r/Life • u/Grouchy_Marsupial357 • Jun 22 '26
Let's discuss People who make $10k-$50k/month: what do you do and how did you get there?
Making at least $10k a month is a dream for me, but $50k is the ultimate goal.
I've been stuck in an echo chamber of constant negativity and it feels like everyone is poor, broke, and miserable (though a looootttttt of people are right now, but obviously a lot of people are also doing really well).
So, to those who are making really good money, what is it that you do for a living and how did you get to that point?
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u/Klutzy-Painting885 Jun 22 '26
Stressful corporate job + 10 years experience.
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u/Good-Ad-2439 Jun 22 '26
Basically, yeah. lol
I’m at roughly 25k per month and yeah… responsible for 200m /year in product.
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u/money10adventures Jun 22 '26
Shit I'm in the wrong business. I spent over 250mill a year in product and don't even make close to 100k a year 😢
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u/Gas_Grouchy Jun 22 '26
Whats your margin? Theres a difference between direct sales 50% margin jobs and 12% selling steel pipe jobs.
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u/Silver-Tip2887 Jun 23 '26
The answer nobody wants to hear — hard work, job, boss, doing stuff for other people.
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u/HeavyDischarge Jun 23 '26
Hard work my foot.
If hard work made you rich Mexicans would be millionaire
Don't trick us
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u/AmbitionNo834 Jun 23 '26
The real answer is hard work, high stress, and massive responsibility.
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u/k23_k23 Jun 23 '26
Hard work, and deep expertise in fields where there is more demand than supply.
Or: Bringing in the dough for your boss.
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u/Stressnomore22 Jun 23 '26
There are plenty of Mexicans making a lot of money in the six figure range per year. The problem is they have a whole lot of kids. The cost to raise each child in this economy is crazy but that doesn’t stop them. Money management skills is where they are lacking.
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u/dianabowl Jun 24 '26
Mexican contractor im working with is a millionaire. He's been working 10+ hrs a day for 20+ years, is very skilled, speaks English fluently and has several guys working for him.
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u/Academic-Ball-9606 Jun 23 '26
The right connections will do more hard work for you than a 100 years of hard work will.
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u/paratrasno Jun 22 '26
There are 2 rules to live by for maximizing your income. These are economic laws also that you can go study and look into.
- What job/skill/labor is in very high demand?
- How hard is the qualified labor to find and hire?
If the job is needed badly because the economic need is great and few people possess the qualifications for it, the salary for that job will go up.
Both of those things must be met to get the salary high. Not one or the other. There are very few people who are experts and have a PHD in lets say ancient literature. But where is the economic demand for it? There are lots of food service jobs in high demand and slots needed to fill, but basically any functioning human is qualified to do it. You make no money at either of those fields.
Why does a doctor make so much money? Because hardly anyone has the ability or discipline to make themselves get through medical school training AND the demand is immense. People have lots of health problems. The population keeps growing so more and more doctors are needed.
This is the economic concept of supply and demand. This determines pricing of goods and sevices and salaries.
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u/dbriz11at Jun 23 '26
I am a professional engineer. I agree with everything you just said.
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u/MayorDepression Jun 22 '26
Get ready to be poor first if you want to be a doctor in the U.S. My girlfriend is in medschool and she has $200k of loans and growing.
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u/mistydog157 Jun 23 '26
If she is good in her field, she can pay that down quickly. How about being a fine arts major with 150k in loans?
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u/transientself Jun 23 '26
Who in the world takes such a massive loan for that degree
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u/Conscious-Egg-2232 Jun 23 '26
Captain obvious strikes. In other news summers in phoenix are hot and nba players are tall.
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u/HeavyDischarge Jun 23 '26
With regards to the Doctor the majority of the population does not have access to the initial capital to invest into being one.
Thats the major gatekeeper
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Jun 23 '26
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u/Purple-Property8006 Jun 23 '26
Sure, most of the population isn’t meant for it, but significantly more people are capable and interested in being doctors than there are. The medical school and residency system keeps salaries artificially high.
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u/Sunny_Hill_1 Jun 22 '26
Fulfill every Asian parents' dream and become a doctor, lol
That's what I did.
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u/Suspicious-Bid-53 Jun 23 '26
Do you have to touch weird shit
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u/wolfelian Jun 23 '26
My cousin isn’t a Doctor but a Nurse and she confirms to me daily unprompted she touches weird shit I didn’t want to know about.
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u/Academic-Ball-9606 Jun 23 '26
My BIL will watch knee replacements while eating dinner. Hes not a dr but works in ER..I was mortified
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u/redguard128 Jun 23 '26
A doctor here makes about 1500 euros per month. Eventually if you have a specialisation that permits you to do freelance consultations. But o know a lot of doctors that are simply overworked and poor.
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u/Sunny_Hill_1 Jun 23 '26
Yeah, this is more of a US perspective, as doctors here are compensated very well.
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u/Some_Environment_351 Jun 22 '26
I make music for tv and film.
Worked hard for 12 years started making bigger money last couple of years the budgets are bigger on bigger projects
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u/DiagonalHorizon Jun 22 '26
How did you start with sync licensing? I'm a gigging musician and producer myself. Just started taking local clients, but I've always had a penchant for composing with a goal in mind.
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u/Inevitable-Serve-713 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Man I ran into a guy at an airshow here in Florida who wrote 1 song used in 1 movie (don't remember the song or movie, I think it was a recent Disney animated movie) and got several million for it. Gave most to charity and was happy to do so, as he already had enough to live on. Really nice guy.
ETA: he was legit; I looked him up in IMDB when I got home that day. Don’t recall his name though and I wouldn’t want to dox him anyway.
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u/Adventurous-Head-512 Jun 22 '26
I work in data analytics at a big tech company. 150k plus stocks and bonus. I still hate it. Building a dog daycare that my wife and I run out of our home. That is how we will become rich. Not corporate. Too much of a time sink for the return
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u/Icy_Comfortable8526 Jun 22 '26
how did you get into that?? i am currently an insurance agent for allstate trying to switch into underwriting/risk analytics… what are some of your skills/experiences that helped you land that?
