Approximately 16.5% of all individual workers earned an income greater than $100,000 in 2021. The numbers are even lower for someone in their 20’s, let alone someone in their early 20’s. Crossing the six-figure mark isn’t common, even with high inflation these days.
There are many things you can do to raise your income to the elusive six-figure mark. Start a side hustle, get a promotion, or change jobs. This is the story of how I increased my income to above $100,000 with just a single job change.
When I graduated college, I started out with an income of $52,500. It was the lowest offer I’ve gotten in college (I was averaging $65,000 offers), but it was an industry I wanted to go into. I also thought that I could be a big fish in a small pond. So I took a risk. I was later surprisingly proven right.
Six months after a probationary and training period, the company increased my income to $56,000 base plus a $30,000 bonus. Plus additional incentives so that I could earn an extra $2,000 more. The company had a history of paying out those bonuses, as well.
So then I increased my income quite well in just six months. However, that didn’t end. After 1 year, another company came calling. The company offered me $80,000 base plus a ~$20,000 bonus, which I accepted. Then what happened next is where the story becomes interesting.
Negotiating the Offer
I thought it was a pretty good offer, so I accepted. I was about to turn in my two weeks notice at my current company by scheduling a conference call with my boss. Then we met up in the room. However, before I could even get the words out, my boss said, “I hope you’re not here to tell me you’re quitting”.
“Uh….” was my response. Then my boss’ eyes popped, and gave me compliment after compliment and how her boss thought that I was the smartest person in the group, and so forth and so forth. Then I listened and waited, being completely uninterested in the meaningless compliments.
I was waiting to say the words, “I appreciate your compliments. Here’s my two weeks’ notice!”. Then when the meeting was about to end, she said the words, “What if I could get you more money? Would that maybe change your mind?” Ding. Ding. Ding.
I said yes. I still didn’t have much hopes because I didn’t think the company could afford me. However, she came back and offered me $70,000 + $35,000 bonus. Whoa. Then when I told the other company about my offer, they even raised THEIR offer to $90,000 + ~$20,000 bonus! Double whoa!
At the end of the day, I chose to stay with my current company because an extra $5,000 just isn’t worth it to me. When I’m switching jobs, it should at least come with an extra 20% raise if I’m going to be doing the exact same thing.
How I Crossed the $100,000 Income by 23
Although that is the meat of the story, the details are important as well into crossing the six-figure income. Here is how I snagged those two offers. There were many others who left before me who didn’t get offered any counter offers.
I started the trend.
1) I Provided Value to My Company
I made myself indispensable to my company. When my boss needed something done, I did it. Whether I needed to work nights or weekends, I didn’t care. She needed me and I provided value better than the other coworkers who were sitting next to me.
She depended on me and needed me on the team. Otherwise, she would have to hire someone else and pay more and have to invest the resources necessary to train them. If they even work out at all. I was getting paid pretty badly anyway for the industry, with a base salary of $52.5k + $29.5k bonus.
That way, when I told her that I was going to leave, she didn’t want me to go. Could the team have survived without me? Absolutely. However, why would they want to do that if they could do the cheaper thing of retaining me? Providing value to the team is a first and foremost action.
2) I Took the Interview Knowing My Income Will Increase
In the first conversation I had with the new company, they were upfront with how much their salary + bonus was. I made sure that it would have been an increase before I took the interview and continued with the process.
There’s been many times that I took interviews before knowing the salary and that was a major grave mistake when job searching. When it came time for the offer, they wasted my time and it didn’t work out due to pay. Not this time. They quoted me that their salary was $70k – 90k base + $20 – $25k bonus.
So I knew that we were within range for me to take the job if the offer warranted it later down the road. You don’t want to commit and invest time after time researching and preparing for the role if it turned out to be a pay cut anyway.
The best thing is to not waste your time chasing a job that’s not good for you.
3) I Was Allies with the Higher Ups
Sure, your coworkers help but gathering support of the decision makers are what moves the needle. Your coworkers, as much as you like them, can’t do anything to increase your pay. They’re not in charge of making that call or decision.
When I told my boss I was leaving, she said, “Yeah..! My boss really likes you. I’ll pull some strings to see if he can get you an offer”. I only talked to him like twice the entire time that I was there for 30 minutes each. I don’t know why he liked me so much but he pulled a lot of strings to get that offer.
If you’re not friends with your coworkers, that’s OK. If you’re enemies with your boss and the higher ups, that’s career suicide. You don’t want to make a permanent enemy out of the people who can literally make your career blossom. You want to be friends with them and network your way to success.
