4 Different Ways to Make Money

Paying his employees minimum wage, a local Subway shop owner drives around town in his fancy Bentley.

With income that far surpass $9 an hour, this Subway investor doesn’t have to make sandwiches everyday, getting hot behind the counter- the bread ovens at his back. Instead, he works from the comfort of his home, making phone calls from his luxurious office. While he may work extremely hard, it’s the sweat and tears of his employees that keep his shop up and running. Hardly able to pay rent, their hard work keeps the money coming in to pay private tuitions and vacations in the Bahamas for the owner. But what about the employees themselves?

We all deserve the right to eat, to have a roof over our head, and to ring up the doctor when we are feeling sick. In order to earn this we reserve the right to work.

Just to make ends meet, many families are forced to work two jobs in face of the "minimum wage" crisis. The hourly sum does not cover the cost of living, making full time jobs with minimum pay nearly worthless- yet better than nothing. Most cities in America do not offer what has been termed a "living wage"- or enough money to pay all necessary bills at the end of the month.

$9 an hour might be just over minimum wage in California, yet full time it only equates to $1440 (before taxes) each month. While in some parts of the world this is enough to make ends meet, in places like San Diego it hardly covers the bill for a decent apartment.

Dissecting the ways people make $100 is a great way to spot income inequality. It’s pointless to judge ones worth based on their income, considering some of the hardest working individuals bring home the smallest of paychecks. More determined than most, the working-class wake up each day for a job that doesn't even pay them enough to live.

We can't look at the differences between positions and salaries and say, “that’s the way it is.” Instead, we should be asking ourselves why one job is worth more than another? Who benefits from this and who suffers?

Get a college degree: Although not as promising as it once was, having a degree dramatically ups the rate of your pay. College seem to expensive? Attend a State school, the tuition is much lower- especially if you have lived in that State for a year or more.

Get a masters degree: Teachers might only make around 30k a year but add a masters degree to your credentials and you can expect at least a 5k jump in your yearly salary. A bachelors degree isn't always enough these days, to get the truly amazing jobs you often need a masters degree as well.

Relocate: It's logical to assume that the more expensive an area is, the higher the salaries. Sometimes this isn't the case. In fact, a Respiratory Therapist makes less money living in overpriced California than they do in much more reasonably priced Ohio.

Do what you love: Even if the pay is crap, take a job that you truly love. In lieu of education, many companies accept years of valuable experience. If you start off at the bottom of your ideal job, you are likely to work hard- and not even notice it because you are having fun doing what you love. Bosses and coworkers will take note of this and over time your poorly paid job will bump you right up to a livable salary. As my dad always says, "no matter what you do, if you're the best at it you will be successful." And it's always easier to become the best at something we love.

The Yoga Instructor

Time it takes to earn $100: 1 hour

Blessed with a yoga studio right on her two-acre property, my yoga instructor makes $100 an hour doing exactly what she loves. Her hour-long group sessions are a deal at only $15 a person, and with no more than eight individuals to a session, they are more intimate than any crowded gym. Sprawled out in the center of the circular group, she practices alongside us- finishing each shift rejuvenated and feeling peaceful while also making money.

The Subway Worker

Time it takes to earn $100: 2 shifts

Before my little sister got her job as a security, she spent her days working at a Subway sandwich store. Managing the joint at only 17, Haley was busy beyond belief; even when she was off the clock she found herself making calls, switching around the schedule, or running down to the store to fix a problem or fill an abandoned shift. All of her hard work was saluted by $9 an hour. After taxes, it took her about 11.5 hours to make $100.

At the end of her shifts her eyes burned from chopping onions, her hair stunk like sandwiches, and she was exhausted. With shifts averaging six hours, she couldn’t even make $100 in one day without overtime. Naturally, soon as the better occupation rolled around she swooped it up, leaving me disappointed every time I go to Subway now; no one can make a sandwich as good as my sister!

The Nanny

Time it takes to earn $100: 10 hours

Nannies are in high demand, visible through the manifestation of websites like care.com- a site that matches babysitters up with needy parents. Throughout college, a handful of my girlfriends sought nanny positions. The pay varies dramatically but averaging the incomes of all nannies I know, it's around $12 an hour. Most of them work about five days a week, cooking, driving the kids around, and running errands.

Watching a Looney Tunes marathon all day might earn a nanny $100 but it might also get them fired. This isn't simply babysitting- being with the children this much makes you into a second parent. The job can be quite difficult as anyone who's looked after kids- and an entire house- can attest to. Still, at the end of each day my friends leave their jobs happy, driving home to their parent's residence since on their own they still can't afford the outrageous rents in San Diego.

Super wealthy families hire what CNN has dubbed "super nannies," or highly educated, skilled, experienced, and pricey sitters that can make upwards of $150,000 a year. But these are rare and far between- they are also life-consuming positions that include traveling, overnights, and the depletion of ones entire social life.

The Online Investor

Time it takes to earn $100: 1 Minute

If you have enough money to live on and invest, you can count yourself among the luckiest. Investors can work from home and have much greater financial security than most. Money can't possibly work harder than humans, but it sure makes more than we ever could! The more money invested, the more potentially lost, but also- the more money one can gain. A simple click on the computer can make an investor thousands of dollars. When you have money, you don't always need to work- at a certain point the money starts to work for you.

I'm not arguing that we should all make the exact amount of money, what I am arguing is the ludicrous world we live in where millions can't afford to see a doctor while others are letting their fortunes pile up in the form of lucrative investments.

The next time you go to judge someone because they can't pay their bills- take a step back and think about what they do day-to-day, how hard they work and perhaps how little they are paid. Perhaps instead we should start judging the uncaring business owners who put more money into materialism than into the hands of their employees.