always look into opportunities when presented. Both can clear $100-200 an hour easily.
LordHenriVoton / Getty Images
I started my biggest venture out of my own necessity, during the great recession of 2008. It was something I already knew how to do, and I quickly realized that I could make more money in a 6-hour day than I could working a full week at my former job. Nowadays, my two-person crews gross somewhere between $1000 and $2000 a day on average. Of course, there’s work and expenses on my end, but it is steady, reliable money. A more recent service venture of mine now nets, on average, $200-400 an hour. I also own an internet marketing/consulting firm. I sold my first agency a few years ago and started a new one recently. My rate is $1000 an hour for consultations. I do wish I had more of THOSE hours though lol. Opportunity has a tendency to look you in the eyes quite often. The trick is changing your mindset to stare it right back at it and act.”
12.“I’m a product marketer in big tech. Basically any role in big tech in the US is over $200k.”
13.“Wife and I are about $415k combined. I’m a public health dentist, and she is a hospital director over several different departments.”
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14.“Licensed senior reactor operator at a nuclear power plant here. Pay is $200k-$300k after bonuses and built-in overtime. Last year I made more than what I paid for my house lol.
Monty Rakusen / Getty Images
I started in engineering in 2015. Went to class in 2020 and finished in 2022. If you don’t have a 4-year degree or navy nuclear experience, then you have to work your way up from the bottom. Plant operators prefer some sort of power plant knowledge, but it’s not required. From there, you can become a Reactor Operator, which is a step below what I am. The ROs made more than I did last year, but they worked like 40-50 more days than I did for the year.”
—u/Gleveniel
15.“Systems Engineer, aerospace. I have one of those ‘read a couple documents, go to a couple meetings, send a couple emails’ kind of jobs.
16.“I control live graphics in TV and film.”
DreamPictures / Getty Images
17.“My wife makes $200k, and she is a civil engineer. Without revealing too much, she is the chief engineer at a state government office. She would make much more at a consultant office, but she doesn’t want work to become her life.”
—[deleted]
18.“Technical writer in the pharmaceutical industry.”
Purrfect / Getty Images
“There is a lot of extremely complex, detailed, and important information that comes with pharmaceuticals, medical devices, etc. Technical writers bridge that gap between pure biochemistry/anatomy/physiology and usable manuals and documentation.”
19.“Retired now but made £500k+, in UK construction, building infrastructure, major roads, railways, power stations, military bases. Now lose £200k as a farmer.”
SolStock / Getty Images
—u/nourthensoul
20.“I make $237k a year and I’m a Machine Learning Solutions Engineer (mostly Google Cloud but other platforms as well). I learned on the job, btw, and did a lot of certification work on Google Cloud, so this job does not need a degree (only about 1/3 of my colleagues have degrees). It’s a good area for those without degrees, pays well, and hours are not crazy.”
21.“My close relative’s wife is an anesthesiologist. First job base salary: $200k. Some serious responsibilities. Good thing she loves her job.”
Nicoletaionescu / Getty Images
22.“My best friend is the manager of a parts supply store selling to companies working in the oil fields. Pipes, valves, clamps, just about everything you might need on a frac site. He gets a nice fat salary plus a monthly bonus based on their sales each month.
Lacheev / Getty Images
The thing is, the industry we’re in and where we live, the salesmen don’t have to do shit, the business comes to them. They did $4M in sales last month, and my friend got a $30,000 bonus on top of his salary. He’s got that two months in a row. On top of clearing $200k, he has no bills. He uses a company truck, his insurance and gas are paid for, and he doesn’t have his own vehicle. He uses a company phone and splits the rent and groceries with his gf. Idk how much he spends on gambling, weed, and booze, but if he slowed down on that shit he could be a millionaire by 40 easily. Maybe a multi-millionaire. Guy loves donating to DraftKings, though.”
—u/mostdope28
23.“My husband and I are aircraft mechanics, making around $375-$400 combined with minimal/a bit of overtime. Work is tough on the body and mind, but it took us both 18 months of school (cost $10k each) to get our licenses. We get seven and a half weeks paid vacation a year and will get more as we stay with the company longer.
Zeljkosantrac / Getty Images
Most people start at regional airlines for a couple years (around $25-$30 an hour) to get experience and then move over to major airlines. It’s not hard to get your first job, and then with the experience you get there, you’ll easily get the next one. Cool thing is there’s a job for everyone because with this license (airframe and power plant) you can work for major airlines, space, parts manufacturers, FAA, elevator companies, dam authority, wind turbines, and I’m sure many more.”
—u/ilikepie813
24.“I lead a marketing team. Worked my way up, but also got lucky with a couple of promotions.”
–[deleted]
25.“For 35 years, I’ve sold forklifts. I have ADHD and have never gotten bored of seeing how everything gets manufactured and distributed to the point where we purchase it. I handle two accounts that represent pretty much everything you eat or drink. I’m paid handsomely.”
Amorn Suriyan / Getty Images
—u/Farmer_Ted_
26.“I’m a lawyer, work in a mid-sized city, and make $400k-$700k annually at the top end of the scale. “
27.“I’m an ER doc. I make $400-$500k. Most days, I try to mop up the mess that is our healthcare system while dealing with very ungrateful, low-functioning, and entitled humans who see me as a gatekeeper.
Hispanolistic / Getty Images
As an ER doc, no one will ever say thanks, no one will ever appreciate what you did, and you will always be judged and second-guessed. But you will get to walk away from the hospital with no obligations, and the pay/hr is great. You also get to hang out with the absolute best nurses, paramedics, techs, and other docs in the world. I work 12-14 days out of the month and generally like my gig. Every once in a while, I get to make a meaningful difference in a life. But it’s a job filled with emotional trauma, and every day I shake my head and wonder how ‘we’ got here.”
—u/Dan-z-man
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