Who is Raj Patel and how did he get his hands on my paycheck you ask.
You know Raj, the brown skinned, curry eating, Buddha worshiping guy on the other end of the phone when you call tech support. That is Raj. Actually it may be one of literally tens of thousands of Raj’s. You see, Raj Patel is one of the most common names in India and he has everything to do with your paycheck as does his Chinese counterpart Zhang Wei.
How does this affect me you ask? Your wages are not growing and your 401k employer matching benefits are about to disappear. So maybe Raj is not stealing them directly but lets say he is diverting them
There are many forces at work to keep a lid on your wages and competing with Raj and Zhang are certainly part, but not all of the problem. If you are in a job that can be outsourced off shore or you are on career path that is vulnerable it may be time to take some drastic action. The global equalization of wages has put a lid on increases in pay and benefits.
THIS MAY SOUND LIKE ECONOMIC GIBBERISH BUT IF YOU ARE IN YOUR 20’s, 30’s or 40’s YOU MUST READ THIS ARTICLE TO THE END AND TAKE IT TO HEART.
Over a year ago I saved an article from the Economic Policy Institute’s The State of Working America, 12th Edition to pass onto a grandson that is exploring his future. It is a telling sign of where the future is going. If you are in a highly specialized field such as medicine, management or you offer a unique product or service that is not able to be outsourced you are doing ok, otherwise you are pretty much screwed.
- Wage growth in the very early part of the 2000–2012 period, between 2000 and 2002, was still being bolstered by momentum from the strong wage growth of the late 1990s. Between 2002 and 2012, wages were stagnant or declined for the entire bottom 70 percent of the wage distribution. In other words, the vast majority of wage earners have already experienced a lost decade, one where real wages were either flat or in decline.
This needs to be your takeaway.
1) You must evaluate your vulnerability to both outsourcing and wage erosion. Please note that the bottom 70% did not fare well but the upper 30% comprised of those workers I describe above did quite well. Jobs in certain parts of healthcare, management, certain technical fields that cannot be outsource and highly specialized skills are a must to defend your wages and benefits from Raj and Zhang.
2) Do not spend a fortune going into debt for a college degree in a general field College grads without extended degrees did only slightly better than high school graduates and likely had a mountain of debt to repay.
3) If you are not inclined to get a specialized degree that is in high demand choose a trade or a semi-skilled job that cannot be outsourced. It is hard to outsource auto repair, construction or certain types of high paying service positions.
4) SAVE MORE MONEY TO ALLOW FOR RE-TOOLING OF YOUR CAREER OR EMPLOYMENT INTERRUPTIONS. An additional cash cushion is always a great idea but it is essential if you are in a field that is vulnerable to outsourcing.
5) Get into management.
Pay for the upper end of the wage scale is going up in leaps and bounds. At the same time the wages for the bottom 70% of wage earners are flat
(see chart to follow only if you are an econ nerd like me)
6) Become an entrepreneur. If it is in your blood to work for yourself go for it. Then you can hire Raj and pay them the 12 bucks a day they deserve or better yet hire American workers and build a business to be proud of.
To wrap this up I want to encourage all readers that have to opportunity to do so to build a career and work towards financial independence. There are so many variables in play in today’s world that the more you can save the more options will avail themselves.