LeftyAg89 said:

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My daughter has interned the last two summers at a Houston law firm at the rate of $220k/yr. Will be making at least that salary (at the same firm) after completing law school next semester.

so sorry, proud dad here just couldn't resist the humble brag! :-)

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Not so sure you know the meaning of 'humble' brag!

I'm an account manager in wholesale distribution for construction products. Been doing it for 12+ years now. We have salesman who make 125 to 150 who work half-ass in my opinion. They could easily double their salary if they worked a true full week. You have to work to make the big bucks. I've become the go to guy in the industry. I don't have a license in the trade I sell to but have more general knowledge than most of the contractors I sell to. They call me and my inside team for simple stuff like sending over spec sheets and warranty issues because we get them taken care of. They trust us with their large orders, submittals, etc. i treat a $10 order the same as I treat a 250k order. Make yourself standout. Be prompt. My competition takes days to return calls, emails, quotes, etc. My phone and email are always on. If I'm "off" we still get their stuff taken care of. There's a lot of people out there content with collecting a paycheck. Work hard and earn more money. My pay is not capped. I eat what I kill and take advantage of what I've learned over the years and my work ethic to make great money. I never thought I'd be in a sales role due to my project management background however my PM background in construction translated well into this role and my customers appreciate I've been on major construction projects and understand how their side of the business works.

Bringing back up one of the conversations on the first two pages about work life balance and price you are willing to pay along with having your heart in it.

My advice: find what makes you happy and go for it. Have a spine. Put in the extra time when it makes sense in your personal life. Do not ruin a marriage or relationship with your kids chasing money.

I'm middle management making $175k a year. Got a three year old girl and twin boys on the way. Wife makes the same after bonuses in her field so we can't complain at all. She put in her dues without kids and now works 40 a week. My job is the opposite where I made it on 40 a week and now being asked to work 10+ hours plus weekends for upper management role. They actually sold me on missing life events but that's ok because your kids will go to college. The position only opened up because we had a mass exodus over the last 12 months. Never got an official promotion or pay increase. What a shocker.

Giving it a "test run" like they are treating me before the twins are born but my wife knows I want to be the dad like my dad was (coaching or being at every event). I can't "leave" with the boys being close to delivery. We are closing on a house we basically paid cash for so don't want to disrupt that at the moment.

Still negotiating with wife but I may stay at home with kids for a year and then find a state job in my field working 40 and a pension. She stayed at home with our first and would rather have the c suite job in her field.

Econ degree.

*****d myself out in the oilfield, moving all over the country doing whatever they ask me to do. Once your salary gets high enough, those 4% yearly raises start turning in to 6k, 8k, etc.

Being willing to put my personal life on hold and live in **** holes, in addition to being relatively good at what I do, pushed me above and beyond that #.