This 21-year-old makes $65,000 in her first project manager job

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In this installment, a 21-year-old girl shares how she earned $65,000 as an associate project manager in Jacksonville, Florida.

Madison Das just started her new job in January, but she’s pretty sure she’ll get a promotion in a few months.

She’s not conceited – her new employer has told her as much. Das, 21, lives in Jacksonville, Florida and started working as an associate project manager with a startup this year. During the interview, she was impressed by the way hiring managers asked about her career plans.

“They told me, ‘We don’t want you to stay in this role for more than six months,'” Das told CNBC Make It. “My department manager and my direct supervisor are both women, and they both told me, ‘The intention is to bring people in to let them grow.”

Das checked the company’s LinkedIn profile and found many entry-level employees were promoted within their first six to eight months. For Das, it’s a sign the company has invested in retaining their employees.

Das accepted an offer to be the company’s associate project manager and is currently earning $65,000 in base salary. Later this year, Das is expected to be promoted to project manager with the potential to earn $100,000 a year.

Das studied biomedical sciences, chemistry and sociology in college and applied to medical school but was rejected on the first attempt. She took a moment to think about her next move and took up marketing jobs at several local small businesses.

The Covid-19 pandemic made her want to jump into healthcare, so in June 2020 she worked with a healthcare network to develop a text-based app where patients Patients can connect with their doctor. She enjoys working between teams to create training and activity materials.

Das made $20 per hour and after a year, increased to $20.90 per hour. But she wanted to get paid more and grow her career and felt it was time to change jobs. When she was thinking about another career transition, she joined the TikTok project management company.

“Honestly, TikTok is a platform that has helped me make a name for what I’m doing, find value in it, and then be able to pursue it to this day as my career,” she said. .

Through TikTok clips, Das realized the type of work she enjoys doing – documenting workflow, creating training materials, managing projects – and learning about getting certified in project management through via Google. She completed the six-month course in six weeks and started applying for jobs immediately. She earned her PM certification in mid-December and got a new job in January.

As a collaborative project manager, Das works on her own projects and plays a supporting role with others on her team.

“I did it too quickly,” Das said of her career change. “It feels like really anyone can.”

Das said she initially found discussing pay in job interviews “very uncomfortable.”

She did some research online and named her salary expectations between $65,000 and $80,000. But coming from the previous price of less than $21 per hour, “because I’ve gained so much, I feel like I’m appreciating anything,” says Das.

She also felt pressure as the sole earner in her family for a while: Her husband, who is of Brazilian descent, experienced Covid visa-related delays and was unable to work in the country. about a year. He received his temporary work permit in September 2021, but his visa status is still pending.

So when Das received a job offer with a starting salary of $65,000 earlier this year, she “ran for it.” She accepted the package as it is, which also includes phone and internet bills, and a 10% bonus paid quarterly. Das estimated her total compensation to be around $73,000. She’s eligible to buy the company’s stock options each quarter, which she will do for the first time at the end of March.

Das feels she is paid fairly, as the company has worked on her scope and she feels supported on her path to advancement. But, “if I could go back to what I know now, I would negotiate, 100%,” she said.

In February, Das posted on her own TikTok about the difference between her base salary and total compensation – something she’s looking forward to seeing more of as she’s doing research. What kind of salary should be negotiated?

She often sees people, mostly men, posting their salaries in the mid-six figures. It includes their benefits and stock options but usually doesn’t name the base salary, which is what she needs to work.

Das has heard from other tech newcomers that they feel frustrated and don’t know where to start negotiating. “The internet is one of the easiest ways to get information, but also one of the most confusing,” she said.

Das, who is living with the chronic condition heart-valvular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hopes posting her own pay breakdown will encourage others from underrepresented backgrounds to see the space. for them in the field of technology. “I’m a biracial Indian disabled woman in my 20s. Entering the tech industry has not been the easiest thing for me.”

Das also feels more comfortable discussing pay with co-workers. Her first week at work, she asked someone how stock options worked. Her co-workers looked at her starting salary, her promotion at the company, and how she negotiated her salary – which Das intends to bring her into the next salary conversation. with managers. She feels the startup promotes a culture of transparency that makes it easier to talk about money.

Das admits that working for a promotion and raise for the year “felt like rapid growth,” but given the feedback she’s received from supervisors, she feels “very confident.” that I’ll be able to accomplish that, whether it’s within my current organization or moving elsewhere.”

Ultimately, she wants to work her way up to becoming a technology executive and leading organizations toward “more success, more growth, and more inclusive behaviors over the long term.” “

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