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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask how I can become "rich"?

447 replies

raincabin · 08/11/2022 00:04

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.

OP posts:
dollytot · 08/11/2022 03:34

Do a postgrad in sonography/ultrasound. With midwifery that would be a nice transition. Move to Australia - they are crying out for sonography and pay very handsomely. Think in the UK around 50k+ for experienced ones.

Other than that -crypto. And I'm not talking bitcoin. The gains are insane in a bull crypto with the right alt coins/projects.

CheekyHobson · 08/11/2022 03:36

So, there are two paths to the kind of lifestyle you want.

Firstly, the conventional 'professional' paths, where you get a high salary in a professional services firm or institution, eg law, accounting/finance, medicine, maybe specialist parts of academia.

If you are more creatively/people-oriented, perhaps the marketing/sales/design/communications route is more up your alley. This way you can definitely achieve your minimum salary, but unless you are a real star performer who gets a lot of bonuses or makes partner, or are prepared to keep studying towards a lucrative specialisation, you will probably never go much over $200-300K.

Secondly, entrepreneurship. Fundamentally what you are doing here is creating very specific value that particular people are prepared to pay you for. It's not unusual that you don't really know where to start, as learning how markets work and where the gaps are is the basis of entrepreneurship, and that's actually something that usually takes a lot of practice and insight.

Some people have a very strong sense of what they want to do in life and a knack for understanding what other people will pay money for, but most people study an MBA or property development or tech or some other commercially-oriented specialisation to learn how to do this, or become entrepreneurs after studying law or accounting. You'll need to have a high risk tolerance and the ability to persuade people to buy into your vision in order to invest capital in your ideas.

If the thought of profit/loss spreadsheets and pitch documents to potential investors make you break out in hives, this isn't for you, or at least, not now. Take the more conventional route with a professional services career. You can always become an entrepreneur later. The media focuses on stories about young, sexy entrepreneurs but most people who have a successful business are actually older, more experienced, and based in unsexy industries like commodity manufacturing or trade-based businesses.

The most important aspect of successful entrepreneurship is understanding the scale at which you want to operate. It is quite possible (though not easy) to build a business that will give you the kind of income you want as a sole trader. What you need to figure out is EXACTLY how much money you want to take home because that will really affect the kind of business you want to set up. If you want to use your own unique skill base to build a company on (like your artistic ability or ability to deliver a specialist service - which could include midwifery, if you decide to target an extremely wealthy market), you could make up to about $1M a year without employing anyone else, or just with a couple of employees. But anything more than that and you will need to think about building a company in a completely different way.

CheekyHobson · 08/11/2022 03:39

And please prioritise fixing your mental health issues before anything else, because as you've seen here, if you do not you'll self-sabotage anything else you try to do

With respect, if you have no helpful advice to offer the OP, please stop posting, as all you have done in this thread is project your own beliefs, judgements and ideas onto her without making the effort to genuinely listen to and understand what she has to say.

MyMumSaysALot · 08/11/2022 03:40

The lottery here in the U.S. was up to $1.9BILLION the last I heard.
If nobody wins tonight, it will go well over $2BILLION.

The chances of winning are about as good as getting hit by lightning.

So did I waste $2 on a ticket? Hell yes.

TTCBBY3 · 08/11/2022 03:48

Others may disagree, but the only people I know who are very wealthy are either partners in large corporate firms (eg partners in law firms), or they set up their own businesses. My husband set up his own business and now has 5 of them and owns various properties. He earned a decent amount working for other people, but the true financial freedom didn't come until he worked for himself and therefore had the opportunity for multiple revenue streams. It's hard to do that when you're contracted a certain amount of hours for someone else. The only way my husband has time to do multiple things and also spend time with his family, is because he decides how he spends his time (and has other people doing the majority of it for him now!).

If you are financially motivated then Ideally - find something you're good at that pays well. Train yourself, then leave and go at it alone. There's a LOT of money in property.

TTCBBY3 · 08/11/2022 03:49

Also please don't go into law. I was a corporate solicitor before having children and they were the single most horrific years of my life. I'd rather be poor and happy

AloysiusBear · 08/11/2022 04:00

Law is terrible hours.