4) I Started at a High Paying Industry
The industry that I was in was already high paying in general. I started my career in finance and banking, which has the potential to snag a high compensation package, depending on which side of banking that you’re in. Your talents and time is worth real money.
You don’t want to work hard at university for four years only to get paid minimally. Your talents, time, and ability is worth a lot of money. Don’t discount how much your time is worth. You’ll be surprised at how much you tie your self worth to how much the company pays you.
Income shows how much someone thinks you’re worth. The more you get paid, the more you know how valuable you are to society and the world and providing value. The dollar amount doesn’t matter necessarily but whether it’s in the high, middle, or low income bracket.
5) I Trusted My Gut in Choosing a Job
Even though a salary of $52,500 was the lowest salary offer I got in college, I still had a good feeling about the company. I couldn’t put my finger on it but there was something about the company that led me to believe that everything will work out by the end.
Furthermore, I was generally tired of interviewing with companies and going through the scheduling, researching, and the like. Therefore, it took a little bit of trust but it worked out by the end. None of the other jobs that I was considering would have came with this big of an increase in compensation after six months..
When you just can’t explain why you’re making a decision but it feels like you’re making the right decision, then it’s probably right. Your gut serves you better than any other logical argument you can find from your friends and family.
6) I Was Patient in Interviews
The interview process for the new job took six MONTHS from start to finish. I have no idea how they didn’t find many other candidates for the role in that meantime but that’s how long it lasted. It must have been because the job required a very specialized skillset.
I didn’t fly off the handle that they were taking so long. I remained patient throughout the process and took interview after interview in order to snag that offer. Even after many interactions, I treated every interaction with the same level of care and preparedness I did with the prior rounds.
I sent follow up emails and thank you emails after every interaction. Even though I didn’t know whether I would even take the job afterwards in the first place. Patience was necessary in order to get there. I never let my guard down in any of the interactions, even the ones that were “just to catch up”.
7) I Kept My Resume Up to Date
This is a big one that many people miss. They think because they landed the job, their need to keep their resume up to date is over. That’s a big mistake. I kept my resume up to date so that when they reached out to me with a job opening, then I was ready to provide them my resume and info.
It’s a mistake to remain complacent and keep your resume dusty because you never know when opportunities come up. Opportunities are not going to come up when you want them to. Opportunities come up when they feel like it. You don’t control them.
Therefore, at every point in your career, it’s a good idea to keep your resume up to date. Your job search is never over until you actually find a job that has everything that you’re looking for. Good pay, work life balance, and many more. There are good 9-5’s out there.
8) I Had Coworkers Vouch For Me
When my boss was literally working on getting a pay increase for me, a coworker came by, smiled at me, and said “take care of him”. He literally had zero clue on what was going on but that moment was priceless. Although coworkers vouching for you isn’t as meaningful as your boss, it still didn’t hurt.
Many coworkers wanted me to succeed, including one industry veteran who was clearing $420k per year. It’s one thing to vouch for yourself, it’s another thing when someone else vouches on your behalf. The words mean a lot more than if you were self selling.
That doesn’t mean befriend every single coworker. You are going to have coworkers where your personalities just don’t mesh well with one another. However, it does mean that you should have allies stand by your side who are prepared to fight for you. It goes a long way.
You Can Increase Your Income to Above $100,000 Too
I didn’t do anything magical, these methods are tried an true methods that everyone else can use as well in order to increase their income above the six figure range. Too many people remain complacent at their jobs and think that there’s no way out.
There’s always a way out and always a way to improve your overall quality of life. Money isn’t everything but it sure is something in order to better your life. I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor and I can honestly say that rich is better. I don’t know how I lived when I made under six figures a year.
And that was me living by myself, alone! I can’t imagine having a family working under that income. Although a six figure income isn’t as impactful as 20 years ago, it’s still an amazing feat to be proud of. The only ones who make $100,000+ are the ones who believe they can.
$100,000 is where the fun starts. Then you have more power to reject jobs as they come your way. Higher income folks have less chances of being abused as the lower income folks. It makes a huge difference.
Author Bio:
David is working as a regular Corporate America employee in finance and writes for filledwithmoney.com. He is on his sixth year of the financial independence journey. He amassed a $400,000 fortune by 26 and has a goal of becoming a millionaire by 30. He writes personal finance, investing, and upward mobility tips on his blog to help others reach financial independence as well.
