#MiddleClass #AmericanDream #security #fortunes
We used to see becoming middle class as part of the American Dream.
Middle class used to mean security. Instead of dreaming of fortunes, we craved security.
It was there to be had, if you just got a job, showed up for work most every day, did your job satisfactorily and didn’t cause trouble.
In exchange for your good behavior, you got a decent salary, health benefits, a pension when you retired and, basically, a pretty good life.
More importantly, your continued good behavior gave you a job for as long as you wanted it, with regular raises and, perhaps, a promotion or two if you really worked hard.
Mostly, you would be able to do this with little more than a high school diploma.
Those days have slowly gone away, to the point that they have almost vanished altogether.
Paul Davidson, in an article for USA Today, discusses a revival of the middle class in recent times, thanks to a healthier economy. His article was also published Feb. 13, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Davidson tells the story of Andrew Gehrt, 29, of Greenville, S.C., who was laid off as a sales rep for a water filter company and, after being unemployed for a year, he landed a job as a business development manager for a tech company. Salary: $60,000.
Andrew was very fortunate. Most who lose good jobs today end up, perhaps after a long unemployment, taking jobs that pay less than they were making.
Though Davidson writes that the fortunes of the middle class have brightened recently with the economy, it’s still a craps shoot for a lot of people.
This situation may require a new train of thought among individuals. Remember that security you, or your parents, craved that the middle class provided? With that security eroding because of technology, changing markets, company reorganizations etc., we all have to start thinking differently.
There is indeed good news here. There are many vehicles out there that can allow people to eventually not have to sweat getting laid off. In fact, if these people devote a few part-time hours a week toward one of these, he or she can build an income that could allow him or her to walk away from his or her job with a smile one day.
Here’s the key: you have to be willing to check out your options. You have to be willing to say yes to that person you know, or whom you meet, who brings one of these vehicles to you and asks you to take a look. You don’t have to say yes after you’ve seen it, but you should be open to looking.
If you are one who is willing to explore options, and wants to check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
The middle class is indeed shrinking. It may be redefining itself. Even some with college degrees are finding options in the job market skimpy. Rather than hunt and peck through jobs you don’t like just to make a living, dream about what you would do when something great comes into your life that you can work at, have fun with and set goals you would never imagine with just a “regular” job.
If you are among those who still crave security, it will get harder and harder to find. The world is increasingly leaving you out on your own to determine your future. Not only is security no longer guaranteed, it can be elusive.
If you have a good job, have lots of years left to work and believe you are “all set,” think again. That next reorganization, or bad manager, could yank the rug out from under you.
Even if you see yourself as “all set,” check out your options anyway.
Peter
Monthly Archives: May 2019
GLAD GRADS: PART 2
#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
Last week, we talked about different graduates on different missions, as we celebrate the season of degrees.
Sue Shellenbarger, who writes a Work and Family column for The Wall Street Journal, suggests six “new rules” for post-college employment searches.
In her May 7, 2019, column she cites the example of Kyle Gilchrist, 23, who graduated from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., last December with a degree in political science. He had good grades, good debate skills and served an internship with a U.S. congressman.
He found his job options limited because he didn’t have work experience.
That brings us to Shellenbarger’s first suggestion: get work experience before graduating. Her second suggestion: start building a job search network early. Thirdly, acquire technical, analytical and interpersonal skills that may not be taught in the college courses you take. Fourthly, don’t over-rely on online job boards, which harkens back to building a job search network early. Networking involves people and personal contact, not Web sites.
Her fifth suggestion is to build a robust LinkedIn profile. Many experts believe that the conventional way to apply for a job – having a resume and knocking on doors, will eventually be surpassed as employers search sites like LinkedIn for the people they want.
Lastly, she suggests seeking out other adult mentors for advice. Those may be parents, teachers or others in your social circle who have the wisdom to guide you.
“Nearly 2 million students will emerge from U.S. colleges with bachelor’s degrees this year. Many will enter a job market their parents barely recognize,” Shellenbarger writes.
Though the labor market is tight, competition is fierce, she says.
Some grads will have more marketable degrees than others. Some will have more school debt than others.
Not only is getting a job hard for some, but also the job(s) they are offered don’t pay close to what they need to make a living, let alone pay off debt.
Like acorns, jobs may be plentiful, but hardly, in many cases, provide the nourishment and good taste humans want and need. As you think of acorns, also think of the squirrel running inside a wheel. Many jobs will feel like that to you – a lot of energy expended and very little, if any, progress to show for it.
If you find yourself in that situation, don’t worry. There are many vehicles out there that can produce a potentially lucrative income, starting with a few, part-time hours a week. The only requirement is an openness to look at them, and a willingness to do what it takes to succeed at them. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Remember, a college degree is helpful in landing a job, but doesn’t guarantee you one. You may decide that the degree you got, though enlightening in its pursuit, can’t always bring big bucks into your life. You may have to decide that pursuing your passion may require an ancillary pursuit of other income.
Again, be glad to graduate. Know that getting a good job won’t necessarily be easy. Still, work hard, dream big and be open to other helpful solutions.