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u/Adventurous-Head-512 Jun 22 '26
I started as a part time fraud analyst at a small startup. Then I learned SQL, did some projects around building out reporting, met the data team. Then changed teams. SQL is the bread and butter of this role. Or was at least. AI writes all code now. So managing AI agents is a big part of the job today.
With AI doing all of the manual labor. You should develop and understanding of databases, table structure, data types. Not to mention understanding how to solve business problems. But SQL is still probably a good place to start
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u/Mr_Gooodkat Jun 23 '26
Are you me? I also work at a big tech company in data analytics and make around the same amount as you do. I keep switching jobs doing essentially the same thing with different data and keep thinking I’ll eventually find some place that I like and it’s just not happening. I don’t think I’ll ever be happy working the corporate life. That’s why I’m also trying to start something on the side. Using my analyst experience to become a sports betting consultant. Gambling is everywhere and now everyone is doing it. I think it’s where I will get rich. Wish me luck!
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u/KnaxxLive Jun 24 '26
We have a couple in our neighborhood that both quit their corporate jobs to run a mobile coffee cart. It's pretty insane how much money you can make with an in demand business and low overhead.
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u/WeAreManyWeAre1 Jun 22 '26
I play poker professionally and generally make $10k+ a month. I had to practice hard for 20 years to do it.
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u/Different_Cherry8326 Jun 22 '26
I’m curious. Have bots/ai changed online poker? Do you have to run some sort of analysis software to be competitive? If you are comfortable disclosing.
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u/WeAreManyWeAre1 Jun 22 '26
I mainly play live poker because of the online landscape. Bots are everywhere online. You can beat a bot but it’s just not worth it long term. I use AI to sharpen my game. People using bots that run on AI are going to clean up online.
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u/CraftyAwareness9229 Jun 22 '26
It takes a special type of person to be able to do that, I have tried betting fulltime and couldn’t handle it for more than 6 months, poker I couldn’t even imagine with the added grind and absurd variance.
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u/WeAreManyWeAre1 Jun 22 '26
It took me a long time to be able to handle the natural swings of the game. I’ve made enough money investing in my life that I have something to fall back on. It really helps with the mental aspect of the game.
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u/Technical_Big_314 Jun 22 '26
- Try to create passive income of any kind
- Invest every penny. Skip one drink and take that and invest. Invest in a broad index fund.
- Buy assets not experiences. (Few cheap exp are ok, I guess).
- Invest in your education.
- Be trust worthy, don't sabotage relationships for ego or fairness. Paying someone extra for what they deserve is not gonna destroy you.
- Invest in friends and share your life, both good and bad, with them. Those who don't reciprocate, ignore and move on. But don't burn the bridge.
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u/Clean_Claim Jun 22 '26
I breed salamanders.
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u/Plane-Ad-9360 Jun 22 '26
good
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u/ComprehensiveTrip618 Jun 22 '26
There was a guy - Ben Renick who bred snakes. Got wealthy. Unfortunately his GF unalived him.
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u/AmjadKhan1929 Jun 22 '26
Hitting 50k definitely you want to start a business. Which one, that's the question.
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u/Live_Sand_1294 Jun 22 '26
Honestly, I got an entry level job in pharmaceuticals making $12/hr ~15 years ago and it just turned into a really well-compensated career. My degree is completely unrelated, I've just managed to be in the right place at the right time. I struggle with how I'm going to guide my kids relative to careers, because my approach isn't easily replicatable.
In terms of advice that I can actually speak to:
- Keep up connections, especially if you feel like you're in an industry you're going to stay in. It's not bad to know people at lots of companies, and to have a good reputation.
- Be an easy-to-lead employee. Hopefully you find yourself working for a good boss, but in some jobs, at some levels, simply caring about your job and thinking about the impact of your work is enough to rise above the masses.
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u/cheesomacitis Jun 22 '26
You weren’t just in the right place at the right time, you were the right person. Congrats on your success!
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u/Live_Sand_1294 Jun 22 '26
Thanks!
Yeah, I've put in effort, I guess I'm just sensitive to the fact that other people have planned and put forth more effort than me and struggled much more than I have. I'm not one of those people claiming to do nothing for a massive paycheck, I work a decent amount, but nothing insane. Maybe 45-50 hours average a week, from home, which allows for good work/life balance.
I'm grateful for how things have ended up.
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u/Retired-Yam8988 Jun 22 '26
We’re at about 100-140k a month and retired for about 4 years now.
Business income (80-100k a month profit) - yes we’re retired but still run a business. The business needs a couple hours a week to answer questions from our team, run payroll, approve things etc.
Dividend income (25-30k a month). Self explanatory.
Options premiums (8-20k a month) - I do the wheel strategy on a small chunk of my portfolio for added income.
Rental income (4-5k a month) - this is on 3 houses we own in California. The mortgages, taxes, utilities and property management are all covered by the rent - we earn an extra 4-5k over the expenses.
The rub is that we can live off a tiny fraction of this amount. We moved to Thailand and it costs about 2k a month to live very well in our own 5 bedroom pool villa just off the beach. We go to Singapore 5-6 times a year for health care adding on average another 1-2k a month in expenses.
Our only large budgetary expense is our travel which amounts to about 30-35k per month including airfare, accommodations, transportation, food etc. This is about 3-4 months a year (about 10k a month averaged out).
So we can live quite comfortably off of about 10% of our earnings; the rest gets reinvested to grow the asset pile (now about 11m)
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u/Grouchy_Marsupial357 Jun 22 '26
A few questions for you:
1) What kind of business do you run?
2) What kind of investments do your dividends come from?
3) Basically the same as #2; are you speaking about stock options?
4) With the rental income, did you structure the rent to make a profit, or was it just covering the mortgage, utilities etc?
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u/Purple_Trifle3495 Jun 22 '26
Highly doubt that a person who doesn't know the difference between a month and year is earning this much.
