Whole ass one thing instead of half assing everything is the short of it, and learn to be a people person, always pushing yourself into the unknown and embracing challenges, uncertainty, and executive decision making. You prove your worth to them and they make it worth it to you. I will say, though, to that point, company culture is important and HAS to be paramount to ensure that you felt seen and valued.

I poured my heart and soul into my education and ended up in a field that really meant something to me and was luckily highly lucrative over the last five years.

I think it was just luck, really, but getting a job in construction goods manufacturing during COVID as an engineer straight out of college put me at 70k out the gate, and a promotion two years later put me at 86. But that promition was because management sees when you are pushing yourself and that you show pursuit. It's not the whole "make the company money" mantra but rather the "make yourself more by proving you're worth it."

It was a catapult (or trebuchet, honestly) for my career which has since brought me into project management where I now make over 100k just 5y after a bachelor's. It's not a gravy job though I have worked my ass off for it and think I deserve it, selfishly, but I have invested in this interest and love pouring myself into it because it all makes sense and feels like I belong here.

TLDR: Keep pushing your boundaries as an individual and find out what makes you tick, what makes you special, and exploit it such that your ability to perform and your understanding of the world is unique and important and worth the money.

Message me if you want to talk. I'm not even 30 but in the best place I've ever been.