Jessica Jackson always dreamed of working outdoors — now, she spends most of her days 300 feet in the air, atop wind turbines. 

Jackson, 37, is a wind turbine service technician at Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer, in Bee County, Texas, and earns $73,000 per year. 

Her job requires technical expertise in hydraulics, electrical systems, and mechanical repairs — plus the stamina to haul 50 pounds of gear up narrow ladders in all kinds of weather.

Climbing the turbine tower “isn’t as scary as you’d think,” she tells CNBC Make It. The tallest turbine on the wind farm Jackson works on is about 350 feet above the ground. It takes her less than 10 minutes to get to the top.

“Once you’re up there, you get to see the best views: You’re watching birds fly, eagles, hawks,” she says. “You get to see planes fly by. You get to see as far as you can see. It’s beautiful.”

It isn’t a career for the faint of heart. Wind turbine technicians face one of the highest rates of work-related injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Yet it’s also the fastest-growing job in the U.S., with employment in the sector expected to almost double over the next decade.

“Working in this field is hard, but it’s rewarding,” says Jackson. 

Despite the high demand for wind turbine service technicians, the profession remains “underrated and overlooked,” she adds, offering untapped potential for job-seekers who crave adventure and a competitive salary.

It’s “pretty standard” for employers not to require a bachelor’s degree for technician-level positions, according to Vanessa Benedetti, Vestas’ senior director of training operations and workforce development.

“What’s more important is that you have a willingness to learn, love to tinker and can get your hands dirty,” she adds. 

While you don’t need a bachelor’s degree to become a wind turbine service technician, some jobs might require you to complete a 2-year technical program or apprenticeship. Others, like Blattner Energy and Vestas, will provide on-the-job training for new hires.

Vestas’ training covers best practices for the turbine’s electrical equipment, technical procedures like bolt torque and tensioning, as well as first aid and safety protocols.

Before becoming a wind technician, Jackson, who has four children, spent a decade as a stay-at-home mom.

After she and her husband separated in 2019, Jackson decided to return to the workforce but was worried her opportunities would be limited without a bachelor’s degree.

Her ex-husband recommended her for a job at Blattner Energy, a renewable energy contractor in northern Texas, installing tower wiring. That job introduced Jackson to Vestas, where she started working in February 2020.

Jackson enrolled in college online part-time while working as a wind tech and finished her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Arizona in 2022.

Her long-term goal is to become a lead technician at Vestas, a role that pays about $100,000 a year.

The median annual salary for wind turbine service technicians is $61,770; however, many earn over $90,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It’s one of those rare fields where you feel like you are your own boss,” says Jackson. “You get to decide how quickly you move up the career ladder and how much you earn.” 

Jackson gets to work at 7 a.m. and ends her shift by 5:30 p.m. She works five days a week. 

The hardest part of her job is the climb. Jackson has to scale a narrow, metal ladder inside the turbine and pull herself through a hatch at the top to access the turbine’s nacelle, which sits atop the tower and contains the machine’s main parts. It’s a vertical climb up nearly 30 stories.

“Cutting any corners with safety could be the reason why I don’t go home that day,” says Jackson, who wears gloves, glasses, a helmet, harness and other protective equipment on the job. “Once you’re up there, you’re in your office and ready to work. Everything else is easier.”

The job might be physically demanding, but Jackson says spending so much time outside on the farm — and climbing the towers — has helped her feel “stronger and healthier.”

Benedetti has seen hiring for technicians in the U.S. “ebb and flow” over the past decade depending on demand, production tax credits and supply chain issues. 

Right now, “we’re seeing a huge investment in wind energy technologies,” she says. Global offshore wind investment hit an all-time high in 2023, reaching a record $76.7 billion, according to BloombergNEF’s Renewable Energy Investment Tracker.

At Vestas, the average contract for a technician is about 13 years. “It’s a career that has longevity and gives people the opportunity to learn and grow within their careers, and also to stay and feel settled within their community, which is really wonderful,” Benedetti adds.

At least 2,100 technicians are expected to be hired every year over the next decade, per the Labor Department’s latest estimates, an increase driven by both new projects and the need to maintain existing turbines.

Jackson plans to work as a technician until she retires in her 70s, if not sooner.

