How did you become rich (without inheritance, marrying into money, winning the lottery etc)?

[AlansFungalFootPowder]

Can anyone give me a solid plan for how to earn lots of money? I am intelligent, have 10 years experience in a very responsible job, I have a masters degree and I’m willing to work very hard. I don’t want to sell my body or compromise my ethics.

ps not a nurse

I'd say it's quite hard to become rich these days without relying on a partner or family.

Salaries have stagnated in many fiends, pensions are less generous, your money doesn't go as far & of course more tax

We’re not super rich, but comfortable
OH is a consultant in his field, works on a contract basis and is in demand, after years of experience.

Working in IT, both of us.

I chose a career in investment banking, as it was important to me to be a high earner. It worked - although I can certainly think of plenty of things I'd prefer to do, that would be more fulfilling.

What are your skills and interests now?

I'm not rich but I've tripled my salary in 3 years due to internal & external promotions. I'm good at spotting gaps & opportunities for improvement & this has been noted by my management. I'm not extremely clever but I'm willing to work hard.

Two redundancy payments for me and two for my DH in 35+ year careers. We have gone straight into paid work straight afterwards, even if it's been a stopgap job rather than wait for a job to come up on our preferred field.
DH also had a payout when he sued a driver who knocked him off his motorbike.

Why do you say 'ps not a nurse'?

That certainly won't get you rich.

Yes but earning very little won't make you rich whether you spend it all or not.

A decent income may not ensure long term wealth, if you're stupid with it, but it's still a necessary starting point (for most). So a reasonable question from the OP.

I wouldn't consider myself rich but based on your additional.post I meet that criteria.
I work in IT as a contractor. If my DH earned the same we'd be well set financially so agree with a pp about being focused in life partner choice if that's your aim.

@Willowswood Because having said I want more money on a day when nurses are striking, I anticipated that I might get asked if I was in that profession.

Property. We have a flat mortgage free that we rent out and a house with a very low mortgage that we rent out still cheap for the area it’s in and the incomes cover all of our bills int he house we live in so our wages are all ours to spend!

oh & buying property back in the day, obviously one doesn't have control over this.

@MintJulia I don’t have children, but would like to. I think this is due to wanting a house similar to the one I grew up in. And the fact I currently live in a small flat and I’m absolutely fed up with the lack of space!

How does one work in IT/tech? Where would I start?

Of the people I know who've made lots of money, it's been owning their own business and then selling it and good investments (both property and stocks and shares). Occasionally working for someone else but in a large company where they have worked up the ladder for a number of years, but in this day and age it doesn't seem quite as possible as it did for previous generations - more career and job switching necessary to get a high salary, rather than loyalty being rewarded.

Moved offshore
Built social capital
Took risks

I don't have a degree but I'm smart, savvy and very good at reading people and business structure which makes me very good at my job.

Husband worked for a company for 13 years before starting his own successful business.

Worked extremely hard over 25 years. Now on an excellent salary but am pretty burnt out.
Be careful what you wish for - after a certain point money is not the 'be all and end all'.

the richest people I know

1. Mineral water company
2. Publishing textbooks
3. Biomedical freelancing
4. Real estate

All someway or another running their own company

OP if you want to be an employee and get rich, go into cyber security or finance

I'm not rich at all (about 30k) but I have many friends and family who are. Good luck to them all.
Friends - international DJs earning 20k a night for a few hours work. I know several. It's bonkers, how much they earn.
Financial traders in London and Hong Kong (from London) back in the day. Retired now at 45-50 - not academic but savvy. Now have millions in the bank. (I love going to their houses!)
Very high up in Motorola (was expelled from school and worked his way up from 16) now on about 250k.
Another one is in insurance. He has several houses, here and abroad.
Family - hotel business, bought a bnb when she was young and bought and sold, bigger hotels every sale. Sold her last for over 2m and now has a yacht in Turkey where she and her partner spend half the year (she's from England) and 12 Air BnBs in Cornwall, raking in over £100k pa whilst she's retired. She's worked bloody hard for it and I love her x

I will second this. It's how I started. However, I am 28 and earn £120k+ per year as an accountant but I work in tech and became specialised. DH earns similar as a teacher (£60k) and owns a maths business (he takes home £50k p/a from that, rest is paid to staff/retained earnings).

My income should go up and we can afford about £1.3m which buys us a 5 bed detached outside London.

We are not 'rich' as we are building wealth at the moment, investing where we can. But we are very comfortable - we have had to delay kids though, there is no way we could get to where we are if we had had children earlier.

Tech startup, get in early, get shares, work fucking hard (28 hour day is DH’s record), sell shares, invest. And I know it’s disappointing that that’s DH and not me. But I am lazy and not clever when it comes to tech and have been busy doing other things. My career is to come!

It’s hard to get rich as an employee - need to be CEO of a big company, but it’s quite possible to earn £100k plus which would give you the lifestyle you describe (you’d need less in some areas). But, the chances are you’ll be working long hours in a pretty demanding role so it’s important to choose something you’ll actually enjoy. A senior role in any “head office” type function (finance, tech, HR, marketing) would do it, a senior role in most businesses, store manager of a big supermarket, sales roles etc. harder in public sector

Own business. Being brave - not takin easy options. Great choice of DO. Not giving up work when DC came along. Luck. Sticking to my values.