Feeling discouraged- please help me figure out how to make at least 100k in my next role

I have a bachelors in history and public administration, then a masters in education and anthropology from an Ivy. I’m in NYC area. After grad school, I worked in higher education as a counselor (2023 @ 58k) and moved up to a dean (2024 @ 80k).

I realized I no longer was interested in working in higher education and wanted take my love for education to the private sector. I started a role as an instructional designer at an insurance company (2025 @ 73k).

I excel in my current role and am on top of everything, but I feel discouraged because I was hoping to increase my chances of getting 6 figure roles by working through grad school (program management in universities) and going to a top grad program

Most of my experience is in training and teaching artists, but I’ve done a fair amount of engagement work in previous roles. I’m hoping to make a jump by the end of this year that will put me at 100k or even higher.

There was recently a post on here about people with “useless” degrees who ended up making high salaries, and I was very inspired. I hope you all can offer suggestions that will help me in this next job search.

Since tech is so lucrative right now, I have been looking into roles at tech companies (program management, engagement) which are less technical. I’m ultimately open and would love to hear your ideas