As she climbs the career ladder — both literally and figuratively — Jackson hopes to inspire others, particularly women and those without college degrees, to consider becoming wind techs.

“My best advice would be to go for it,” she says. “I never imagined myself in this field, but I’m extremely grateful for my job and I love what I do. … You’ll never know unless you try.”

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Forget a Kitchen-Aid mixer. Snoop Dogg surprised his daughter, Cori Broadus, with a $1 million gift ahead of her upcoming wedding, the rapper said during a recent appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”

Snoop Dogg explained how he would take advantage of the gift if the roles were reversed. “If it was me, my wedding would have been $100 [thousand], and $900 [thousand] would have went in my pocket,” he said.

Although a seven-figure wedding gift isn’t in the cards for most of us, Snoop Dogg’s suggestion for handling a financial windfall — spending 10% on fun and saving 90% for the future — checks out, financial experts say. 

“Snoop Dogg’s comment highlights the importance of prioritizing long-term financial stability over immediate gratification, which is solid advice,” says Maria Castillo Dominguez, a certified financial planner and founder of Valoria Wealth Management. 

That goes for anyone who comes into any unexpected sum of money, she says, no matter the size of the windfall. 

If you receive money unexpectedly, it can be tempting to envision yourself spending on a whole new lifestyle. In reality, you’d be better off putting money toward your long established goals, experts say.

So before you do anything with your money, experts advise that you first give yourself a moment.

“Take a pause before making any decisions,” says Catherine Valega, a CFP and founder of Green Bee Advisory. “Don’t do anything rash,” such as buying your “long-lost cousin a new car when they come out of the woodwork to ask for it,” if word gets around that you’ve come into extra cash.

Once you’ve composed yourself, Dominguez suggests asking yourself a simple question: What have I been wanting to do if I had more money? For many, it’s buying a home, paying off your mortgage, starting an emergency fund or getting out of credit card debt. 

By carefully thinking through your next steps, you can make the most of your extra money.

“Setting clear goals and even consulting a financial planner can help ensure the windfall works for you over the long term,” says Dominguez. With the right guidance, a windfall can be an opportunity to generate even more money for yourself and build happiness that lasts. 

A financial planner can take your specific situation and design an individualized plan for your extra cash. 

“Everybody should work with a financial planner,” says Valega. “We know how to prioritize your extra funds.”

Whether it’s in the form of a tax refund, a holiday bonus or an unexpected lottery jackpot, a windfall can provide a huge boost to our bottom line when we least expect it. And the ability to use that money to make a better life for yourself is cause for celebration, says Dominguez.

After you’ve identified your goals, using a portion of your extra money to treat yourself is within reason. Having a plan for your money can help make sure you keep your celebratory spending reasonable, she says. After all, treating yourself shouldn’t infringe on the success of your long-term plans. 

“It’s important to strike a balance,” Dominguez says. “Celebrating life’s milestones is valuable, but aligning spending with overall financial goals ensures sustainability.”

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Self-made billionaire Ray Dalio has a three-step recipe for success — and it’s one anyone can use, he wrote in a LinkedIn post on Sunday.

First, identify what you want. Second, figure out how to realistically achieve them. And third, pursue that path with ironclad determination. “People who achieve success and drive progress deeply understand the cause-effect relationships that govern reality and have principles for using them to get what they want,” wrote Dalio, 75, the founder and ex-CEO of hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates.

Dalio’s formula may seem easier said than done — but it relies on a simple caveat. Figuring out how to realistically achieve your goals includes setting reasonable expectations for what success might look like, he wrote.

“I don’t care whether you want to be a master of the universe, a couch potato, or anything else—I really don’t,” wrote Dalio, who has an estimated $14 billion net worth, according to Forbes. “Some people want to change the world and others want to operate in simple harmony with it and savor life. Neither is better. Each of us needs to decide what we value most and choose the paths we take to achieve it.”

Mark Cuban, another self-made billionaire, has a similar definition of success. It’s not necessarily about how much money you have in the bank — it’s about knowing what you want and figuring out how to get it, he told LinkedIn’s “The Path” podcast last year.

“Success is just setting a goal and being able to wake up every morning feeling really good about what you’ve accomplished,” said Cuban.

