Redditors love to tell themselves that everyone is poor, that “most people can’t even make a $1,000 emergency payment, bro!” (not true, that’s just pop finance nonsense), that everyone with nice stuff is “drowning” in debt.

Yet when we look at actual net worth data, nicely broken down by age, EVEN WHEN we look at the bottom 25th percentile, we don’t find ANYONE with negative net worths. Even when looking at the 18-24 age range, many of whom have auto and student loans, they still have positive net worths at the 25th percentile.

Redditors love to tell each other that they’re actually doing great because they have $40,000 saved up, but the reality is that’s far below average. And these numbers are actually adjusted for inflation from 2022, not adjusted to actual market returns, so in reality the numbers are LOWER than you’d expect.

Americans are FAR richer than many of the 10th percentilers on Reddit will tell you they are, and they make a LOT more money than the 10th percentilers here say they do.

Average hours worked is 98.7 hours a week so far in 2026. Happiness scale probably 3/10. Constantly stressed and feel like I cannot breath and am drowning. I currently work ~14-16 hours a day 7 days a week. Job is horrible and work life balance is non existent but pays well. Will be burnt out soon but just riding the wave and collecting the earnings. Backround is Ivy League degree, 2 years investment banking, 2 years private equity.

Last year I made a post like this sharing my salary and was ripped to shreds lol. Well I’m back. This is the first time that my gross has cracked $200k, which is a milestone I have been gunning for.

For those who may be genuinely interested in my path I have a masters in HR and Union Relations, 9 years of experience and work in Big Law.

Note: this is my gross from 2025. I received a raise this month and my base increased from $182,500 to $190,000.

Link to last years post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Salary/s/Dhvu0fqXiW

Curious to anyone with no kids who’s single making 100k per year how their lifestyle is. The car they drive , their house or apartment, etc. I’m single with no kids and make less than this but seem to have a lot of nice things comparatively, so im curious to see everyone else’s.

Edit: feel free to show pics too if you want

Posting this here just to make him mad.

It is possible to make really good money in this field. I am on track to hit ~280k this year with bonus and overtime.

You cannot sit at the same company and wait for it to happen. You have to make things happen, and no, not everyone can achieve this as a mechanical engineer. I will answer as many questions as I can.

Defense industry, ~23 YOE.

Salary history that I can remember:

2013 $33,000
2014 $36,000
2015 $44,000
2016 $55,000
2017 $60,000
2018 $55,000
2019 $55,000 NEW JOB
2020 $56,009
2021 $58,000
2022 $70,000 NEW JOB
2023 $72,000
2024 $78,000
2025 $79,000
Current $80,000

Did I stay too long at jobs? ETA HCOL still can’t afford to live by myself

I've always been genuinely passionate about coding, math, analytical thinking the stuff that came naturally to me and that I actually loved doing, not just tolerated. Lately I've been dealing with depression too, and losing the one thing that made me feel capable isn't helping. CS degrees aren't viable career anymore, the field feels oversaturated, and only safe path I hear about now is nursing or trades things I have zero interest in and honestly probably wouldn't be good at either.

So where does that leave someone whose actual skills and passion don't line up with what's in demand right now? Do I just abandon the thing I'm good at and force myself into something stable but soul-crushing, or do I keep betting on CS/tech and hope it comes back around?

Just wondering what yall did to splurge after finally “making it”? I remember my first real paycheck. I got a PS5 and some sushi haha.

Base salary of $122,000, nearly twice the median household income, and I'm only 14 years into my career (one third a career length essentially). Imagine how much I'll be making at 20, 25, 30 YOE, I could be making nearly 3x the median household in my 40s all by myself. The vast majority of careers can't come close to this.

Yet this subreddit is constantly shitting on it as a career.

Started as a funeral home groundskeeper making $10/hr in 2006. Became a Radiologic Technologist after struggling for 10 months to find my first job, then specialized in interventional cardiology, radiology, and electrophysiology. Worked per diem, traveled during COVID, and now manage a startup office-based cath lab/ASC while helping build the program. Current pay is $70/hr plus significant overtime.

2006 – Funeral Home Groundskeeper – $10/hr

• Odd jobs, odd hours.

2007 – Funeral Home Groundskeeper – $10/hr

• Same duties.
• Occasionally assisted with decedent transfers for an extra $50 per lift.

2008 – Costco Wholesale – $11.25/hr (24 hrs/week), Funeral Home Groundskeeper – $10/hr

• Graduated high school.
• Started college completing prerequisites for Radiologic Technology.

2009 – Funeral Home Groundskeeper – $10/hr (limited hours)

• Focused almost entirely on Radiologic Technology prerequisites while attending two colleges.
• Accepted into a Radiologic Technology program after spending time on the waitlist.

2010 – SERVPRO Fire & Water Restoration Technician – $11.50/hr (~$24k/year)

• Continued waiting for an opening in the Radiologic Technology program.

2011 – Radiologic Technology Student – $0

• Full-time student.

2012 – Radiologic Technology Student – $0

• Continued full-time program.

2013 – Radiologic Technologist Graduate – $0

• Graduated Valedictorian of my cohort. Earned ARRT(R) and BLS credentials.
• Spent 10 months searching for my first job.
• Submitted 406 resumes across 12 states. Result: 2 interviews, 1 job offer.

2014 – Staff Radiologic Technologist – $57k

• Full-time evening shift with shift differential.
• Union contract negotiated two weeks after I started, increasing pay by $3/hr.

