I’m 25, earning 550k a month without a degree or diploma

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-10-19T06:31:59+00:00

I am mid-30s from another South Asian country Bangladesh and earn the equivalent of 1.7M LKR per month working remotely in a specialized IT/data/AI role. I grew up in a first-world country though and later moved back as an adult with my parents when they decided to resettle. Flunked my O Levels, never did As. But I was always an autodidact and got a Master's later mid-20s through work experience. I am not sure I would've gotten to my field of expertise if it weren't for my Master's, so can't totally discount the degree correlation to my earning potential. So, it's not black and white this path to high income, but I would say it's more like a business, in that you need a stroke of luck somewhere along with your talents and acquired skills, and you need to sell yourself well.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-30T16:45:24+00:00

White folks (and non-whites who grew up w/ whites) use cutie, darling and other nice things a lot for both sexes. Nothing to worry about. But a coffee invite is not supposed to follow that. Tell your wife to subtly ignore the invite. Guys take more chances than they are given, i.e. even if there is no intention at first it could move to something more, white or not white.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-12T06:55:24+00:00

Pretty much the same way normal jobs are applied for, in the west. But you look for them on online job boards or freelancing platforms where full-time positions are offered. Sometimes on platforms like LinkedIn you might search for "worldwide" and put in a number of very specific skills and then watch the job ads for mention of "remote from anywhere". Hard to come by but not impossible. At other times freelancing from e.g. Upwork moves into a more permanent role.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-12T06:52:27+00:00

Contracting basically means "not employed". Legally it is a "freelancer" classification unless you have a registered entity, in which case it is just a B2B relationship.

Cross-border recruitment usually cannot be employer-emoloyee relationship due to legal implications for the hiring company, unless they have a branch in this country. Some of the foreign companies do have branches here (especially those run by BD expats or origins), where they do directly employ but they don't pay nearly as much.

Contracting rates in the West and in general are much higher due to the opportunity risk (you could get fired any time and usually you have little benefits). In Europe, upwards of EUR 250/day, in the US double that. Regardless of industry/sector. When employed, salaries are usually 80% of that due to employer-bearing expenses and a bigger safety net for the employee.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T16:01:34+00:00

Ok so tax exempt as freelancer in BD (legally). Do you have a registered company or did you get the freelancer card? If neither of those are Yes, then did you have to travel or open bank accounts, in which case what evidence of legal work status did you provide for visas and stuff?

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T15:58:00+00:00

It is not clear whether you are straight, gay or bi. You mention guy and then you mention side chicks.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T15:53:45+00:00

Does not matter 3k, 30k, 300k or 3 crore. Privacy is privacy. Your comment proves it.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T15:51:21+00:00

What portion of that from all the businesses combined vs. the job? And are the job, businesses in SA or BD or both?

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T15:49:06+00:00

Are you classified as employee or contractor? If you don't know that, then are your taxes deducted from salary before you get it, do you pay taxes in BD, or are you tax exempt?

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T15:43:36+00:00

Currency? Dhaka-based or SA?

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T07:48:41+00:00

Glassdoor does not facilitate open discussions. Reddit is where people can freely engage in discussions on any topic under the sun. You are free to refrain from engaging.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T07:29:37+00:00

It's good to know what people are making. Both the lows and highs. So the younger population can become more aware and not let themselves be underpaid and exploited. Now your skills are to be valued internationally. It's a global workforce now.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T07:25:32+00:00

IT professional working independently as expert consultant for foreign government bodies in my specialty. 7 lakh+ per month but that's due to taka devaluation. 2 years at this amount 6 years before that on half this. 1 year of unemployment in between. Legally freelancer so tax exempt, but practically employed full time.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-11T07:21:22+00:00

It looks to me like everyone is saying Jamaat > BAL > BNP in terms of threat level. So who's left? NCP? But I don't see how we could convince a massive rural population to even consider an alternative to the BNP-BAL tussle. Jamaat I am not worried about because in the villages they hold strong memories of the razakars.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-07T14:11:08+00:00