Successful people tend to share one simple trait, according to Cuban: If you want to achieve, you have to be willing to work hard for what you want and endure obstacles and uncertainly along the way. Cuban himself ran side hustles, got fired from multiple jobs and nearly went broke on his path to becoming a billionaire.

“The one thing in life you can control is your effort,” he said in a LinkedIn video post published by entrepreneur and venture capitalist Randall Kaplan last year. “And being willing to do so is a huge competitive advantage, because most people don’t.”

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As parents, we often wonder if we’re doing the right thing for our children. No one is immune to that kind of thinking.

I have interviewed hundreds of young entrepreneurs and their parents to learn how they were raised. Most parents who raised highly successful adults did a great job.

What surprised me is that many parents admitted that there were a few things they would have done differently, if they could go back in time. 

These were the top regrets they had in common:

Many future successful entrepreneurs were great students and breezed through top universities. Some finished, but were miserable. Others dropped out of college or didn’t go at all. 

While education is important, it has to be a good fit. Looking back, some parents realized they would have preferred that their kids thrive, perhaps in an untraditional environment, rather than slog through an expensive, unhappy four years. 

Similarly, many parents recalled pushing their children to spend less time doing what they loved, and more time studying or doing an activity that would make them more appealing to a top school.

In hindsight, the parents now realize that when their children put in the 10,000 hours to gain a skill in what they loved — even though the parents may have thought it was a waste of time — it proved to be more useful as they began their career.

Of course we want to keep our children safe — but holding on too tightly can prevent them from flying.

I don’t often hear parents say they wish they had given their children less freedom. Instead, it’s the opposite: “Why didn’t I let them go off on their own more?” or “I feel bad they never had any independence until they went to college. I should have started letting them do things on their own earlier.”

There are a few terms for over involved parents: helicopter parents, who hover over their children and intervene in their decisions; snowplow parents, who move obstacles and challenges out of the way. 

Even parents who only did that some of the time regret it. They tell me, “I shouldn’t have fixed things for them; I shouldn’t have made their path so easy. They needed to learn how to solve problems on their own.” 

Looking back, they tell me they understand now that resilience is key to success.

My personal regret, which I heard from many others, is that I didn’t give our children enough chores. They had to make their bed and keep their room clean. But I never asked them to do their laundry; I never asked them to help me in the garden; and except on rare occasions, I didn’t ask them to help me cook. 

I did these tasks myself because they were so busy and I didn’t want to over-burden them. 

Ironically, they now tell me they wish they had learned those skills in high school! Giving our children more chores not only helps them become responsible, it teaches them useful skills for when they’re on their own.

Many parents told me they urged their kids to be cautious, to take the “safe” approach. They told them to take the practical route that “works more often.” 

When they watched their children take big risks to start a new venture, or sell something they started, or pivot in a new direction, or not take a job with a guaranteed paycheck to pursue their dream, they were proud of them.

But they wondered, “Did I make them fearful? Would it have been easier for them if I had told them more often to go for it?”

Or if they scolded them when they failed — for getting a bad grade, or not scoring a goal — and made their children nervous about taking risks. They now understand that you can’t innovate if you’re afraid to take risks. And you’re only not afraid to take risks, if you’re not afraid to fail.

Even if they did feel this regret, many of these parents also said they often told their kids how proud they were of their hard work, no matter the outcome.

Ultimately, I want to remind us all: Nobody is perfect. We all do the best we can, and as long as our children know we love them, and that we tried our best, they will be fine.

Margot Machol Bisnow is a writer, mom and parenting expert. She spent 20 years in government, including as an FTC Commissioner and Chief of Staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, has spent the last 10 years speaking to parent groups about raising fearless, creative, confident, resilient, entrepreneurial children who are filled with joy and purpose, and is the author of “Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams.” Follow her on Instagram @margotbisnow.

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When Purple’s partner first told her about the FIRE movement — which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early — in 2013, she wasn’t convinced. 

“The first thing I said was, ‘What do I even do with all that time? Why would I want to retire early?'” she says. “I was like, ‘I just need to find my dream job, and then I’ll be happy to work for another 40 years.'”

But in October 2020, Purple retired at just 30 years old with $540,000 in savings, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. She goes by Purple online and in the media to maintain her privacy.

