How a 27-year-old grew his salary from $50,000 to $432,000 in 5 years

At Amazon, Khan immediately began researching how he could grow within the company, especially in roles that would contribute to his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

He explored project manager and product manager roles, both of which would be promotions and teach him skills like managing people and designing products.

To learn more about how to get hired for these roles, Khan sought out mentors who would hire them both on and off Amazon. He said each mentor gave him advice on what skills he would need to get hired and gave him specific project ideas on how he could prove he had what it took to get ahead.

Khan has created a training roadmap for himself and said he will spend his evenings and weekends studying to gain new skills that he hopes will help him get promoted. For example, he says he spent six months taking a software bootcamp class at the Georgia Institute of Technology to learn how to code and earned an Amazon Web Services certification.

He also looked for opportunities to practice and gain new skills at his current job. For example, during his job as an operations manager, he helped update the security system at the warehouse, which helped build his portfolio to become a project manager.

“I was always finding ways to be creative with the role I was currently in, going further to find ways I could apply it to the next role,” says Khan.

Khan was promoted to project manager in mid-2021 and earns $66,000 annually. She moved into a product manager role in mid-2023, earning $146,000, and became a senior product manager in 2025, earning $432,000.

Khan says he saved more than 80% of his income while at Amazon, amassing about $666,000 during his time between various savings, investment and retirement accounts. That’s partly why he felt comfortable leaving, he says. He knew that if something went wrong, he would have financial support to rely on.

During this time, he primarily worked in positions that were either remote or required a lot of travel, which allowed him to save on housing costs. Instead of a home base from which he paid rent, he split his time between his parents’ home in Georgia and his girlfriend’s home in New York between business trips.

When he finally took the step of becoming an entrepreneur, Khan first started living off his savings.

SkillAxis generated approximately $51,000 in sales between July and November 2025. He now pays himself about $5,000 a month from the company to cover his living expenses.

In addition to building a financial backstop, Khan left Amazon in July because he says it was a window to take a big leap forward in his career as he plans for his future.

Khan lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with his girlfriend. Here’s how he spent his money in October.

• Rent: $2,125
• Food: $1,238 for groceries and dining out
• Public transport: $899 for subway and carpooling
• Health insurance: $289
• Operating expenses: $198 for Filmic Pro subscription and travel
• Subscriptions: $143 for two gym memberships, Wall Street Journal subscription, Spotify, iCloud and Google Drive
• optional: $93 for laundry and entertainment

Khan and his girlfriend split their rent 50/50, and his girlfriend has a stipend from law school that covers Wi-Fi and miscellaneous utilities. Khan is still on the phone plan that covers his family’s phone bill. He has already paid off nearly $50,000 worth of student loans and does not currently have any credit card debt.

Despite Khan’s history of savings, he is not currently adding to his savings as he builds his business. He says he will continue to save money in the future after his company grows. As of early November 2025, his net worth is approximately $703,000, including his checking accounts, savings, investments, retirement accounts, cryptocurrency, and several watches worth approximately $6,000 each.

Khan says he remembers seeing his father watching an Omega watch commercial as a child and commenting on how nice it would be to own an Omega watch. When Khan made enough money on Amazon, “I finally decided to buy him one,” he says.

Looking forward, Khan says, “my financial goal is to have a total net worth of $1 million by the time I’m 30.”

He wants to be in his 30s. greater financial stability. To get there, he says he will focus on ensuring his company succeeds by identifying gaps in software tools and letting the market guide them in building the solutions their customers need.

For anyone looking to replicate career advancement, “you just have to be creative about what you can do in your current environment,” he says. If you find ways to go beyond your job description, “you’ll benefit yourself and your reputation no matter where you are.”