I took the traditional route to “success” and went to college right after high school. Unfortunately for me I finished my bachelor’s degree when the US economy had taken a major loss. There was the mortgage crisis, there weren’t many jobs, and if you didn’t have a job in a specific field you were likely to get the leftovers. That happened to me. While I was happy to have a job to provide me with some sort of income, I knew the job I had wasn’t the pinnacle of what I wanted in a career, and I knew more than that it wouldn’t afford me the kind of lifestyle I wanted to build for myself and create for a future family. I mean, I was 24 years old, living with my younger sister, and sleeping on the couch. It definitely wasn’t what I had in mind for my life. While making a $30K salary in 2009, I made the decision for myself to get out of that job, figure out what I really wanted to do, and to go for it by any means necessary. That’s exactly what I did.

Many people see the material things my family and I have and only take it for face value, but I’ve worked really hard to get where I am. Don’t get me wrong, material things are nice to have but more than anything my family and I don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck and we don’t stress about how we’re going to pay our bills. I know exactly what that’s like, and I vowed to myself to never have to live that life again. We still strive daily to get to the financial status that is perfect for us, own our dream home, etc., yet, we are very comfortable. While learning to save money, cut costs where you can, and pay off debt can start leading you to a life of financial freedom, making more money is a component of that as well. I know first hand how frustrating it is when people say you just need to save money or pay off debt and it seems like they totally miss the point that you don’t even have but $20 to your name. Even worse you probably have an account in the negative until you get your next paycheck. I’ve been there and I refuse to go back!

I get lots of questions from people asking how I began my career and ultimately how I grew my career and my salary so quickly. I’m going to share with you the things I did within just a 5-year span that helped me grow my career and go from making just $30,000 a year to six figures.

Here are the things I did to get me to a 6-figure salary within just 5 years

1. Get your mind right and make a plan.

   The first and biggest step is making your mind up that you want more and getting out of your own way. When I started my job I knew I wasn’t making much, and I already had in my mind that it was a temporary means to and end. I started with a 6 month and a 12 month plan around moving up in the department I was in, as well as moving out of that department to one that would make me more money. This wasn’t something that my mom, dad, sister, friends or anyone could decide for me. I had to decide that I wanted it for myself!

   
   

2. Commit to your plan and take action.

   I knew that just making a plan wasn’t going to cut it. I actually needed to take action and make a commitment to my plan. I knew there was a policy that I couldn’t bid out and apply for another job in my company until I had been in my role for 6 months. I focused on performing exceptionally well, having great attendance, and volunteering for any additional opportunities there were to add substantial items to my resume. When I hit 30 days before my 6-month mark I started applying to other roles because I wanted to get myself ready. I had lots of people tell me that it wasn’t likely that I’d get out before a year, but anyone who knows me knows what I think of other people’s opinions. Basically, nothing lol! I continuously applied to roles that were a good fit and would give me a higher salary. I looked at anything that would pay me $2k-$5k more on an annual basis that matched my experience. Lo and behold I was called for an interview in that 30-day period! I actually received an offer in another department at my 30-day mark for a job making nearly $5k more!

   
   

3. Consider continuing your education.

   While I had received and accepted the offer for the new role, I has already been simultaneously thinking of furthering my education several months before. I wanted to pursue a career in public health and health administration so knew not only would a Master’s degree help me get there, but it would also help me to exponentially increase my salary. I had already studied for and taken the GRE and applied to 2 graduate schools. Within 2 months of accepting the new role, I received an acceptance letter to graduate school and decided to take the leap!

   Now, I know you may be thinking that going back to school is a no go because of the possibility of debt from loans, but there are plenty of scholarships, grants, fellowships and other aid out there for graduate and professional programs - especially if you’re a minority. If you are working full time, your employer will likely also contribute to, or pay the entire cost of your education as long as it is relevant to the field you’re in. Many employers encourage their people to further their education because it may be required to move up and having people with higher education adds value to the organization.

   Even if you don’t think you want to back to school for post graduate education think about other credentials you can obtain. There are other certifications in various fields that will add value to your overall experience and skill set. Lots of companies offer financial assistance for other kinds of continuing education credentials as well.

   
   Before I finished my graduate degree I was offered a role in my field with a base salary that was more than twice of what I was previously making at my old job. Not to mention, I got a sign on bonus and was eligible for performance bonuses too!

4. Always negotiate your starting salary.

   I personally was never taught to negotiate my salary. I always thought when you get a job offer and they tell you what the starting salary was that was the end of the story. Turns out it’s actually not! Once I finished my degree and accepted a job out of graduate school I made the mistake of not negotiating. One of the major things about this is that once you’re in the company, though you may get an annual increase it won’t be nearly as much as you can negotiate before you start working there. I learned the hard way. You’ll catch the stank face real fast when you find out that your counterpart is making $10k more than you for the same job when they have the same amount of experience or less than you. I won’t get into too many details on this because it’s a whole process in itself, but there are several ways to artfully negotiate your salary. You’ll need to know the range for the role, compare that with your current salary, and figure in your own experience. Of course, you need to have some merit behind the request, but it’s never against the law to ask for more than what you’re offered. Let me know if you’d like to know more about how to negotiate salaries in the comments and I’d be more than happy to delve into that in a later post!

