What to do when you've topped out your salary 10 yrs into your career?
October 13, 2015 6:14 AM Subscribe
I appear to be at the top of the salary range for jobs in my field, but I'm only in my 30s. What's next?
Some of you might remember that I recently lost a job offer due to my salary requirements being about 20K more than what the employer was willing to pay, so I'm back for another reality check.
My dilemma is this: currently my income is derived from one full-time job and a few external contract gigs. Over the last three years this setup has put my gross average income at around 80K annually. This particular setup (full time plus contract gigs) has only worked because of certain flexibility with the full-time job and working hours, which I do not anticipate having again in another position.
However, due to an untenable situation in my full-time gig, I'm now looking for a new full-time permanent position, and in talking to a variety of different employers it seems that 80-85K is the very top of the range for the jobs in my field. Even more senior-level positions that are generally filled by people with 2 or more decades of experience than me don't seem to pay more. I'm starting to wonder what you're supposed to do when you've topped out your income potential in your mid- to late-30s? If gaining more experience and taking on more responsibility doesn't translate into higher earnings, what's next?
I realize this all sounds a bit materialistic, but I'm one of those "work to live" people who doesn't necessarily want to climb the corporate ladder; I just want to be well-compensated for work that uses my skills. So I'm having a hard time accepting that I should take on progressively more difficult and stressful positions of responsibility when the financial payoff just isn't there.
If I need to just accept another 30 years of my career at the same (inflation-adjusted) income level, well... that is really going to take some getting used to. And if it is the case, maybe leaving the traditional corporate career path and going full-time freelance might really be the way to go.
I'd be grateful for any advice, experiences or different perspectives.
Some of you might remember that I recently lost a job offer due to my salary requirements being about 20K more than what the employer was willing to pay, so I'm back for another reality check.
My dilemma is this: currently my income is derived from one full-time job and a few external contract gigs. Over the last three years this setup has put my gross average income at around 80K annually. This particular setup (full time plus contract gigs) has only worked because of certain flexibility with the full-time job and working hours, which I do not anticipate having again in another position.
However, due to an untenable situation in my full-time gig, I'm now looking for a new full-time permanent position, and in talking to a variety of different employers it seems that 80-85K is the very top of the range for the jobs in my field. Even more senior-level positions that are generally filled by people with 2 or more decades of experience than me don't seem to pay more. I'm starting to wonder what you're supposed to do when you've topped out your income potential in your mid- to late-30s? If gaining more experience and taking on more responsibility doesn't translate into higher earnings, what's next?
I realize this all sounds a bit materialistic, but I'm one of those "work to live" people who doesn't necessarily want to climb the corporate ladder; I just want to be well-compensated for work that uses my skills. So I'm having a hard time accepting that I should take on progressively more difficult and stressful positions of responsibility when the financial payoff just isn't there.
If I need to just accept another 30 years of my career at the same (inflation-adjusted) income level, well... that is really going to take some getting used to. And if it is the case, maybe leaving the traditional corporate career path and going full-time freelance might really be the way to go.
I'd be grateful for any advice, experiences or different perspectives.
I don't think you can count your two (more?) jobs together as one salary...I think you have to go off the salary at your one full time job. Don't think of it as one salary, think of it as two jobs, if that makes sense? Presumably you are working more than you would at a new job, since you have more than one job....so of course you make more.
There are always other tradeoffs...you ask for more time off, or work four days a week, or move to a different field. If you are more interested in earning more, then it does sound like freelance full time might be a better career path.
posted by john_snow at 6:22 AM on October 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
There are always other tradeoffs...you ask for more time off, or work four days a week, or move to a different field. If you are more interested in earning more, then it does sound like freelance full time might be a better career path.
posted by john_snow at 6:22 AM on October 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
Supply and demand sucks.