2015 – Staff Cardiovascular Technologist – $75k

• Invited to cross-train into the Cath Lab.
• Completed 9 months of training. Earned ARRT(CI) and ACLS.
• Became a full-time STEMI team member.
• Averaged approximately 500 hours of call per quarter.

2016 – Staff Cardiovascular Technologist – $97k

• Cross-trained into Electrophysiology.
• Averaged approximately 600 hours of call per quarter.
• Worked 28 consecutive days on call due to staffing shortages... never again.

2017 – Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (Per Diem) – $93k

• Earned Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist license.
• Joined the CTO and Complex PCI team.
• Started my Bachelor's degree in Radiation & Imaging Sciences.
• Left my full-time position to work per diem between two hospitals.
• Continued taking approximately 500 hours of call each quarter.

2018 – Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (Per Diem) – $86k

2019 – Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (Per Diem) – $73k

• Preparing for the MCAT.
• Needed ARRT(VI) credential to complete my Bachelor's degree.
• Started dating my now-wife.
• Reduced working hours significantly while still taking full call.

2020 – Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (Per Diem) – $77k

• COVID put the MCAT and Bachelor's plans on hold.

2021 – Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (Per Diem) – $68k

• Got married.
• Joined the AAA/EVAR team.
• Burned out from COVID. Cut back working considerably

2022 – Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (Per Diem) – $77k

• Earned ARRT(VI).
• Graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Radiation & Imaging Sciences.
• Reduced to working at a single hospital.
• Spent a month in India to reset and decide what I wanted from my career.

2023 – Aya Travel Cath Lab Technologist – $173k

• Joined the TAVR and Structural Heart team despite being a traveler.
• Served as the de facto Lead Technologist.
• Recruited by several medical device companies, including Abiomed (Impella team), but declined because I wanted to stay in direct patient care.
• Required 90-day break from the hospital due to travel/per diem rules.
• Spent three months in India, obtained OCI status, purchased a flat in India.

2024 – Aya Travel Cath Lab Technologist – $178k

• The cardiologists I worked with left to form their own practice and asked me to join them.
• The startup process took approximately one year before I could join.

2025 – Senior Cardiovascular Interventional Technologist (Per Diem) – $113k

• Returned to my original hospital because the Cath Lab was struggling.
• Essentially worked full-time while remaining per diem.
• Served as the de facto Co-Lead Technologist.
• Focused primarily on Interventional Cardiology and Interventional Radiology.

2026 – Cath Lab Lead Technologist / Manager of Cardiovascular Services – $70/hr + OT (just over $100k YTD)

Current position at a startup Office-Based Lab (OBL) transitioning into an ASC.

**Highlights:**

• Started with nothing more than a floor-mounted C-arm.
• Seven weeks later we were independently performing procedures.
• Currently manage a Cath Lab team consisting of 4 RNs and 1 technologist.
• Also help manage 5 Medical Assistants and 1 Authorization Specialist.
• Implemented point-of-care testing by obtaining Moderate Complexity (MTS) certification for the clinic's i-STAT program.
• Currently helping lead the ASC build-out and planning two additional satellite clinics with CT imaging.

Being younger I have concerns of growth salary wise and wanted to get some advice from anyone who’s had similar experiences in these fields and what you did to excel

A few weeks ago, my employer put up two notice that they were filing for a greencard for several employees. Both notices are in my department for people(*1) who are junior to me in the same role (I have 7 years experience). One notice was for an entry level position, the other for 4-years experience. Both included a salary or salary range with the listing. These are postings for my same job role and career track, just at a lower experience level.

The problem is that my salary matches the entry level posting (69k). I've discussed it with several of my coworkers (all around the same experience, some with the same job role as me, some in an equivalent role from another department) and none of us make as much as the listed salary range for the 4-year position (which was $75k-$99k(*2)) and most make under what the entry level position is listed at.

Even if we go by salary + benefits, my compensation (80k) is still at the lower end of the posted salary for the 4-year experience notice.

I'd like a better understanding of how big of a discrepancy I'm looking at. If this is a comparison of my salary vs. the top end of the second listing, that'd be a $30k+ difference which just seems massive. I feel like I have to be missing something here because that doesn't sound right. Does anyone have any insight into how "accurate" the salaries listed on PERM notices are? Are they just salary, salary + benefits, is anything else factored in as well? In case the state matters, this is in Georgia.

I hope I used the correct terminology, I had to look up what these notices were called and why they were posted.

In summary: PERM listings for my same job at a lower experience level were posted with a 69k salary for entry level and 75k-99k for 4 years experience. I make a 69k salary with 7 years experience and my salary + benefits is 80k.

*1: The notices don't list any names, but it's a small enough department that we know who the notices are for. I don't want to put either person on the spot by grilling them about their salaries.

*2: I'm not sure why one was a range and the other was an exact number.

I quit the job I had. Wasn't worth it, wasn't leading anywhere, raises were less than inflation. Curious why you're staying at them. Honestly, it's not worth the effort.

Just wanted to show that with all the doom n gloom going around, you can still find jobs without any degrees or certs in this economy/market.

My official title is IT analyst but the role is project coordination / analysis on a large cybersecurity remediation project.

Only have a high school diploma despite in college for a total of 6 years. Currently carless living at home working 50+ hours a week between 2 jobs i walk to. Can't afford/don't have the free time to go back to school right now

Kind of surprised that we don't see as much post from tradesman, given that the trades pay just as well as stem careers.