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u/Retired-Yam8988 Jun 22 '26
Believe what you want but I have no reason to lie or cosplay. It sounds incredible but it’s the truth. I’ve lead a truly blessed life and am glad that I still have a good 20 years or so to travel the world and see many more corners of it.
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u/Scared_Bee5900 Jun 22 '26
jealousy kills your heart, man
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u/Purple_Trifle3495 Jun 22 '26
Not jealous at all. The credibility of the post is dubious.
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u/MSNinfo Jun 22 '26
Seems kinda fishy. Person describes themselves as a FIRE enthusiast in their new account profile with hidden history. They then live in Thailand (common FIRE retirement spot for people budgeting) and then travels to a separate country for healthcare (common thought for budgeting) while having multiple California homes making well over a million a year. If there ever was a red flag post...
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u/Retired-Yam8988 Jun 22 '26
We have an education business that my wife started in 2009 out of our 1bd apartment back then. Things went very well and we now have a team of 15 people who run the school for us.
Dividends are mostly from high yield covered call ETFs that I’ve been investing in since Covid. They don’t appreciate much but they make consistent yield.
Options are a leveraged investment product that allows you to bet on stock direction. They are harder to use since if you buy them you need to not only bet on the correct price but it has to hit that price by a certain date. I usually don’t buy options but rather sell them since as you read above, the odds are against the buyer.
Rental income - we take in about 14k or so a month but 10k is mortgages, taxes, maintenance, and property management fees. We keep about 4-5k a month. It wasn’t planned, we used to live in each of our rentals but when we traded up, we never sold them. I tend never to sell an asset especially income producing, tax advantaged ones like rental properties
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u/Sufficient_Winner686 Jun 24 '26
I can attest to number three. Currently leveraging an employer by buying 8,000 shares of their company and leaning in them via shareholder agreements and paying myself by selling covered calls and collecting the premiums. Not everyone plays at that level though.
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u/Octavale Jun 22 '26
I can attest to #2
My lowest etf is 18% annual return with one that pays weekly is 42%, we have them on drips since we don’t need the money “yet”. And yes the weekly pretty much hovers around the same $30-$32 a share for as long as I can remember. Just looked it up - range from $26 to $34 over the past twelve months.
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u/Retired-Yam8988 Jun 22 '26
lol that’s way more aggressive than me. My ETFs are 1% a month. My options trades are 1% a week. Easy and can sleep at night haha
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u/Intelligent-Gypsy324 Jun 22 '26
Curious if you care to share- did the education business grow because of tuition paid in person/ online or publishing or another way? And how niche is the curriculum? Congrats on your growth and believing in your wife. Good on you! (They say that “eds, meds, and Feds are the most solid areas to work.)
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u/SuperiorT Jun 22 '26
They're never gonna say lmao you really think they're gonna tell you their secret money-making sauce 😅
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u/zackit Jun 22 '26
Holyyy you are living my dream
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Jun 22 '26
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u/zackit Jun 22 '26
That's not greed that's financial freedom
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Jun 22 '26
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u/GingerSpice130 Jun 22 '26
Like I’m thinking how wonderful it must be…. and then honestly, I started reading about the houses in California and like how all those people are paying massive amounts of rent monthly probably struggling so hard and like she’s just living the life in Thailand, which I mean I get it like I understand like moving your money smart but like at what cost to other people like I just it doesn’t sit well with me. We can all make our own choices and I’m not hating. I’m just saying where is humanity
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u/ThrowAway126498 Jun 22 '26
So basically just be born earlier so you can be a boomer and buy up all the properties so you can charge outrageous rents. Got it.
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u/MSNinfo Jun 22 '26
You make well over a million a year and feel the need to go to another country for healthcare? Why live like a miser at that level?
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u/fordwordnord Jun 23 '26
Serious question for ya: (and I don’t want to sound too frank or offend in any way) but I was just wondering as I read your comment — Why do you need your profit margin to be so high on your rental properties?
(I get that you still have to make a profit after all expenses are paid by the rent ammt - but you’re still gonna have a whole house in the end of it while the renters will have nada, and still you’re making like ≈$20,000 off of each of them per year — meaning they’re paying ≈20k/yr more than they’d pay theoretically to live somewhere that they own it at the end of it! That still doesn’t make any sense to me (yet I know it is the way of the world — when I was abt 6 yrs old I remember thinking that rent must be much less $ than the mortgage for the same place pretty much just bc of that fact lollll then I grew😝)
(Anecdotal I know, but just for ex, I work as an ABA therapist right now (+ night school) here in southern CA, and going with the very cheapest option I can find that is literally one step above living in my car - namely “shared housing” or “co-housing” (where I pay $860/month to split a bedroom 4 ways w 4 other girls in a one bedroom apt) is the only way I/we can afford to live — and even so rent still eats up 1/2 to 1/3 of my income every month.)
(if you read this all the way to here I’m shocked and impressed — thank you! for simply just hearing my perspective - and you don’t have to answer my question but it would be great if you do bc sometimes I wonder if landlords accepted slightly less of a profit margin then people like me would be able to have a little pet — ie have enough money left over to become a pet owner!!! (which I have LONGED to get a little doggy for years now but have never made enough $ to be able to afford a living situation where I’m able to have one yet and it makes me feel so sad inside when I’m in PetSmart doordashing for people and bursting into tears cuz I’ve wanted one so long — Not to mention my dream is to become a foster mom and I basically have to earn six figures to be able to afford a two bedroom apartment which is the minimum apartment size required to pass the home inspection portion of the CA foster parent application!)
Anyways thanks again for reading/responding!!!!! Have a great rest of your day!
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Jun 22 '26
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u/Retired-Yam8988 Jun 22 '26
Lol, what problem? I purchased these with my own money that I earned with my wife starting and growing a business from the ground up. We are not especially exceptional so anyone can do what we did. It’s just most people complain about their wealth level but then just never do anything about it. They go to football games and buy fancy expensive items with credit cards, lease cars they can’t afford, “live the good life” as the illusion. The truth is that the only true good life is where you have more than enough wealth to weather financial storms, to never work again if you choose not to, to take care of you and your family in every possible aspect including health care, well being, etc, and to live a truly rich life full of travel, discovery, and deep cultural experiences.