But a detailed answer perhaps should be asked anonymously with as much field and geographic detail as you can supply, an accurate answer can depend on a particular city or even the region within a city. Is it a glamour field that has new university programs churning out waves of graduates? Is there a specialty that you can become an expert with publishing cred (write a book or two) and charge large consulting fees? Have there been boom and bust cycles in your field?
posted by sammyo at 6:25 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
But a detailed answer perhaps should be asked anonymously with as much field and geographic detail as you can supply, an accurate answer can depend on a particular city or even the region within a city. Is it a glamour field that has new university programs churning out waves of graduates? Is there a specialty that you can become an expert with publishing cred (write a book or two) and charge large consulting fees? Have there been boom and bust cycles in your field?
posted by sammyo at 6:25 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Some people just stop taking on progressively more responsibility.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:26 AM on October 13, 2015 [15 favorites]
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:26 AM on October 13, 2015 [15 favorites]
Can you manage a team of people who do what you do?
posted by ellerhodes at 6:42 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ellerhodes at 6:42 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Do you need to make more money? Do you need to stay in this career for 30 more years? Could you "retire" from this career in five or ten years and do something else? Or do you really love what you do, and you'd be OK with doing what you do for 30 more years?
posted by mskyle at 6:50 AM on October 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by mskyle at 6:50 AM on October 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yeah, it sucks, but pretty much you have to move up and become a manager with a staff. Some jobs just have a ceiling beyond which no employer will pay. So either become a manager or move into a different part of your field. Let's say you're a designer. You then become creative director and have a team. Or you transition into another part of design that's more lucrative, like interior design or clothing design (with training/classes, of course). It's just how it goes. You would be able to move up in salary if you get hired somewhere at close to your max, and then get annual raises -- but that can make you ripe for layoffs, too. If you don't want to move up, you need to outlast.
posted by clone boulevard at 7:01 AM on October 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by clone boulevard at 7:01 AM on October 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
As randomkeystrike says, a good strategy to dealing with a career where you feel you are too old to be past your earning peak, is to start a company where you hire younger people. This might be as an employer or as an agent. This pattern is often seen in professions such as dancing, modelling, sports and so on. Also increasingly in many parts of IT. Your clients will appreciate the glowing roster of people you have on your books (because your experience will have made you good at picking) and your mature understanding of their business model. The people who you employ (or represent) will appreciate your appreciation of the technicalities of what they do - and the fact that you remove some of the administrative drudgery from their lives allowing them to spend more time doing what they do best.
posted by rongorongo at 7:08 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 7:08 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm one of those "work to live" people who doesn't necessarily want to climb the corporate ladder; I just want to be well-compensated for work that uses my skills.
I'm having a hard time accepting that I should take on progressively more difficult and stressful positions of responsibility when the financial payoff just isn't there.
I don't see how these two statements are compatible. If you really are a 'work to live' type, then find an ok job that pays $80K and do that same job for the next 30 years. That's what 'work to live' types do.
But if your instinctive reaction to that suggestion is "oh my god NO" then you might want to reexamine your self-image as a 'work to live' personality. Maybe that's not who you really are.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:44 AM on October 13, 2015 [27 favorites]
I'm having a hard time accepting that I should take on progressively more difficult and stressful positions of responsibility when the financial payoff just isn't there.
I don't see how these two statements are compatible. If you really are a 'work to live' type, then find an ok job that pays $80K and do that same job for the next 30 years. That's what 'work to live' types do.
But if your instinctive reaction to that suggestion is "oh my god NO" then you might want to reexamine your self-image as a 'work to live' personality. Maybe that's not who you really are.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:44 AM on October 13, 2015 [27 favorites]
You haven't topped out your salary, just your income. You can't - not in early mid-career anyway - expect a salary jump to replace two jobs' income. If you want to make more money, get a new job for slightly more and keep working your second job.
You're also not putting any value on the experience that will later make you more money. You might have to work at a static income for a few years, racking up experience, in order to take the next jump later. That's not being taken advantage of; you're getting something that has value and the only way to get it is to do it. It's that or school, which is unlikely to be free in most cases.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:53 AM on October 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
You're also not putting any value on the experience that will later make you more money. You might have to work at a static income for a few years, racking up experience, in order to take the next jump later. That's not being taken advantage of; you're getting something that has value and the only way to get it is to do it. It's that or school, which is unlikely to be free in most cases.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:53 AM on October 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: In order to increase your income you'll have to increase your value to whomever pays you to do what you do.
One way to look at that is to complete more work in the same amount of time. An employer who is paying you a base salary is not likely to recognize that additional value, at least not in the form of a material increase in your pay. This leads to two alternatives.
