Magnificent News: This 33-year-old increased her pay by $80K in 5 years

Monday, May 1, 2023

CNBC Make It Work helps you get ahead in your career.
By Megan Sauer

How a 33-year-old went from making $60,000 to $141,000 in 5 years

Software engineer Daniella Flores launched her career with confidence: She knew she had the technical and problem-solving skills to succeed. But her paycheck didn't reflect the quality of her work, and Flores struggled to negotiate raises.

"Instead of feeling in charge of my earning potential, I felt like I was at the mercy of what companies were offering me," Flores says.

She started researching comparable jobs and negotiation tactics. Over five years, as she learned to advocate for herself, she boosted her salary from $60,000 to $140,000.

Here are three strategies she adopted:

She gathered data to express her worth
Flores used resources like Glassdoor's salary tool, Facebook groups and the Fishbowl app to find out the average market rate of comparable positions and her own market rate based on her education and experience.
She offered a range of acceptable salaries
Once Flores determined the lowest salary she would accept, she presented employers with a slightly higher range. For example, if she wanted to make at least $90,000, she would ask for $100,000 to $110,000 per year.

She found it was most effective to use percentages. "For example, a 5% bump might sound more reasonable than a seemingly arbitrary $5,000 increase," she says.
She knew when to ask for more
At her last job, Flores found herself with managerial responsibilities but without the title or compensation of a team leader. When she asked supervisors for a raise, they only wanted to discuss her professional progress.

Instead of accepting defeat, she leaned into her new negotiation tactics.

"Within a few months, I got a new position at the same company as a lead software engineer and went from making $109,000 to $141,000 a year," she says.

Get Ahead: CEO shares the No. 1 question to 'never, ever' ask at a job interview

RSE Ventures CEO Matt Higgins has a counterintuitive piece of advice for job seekers: "Never, ever" ask about remote work policies during interviews.

While he's "a firm believer in hybrid and remote work," he says asking about remote work can be a turnoff. That's a risk you likely don't want to take, given the effects of inflation on the job market.

There's evidence to suggest most bosses still aren't keen on remote work. A 2022 survey from GoodHire found 78% of managers preferred at least some in-person work. Over half said their companies would consider pay cuts for employees who didn't return to the office.

Instead of immediately declaring you're only looking for remote or hybrid positions, Higgins suggests waiting until the second round of interviews to inquire about the company's policies. Once an employer is "smitten" with you, they're more likely to be flexible.

"Basically, make a great first impression when the stakes are high," Higgins says. "Your excellent job interviewing skills might have created some leverage to fit within a company exception."

This 26-year-old lives in Seattle on $27,000 a year

Ph.D. student Chi Baik, 26, lives in Seattle and makes $27,000 per year. She earns extra income grading undergraduate student papers for 10 hours every week.

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Six-Figure Side Hustle: Ex-NFL player brings in millions selling Pokémon cards. His secret to growing the business

When Blake Martinez was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2016, he didn't foresee leaving the NFL to sell Pokémon cards.

A lifelong Charizard fan, he started buying and reselling vintage cards in 2020 after he noticed some were auctioned for thousands of dollars on resale platforms like Whatnot and Mercari.

Martinez, now 29, started auctioning off cards himself on livestreams. Some sold for as little as $5. One fetched $672,000.

He officially launched his company Blakes Breaks in July, and retired from the NFL to pursue his side hustle full time in November. Since then, he's hired a staff and brought in more than $8.3 million.

Martinez got advice on how to scale the company from a friend, who told him the secret to running a business was hiring the right people.

"I learned you have to believe in the culture you've built," Martinez says. "Don't get caught up in greed. If you're focusing more on money than the quality of the product [or service], or try to take shortcuts, people are going to notice that, and it'll affect the business."