If you earn 100k plus, what is your occupation?

[CJ2010]

I've posted this here as it is a bit U, but i am curious to know what jobs pay mega bucks.

I've just been looking on a jobs website at admin jobs, most are paying on average 20-25k (in London). With the cost of living as it it, that sort of money will not go far at all.

I've been a SAHM for a while now and have begun looking for work. I'm considering retraining, but only in something that pays well!

So members of the 100k club please spill the beans and let me know your secrets!

Dh is lucky in many ways (no travel, normal hours, not much stress, nice people to work with etc), but mostly because he would choose to do what he does regardless of the money. He keeps on going for his own enjoyment when not actually at work.

I feel the same way about something I do, but children has slowed it to a halt. I really hope I can catch up later on.

Being good at something, and actually wanting to do it and you are half way there.

I hit £100k (counting bonus) with about 6 yrs post-masters-degree experience plus an MBA, in management consulting.

I think the OP wants a few ideas for areas to look into.

If she goes into an area where the more experienced/specialised/top earners are on £40-50k and she only gets halfway there, then that's about what she would be earning in admin. OTOH, if she goes into an area where the top earners are on £100k, there's scope for her to earn more.

What is management consulting? I know a few folk from university went to Accenture to do this but I can't fathom what it actually involves? Really intrigued to know if anyone has time to explain a little .

What I said doesn't apply to the op, no.

I wouldn't recommend dh's field. Most of them are on not very much.

Also I think if you want to earn a lot of money, you have to be really good at what you do (no-brainer) - but that means liking it for most people. The people at the top of the magic circle firm I worked at (earning £2m a year as partners at top of equity) really love it and want to come to work each day. They find deals exciting and the intellectual rigour of advising on a technical area (I was not in a corporate team, but a 'corporate support' specialist department). It's a lifestyle, not a job.

Most people will be best served financially by pursuing what interests them intellectually or creatively. Entering any field of work purely to make money will probably not work and is guaranteed to make you miserable.

I know someone who just bought a 2 million £ house, works v hard in insurance. Richest person I know sold a dot con business. All the wealthy people I know are over 40 and worked hard, sometimes with a v supportive sahm wife- who does all the childcare, household jobs, paperwork, etc.

SardineQueen - I am an actuary and would say that now is probably the best time ever for a 40 year old to start exams:-

Age discrimination laws mean we can't even ask your age let alone use it as a reason to not employ you.

There is a huge shortage of resource at the moment due to Solvency 2.

Changes to Visa laws make it difficult to employ non-Europeans so the pool of new graduates has shrunk.

So if you really fancy it, definitely worth looking further.

sometimes with a v supportive sahm wife- who does all the childcare, household jobs, paperwork, etc.

Yes that's my impression too talking.

I wonder, of those on this thread who earn £100k plus, do they have a DP at home who does most of the child/house related tasks? Or do they manage to share it somehow? (and if so how!!)

All the wealthy people I know are over 40 and worked hard, sometimes with a v supportive sahm wife- who does all the childcare, household jobs, paperwork, etc

Or are divorced.....

The people i ghave seen make good money without extensive training/qualifications run their own buisnesses, typically importing/exporting something unique or niche.

I'm a lawyer ... earn just over £100-125k but will give up work this year since my salary is negligible compared to my DH.

He finished his PhD (Theoretical Physics) at 24 and went to work for investment bank as a prop trader. Started at bank on £40k, third year £180k, fifth year £500k ... then the numbers went stratospheric. He's now partner at hedge fund. Manages client's money + big chunk of his own money in a sub-fund so difficult to say what his "compensation" really is now.

I wouldn't say he ever worked that hard in terms of hours but he's always thinking about his positions. Since he's always made money for the bank or fund's clients (particularly 2007-09) nobody cares if he's very slack in terms of office hours.

I used to work in advertising- quite senior position - and earned that. DH is City lawyer and earns alot more than £100K.

I'm a SAHM but DH is good at sharing housework and he deals with most of the paperwork (though we have a cleaner as neither of us is fond of doing that!). I have one DD but from a former relationship so I do the bulk of parenting.

He does a standard 40 hr week, it's not stressful work with deadlines but it's intellectually demanding. He's lucky as he has a genuine interest in the problem-solving he needs to do, but it's quite a rare skill and not always one that can be learnt.

mincie DH and I outsource as much domestic stuff as possible.

I am lucky to work flexibly and from home, but most of the couples I know who are both high earners have nannies and help with domestic things.

That said, I know lots of women (and a couple of men) who gave up their own career to support their partner's. They keep the show on the road while the other works.

Self employed communications consultant.
Worked in FMCG marketing for six years post university then the city and then a financial communications consultancy.
Left London four years ago and now work freelance from home for a few clients.
Work life balance is good - I do work 5 days a week, some evenings and weekends but manage to put the hours in around other things I want to do.

IT consultant - not me, DH.

He also works from home 1-2 days a week and rarely misses bedtime stories for our boys.

quick name-change completed

DH and I both earn over £100K - just (in good years). We both work FT and do not have a nanny (we have 2 DC, both under 10). It involves a lot of juggling and a lot of some support from GPs, plus the fact that we both have customer-facing roles in large IT companies means that although demanding our jobs are flexible and don't generally involve long hours in the office (although long hours working @ home are a given, it's far from 9 to 5).

Most colleagues I know with similar incomes and young DC have one SAHP in the family (so single income) or have nanny/nannies.

emsyj Management Consultancy is what I do. Wikipedia has a fairly good definition.

Basically I look at it as problem solving - but difficult problems that a firm either can't solve itself or wants to off load the risk of solving itself to an external agency. It's all just logical common sense really but you have to be able to explain it/communicate it, convince people of your findings and ultimately persuade them to follow certain expensive courses of action.

I have a Oxbridge degree and MSc in a related field - I've then been working in the field for just over 12 years. I could earn more if I moved firms and wriggled my way up that way but I actually like my firm and have settled for slightly less money for the flexibility it gives me... soft/hard benefits balance if that makes sense.

Personally I work on UK Government projects so don't have to travel like some of my colleagues do. When building my way up I did some shitty hours - 18 hr days for example however now I'm know and trusted I get a lot more flexibility.

I've been a SAHM since I was 24 (now 35) and my 36 year old DH is now in that category. He pitches in on the weekend but during the week he works long hours and I pretty much do everything... I don't think he'd have been able to do that had he been rushing home to pick up kids from daycare etc.

I know a woman who was offered a huge role in a bank (she's an actuary) and her DP gave up his job because they could no longer assume they could get home for the nanny.
Overall their income is now higher and she loves it. Her DP always seems a bit glum though.

Hmmm. Something strange going on. I am a lawyer, DH is an Investment Director, and yet our joint income this year will be around £105-115k. And it has taken a big jump, just last year was joint @ £65k.

I had thought we were doing rather well!

Maybe because we are in our 20's? And oop north?

DH is an IT consultant, and earns just over 100k - but he is self employed, so has no holiday pay / bonuses or other nice perks.

I earn much less - but am much less ambitious.

herekitty Layers salaries vary wildly. I know I jave done all kinds of permutations.

But in the City a NQ would expect around 60k.

I don't earn £100k but have a masterplan. Involves writing a novel under the pseudonym 'Ian Rankin'.....

Hmmm still don't really understand management consultancy! I just can't visualise what it would involve on a practical level.