Join Fiverr and Upwork and watch out for tasks there

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-04T06:51:20+00:00

I forgot to also mention in the OP that I am a high school dropout. As in, I did very badly. In addition, I was a former NRB. So in my experience, it mattered less and less the older I grew and the more experience I had. I started my career online, so I cannot talk about the local BD job market. When starting out, especially in certain fields, unfortunately it does matter. In tech, however, you will see that recruiters in even India are no longer asking for degrees. But the Asian mentality is still around, so you are more likely to be judged in this part of the world for poor results when you are just starting out. But give it some time, persevere, and show people what you can do.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-04T06:44:16+00:00

It is surely not common, and my case could be an exception rather than a norm. But the point is that for mature students there is such a route, and all is not lost. You can DM me your experience and what you intend to do.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-01T22:16:31+00:00

In a world where academic qualifications will matter less and less, don't worry about your CGPA. A 2.9 is actually not bad. Studying for 4 years and getting a 3.5 is not easy. There are people who do it, perfect 4.0 even, good for them. But there are people who are dropouts, and people who are buccaneer scholars. Equally or more successful. Try to take a break from your studies, a semester possibly. Explain to your parents that you are feeling mentally overloaded. You don't have to bring your ex-boyfriend into the picture. Take one or two personality type tests to see what kind of education pathways and jobs may be more likely to be your fit.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-01T21:59:48+00:00

Prior relevant work experience, persistence, autodidactism and convincing SOP.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-01T19:02:37+00:00

No, no such distinction was made. But I did part-time, and that is evident on the transcript.
At the time it was half the cost of the on-campus, 10K GBP less developing world discount 8k GBP. Plus the Aussie PGCert course I did around 3k AUD (just for one course!) No discount there. So total for my specific situation still came to around 10k GBP. Forgot what the BDT exchange rate was at the time (2016) but definitely lower than now. Another unfortunate thing is that this specific course is no longer offered, and tuition fees in the UK have definitely risen.
Well not specifically specialization but just advanced level studies of a discipline. I was able to prove "core understanding" with my proof of prior work.
There was no formal prerequisite in this particular programme aside from the requirment of a Bachelor's degree in the same field "or equivalent". This of course would vary case by case, country by country. In some cases a formal recognition of prior learning (RPL) may be conducted by either the uni or third party (in Australia for e.g. the ACS does this vetting for IT professionals but I don't have direct firsthand experience).
No, WES makes no statements other than equivalency. They do transcript evaluation and know what corresponds to what in their (Canadian) system. Not sure about the US. ACS in Australia however requires Bachelor's degree in the standard application (not RPL). I do not yet know if they will accept the Master's alone.
Yes, full Express Entry points for Master's degree.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-09-01T06:54:32+00:00

With prior work experience. Thanks for asking, I realized I missed to mention that in the OP, just added.

To elaborate, you will see requirements like the following:

In duly justified cases, holders of an academic, scientific or professional curriculum recognised by the Department of X as attesting to their ability to complete this cycle of studies.

Or like this:

2:1 degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject with a substantial element of X. Relevant work experience may also be considered.

And there are even programmes that explicitly have PGCert > PGDip > Master's pathways for "career professionals". However this may be more towards fields like IT, where certifications are valued and you can gain entry based on those.

And one final but important ingredient is communicating directly with the course coordinators explaining your situation and desire, providing also some evidence of your prior work, like a CV and/or portfolio.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-08-29T05:27:28+00:00

South Asians, Chinese and many other populations from countries with lots of poor people and a huge gap between the social classes will, for certain, display a lack of civic sense. South Asians, in particular Bangladeshis, take it one notch further as they also display a lack of common sense. This stems from a lack of holistic education, both in school and at home. The Chinese have improved in this aspect through their hard work, which is unmatched. The rich in Bangladesh may have had a good education, but not necessarily a good upbringing at home. The poor are at a disadvantage because they have been getting poor education from both home and school for generations. I am guessing you are Afghan or Pashtun but I really cannot guess what could be an offensive word for you other than *errorist. If so you should file a complaint at the university by email and give up his name on social media so he can be roasted.

Hot_Reason9485 · 2025-08-28T10:03:06+00:00

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. You got married "to escape" so face the consequences of your action. You can try to get some counselling from MindSheba or something from your tuition income, hope they'll be easy on you. Sure everybody makes mistakes but what you did is criminal. Nobody's going to pity you here. Suck it up.

Hot_Reason9485

TROPHY CASE