From $5.15-an-Hour Fast Food to a $1.1 Million Tech Salary — He Retired at 39 With $3.5 Million
3 min read · RealCase summary
Jamal Robinson's first job, at 14, was cleaning a church. Through high school and college he worked fast food for $5.15 an hour, the federal minimum wage at the time, while studying computer engineering at Tennessee Tech, according to CNBC Make It.
After graduating he started in the power and energy industry. His first offer was about $32,000; after researching that the average for the role was around $54,000, he emailed HR to ask about it and the offer rose to $42,000. 'Just one email led to $10,000 more,' he said.
In 2013 he changed fields, joining a tech startup. Over the following years he added an MBA, nine certifications and a specialization in artificial intelligence, and his pay climbed in steps: $135,000, then $225,000, $400,000, $727,000, and finally more than $1.1 million a year as a tech executive focused on generative AI.
He retired in 2024 at 39 with about $3.5 million saved and invested, planning his withdrawals around the 4% rule, and was 40 and living in Dubai when the story ran.
Key takeaways
- ›First post-college offer of $32,000 negotiated up to $42,000 with one email
- ›Moved from the power and energy industry into tech in 2013
- ›Pay rose from $135,000 to $225,000, $400,000, $727,000, then over $1.1 million
- ›Retired in 2024 at 39 with about $3.5 million, planning around the 4% rule
Original source
Read the original (CNBC Make It via NBC New York)
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