We’re personal finance journalists — and we’re revealing our expert tactics to increase your career earnings

From asking for a promotion to moving industries entirely in search of better pay, if you’re planning on making a big career change at work this year, you’re in good company. As of July 2024, nearly half (48 percent) of American workers plan to search for a new job in the next 12 months, and 43 percent plan to ask for a raise at work, according to Bankrate’s Job Seekers Survey. 

So many workers may be looking for a new role or raise because they feel their salaries don’t go as far as they used to. American workers started off the year feeling pessimistic about their finances amid high inflation. Now, inflation has slowed significantly, but given their current financial situation, many workers find it difficult or impossible to save enough money to feel comfortable. 

While making a change at work can be nerve-wracking, it can also be a huge boon to your personal finances. Bankrate’s writers and editors know first-hand how stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to increasing your retirement contributions, saving more or paying off debt. 

These six Bankrate experts have over 33 years of combined experience writing and editing personal finance content and have walked readers through nearly every step of their financial journeys. Their expert career moves made a massive difference in their personal finances, and can help you next time you’re at the bargaining table.

Natasha Cornelius: Rehearse out loud your pitch for a raise

At my job at a previous company, I realized I was vastly underpaid, but I was very happy with my job, so I never really put up too much of a fuss. But I finally was getting to the point where I was budgeting so much, my life outside of work was beginning to suffer. I called my mom, who had been managing people for a million years and asked for her advice. She told me to write down all the reasons I deserved the raise, including how I’ve specifically impacted the company. She helped me bullet point it for concise talking points, and then we even went over fake conversations so I would get comfortable saying out loud what I needed to say to my boss, the CEO of the company. Then, I set a meeting with my boss. 

I was so nervous, even though I did all the prep work with my mom. He smiled the entire time I was talking. After I was done with my spiel, he asked, “How much are you asking for?” I told him the amount, and he told me was going to give me slightly more than that and was proud of me for speaking up. After that, I was never nervous again to ask for a raise when I sincerely felt I deserved it.

Lauren Nowacki: Ask ahead of time what you need to do to earn a promotion

My career move was asking for and getting a promotion at work. I played the long(ish) game. I picked the right time — midyear reviews — to tell my leader that I wanted to be promoted by the end-of-year review and asked what I needed to do to earn that promotion. For the next six months, I did everything he told me I needed to do — with some extra projects thrown in — and recorded everything. I also created a list of opportunities where my new title could help fill the gaps. Then, I presented everything at my end-of-year review and asked for the promotion again. When I got the promotion, it came with a close to 10 percent raise. I put all of that extra money into a sinking fund to buy a car and was able to purchase the car, all cash payment, about five months sooner than I planned.

R.E. Hawley: Use your network to get your foot in the door

I’m an ex-academic. I spent the first decade of my career chasing my passion for history. I taught college courses, worked in museums and even published a book. But for those 10-plus years, I was constantly making ends meet across four or five part-time jobs and fighting to justify the value of my work to my employers. 

Moving careers to write about personal finance was a game-changer. I’d been working for a while as a volunteer editor for a history blog, and one of its founders had made the switch from academia to personal finance years ago. When I finally decided I was through with academia, I saw a posting for a job at her company and messaged her about it. Within a year, my income more than doubled, which gave me and my wife the financial freedom to move to a bigger place and start a family. Having a stable salary and a single job where I could focus all my energy even gave me the confidence to negotiate a salary increase for the first time in my life.

Ryan Flanigan: Look for new opportunities using the skills you already have

As a stage performer getting on the wrong side of the age line, I could see that I needed to make a move to avoid a significant decline in my income. I was passionate about travel and credit cards and had an outgoing personality, so I looked for new ways to use my creative abilities. I started freelance writing about my travels and how to maximize rewards to gain experience and credibility. After a year of looking for a full-time position, I was offered a job writing for Bankrate. 

The performance industry doesn’t typically offer retirement benefits, so before accepting this role at Bankrate, I had to save money creatively. I kept a strict savings budget based on my projected income over the next six months, or the length of my current contract. My focus was to max out my Roth IRA and invest in stocks with anything extra. Now that I have a traditional job, I make sure to max out any company matches on 401(k) and HSA accounts, while still trying to max out my Roth IRA when possible. Having the peace of mind of constant income and proper retirement benefits has made a huge difference for my family and helped me transition seamlessly from one profession to another.

Johna Strickland: Consider courses that will give you a return on your investment

While working a full-time job, I took a course to learn SEO writing that grew my freelance writing income by 14 times in one year. I earned back my investment — which was scary to make and boldly charged to a credit card — within three months and landed a major client that I worked with for years. My return on investment with that client alone was more than 3,400 percent. With that extra income, I paid off about $10,000 in student loans and high-interest debt more quickly and further renovated my house, leading to a significantly higher sale price. Later, I used my experience in SEO to land a job in digital media and doubled my full-time salary. I spent $700 on that course and reaped a six-figure return. The best thing I learned? If you don’t have writing samples, make some! Those manufactured samples got me in the door with so many clients.

Pippin Wilbers: Craft your resume based on your skills, not your job title

Before joining Red Ventures (Bankrate’s parent company), I worked in print journalism at a small-town newspaper. In 2016, my starting salary was $24,000. It never grew much. I realized that reporting was going to starve me and started looking for a change. I focused on positions where I’d get to work with words but in industries with more money to go around. The change nearly doubled my salary. My advice to career-switchers is to focus less on job titles and more on skills, both in searching for jobs and writing your resume. Many low-paying jobs use the same skills as high-paying ones. A well-crafted resume and carefully chosen examples of how you used those skills and the business impact they had in your old position can help a savvy hiring manager see you as a diamond in the rough.

Bottom line

Sometimes, making a big career change is easier said than done. You may be concerned about your financial security and feel it’s safer to stay where you are than take a risk at a new job. If that’s true, you aren’t alone: 70 percent of workers said they had some level of worry about their job security since the Fed began raising interest rates in March 2022, according to Bankrate. 

But if you’re in the position to do so, you should consider that new opportunity you’ve been eyeing. Not only could it be great for your career, it also may unlock significant financial opportunities. 

When you have that pay raise in hand, be proactive with the funds. Consider increasing the amount you’re contributing towards emergency savings or aggressively paying off debt.