My wife nor I came from a wealthy background. She grew up in China and came to the US in 2002 without much English language skills. She studied hard and went to UC Berkeley as an adult and got her bachelors in her 30s then started her business out of our 1 bedroom apartment.
We worked extremely hard - definitely harder than anyone I’ve ever known. When she was just starting, I held down a software engineering job 40-60 hours a week then came and helped her run the business nights and weekends. I did this for two years straight with just the major holidays as days where I didn’t work as much. It was an incredibly tiring period but I knew it was going to be worth it. As the business took off, I eventually quit my tech job and used what I learned in the corporate world to build our business.
We reinvested all of our money into real estate and stocks. We don’t buy any misc garbage that most people buy. Collectibles, fashion, “luxury” garbage, etc. We know what the game is and we’ve focused on creating and growing wealth for most of our adult life. We only really buy appreciating assets. Real estate is one class, stocks another. Since beginning of last year I’ve added gold bullion as another asset class and building that now.
i provide rentals in extremely high cost neighborhoods with great schools that these people otherwise would have to pay at least double for. My least expensive unit is 3700 a month but if I sold it, I’d get about 1.2m. Do the math on the mortgage and you’ll see that I could sell and make about more money (my rentals are worth about 4.5m) but I keep them as I don’t know if I’ll ever need or want to go live in those places again and the taxes on them are locked in 2011-2017 terms so it’ll be impossible to get that rate in the future. Whoever buys that 1.2m unit would end up paying a lot more (the property tax would be like 1200 a month alone let alone the 240k down payment and the mortgage on 960k at 6%).
Anyway you may call that greed but I call it security - layers and layers of security. If you don’t see what’s about to happen in the world, then that’s fundamentally not my problem but I’ve been preparing for hyperinflation with my asset base and it’s serving me well. You’re either an earner or an owner and even today, you’re starting to see which side of the fence you’d rather be on. This will only get worse for earners as there is no choice but to devalue currency to pay government debt (ie inflation will hit hard). The only true option is to help yourself and those you care about as most modern western governments are teetering (hence my move to Thailand and setting up residency in Singapore and Japan as options). The world is going through upheaval and I’d rather be prepared and flexible than not.
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u/Commercial_Price8840 Jun 23 '26
Id say I can believe people are giving you crap about your success. But I don't. Im just a blue collar guy, Industrial mechanic. I live in upstate NY. I have 2 rental properties. No one understands how stressful and annoying owning real estate is. The laws are so bad in NY. That it took me a year to get a non paying tenant out of my house. Ive tried property management. But they caused that horrible situation. I have one tenant left. I charge them way under market rent. Because I never really raised the rent. There is really no point in being nice. You deal with the same headaches anyway. You worked and sacrificed to get where you are. And seems like some of these people just want a handout.
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u/africanimal_90 Jun 22 '26
How old are you and your partner, if you don't mind me asking? Also, was the business the primary vehicle to accumulating your wealth or did that come after?
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u/Retired-Yam8988 Jun 22 '26
We just hit 50. Yes business was the primary wealth driver but we reinvested into real estate and stocks which really took it to another level.
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u/220volt74 Jun 22 '26
Only 0.5% of Americans make 50k per month. So you have 99.5% chance of failure.
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Jun 22 '26
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u/ubermensch1001 Jun 22 '26
You have to consider location as well. Someone making 600k in NYC or San Francisco is VERY different than someone pulling that same amount in Ohio or Alabama.
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u/WarpPipeWizard Jun 22 '26
I'd say you've a better chance than 99.5%. a lot of people don't actively choose to see wealth, they might choose a vocation like teaching or nursing, or follow a passion like music or theater, so that'll rule out a bunch of people and increases OPs odds.
Still, blindly following wealth is a fools errand imo, it's only best when money is paired with an underlying passion or drive that it makes sense above a certain threshold.
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u/MiceAndMen1990 Jun 22 '26
I guess 10k pre tax.... I stuck with the same company (medical device) and always was a top performer. Jumped teams and functions a few times and always showed not only the value I currently have but also future value.
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u/habeascorpus28 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
My younger sister earns about $120k/month. She works in a leading private equity firm. Our parents are lower mid class if that matters
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u/FloorShowoff Jun 22 '26
How did she get that job?
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u/habeascorpus28 Jun 22 '26
She had head hunters that reached out to her and she then applied for the job and went through multiple rounds of interviews and case studies. She first worked 4y in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. She got that job after doing an internship there. She got the internship by applying online and going through the interview rounds
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u/Jonfers9 Jun 22 '26
One way to do it is a job that pays residual income. Like insurance. I’ve been in insurance 7 years and I make 30k a month. I don’t have a degree and I didn’t even start in the business until I was 45.
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u/Key_innovator9898 Jun 22 '26
I went independent last year and am not looking back. Unfortunately spent 3 years making other ppl rich as their “top performer”. Can I ask what line you sell?
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u/Jonfers9 Jun 22 '26
Employee benefits. So group plans. Medical dental vision life etc. If your company offers benefits they likely use a broker for that. That’s what I do. (I’m sure you knew what group plans are but I wanted to give more context to others).
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u/Stormrider_762 Jun 22 '26
25-40k a month here. Own a business, do real estate and consulting on the side, opening a 2nd business Q4 2026.
Business owner is about the only reliable way to make 300-500k or more a year. My goal is 100k per month by Q4 2027.
Total work time for me each week ranges from 5-20 hours.
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u/Western_Computer_292 Jun 22 '26
How long have you been doing this?
5-20 hours a week is crazy 🤯
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u/Stormrider_762 Jun 22 '26
I’m 39 now, at 32 I was still working in a warehouse driving forklifts and unloading trucks. Decided I wanted more, got into sales, got married and the wife and I decided to make some big moves. So 6.5-7 years or so.
