My Mom spent her 30 year career working for giant companies – big conglomerates that are household names. They had a strict dress code: heels, pantyhose, and stuffy suits. I would see her come home every day, instantly change her clothes and breathe a sigh of relief.
So obviously the lesson I learned from watching her do this every day, was that I should pick a career based on what industry would let me dress comfortably *facepalm*. And that’s exactly what I did. I wanted to be able to wear jeans to work, lounge around on couches and express a little more creativity than I heard was possible in traditional corporate America.
I also had no specialized skills (like programming for example) and no drive to learn one (please hold your “always be hustling” chants until the end). So I looked for a job that met this criteria and, as a result, started my career working in ad agencies. Great reasoning right? *insert massive amounts of sarcasm*
Despite my less than sound reasons for entering this industry, it has paid off in spades. It turns out that advertising and marketing are some of the few industries that don’t require specialized skills or schooling, but can make you BANK. To illustrate what I mean, below is my salary from each year of my career broken out by age:
- 22 years old: $35,000 (Company 1)
- 23 years old: $48,000 (Company 2)
- 24 years old: $65,000 (Company 3 & 4)
- 25 years old: $68,000 (Company 4)
- 26 years old: $85,000 (Company 5)
- 27 years old: $103,037 (Company 6)
- 28 years old: $106,793 (Company 6)
- 29 years old: $109,234 (Company 6 Projected – I’m still 29)
Despite my silly reasons for joining this profession, it has worked out quite well for my investment accounts. A few people have asked me how I was able to reach six figures at a young age. I think this was possible because:
1. I Picked A Lucrative Career That I Could Stand
This was obviously an accident, but I ended up picking a career that fulfilled my silly requirements, paid good money and wasn’t completely soul sucking. You have to ‘pay your dues’ for the first few years, but after that point, salary increases and promotions can come quickly. In my case, this timeline was sped up as a result of a few flaws of mine that turned out to be assets, specifically my impatience and refusal to put up with bullshit.
2. I Job Hopped
I detailed in this post how I asked for a promotion at my first job (Company 1) and was solidly shut down despite doing everything I was asked to do to gain that bump. After working my ass off for them during late nights and weekends for months on end, I was devastated. This was the impetus for me quitting my first job without anything lined up, only $5,000 in my pocket and Manhattan rent due in a month.
I didn’t know it at the time, but quitting was the best thing I could have done because it taught me a strange truth: It is much easier to get a stranger (at another company) to give you a promotion and raise than it is to convince the people who see you kicking ass every day. It makes absolutely no sense, but I’ve found it to be true.
So every time I couldn’t deal with a place any more, I quit and as a result, kept gaining promotions and raises. I was also helped along by various lay offs (a common occurrence in ad agencies), which had the same effect: more money at another company.
I’ve heard from a few colleagues and friends that they are afraid to job hop because they don’t want to be seen by the next employer as someone who leaves quickly. Obviously this is just anecdotal, but I have never had a problem with that. Literally no one in the 100+ interviews I’ve gone to has ever mentioned it. It also usually only takes me about 1 month of serious job searching to find another position. I would think it would take a lot longer if people were hesitant to hire me based on my job hopping tendencies.
3. I Knew My Worth And Asked For It
This part is key. If I had just job hopped without doing my research and checking what people at a similar level were making and then asking for that amount, I would most likely have increased my salary a lot less throughout my career. Companies are looking for the most bang for their buck the same as we are, but I am vigilant in my salary research on all the amazing sites that feature this information, such as Glassdoor and Indeed. Then I ask for what I want.
In addition to discussing the salary for the potential new position, employers often ask “What was your previous salary?” I have never answered this question. It’s irrelevant to a future salary and is used to low-ball people based on what they previously made. New York City actually passed a law in 2017 banning employers from asking this question for that reason.
If someone asks that question I turn it around and say “For this new position I’m looking for $X. If that’s out of range for the position that’s something we should discuss”. If an application requests salary history I put “N/A.” Only 1 company in the 100+ I’ve interviewed with had a problem with that response and to be honest I was happy to not move forward with them (and heard later from people that worked there that I had dodged a bullet).
