<p>Sigh…only in upper-middle/upper class America. So much naivety.</p>
<p>Before I start a family , I wouldn’t mind living on 60K by myself and I’m not saying that to be spoiled because in reality that’s the income for a job where you have recieved a good education. </p>
<p>By the time I have a family, which won’t be until I’m 30, I want to be making 80K+ and that’s not unrealistic. If you work hard in your career field you can move your way up and have a great income. </p>
<p>My husband, when I get married, I am hoping will make at least 60K+ so the combined income will be about 140K+ and that honestly isn’t bad. That’s the income I grew up on and I am nowhere near spoiled. I just learned to be really good with money and I am. </p>
<p>For the lifestyle I want to have I want to have a combined family income of 140K+ or greater. But I don’t want to be get married until I’m 28 so I’ll have plenty of time to build in my career.</p>
<p>@WoodrowWilson: That’s not the real world. That’s your fancy schmancy world. The real world is a mix between inner city and suburbs.</p>
<p>All you kids are spoiled. I know guys who go to school, go to work, go home to their own apartment(because their parents are messed up so they have to live on their own), and finally get to work on their homework at 11 or 12 because they need to work a bunch to pay rent and bills.</p>
<p>As for me, 150k to be truly comfortable with a family I think. Idk. Hard to compare because my family used to make like 120k except then my parents split so its 2 houses therefore basically twice the cost of living. And then my parents bot hlost their jobs. SO idk.</p>
<p>Comfortable is probably enough to pay utilities, mortgage, food, medical stuff and now have to worry if soemthign else pops up.</p>
<p>Some people here need to wake the **** up before life smacks them the **** up.</p>
<p>This is pretty pathetic. Some of you fail to realize that when it all comes down to salary it doesn’t really matter how intelligent you are or how many years of college you take and even in some cases what you decide to major in. In the end, it’s “CONNECTIONS” that really create the six-figure salaries some of you are drooling over.</p>
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<p>It’s reality for me…and it’s not so “fancy schmancy.” I work hard. There are plenty of guys in Wharton from tougher backgrounds, with chips on their shoulder and something to prove. And I still outperform most of them on exams. Not all rich people are lazy and snobby. Not all poor people are hardworking and honest.</p>
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<p>This is true. And it’s why I disagree so strongly with the “you’ll never be as rich as your parents! reality will slap you in the face!” argument.</p>
<p>no, “real world” is still not exclusive to your situation. It means, at the very least, the US as a whole.
also to be a prick: Maybe if they went to a boarding school like you then they would do better on exams? 
But alas, for some to be superiors there have to be inferiors.</p>
<p>@AppleBeam: In some cases, maybe, but connections can only help so much. No way someone without a medical education is going to become a doctor because of connections, that’s all about intelligence and education. If you are lucky enough to have such valuable connections that you can make a 6 figure salary without an education, then congratulations to them, the rest of the world doesn’t have that luxury.</p>
<p>Being a doctor has very little to do with connections. If you can graduate medical school, you’re going to have a six-figure salary…</p>
<p>Of course, you’ll have a lot of debt, but people will literally seek you out to get you to work for them. You won’t even have to apply in some cases.</p>
<p>I’m hoping for and would love to have 80k-100k, single, with a job I like. Hopefully, a good college can help me with that 
My dad makes ~25k and my mom makes much less than that, and they’re divorced. I’m living comfortably enough though.</p>
<p>My dad makes about 60k and my mom has never had a job. I’m their only child, we’re living just fine. But we also live in New Mexico. “Comfort” just depends, really. I would like to make anywhere from 60k-100k alone and my husband to make just about the same; ideally enough to get a nice house and support 2 children because that is how many I want. ;P</p>
<p>@WoodrowWilsonJR – if you are at UPenn Wharton, why are you still positng on highschool forums (Pre-College Issues > High School Life)? </p>
<p>On a more serious note, you are right. Living comfortably for you is COMPLETELY different from living comfortably to many Americans (including some of your Wharton friends, as you have mentioned). Many upper-middle class/upper class people (including myself) have become accustomed to living the “good” life, and thus after college many of us will not be living “comfortably” right off the bat (unless a parent supports you until you are in your mid 30s… thats another story). Therefore, you are correct in everything you have said, but most Americans wouldn’t need 200+ K a year to live “comfortably”</p>
<p>My mom has been in the journalism business for about 30 years, a professional photographer with a few awards, and the combined income at our house is probably less than a starting teacher’s salary now because she had to change jobs. With some help, we’re able to live somewhat okay…of course, that’s if none of us needs medical attention or anything. And we also live in a semi-rural part of Florida, in a semi-affluent neighborhood.</p>
