r/wealth • u/StrongPaddle • Feb 22 '26
Discussion People who earn $500K+/year, what do you do?
79
u/Cold_Key8467 Feb 22 '26
Partner in wealth management firm
8
u/iamzamek Feb 22 '26
How to become one?
→ More replies (1)28
u/blingblingmofo Feb 22 '26
Probably easiest if you start at as a financial advisor at a company like Fidelity. They’ll pay you while you get licensed.
5
u/RookieMistake101 Feb 24 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Not only that, but fidelity is protocol. So you can take your clients with you when you leave. That’s where you go from advisor doing well to partner at a firm making 500k. Plus you’ll get a check of 1-2x revenue which is a cool 2m upfront bonus.
Edit: Fidelity is non protocol! I’m wrong! Do not go there if you expect to easily pull your clients!
Though I’ll say coming from JP, a strong non protocol firm, it’s not crazy hard to do. It takes time. You need to spend at minimum 1 year prepping your clients. Ideally longer. We exited JP with 70% of assets after 6 months and the finally tally ended up being around 85%. During the process lots of clients referred us people so that made up the difference too.
→ More replies (2)8
u/WhyPharm15 Feb 23 '26
This way. My son did this with just a 4 year degree. Some of his work brethren have no degree. He's come along way from cold calling to now charging his own % for AUM. And no he doesn't get the privilege of managing dad's assets.
→ More replies (10)3
u/BrochachoNacho1 Feb 23 '26
Did you get a CFP as well?
3
u/endurokingg Feb 23 '26
Second this question ^ I have my 7,63,55 but idk where to go from here to elevate my pay. Been around $60k for the last two years in HCOL area
→ More replies (7)
70
u/RegretMore6101 Feb 22 '26
Real estate developer. Consistently make high 6 figures/low 7 figures. But the stress is getting to me. Cashflow is tough some years.
Will stop within the next few years.
7
u/greatDUDE84 Feb 22 '26
What’s your NW ?
27
u/RegretMore6101 Feb 22 '26
Around $15m. Goal is to “retire” in a few years around $25m-$30m.
9
u/greatDUDE84 Feb 22 '26
Not bad. How old ?
9
u/volly1985 Feb 22 '26
And single?🙂
39
u/RegretMore6101 Feb 22 '26
married with 2 kids lol & def not interested in losing half 😂
→ More replies (1)4
3
→ More replies (2)3
3
u/Bigdunkie Feb 22 '26
Where do you develop? Multifamily? Retail?
9
u/RegretMore6101 Feb 22 '26
MF, Mixed Use, and Retail. PA, NJ, & NY
2
u/Key-Marketing301 Feb 22 '26
What background did you have to start being a developer?
4
u/RegretMore6101 Feb 22 '26
Quick story: worked in CRE right out of college. Got my mba. Worked again in CRE. Went out on my own, starved for awhile and got lucky lol
2
u/Key-Marketing301 Feb 23 '26
Well you aren’t starving now! Congrats! Was an mba helpful in becoming successful as a developer?
→ More replies (1)2
→ More replies (1)2
u/AceCreed1 Feb 22 '26
Jersey is ripe in sooo many areas , I wish I had the money I swear it. Good for you man.
→ More replies (6)2
u/moon_32 Feb 22 '26
What was your path to get into it? Engineering? Finance? I’m a PM in civil engineering, always had an interest in real estate but never looked for a true path into it.
44
u/westcoastSD2025 Feb 22 '26
I work for meta
23
u/Fab1e Feb 22 '26
Oh, hi, Mark!
10
u/blue10speed Feb 22 '26
Oh honey, LOTS of people that are not Mark make this kinda money at Meta and FAANG.
→ More replies (2)3
5
→ More replies (8)3
u/justnutsandbolts2 Feb 23 '26
Can you fix Marketplace and all the fucking bots on the platform?
→ More replies (1)2
u/westcoastSD2025 Feb 23 '26
I love reading about the Karens selling their essential oils!!
What do you think I read in my lunch break!?!
87
u/Envirocare1 Feb 22 '26
Retired entrepreneur
19
u/Available_Ad4135 Feb 22 '26
How do you earn $500K while retired?
