The fact that I'm pushing 40 and I haven't had a job that's paid me more than $64k is kind of humiliating. I know I don't live in a giant city so salaries are lower, but other HR pros seemed to be earning so much more than I do. How do I not feel like a failure?

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Move to a higher paying area, find a higher paying job, or get comfortable with your $64k salary.

Stop judging your value by your salary. You are far more than a paycheck

To get a salary well into the six figures, you have to have all the planets line up: Unicorn candidate; have been a senior VP of HR for a BIG, recognizable, multinational organization; female; likely a multilingual affirmative action hire; graduated from an Ivy League school; knowing powerhouse players/connections in the business or academic world; and fifty other line-item, must-have qualifications.

I was in a doctorate program in HR, at a well-known state school, and I couldn’t even get a response from companies—let alone an interview. Because I lacked most of the items aforementioned.

I would recommend you pick up a hard skill such as accounting or a law degree (to be a numbers person or general counsel) and leveraging your HR knowledge to drive organizational output and valuation. Maybe even be a whiz-kid at mergers and acquisitions. That will catch people’s eye on your resume.

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