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?

Try telling that to my single family, council estate raised arse. No one in my family went to uni, neither have I, and I've managed it.

And I'm not the only one. There is money to be made if you work hard.

Languages degree, which got me an entry-level cusotmer support job in a foreign startup. Stayed with them for 12 years and was managing 12 people by the time i left. Moved to a large software multi-national as a manager, then a director - where i hit 100K last year (so 16 years into my career total)

Didn't have an IT background, but as soon as i started leading teams, started doing courses etc and upskilling in management practice & leadership etc. Did part of an MBA, but haven't finished it (not sure if i will now). Have always been willing to do extra - travel, take on odd projects, host, speak at conferences, whatever. I'm busy, but not too much evenings/weekends (happens rarely).

1 reason i have been able to lean in as much as i have is that DH has taken the lead on the home front - he works less so is more-so the "default parent" than i am. Also outsource cleaning/gardens etc, get food deliveries

I earn about 90k but could be a chunk above 100k if I contracted so I took the liberty of responding. I'm perm because I'm playing a longer game - to get onto the board. Hopefully that'll be about 5 years away and that'll be mega bucks. I'm a VP in a fintech. I feel very much like 'I could do that job' whenever I look at my superiors. You could probably say I'm entitled. I watch and learn and work out how to get to where they are. I make sure I'm competent day to day whilst delegating. I push for the next step up. If my current company isn't offering what I want when I want it, I go get it somewhere else. On average I move every 2 years. My partner is very supportive and thinks i should be CEO which definitely helps if you're having a wobble. I manage the stress. I basically never work beyond my hours. I never get drawn into drama. I push back and say no a lot. I'm firm with my boundaries. This helps my team remain stable and high performing and means I can manage my emotions around the pressure. Always be open and honest. Communicate clearly. GET OUT IF IT'S CLEARLY TOXIC.

Hope you make it @Franca123. I could never have made as much money in a perm role as I did contracting, comms roles are very undervalued.

I love this thread. I'm a solicitor with an extra MA but even as Head of Dept I earned less than 30k. It was because I worked in a Legal Aid firm. Moving into teaching law meant an increase of salary to 31K. Woo.

I'm happy to have had the excitement of working in Legal Aid and really making a difference, but now I'd like to earn a bit more frankly. All those nights and weekends working my way up. I'm 51 I still have a couple of decades of work to go. I need to become more of a leader, maybe get into some regulatory roles.

I'm not quite at £100k but I'll chip in that my biggest pay rise (like £20k at a time) have happened when I moved companies.

You can job hop your way to £100k if you're smart. Staying at the same company will give you 2% pay rise per year if that!

Best of luck with your return from being a SAHM (the hardest job there is tbh). You don't need to be mathsy for a non tech role at a tech company. All of these companies have marketing teams (and HR, operations, PR, Legal, office management etc). There's a lot you can learn from podcasts, Linkedin, the news that could help you break in.

Thank you @namechange100kQ that's really helpful, maybe I start with what I know and see how I can evolve from there.

@whereeverilaymycat I have no idea how DMs work here but if I can be useful let me know

NC
graduated with a 2:1in social science
went to work in retail for 5 years and worked all over the UK running multi million pound stores. Learnt everything about managing and developing people, budgets, finance and HR.
changed careers to health and took a massive pay cut.
worked hard and learned on the job whilst studying and passing exams
Took specialist training qualification and worked hard and took every opportunity which came my way
now Im a qualified Consultant and expert in my field. I work long hours some days and less others. I also publish in academic journals but find it hard to find the time with other commitments

Associate Director in pharmaceutical company, age 36.

x2 Science masters degrees but 1 would have been enough (early career change).

Worked my way up company for 10 years with starting salary of £33k, now just over £100k. I've had 2 children in that time and I'm pregnant again, but have remained working full-time throughout (except maternity leaves) to help progression. Stressful job with some evening work, but I'm now so imbedded in company I can relax a bit and go part-time.
I'm very happy and no intention to progress much further as don't need the extra stress or money. I'll likely get promotion automatically, but at a slower rate than I would if I pushed myself.

My top tip - I'm a very cheerful and positive person, and always try my best and offer to muck-in. I've built a great reputation based on that - people remember me.

I should add, it's a very flexible job and I've never missed any school performances or events despite being a high earner. That was a must for me.

Truly love this thread. I'll post my story soon.

Anyone wanting to learn something new, try Coursera.

What type of engineer?

I'm enjoying these stories. I've posted mine but am following up with some things which helped me.

Really do look at the career paths which have more men. I was initially put off investment by all the spreadsheets and numbers as I'm not a maths person, but I put work into understanding and after that it's the ability to think creatively and work well with people that has made the difference.

Try and understand early on which career paths are best paid.

Network! Took me too long to realise how useful it is because I stayed at one company for ages. Got my most recent role because I now know everyone in my industry. Valuable.

Look for external speaking opportunities, non exec roles, projects with exposure to senior people.

