Redditors Discuss the Unrealistic Expectation of Earning $100k+

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Aug 18, 2023 9:00 AM EDT

Money splits opinion in so many different ways, but one factor that most of us can agree on is that we would like to have more of it. Those on an average salary often feel like security that they really want in life is just out of reach, and there are even rich people who feel similarly. 

Both social media and the society that perpetuates it are great at making us feel inadequate, and one of the areas in which that is most apparent is when it comes to how much we all earn. Every other lifestyle TikToker seems to act like they are comfortably into six figures, and many only choose to talk about their finances when they've had a significant boost. 

This is something that has been discussed in a recent Reddit thread, which talked about how some peoples' expectations about the salaries of others did not match up with reality. Sadly, many of us are much closer to homelessness than complete financial security. 

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  • 01
    Font - r/antiwork Join u/Public-Application-6 · 19h is everyone really making 115k+ a year I'm 33, went to school for many years at a top world ranked university and are at 66k a year, no kids, not married and can't afford anything, one check is car payment and rent, second check is everything else. $0 left at the end or in the negative. I work with some younger people at it seems they think 90k is not that much a year. They're aiming for early 100s. Am i crazy to think that this is not the norm
    via Public-Application-6
  • 02
    Human body - shugEOuterspace 18h 64% of Americans from disaster ... 44.1k ↓ are 2 missed paychecks away
    via shugEOuterspace
  • 03
    Font - Clever Mercury 18h 4.8k In graduate school I made less than $24,000 a year. We were routinely told, don't worry, you'll make six figures once you graduate. ... Hint: I do not. None of my graduating class does either as far as I know. But we're reminded of the cost of our degree every month still! Yay!
    via Clever_Mercury
  • 04
    Font - pollodustino 13h 4 1.2k ↓ When I went to automotive trade school in the early 2000s we were told "You could make over $100,000 a year fixing cars!" .. That may have been possible back then, when the labor rates were lower, the cars were a bit easier, customers had money to spend, and you had ten years experience. Oh, and were willing to spend twelve hours a day at the shop banging out hours. Nowadays? Good luck. It took me seven years to crack $60k, partially because I refused to spend al
    via pollodustino
  • 05
    Font - BogBodiesArePickles 18h 3.3k I live in a high cost of living area and make about $43k/yr and it's the most I've ever made in my entire life. We're in the red almost every month
    via BogBodiesArePickles
  • 06
    Eye - TipsyBaker 18h. Edited 42.8k ↓ Half the u.s. population is making $50k or less, so no that's not the norm. I haven't even hit 40k yet.
    via TipsyBaker_
  • 07
    Human body - ... TempleOfCyclops 18h At $66k a year I can confidently tell you you are making more than the average American. 41.4k ↓
    via TempleOfCyclops
  • 08
    Font - FlyOstrich 18h. Edited 6.2k Pre-Covid I used to think $70K was a salary that I could live comfortably on without being stressed about bills. But, if you look at the price of almost anything, it seems to have raised by nearly 33% in the past 3 years. Look at the price of a fast food burger, a 20oz soda from a grocery store, or a car. Therefore, nowadays, I would probably say that I wouldn't feel very comfortable with being able to handle my bills without stress until I was making at least
    via Fly0stritch
  • 09
    Font - or EasternShade 18h is everyone really making 115k+ a year 41.2k No. $115k is the 70th percentile of US household incomes, 86th percentile for individual income. | 66k a year This is the 47th percentile of household income and 67th for individual. This does vary by state and it's possible your specific area has higher costs or different wages. But, generally, it sounds like the folks you're talking to have unrealistic expectations.
    via EasternShade
  • 10
    Font - Arkhangelzk 18h 4347 ↓ I make about $30k a year and so does my wife. We both work part time and watch our kids the rest of the time. We're pretty comfortable. The amount of work we'd have to do to earn more just seems like a waste of time. I have a lot of stuff I like to do that's not working. ... Humble-Network4917 17h 4182 How do you survive off of $60k? Where do you live?? I make $60k alone and my bf makes $45k and we would RLLY struggle if we had to live on our own (we're both 24 stil
    via Arkhangelzk
  • 11
    Font - JaguarEffective2529 19h 4389 I make 135k working in health care, but it's a high cost of living area. So yes, people do make more than that, but where you live factors into whether you're living comfortably.
    via JaguarEffective2529
  • 12
    Font - littleBigLasagna 16h 4138 Uh... you know the people at the grocery store aren't, the retail workers aren't, neither are the fast food workers, janitors, delivery drivers, librarians, farmers, landscapers, veterinarians, age care workers, nurses, hair dressers, childcare workers, teachers, etc. etc. ... I don't know who told you everyone was making that much but almost everyone you see day to day is not making nearly that much a year.