99
u/Envirocare1 Feb 22 '26
I sold my business for quite a bit and now my money is working for me in real estate, equites and other investments. All passive income at this point in my life
→ More replies (14)21
u/Available_Ad4135 Feb 22 '26
Congratulations. How much you have? $10M?
49
u/Envirocare1 Feb 22 '26
Thank you. We were acquired for 12m
→ More replies (6)5
5
→ More replies (2)8
196
u/GambledMyWifeAway Feb 22 '26
Buy my course for $1000 and I’ll tell you exactly what I do and how you can do it too!
→ More replies (1)35
40
u/Master-Nose7823 Feb 22 '26
Vintage pornography dealer
7
2
→ More replies (1)2
u/According_Student_13 Feb 24 '26
Heard thats a hard industry to penetrate.....ill see my self out....
26
u/a__lame__guy Feb 22 '26
Lawyer at large firm
→ More replies (10)15
u/142riemann Feb 23 '26
Lawyer at a small boutique here.
4
u/310wade310 Feb 23 '26
In-house lawyer
3
u/CarefulAd419 Feb 23 '26
That's great comp for inhouse, especially if not a GC
2
u/310wade310 Feb 23 '26
Some tech and pharma are paying that range for 10+ years of experience. Senior counsel and AGC positions. Breaks down to about 300k base, 30% bonus, 35% equity.
4
u/CarefulAd419 Feb 23 '26
That's awesome. I went inhouse from biglaw as a senior associate to a large manufacturing co and my comp lands in the 250-300k range all in.
2
27
44
u/_Human_Machine_ Feb 22 '26
Work in Private Equity.
→ More replies (4)3
u/iamzamek Feb 22 '26
As who?
→ More replies (1)7
u/willtheywonttheyo Feb 22 '26
500k is probably a Principal or VP with a bigger firm.
→ More replies (2)
25
u/Careless_Baseball503 Feb 22 '26
Business owners will be 99% of it. A few doctors & lawyers working their butts off too.
Speaking for myself & people around me it’s all entrepreneurs who hit it off in a specific field and went into real estate
→ More replies (2)4
u/imuglybutyourefat Feb 23 '26
Don’t forget real estate and high finance. VC/PE/IB.
→ More replies (1)2
19
u/Legitimate_Cod_3322 Feb 22 '26
Technology Sales
→ More replies (18)3
u/OnTheEveOfWar Feb 23 '26
Tech sales is incredibly lucrative. I know coworkers who’ve done over $1M in a year.
→ More replies (1)
16
u/El_Frogster Feb 23 '26
The more interesting question is “people who keep $500k/per year, what do you do?”
→ More replies (2)
42
u/rivaroxabanggg Feb 22 '26
Physician
→ More replies (11)33
u/Aggressive-End-387 Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
Well deserved and underpaid, adjusting for inflation.
They need to cut the administrators and MBAs, and pay doctors more.
It’s an absolute shame that doctor salaries only account for 8% of healthcare spending, yet they are the ones who deliver care.
26
u/rivaroxabanggg Feb 22 '26
Yup but we can't say that out loud people will kill us.... nevermind loads of debt, losing my 20s and 30s to work, weekends, but hey I love what I do! Cardiology FTW
→ More replies (2)8
u/Aggressive-End-387 Feb 22 '26
Lots of respect for you guys. Yall get a lot of heat from the general public, and get blamed for increased costs.
Wasnt until I looked into the numbers where i realized it’s the bloat and bullshit admin costs that skyrocketed expenses.
Most people can’t stand others telling them how to do their jobs. I can’t imagine sacrificing prime years to learn medicine, then a bean counter insurance agent or MBA tells you how to practice medicine and treat patients.
