What do you do that you earn six figures?

[u/fidgit86]

It seems like a lot of people make a lot of money and it seems like I’m missing out on something. So those of you that do, whats your occupation that pays so well?

[u/jdmackes]

How long did it take before you hit 6 figures? I'm about two years into being an accountant, and while I'm not expecting to make that much (I work for my county and haven't gotten my CPA yet), I didn't know if it was something that would be realistic without working for one of the big four or owning my own firm

Edit: I just want to say thank you to everyone that answered, I've got a much better idea of what to do/expect over the next decade. I'm finishing up my Masters degree in Accounting Information Systems and then going to start sitting for the CPA exams and will hopefully build my worth from there

[u/tdpdcpa → u/jdmackes]

Also an accountant. It took me 5.5 years from my first day to the day I made 6 figures. I went Big 4 (3 years) to large, private chemical company in technical accounting and reporting.

In the 1.5 years since then, I increased my salary another 90% by switching into Accounting Advisory Services and getting headhunted by a client.

[u/Tylabear816 → u/tdpdcpa]

I switched between accounting and engineering in college and then dropped out. Currently wanting to go back but not really sure what to go into. Really wanting something that will for sure get me a job. How is the accounting market?

[u/tdpdcpa → u/Tylabear816]

My read is that there’s currently a dearth of really talented people in the entry level and senior levels because a lot of students chose to study finance instead of accounting over the last ten years or so. There seems to be a lot of openings; I get at least one recruiter message per week on LinkedIn. Wages have risen pretty quickly - we’re paying staff accountants about 20% more than what I was paid when I started 8 years ago.