   
   

5. Go above and beyond.

   I already knew about the importance of performance in my previous experience with moving up in roles pretty quickly, but really saw this work once I got into the corporate world! I first worked at one of the top professional services firms in the country right out of grad school and it’s an absolute crabs in a barrel environment. Everyone is smart, everyone is ambitious, and everyone wants to get promoted. It’s like having a bunch of straight A students all going to the same school so it was tough, but it’s what really prepared me for working in a corporate field and got me to understand that I can’t just perform….I have to OUTPERFORM! If I was asked to analyze data and find trends, I’d do that, create a PowerPoint deck that was client ready, and send an executive summary of the data so my manager would’t have to read through it. Now, honestly, you don’t have to go through these lengths, but you get the drift. If you’re asked to do something, do what you’re asked and then some. It’s all about taking initiative and getting yourself noticed. You’ll also want to make sure your work is great quality. This will not only get you noticed for your work ethic, but will add to the overall experience under your belt and ultimately give you the merit and ammunition you need to convey your ask for a raise.

6. Ask for a raise and/or promotion when it’s deserved.

   If you’ve gone above and beyond, taken on and extra responsibilities and work outside of your job title, and have the merit to ask for a raise due to your contributions, work load, and/or accomplishments, ASK. I think women, and especially women of color, have this thing where we are scared to demand our worth. It’s time to get over that. If you want to make more money and even get close to that of your male counterpart in terms of salary, it’s time to stop being modest and start tooting your horn. If your leadership led to an increase in sales that substantially helped your department document that and use it as leverage for a raise. If your project led to a decrease in wastefulness and an increase in efficiency that had a major positive impact on your organization, show your receipts and explain why you should be paid more! When I finally did this I expected to recieve an increase in my salary, but I ended up getting an additional $20K after being on the job less than 1 year. Way more than I was expecting. See my point? ASK!!!!!!!!!!!!

   Tip: If you want to be promoted to the next level at your job, of course you need to over perform. To do this effectively take a look at the job description for the next role you’re interested in and start performing as much of those responsibilities as you can. It will show that you not only are serious and take initiative, but that you also can adequately perform at the next level. Make sure these things are documented in your mid-year and annual reviews so that when it’s time to review for promotions that you have documentation to refer back to!

   
   

7. Build a positive personal brand.

   Your personal brand is just your professional reputation. Remember, perception is everything, so you have to be cognizant of the energy you’re putting out to create the image you want to be known for. Of course you want to always make sure you’re being a team player, complete quality deliverable in your work, build relationships, and show that you’re dependable. You also want to be conscious of your appearance. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that you should dress for the job you want. Believe it or not, people are extremely judgmental and I’ve been in recruiting decisions and witnessed many people not be selected for the job because he or she doesn’t “look the part”. In whatever field you’re in, make sure your appearance is on point. If you’re corporate, make sure you’re suiting up. If you’re a hair stylist, make sure your hair looks like I’d want you to do mine. It’s as simple as that. The point is you have to walk the walk and talk the talk. People are always watching you, so just stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.

   
   

8. Do the work that no one else wants.

   Ok, so I know you’re probably thinking to yourself that I’ve completely lost it. But this is one of the biggest things that will lead to a sizeable increase in your salary. “Why?” you ask? The answer is simple. When you take on the work that no one wants, you’re likely:

   • Getting out of your comfort zone.

   • Gaining a new skill, or skills.

   • Taking on a challenging scope of work, which allows you to make improvements or fix something where there is a problem.

When I took the work that no one wanted to do, yes, it was scary, but I did it and I did it well. As a result, I learned a ton , I was able to improve things, and I was recognized for it. I was able to load my resume with relevant key skills that I knew would be highly valued in many other roles I may want in the future. That leads me to my next point.

9. Know when your time has run it’s course.

No matter what field you’re in, if you’re no longer happy because you’re not fulfilled or being paid what you want consider leaving. Lots of times people miss this, but you actually get larger increases in your salary when you move to different companies. This is how I was able to get the larger increases in my salary - I negotiated started salaries given my education, years of experience, and additional credentials. You should never feel bad for deciding to leave a company no matter how long you’ve been there because at the end of the day you have to do what is best for yourself. Have you ever heard of a boomerang in the workplace? If not, a boomerang is someone that had left the company at one point, and then later returned after some time. People do it all the time. One of the main reasons they leave is because they want to make more money, plus they get additional variations of relevant experience. They may leave for a year to a few years to increase their salary and come back to their old company. They’re boomerangs because they’re one of the smart people who know that they’d need to leave the company in order to get the exponential increase in salary and the experience they want. They know they still have the option apply to another role down the line at some point and come back if they wanted to.

I used all of these tactics to get me to 6 figures in just 5 years after leaving a job where I couldn’t really even afford to live without a roommate. I’m always my own competition and can sometimes be a perfectionist, but that isn’t even necessary for you to follow these steps I’ve laid out. To be honest, I never had a goal of making 6-figures. I really just wanted to make a better life for myself, but driving towards that got me a whole lot more than I bargained for. I’m in a place where I will continue to grow my career at some point, but right now I’m totally focused and putting most of my energy into being the best mother, wife, and lover of myself that I can be. I certainly don’t want to burn myself out. I have to be honest though, it does feel good to look back and see where I started and where I am today. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it. If you’re feeling like you’re stuck, know you can do it too. There’s no special secret or scheme, but a just a simple burning fire within yourself and really wanting something so bad that you can taste it. If you just have a plan and the willingness to do the work, you can get there. I have faith in you!

If you’re still here reading, this is a sign you want it! This post was a lot longer than I had planned, but I definitely wanted to make sure I covered all of the basics in a good bit of detail. If you have anything specific you want to ask me that I haven’t mentioned here feel free to send me a DM on Instagram. I love not only sharing my story but I also love helping people grow their careers and chase after their dreams. Remember, you owe it all to yourself!

XOXO,

Onteria

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