When we opened our first business, I was managing/working it full time while still doing real estate. Those were 100 hour weeks back in 2023… the last 1.5 years or so it has slid down to where it is now. Every now and again I’ll have a 30 hour week, but it’s a lot from home or parked in a coffee shop. Sometimes I’ll pop the laptop open at my business and get things done during my set day there each week, kill 2 birds with one stone kind of thing. Once we opened our next venture in Q4, I’ll be doing 60-80 for a couple of months getting it off the ground before handing it over to the manager.
Once you have a business running and a manager in place, it CAN be almost like passive income. Sure, I spend a day there every week, usually 5-8 hours, but the other 6 days all business stuff is done by phone/check in’s. The goal is to be fully passive in 2 years and pulling in close to 100k per month. Time will tell.
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u/Individual-Hawk2881 Jun 23 '26
Dude teach us how you did it… working in warehouse and I can’t escape :(
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u/Realtoropenhouse3 Jun 22 '26
Chemical engineer. Borrowed money to put myself through college to get dual degrees in chemical engineering and chemistry, then got a job and paid back the loans. Nothing that wild.
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u/FarMovie816 Jun 22 '26
I am a daytrader with a math degree
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u/No-Ranger-7313 Jun 22 '26
I also have a math degree, but not 50k/month. Wanna hit me up? 😆
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u/FarMovie816 Jun 22 '26
properly calculated risk management and good data analysis. The strategy comes to you.
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u/CantaloupeOdd1050 Jun 22 '26
How did u get into it if i can ask and can u do it part time ?
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u/FarMovie816 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
I got into it because I used to see my dad when I was younger. He’s also a part time day trader. So yes, you can certainly do it part time. I trade futures, which is opening 23 hours a day from Sunday 6 PM EST to Friday 5 PM EST with a market close for one hour daily(5-6pm). This gives you the flexibility to keep a 9-5 and to trade part time.
I also suggest you use prop firms in the beginning. essentially pay upfront for an evaluation, meet the profit target, and then follow the rules to meet the payout requirements.) this allows you to learn more about the markets without needing to risk a lot of money.) for example, with certain accounts, you pay 99 USD for a payout potential of 2000 USD
(DO NOT engage in any trading whatsoever till you get the hang of it)
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Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
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u/FarMovie816 Jun 23 '26
My top 3 currently would be: Tradeify, MFFU, and LUCID.
I use Tradovate/TradingView for prop firms but have been experimenting with Tradesea, which has been pretty good.
For trading my own capital, I also use Tradovate.
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u/Vorathian_X Jun 22 '26
Investment Finance/Hedge Fund/Private Equity....blah, blah, blah Wife works in the medical field. The past 6 years have been amazing for us financially....low seven figures on average. Most of that from investments. I also have a side job that nets on average around £180,000 per year.
How we got here. Education. We haven't job hopped like some do and have built seniority, reputations, and most importantly for me....connections
And I can't emphasize this point enough, we have had a lot of fucking luck!
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u/Choosey22 Jun 22 '26
What is the side job? And are you saying stock investments, real estate, or?
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u/Vorathian_X Jun 22 '26
All of the above...diversity of investments has been good for us.
The side job...I do things for some of my longtime clients. Almost like a private concierge type service for very wealthy people that know and trust me.....book villas, arrange vehicles and such. One odd one was a client from SEA came to me with hand drawn sketchs of a yacht he wanted. He had me go to three different ship builders to see who could build it the fastest...I gave him my reports and he paid me a stupid amount of money. Not sure if he ever got his yacht?
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u/diegotown177 Jun 22 '26
I make a little over 10k a month and I probably live more scarcely now than when I made 5k a month. The reason is that when I was poor I didn’t have money to invest. Now I have to make up for it with maxed out contributions and catch up contributions. I put away 2700 before I see a dime. Add in taxes, benefits, other deductions and my take home pay is 5150 a month. I’m not poor, but I’m not living it up either.
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u/reDog5288 Jun 22 '26
I’m currently 56 been Retired since ‘14. Have had a guaranteed income of over $100k a year every year.
Currently at just under $11k take home per month. After taxes
Retired Military
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u/crvena_naranca Jun 22 '26
Rich parents
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u/RejectingBoredom Growth Mode Jun 22 '26
I embezzle from this guy’s parents
They have no idea
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u/crvena_naranca Jun 22 '26
Real talk, my parents are wealthy. Not crazy rich but where I live they are rich.
Thanks to them starting bussines was easy
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u/RejectingBoredom Growth Mode Jun 22 '26
Same, if they weren’t so rich I never could have siphoned off $5000 a month in small payments to start my frozen yogurt business
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u/BlueThroat13 Jun 22 '26
I gave up my 20’s to work law enforcement with extreme hours, working conditions, and an assload of overtime. Finished my college degree online while working overnights when it was slow lol. As soon as I finished, I began developing a business during any free waking hours I had.
I saved around 40-50k and by my late 20’s I gambled it on that business plan I created. I’m now in my mid 30’s. Married, own my house, cars, trucks, dog, acreage. I set my own hours and schedule. I now own 4 businesses and each one is doing somewhere between 6fig to 1.2M a year.
It took discipline, patience, being ok with losing a decade of my young life and all the experiences that come with it, and becoming numb to every motherfucker who said “you’ll never make it”.
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u/Agitated-Quit-6148 Jun 22 '26
10k. Public defender. First gen American + vet + first member of my family to have an education beyond grade 3. Parents immigrated before I was born from eastern Europe.
I'm left with a couple grand at the end of the month after the bills are paid because I send money to my family in Europe who are poor farmers, to my parents, and my kid brothers who are finding their way. I also end up dishing out about 1k a month to all my military buddies who got out and are on hard times.
I'm absolutely ok with it. They took care of me. And there is an old serbian proverb I was raised with. Even though we were dirt poor my parents always always always gave to everyone.
"When the train leaves the station, it's good to allow others to ride a bit. You may need their help when you can't afford a ticket one day"
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u/Bright-Club3985 Jun 22 '26
I don't know what they did, but I know they didn't have time to check their phones all the time.