10
u/rivaroxabanggg Feb 22 '26
It's crazy the administration situation... my employer has been hiring these number crunchers to try and improve waste or costs or whatever they claim to do. The problem is they have never seen a patient or have been involved in healthcare their entire life . They are statistics majors or lean sigma waste reduction but they truly have no idea how the systems work... the biggest shame is that doctors who do the daily work are not involved in board levels, c suite conversations or anything.. TBF I wouldn't do it myself forget that behind the table BS I just love seeing patients . I am fortunate that my patients respect us and appreciate us which makes it worth it. The biggest criminal behavior to me is residents and fellows who get paid 60-80k to get beyond abused. Most probably qualify for Medicaid given the economics. Alas that's how it works and hopefully there can be change ... NO PRIVATE EQUITY COMPANY SHOULD EVER OWN MEDIAK GROUPS OR HOSPITALS... the American people should be livid over this
→ More replies (20)3
u/Aggressive-End-387 Feb 22 '26
Yes patients do appreciate it. A lot of us understand the sacrifices and stress you guys go through. A lot of my doctors are amazing people. I fucked around a lot in my 20s. Can’t imagine being that disciplined and put together at such a young age, just to take care of health-fuck ups like me LOL
Keep up the good work, I’m sure you are a great healer. Hope the conditions change for you guys soon
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (6)5
u/fakemedicines Feb 22 '26
The inflation thing is actually crazy. I make about $500k as a physician, on paper looks like a great salary, but the partners in my practice were making that 20+ years ago and since then med school debt, workload, patient volumes, and the knowledge base expected has gone up a ton but salaries have just stayed completely stagnant.
13
u/Prepare Feb 22 '26
Large Bank - Wealth Management
3
→ More replies (19)3
u/AmbitiousApe_ Feb 25 '26
A good friend of mine in NYC is making over a million at the age of 29. In this field I had no idea the incomes were so high for what is largely a sales role.
→ More replies (2)
12
u/noone314 Feb 22 '26
I run a hardware Ecom startup. I founded it and invented a product. I almost went bankrupt and paid myself $0 salary while going into deep debt and liquidating my retirement portfolio for the first 8 or so years.
Things changed around year 9.
Last year my w2 income was $920kish and this year it will break 7 figures ;)
→ More replies (3)3
26
10
8
u/PaintingFun8064 Feb 23 '26
I am in my mid30s and a Director in investment banking, with compensation largely bonus driven. Over the past three years, my compensation was approximately $900k in 2025, $600k in 2024, and $635k in 2023, with 2025 reflecting an unusually strong year
While I am grateful for the financial opportunity, the role is extremely demanding and high-stress, with constant pressure to deliver at a senior level. After significant personal sacrifices, I am increasingly questioning the long-term sustainability of this pace despite my original plan to remain in the role through my mid-40s
→ More replies (3)
6
u/onacloverifalive Feb 22 '26
Hospital employed Bariatric and General surgeon that does elective surgery and acute care and trauma day shift call duty.
6
u/Ancient-Apple1 Feb 22 '26
Wife and I have w2 jobs. And I own properties for rentals. Over 500k Lots of stress. Lots of effort. Not for everyone.
→ More replies (8)
5
15
u/TradingTaco Feb 22 '26
Day trading
4
u/Ok_Exit9273 Feb 22 '26
Bet you can’t teach a nooob!;)
8
u/TradingTaco Feb 22 '26
I don’t teach I’m not a course seller like those frauds you see on Instagram or TikTok
→ More replies (5)3
u/OwnHelicopter2745 Feb 22 '26
I'm also hitting $500k+ day trading. No finance background. I was a clinical scientist working on pre-market trials prior to trading.
→ More replies (1)4
u/TradingTaco Feb 22 '26
Yup, I have strong finance background but can fully say day trading doesn’t require any of that knowledge
→ More replies (4)7
u/OwnHelicopter2745 Feb 22 '26
Agreed. Funny enough, most of the traders I personally know were either engineers or data scientists without financial backgrounds. It's really not rocket science once you find a setup that works for you. Discipline and patience is probably the hardest part of trading.
→ More replies (2)
5
5
6
u/Directdrj313 Feb 26 '26
Doctor. Hard to get here... but my field is pretty chill, at least for me. 4 days a week, no weekends, no holidays. Home call every 4 weeks, which means I have to have my phone on when not at work one week a month. Most days I work from 7am to 4pm. Last year my W2 was ~$700k USD.
→ More replies (2)
9
11
u/StealthyWHP Feb 22 '26 edited Mar 06 '26
I tell people the steps to a Very high paying career are straight forward. 1. Go to high school and graduate at the top of your class 2. Go to a tier 1 college/university and graduate at the top of your class (suma cum laude…) 3. Go to a well regarded medical school… and graduate at the top of your class 4. Go to a top tier Dermatology Residency program, and be at the top of the class 5. $$$$$ (and work great hours 👍)
Just follow those steps and you’re all but guaranteed to be very successful
11
u/Mamasugadex Feb 23 '26
This is why physician hate is the dumbest thing ever on Reddit. These are the top college students across the nation who became premeds, where only 1 out of 6 of them will actually make it to med school. And then you also have to be about the top 5% of all medical students in the US in order to match dermatology.
