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Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
SubArcticTundra @lemmy.ml

To what extent is this accurate?

So I'm 20 and I've started looking at the salaries of jobs/careers, and this is the impression I've gotten. Like that you could spend years cramming a ton of knowledge about a very niche field, and still only get 2-3x what a run-of-the-mill job makes. Is this true? If yes then I guess this route to wealth would only make sense (due to the diminishing returns) if the topic truly spoke to you, right? Are there alternative career paths to good pay than being really good at something really specific?

73 comments

  • After many careers and much money earned and spent, I now try to go by „ikigai“. Its a japanese theory and teaches you to be aware of what it is that you want, what makes you money, what the world needs and what you‘re good at, basically. This is how I went from a very well paid but soul sucking job to a lesser paid but much more fulfilling work.

    For me it was building computers and the stuff around it. Its fun and it makes decent money if done right.

    Good luck!

  • Your graph is missing the more important factor: demand.
    I'm guessing you weren't born into money, which is what most ultra wealthy people do. So failing that, you need to cultivate a skillset which includes doing something that other people want and are willing to pay for. And yes, that often means learning specialized, or dangerous skills. Take something like a high voltage electrician, they can make good moeny but they need a specific skillset, certifications, and fucking up can mean dying very quickly. Construction divers or underwater welders can earn good money as well. Though again, specific skillsets, certifications, and risks. On the less risky side, programmers can make good money, though that usually does require a lot of learning. IT and cybersecurity also fit this bill, though they do tend to follow your graph.

    In short, businesses pay for people because they have a need for something to get done. No need, no money. You can be the most knowledgeable person in the world about flaking stone tools, and you are going to be struggling. Another route to income is starting your own business, but this has similar pitfalls. Start a business which people aren't interested in and you're going to flounder. Also, running a business does take it's own skillset, beyond the skillset involved in whatever the business's focus area is. Though, done right, you can focus on running the business and hire people to do the other stuff.

    You are falling into a trap a lot of young, smart people do. You are assuming that knowledge and intelligence is what you need to succeed. It's not your fault, you've been fed that line for the last 12-ish years of your life by schools and society. It's bullshit. They do help, but knowing the right people, luck and the ability to socialize are more important. In short, go to business school and go into management. If that doesn't appeal to you (and that is perfectly valid) then you need to find and learn skills that businesses are willing to pay for. At the moment, that probably means a trade, like electrician or welder; or, a technical role such as engineering, IT or programming. If your interest is in the Humanities, sorry you're probably fucked.

  • This is my take on it. That unexpected spike in the salary is slightly skewed stats from the billionaires with all the money and none of the knowledge.

    Then it goes back down to nearly 0 where most of our average wages actually are.

    Source: My source is that I made it the fuck up, but it's certainly what it feels like when you see the clueless assholes with money and power.

  • Its funny, I'm.the one that makes the least amout of money in my team. They hired 2 new people and both make 30% more than me. Besides the fact that I'm a woman I'm the one that puts the least effort into things and I don't want to be promoted or to have "more responsibility" so I'm fine with it and so is the company. I do the bare minimun and go home happy. no extra learning, certifications, politics...nothing.

    • That must be nice, it's my plan too tbh if it still manages to pay the bills. I agree it's important to have a sense of Enough.

  • You're out of touch with reality with this idealist conception of wages as a result of knowledge. The value of labor is the cost of its reproduction. Capitalists pay workers exactly as much as they need to for them to turn up again the next morning. Knowledge does not directly factor into their calculation. Don't expect to be rewarded for the work you put into your education - the system isn't fair and doesn't work like that.

    Instead, wages are the result of a collective power struggle between labor and capital. High wages occur either when labor is strong and capital weak or when you betray other workers and aid capital in their exploration.

    Now expert knowledge is one of many things that might help by increasing bargaining power in the struggle with capital, but it's neither necessary nor sufficient. For example an automotive engineer might have just as much knowledge as a chemical engineer, but where I live, chemistry earns you about 50% more, because the chemistry union is stronger.

    So union power, strikes and social movements are a big factor. Others are location, the average rent, international competition, the reserve army of labor. At any specific time, the boom and bust cycle of periodic crisis strongly effects wages.

    The organic composition of capital plays an indirect role: If the degree of automation suddenly rises, this will lower workers bargaining power short term and lower profits long term which increases pressure on wages.

    So if you want a career with stable, high wages but don't want to help exploit others, look for sectors with a long-term chance of a strong bargaining position for labor.

73 comments