To think a lot of people earning 6 figures aren’t actually that smart, just lucky?

[SnarkyDenimFox]

I’ve met plenty of high earners and honestly, a lot of them don’t seem any sharper than the rest of us. Right place, right time, right connections. AIBU to think it’s often luck, not talent?

You do recognise that you have bucked the trend though right? Stats on social mobility make that quite clear. Unless you think all the people who haven't had just success just weren't willing to work weekends?

I’m a high earner.

Thats down to a combination of factors.

Secure family unit with parents who prioritised education.

Picking an industry that a) plays to my strengths and b) is highly paid.

Then working very hard in that industry to rise through the ranks.

Being charismatic and importantly… able to influence decision makers.

Some of that is luck (background and personality) the rest is hard graft.

I am very very clear that the biggest factor I ln all of that is a privileged upbringing and the support of my parents

The (tiny number) of high earners I know were focussed from early adulthood about what they wanted in life, sought it out and were prepared to work hard at getting it. Not abnormally freakishly hard, but still prepared to put in the effort and hours. They certainly did not cruise in any job ( until they had achieved what they wanted to).

They both did come from supportive families and they had the expectation that they would go to uni and get good jobs.

Totally agree, they support the status quo no matter how awful that is.

A lot of this is me too. I am a high earner but not very high and that is because I made some decisions to prioritise other things - e.g. I am a lawyer and chose to work in house over private practice for example. This was due to the work life balance I wanted (or rather what I didn't want). In my current role I do not seek advancement (and therefore more money) because I want to be around for my kids. So for me it's pretty clear what (1) allowed me to reach where I am now (educated parents, privileged upbringing, intelligence, hard work at college/ uni/ early in my career, having a face that "fits"/ understanding workplace dynamics etc and (2) why I have stalled.

Face fits above all else, imo

This has probably already been said but it can also be - and I think often is - that they might be a different kind of smart. Could be emotional intelligence, or “street smarts” or just a force of personality.

Obviously there is always an element of luck in anything, to varying degrees in different cases but that’s just for.

Some will just be more hardworking, some more organised, some in the right place at the right time (which might involve identifying that right place), some more confident etc

Academic intelligence probably doesn’t equal financial success in most cases - beyond a certain point that is.

Not at all. TheOP was talking about people who are high earners being lucky my point was that in this one example DH, luck had nothing to do with it. DH’s mum was a cleaner and dad a labourer, both immigrants from Ireland, brought up on a council estate. Uni was never an option for him but he ended up at a senior level in his field through persistence, hard work and being willing to go the extra mile. His experience is not nonsense.

I think it's a mix of things. My husband earns 6 figures as a director of an architecture firm but he has worked very hard to get where he is now and is very talented at his job. However he also went to private school so that may have had an effect, but he also went to a former polytechnic to do his architecture degrees.

I think with him it's also being in the right place at the right time as he specialised in healthcare design quite early on in his career and at the time there was a lot of that being built and he was able to build up a reputation and client base early on.

He is smart but not as smart as me and he will freely admit that 😅. I'm not a high earner but I chose an arts degree so maybe I could have been a high earner if I chose a different field at uni, who knows.

@Icanttakethisanymore impressive in what way? 🤷‍♀️

Yes, I’ve been very lucky but I also worked hard and smart in my twenties. I worked out what I was good at , where I could excel and I laser focused on progressing in that area.

My work doesn’t require a high IQ but it does require organisational skills, creativity and a lot of common sense.

When I worked in the corporate world I realised I was as intelligent, if not more so, as most of those many, many levels up from me. But what I lacked was interest, ambition and work ethic. My priority was an easy, stress free life with plenty of time to pursue my very demanding dance passion. That's why they were so far above me career-wise. It was application and mindset rather than intelligence.

So did we deserve to be on our respective rungs of the corporate ladder? Absolutely.

My parents also weren’t educated and did shop work, labouring etc. However I went to a school that streamed and my class were generally all Uni focused so I got the grades and then the grants to attend Uni.

If you don’t have either the home or the school environment that prioritises education, it’s going to be very difficult to make it to Uni.

Growing up I knew plenty of tradesmen who did well but none that were very well off. They had a comfortable family life but that was about it

Good communicators, good problem solving skills, a good understanding of their clients and of the challenges that face their businesses, good at motivating people around them and lots more beyond that if I felt inclined to spend time more time listing things out but I’m supposed to be at work earning my 6 figure salary so I’ll keep it brief 😂

OK inheritance isn't the right word, but Musk was helped into business by his millionaire father. Gates, Zuckerberg and Bezos also had financial help from wealthy parents.

I wouldn't define 'ordinary' backgrounds as upper middle class. They really do illustrate the fact that having a face that fits and the right connections really matters - which is why 85% of seed funding goes to men. If you want to be like Musk, you need to be a man. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/31/small-business-entrepreneurs-success-parents#:~:text=The%20study%20did%20not%20find,lot%20of%20other%20things%20too?

They may not always be the most intellectual (although a certain level is needed of course)

However they have skills that can't really be taught like being highly motivated, confident and very organised.

They are also fantastic at interviews which is probably one of the most important skills you can have.

All 6 figure earners I know certainly had no connections- I would say the opposite, things which actively worked against them eg rough schools. What they did have was a very strong work ethic and good personalities. Infinitely more important than qualifications and intelligence id say.

This made me laugh as I’m the same

I am a 6 figure earner

I was in the right place at the right time 18 years ago - happened to do a good job for a client who then referred me to a lot of other people and business grew from there

A lot of hard graft to keep the clients happy and grow referrals while employed for someone else

Took a risk and left my 80k employed job 8 years ago and doubled my income within 2 years

Tend to agree with this. There are a lot of people like that where I live, I call them (in my head), 'the shining people'. 😆

Arguably it wasn't good luck. It was the good work you did which was recognised.

I think Charisma cannot be understated really, its often the missing piece of the puzzle and will get you far.

It’s often down to personality. Some people have it in bucket loads. Other people, despite being clever, have none.

Looks also help.

Me and DH are both in this category, I would say we took the boring route, we were both quite focused on well paying jobs (dont come from any kind of money esp me), rather than interesting ones! He is smarter and quicker than me, I am kinder and more committed (a nice slogger), we both found dull roles that suit us.

We were certainly lucky to both be smart enough, have decent role models in education and work and the kind of brains that can cope with both logic and boredom. No one would consider us exceptional and I think most people would be surprised by our salaries - to give the regular hope, you can do it, if it matters to you, you have a little luck. AI may impact this a bit, but I think the kind of problem solving, pricing stuff together we do will have value for some time.