One is what randomkeystrike suggests: start a business where you oversee and sell the work of others. (The inside-an-employer version of this involves moving up into management. You appear to have rejected that option, however.)
Another option is to "go freelance". Ostensibly, you could complete more work within the same time frame, thus increasing your income. Also, you will be receiving your pay at the same "retail" rate for your labor which your employer is now charging.
Neither of these is without its perils, of course. And depending on what it is you actually do, neither may be a viable option.
posted by John Borrowman at 8:04 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
One way to look at that is to complete more work in the same amount of time. An employer who is paying you a base salary is not likely to recognize that additional value, at least not in the form of a material increase in your pay. This leads to two alternatives.
One is what randomkeystrike suggests: start a business where you oversee and sell the work of others. (The inside-an-employer version of this involves moving up into management. You appear to have rejected that option, however.)
Another option is to "go freelance". Ostensibly, you could complete more work within the same time frame, thus increasing your income. Also, you will be receiving your pay at the same "retail" rate for your labor which your employer is now charging.
Neither of these is without its perils, of course. And depending on what it is you actually do, neither may be a viable option.
posted by John Borrowman at 8:04 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Everybody tops out at some point. But your skills and experience may change in the future. Higher value usually means higher pay.
posted by LoveHam at 8:06 AM on October 13, 2015
posted by LoveHam at 8:06 AM on October 13, 2015
A few people seem to be overlooking this:
in talking to a variety of different employers it seems that 80-85K is the very top of the range for the jobs in my field. Even more senior-level positions that are generally filled by people with 2 or more decades of experience than me don't seem to pay more.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:08 AM on October 13, 2015
in talking to a variety of different employers it seems that 80-85K is the very top of the range for the jobs in my field. Even more senior-level positions that are generally filled by people with 2 or more decades of experience than me don't seem to pay more.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:08 AM on October 13, 2015
Long, long time ago (early '80s), Psychology Today had an interesting article about the arc of income in various lines of work. Engineers begin high but remain flat, teachers and journalists begin very low but can end surprisingly high, etc.
Depending on what sort of company you work for, there can be other traps. For example, in the situation you describe, you might find yourself ushered out if you don't advance, even if you are content to stay at a limited, though comfortable, rate of pay.
Fact is, you have to change jobs, which probably means a seque into some other type of job in the same general line of work. For a lot of technical people this means the dreaded "transition to management", but it could be transition to a startup, consulting, or whatever else.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:12 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Depending on what sort of company you work for, there can be other traps. For example, in the situation you describe, you might find yourself ushered out if you don't advance, even if you are content to stay at a limited, though comfortable, rate of pay.
Fact is, you have to change jobs, which probably means a seque into some other type of job in the same general line of work. For a lot of technical people this means the dreaded "transition to management", but it could be transition to a startup, consulting, or whatever else.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:12 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
80k would afford a nice, comfortable life in all but the most expensive cities. Especially if you truly are a "work to live" person. It's not a McMansion-and-BMW salary, but it's pretty good, nonetheless. Most salaries aren't open-ended, and it sounds like you've hit yours. If you really like the job and where you work, there's nothing wrong with accepting the situation and living with it.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:14 AM on October 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 8:14 AM on October 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
Isn't this true of almost all salaried positions though? That you eventually hit a maximum salary, there just isn't any point paying you more money. Your experience doesn't really add-value after a certain point.
The only way to get around it is to "make partner" or start your own business entirely. Wherein you are taking on more risk. But you get profits of the company which can then be unlimited.
posted by mary8nne at 8:18 AM on October 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
The only way to get around it is to "make partner" or start your own business entirely. Wherein you are taking on more risk. But you get profits of the company which can then be unlimited.
posted by mary8nne at 8:18 AM on October 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Really interesting comments here, thanks for all the input so far. Just a few things to add:
- I work in marketing communications
- I earn about 70K in my full-time job and an additional 10K in freelance revenue
- My current job does require people management, but I'm not technically a manager in title and so don't have "hire and fire", performance-review type responsibilities
- I CANNOT stay in my current job. I don't want to go off topic on this, but please take this as a non-negotiable
- As showbiz_liz pointed out, management salaries in my field and in my geographic region seem to top out at about 10K more than what I'm earning now in my full-time job, so I'm not really motivated to take on all the headaches of "real" management for only 10K more per year, although I have been asked to interview for management-level jobs (which I find kind of surprising, but that's another question)
posted by ladybird at 8:31 AM on October 13, 2015
- I work in marketing communications
- I earn about 70K in my full-time job and an additional 10K in freelance revenue
- My current job does require people management, but I'm not technically a manager in title and so don't have "hire and fire", performance-review type responsibilities
- I CANNOT stay in my current job. I don't want to go off topic on this, but please take this as a non-negotiable
- As showbiz_liz pointed out, management salaries in my field and in my geographic region seem to top out at about 10K more than what I'm earning now in my full-time job, so I'm not really motivated to take on all the headaches of "real" management for only 10K more per year, although I have been asked to interview for management-level jobs (which I find kind of surprising, but that's another question)
posted by ladybird at 8:31 AM on October 13, 2015
80k would afford a nice, comfortable life in all but the most expensive cities
Where do you live? It does seem like would be a comfortable salary in most places, so why do you need to earn more? If you moved to, say, the Bay Area, you could probably make more in a management role (at least $100k, maybe $150k for a director role, or more). But then you'd presumably have a much higher cost of living.
posted by three_red_balloons at 8:43 AM on October 13, 2015
Where do you live? It does seem like would be a comfortable salary in most places, so why do you need to earn more? If you moved to, say, the Bay Area, you could probably make more in a management role (at least $100k, maybe $150k for a director role, or more). But then you'd presumably have a much higher cost of living.
posted by three_red_balloons at 8:43 AM on October 13, 2015
If I were in your shoes, I would probably see about jumping over to a huge digital marketing agency like Deloitte or Deutsch and refashion myself in the image of a marketing consultant. It wouldn't take that long, maybe a couple years(? I don't know the extent of your background), and then it would be easier to break out on your own into a small boutique agency that gives you ultimate control over how much you make, how big you get, etc. The headache of management down that path comes with the reward of deciding how much money you want to make, and ultimate control over your workload. This is, in general, what I see my "anything marketing" friends doing in their late 20s-mid 30s, if they didn't already climb into management in-house somewhere.
posted by Snacks at 8:47 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Snacks at 8:47 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I earn about 70K in my full-time job and an additional 10K in freelance revenue.
As was pointed out above, your salary is $70K, not $80K. So you haven't topped out your salary. If you don't want to increase your responsibility or manage people - and I don't blame you there! - you still have some time before you're maxed out.
Let's say you get a 5% salary increase every year - that's extremely generous, at least in my area/career. You've got three more years before you're around an $80K salary.
I also wonder if the very senior people you're comparing yourself to a) make what you think they do and b) get an annual bonus, which isn't part of their salary. Your numbers just seem off, to me.
posted by lyssabee at 8:53 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
As was pointed out above, your salary is $70K, not $80K. So you haven't topped out your salary. If you don't want to increase your responsibility or manage people - and I don't blame you there! - you still have some time before you're maxed out.
Let's say you get a 5% salary increase every year - that's extremely generous, at least in my area/career. You've got three more years before you're around an $80K salary.
I also wonder if the very senior people you're comparing yourself to a) make what you think they do and b) get an annual bonus, which isn't part of their salary. Your numbers just seem off, to me.
posted by lyssabee at 8:53 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
So, I got offered a job once that was offering me way more than I expected for what I was doing at the time. It sounded fantastic. I would have loved to have had that kind of money. But when I got there, the work was absolutely not what I expected, and my bosses had serious personal issues, and I left. I didn't leave to make the kind of money I was going to make there. I left to make the kind of money I'd normally make anywhere else. My direct supervisor was making absolutely insane money for what he did, and hated it, and as far as I could tell he was never going to leave because he was too attached to driving luxury cars despite not doing the sort of work that should usually lead to luxury cars.
If you're a work-to-live kind of person and you absolutely can't stay in your current job, then maybe the reason your current job is overpaid is that there's something really awful about it that makes nobody want it otherwise. Maybe you're not actually really worth $80k a year. The fact that you're getting paid to work a job you don't want doesn't mean that a job you do want is going to value you the same way. You may need to just downsize to fit your life into the salary your job should normally pay.
That doesn't mean you can't necessarily transition into doing something else where you WILL be worth more, but I wouldn't think of it as you having reached the pinnacle of your earning potential so much as your current employer paying an unsustainable amount for what you're doing... and that having a very high chance of being tied to the things you dislike about working there.
posted by Sequence at 9:08 AM on October 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
If you're a work-to-live kind of person and you absolutely can't stay in your current job, then maybe the reason your current job is overpaid is that there's something really awful about it that makes nobody want it otherwise. Maybe you're not actually really worth $80k a year. The fact that you're getting paid to work a job you don't want doesn't mean that a job you do want is going to value you the same way. You may need to just downsize to fit your life into the salary your job should normally pay.
That doesn't mean you can't necessarily transition into doing something else where you WILL be worth more, but I wouldn't think of it as you having reached the pinnacle of your earning potential so much as your current employer paying an unsustainable amount for what you're doing... and that having a very high chance of being tied to the things you dislike about working there.
posted by Sequence at 9:08 AM on October 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
What kind of marketing communications are you in? I'm in digital marketing, and the top-out ceiling you mention for managers is only true of the nonprofit world (where it's 90-110k for digital directors). In the for-profit world, they seem to top out more in the mid-100s. This is in coastal cities (SF, Seattle, NYC, DC). If you're in a lower-COL area and making 70k as a non-manager marketer, then you're probably just making good money at your current job. And honestly, if you were able to bump up to $80K for your next job, that would be a 14% bump for no increase in responsibilities, which is pretty good.
Nthing what everyone else says about going freelance though. I've also noticed that digital people I know tend to either go freelance or move up into management in their thirties.
posted by lunasol at 9:32 AM on October 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Nthing what everyone else says about going freelance though. I've also noticed that digital people I know tend to either go freelance or move up into management in their thirties.
posted by lunasol at 9:32 AM on October 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I know that the general advice is that switching jobs is when you get a salary bump. That has not been my lived experience. I've experienced the opposite. When I'm working for someone for years and they see my demonstrated value, I am able to negotiate my salary up. But, when life circumstances have caused me to switch jobs I have always had to take a significant pay cut from my last negotiated salary. Then I need to demonstrate to the new employer that what I offer really does have value beyond the "standard" range for the title.
It sounds like you are in a similar trap. As others have noted, the key ways to get out of this are a change in career or employment structure. You may also find that if you are willing to change locations geographically you can effectively raise your lifestyle by living in a place with higher average salaries and lower costs of living. But, there isn't much negotiating around a fixed job description in a local market that says you are earning what that job is worth.
posted by meinvt at 9:33 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
It sounds like you are in a similar trap. As others have noted, the key ways to get out of this are a change in career or employment structure. You may also find that if you are willing to change locations geographically you can effectively raise your lifestyle by living in a place with higher average salaries and lower costs of living. But, there isn't much negotiating around a fixed job description in a local market that says you are earning what that job is worth.
posted by meinvt at 9:33 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think your best bet is to seek a salary plus equity opportunity with the company, considering the potential roster you could pull in from previous positions. I am sure you will be under covenant from last role, which could explain their hesitation as they may be looking for quick wins but will have to wait on you. That is a hard dilemma in MarComms, even if you work on the creative side of the business. If you can afford it, the second option is the lower salary plus on target earnings for key performance indicators such as total articles, categorical response, and sales. That may boost your earnings if you are willing to take the early hit. Make them agree to a real terms salary boost if KPIs are met in a set period, such as 12-16 months, but seek OTE as a quarterly payment.
Regards to salary, unless the freelance work is directly related to the market of the company and it may well be couched in this entity in future, I would avoid discussion of it. Have you ensured the employer will let you work for others? It may be offering a lower salary based on the expectation that you will make up the difference yourself. That is a difficult position but could present more of the reality of your situation.