4. I Didn’t Settle For Less
This step was helped by a healthy emergency fund (after my first job taught me I needed to get on that ASAP 🙂 ). I made sure that I wouldn’t feel financial pressure to make a quick decision or take the first job that was thrown at me. I keep about 6 months of expenses in cash at any time because of the uncertainty in my industry and the constant possibility of lay offs.
So when a company comes to me and says they can’t meet my salary request (that I know is reasonable based on my research) I politely tell them that I won’t be continuing with their interview process. I save both of us some time and move on to someone who can pay me what the job is worth.
Conclusion
So that’s it: the main actions that I believe allowed me to grow my salary quickly. I learned early on that you should ask for what you want (promotions and raises included) and if your company isn’t willing to provide it: Move On.
What started out as impatience and annoyance at the strange truths of the world, has led me to turbocharge my salary through moving jobs often, knowing what the job is worth and not settling for low-ball offers. I hope some of these tips can help you do the same.
How about you? How have you grown your salary? Do you have any tips to help others grow theirs too?
Congrats on making such huge strides in your income in such a short amount of time!! I’m currently in a unionized environment and I think the only way I’ll be able to significantly increase my income is to job hop. Definitely trade offs to consider in something like that!
Thank you!! And that’s interesting – does being unionized limit salary potential? I’ve only heard about it protecting workers. There are totally trade offs and it’s hard to tell before you make the leap, but I imagine if it’s not what you expected your old employer would happily welcome you back 🙂 .
when i was around your age i was being paid far too little for a chemist. i quit and moved to new orleans to be a bartender for a couple of years. it was pretty easy to find a new chemist job at that time. all that being said i’ve told employers in the past “no thanks” to lowball offers as i wasn’t going to invent/solve/analyze or sell my specialized skill for less than the sales and marketing people are getting! unfortunately there is always some pointy headed dork behind me willing to work for too little but not as well as i could have done it. i like that you refuse to sell yourself short. confidence will work wonders for you.
all that being said nobody should try and make a career the way i did. it really wasn’t a career but just some J.O.B.s and when they paid well i stayed for the money.
That’s so cool! Chemist to bartender! It’s awesome you were able to identify the low ball offers at a young age. It took me a bit. And yeah it’s really weird how employers are willing to pay sales/marketing people (AKA me) more than the people that actually make the ‘thing’ (like you) – it makes no sense. Sounds like you’re selling yourself short (nobody should try and make a career the way i did) – why not? It sounds awesome to me 🙂 .
Obviously I’m not job hopping, and sticking around definitely has other perks, but I’m apt to agree that heading for a new company will almost always result in larger raises. Sigh. Makes no sense.
Yeah it makes absolutely no sense. I’m curious about the psychology behind that: maybe employers think of their employees as a ‘given’ and new hires as someone they need to reel in? Super curious about their reasoning.
These are some really good tips. The part about being able to convince a stranger to give you a raise is so true, and so bizarre. I’ve worked at the same company (that’s gone through a couple mergers) for 15 years. I absolutely have limited my earning potential by staying in one place.
Just yesterday, a coworker that I’m close with came into my office and told me he just accepted an offer at another company, mainly because of stagnation and inability to grow/be promoted here. I’m really happy for him, but at the same time I know that I should follow his example. Congrats to you, it seems like you’ve made the moves to get where you want to be.
Yeah it’s really strange, but interesting to hear that other people in other industries have found the same. And it sounds like you’ve found an awesome place if you want to stay that long! Congratulations to your coworker – I hope it works out for him. Personally if I found a place I prefer to work I’d stay – which might be my situation now! Already my longest job ever by far. My salary increases have slowed down as a result, but money isn’t everything.
I’ve grown my salary by about 300% over the course of 8 years, but that’s just because my boss is exceedingly generous with raises. So I really lucked out. Especially because I can’t job hop. I need something I can do working from home and this is the only one like it I’ve found.
Still not at six figures yet, but making pretty good money for customer service!
