To ask how I can become "rich"?

[raincabin]

I know this sounds ridiculous.

I would like to be a high earner, I grew up working class and my knowledge in this area is lacking. I have tried to do my own research but found it difficult, with a lot of opposing answers and many sites/people just trying to sell!

I am doing a midwifery degree, I have always been academic and considered law but I knew I would find it boring.

What can I/should I do so that I can become a high earner?

I dream of nice cars, holidays and not having to worry about stretching until the end of the month. I'd also love to be able to send DC to private school.

I am open to anything.

Probably not.

I love it, but the working conditions are horrific. As is the pay.

I undertook the law degree. Absolutely despised it (despite knowing what I wanted to do with it when I was finished). After yet another night of complaining, my flatmate described it to me as an endurance test - if you can put up with being this bored you get rewarded with a degree at the end. It’s one of the simplest and best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given.

I graduated and I absolutely adore my job. Night and day from how I felt at uni to how I now feel in real life. Unless you’re going into academia, a law degree in practice is so very far removed from study - and the plethora of jobs and earnings that it opens up to you is worth it.

it won’t of course be easy but our lives extend further than we imagine and a few years bored is a small trade off for the type of life/security (and job satisfaction!) you’re seeking.

otherwise I echo suggestions of aesthetics above - your region might be saturated but those who are HCP are far more popular and can command significantly higher prices than a beautician. Potential future tightening of regulation will shorten the market quite significantly too.

Here's my honest advice, from someone who is a high earner (and fairly young, 29)

Go to a top 5 university, then get a job in law
Most high earning jobs hire from the top universities - Oxford or Cambridge, or failing that a university that ranks in the top 5 or so. What subject you study doesn't matter.
The top law firms require good grades and a good university, that's all. Some even exclusively hire from Oxford or Cambridge uni. Over half of lawyers didn't study law at uni (my DP didn't) but if you get a training contract the firm's will pay for all your training after a degree, so it's not necessary to study law.
Most London law firms now pay around 40-50k a year during your training, and it's not unusual to get 100k when you qualify with the firm - meaning you can be on six figures as a very young person.

OR get a job in investment banking
The other job guaranteed to pay a lot is investment banking - my friend in his late 20s is on about 300k.
Again, what they require to get these jobs is to have gone to a top uni, ideally to have studied something like economics (however again, a certain degree subject is not necessary - the calibre of the uni you go to is more important)
Then - for both these roles, but more so for banking - you need work experience. There's various ways to try and get this experience, but you need to focus on get a few days here and there at FTSE100 companies, and hamming it up in all your applications.

The other thing that will earn you a lot is starting your own business - but I have less experience of that.

I was someone from a low income family who went to a top uni, now earns a lot, as do all my friends - and the above is probably the easiest way of doing it tbh. Working to get top A-levels and then going to a v competitive uni, getting competitive work experiences, is difficult - but it's probably not as difficult as doing a low paid job for 30 years and working your way up, so I think it's probably worth it.

I'm was just trying to help you with the info you asked for. Won't bother next time. 🤷‍♀️

You say that £80k would go far in your area. Unfortunately that very likely means that there are not many high- earning jobs in your area.

You don't say how old you are and how long you are willing to slog before earning big money.

Going back to law, a trainee in London will earn 60 to 80 grand but it won't go very far down there. A trainee in, say, Leeds will be on 20 to 30 grand and a qualified lawyer on 50 to 60. However if you do really well and become a partner then you'd be in that 80 to 100k bracket at that point. But it would take at least 12 years. Similar scenario for other professional services.

Take a look at management consulting- similar career path to law but less formal academics required so you can progress more quickly. However the early years do require flexibility on hours and location that you probably won't have.

@AliensAteMyHomework

No, you laughed at me and accused me of being a troll.

’How out of touch you must be’?! So, what - you mean ‘rich’?!

You’re the one who wants advice on how to achieve that!

Ok. I’ll bite. Here are some suggestions…

Have an advantageous family background.

Be intelligent.

Be clever.

Be very very good at something.

Be an entrepreneur.

There is no secret to what it takes. Just not everyone has what it takes. And if you have to ask….

Oh, for goodness sake. I don’t think it’s rich, but I’m not so lacking in awareness as to not know that a lot of people would consider it a lot of money. You’re being ridiculous.