I work with a lot of small businesses in the service sector and see regularly the scene where a person has singlehandedly created a single-service business in marketing communication or PR and discovered their profit hitting the ceiling at $30,000 per year. There is a fear to expand because of the expected new employee startup costs. The fact is these businesses grow most effectively through partnerships, finding needed talent to merge with, referrals, and piecing out work with a markup and taking fees based on time served and KPI for the whole process. Remember that the best place for you is a professional services firm. It sounds like you have ample opportunity as a young person to join an established firm or start your own as a partner and build a desk organically.
posted by parmanparman at 9:53 AM on October 13, 2015
Regards to salary, unless the freelance work is directly related to the market of the company and it may well be couched in this entity in future, I would avoid discussion of it. Have you ensured the employer will let you work for others? It may be offering a lower salary based on the expectation that you will make up the difference yourself. That is a difficult position but could present more of the reality of your situation.
I work with a lot of small businesses in the service sector and see regularly the scene where a person has singlehandedly created a single-service business in marketing communication or PR and discovered their profit hitting the ceiling at $30,000 per year. There is a fear to expand because of the expected new employee startup costs. The fact is these businesses grow most effectively through partnerships, finding needed talent to merge with, referrals, and piecing out work with a markup and taking fees based on time served and KPI for the whole process. Remember that the best place for you is a professional services firm. It sounds like you have ample opportunity as a young person to join an established firm or start your own as a partner and build a desk organically.
posted by parmanparman at 9:53 AM on October 13, 2015
I'm confused. You want to make more money without taking on more responsibility? That's... not how it works. I mean, you should expect some cost-of-living increases but if you are continuing to do the same job then your pay shouldn't really increase.
Even when I worked in consulting, where my (many) years of experience DID make a difference in terms of how much my agency could bill clients for my time, I still was expected to offer more and more each year to explain that increased rate. There came a certain point where I just couldn't offer more without sacrificing work-life balance, so I left. The increase in money just wasn't worth it to me.
posted by joan_holloway at 10:19 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Even when I worked in consulting, where my (many) years of experience DID make a difference in terms of how much my agency could bill clients for my time, I still was expected to offer more and more each year to explain that increased rate. There came a certain point where I just couldn't offer more without sacrificing work-life balance, so I left. The increase in money just wasn't worth it to me.
posted by joan_holloway at 10:19 AM on October 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Start an agency of your own. Get on the track to senior management of a big agency. Diversify your skills into investor relations or corporate communications -- the heads of IR or corporate communication make mid-six-figures salary and bonus and usually have significant equity packages.
posted by MattD at 1:58 PM on October 13, 2015
posted by MattD at 1:58 PM on October 13, 2015
Hard to answer this without knowing what the field is, but in my field, the answer is either "go into management" or "get a master's degree." Alternatively, get a master's-level qualification in some other field (law, medicine, accountancy) so you have an unusual combination of hard-to-acquire credentials and experience. Be careful you don't overspecialize, though.
posted by deathpanels at 8:42 PM on October 13, 2015
posted by deathpanels at 8:42 PM on October 13, 2015
Get a different career if you want more money.
If you're concerned about promotions and more work for the same pay, can't you stop applying for promotions?
posted by J. Wilson at 5:56 AM on October 14, 2015
If you're concerned about promotions and more work for the same pay, can't you stop applying for promotions?
posted by J. Wilson at 5:56 AM on October 14, 2015
If you can work remotely (very remotely), move to another state (maybe another country, another continent) with a lower cost of living and then charge the same or a little less for your services but be richer compared to the local cost of living. How much you make matters only in terms of what you can do with that much money.
posted by pracowity at 6:09 AM on October 14, 2015
posted by pracowity at 6:09 AM on October 14, 2015
Best answer: A lot of consulting in this field, and low barrier to entry (not a lot of capital to start a service business)... I'd agree with the others that your path forward is either start a business (agency) and/or start managing others who do what you do... now that I know your field, I'd say the salary range probably encompasses most managers in that area, so starting a business is a more likely path if you're very driven.
posted by randomkeystrike at 1:33 PM on October 14, 2015
posted by randomkeystrike at 1:33 PM on October 14, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
I do business consulting, feel free to hit me up on PM and I'd be happy to bat it back and forth with you a bit - greatly depends on what your field is. IT, HR, Accounting, and some others I could name lend themselves a lot more to striking out on your own than Nuclear Physics, Library Science, and so on.
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:22 AM on October 13, 2015 [2 favorites]