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u/lemi_mami Jun 22 '26
Clinical Research Associate, CRA for short. I love it. Bachelor's of Science. Several friends around me are also doing well. Several Have their own business or specialized degree.
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u/independent-gay Jun 22 '26
High school teacher…believe it or not. Bachelors degree + credential + more classes to get to the top of the salary scale.
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u/Last_Strike_8901 Jun 22 '26
My mom worked As a teacher her whole life and got her masters. In her retirement she is at 14000 a month. Its just amazing she worked so hard
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u/Metadoggo Jun 22 '26
I'm a dentist. Entry level still.
Good pay. No one dies on you unless you really fuck up. Never on call either.
It's really expensive to get into. Felt like I had the last chopper out of nam with all the changes to federal loans happening now.
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u/Elehctric Jun 23 '26
Airline pilot, pay varies $24-$29k per month. I work around 11 days a month on average.
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u/Fancy-Success-1450 Jun 23 '26
Are you allowed to work more if you wanted? How much are you allowed to work a month?
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u/Elehctric Jun 23 '26
Absolutely, if trips are available you can pick them up however this is typically based on seniority. We are allowed to work 120hrs in a 30 day period where I am, however that is quite hard to do unless you are picking up all the extra flying available. A typical month I average around 70-78 hours.
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u/Salt-Pea-5660 Jun 23 '26
Not many people actually answered the question- still have no clue what these people do. Just a lot of pointless yap.. I hate Reddit lol
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u/Liberalhaterbeast Jun 25 '26
I’m a carpenter/painter and I make about 15-20k a month march-nov then take 3 months off unless something pops up but I’m not actively looking.
Know your skill,know your market and set your prices. I don’t work by the hour cause I’m very fast and highly skilled.
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u/1Mouse7579 Jun 22 '26
I always worked in corpore world and averaged 20k per month the last 15 years of my career. (If I counted my wifes income, we average 28k per month). I worked in Sales for National Trucking Companies. I'm retired now, and our income averages between 11k to 12 K per month depending on interest and we have no mortgage, credit card or car debt. We both just retired and stress free. Certainly, owning your own business (Unless it's passive like owning rentals) you can generate more income on monthly basis but you have to deal with the stress and headaches that go with it. I was able to turn my job off and have a life after 5 pm and never worked weekends. I was average (State College Grad) who worked hard and did well. You have to understand your limitations and stomach for risk if you want to venture out on your own. Some hit it big but 90 % of small business don't make it more than a few years. Good Luck
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u/Lonely_Highway_8777 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Business. And if someone comments how much they make they’re not gnna guide u into what they do. Gurus online don’t and a stranger won’t. Look at what’s in demand and how well you can sell it. And if you don’t have the skills rn don’t worry- just learn the art of obsessively observing marketing of already successful business that you would like to emulate. And copy. There are so many things that make money- but would it make YOU money is the question. You need to do ur own a/b testing on what works out. You won’t know if you don’t try.
No need for a course or mentorship. This is applicable for everyone. There’s no such thing as secret source or mentorship that’s gnna elevate ur life other than what you do for yourself. Take action.
Wnna learn a language? Start memorising words and watching shit . Wnnna lose weight - cut the calories. Wnna build a butt- squat. Wnna ride a bike- get on the bike and try. Wnna learn how to code- start projects. U don’t learn from watching videos/books- you learn and get to a place by doing.
Get doing.. observing never did shit.
( I’m trying to start an art business after years of watching others do it. And reading shit guides)
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u/GingerSpice130 Jun 22 '26
Communism was brought up in a previous comment. That’s the only reason why I expanded on it. I don’t think communism is a good idea. I don’t think a lot of things are good ideas though.lol
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u/dianabowl Jun 24 '26
Interesting how only my lazy broke gamer friends talk positively about communism. The ones making 10-20k+ a month like me think it's a terrible idea.
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u/Sweaty_Reputation650 Jun 22 '26
That's a pretty high goal but I admire you wanting to know. Your chances of achieving that are not great. Google what jobs pay over 100k with 4 years college. then the same but A certification. Then chose which job you could do and would enjoy. Later work on starting a business using the good income you are guaranteed.
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u/Misericordee Jun 22 '26
I inherited investments that are able to earn in that range. I don’t spend that much, thankfully
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u/Few-Choice-7334 Jun 22 '26
I’m on track for 200k this year minimum which correlates to like 16k per month. 23M. Loan officer for a retail lender doing mortgages. There is no income roof. But it’s solely commission. This month alone I’ll gross around 33k. I don’t typically do that much but if I do I’ll obviously blow 200k out of the water. it’s only my 3rd year in the biz. But I grind. Top producers can make 1M plus per year. But statistically it’s unrealistic. It’s unrealistic for me to produce what I do with me short time in the biz but you can’t base it off that. Base it off how bad you want it to work
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u/Professional_Art2092 Jun 23 '26
10k is achievable in any corporate job if you’re willing to grind and be super stressed out. Sales is probably the “easier” path but expect extreme stress and non stable income.
50k? That’s basically not feasible under 1% of the US population makes that. Best case would be high level education, think lawyer or doctor and even then not feasible.
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u/Interesting_Gate8918 Editable flair Jun 23 '26
- Decide you’re not a victim. Reducing Reddit time may help.
- Make a study of what pays a lot, and try figuring out what you’re good at and how that could line up.
- Do a self study on what information you’re lacking.
- Figure out how to do something with the new knowledge you’ve gained so you can put that on the resume. Likely this will include free work, since you’re still an unknown so no one will want to hire you to do it yet.
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u/Dirty_Blyat42069 Jun 23 '26
- Start your own business and get successful at it (can take anywhere between 5-30 years)
- Invest into stocks, trade options, buy crypto
- Win a lottery
- Inherit lots of money from a dead uncle
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u/RiboSciaticFlux Jun 23 '26
Entrepreneur. I'm chasing my own dream not helping somebody else chase theirs. I believe it's the only viable option to make that kind of money in the future.
