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ROI: Doubling your Total Comp

Published over 1 year ago • 2 min read

After a recent client more than doubled their total compensation, I couldn’t figure out a good way to communicate and frame the outcome… so I asked perplexity.ai.

Prompt:

If you invest 4k, what’s the ROI in year 1 via all the different investment options? Now compare it to investing in yourself that helps you increase your total compensation from 220k to 470k

Output:

Traditional Investment Options

  1. Savings Accounts: 0.1% - 4% ROI: $4 - $160
  2. Certificates of Deposit (CDs): 1% - 5% ROI: $40 - $200
  3. Bonds: 2% - 6% ROI: $80 - $240
  4. Stock Market (S&P 500 average): 10% ROI: $400
  5. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): 2% - 10% ROI: $80 - $400
  6. Growth Stocks: Potentially >10%, but highly variable
  7. Junk Bonds: Potentially >10%, but higher risk

Investing in Yourself

Investment: $4,000

Potential Compensation Increase: $220,000 to $470,000

Compensation Gain: $250,000

ROI calculation: ($250,000 - $4,000) / $4,000 x 100 = 6,150% ROI

The potential ROI for investing in yourself to increase your compensation significantly outperforms traditional investment options:

  1. Immediate Impact: The compensation increase could occur within a year, providing a much faster return than most traditional investments.
  2. Long-term Benefits: Skills and knowledge gained from self-investment can benefit your career beyond the initial compensation increase.
  3. Compounding Effect: A higher compensation can lead to even greater earning potential in the future, as future raises and bonuses are often calculated as a percentage of your base compensation.

It’s important to note that while the potential ROI of investing in yourself is extremely high, it’s not guaranteed. Success depends on factors like the quality of the investment (e.g., courses, certifications, coaching), your ability to implement new skills and knowledge, market conditions, and your company’s willingness to provide such a significant compensation increase.

In conclusion, while traditional investments offer more predictable (though generally lower) returns, investing in yourself to increase your total compensation could potentially yield a much higher ROI, both financially and in terms of career development. The potential 6,150% ROI from self-investment far exceeds the returns from traditional investment options in the first year.

Thank you perplexity.ai for explaining this 100x better than I could have. ☺️

It is right, the 6,150% ROI from investing in yourself is not guaranteed, but what you also gain is the support of a community. Knowing you are not alone, knowing we are doing this together, and minimizing the emotional ups and downs is invaluable. This support helps you thrive during your transitions, and that is priceless. ☺️

My clients have landed offers from Meta, Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Tesla, Stripe, Intuit, Nvidia, Glean, Retool, Apple and Tubi in Staff, principal, GPM, Director, and VP of Product roles with total comp up to $1.2M this year in 2025.

They didn’t get there by relying on AI prep or memorized frameworks.

They succeeded because they learned what great actually sounds like at the L6–L9 levels: clear, senior communication and strategic thinking under pressure.

The old way of prepping with endless mocks stretches timelines.

Every month you delay your offer means losing $10K-$20K+ in total comp when you are targeting $500K-$1M+ roles at L6 - L9 levels.

And the month of December accelerates the gap.

Most people slow down. The field clears. Your progress compounds faster.

You walk into January already in motion instead of starting from zero.

If you want to shorten your time-to-offer and interview with clarity and confidence go here to request your invite for PM interviews and behavioral & leadership interviews across all roles, I’ll be in touch. 🌟

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