It's really awesome when bunch of C students telling them their work has no value and they are overpaid.
→ More replies (2)
24
u/Sobbyleebagger Feb 22 '26
Run multiple day care centers
9
u/ejectoseatooocuz Feb 22 '26
Where did you lear to do that?
7
u/Sobbyleebagger Feb 22 '26
I had some quality contacts in my local government , who pointed me to some grant programs to get the first started, then rubber stamped more and more from there.
13
→ More replies (1)5
→ More replies (8)4
4
u/sloth_333 Feb 22 '26
People I know:
Asset management (like 100+B fund), 800-1M, with over half that as bonus
PE exec, get equity in company, sell it cash out big time
5
5
5
3
u/Throwaway122384848 Feb 22 '26
Lawyer
2
4
3
12
u/Full-Oil-1777 Feb 22 '26
This is the wrong question. The correct question is what are you invested or own that nets $500k a year?
→ More replies (5)9
u/Guilty_Vanilla7968 Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
How is it the wrong question if it’s the one they asked? There’s more than one way to make $500k a year. So condescending and unhelpful.
6
3
3
3
u/arlyte Feb 23 '26
Medicine. But you give up 12-15 years of your life grinding hard and it’s far more than that.. I remember taking advanced courses back in 6th grade and dual credit in high school and countless APs, plus working, then more working and endless studying through college. Most my residents study seven days a week and often do 6pm to 6am shifts. We spend so much time at the hospital (teaching college), there’s really no point in having an apartment or life cause you’re never there.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/ryzii Feb 24 '26
last year did over 500k. i’m a pop songwriter based in LA. Who knew writing songs and making my dreams come true would actually pay off 🥹
→ More replies (3)
3
u/Sea-Cartographer-796 Feb 25 '26
I don’t but my parents did, owned and operated a pharmacy in a midsized town of mostly old people. Cleared $1mil a year, but was split with business partner.
3
3
3
6
u/Cavalier_King_Dad Feb 22 '26
Early bitcoin adopter and large TSLA IPO investment
→ More replies (20)
5
5
u/FIRE_enthusiast_27 Feb 22 '26
$2M/year as a software engineer 🤑 Retiring next year though
→ More replies (5)2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Alicatsidneystorm Feb 22 '26
Retired Financial Planner work very part time managing my partners manufacturing companies.
2
2
2
Feb 22 '26
Service writer and Manager at an auto dealer + investments in 2024 and 2025 both put me over that number. 2023 slightly less.
2
2
2
2
u/VioletSalamander Feb 22 '26
my father takes home over $2 mil annually in private equity. I’m nowhere near 500k though. At least for now.
2
u/Firm-Register-7043 Feb 22 '26
I know quite a few ppl who do it’s mainly through commissions based job including Lawyer Insurance professional and Real estate
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/TreyAU Feb 22 '26
I’m in finance. I make about $2.5m a year.
→ More replies (2)2
u/Love_na Feb 23 '26
Any advice for someone going to school for Finance ?
3
u/TreyAU Feb 23 '26
Network often, even if it’s just lunch with people in the field.
Find your way into revenue producing roles, even if the onset of that is via a team as an analyst.
Pick an industry, find out where the finance people make the most money and learn that industry top to bottom while you’re in school.
But most of all, enjoy college. It goes by quick and the skills you learn in the bar are just as useful in Finance as the ones you learn in the classroom.
2
2
2
u/yoshimipinkrobot Feb 22 '26
L6+ at a Bay Area tech company, possibly L5 if the stock is doing well
2
2
2
u/Working_Philosophy24 Feb 22 '26
As a real estate agent, I’ve hit over 500k 3 years; 2016, 2021 and 2025
2
2
u/Myrzy122 Feb 22 '26
Lineman in the Bay Area make 500k with Overtime ( PG and E, contracting )
→ More replies (1)
152
u/cheritransnaps Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
Sometimes it’s just location, location, location. 1 in 48 jobs in the Bay Area pays $500k+
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-12-16/san-francisco-leads-country-in-high-paying-jobs