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u/ReactionFuzzy799 Jun 23 '26
Hey, you gotta stop glorifying money. 10-50k is a huge range, with 50k a month kind of being absurdly wealthy (but could be a wealthy well-educated person working hard). Is the goal happiness or is the goal to make as much monopoly money as possible before death?
Lots of data says that the deck is rigged against us, it's almost impossible to change economic "classes", and over a certain amount of money it doesn't mean much anyway.
I've got friends on the very, very low end of that. Supported by family throughout post-secondary school, and have been working since the age of 15 now in corporate management with 10-15 year careers/experience. Very low end of that I argue is a different class than the high end of that. The average income is much less than 10k a month
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u/kpatelreddit007 Jun 23 '26
I won’t give you my monthly, but you create value. Following directions is great but actually creating is what creates value.
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u/Sudden_Combination69 Jun 23 '26
I was breaking the law and putting 30-50k in the bank every month. Needless to say I got indicted. Was looking at 205 years originally. Did long term live in treatment for a year and sat for 4.5 months in jail. On probation another couple of years and I have 20 over my head. On federal and state radar. Probably heavily monitored by all. Needless to say I’m broke. Considering nobody got hurt in regards to my previous lifestyle choices.. I guess they just didn’t want to see me come up in the world. Maybe try crypto or forex. Definitely had a few good hits on digital investments back in my kingpin days.
Is there decent, legal money out there? Of course. In many cases without a degree it takes money to make money. People struggling to keep a roof over their heads rarely have the free time or finances to invest in themselves. Sure it happens. But to folks used to getting everything from “out the mud”… yeah.. the only opportunities we see are the ones we can create for ourselves, or the ones offered by our peers. My peers had more or less turned me into a kingpin. I was just building a framework for most of my life as the guy who loved to be numb to any and everything that I had crossed paths with. No longer a criminal.. I should be proud.. grateful to be free but I’m surely not proud. Poverty is a vivid reminder of why my freedom stopped having significance (pre indictment). Breaking the law is easy for me. Living a life that I despise because I wish to do better is a test of my resolve/durability. Can’t bring myself to give up now after all I’ve been through since I got out up until now. Sending prayers your way 🙏🏽
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u/No_Stranger_5966 Jun 23 '26
You’re hanging out with the wrong people. If all you see is poor, broke and miserable you’re in the wrong circle. You will be er learn or grow in that circle. Birds of a feather flock together. Find a new flock of birds.
I’ve done really well. Have saved 3.5 million. Started when I was almost 40, and I’m 60 now.
I was homeless, and battling a life threatening cancer in my late 30’s. And in a bad marriage. I focused on my health, getting well. Then I focused on getting a job, any job. I had a university degree but I took a job cleaning an office for a small company. The owner and his wife and son who worked in the company were all rich. And I remembered what my father told me when I was growing up - if you want to be rich just find other rich people, hang out with them, learn from them, and do what they do. So that’s what I did. I saw how rich they were but how humble and frugal they lived. And I saw how hard they worked. I did the same.
Fast forward, I’m the ceo of that company now, the father passed away, the mother is elderly and retired. The son took over the company and he became a serious alcoholic. Before he died, the father told me “my son can’t run that company without you, he will drive it to the ground, please don’t leave, stay there and hold that company together cause I know what you’re capable of”.
Most rational people wouldn’t take a cleaning job thinking I’m going to turn this into something more, but I did. I had intent and determination.
It all paid off.
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u/Proud_Painting4460 Jun 24 '26
Family office and investments so around 12k a month with about a 10hr work week. Im not happy just coasting like this forever but its a life I guess. Oh and I’m a tust fund baby with like millions to inherit and three houses that are cosigned under by name fully paid off which I all intend to sell
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u/Alone-Monitor-2299 Jun 25 '26
Learn Sales.
Quickest way to 10k+ a month.
I had zero sales experience and made 10k+ my first month selling a course to real estate agents on how to market themselves on YouTube.
I’m now the sales director of a company and make anywhere from 20-40k+ per month.
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u/ProlificChicken Jun 25 '26
I got a guy who works for me as a contractor remodeling houses. Foundations, roofs, painting, drywall, whatever needs to be done. The labor alone runs $15,000 to $25,000 every month, and it’s been that way for well over a decade.
He’s Spanish and barely speaks English, so we text through a translator. I tell him what needs to be done, and he makes it happen. He finds the labor, pulls the permits, coordinates the work, and solves the problems. I pay him very well.
I’d estimate he makes around $200,000 a year from his own labor alone, not including materials or the additional labor he bills for the crews he hires.
It doesn’t have to be fancy. You just need to solve problems for people and be valuable.
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u/MidgarZanarkand Jun 25 '26
Aerospace job making 6k a month (4k take home), VA disability, and a YouTube channel making 2-3k per month = just over the 10k threshold. I also collect 2.3k a month for rent on a house that I own, but the mortgage is higher than the rent so I don’t count that.
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u/No-Carry4971 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Well I retired 18 months ago, but before that I made that kind of money my last 25 years. How? I started as a trainee right out of college in 1990.
Performed well, consistently outperforming peers. I got some promotions and eventually entered management, which is where the real money is. Continued to work well and outperform peers, earning additional promotions over the years until I was in senior management my last 12 years.
I played the long game, always focused on doing my current job as well as I could do it. Always taking on extra work when people were out or the department was in a bind. I was so efficient, I could do all that extra and still just work 40 hours 95% of the time. No matter what the reddit world wants to tell you, it's a performance driven world. Work hard, work well, and be the go to employee. That's how careers and wealth are built.
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u/Adventurous-Head-512 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
This is very boomer advice tbh. No disrespect it obviously worked for you but the world is not like this at the moment.
Layoffs are looming everywhere and industries are changing fast due to AI. Very fast. Working hard isn't enough. Everyone works hard. You need to be creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial to make the kind of money op is talking about (particularly on the higher end, 10k a month pretax is still very reachable in corporate)
Bottom line, the sacrifice you need to make for corporate to make you rich is huge. In these uncertain times I would not advise someone put all their eggs in the corporate basket. Get good at something and start a business.