Focus on getting experience which is valued. A lot of women take on work which is useful for the organisation at that time but is not valued more widely and doesn't help their career.

Don't apologise for leaving early to deal with kids. Don't even tell anyone if you don't have to.

Don't say 'i think', just state your opinion.

Also, I just interviewed a man on over 100k and frankly he was mediocre but had pushed his salary up by moving around a lot.

I think these threads are really useful. Ten years ago I remember reading a similar one when I was on maternity leave with DS1 and I found it quite inspiring. I was always one that would go back to work after children but it really made me think about what I needed to make it work and keep pushing ahead with my career. I wish that teenage girls could have access to this knowledge as I think the key points for most women, when the big life changing decisions are made, are the secondary school years and the years when they are on maternity leave or have small children.

I’m a marketer at a tech company and it’s definitely where the money’s at! I was B2C before and have pretty much doubled my old salary within 18 months by moving jobs twice.

If you have a background in marketing there’s no reason why you can’t do that for a tech company, regardless of whether your experience is B2B or B2C. In some roles it might be helpful to be able to translate technical information into something more readable, but you certainly don’t need coding skills. My role is quite ‘data driven’ though (this seems to be a new buzzword) so I do spend a lot of time tracking campaign performance in spreadsheets etc, something I could never have imagined myself doing a couple of years ago.

I’m on nowhere near six figures yet as I’ve barely done a year in the tech industry. However I’ve got my sights set on a promotion this year, with a view to moving companies next year for a salary jump. I’m hopeful that I could get to ~£80k within the next three years.

Qualify as a children and family's social worker. Work for 2 years permanent then go independent as an agency worker.

Go and work agency in a social work team that has a massive vacancy rate and demand top rate for your hours. You'll be 100k in no time.

Wow I'd never think of something like this.

This thread is so interesting!

I would also love some career advice from women on this inspirational thread. I am at a loss right now!

Multiple 6 figure salary.

Grew up in one of the most deprived boroughs in the North, very working class. First person in my family to go to Uni. Have a masters and other post grad qualifications. Senior exec at a biotech. Was youngest person at my level and one of only 2 females.

• Very high EQ. Ability to read a room and adapt in an instant has been one of my biggest skills. this can be learned to some degree
• Network, network, network and then do it some more
• Apply for roles that are a stretch. If you know everything you’re already doing the job. It’s known men tend to do this and women don’t
• The phrase office politics has bad connotations but it’s not all bad and is often how things get done. Think about that and read about it. Be ethical but know if you don’t play the game you’re not even in the game
• Have a mentor and/or exec coach
• Build an awesome team as you’ll need them. Develop them to do your job better than you which is what will give you time to progress yourself. Holding on keeps you firmly in middle manager no man’s land
• get comfortable having uncomfortable conversations with a whole range of people. Employees, the CEO and Board, customers, investors etc.
• I am fearless but would not be described as aggressive. I don’t need to shout to be heard or behave like a man. Be professional at all times
• Get training on giving great presentations. If you think you’re good - get better
• be human. You are not infallible, you will fuck up but know people work for and trust other ‘people’ who are honest and authentic
• get out when it’s your time and move on. It’s not personal
• recognise it’s a job. Work to live not the other way round. Easier said than done…

Should add I have DC and am early 40’s now but pushed it career wise in my mid to late 30’s. Never once apologised for needing to leave early for anything DC related. I kick ass at my job so I’ll go to sports day or WFH if my kid is sick. Many of the guys were also family oriented and it’s never been an issue in my career, honestly. Maybe that’s not the case in all industries but I never set the tone of ‘please can I have’. It was ‘i’m going to be’… they always got it back 10 fold anyway.

This is the same as me. I’m paid (more than £550 a day) to manage projects in quite a niche area. I wfh 100%, start at 9 and finish at 5. Take whatever holiday I need, but don’t get paid for it.

Downside is I can be fired at any time without notice but that’s never happened to me. My contracts can last from 6 months to several years.

my skills and background are:

highly organised
Good project management skills
good communication and presentation skills
focussed on delivery and the end result
able to manage multiple stakeholders
comfortable with ambiguity, good at getting to the crux of an issue
Knowledgeable in my area
I get on with people
Lots of experience in multiple FTSE 250 organisations

@Coffeetree Law is definitely only high earning in certain sectors. Commercial sectors mostly for obvious reasons, and private practice typically more so than public sector or in house. I am not sure they are necessarily professionally satisfying for all though, and the work culture in many city firms is something I would never ever take part in. Even for the HUGE wage packets.

Oh, and to get where you want to be, I agree with others than the things that really make the difference are moving around, not being scared to ask, putting yourself forward, not being intimidated by heirachys, networking and - it sounds obvious - but taking pride in what you do, and doing it well.

Some of these things I do, some I don't. I know I am not currently reaching my earning potential, but I can live with that because of the other things I am able to do instead. earning 100k (or in my case more) isn't the be all and end all. Many of the jobs that pay that work require a lot of sacrifice in other areas of life.