How long did it take you to make your current income?

[letuswaltzforthedead]

I think it's fair to say that when people get their first jobs, they're usually making minimum wage and not a lot. What were you backing back then vs now? How long has it been? (Not trying to call anyone old).

[kreesholva]

20 years total if you consider teenage jobs. If you consider "professional" post-graduate career then around 12 years total.

First official job, landscaping for minimum wage as a teenager. Then a server in a restaurant through first few years of college - which wasn't bad income actually for the hours worked.

Internship in junior/senior years of college was $15/hr wage but also got credits for school which saved thousands on that.

Brought on full time ~$50k year to start. After promotions and raises over 12 years, now compensation ~$200k for full time remote work (no complaints given low stress and fully remote with flexible hours and paid time off).

[NathanDavis]

I guess that depends on how we see this...

but I could tell you that I only started to work formally till the age of 22, everything before that... I just made money here and there with different stuff, and because I lived with my parents, I did not have major expenses lol, I do not recommend this at all, and I am not proud of it either

but ever since the age of 22, I've been working in small businesses (I stopped a college career in engineering and science because while I could have done great at it, I really did not want that path) and then later with family and relative business, which are a bit bigger on the scale, but... in my current position as manager at a business of my own, that has been almost six years (two of them being an absolute nightmare, and I think you know which years I do refer to... lol)

[midnightmoon05]

HS supermarket cashier was $3.65 minimum wage. I had other jobs before, like babysitting and other odds and end jobs.
College side job in a private firm…a lot more than minimum age.
now.. in my career, I am making over 6 figures. I also do other side things…because I love and passionate about both. Even though I am planning my retirement for one job…I am looking to do something else for fun.
I am driving my self and my husband and sisters closed friends nuts about what I want to do next.

[SnowedIn]

It's okay. You can say it. I'm old. 🤣 So, it took me 30 years to get to my highest income. I started at minimum wage before high school and the job I did during high school was actually a little higher than minimum wage. The Navy paid me less than what I would have earned out in the private sector but some benefits sort of made up for it. After the Navy I took a huge pay cut working at a non-profit. That didn't last long. Then got a job that paid me slightly above market. But that took a long time. The theme you should notice through there: it's never consistently up (or consistently down). The constant is change.

[Havthrills]

Would it be different if we compared your wage to the price of everything now? Like when I was working some while in high school, a regular candy bar was 50 cents. Now it's $1.50.

[SnowedIn]

@Havthrills... the coffee hasn't kicked in yet this morning so I'm not sure what you mean by "... would it be different" but if what I think you're asking is the case, then yes. The cost of things has risen such that I'm making less. The problem is, though, that I'm not in the same job or even type of job nor with the pay scale. So they're really not comparable. But my dollar usually goes less far than it used to but I have slightly more dollars.

[Havthrills]

Kind of what I mean. For example, 20 years ago you could be making $15 an hour, gas was $1.15 per gallon, and a loaf of bread was still 75 cents. Now you make $21 an hour, gas is $3.76 per gallon, and bread is $2.50 a loaf. Would all this be accounted for what your highest income would be?

[Anonymous]

This is quite an astute question that most young people should be asking early in life. When I was 17, I sterilized surgical instruments for $12/hr. I then got a Bachelor's and now I make 6 figures plus a yearly bonus of 10%, really just telling other people what to do. Took 20 years to get here, but I wasn't ever really interested in money just liked what I did. However it is nice to invest 1/2 my paycheck and have a house, because these are assets, which are more important to have as you get older.

[DJB72]

Don't judge success by your salary.

I made a far higher salary aged 27 than I do today. I was selling insurance and making over £2000/week - more than my wife would make as a doctor today in the UK.

But I'm not in the UK any more. South African salaries work differently than British ones because of the difference in currencies.

Look to how you feel about yourself in each position you hold. And never take a job based on the money. It's rarely worth it.

[TroyDT2]

I started my company when I was 19 and have seen increases every year except 2020 (for obvious reasons). I will make between 15% and 20% more this year than last, so I guess it took me till now.

[pers0n]

I was given the average in our area since day one. I have been trying to change it to as low as possible to pay as little taxes as possible, while getting non taxable benefits from the boss.

[Guy13]

I started Monopoly at 10 years old so 20 years….

[Anonymous]

First hourly wage I got paid was 2.50 an hr. (But to be fair it was an amusement park. It was seasonal so they didn't legally have to pay minimum wage). Now I own my own business so it's kind of hard to pin down exactly how much I make now.

[Havthrills]

Long time. I was making more than this about 5 years ago but the place closed.

[Redstang88]

Well started working at 14, making decent money now but still have a long way to go

[Anonymous]

My wages quadruple when I moved from the USA to Australia.

[Agape93]

2 years technically

[EaterPeter]

3 decades?

[EaterPeter]

Thanks for like!

[eagle1951]

all my life