    via littleBigLasagna
  • 13
    Font - Pluviochiono 18h 4137 ↓ I think it may be because the people who make that sort of money are more vocal about it than those on the opposite side of the scale, so the sentiment is heavily and falsely skewed
    via PluvioChiono
  • 14
    Font - 4776 776 Genetics Guy 15h. Edited Former mortgage loan processor here, working up through 2022. Average loan size I wrote was 400 to 500k, though wrote many jumbo loans > 1 million as well. Here is what I discovered as part of my job was basically reviewing people's income all day. Maybe 10% of people buying houses earned 100k+ a year. All this talk about 6 figures is a myth. Most people don't earn that. Even many engineers who people talk about like they are bringing in the big bucks are
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 15
    Font - The 100k+ range people typically fell in these categories: • People that were people working for big tech. Not tech in general, but Big Tech, as in the silicon valley big companies like Google, Facebook, Netflix, Airbnb, etc... There were many tech companies where the programmers and engineers weren't making 6 figures I saw. • Mid to high level executives. Most mid-level execs on large companies were barely breaking 100k... and these were MBA holding, lifelong corporate climber business t
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 16
    Font - • Small business owners. Not all. But, some of these were doing well enough for themselves. I was surprised how many Schedule C or S Corp construction trades earned. I would often have independent contractor electricians or landscapers or carpenters or plumbers earning 200k-300k+ a year. After business taxes and expenses they might take home 100 to to 150k+. Medical device sales people. Sales is going to be all over the place, but I was astounded how well some of these incomes were. • Tra
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 17
    Font - Doctors, as in Pharmacists, MDs, Dentists, etc... You'd be surprised how many Dentists I wrote making 150 to 175k a year, or family doctors making 120k, or hell, a pharmacist making 95k. The difference is earning potential is there if you start your own practice, but salary paid dentists. are making a great living, but not half a million a year like their peers. Surgeons did great, though I've seen a surgeon with 600k student loan debt on 10 year payment plans with $7500/month payments. T
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 18
    Font - • Lawyers, though not all. Many lawyers on salary were earning 60-80k range. Only high end lawyers were earning the big bucks, though I do remember a law professor at a prestigious law school who was earning 200k a year. But ya, some lawyers really were bringing in good money through the partnership. Non partners salary lawyers were base level salary paper pushers though. I even remember this immigration lawyer I worked with and she was making liken 36k a year whilst her husband earned ab
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 19
    Font - So, where is all of this talk of people making 6 figures? How did it work? Well, 90% of the home loans got there NOT through single household income. It was almost always dual income, husband and wife. The husband would make 65k/yr and the wife would make 50k/yr and combined they were 6 figures. Often, it was both spouses earning 60 or 70k. A surprising one was dental hygienists making 90k a year at like 45/hr. I remember one where this woman was earning that and her husband was working 4
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 20
    Font - It was also VERY common for both spouses to have a job, and on the side they have a side hustle bringing in an extra 10-20k/year, let's just say an extra $1000 to $1500 a month, which really helped. Usually like the husband doing some trade work on the weekend or something. These couples were breaking 6 figures because of the extra side hustle, even though they both each had day jobs only making 45k/year (45+45 + 10). The extra hustle on the side really helps them live a bit more comforta
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 21
    Font - But again, I can't stress this enough... the vast majority of the population, including the vast majority of people buying homes, did not earn 6 figures single income. This was actually pretty rare. I was even doing loans for college professors and they didn't earn that much single income. Don't be disillusioned by all the big tech insanity that has dominated the online space and given us a whole class of silicon valley tech people out of touch with the rest of the world. Hell, in all my
    via GeneticsGuy
  • 22
    Font - Also, many of the people buying homes, like in the 300-350k range on loans, maybe $15,000 down-payment, did NOT earn 100k combined. I would say at least half of the loans written the combined income of the people was not 100k. Plenty of people I wrote loans for had a combined income of 60-70k a year. Seriously, I remember one couple, both worked for McDonald's together. He earned $16/hr, and she earned $14/hr. Together combined they were making about 65k/year if you included the overtime
    via GeneticsGuy

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antiwork job work poor people problems taxes poor people expensive rich people reddit thread Reddit money rich
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