I’m 23 and make over $170k as a video game artist and I sell courses at $30k

When we think about industries that make it easy to pull down six figures, we tend to imagine the high-pressured, stressful ones — medicine, law, and finance, to name a few.

But in this Reddit post, we have a 23-year-old who’s set up to earn about $170,000 a year as a video game artist. In addition to that, they sell courses on the side that generate about $30,000 in gross income.

That’s definitely not a bad income for someone that young. And even though they live in an area with high living costs and still owe about $40,000 on their student loans, they’re clearly in a great financial position.

They also have an almost $23,000 Roth 401(k) balance, which means they’re well ahead of their peers as far as retirement savings go. And if they can do it, so can you.

Don’t resign yourself to a dull job

You might assume that if you want to earn big bucks, you need to work some soul-sucking corporate job, or one that comes with a world of stress. But as you can see, something as awesome as video game design has the potential to pay a lot.

However, the poster here didn’t start off making $170,000 a year. They began as an hourly contractor and worked their way up to higher pay by being a top performer at their company.

What this should tell you is that if you have something you’re passionate about, it pays to try to turn it into an income source — and a high-paying one at that. But the good thing about doing something you enjoy is that you’re more likely to put your best effort forward.

If you force yourself to work a job you hate for a larger paycheck, you might make a lot of money at first. But is your career going to grow? Maybe not. It’s hard to work your way up when you can’t stand what you’re doing.

A better bet? Find a great role and put your own spin on it. You may be surprised at how well you’re able to do.

Don’t overlook the gig economy

The poster here is clearly earning a nice income from their primary job. In spite of that, they’re still husting in the gig economy, selling courses on the side to the tune of $30,000 a year.

That’s impressive. If the poster keeps that up, they should be in a position to shed their student loans in no time, plus keep building up their savings and retirement nest egg.

If your primary job doesn’t bring you the fulfillment you’d like it to, don’t hesitate to turn to the gig economy and use it as a means of doing something you love. And the extra money surely won’t hurt, either.

All of this said, one thing this poster should consider doing is working with a qualified financial advisor. The poster is off to a great start as far as their career and finances go. An advisor can help them develop a plan that lends to meeting all of their financial goals.

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