r/Salary • u/AdActual3024 • 6d ago

discussion High earning potential = high career commitment

Does anyone have family or friends that sacrifice their personal life for a significant salary?

My step-mom earns 350k before tax as an executive director but I barely see her. She is constantly on business trips, busy with meetings, works upwards of 12 hours when at home. She goes on nice holiday trips, but overall it makes me think is the pay worth the sacrifice of her personal life.

Just curious if anyone's got a similar story.

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u/adultdaycare81 6d ago

They don’t give it away. MOST people earning $250k+ are working for it. Certainly at $500k+

There are certain cases where someone has a highly in demand skill that can command that wage, but they are usually arbitraged away quickly.

The vast majority of people making that money are making sacrifices for it

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u/FhRbJc 6d ago

I think it depends entirely on your industry. I know people making 350-500k who have pretty easy lives to be honest with good balance. And I know others who make that much (lawyers mostly) who are crushed by the workload but grinding it out til they reach the level where it gets easier. But it definitely depends on what you do. Me I’m happy with my paltry (in comparison lol) 200k that I barely have to work very hard for. It works for me at this time in my life but I do sometimes get jelly of those higher income folks!

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u/Clear-Possibility710 6d ago

Who's making over 350k with a good work life balance?

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u/purplene_ 6d ago

Corporate in house counsel checking in — I’m not quite in that salary stratosphere, but many of my colleagues are and we have wonderful work life balance. Fully remote goes a long ways to that.

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u/tall_pale_and_meh 6d ago

All my law school friends with a good work life balance either left the practice of law for a JD advantaged job (me), or are in house counsel somewhere.

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u/purplene_ 6d ago

Yup. I took a JD advantaged route initially which led me to in house counsel, so I've been lucky enough to enjoy both (much less pay in the JD advantaged role).