How to get paid more

Whether you’re in a financial tough spot or looking toward future needs, you know that your current salary isn’t going to be adequate in the long term. However, in order to make more in the future, you need to get serious about preparing today.

Some people pick up side gigs such as driving Uber on the weekends or freelancing on the side to make up the difference. Others want to launch their own venture, reasoning that running their own business or building up a business and selling it at a profit will make them more than a regular job. However, both of these approaches make it hard to enjoy a balanced life, and offer few to no guarantees of long-term wealth (and present a high likelihood of even losing money).

For most professionals, preparing for a promotion and a move toward management is a more solid career plan and investment. Start with some research. What opportunities have strong projections and are a good fit for your skills, interests and experience? If you have worked in a production environment, then you might set your sights on an Operations Manager role, whereas if you’re more of a generalist, then Administrative Services Manager is a role that exists in many organizations and offers strong flexibility across sectors.

Once you’ve identified the right goal, you should look into the job qualifications. Because there are a variety of business management degree careers, you want to identify the goal first, and then take steps to prepare accordingly. Find out what kind of educational credentials are expected in your goal job, and come up with a plan for working toward them. You can often find programs that let you study part-time or online, so can stay on track at work while preparing for a promotion.

Look for ways to get practical experience. Keep records of any notable projects in which you participate. Volunteer to lead projects and initiatives. You want to build up evidence of your initiative, skills and the value you bring to an organization. You’ll use this when you make the case for your promotion or apply for a new job.

Let people around you know about your goal. This could include supervisors and leadership at work, colleagues, and social and professional contacts. Getting the word out about your ambitions, your intention to move up, and the steps that you’re taking to achieve this make you more likely to be considered for and informed of opportunities as they open up.

There’s no easy path to instant money, but there are predictable, effective steps that you can take to work your way towards higher pay. In nearly every company, working toward a promotion in management is an effective way to get paid more. It’s also repeatable – you can work your way up in steps, from professional to supervisor, supervisor to manager, manager to director, etc. Set your goal, identify the requirements to get there, come up with a plan and follow it to get those requirements, and use your network to learn about opportunities as they come up.