Real answer: I have one of those jobs. I have no immutable advice, everyone’s mileage will vary, but some pointers:
- After you get proficient at a skill, use it to job hop every few years. Job hopping is a great way to leap up the wage ladder.
- Never seek out or accept an in-office position unless it’s your first job or two.
- Avoid the FAANG / MAG7 type companies because they will chew you up and burn you out.
- Never seek out or accept a management role of any sort. The pay to work bump is terrible and going back down looks awful on a resume.
- Interact with coworkers and be nice, don’t actually be a ghost. Nobody wants to get rid of the friendly, engaged person.
- I went to a “big name” uni. My major has nothing to do with my field of work today, but I cannot discount the fact that this single line on my resume could have opened some doors. However I have a feeling that nobody ever verifies my degree with my alma mater.
can confirm, and would like to add:
- it helps a lot to understand the org and the internal politics. (this is simpler as it sounds. just be generally nice to people and try to understand what they want, and what their actual position in the org are. Then think about what your actual position in the org is, and where it could be. Most importantly ask yourself: What does my boss’s boss think what value I produce for him?)
Fellow here, I wanted to +1 job hopping. I went from $75k in 2020 to $200k in 2026 doing this. If I stayed at a company I’d need 2 promotions and with COLA 3% adjustment I’d still be short of my current wage by quite a bit. Loyalty pays with underpaying, but gives you a sense of job security.
Having multiple offers creates a bid war, much like the COVID house prices that’s how you can inflate your salary. Also, salary > RSU + bonus + salary
Edit: and so it’s clear - my improvement is an outlier, usually it’s 20-30% when you job hop, I just ended up picking up a very niche role no one does and jumped to that payband
Yep, plan on changing jobs every two and a half to three and a half years.
Be willing to lie on your resume to improve your chances of getting the specific job you’re applying for, but only lie enough that you could watch a YouTube video and fill in the gap between the absolute truth and the expectation.
Don’t say that you understand Azure if you’ve never used a Windows computer before, but if you have run a home lab with proxmox, and they’re looking for a VMware administrator, you’re probably okay.
Job hopping is the best way to get better money and job title. It’s worth staying for a few years ever once in a while if you prefer the stability over the income bump. I am in my stable phase while my children are young before jumping again. I am thinking maybe 5 years or so. Unless the great job comes
It should also be noted this guy’s boss or boss’s boss is a moron. It’s a requirement of such a position existing
Not true, no one member of a hierarchy need be a moron for the structure itself to generate inefficiencies. I also tend to be over-critical of my own output, when I measure it objectively against coworkers it’s often higher even if it doesn’t feel that way. Awful puritan-style work ethic. Not to toot my own horn but, my boss and their boss did make a safe choice.
It’s pretty simple really, just have Dad give you a executive position in his company! Then you too can eventually become a Self Made Business Owner™©®
It also helps to be a soulless husk with no regard for human decency.
All nepo positions, my friend.
😔
Have you tried orally interfacing with the genitals of a member of the management at your place of employment?
That will get you nothing, but maybe an STD.
Substantially-increased Total Dollars, yes that’s correct!
i can’t speak from experience but i’m pretty sure that:
- taking up tens of thousands of dollars of student debt makes you more appealing (less likely to expect fair conditions and pay) to employers
- from there it’s 95% networking with people richer than you and pretending that they are cool / funny etc until you retire or kill yourself
*edit I forgot the most important step! you have to pretend (and act out in the workplace) that rich people are also very smart. Otherwise they can’t pretend they are rich because of merit.
LARPing seems like a pretty important part of all of it now that i consider it
Have a rich dad.
I just got my degree in a decent field. Try Supply Chain Management and learn pivot tables.
The number of things that run on excel in the corporate world is staggering…
All of it, all of it runs in Excel. If Excel somehow stopped working one day it would be worse than Judgement Day. I mean, from a business perspective being held together by rubber bands and popsicle sticks.
Even without a degree, supply chain and logistics is the answer. I didn’t finish college, and I’m comfortably making six figures. I literally spend five hours a day playing on my phone. No one cares, and my boss tells everyone how great I am.
Assistant to the Manager.
Assistant to manager*
The guy from my last job who ordered my firing (and thus caused everyone else in the department to quit in solidarity) has one of those jobs. Seriously, everyone in that department quit within 4 months all of them citing me getting fired as the last straw and this guy as another massive reason. None of us knew what he did/does. It seemed like after every time one of them quit he some how got a promotion. He’s head of IT and software but has no fucking clue how to use a computer and constantly fucked up even buying computers.
Honest answer, I guess blackmail or be good friends with someone high up.
head of IT and software
Oh boyyy I had a boss a few summers ago that was like this. He was more suited to English and Medieval history and would go in depth about the topics he was passionate about.
He may have admitted to me that he was holding the job down to make his parents happy. In one afternoon he seemed to be genuinely intrigued to learn what solid state storage looked like, which baffles me since he had a Masters in Information Technology.
Most people didn’t really like him due to his poor social skills, but he was at least not “that kind of boss” that actively tried to fire anyone. More so, he was slightly at risk of it himself, since it was heard through the grapevine that his previous supervisor wanted him “fired for incompetence” but he ended up getting the job through sheer workplace turnover.
At least that guy had a relevant degree. Not knowing how to use it though sounds like he sucks ass in his own shitty way though. Glad you’re out of there at least.
Hard work and stick-toitiveness
