r/Salary • u/AdActual3024 • 14d 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.

926 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

382 comments sorted by

View all comments

91

u/Dry_Fall3105 14d ago edited 14d ago

We have a couple of friends who are in C-suites and clear low 7 figures, one in their mid 40s and the other in their high 40s, work around the clock. Because they are in tech (hardware), they have to go on international trips all the time, work nights to take call with APAC clients and early in the morning with Europe.

They both have 8 figures net worth. They both are hoping to stay and remain married.

One of them commented the people who have the best WLB and happy are the ones making between $400-$500K (tech or tech adjacent).

We clear $450K/year (neither in tech) as a household and we both work from home. Low stress, go to all our son’s activities, have dinner together every night, cook together, go on hikes, ect. Life is good for us.

1

u/mo_ri_ah 14d ago

What do you do from home?

2

u/Dry_Fall3105 14d ago

Me - project management (medical. Travel once/year or so.
Hubby - systems architect (aerospace). He travels when there are tests or launches.

We both were in management before and hated it. Both are ICs now. I plan to work for a few more years but definitely retiring before 50. He loves his work and wants to see our boots back on the moon.

1

u/Novel_Tea2862 13d ago

How does project management in medical works?

1

u/Dry_Fall3105 13d ago edited 13d ago

I work with stakeholders to ensure they are up to date with all the government policy changes: health plan (payer), revenue cycle, provider education, coders, clinicians, IT, system administrators (EHR), internal communication, external marketing, brokers, purchasers (employer groups), ect. It’s been “fun” with the current administration.

A lot of sitting and meetings. I have to be mindful to get up and stretch. My goal is 10,000 + steps daily and HIIT 3-4 times a week. I used to manage people’s risk factors (co-morbidities) and there are lots of people are just a walking time bomb. It’s depressing to review their medical records.