300% – that’s amazing!! And it sounds like you have a super amazing boss that knows the value of their employees. And I hear you on working from home – I don’t think I want to go back if I had the choice.
Awesome post with some great reminders. Simple isn’t always easy. Being 5 months pregnant means I’m stuck here for probably another year, hoping for a raise, but we’ll see. Either way, this time next year at my 4 yr anniversary I’ll have some choices to make!
Any resume tips or tips for tracking accomplishments for resume building?
Thank you! Why does being 5 months pregnant mean you have to stay another year? And oh wow – early congratulations on 4 years! That’s impressive. I’m not a resume guru by any means so I’d suggest reaching out to friends you have that are recruiters – they’d have more relevant ideas than I do 🙂 . As for tracking accomplishments I record everything in my life like a mad woman, but as a toned down version of that: maybe set a reminder monthly to write down the biggest things you accomplished that month? Just throwing out ideas. I keep a running tally that I add to whenever I do something I think is big. Thank you for stopping by!
Well, Im about to leave for a 16+ week maternity leave over the summer (thanks to NY state laws/benefits) and then I figure I’ll stay about 6 months to get back in the swing of things. In addition to working from home, my current company also offers 4 weeks PTO a year which will be important with a new baby. And I am the breadwinner is my family. So, lots of factors to consider! 🙂
I could definitely be better about tracking my accomplishments. I them down but they are still kind of scattered throughout documents… Thanks for the tips! I need to make more recruiter friends…
That makes total sense 🙂 . And happy to send some of my recruiter friends your way, but they’re basically just in marketing/advertising recruiting because of my profession. Not sure how helpful that would be…
Congrats, I think you’re definitely killing it! I made the mistake of offering my services for free when I first joined my company during the dotcom bust. They offered me a job but shortchanged me big time. But it all worked fine as I eventually joined the six-digit club.
Thank you so much!! And oh wow – you went a long way from free to 6 figures – that’s amazing!
Amazing growth!! I had the same experience as you. I tried to negotiate with a prior employer – told them my worth, said what projects I was working on, new projects I was going to start up and was dedicated to them. Eventually they gave me a raise, but it wasn’t even half of what I was rightfully asking for. Then they told me I wasn’t worth it (WTF?!?).
Then, I found a new job making more than I was asking for.
Boom. Leaving is almost always best in my experience. Plus, if we’re all on a path to FI, our mandatory careers are shorter. Thus, IDGAF if it looks like I job hop.
Love this article. Another great read!
Thanks so much! And oh goodness I’m sorry that happened to you – ugh it sucks so much at the time, but seems to lead to bigger and better things (along with a thicker skin). So glad it worked out in the end and you were able to get the amount you asked for. And great point 🙂 – we don’t have to worry about getting people to hire us for 50 years – just 10-20. Big difference! I need to adopt more of your IDGAF mindset! So glad you enjoyed the article – thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi a purple life!
I heard you on the fire drill podcast the other day and really connected with your story since I also work in marketing and love keto!
I just started in marketing, and I’m working in house for a small company. If I wanted to follow a career trajectory like yours, what sort of roles should I be looking for? I’m really curious.
Awesome job and congrats on your success 🙂
Hi there fellow marketer and keto lover! If you want to follow my trajectory I would suggest job hopping client service jobs. However I’m not sure what department you’re in 🙂 . I hear the more creative departments can make bank without the headache of dealing with clients. Let me know what you decide to do 🙂 . I’d love to follow along. And thank you so much!
That’s such a great tip about never telling your employer your previous salary.. i’ve made that mistake a couple of times!
Yeah I think I read that tip coming out of college and it seems to have served well. The more you know! 🙂 I hope it helps going forward.
Great article. Job hopping is much more prevalent now than when I was young. I definitely changed my view of people with lots of jobs on their resume over time and became much more comfortable with it.
That’s great! Glad it isn’t just my perception and the landscape is actually changing.
With your mom having the career she had, do you think you acquired skills from her directly and indirectly that greatly benefited you with your career success?
Probably! We’re both really driven and detail oriented planners and I think that has helped me in my career a lot.