Many people have heard the expression “What gets measured gets done”
I have noticed that what gets measured first gets done, or at least prioritised.
I will give you an example. Most private business owners are obsessed with money in - revenue, sales etc.
Few get as excited by costs. Perhaps that is because revenue - expenditure = net profits implies that revenues are more important than costs.
They aren’t. Costs are just as important for any business. If you spend more than you have coming in, you won’t have a business eventually.
I have personally seen businesses with $100,000 of monthly revenue or even much more go bust.
The same is true for personal wealth. No degree will automatically make anybody a millionaire.
That is because no income, or salary, will make anybody a millionaire in isolation.
There are plenty of examples of people that have earned millions, or even hundreds of millions, who are broke due to vices such as gambling which leads to awful spending habits.
Over 75% of former professional sports stars are estimated to be broke.
With that being said, a higher income will increase somebody’s chances of getting, especially if you are sensible with money and make good investing choices.
If we look at the statistics about degrees and income, we need to make a distinction between the early years and much later on.
In the early years, people who have studied very specific things tend to do better.
So, medicine, veterinary science, dentistry, law or some “elite” business schools.
Yet that isn’t the whole story. Many of the people I know that studies things like philosophy, history or politics took the “scenic route” to well paid careers.
I know two people earning over $100,000 in their early 30s who were unemployed or underemployed from 22 until 25.
Another reason why statistics can be misleading is people who decide to take performance-related jobs.
It actually makes a lot of sense to take a risk when you are young, and get paid on performance and not your time.
These kinds of jobs, however, tend to have a lower basic salary for the first few years.
I am speaking about jobs and careers like being a recruiter, real estate agent, private business owner or sales person.
Realistically then, there are two good paths for many young people.
Either study something very specific if you want to have some kind of “security” even though in reality few jobs have that these days.
Or play the long game. Don’t care about your earnings at 22, 23 or 24.
Focus on taking calculated risks by getting paid on performance.
Don’t give up if you fail two or three times. This way, you might earn more by your late 20s or early 30s, than those people that played it safe.
When you are 35 with a mortgage and kids, you can’t just quit a low paid job and take a risk, without thinking very carefully about it.
When you are 22, it makes a, lot of sense in many situations. Most younger people are far too cautious.
Many people in their early 20s think they have something to lose when often they don’t.
You won’t worry about “losing” 10k starting your own venture or taking a pay cut to get paid on performance when you are in your 30s or 40s.
What’s the worst that could happen? You fail after a number of years of trying.
As a final comment, in this day and age, the university you go to can be more important than what you study.
Other brief tips would be
- Getting a top grade in art from Oxford or Harvard, can be worth more than going to a university which isn’t very highly regarded.
- Start investing at a very young age, even if you can only afford tiny amounts. It will increase the odds of you eventually reaching millionaire status even if you never earn a high salary or income.
- Be willing to take calculated risks beyond getting paid on results. One of the best decisions I ever made was emigrating. Again though, it is easier to do this before you have a family.
Thanks for Reading
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