Accountancy is better hours. Areas like tax & technical accounting pay well, easy to get to 100k in 10 years working 9-6. Loads of flexible working.

Accountancy can also be a stepping stone into other areas of finance - auditors often go into product control at banks or transfer to corporate finance.

In house finance jobs can also lead to sideways moves towards a commercial/md type track.

WendyWagon · 08/11/2022 04:08

Finish the midwifery and then decide if you want to do a GDL.
My niece is a solicitor in medical negligence. She studied midwifery first.
However she doesn't earn big bucks. Not even £100k after 7 years of study.
I read law and then did an MBA 9 years later. I have earnt 6 figure salaries for 25 years but I have am considered an expert in my field. I have to take huge risks on my family's security (some times out of work for 6 months) and spend alot of time working with idiots.
I am at the end of my career and will be launching a new brand next year. If we get over the line with our first stockist I will make £100k from my first order.
However if I had my time again I would be a teacher (as recommended by my careers advisers at school then uni) . I loved being a trainer and lecture at colleges occasionally. I couldn't think of anything worse as a kid.
You are 22 you have 45 years of work. Be happy.

Newmumatlast · 08/11/2022 04:11

PigletsChewedEar · 08/11/2022 00:38

£80K doesnt get you..... 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...... unless you live in a very cheap place.

I dunno, I'd say it gets you all of that bar private school personally. Depends though on whether or not you want the nice car outright and if you want to travel business class/not look for good deals on the holidays.

Newmumatlast · 08/11/2022 04:14

TTCBBY3 · 08/11/2022 03:49

Also please don't go into law. I was a corporate solicitor before having children and they were the single most horrific years of my life. I'd rather be poor and happy

Depends on the person and the role/area of law. Magic circle solicitor working in London with long hours I couldn't cope with myself though.

MrsPerfect12 · 08/11/2022 05:00

Another way into business is to see what businesses are for sale. It may give you an idea of what to start yourself, or you may find something that is a few years old, turning a profit that you can take on.

ShandaLear · 08/11/2022 05:05

Finish midwifery and then think about going into big pharma. Two of my my friends have made a lot of money and it would suit your medical background.

pollyglot · 08/11/2022 05:38

I haven't RTWT, but you can get rich in the following ways:
-earn it
-inherit it
-win it
-marry it
-steal it (which I assume you don't want to do)

pollyglot · 08/11/2022 05:44

Posted too soon...
I didn't earn it - I was a teacher for 47 years and loved (almost) every minute of it. The emotionally richest, most satisfying career ever.
But I did inherit it. Fortunately.
DH married it.

Duttercup · 08/11/2022 05:55

ShandaLear · 08/11/2022 05:05

Finish midwifery and then think about going into big pharma. Two of my my friends have made a lot of money and it would suit your medical background.

Can't believe it took 7 pages to get to this answer!

Finish your degree, Pharma. Pays well, good benefits, good bonuses, generally nice to work for.

Blip · 08/11/2022 06:02

Become an electrician and work for yourself?

EastEndQueen · 08/11/2022 06:25

Hi OP - firstly to say you can earn that sort of money in Midwifery if you follow a senior management/ Consultant role. It will take some time and for you to take every opportunity going, but it’s perfectly possible. I’m on 60k at the moment in a senior policy role at NHS England (midwifery role) but have colleagues on 80-100k and I would expect to get there in my career. It took me about 6 years from qualification to get here (with mat leave in the way). I can strongly recommend looking at digital lead midwife roles (all Trusts have these now) and getting further qualifications in this direction as it can lead to hybrid roles in tech/midwifery and lots of scope for going in-house in the private sector in firms providing digital solutions to the NHS (much more money)

Otherwise - Private night nanny/sleep trainer roles on top of doing say 2 x 12.5 hours a week in the NHS can seriously bump up the salary. It’s possible to earn £500+ per night and in London certainly there is LOTS of demand.

and what everyone has said - tech, law, finance are all good options too. And good luck and NEVER APOLOGISE for wanting a better life and private school for your DC. Why on earth shouldn’t you?

