To ask women for the steps you took to get to 100k

[madasawethen]

If you're a woman making 100k or over, what steps did you take to get there.

Job title(it can be general like manager, solicitor)
Training
How long it took?
Any tips or advice for others who want to get there?

May I ask what course you did? My DD is expressing an interest and would love to know! Thank you!

Like someone else said, work in a traditionally male environment. I'm in tech and my job history has basically gone start in a lowish paid technical role, take every opportunity to learn new skills and work in growth areas, keep getting promoted, so now I'm a senior IT specialist in an area which commands a premium. I don't actually work long hours or have loads of stress, and never really have (I have a couple of times, but have moved on when that happens as my skills are in demand) - I think IT can be a better choice in terms of work life balance than things like law and accountancy.

Really good to see all the women in tech roles on this thread. It is such a good industry to work in if you want an interesting job, a decent salary and good work life balance.

I earn £82k + bonus + stock which takes me to about £120k total compensation. I am a software engineer. I did a bootcamp style course in 2016 and here I am. Probably could be earning more if I hadn't taken two years off for maternity leave, although it was totally worth it.

Just to add I start work around 9:30am and shut my laptop at 5pm. Every two months I'm on call for a week but that's the only time I have to think about work outside of core hours.

Hi is there any courses that you would recommend? I am late 40s and would love a new career path.

Or plan how to get a raise?

2008: admin role earning £17k but which offered study support
2012: qualified, new company, step up, £30k
2015: new company, step up, £48k
2016: career break
2017: new company, step down, £35k
2019: new company, step up, £80k
2021: payrise to £90k which takes me to around £110-£130k a year including bonus and shares

Vice President in sales for banking/tech

100k base + up-to 100k in bonus + rental income

No qualifications/training aside from a few GCSE's. I'm early thirties and I hit the 100k mark when I was 29. I doubled my base when I changed companies. Started in sales 10 years ago and progressed up.

I definitely work smarter not harder and do less hours now then previous junior roles. I'm paid to deal with risk, pressure and deliver a number whilst communicating at a senior level. I'm currently on maternity leave with baby number two and have complete flexibility and control with my home life which is a huge priority.

Many interesting comments on here which I agree with. My advice.

• have an entrepreneurial mindset and run/think about your target or job role being your business. It's amazing the lack of negotiation skills and give away on constructing a deal by colleagues.

• saying yes to things that I'm nervous about but it's always pulled off/got me in front of the right people

-listen

-back yourself

• change jobs, and don't me afraid to ask for more. I was earning 100k base and bonus but moved roles externally 2 months post maternity leave and secured a 100k base. Don't ask don't get.

• do what you say you are going to do

Another lawyer here! In house general counsel for a mid size ish company (£100m turnover). I earn £115k plus a 25% bonus.

I qualified at 30 after studying law part time in the evenings while working full time as an admin assistant. I mostly really enjoy my job, I work in an interesting industry and the hours are actually fine - usually 9-5. I was late last night as I was attending a court hearing in a different time zone but that’s unusual.

Be obsessed with drawing and art
Create a portfolio
Land a tattooing apprenticeship
Open own studio
Work your arse off and charge £60-90 an hour
Rent out studio space to other artists and charge 50% of their takings

No idea if this is applicable in today's market, but earned me a fortune 15 years ago!

Sorry pressed post too soon. Biggest thing for me in ending up in my job is making some brace decisions. I really went for it while studying (part time) and training - looooong evenings after working all day. Then applied for a massive promotion when my son was only about 18 months. So so glad I did that as these jobs don’t come up often and I really did nearly leave it on the basis that I’d be more ready when DS was older. In fact I have loads more flexibility now so it was a really good move.

Choose your sector wisely …not all 100K+ jobs are the same.

Work in public sector, public facing. Lead a team of 200+ with nowhere near enough resource (money or people) or expertise but under constant pressure to hit impossible targets. Pressure from Govt is relentless and pressure/abuse from general public even worse.

