Student Question
Master, how does one become a high-income earner? What are the different paths for those with advanced degrees versus those with ordinary education?
Master Chi’s Response
1. Advanced Degree — Career Route: Becoming a career elite or professional. Think big-tech programmers, investment banking, law, medicine — the high-salary corporate track. Generally speaking, this path suits people who are both highly credentialed and willing to grind. Those who fit that profile, if they can climb the ladder or land a role at a top-tier firm, will find the income quite good.
Many people in the U.S. with elite MBA, finance, or CS master’s degrees from top schools are very well compensated. They can be specialists across virtually any industry, or management talent at multinational corporations.
I visited a remarkable property recently — a villa with an indoor pool spanning roughly 450 square meters. Stepping into the study, I noticed the owner had an MBA from a prestigious university and worked at a well-known major corporation. (Americans love framing their diplomas and hanging them on the study wall.)
White-collar professionals at this level live comfortable, dignified lives — even relocation costs when selling their home and moving are covered by the company.
2. Ordinary Education — Sales Route: Sell products or services. Sell for others, or sell for yourself.
Those without strong academic credentials, if they can’t climb the corporate ladder, should seriously think about sales if they want to break through their income ceiling.
Whether online or offline, making more money always comes back to sales. E-commerce is sales — you’re selling goods. Content creation is sales — you’re selling yourself.
Even if you’re a blue-collar plumber selling skills and services, the income gap between those who can sell and those who can’t is enormous.
Of course, highly educated people can do sales work too — it’s not limited to B2B sales at large corporations. Take for example a PhD from Tsinghua-CMU who chose not to become a big-tech programmer and instead switched careers to real estate in California. Real estate sales has no income ceiling — those with genuine ability can earn far more than they ever would in corporate life. And among today’s content creators, you’re seeing more and more graduates from elite schools.
There are many paths in life. What matters most is choosing the one that fits your own development.