EdgeOfACoin · 08/11/2022 06:28

ShandaLear · 08/11/2022 05:05

Finish midwifery and then think about going into big pharma. Two of my my friends have made a lot of money and it would suit your medical background.

This is a pretty good idea, actually. Pharmaceutical sales. Your background in midwifery would help, I imagine.

BadLad · 08/11/2022 06:32

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.

If you really want to become rich, push these thoughts out of your head. You sound as if you'll be spending the money as fast as you earn it.

The way to become wealthy is to spend much less than you're bringing in and invest the difference (a savings safety buffer notwithstanding). Your investments produce more capital over time, making you wealthy. And if that continues for long enough, you graduate from wealthy to rich. As you can see from the responses you've had, people have widely differing opinions on when that happens.

Obviously being able to save and invest is far easier with a highly-paid job. And that seems to be what you're asking about - what is a realistic highly-paid career for you?

I don't know the answer to that. I took that last step by starting a business rather than by having a job with a gargantuan salary. But what was essential was building up capital in my twenties - the earlier you start, the better by far. Eventually, the I had enough to work full time on my own business.

The point of my posting is to caution you against confusing highly-paid with rich. Many highly-paid people never become wealthy, let alone rich, because they piss it up the wall rather than investing it. You can only spend it once, then it's gone forever. To repeat myself, if you want to be rich, the best thing you can do is rid yourself of this must-spend mindset. Not completely - life is too short for a shit life - but have the fantastic life as a goal for after the hard graft, not just after the hard graft starts.

BMW6 · 08/11/2022 06:47

OP you are 22 with a young child and MH issues.

Your ambition to Be Rich so you can have the nice house, cars, lifestyle is just a daydream.

It's perfectly fine to daydream but no-one can give you a get rich quick scheme.

If you had the entrepreneurial mindset to make a fortune you wouldn't be on here asking how to get rich.

Buy a lottery ticket and daydream all you like.

ememem84 · 08/11/2022 06:55

If it was me I’d finish the degree then start work. Get some post qualification experience under your belt and see what there is out there that’s midwifery related if that’s your passion.

coukd you earn more by going into teaching on a degree course?

disclaimer I have no idea how much that would bring you in. I’m just thinking of options. Also teaching is hard work…but hours may be better than a midwife’s.

PigletsChewedEar · 08/11/2022 07:00

Newmumatlast · 08/11/2022 04:11

I dunno, I'd say it gets you all of that bar private school personally. Depends though on whether or not you want the nice car outright and if you want to travel business class/not look for good deals on the holidays.

I would agree with that

With a 10% pension it is a take home of £49,810.13

An average independent school across the years would be £15k
£34,000 to house, feed, holidays and nice car/s
Nice car £50k to but- say £1500 a month to rent do £18k a year
so now down to £16,000 to house, feed and holiday

Kiplingroad · 08/11/2022 07:05

I haven't read the whole thread but TBH I think you are on a good path with midwifery, because you will always, always have a job with benefits and security.

If you want to get rich you need to focus on working your way up, training, looking after yourself so you don't burn out, staying well and staying focussed.

Healthcare like teaching will always be in demand, you may not ever get a huge pay packet but you will always have one and over time that is worth more than a big salary in a less interesting or stable field.

He's Australian but Scott Pape the Barefoot Investor is good on managing money so that you grow wealth over time. You say you want your daughter to go to a private school and that's great, but another option is to buy a small property in an area with a good state school.

Your main priorities if you want to be rich over time are being good at your job and saving for a home, even a tiny two bedroom flat. You can build on that and be rich.

Kiplingroad · 08/11/2022 07:08

PS and it doesn't sound ridiculous - building your financial security from a young age, especially if you have a child, is very very smart.

WhiteRabbitCandy · 08/11/2022 07:11

In my experience of very high earning friends and family, they work in commercial law for a large firm (rather than conveyancing in a local firm, for example), finance, high up in HR, chemical engineering, tech/data. Caring professions don't pay that well comparatively but are rewarding for many. You will need to retrain in a high earning profession and start at the bottom.