What’s an ideal Career and How do I…?

For some of us our future is forecast almost through our DNA.  A business or profession following in the footsteps of a family member.  Farming and the ‘professions’ are strong examples of this in New Zealand.  In the majority of instances most of us stumble along through trial and error until eventually deciding on what we enjoy doing – our level of success being determined by our competence and skill and the organisational structure with which we partner.  In certain circumstances necessity determines how we live or how we are remunerated as we react to life’s environmental and financial rapid pace of change.

Two centuries after the onset of the Industrial Revolution and just three decades after the invention of the computer on a single silicon chip, society is on the treadmill of coping with the stunning changes that flow from radically accelerated communication.  As the pace of innovation quickens, the rate of economic, social, and political change will accelerate.  This ‘Information Explosion’ is not new – but the pace of it is.  Each ‘Information Explosion’ (and there have been six) unfolds at a much faster pace than the preceding one.

The last ‘Information Explosion’ – Industrial Revolution – set off massive social restructurings.  Spasms of change triggered a long series of wars and revolutions.  Today, two centuries after the Industrial Revolution began in Europe, the shift away from feudalism continues across much of the third world.

Extreme poverty has been the normal human condition for most people throughout all of history.  Human beings were all equally poor and lived fairly short lives.  Two hundred years ago 85% of the people alive on the planet lived on less than a dollar a day in today’s dollars.  That figure is down to only 20% now and by the end of this century it should be virtually zero.  It’s a rising tide.  The world is becoming richer.  People are moving out of poverty.  Humanity is advancing.  Capitalism helps people to become more prosperous, and inevitably that means that not everybody is going to rise at the same rate, but ultimately everybody rises over time.  China and India are recent examples of this as each has embraced Capitalism.  So what?  In choosing a career there are three critical criteria.  Each has its own importance as it relates to you – the individual, and unless your values match with those of each of the three components you will be in compromise.  The three are:

1. A passion for what you do and why you do it
2. The competence to get the job done
3. The financial reward that equates to your expectations and a market demand which enables it.

1. Passion: You can’t be a financial adviser if you do not wish to advise people about how they can secure their financial futures.  It’s a calling.  You can’t be a concert pianist if you don’t love Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin.
2. Be Good At It: Wanting to change the issue of world poverty by improving families financial literacy and confidence with investing is one thing – achieving the outcome of getting people to change habits entrenched over decades and underpinned with bias and belief – quite another.

              Playing the piano and playing the piano with ‘feeling’, timing and expression at sufficient a level of competence which

              attracts people to your concerts – night after night – they are worlds apart.

3. Remuneration: Risk are Reward and commensurate.  If your chosen level of reward is minimal then – just as is the case with investment, you need take minimal risk.  On the other hand if your level of desired remuneration and therefore level of lifestyle is above average, then you cannot expect to achieve your desire without greater risk.  But risk is often misconstrued with loss.  With Capitalism, people come to the table with different levels of skill and rightly depart with different reward, whether pianists or financial advisers.

Unfortunately, for the concert pianist in Wellington, demand is limited.  Only so many people love classical music, I happen to be one of them but my desire to attend and pay for ongoing concerts is limited.  Therefore even if you are ‘the best’ concert pianist, your ‘market’ requires the need to travel, experience a disaffected home life, invest in marketing and attempting to sell entertainment through a medium which is rapidly changing.  From CDs to iPods to iPhones.  How long will your medium of communication survive?

On the other hand – the market for people to have; financial control, investment confidence and financial security is rapidly expanding and therefore your ability in an advisory career to influence that market will ensure reward is commensurate.  You can work from home, you can use technology, you can fulfil a strong sense of purpose, you have freedom of time and you can build ownership (both passive income and equity) – and be paid exactly what you are worth.  Now that’s a career worth considering.

The information provided in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. You may seek appropriate personalised financial advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances.