If you’re a young person looking to make money and have a high quality of life in today’s age, do not listen to the advice of older people. This is a very tricky piece of advice to follow, because old people have wisdom. But when it comes to the modern world and how to get ahead, they aren’t as useful as you would think they are. I am where I am in life in part because I followed a bunch of bad advice on behalf of my family members. It’s ok because I’m young and still know a lot, but my family’s advice cost me years of my life, despite them all be well off, smart, and successful.
The first piece of advice I got: move to Canada (from the United States). This is a mistake that anyone could have made, and the advice to move to Canada could have been offered by anyone. But it was bad advice, even back in 2018. Canada has absolutely fallen apart in the last decade, and it was apparent in the data. That data just needed to either be inspected closely or experienced outright. The second piece of advice I got: follow your passion. This came from people living in an era where the cost of living was a lot lower, and it was much harder to put out and promote content. The time I spent writing books did teach me stuff, but I probably should have stuck to blogging from the get-go.
So why doesn’t advice from otherwise wise and intelligent family members work in today’s era? I think I’ve identified a few reasons.
Your family will probably be out of touch
If they aren’t then they may not be that successful. Occasionally, you meet older people who know what’s going on. But to be honest it’s really rare. They are very, very clueless. The drop off starts around 45. 65 and up is hopeless. The simple fact of the matter is that your family likely has no clue what is going on in the world. They simply do not know. This doesn’t mean you wallow, but they don’t know if they’re halfway decent. My grandparents immigrated to Canada in the 70s. They talk about how little they made in their 20s, as postdocs. How much did they make in today’s dollars? About $65,000. I know people with two degrees who can’t make that today. Cost of living is just one example. Everything is completely different. Every aspect of life has been upended by a variety of factors.
Professional opportunities have changed dramatically since your parents were young
Social media has made it possible to work for yourself and leverage your skillsets. If all you want to do is write, you can become a writer. If you’re a doctor or naturopath, you can show off your knowledge online. There’s a lot of power in having a skillset and using the internet to leverage it. Additionally, certain jobs such as those in manufacturing aren’t paying as much or have been outsourced completely. Basically, a lot of young people in wealthier countries are doing worse than their parents because the world is “flattening”. Unfortunately, the average person globally makes like $14,000 per year if we go by GDP. That’s well below the American poverty line.
Salaries are flat for the professions
This is pretty much true across wealthier countries. There’s a lot of cheaper labor being brought into the West. Anyone can get a degree nowadays. People with an education are in surplus all over the world. “Just get a degree” doesn’t really work anymore.
We’re in a recession
We don’t see it because the economy is larger than ever. But is GDP growth outpacing inflation? With the exception of a few places, the answer is no. The world is generally speaking, in a recession. It’s harder than ever for young people to get their start in life. Older people don’t hear the word recession on the news, so they have no clue what’s going on. Their investments have been increasing in value.
Most of the growth is in Asia and Africa
Life is getting better, faster than for the majority of people on this planet. Life in Asia in particular is getting pretty wild and crazy. And by crazy, I mean crazy cool. Check out this YouTube documentary and imagine what this place will be like when China is even half as wealthy (per capita) as the United States.
Chongqing — Nightlife in the Chinese megacity | DW Documentary
It’s in the data, and it’s becoming evident in the documentaries. A lot of the West is going through a flat period. The US is able to enjoy growth by poaching the world’s best talent, but it’s no longer where most of the development is happening.
What can young people do?
To be honest, you can still get a degree. Just get a cheap one that’s in STEM. Blue collar and construction type stuff can work well too, but I’m not sure about the automation aspect. You’re also reliant on your body and health to earn your living. There are still places to live in the States that aren’t completely wackadoodle. You just have to let go of all the capitalism and competitiveness. This is really difficult in the United States, and it’s why a lot of normal people end up overseas. Money matters a lot less in the rest of the world, once you have enough to afford the basics. Probably because achieving much of anything abroad takes a lot of effort. Even in countries like Canada, it can be quite tough to get your hands on big money.
If you want to go location independent learning online business is the key. It’s possible to get some jobs that let you land overseas, but online business is better. The other option is to get rich in your home country and move overseas, but then you’re liable to have dedicated a lot of your life to making money, rather than having truly lived. Learn as much as you can about the world from independent sources and choose your own adventure. That’s what I did, and I find myself making little dents in the universe every single day, having simplified a path to a dream life in the tropics. This stuff is within everybody’s power. Just need to be realistic, dedicated, and not totally lazy.
Thanks for paying attention.
By Rising Current on .
Exported from Medium on November 8, 2024.