I work 12-15 hour days and some weekends. Absolutely loathe it and find myself living a very unhealthy life style - probably drink & eat a little too much and don’t exercise enough but there aren’t enough hours in the day and I’ve prioritized time with partner & child after work. Am always worried/anxious/stressed. Am desperate for a way out but degree is niche (but not at all related to the job!) and I would never we able to retrain whilst working. Should have saved more to enable a career change but somehow always seem to spend what I’ve earned - not sure how as I don’t have much to show for it. Divorce about wiped out any ‘asset’

How did I get here ……. worked hard school, got good A levels but then had no idea what to do. Took the wrong degree as I didn’t know what else to do but got a 2:1.Started entry level. Like most people here I was the one to say yes to the extra responsibility even when it was things I wasn’t particularly interested in. Got noticed and promoted because I’m reliable and always get the job done. I focus on people and trying to support / motivate them to do their best but not sacrifice themselves on the alter because the job always demands more and so my teams function well and don’t leave quite so often as everyone else.

Not trying to bring the mood down and am in awe of the fabulous women on here but sometimes the money ain’t worth it!

This is really inspiring. I've wasted nearly 20 years in one company and scared to move to another - I'm only on 28k and that's after multiple promotions - in the financial industry too!

Id seen another job that would take me to maybe £37k in another company but i don't have much experience. But the job description doesn't specify experience! So I'm going to go for it anyway after reading all this. So thank you for this thread and sharing all your experiences.

100% this.
For me I learned 3 foreign languages and got lucky

@StridTheKiller Thats awesome. Amazing to hear someone earning a really high wage through art.

@StridTheKiller

This was my absolute dream job when I was a teenager! Kudos.

@StridTheKiller - best answer as this may be what my DD ends up doing!!

Please please go for it - don't focus on the negatives, believe in yourself and your confidence will put you in good stead. And good luck!!

In my experience external job moves have always brought the biggest salary jumps.

I'm just shy, but I will play that game anyway.

Inhouse lawyer.
I did a law degree, a masters and LPC and then a training contract (in house).
My training took 7 years all in (but I worked for part of the academic sections so wasn't all unpaid. I am 9 years qualified and work part time (32 hours over 4 days). I would be earning probably 50k more if I was (1) willing to go full time and (2) actively advancing my career/ willing to move jobs. At the minute though my priority is flexibility, work/life balance and ease, while the kids are small(ish).

Even if you have all the things you list, it is extremely unlikely that you will make six figures. I was born in a rich, developed country, went to a good school, got good careers advice and was exposed to lots of positive career role models like everyone else at my school.

Most of my classmates aren’t on £100k plus and they things that make the difference in my opinion are:

• being clever, not everyone however good the education they are offered is able to get the qualifications that make a high salary more likely
• career choice, I chose a well paid profession (accountancy) and others didn’t, nothing wrong with either way but it’s hardly a surprise that there’s an earnings differential
• career focus, I always chose to focus on my career, it hasn’t always been my priority (eg when the children were small) but I valued it and never stepped back too far.

I worked as a solicitor in a big corporate firm. Was on 6 figures by 30 but quit because it wasn't a life I wanted to live.

Slightly hijacking. This has been really inspirational to me. I'm coming to the end of a sahm career break and looking at what I can retrain in etc.
with tech careers, generally do you need to be a good at maths type person? So things like coding etc? I've always considered myself not a good at maths person, I seem to have to work hard at it.
I never made it to 100k but was on my way there before in a marketing role. I largely gained promotions by working my socks off and not being afraid to do anything that was asked, learning on the job.

I'm a sahm now but was making 6 figures in my first year after graduating. It is very important to consider which industry you want to go into... for example I really appreciate nurses and care workers and think it's a shame they aren't paid more, but unfortunately the reality is that you'll probably never make 100k in those professions.

My degree was in accountancy and I joined the trading desk of an investment bank after graduation. The hours weren't bad as we only worked stock exchange hours, but it was really high pressure and definitely not for everyone.

My route into earning six figures was via contracting. I spent 20 years building a reputation in communications and my name was out there. I gave up salaried employment along with all the associated benefits like job security, pension contributions, sick leave and paid holiday. I was paid £550 a day in my best year.

I loved the variety, change and experience of lots of different working environments but it wouldn’t be for everyone.