Your circumstances don’t define you. How you deal with them does.
Peter
GLAD GRADS: PART 1
#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
It’s the time of year to celebrate graduations.
The grads will come in all ages, ambitions and desires.
For example, Teresa Eckart was a prosecutor and judge, who wasn’t doing what she loved. So, she went back to Kennesaw State University in Georgia to become a ballet teacher at age 59.
Hers and the profiles of other graduates were part of a package of articles in the May 5, 2019, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Another profiled grad is Marc Anthony Branch, 27, who leaves the day after his graduation from Emory University in Atlanta for Cambodia, where he will do urban development programming and assessments work with Habitat for Humanity.
Antoinette Charles, 20, will take her passion for helping the homeless with her when she graduates from Georgia State University, where she participated in the student organization Pads for Princesses, which assisted the homeless.
Meanwhile, Haley Evans, 21, learned to push herself at Oglethorpe University outside of Atlanta, and wound up studying abroad in Ecuador. She was able to use social media to successfully win a leadership spot on the student government organization at Oglethorpe while in Ecuador. She plans to teach in early childhood education.
Trayvon Truss, 22, was a self-described social outcast who battled depression. He was homeless much of his childhood. He also had dyslexia and was bullied. Now, he’ll earn his degree in psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Regardless of the path one takes, graduating college is a big step. Many will come out of college with degrees that won’t always yield the kind of results in the job market that they want. That’s OK for some, but for others, particularly if they are graduating with a lot of debt, that situation will present difficulties.
If that describes you, or if your passion doesn’t yield profitability, don’t fret. You can still pursue your passion, pay down your debt comfortably and live a very good life by devoting a few, part-time hours a week to one of the many vehicles out there that can create a potentially lucrative income for you. To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
It’s a relief, which you may or may not yet feel, to be done with school. Think of it as a step toward what comes next in your life.
You may not yet know what that will be. Or, you may have something in mind that may or may not pan out for you.
The grads featured in the profiles all made decisions, pushed themselves and fulfilled at least some of their dreams.
Some grads tend to focus on the practical, rather than their dreams. It’s certainly OK to want to make a good living, and not have to live at home with mom and dad forever. It’s good to want a house, marriage, children etc. in your future.
Yes, some practical thinking is in order. But always have your eyes, and your mind, on something bigger.
You can get there sooner, or you can get there later. It all depends on whether you are willing to look at something you may not have considered doing before, and whether you have the ambition to do whatever it takes to get what you want.
Be glad, grads, that you’ve taken that step. Be wary of what’s out there, but also open to new things. Skepticism can be good. Cynicism never is.
Peter
RICH COHORT GETS YOUNGER
#rich #young #YoungAndRich #superrich
A survey of U.S. investors with $25 million or more says the average age has dropped by 11 years, to 47 years old.
The ranks of these Americans has doubled since the depths of the Great Recession.
The average age of those with a mere $1 million is 62, a number that hasn’t budged in years.
These figures come from an article by Ben Steverman for Bloomberg. I was also published Jan. 24, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
About 172,000 U.S. households have a net worth of at least $25 million, The article says. That up from 84,000 in 2008. The study was created by the Spectrum Group, according to the article.
The “vast generational transfer of wealth” is “just beginning,” the article quotes George Walper Jr., president of the Spectrum Group.
The article doesn’t spell out how these folks are getting rich, but here are a few theories.
First, they could have invested well in the stock market, which crashed big time during the Great Recession. A big, universal downturn in the markets creates numerous buying opportunities for those willing to take a chance on them.
Even the casual observer has seen the market go up like crazy over the last decade, so those buying opportunities – at least many of them – have paid off handsomely.
Another theory, as Walper suggests, is that older rich folks are dying, and giving their wealth to their children.
A third theory is a rise in entrepreneurship. Young folks have seen a need, or created a product, that has become very popular. Think Uber, Lyft, scooter rentals in cities etc.
Here’s an area that can make ANYONE rich, who is willing to explore it. You certainly don’t have to create a new product, or meet a need. You just have to be willing to look at ideas that are not necessarily new, but could be new to you.
There are many vehicles out there that can produce wealth for anyone, with any background, education etc. You don’t even need to be a genius. You just need to learn a system and be coachable.To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Amid the doom and gloom you may have witnessed in the last decade, these stats should give you a glimmer of hope. Prosperity is there for those willing to look for it. It is there for those who, rather than wallow in their circumstances, are willing to embrace something new.
And, it doesn’t matter whether you are young or older. You just need to be willing to see something that looks very promising, and go with it, no matter what you might be told is best for you.
Our parents, at least those of us who grew up in more modest households, have told us to look for security, a good job, good benefits and stay there until we retire. That was SAFE.
Yet, such situations today are rare. Few jobs are safe. Few lifestyles are secure. Few futures are certain.
Increasingly, it is up to you to determine your prosperity. Certainly, if you choose certain paths, there are many out there willing to help you. But, you have to DO it.
If you don’t see yourself as young and rich, that’s OK. But think about the life YOU want, and know there are ways out there to get it. You just have to be willing to look for them.
Peter