This story is a part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money sequence, which particulars how folks all over the world earn, spend and save their cash.
Lauren Perraut has “always been drawn to blood, body parts, gross things,” she says.
The 32-year-old’s mother labored as a medical laboratory scientist at a blood financial institution for many years earlier than retiring. Perraut would go to her mom’s lab as a child and see these elemental components of the physique up shut.
She preferred “seeing things that most people don’t get to see,” she says.
That’s why when it got here time to forge her personal profession path, Perraut opted to develop into a pathologists’ assistant. Pathologists diagnose medical situations by observing affected person specimens in a lab. As a PA, Perraut dissects organs and exams physique tissue to prep them for the pathologist, and helps provide you with a affected person’s analysis.
Two perks of Perraut’s job: It provides excessive pay and does not require a prolonged medical diploma. She at the moment makes about $122,000 per year.
Perraut lives together with her husband, Dylan, and 2-year-old son, Reed, in Lexington, Kentucky. Here’s how she constructed her profession and the way the couple manages their cash.
A profession that is ‘excessive influence’ and in ‘actually excessive demand’
Perraut attended Eastern Kentucky University the place she earned a bachelor’s diploma in medical laboratory science, figuring out she wished to work in health care. But she did not wish to spend practically a decade going to medical school and finishing a residency program.
“I really value work-life balance,” she says.
As an undergrad, she found the pathologists’ assistant path, which solely required a two-year grasp’s program. She graduated from Duke University School of Medicine together with her grasp of health science, pathologists’ assistant in 2017 and began working full-time a week later.
Lauren Perraut doing her job at Pathology and Cytology Laboratories.
Jessica Mathis | Zachary Annecchini
“There’s a national shortage of medical laboratory workers,” she says. As a consequence, “there’s a really high demand for PAs right now.”
Perraut works about 40 hours per week and loves her day-to-day. “When I get to work, we usually have specimens set up for us to start working on,” she says. “Those can range from small biopsies that come from a colonoscopy to larger, more complex cancer resections.”
She additionally loves being a vital piece in a affected person’s therapy. “I feel like my career is really high impact,” she says. “But most people don’t even know that I exist.”
Saving up ‘to have the pliability to retire after we need’
Perraut is the first breadwinner in her household of three. Her husband makes about $60,000 per year as an educational advisor on the University of Kentucky.
Here’s how the household spent their cash in June 2025.
Christina Locopo | CNBC Make It
- Savings and investments: $3,899 into retirement funds and a shared brokerage account
- Insurance: $3,333 for health, dental and imaginative and prescient insurance coverage, in addition to Dylan’s life insurance coverage
- Discretionary: $2,176 for Amazon purchases like a hat and sun shades for Reed, youngster care and residential items
- Housing: $1,966 towards their mortgage, electrical energy, water, sewage and Wi-Fi
- Food: $1,057 for groceries and a few outings to native eating places
- Transportation: $442 for gasoline, parking and an oil change
- Subscriptions and memberships: $168 for Spotify, Peloton and their annual Sam’s Club membership
- Phones: $77
Saving is a high precedence for Perraut and her husband, and so they put round $3,900 into financial savings and investments per 30 days. As of June, that they had round $400,000 in retirement financial savings and about $113,500 in a shared brokerage account and a high-yield financial savings account. They additionally frequently contribute to a 529 school financial savings account for Reed, which has about $11,500 in it.
“Our goal is to save up enough to have the flexibility to retire when we want,” Perraut says.
In June, the couple’s second-biggest expense was insurance coverage, together with health, dental and imaginative and prescient. The invoice’s not often a cumulative $3,333 — they occurred to pay Dylan’s annual life insurance coverage of $2,968 that month.
The couple purchased a three-bedroom home in 2021, and the one debt they at the moment have is their mortgage. They additionally pay about $1,696 for householders insurance coverage yearly, and their property taxes had been about $3,427 in 2024.
Car insurance coverage is annual as properly and comes out to $1,537.
Perraut together with her husband, Dylan, and son, Reed, at their residence in Lexington, Kentucky.
Jessica Mathis | Zachary Annecchini
Surprise bills in June included numerous medical provides, like eyelid cleanser. And aside from the occasional journey to McDonald’s or a native restaurant, the household does not spend a lot on going out to eat.
“I feel like Dylan and I are both relatively frugal people,” says Perraut. “I don’t feel the need to buy super expensive things or go out to super expensive restaurants.”
‘I discover a lot of pleasure in my job’
Perraut could be very pleased with the steadiness they’ve struck. “We both enjoy our jobs and we enjoy our routine,” she says. She does not assume she’ll wish to retire early, even when she will be able to afford to.
She loves their location as properly. “I really enjoy living in Kentucky,” she says. “We’re pretty centrally located to bigger cities like Nashville or Indianapolis or Washington, D.C. We can drive to the beach within a day. We’re surrounded by horse farms and lots of bourbon.”
Perraut desires to encourage others to think about a comparable profession path in health. “Even since I’ve graduated, the salary range has increased significantly,” she says about pathologists’ assistant roles.
“I find a lot of joy in my job, and I really want to share that with others.”
What’s your finances breakdown? Share your story with us for a probability to be featured in a future installment.
Want to be your individual boss? Sign up for Smarter by CNBC Make It’s new on-line course, How To Start A Business: For First-Time Founders. Find step-by-step steering for launching your first enterprise, from testing your thought to rising your income. Sign up at the moment with coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory low cost of 30% off the common course value of $127 (plus tax). Offer legitimate Sept. 16 by way of Sept. 30, 2025.
Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get ideas and methods for achievement at work, with cash and in life, and request to join our exclusive community on LinkedIn to attach with specialists and friends.
