I grew up in a family of 4 supported by an income of $30k/yr. I was on food stamps, subsidized rent, Medicaid, etc and honestly my childhood was pretty rough.
Our mom was so busy supporting us and working long hours, my older sister basically raised us.
I went to a top college (think Stanford, Harvard) on a full ride, and when I was 19 years old I made 30k+ in 12 weeks as a FAANG intern which is more than my mom in a year. I realized quant was very lucrative and at 20 I made 90k+ interning at a top prop firm for 11 weeks. Then I graduated at 21 with a near 400k/yr offer which is more than 13x what my mom made.
I’m very grateful for the opportunities I had, but now that I’ve “made it” I feel really isolated. Tbh I grew up so poor a total comp of 400k/yr didn’t seem fathomable and to this day my family doesn’t know how much I make. When they ask I say a little over six figures. Not because I kept it from them on purpose, but I know they can’t imagine I’m making so much at 22 when I can barely believe it myself.
I also feel a growing wedge between my family and childhood friends because our lives are so different, but I know I owe my success to them (especially my mom and sister). I don’t know how to repay them, but I also don’t want them to be too dependent on me for finances (I’m happy to help but I’ve heard horror stories of remittances). I love them very much and I’m grateful and help out when I can but I don’t want them to just see me as a “wallet” even though I know they wouldn’t.
I feel super isolated and don’t have anyone to talk to about this because a lot of my friends from college had really financially stable childhoods. They don’t have to worry about taking care of their family and communities once they’ve “made it.” And it’s also a very male dominated industry and I’m a woman so I also feel isolated in that sense too