Salary Story: I Didn’t Go To College Until I Was 21 & Now I Make $165k

In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions and job loss, with the hope it will give young people more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.

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Age: 34
Location: New Jersey
Current industry and job title: Ad Tech, Product Manager
Current salary: $165,000
Number of years employed since school or university: 16 years. I began working full time at age 18, and at age 21 I decided to pursue my undergraduate degree. I was living independently since 18, just a few short months after graduating high school, so I had to continue working while pursuing my degree. I graduated with my bachelor’s in 2014, but it took until 2016 for me to get a permanent, full-time job.

Starting salary: $20/hour
Biggest salary jump: From $20/hour to $70,000/year in 2016. This was a temp to perm position that I had held as a temp for around eight months. I told my manager I needed to pursue a full-time position and had another offer in hand, and she quickly pushed for not just a permanent position, but a promotion in one fell swoop. The benefits from this company were also incredible, it was the best healthcare coverage I’d ever had, and the 401k match was 6% vested immediately. They also reimbursed phone, gym, and home internet.

Biggest salary drop: From $35,000/year to $11/hour in 2014. I left my full-time job in retail management for part-time work while I finished my undergraduate degree. After getting my associate’s degree, I had made the decision to finish my bachelor’s full-time. I still needed to work, but could only manage about 20-25 hours a week in between classes. I was taking six classes per semester and doing full-time summer sessions to graduate as quickly as possible.

Biggest negotiation regret: In 2021, I was promoted to lead my team when my manager left for another company. It was my dream to get this title (director) but they only offered me around $12,000 more than I had been making. I was very soft in my negotiation and we ended up at a $15,000 raise. I left less than a year later, and I heard my (external hire) replacement was being paid around $50,000 more than me.

Best salary advice: There’s always more money out there. If you work in retail, like I did, you might be making $50,000/year and think it’s great money. There are plenty of retail managers who make $100,000 for the same job. Your salary is not your worth, it’s what the company you work for is willing to pay you. I work far less in tech than I ever did in retail and I make five times more. Don’t be afraid to pursue other opportunities, even lateral moves, to climb the salary ladder.

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