In 2014, she got the dream job she mentioned — but it didn’t bring the satisfaction she thought it would. So the next year, she revisited the FIRE idea and started calculating. 

She estimated she could live on roughly $20,000 a year in retirement and would need $500,000 set aside upfront based on the 4% rule, which contends that you can safely withdraw 4% of your portfolio per year to cover your expenses without running out of money. Purple figured if she could boost her income and reduce her spending, she could reasonably retire in 10 years — a goal she hit five years early.

So far, she’s enjoying the freedom to spend her days however she likes and has no problem filling her time. “I’m very good at doing nothing and relaxing and finding new random hobbies,” she says.

Purple wishes she had gotten on board with FIRE when her partner first told her about it. Otherwise, “I don’t have any regrets in retirement,” she says. Her partner hit his FIRE number of $777,000 in November 2023, but he plans to keep working for a few more years to help support some of his loved ones.

Here are the three major moves Purple made to be able to retire early.

Before Purple officially started her FIRE journey, she was making $48,000 a year working in advertising and living in New York City, leaving her virtually “$0 after rent,” she says. When she decided to increase her income, she knew the best way to do it was through job-hopping.

“In my experience, [job-hopping] has been the only way I can get significant raises and even promotions,” she says.

She also learned early in her career that it doesn’t always pay off to be blindly loyal to a company; it won’t necessarily earn you a raise or promotion. As a result, Purple got very comfortable leaving jobs and companies she felt didn’t meet her financial or psychological needs.

That mindset paid off. Five years and as many jobs later, Purple had more than doubled her salary. As of 2017, at age 28, she earned nearly $107,000 a year. By the time she was getting ready to retire in 2020, her final salary was $114,230.

A major factor that allowed Purple to stack her savings was moving from New York to Seattle in 2015 to drastically reduce her cost of living. In Seattle, “they pay Manhattan salaries, in my experience, but the cost of living is about half of New York City,” she says. 

At that point, Purple expected it to take 10 years to save enough to retire, but when she recalculated her goal with reduced living costs and an increased salary, she figured she could stop working in just five years.

In her final year in New York, Purple earned $68,000 and spent just under $30,000 on living costs, including any discretionary spending, while socking away money in her 401(k), individual retirement account and cash savings. Her first year in Seattle, Purple secured an $85,000 salary and brought her annual spending down to about $22,500.

You might expect to see huge concessions in her budget, like never going on vacation, but that wasn’t the case for Purple. Splitting rent with her partner helped keep her housing costs low throughout most of her journey, and she doesn’t own a car or pet that can come with large startup and recurring costs.

She started focusing her spending on the things that really make her happy. Working in advertising, Purple saw plenty of peers spending tons of cash on clothes, makeup and designer labels, and started acting similarly. But Purple realized none of that brought her joy, so she stopped.

Still, “I spend lavishly on things that really make me happy,” Purple says.

Travel, for example, has always been a priority for her and she will fly first-class without a second thought. But when she can, she’ll turn to methods like travel hacking — taking advantage of credit card rewards offers to score cheaper flights and hotels — to save.

“If I can find a way to get something expensive for less, I do that,” she says.

Purple learned the importance of investing from her mother, who didn’t start contributing to her retirement investments until she was 40 and still managed to retire 15 years later, she says.

Her mother told Purple to enroll in her company’s 401(k) plan at her first job out of college in 2011, even though she wasn’t earning much. It helped that Purple didn’t have any debt, including student loans, so she could focus on saving. Despite her relatively small contributions at first, starting early gave Purple the head start that would eventually allow her to retire at 30.

Starting early gave Purple more time to take advantage of compounding interest, which is when interest grows not just on your initial investment, but on your gains as well. If you start investing $100 a month at age 25 and earn an 8% annual return, your portfolio would grow to over $350,000 by 65. But if you wait until 35 to start contributing, you’d wind up with just over $150,000 at 65.

By 2014, she’d amassed around $22,500 in her 401(k), plus over $17,000 in cash savings. She also started contributing to an IRA in 2015, and maxed out her contributions from that year onward.

Continuing to max out her 401(k) and IRA contributions each year helped Purple hit a $100,000 net worth in early 2016 and $500,000 in savings by July 2020.

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