<p>I’m very conflicted with what I want to do and what will earn me the most money out of college. I REALLY do not want to go through what my parents are going through now, but I think I’ve been given a relatively good taste of reality. When I’m settled and with children, $80,000 sounds ideal but is probably a stretch in my situation. </p>
<p>Sad thing is you can earn a higher income by becoming a media sensation for something dumb than spending years in school to live comfortably :(</p>
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<p>My exact situation right now. My parents never went to college though, but they now make enough to not qualify for financial aid, but can’t pay for school in full. I’m deciding whether to risk debt and attend a prestigious college, or play it safe and go somewhere affordable.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m a lot like most of these kids sadly. I’m just now realizing the real world and what it takes to have good finances. </p>
<p>My parents have worked really hard to get where they are. My mom married my dad when she just turned 18. They lived in a run down trailer court for years. She worked minuscule jobs such as a counter clerk at Dillard’s the department store, Six Flags store cashier, and even Taco Bell. My dad worked as a member of a tie gang for the railroad. They had to live with my grandma a lot, especially when my older brother was born. They lived this way until my dad’s dad passed and they inherited a small 900 sq. foot house in a city/suburb environment. </p>
<p>My mom worked as a temp in an office for a little while and met a police officer working in the station. My family got to be great friends with this couple and it just so happens that the officer’s wife worked in the corporate world. So my mom, in her late twenties, got a job working at the bottom of the ladder in her office. She stayed up late at night memorizing business jargon for her field and became great friends with many in the field. Fast forward seven years, management was switched over in the company and my mom’s good friend (who’s son I was best friends with) was fired…and in her place my mom took her high-paying job. Their family went into hardship after that, the officer who my mom originally met died of cancer and the mom was forced to find work elsewhere.</p>
<p>Now, it’s been about a decade since then. My parents are in the 40-50 yr range of age and my mom just earned her highest income yet at around $200,000. My dad is still working on the railroad and together they’ve made $250,000-$270,000 together. We’ve moved from our 900 sq foot house into a 4,000+ house. However, we’ve been met with some hardships. My mom has been highly affected by her work. She works in the health insurance industry and is a heavy smoker now due to what she has had to put up with. Their marriage is strained because of their different job types, and she was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor last year (luckily removed without chemo, but the fear is still there). </p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t know what I took away from this story. Actually telling it makes me proud, but I still wonder if this is possible in today’s world. I’m thinking of following her in her field, but her high salary has caused her high health problems. Money is still an issue every once in awhile (and we live in low-cost Midwest). </p>
<p>TLDR; college is not necessary for high salary, having a high salary doesn’t guarantee you a happy life at all, don’t take things for granted because it seems people have good and bad times in their life (look at my mom’s friends who lost their job for my moms success).</p>
<p>If I have basic necessities and don’t live in a rathole of a neighborhood, I’m good. Sooo…like 30-40K or more?</p>
<p>wow so many snobs and braggarts on this thread. get a life, will ya?</p>
<p>My mom passed away about a month ago and my dad makes very, very little. I’m finding out there is no salary, high or low, that will bring you fulfillment or satisfaction. We’ve all seen poor happy people and sad rich people. Some suffer too much, and some too little. Don’t place your values in something like money that can be taken from you and prove just as temporary as the emotions it can bring you. Money can buy your happiness if you let it, but happiness will only last until the money is gone. Gain perspective</p>
<p>^Totally agree</p>
<p>Money can’t buy happiness, but have you ever seen someone frown in a jet-ski?</p>
<p>^Have you ever rode a jet-ski before? Many of my friends have and they frowned. Apparently riding one needs concentration.</p>
<p>Reality speaks differently for most people. I have someone at my school who comes from an ultra-wealthy family, not the Benz-riding-six-figures sort, but private-jets-huge-villas-billions old money sort. Surely his idea of an ideal salary will be different from mine and most other classmates’. </p>
<p>Connections do help, especially in the finance/banking/politics world. They can even be the deal-breakers. In reality, sometimes it’s more about who you know than what you know. </p>
<p>I don’t understand why people fire up when some post they want >300k as a single. If they feel it’s attainable then let them believe it. Some people prefer the high, others prefer not-so-high.</p>