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24 yo making $100K

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Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: Descartes
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: Descartes
IMO, consultants represent the top tier of talent, and always have. The bad reputation comes from bad blood between in-house talent and someone that's hired from a third party to supplement that.

It's not really a title issue; you either get the work done or you don't. A title won't save you if your project fails. The problem is that a lot of the larger "firms" give their entry-level people consultant titles, but they're hardly so. The best IT talent exists in your smaller firms, imo.
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Agreed. Not only that but true consultants bring a wealth of business knowledge as well mainly because we've seen it at many other companies. Many times businesses get so caught up in "well this is how we do it" that they fail to see that every other company has faced the same challenges - consultants can bring that view and experience.

Also agree that the bad rap mostly comes from inhouse talent being frightened.
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Is it also not true that you can graduate from college, work a couple years in IT, then gather a bunch of your buddies with different areas of expertise, and start up your own consulting firm ?
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No, that's patently false. You can start anything you want of course, but consulting firms survive only because they have many years of proven success. Your impression might be from some unfortunate interactions with low-quality people.

I just think there's many "consulting firms" that are of the "hey let's start up our own and make a ton more $" variety. So being a "consultant" (or working for one) doesn't always put you on top IMO. This is where my reservation stems from - do they always deserve what they get ?
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I'm not sure where you got your idea of what a consulting firm is or does. Are you thinking of a headhunting staff-augmentation shop? Consultants have industry expertise, and they absolutely deserve what they get. To use myself as an example (I'm the only one writing this post, so it's silly to include others), I have a long list of products delivered and projects completed ranging everywhere from $10k to $100 million in cost, and that's not something you achieve through a "hey let's start up our own and make a ton more $" idea.

All in all I'd say you have a rather malformed perception of consulting.
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How did you get your start ? When you started, what was your income and was it commensurate with your experience level ?
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I'm going to attempt to stop talking about myself and instead try to offer up constructive comments only from this point forward. Suffice it to say that I always went after the experience, and the money has always followed. I've never, ever taken an opportunity simply for the money.

I do admit I have a friend of a friend who started his own consulting company up in Chicago and I can tell you it wasn't because he's got tons of projects under his belt to begin with. I wouldn't say he's a "low-quality person" - I think he was just trying to take advantage of a situation... people do take shortcuts / roll the dice.
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I fail to see how your friend will get projects, and without the experience I don't see how he'd execute them either; however, people have different talents. Some people are great at sales. Your friend is most certainly not a microcosm of those who work at or those who start consulting firms.

Now I'm not pretending to know anything about you, but I do know you have your business and started young. How do these things happen if you say consulting companies are all that experience and proven success ? How many start up like that friend I mention and still stay in business like he has ?
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I have no idea. There are probably a great number more consulting firms that start up than those that succeed, but I fail to see how this is different than any industry. Anyone can take a few hundred dollars and start a company, but whether or not you actually get business is another story. Sucess is having a solid client-base, consistent revenue and a plan for growth.

You're describing what consulting firms should be and while I can certainly accept that, I'm saying there are less credible ones as well.
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There's less credible examples of everything in this world, I agree. The fallacy comes when we use these less credible examples to color our perceptions of an entire group. Having had the pleasure of working with the absolute best in this industry (most of which are part of a smaller firm) I feel it's unfortunate that talented people choose to stay with the 8-5 and waste away in a cubicle when they could work with equal-minded people and find a better venue for creative expression. You know all those IT books you find on the shelf and all those speakers you see at conferences? Those people essentially volunteer their time to help mentor/educate others, and a great number of these people come from firms you've never even heard of. Look at any large-scale project at any company and you'll likely find an enigmatic team of top consultants making it happen.

[edit]Decided to remove actual numbers[/edit]
 
Originally posted by: notfred
Getting a $100,000 job with a master's degree in engineering or something and some experience shouldn't really be that hard.
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honestly 100k in new york is like75k in even los angeles. it is super expensive to live there.


when my cousin got out of business school he got a job at some banking firm there working like 70 hours a week. but he got 85k.

getting 100k in engineering at 24 is still pretty hard. you could probably get 70k-80k though. there arent exactly very many engineering firms in new york, but in silicon valley / los angeles etc i think nearly 80k is doable now. hell i dont even have a masters and allegedly people with my experience could get 70k and im 25.
 
Originally posted by: SampSon
First you gotta leave the south. Second you gotta have some sort of skill to get a job (bullsh!itting on the internet doesn't count). Third you have to actually leave your house to network. Fourth you, well, I dunno, figure it out.
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What do you mean "leave the south"? WTF?
 
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: ghostman
With that said, yes, $100K is still a hell of a lot of money for a 24 year old to make in NYC. Unless you live in Manhattan and insist on drinking Starbucks, taking taxis and eating out all the time, a person making $35K could probably make it in NYC.
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You need to learn a bit about rent prices in NYC. You cannot live in Manhattan on $35k unless you live in a 200 square foot (yes two hundred, not an exaggeration) studio apartment eating ramen.
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As others have stated, I didn't say living in Manhattan for $35k. Manhattan is only one borough in NYC. And yes, you can make it in the other boroughs on only $35K. Where do you think the cashier at your supermarket lives? Or the guy who delivers your chinese food? They're definitely not pulling $50K/yr.

Originally posted by: Descartes
Honestly, I don't know now how anyone makes it on $35k in any urban setting. You're not likely to find a decent place for anything < $1000 in any of your larger cities, and even then you're asking for a lot. Throw in a car, food, etc. and you're borrowing someone else's pot to piss in.
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It's not that hard, especially if you don't have a family. You can get a fairly decent place in Brooklyn for $1000/month. Hell, I know people living for under that for a 3 bedroom apartment. And if you live in NYC, you know a car isn't necessary at all. I also know of a family of 4 who lived on ~$30K/yr (generous estimate) and managed to send their kids to college and buy a house. Granted, that's about 10 years back (that's only 1996!), but we're talking about a entire family!
 
