Sora Lee, 34, has worked for some of the biggest names in tech -- Netflix, Meta and TikTok -- earning six-figure salaries before launching her own company in 2023. It took her a little over 10 years to grow her salary from around $40,000 (about Rs 34 lakh) to $400,000 (about Rs 3.4 crore).
Lee became a millionaire in 2024 due to consistent investing and maximising her salary with every job change, she told CNBC Make It.
Here are three of her best tips to grow your career and income:
1.) Adapt to new tech and build translatable skills
“Be adaptive and focus on building skills that you can translate to other companies easily,” Lee told the publication. She added that in the tech industry, what you study in college could become obsolete by the time you’re looking for jobs. There’s also a chance your dream job doesn’t exist yet, she said.
2.) Do as many interviews as possible
Lee told CNBC Make It that interviewing with a variety of companies helped her understand what she wants in her next job. Interviewing for jobs is “very similar to dating,” she said, because if you go on a bunch of dates with potential partners, there will likely be a healthy mix of good and bad ones that you can learn from. "The more interviews you do, the more you’ll see yourself getting excited and energised by certain aspects of each position, which can help you narrow your search," Lee said.
3.) Identify your 'money-making' skills
“Follow your passion” is one of the worst pieces of advice Lee said she had received in college. That’s because several people are passionate about something that may not help them bag a high-paying job. “Figure out what you’re good at that people would pay money for and figure out your passion, and ideally, it’s aligned,” Lee told the publication.