I have been self-employed since age 22, but from 18 to 22 I had 6 jobs at 5 companies in 3.5 years. I started out in tech support at a small local ISP, hopped,

I have been self-employed since age 22, but from 18 to 22 I had 6 jobs at 5 companies in 3.5 years. I started out in tech support at a small local ISP, hopped, came back as a sysadmin, then became primary sysadmin, and really cut my early career teeth there (and am ever grateful for the experience!). But it was a small college-town operation that ran on student-type labour; at my peak, I think I topped out at $16/hr. The next job hop was a move to Atlanta, where I commanded a $55k salary (about double my peak hourly earnings at NEGIA) and ultimately reached $70k at 21 — not terrible for a 21 year-old in Atlanta in 2007. It's easy to place big gains when moving up from entry level, especially if you entered into an employment bargain that presumed being paid vastly below market for doing fairly sophisticated and diverse things in exchange for having a diamond-in-the-rough skill set. I learned more at the small company than I have ever learned in my life, and more quickly, and was able to effectively parlay that into big-boy corporate jobs in Atlanta. In one sense, this validates the thesis. But it's important to remember that it does plateau. When moving up from entry level and early-career pay, you're flying close to the ground and it feels like you're going fast. The ground rushes past you, and it's intoxicating. Minimum-wage checkout clerk to full-time salaried assistant store manager? Zoom! The momentum doesn't last. Had I continued in W-2 employment, I would have likely hit low to low-mid $100k by now, after ten years, but no more.