Dave Ramsey says all Americans have ‘a shot’ at being millionaires — but people in 5 professions stand the best chance

Dave Ramsey has shared some sage advice for Americans striving for entry into the millionaire club: drown out the “loud noises” that say it can’t be done and be real about what millionaires really look like today.

“Millionaires don’t have jets,” Ramsey told Theo Von on the ‘This Past Weekend’ podcast. “Millionaires don’t have seven cars and houses. They’ve just got a paid-for house and some money [saved] in their retirement [accounts]. That’s what it amounts to.”

Hitting the million dollar milestone is possible for many Americans, according to Ramsey, as long as you save and spend your money wisely, avoid bad debt and strategically invest part of your income to help it grow.

It also helps if you have a certain type of personality and work in one of these five professions.

5 jobs with the most millionaires
Ramsey told Von about a 2023 Ramsey Solutions survey, which quizzed 10,000 millionaires across the U.S. to find out what they do for work and how they built their wealth.

The top five careers for millionaires turned out to be:

Engineer

Accountant (CPA)

Teacher

Management

Attorney

Surprisingly, medical doctors and physicians didn’t make the top five. They came in sixth position because, as Ramsey put it, even though “they make a lot of money” they’re “notoriously bad” at managing it.

“The interesting thing is, one third of them, 33% made less than $100,000 a year,” said Ramsey. “They were not making bank. They were not earning their way into it real quick.”

Ramsey said there’s one thing that people in the top five professions share in common, which is that they are “process people.” By that, he means “they learn the rules and … follow them.”

“If you’re an engineer, there’s only one way to build that building [so that] doesn’t fall. If you’re an accountant… there’s one way to do it. Teachers have a lesson plan they have to follow, business has a set of practices [and] attorneys [follow] the law,” he told Von.

“All of these are process people so they discovered… the process of living on less than they make, living on a budget, starting to invest, being generous, paying off their house, that kind of stuff.”

Busting a million-dollar myth
The Ramsey Solutions survey busted the myth that, in order to be a millionaire, you need a big six-figure income or to come from a rich family where you’re set to inherit a pile of cash. Instead, most of the millionaires surveyed got rich through consistent investing, avoiding debt like the plague and smart spending.

“The typical millionaire that we found — 89% of them were first generation, meaning they did not inherit their money,” said Ramsey. “That’s good news for everybody — we’ve all got a shot.”

The two main items that helped these people hit the million-dollar mark: investing in their company’s 401(k) plan (or a similar tax-advantaged savings mechanism, like an individual retirement account) and buying a house and paying it off.

Buying a home and fully paying off the mortgage is easier said than done, especially in today’s high interest rate environment. A recent survey commissioned by real estate brokerage Redfin revealed at almost 40% of current homeowners in the U.S. would not be able to afford their homes if they bought today.

But Ramsey said he’s a “huge believer in homeownership” as long as buyers aren’t stupid about what they can truly afford. He said: “Homeownership is a key part in the first $1 million to $10 million of net worth that somebody builds.”

He concluded by saying: “There’s a lot of loud noises out there. I don’t know where that comes from [but] it’s not true that you can’t get ahead. When you convince someone it’s true, you’re stealing their hope and … that’s evil.”

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/dave-ramsey-says-americans-shot-101500107.html

Lol teacher what is that guy smoking?  Most teachers I know don't make squat.

A million dollar net worth isn't much really.  I'll need 2.5M in a retirement account to feel comfortable retiring.

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Guys full of shit.

But that sweet, sweet taxpayer funded pension...

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The best way to become a millionaire is to sell books telling people they can be a millionaire too.

Or maybe it’s a radio show that has millions of listeners..

Or maybe it’s all the real estate..

Regardless…his baby steps work for people who have zero money discipline.

It’s a base. Not the end all be all.

In before Dave Ramsey hate?

Boomers lived through a mostly bull stock market and had cheap houses that are now worth a ton.  Any of them that aren’t >$1M net worth are massive financial losers.

I don't usually listen to him, but caught the interview because he was on Theo Von.  Their millionaire number is including a house and retirement accounts.  He did say he was surprised to see them make the top 5.  His conclusion was the top 5 are all systems oriented and/or have good retirement benefits.  I don't really have an opinion myself, just relaying what he said for context.

According to ARFCOM, its the guys that replace HVAC capacitors.

I'll go be poor with the rest of the 75% of the population.

I’ve never heard that before, but it absolutely makes perfect sense.

I know someone that worked for Dave Ramsey. He flew on Dave's jet a few times.

>“If you’re an engineer, there’s only one way to build that building [so that] doesn’t fall

As an engineer building the house is the easy part.  And there are lots of ways to do it, not to mention if you follow even the minimum code most of that is built with generous safety factors to the point you almost have to try to fuck it up in a way it will structurally fail short of a disaster.

