Chabely Rodriguez takes money seriously. She strategically chose an affordable college and lucrative career path that has set her up to live comfortably at 30 years old.
Rodriguez is a certified anesthesiologist assistant, and in 2024, she switched from a salaried role to working as a traveling CAA in contract positions. As a result, she brings in over $300,000 a year. She has a master’s degree in anesthesiology, which allowed her to then get her CAA credentials — without needing to attend medical school.
She still cleared $200,000 a year in her previous position, often picking up overtime hours and 24-hour shifts on top of her full-time schedule — the product of a “scarcity mindset” she says she carried with her since childhood.
“I always want to prepare for [the worst],” she told CNBC Make It in 2023. “I’ve worked a lot of overtime hours just to make sure that I always have something extra.”
Now, she sticks mostly to 40-hour workweeks with extra shifts here and there when her staff needs coverage. She could be making closer to $500,000 a year if she worked similar overtime hours to what she previously took on, but she doesn’t feel pressured to, she says.
“I want to make more money, but I don’t want to burn myself out along the way,” Rodriguez says. “So now I’ve hit above the $300,000 mark, I feel good about that.”