Obviously a lot of people would consider that a lot of money. 🙄 I've been well below the poverty line much of my life, thanks for that. I was trying to establish what earnings bracket the OP was aiming for so we could provide helpful, factual, useful advice. That's all.

I found the comment a bit unbelievable and yes did think you were trolling for that reason. I've since tried to help and offer suggestions. I'll bow out now since my advice on routes to what you asked for is clearly so offensive.

I have read your other posts on here. I was replying after having read all your posts. I think if you have genuinely researched careers that fit your financial aspirations and had no success, then I’m at a loss to see how randomly asking how to ‘be rich’ will help with that. I mean the short answer? Use your common sense when deciding on a career path. Don’t choose midwifery before doing the extremely basic research into pay levels for that job. Don’t wimp out of other careers because they’re ‘too boring.’ Work hard all hours of the day and night. Win the lottery. Be born into the royal family. Etc etc etc.

@OohMrBingley

'How out of touch you must be’?! So, what - you mean ‘rich’?!

No. The last I checked, 'out of touch' and 'rich' were not synonymous.

I am intelligent. I have always done very well academically.

And if you have to ask….

Charming. Are you saying that all "rich" people or never had to ask questions to get where they are?

“You think £80-100k is rich?!? 🤣🤣🤣

“Definitely a troll. How absurd.”

That was you ‘trying to establish what earnings bracket the OP was aiming for so we could provide helpful, factual, useful advice’? That was you acknowledging that a lot of people would consider that a lot of money? Telling her she was a troll and calling her aims absurd? Laughing at her? Cool backpedal, but your comment is still there.

Why did you take a rare student midwife place then? You want to be rich, you’re probably not going to finish. Are you trying to say you didn’t realise midwifery isn’t well paid/ badly funded before you started?

Hey OP, I recommend learning SQL, Python, and something like powerBI, or sales force or Tableau. Also excel if youre not already familiar. Companies generally care more about skills than a degree for jobs in web development or analytics. Entry level positions for jobs using those skills in my area pay 60-70k (usd) but compensation can jump sharpely every couple of years if you move around and market yourself well.

Weirdly, when you laugh at people and accuse them of trolling, they are not subsequently receptive to your advice. Funny that.

Don’t choose midwifery before doing the extremely basic research into pay levels for that job. Don’t wimp out of other careers because they’re ‘too boring.’

I was well aware of the pay levels before entering midwifery.

I mentioned one career. Deciding not to get into grands of debt to study a subject I am disinterested in is not "wimping out".

It also depends where the jobs are - I live in Australia and many of the well paying jobs are located in the capital cities, especially Sydney and Melbourne. Remote working has made it more possible to access high paying jobs from anywhere but I’ve noticed a move away from fully remote to hybrid working options as the preferred arrangement.

Anyway, I work in Communications and earn a good wage but I also have more than 12 years experience as do all of my peers. So you probably won’t walk into a high wage straight away. Usually you start out and work your way up as you become more experienced.

My oldest DD is set on becoming an organisational psychologist which takes six years of uni and training but provides a really good wage.

If you feel you are creative, you could look at PR or marketing. Human Resources, if you enjoyed humanities?

I'm neither out of touch (having started as a homeless 16 year old and now being a lone parent) or rich. Yes I have a well-paid job now, after decades of study and working twice the hours or more that most people did. Am I rich? No.

HTH.

Was trying to help YOU but I'm done now if I'm going to be attacked for it.

@BlackBarbie

Why did you take a rare student midwife place then? You want to be rich, you’re probably not going to finish. Are you trying to say you didn’t realise midwifery isn’t well paid/ badly funded before you started?

29 out of every 30 midwives that qualify, leave within the first year or don't start at all. The degree is brutal. You have absolutely no idea what we have had to go through, especially during covid.

I was well aware of the lack of funding, but the terrible conditions we work in mean that it isn't worth it to me anymore.

Thank you for all of the lovely, helpful responses.

It has given me a lot to think about.

But you must have known - if you are so "academic" as you keep stating - that a midwifery degree was never going to lead to high earnings?

It's a great thing to do. I am very grateful to midwives. But surely nobody who states their priority (as you have) as becoming "rich" is going to choose that career path? How did you see that leading you there?

You’ve dealt with the unpleasant posters (although I suspect it was just the one with name change fails) really well. You clearly know how to handle yourself. I’m sure you’ll be fine. 😊