The convention for many millionaires has been to keep a side hustle while working a 9 to 5 job and later turn the side hustle into a full-time job. This convention is rooted in the belief that to accumulate wealth or to hit the millionaire status, one must pursue his or her own business venture.
However, one Mississippi man has shown that success can be achieved through hard work, dedication and a 9 to 5 job. Jherrod Thomas is a 32-year-old esteemed engineer with over 10 years of experience working in the automotive industry.
Leveraging his knowledge in financial literacy and his unique skill set, Thomas has grown his finances to earn the title of a millionaire. He said while working his 9 to 5 job, he developed creative ways to increase his income by using his earnings to invest in the stock market; products like self-driving cars helped the young professional profit in the rising market.
“After years of working in my 9-5 job, and barely making it through the month, I determined that I would need to do something different if I wanted to live a more bountiful life,” Thomas said.
He began investing in books on wealth building, investing, financial literarcy and engineering. Thomas knew that if he combined his current skills with wealth-building knowledge, he could achieve his one million dollar goal.
“Now that I’ve achieved this goal for myself, my next goal is to help others achieve this goal, too,” he says.
Lately, Thomas has devoted a large chunk of his time to coaching, training, and mentoring young African American engineers in various automotive disciplines to set them on the same trajectory for success. His goal is to assist them to become more competitive and help them in developing and pursuing leadership opportunities within their companies.
“Due to the unique experiences that African Americans face, my service is unlike anything else on the market and helps those who need support the most,” Thomas said. “Not only do I provide tips to sharpen their interview skills, but I also provide sales and negotiation guidance and help improve their financial literacy.”
Thomas is well known as a Certified Functional Safety Expert and founder of Tomco Service Group, an engineering service firm that specializes in the development and implementation of innovative technology for next-generation robotic and autonomous systems.
He boasts an extensive list of licenses and certifications, including a Bachelor’s degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering from Alcorn State University. He said in a statement that he has a wide breadth of work experience at General Motors, Ford Motor Company, AM General LLC, and FCA Fiat Chrysler, among others.
