So I’m 20 and I’ve started looking at the salaries of jobs/careers, and this is the impression I’ve gotten. Like that you could spend years cramming a ton of knowledge about a very niche field, and still only get 2-3x what a run-of-the-mill job makes. Is this true? If yes then I guess this route to wealth would only make sense (due to the diminishing returns) if the topic truly spoke to you, right? Are there alternative career paths to good pay than being really good at something really specific?
Not true for everyone. My pay rises over the past 5 years were around 35% on top of my starting wage, specifically linked to how much knowledge or experience I have gained in the role.
In curious where you are in the career curve?
When I started I had similar experience where I was rapidly getting promoted and raises. Eventually that slowed down.
I’m 42 and have been working in the same industry for 20 years. This is just a good company to work for.
I think I’m very much a generalist, but the areas in deep on I’m much deeper than others.
But that means as companies get bigger they want more specialists and i end up less valuable as I’m just filling in gaps.
Makes finding those good companies harder, but I’m more valuable to small companies than hiring 3-4 people, so I can command good pay.
Well, that’s great for you! Definitely not the norm though!