[bradlys]

For those who don't know - aerhardt lives in Spain.

The US seems pretty distinct in that you can be a laborer and have quite high incomes. It's not unheard of to see people in major cities within the US having 7-figure incomes and still being an individual contributor in their field. Most of the "consultants" I've heard of outside of the US are only "rich" in that their incomes are high for their region (charging HCOL US rates while living in a place that is LCOL) or they're not doing labor anymore because they own a consultancy firm. In the US, I think consulting isn't worth it unless you are extremely lucky. You're more likely to see high income by trying to join FAANG.

I've been one of these people with the 7-fig incomes in the US. Unsurprisingly, you'll see a lot of data points like mine here because HN is primarily focused on the US audience since YC is a US (primarily silicon valley) company.