Your Career Earning Story Arc

Your Career Earning Story Arc

Now that I am officially a published author (shameless plug), I know a thing or two about story arcs. Since I’ve been inundated with that world lately, I figured why not share another story arc with you all — that of one’s career and earnings, as I’ve seen it, with extremely broad generalizations.

Let me start with the beginning, or the opener, for those of you who are experienced authors. The beginning usually starts in your teens, when it comes to work experience. This coming summer I’ll have the distinct pleasure of watching my eldest enter the teen working market down the Jersey Shore. These years can be about fun or about making money. I prefer one of two things for a teen to do: either try jobs in a career they may want to pursue or learn more about, or learn a key skill they can take with them into any job — my preference being sales!

The 20s

Now we’re cooking, because your 20s are where your career really begins. You graduate from college and get a job where you usually won’t end up. That’s okay — the 20s are about building sweat equity. You need to stop learning what’s in the books and start learning what profession you’re going to follow. You’ll bounce around a few jobs, typically, and then land at a spot by your late 20s where you can really start to build a career. More importantly, this decade is about figuring out what you want to be doing for the rest of your life. Earnings are secondary.

The 30s

This is where things start to get interesting. Your 30s are all about setting up the next few decades. This is where you really start to hone your craft. I’ll see people become specialists and get really good at their vocations in their 30s. Yes, it’s nice to get paid, but that’s the eventual output of getting really good at something. Get those extra specialization degrees or designations, build up that muscle, and do whatever it takes to be great at what you do — and if you follow those instructions, get ready for what lies next.

The 40s

What lies next is exactly what you’d think: your 40s. But more than just hitting this magical age, this is where you finally get paid for the expertise you built up in your 30s. Forty-year-old experts in their craft start to really move up the corporate ladder, or — if in a non-corporate world — truly begin to build a client base or get paid handsomely for their experience.

The 50s

Generally speaking, this is where you’re at the pinnacle of your career. You’re earning a boatload, and now you’ve had some time making good money. The 50s are all about making up for lost time when it comes to savings. This is where I see people start to sock away six figures a year, hoping to get ahead of retirement or catch up for past transgressions. This is the setup decade for what comes next.

Here’s the part most people skip: everyone asks “can I afford my life now?” Almost nobody asks the second question, which is “can I afford this life at 65 without a paycheck?” The first question is about today. The second one is the one that actually determines whether your 60s are a victory lap or a scramble. I see plenty of high earners in their 50s who pass the first test easily and would fail the second one badly, because lifestyle crept up right alongside the income. The ones who get the 60s right are the ones who ran the second question a decade earlier than they had to.

The 60s

This is where the story arc stops, because finally you get to fully reap the rewards of four decades of hard work. This is the retirement decade, generally. People top off their savings and then smoothly transition to their retirement lives. It’s super rewarding, and from my seat, fun to see individuals start to use their savings to maximize their golden years.

There you have it — did I mention I have a finance book out?! Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and will share this with someone who needs to read it today. In any case, stay wealthy, healthy, and happy.