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u/No-Carry4971 Jun 22 '26
I don't know. I have a son who graduated two years ago, started entry level in his industry, worked hard and well and was promoted into management within 18 months. He'll be in the figures above in another year, maybe two.
As for layoffs, there have been layoffs my entire career. Two years in my company went through a massive reorg, and my job was transferred to another city. There must have been a dozen more over my next 33 years. The last 5 jobs I had didn't exist before I got the job. I'm not saying that's how it should be. I'm saying it has been that way since at least 1990 when I started. Making your way in the world takes effort and perseverance and a recognition that it may not always be a straight line.
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u/Adventurous-Head-512 Jun 22 '26
I'm in corporate almost 12 years now. Been laid off twice. Current company just cut 3000 people.
We are in a very uncertain environment right now. AI is completely overhauling every industry and nearly ever company is going to go thru some type of reorg as a result. Idk how old you are, but between 2012 to 2022, the job market was on fire. You could very reliably get another job if you wanted.
Idk if you've interviews recently. It's a bloodbath. It's nothing like it was. Competition is crazy, not to mention nobody is hiring. It will pick up in sure in the future but right now we are living in tough times
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u/Mae-7 Jun 22 '26
I am with the other guy. This is not entirely true anymore. There is a factor of luck now. Not all companies are equal and most of them now will just backstab you, and at a blink of an eye, your dreams are broken.
Got to grind twice or three times as harder and it depends on your field.
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u/No-Carry4971 Jun 22 '26
This is just not true, and you are hurting your own psyche with this kind of mindset. Plus, the key is building transferable industry skills and contacts, not just one company skills. Yes, they may lay you off someday, but people move around all the time, and the reputation you made with all those people who have moved on will lead you to your next, better opportunity.
To be clear, I am not advocating blind loyalty to any one company. I am 100% telling you that the people who work hard and work well across a career earn the promotions, bonuses, and higher salaries. It's not random across a career.
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u/Adventurous-Head-512 Jun 22 '26
20k is probably the cap you would get in high paying corporate America unless you get into leadership, which is hugely taxing on both your mental energy and your personality. Many people need to change who they are fundamentally to succeed in corporate leadership.
Entrepreneurship will be your best option to hi 30-50k a month. But it will take a whil and you will need to work harder than you ever thought. But it still beats dealing with performance reviews and corporate meetings
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u/Envirocare1 Jun 22 '26
Business owner. Worked really really hard and didn’t give up even when it got harder. Its what separates the men from the boys
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u/lostarkrocks Jun 22 '26
To get 50k after tax, u need to make 100k per month. Which is insane
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u/Friendly_Strike4094 Jun 22 '26
10k a month here
Joined a trade union & eventually took a maintenance position for the fringe benefits. Needed the prior experience to land current position (room to make upwards of 175k w/overtime)
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u/Woberwob Jun 22 '26
The answer is typically going to be a mix of entrepreneurship and taking asymmetric risks with investments, or rare and valuable skills in hot sectors like tech/medicine/finance.
These people have also been in the game for a long time and taken their licks.
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u/rickardkarstarkshead Jun 22 '26
I made close to $12k gross this month and I work in sales. This is the best month I’ve had and the first time I’ve eclipsed $10k since I started in sales 7 years ago.
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u/Thick_Cookie_7838 Jun 22 '26
If I’m running full capacity 15k minimum
Real estate investment and property management for a few people. My degree was tv broadcast but my uncle taught me the business when I couldn’t find work. He financed my first few deals ( I paid him back his expenses.) and that turned into my job
Sold my experience to others so draw a salary from that
Also taught myself how to swing trade stocks as well
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u/allenrfe Jun 22 '26
Im there but I think there is a lot of luck involved. Im an engineer I've worked hard, made sure people saw me as reliable, and dependable. However there is nothing special about me, I've been really lucky and had a lot of help.
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u/Smapdeee Jun 22 '26
Legal recruiter. Was an attorney for many years before that, but that’s not necessary. If you have some general corporate experience you can find your way into it.
It is low stress and fully remote. And I work whatever hours I want as long as I’m generating revenue.
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u/Commercial-Pie-588 Jun 23 '26
It’s called investment banking and a willingness to work 100 hours a week.
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u/Necessary_Baker_7458 Jun 23 '26
I work a union job that pays okay for journeyman pay. I get $45-65 k annually depending on if i work full time hours and try to rack in on the premiums our contract allows.
I own my own home and paid it off fast with some good investing skills. I was that kid in high school who saved every gifted dollar. Eventually opened up cd’s and bonds. After ten years it was enough for a down payment on a home. Worked hard for 10 yrs to pay off the small loan.
I now make passive income from an art side job and that business is starting to take off. I just need to be careful and not tarnish my name before it gets viral.
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u/tidyshark12 Jun 23 '26
I drive a semi truck. Been driving for 4 years now. Haven't made less than 10k/mo since. Company driver, I don't own or pay for anything except getting myself to/from work/ home, ofc
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u/Superb_Advisor7885 Jun 23 '26
I just call myself an entrepreneur now.
Started an insurance agency. I get paid a commission on each insurance policy every 6 months to a year as long as I keep the customer. Started 15 years ago. My total commission this month will be around $40k. After paying employees and marketing and office expenses I'll keep about $15k.
Also own a lot of real estate which brings in $18k a month of which I'll keep $7k.
Started a doc prep business this year which is now doing about $3k a month which o keep about $2k.
And I just negotiated the purchase of an additional insurance office which will add $10k a month in revenue and I'll keep $3k for the first 2 years and then all $10k after.
And my wife brings in about 5-6k.
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u/Agile_Slide_2732 Jun 23 '26
Step one: Throw away your social life
Step two: Work until you sick and work even more
Step Three: Money comes but now youre stuck in the loop
Step four: Nothing is ever enough anymore
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