By the time my nephew turned 18 he was making between $20,000 and $110,000 per month (varies widely, but never below 20 and so far hasn't topped 110). Not per year mind you, per month. There are all sorts of ways to make serious money while young, regardless of your geography.
 
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
By the time my nephew turned 18 he was making between $20,000 and $110,000 per month (varies widely, but never below 20 and so far hasn't topped 110). Not per year mind you, per month. There are all sorts of ways to make serious money while young, regardless of your geography.
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drug dealer?
 
Originally posted by: ghostman
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: ghostman
With that said, yes, $100K is still a hell of a lot of money for a 24 year old to make in NYC. Unless you live in Manhattan and insist on drinking Starbucks, taking taxis and eating out all the time, a person making $35K could probably make it in NYC.
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You need to learn a bit about rent prices in NYC. You cannot live in Manhattan on $35k unless you live in a 200 square foot (yes two hundred, not an exaggeration) studio apartment eating ramen.
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As others have stated, I didn't say living in Manhattan for $35k. Manhattan is only one borough in NYC. And yes, you can make it in the other boroughs on only $35K. Where do you think the cashier at your supermarket lives? Or the guy who delivers your chinese food? They're definitely not pulling $50K/yr.

Originally posted by: Descartes
Honestly, I don't know now how anyone makes it on $35k in any urban setting. You're not likely to find a decent place for anything < $1000 in any of your larger cities, and even then you're asking for a lot. Throw in a car, food, etc. and you're borrowing someone else's pot to piss in.
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It's not that hard, especially if you don't have a family. You can get a fairly decent place in Brooklyn for $1000/month. Hell, I know people living for under that for a 3 bedroom apartment. And if you live in NYC, you know a car isn't necessary at all. I also know of a family of 4 who lived on ~$30K/yr (generous estimate) and managed to send their kids to college and buy a house. Granted, that's about 10 years back (that's only 1996!), but we're talking about a entire family!
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Good point about the car, but unfortunately that's not really possible in most cities.

I know of families that survive on $30k as well. I just don't know how they do it.
 
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
By the time my nephew turned 18 he was making between $20,000 and $110,000 per month (varies widely, but never below 20 and so far hasn't topped 110). Not per year mind you, per month. There are all sorts of ways to make serious money while young, regardless of your geography.
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pimp? drug dealer?
 
i'm 25 @ 120k, not in financial but living in new york
i can tell you it's not that much.

houses in my neighborhood are at least a million, im sick and tired of it
 
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: gigapet
you can if you live with a roomate outside of manhattan queens, bronx, brooklyn
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So it's a good idea to get a job making six figures and living with a roomate in a crappy apartment in the Bronx?

Oh oh oh, where do I sign up?
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if you make six figures you can easily afford a 1bedroom apt in the city. hell i don't make 6 figures and i can afford a one bedroom in manhattan. with NO roommates. gosh, everytime nyc is mentioned, you have to threadcrap.
 
Originally posted by: EKKC
i'm 25 @ 120k, not in financial but living in new york
i can tell you it's not that much.

houses in my neighborhood are at least a million, im sick and tired of it
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what industry are you in?
 
Originally posted by: EKKC
i'm 25 @ 120k, not in financial but living in new york
i can tell you it's not that much.

houses in my neighborhood are at least a million, im sick and tired of it
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do you mean houses in Rego Park are at least a million? or somewhere in the city?

My family still lives in RP/FH i hope the house is worth at least a million =)
 
Originally posted by: Taggart
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
By the time my nephew turned 18 he was making between $20,000 and $110,000 per month (varies widely, but never below 20 and so far hasn't topped 110). Not per year mind you, per month. There are all sorts of ways to make serious money while young, regardless of your geography.
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drug dealer?
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EQ platinum provider...sells to all the online distributors.
 
Originally posted by: Aharami
Originally posted by: EKKC
i'm 25 @ 120k, not in financial but living in new york
i can tell you it's not that much.

houses in my neighborhood are at least a million, im sick and tired of it
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what industry are you in?
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to be brief, IT Consulting
 
Originally posted by: xospec1alk
Originally posted by: EKKC
i'm 25 @ 120k, not in financial but living in new york
i can tell you it's not that much.

houses in my neighborhood are at least a million, im sick and tired of it
Click to expand...

do you mean houses in Rego Park are at least a million? or somewhere in the city?

My family still lives in RP/FH i hope the house is worth at least a million =)
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depends, if its attached then its probably less.
tell your family to have it appraised, they may be surprised.

then again, a lot of people are asking for too much these days, asking for a mil when the house is probably worth 700k max...
 
Originally posted by: EKKC
depends, if its attached then its probably less.
tell your family to have it appraised, they may be surprised.

then again, a lot of people are asking for too much these days, asking for a mil when the house is probably worth 700k max...
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ahhh its an attached house. its probably worth a lot less than a million =)

but i can see some of the houses closer to queen blvd near 71st ave being extremely pricey.
 
living is expensive, but eating can be VERY cheap if you eat in chinatown. You can eat for like $3.50. Taxes rape you hard sigh 🙁 I doubt you get taxed 50%, but at least 30%.

take the subway for $76 a month, considering you don't need a car when living in the city.
 
Heh, my dad has been a pharmacist (in a hospital) for over 30 years and still likes it.

I would hate to have his job🙂
 
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