Conquering 9-5 and increase your income

Corporate life can be down right draining at times and there isn't a blue print to follow which makes it more difficult to navigate. It's been known to cause a few individuals to become overly stressed and outright depressed unless you know how to navigate it. There are rules to everything and corporate life is no different. It can be cliquish, some people can be outright evil and it can lead to you wondering why bother. However if you remember your main objective and devise a plan for yourself it's quite easy. Which is why I've decided to share a few rules that I've picked up along the way.

I've learned a thing or two along the years and it's helped me accomplish a lot. First... I'm not a college graduate but I've clawed my way up along the ranks to earning a six figure salary. I'm constantly asked by colleagues how I've established myself so well so I thought I'd share tips I've picked up with you. To begin my main objective for working has always been to earn the most that I possibly could while attempting to succeed in other ventures.  Honestly I thought of my corporate career would be temporary while I followed my true passion with several entrepreneurial endeavors. To my dismay my entrepreneurial attempts never matched my success in the corporate world which seemed to come rather easily. 

 First thing is to know your goal and to stick to it. Remember I've always remained focus about why I'm working and that was for money. However I have changed career paths because some paths aren't worth taking if you're not happy. I find satisfaction in what I do currently but I still do it for the paycheck for my family. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people fall into using their job to pool for friends. The trick here is to find a few seasoned individuals that you can use to pick their brains and develop a mutual working rapport. That's not to say you may not enjoy a quick chat or two but keep it professional. In an office setting, it's too easy to fall into the office gossip circuit and that can harm your upward mobility.  I'm not going to say that I have not met a few people who I've genuinely liked but I've always kept my personal and professional lives separate. This is rule #1! Especially when it comes to social media. Never accept a friend request from current coworkers. I don't care how many times you've hit up  happy hour with them.  They can take your personal post and use it as fuel for office gossip. This can be used to paint you in a unflattering manner so keep the two separate. If someone asks you why you don't accept their friend request kindly state your belief of not mixing personal and professional contact. It's okay to interact on platforms designed around your career such as LinkedIn but all other platforms should remain private. It's too easy now a days to have a personal post misconstrued. 

 Be the office subject expert by knowing your responsibilities so well that others have no choice but to come to you. It may add time to your daily task list but you and only you determine the priority level of those you help and you set your to-do list. Becoming the subject matter expert does two things. Your reputation begins to proceed you and people know of you even if you have little contact. Inadvertently it can bring you to the top of the list when looking to promote from within. They know you're more than capable because your reputation will speak for you. It will be their hope that could use your skills to easy pick up the new responsibility and build upon it which will enhance their productivity. A win-win for both you and the company. Also try to convince them to get your certified in as much as they can afford. Speak to your manager about certification programs related to what you do. If they're good they will see the benefit and it will come out of their pockets and not yours.

 Don't get comfortable and settle for no growth. Put yourself on a timeline because you're time is valuable. If your skill set isn't being acknowledge with a plan to advance after 2-3 years where you are then it's time to take your skill set elsewhere. People become complacent within their routine which often time means they choose to stay in a job that they know they've outgrown because their comfortable there. That is a true disservice to yourself and too often blocks your financial growth.

When one leaves a job for another, the switch often associated with a 15% or more pay increase. Again your time is valuable. Invest as much as you can in their 401K plan and devise a action plan on what you expect from your current job and if you see potential growth there. If there is room for advancement try to achieve it but within a set time frame. My time frame is 2-3 years. If you haven't been promoted within 2-3 years then it's time to get your promotion some place else. Also jobs who promote from within typically only increase your pay by a small percentage which doesn't match your potential earning increase if you leave. If you can take the promotion and the new title, learn the job responsibilities within a year and take your title to a new establishment. Doing that you've now given yourself 2 large pay increases within a years time.  It will add up and you'll be upgrading your lifestyle quicker.