What the heck did you expect when you clicked on this thread? Do you go into strip clubs without expecting to see naked women?

I'm 26 ... but only earning 40k/yr with 2 yr experience T_T ... don't know when only can "cecah" 6-digit income/yr ... what I've noticed in financial line is that if u want to earn big bucks u have to go to the "performance" side of the business (i.e. where if you perform, the company gets huge profits). I'm in the ops side, and no matter how good I perform the company doesn't really "feel" it ... so ... gotta find other job soon

Well, the Japanese have been working super long hours for centuries, and they haven't really collapsed or anything yet. They even have super low crime rates and super long life expectancy (though this is probably more towards their diet than anything)

I think it's quite easy lor. I work 3 yrs already almost 5k, but I started working late (at 25). Somebody who starts work at 22, 6 years to get 5k shouldn't be a problem even in non-sales line if he/she is a fairly top performer.

Pilot not counted la, everybody knows that they earn big bucks at a low age.

I think the thread is more catering towards "the rest of us" who have to work our way up from a 2k per month starting salary. Actually I really think it should be easy to do. Assume you start working at 23, you only need to average a 15% increase per year to earn 5k by 30, it should be trivial to do by combining promotions, raises & increments.

lol dreamer, bit of exaggeration here, the car costs rm1.2k/mth and the house costs rm2.5k/mth in this scenario. 5k per month take home after taxes and epf is only about 4k, you can't survive on rm300 a month for all other expenses

But the point still stands, though. Lots of people prefer spending NOW, which digs them into a hole. Myself too, my first two years of working I racked up almost 20k in credit card debt, that I've only just managed to clear off a few months ago.

Hrm my car loan and housing loan installments together are 60% of my monthly income, no problem also ah.

(house loan installment is covered by rental though as it's an investment property).

Oh c'mon you two, you're going nowhere with this. From your arguments you both have fundamentally different concepts of "rich" which means that you'll never get anywhere with this discussion.

Dreamer thinks rich is basically measured by how much you save and how early you can retire in relation to your chosen lifestyle ... which is good, but in my opinion not really reflective of "rich."

Sean has the more conventional definition of rich >> someone earning "lots of money" but spending every last cent of it is still rich.

You're free to continue bickering but I doubt it'll achieve anything.

What planet are you on? 140 is already considered genius level IQ, so 135 not considered high?

Easy. If in your company you're at a relatively high rank for your age, then you have a relatively high EQ compared to your colleagues

I find it amusing when people bring up all these school-leavers who made it big in the business world (Bill Gates, etc) as an argument that it's "OK" for anyone to drop out as well. What about the other 90% of school leavers who become garbage collectors and counter-girls at fast food restaurants, why don't you mention that too?

If you plan on doing business then I'll agree that higher qualifications are optional.

But this thread is about earning salary. i.e., it's a thread for non-business income. It's a thread for those of us who for whatever reason can't/don't want to strike out on our own. And for those of us in this boat, having a diploma or degree or whatever is in most cases a big advantage.

Speaking of rm10 wan tan mee, what I take offense most is the abominable price of drinks in restaurants. Paying extra for food is sometimes justifiable, for example, if you are a steak lover you will know that you can't get good steak for cheap.

But what I can't understand is the rationale behind swanky restaurants charging rm 8 for a glass of coke. Do you brew the damn coke yourself??!?

Ranting aside, I'm 29, exactly 4yrs 7mths into my career and have just hit 70k p.a. in base pay (with typically 10-30k in annual bonuses). I'll say that you do need a combination of luck, diligence (i.e. you need to be capable in the first place), and a good working relationship with your boss, and/or your bosses' boss, and/or *some person* who can directly influence your career (read: promote).