The extremely hard part was navigating the insane web of regulations and patchwork restrictions of counties.  I eventually built a house for 40k using methods even a monkey could do, but it took me a decade of searching to find a place with jobs, no building codes, cheap land, and cheap materials that had access to power and water.  Because almost everywhere in the US, people basically fucked housing to the point you cannot afford to buy or build anything.

If you were around in the 70s, you probably didn't have to worry about most of that.

The thing people do after buying a home is push for regulation to insure that no one with less money than they have can afford to live there.

My wife was a teacher, she agrees with you.

He's 100% right. A million bucks is worth half or less what it was if you grew up in the 80s or 90s. Saving that mount is doable for most people anymore, but that presumes you try to live in lower cost of living areas and, at lower income levels, are exceedingly frugal. It is doable for most people in the trades, and just about any job that requires a degree. But delaying today's gratitude for tomorrow's benefit has proven to be illusive for most people.

If you own your house, in most places in America, and you have a partially funded retirement, you have a million bucks. Heck, most folks who do 20 in the military have anywhere from 800k to 1.5 mil in pension value these days.

There was a high degree of stability in teaching in Ramsey's heyday.  You could pretty much plan your financial future for your entire life from day 1 after college until retirement.  I imagine when you pretty much know 100% you'll have a job for life even at a lowish salary it facilities wealth generation.  Maybe not a lot of wealth but it wouldn't be hard to bank $1M over 40 years most of that in bull markets.

I imagine in more volatile careers people prefer cash savings in case of rough times or even YOLOing while the getting is still good, meaning they don't save for retirement or if they do it is in lower risk vehicles that don't generate much return.

A guy with $1m today was a guy with $500k a few years ago.

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I agree with everything quoted in the OP.  I am living proof it works.

It wasn't mentioned, but the book "The Millionaire Next Door" was life-changing for me.  Get it.  Read it.  Love it.  Live it.

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The point he is clearly trying to prove is that what you spend matters a lot more than what you make when it comes to increasing wealth.  In this he is correct.

The bolded part is exceedingly important for becoming financially independent.  Most people won't do it.  It's like being in shape.  Easy to talk about, harder to do because most people are lazy - let's be honest.

<<<Engineer


Glad I got a shot....

This is a load of shit.  10 percent of Americans retire with a million dollars or more.  The remaining 90 percent also retire.  

I however agree with your sentiment. However the reality is most people are not worth 1 million when they retire.

As for teachers.  My buddy is a teacher with a very lucrative side business. He asked a local successful businessman how much he’d need in the bank to retire and with the same amount as if he rides out teaching to his pension. 3 million was the answer.

Pretty much.

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I'm a CPA and can attest that the money is great.  I know CPAs making 100k and I know CPAs booking a net of 500k and up. Plenty of partners in firms are knocking down 750 or more.  Especially if they are good at selling services.

I can't believe he put teachers over doctors, dentists, nurses, and actuaries.

I had mine replaced - once.  It cost me about $400 and I says to myself, "Self, why the f*ck don't you do this yourself?"  And so I did the next time, for about $30, and will do it again when needed.

Teachers must factor in eventual OF.

 No, they don't.

Cops/Firefighters would probably make the list if it wasn’t for all the ex wives.

Dave Ramsey is a fucking idiot?

Teacher?  Around here they make like 40k lol.

Welp, then they chose poorly.  Actions have consequences.  Boo fuggin hoo.

Dave Ramsay thinks teacher's manage money well?  Interesting

This. My 401k with my equity in my houses tops $1M. Whoo hoo! Still watching my pennies.

My uncle was a millionaire in the 60’s when it meant something.

My old landlord was a cheap bastard.  My state has a law that if the A/C fails and the landlord does not respond within a certain time you can call a contractor to fix it for you and then deduct it from the rent.  

I got all my ducks in a row, sent the request via certified mail, got all the receipts and communications then when the clock ran out I called the contractor and he put in a $100 ebay tier motor for like $750.  Landlord knew it was a crock of shit but he could do nothing as I had all the paperwork exactly as stipilated in the law.  The sound of him on the phone was priceless once he realized just how much it cost him for ignoring replacing a very cheap component.

I don't disagree with the guy.  

It seems to me that most people who are not and have never been in the "Million Dollar Club" perceive the people in that status as an place that is held in permanence. However, insofar as I'm aware, it is a status that has one of the highest turnover rates. The people who are a "part of the club" so to speak are constantly churning and changing.

And in true Arfcom fashion someone comes along to poop on the skilled trades.

Most teachers are in two income households.

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I know.  But it's not a joke to them.  Some of them think they're victims.

Show us your net worth, then?  The books you authored?  The millions of lives you impacted for the better?

I will NEVER poop on the trades.  I admire people who actually do stuff with their hands.  But, I can do some of those things, too.

How about we go by bankruptcies.  If your number is 0, it's fewer than Ramsey.