Comments on: 5-Step Plan to a High Salary

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:46:42 +0000

Maria, good for you. I have a closet of suits that I wear maybe once or twice a year. No more dry cleaning bills!

By: Maria

Maria — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:59:57 +0000

Back again for a re-read…
I can mention I have 5, but find it difficult to motivate myself for 4 with an eye fixed on my “out”. However, the sense of meaninglessness makes work easier to stand. I don’t really care anymore and have way less stress. I know exactly how much I need to invite to my leaving party (donation jar will be available). I just hope I can stand it until target reached.
Am downsizing hard in preparation and have a strict no-buy attitude. May not even have to buy another suit in my life!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:27:26 +0000

Gaby, thanks so much for your comment. I’m sorry about your past difficulties and hope that things are now going well for you. Obviously, if you hate what you’re doing each day, it will take a huge toll on your well-being. The point I was trying to make is that people need to match their financial expectations with the path they take. I know a number of people who took on massive student loans to get a degree in art history or a masters degree in social work, and then are unable to make a sustainable income and take on massive stress and anxiety due to their financial situation. I just wish it were easier to be able to try out different things or switch careers.

By: Gaby

Gaby — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:44:41 +0000

‘Pick a career path that pays well, really well — forget about following the “do what you love and the money will come later” niceties.’
I tried this and ended up having a mental breakdown. I’d rather live doing what I love and living a frugal life than doing something meaningless to me and making more money (which somehow is still never ‘enough’).

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:01:27 +0000

Maria, fabulous progress. Of course you find your own progress unsatisfactory, otherwise you wouldn’t work so hard (LOL). Seriously, congratulations on the great work so far, and best of luck reaching your goals!

By: Maria

Maria — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:57:00 +0000

I come back re-read this post every now and then when I get frustrated.
I created 1 and 2 and was given 3 and is looking for 4.
While saving loads for the alternative life I am preparing for, I still find it to be unsatisfactory (but can’t tell my staff that). Another year or two to go… then I’ll be able to hang up my suit forever.
Thank you for a great post!

By: Canadian Dream: Free at 45 » Blog Archives » Wander Reading #19

Canadian Dream: Free at 45 » Blog Archives » Wander Reading #19 — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:20:55 +0000

[...] Gal has a five step plan to a high salary. It’s truthful and I can say that since I’ve used some of these tips [...]

By: Carnival of Personal Finance: Birthdays Edition | Weakonomi¢s

Carnival of Personal Finance: Birthdays Edition | Weakonomi¢s — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:24:27 +0000

[...] ElizabethG (Modern Gal) from Modern Gal presents 5-Step Plan to a High Salary. [...]

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:06:23 +0000

ERE, I attribute part of my success while in the corporate world, and to some extent today, in the ability to force myself not to look back with a sense of regret over past events, especially on opportunity costs of past decisions. So, with that in mind, when I read your question, my first thought was if I had the chance to do it all over, I would be a lot smarter and more strategic about some of my choices and follow the 5 steps more closely rather than blundering toward the realizations above, which is what it felt like in real time.

I think that my childhood experiences color a lot of the decisions that I made. Both parents were on the academic track, and while very smart (especially my Dad) never really had the earnings commensurate with what were expected given his degrees and hard work. I think my Dad’s frustrations soured me on academia at a young age, and this was before it became as cutthroat for assistant professorships or tenure track positions as today.

I will say this, if all I had to show for my time in the high-stress corporate arena was my bank account, then I would definitely feel cheated. But even though I might not have enjoyed much of that time, I really feel that the experience that I gained is hugely valuable and frankly is what puts me in demand today for non-profit organizations and advisory types of positions. So, in that sense, there are on-going benefits independent of the money.

One area that I think the high paying track extracted a toll was on relationships. Not being able to plan long vacations, missing friends’ birthdays and interacting in a fairly cutthroat environment most of the time made it challenging to maintain certain relationships with friends and family. I plan to blog more on this later if there’s interest, as I think this is an issue that is under-discussed, especially among professional women.

Thanks for commenting.

By: Early Retirement Extreme

Early Retirement Extreme — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:13:45 +0000

One question is “if you could do it all over again”, would you do it the high-paying way again? I picked an academic career in the sciences which pays okay (think toll booth operator or UPS driver), but completely ignores 1 and 2 as your salary is pretty much fixed by the field you pick. Also 3 is pretty much impossible as 4 and 5 are pretty much what’s expected of everybody. In other words, there are about 250 applicants for each position. Even if just 10% of them are qualified (and my guess is that it’s higher), it becomes a question of luck and connections rather than skill and talent (which most already have).

Still, it was fun and energizing for most of the time. I worked overtime without thinking about it. At one point I said to my wife that if I ever retired I would still keep doing what I did. (Obviously I changed my mind). Towards the end of my career I started thinking that hey … why kill yourself on the off change of getting tenure, when you could be earning three times as much on Wall Street or just about the same as a long haul trucker. Fortunately, at that point I had already concentrated on the savings side, simply because low pay and a deep fascination with research (and no dress code) simply meant that there was never any real desire to spend money on stuff. Maybe it all evens out in the end.