If I bust my ***, and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime!
December 2, 2010 7:52 PM Subscribe
Out of semi-idle curiosity, what are the practical careers that produce the most direct and immediate reward for effective labor?
As I waste another Thursday night, I have a certain observation made by Office Space's Peter Gibbons on my mind concerning Western workers' motivation to work harder/more effectively. Basically I'm racking my brain to come up with careers that are attainable by your average Joe (or Jane) that would really appeal to the reptile brain; better work = more pay. Further, in these careers the ceiling on earning would be high enough as not to discourage going further in the field.
The first thing I thought of was a day trader; make better trades, make more money. However, I threw this one out due to the fact that your average person has neither the assets or the connections that successful traders need to make it big. My second choice was some sort of sales career, what with all the commission income. This too was kinda thrown out because your average person cannot simply jump in and start selling the type of product that has the potential to reward extremely efficient and hard work with extremely high commissions. You can probably walk onto a job selling lumber, but not selling high-dollar industrial equipment. It takes connections. So I am at a loss.
The opposite of what I am talking about would be a teacher - it doesn't matter how great of a teacher the person is, they are still going to me taking home the same amount of pay and they can't exactly look forward to a promotion or raise, what with the exclusion of meritorious raises.
So what can you come up with, Hive Mind? What sort of jobs would appeal to mankind's reptile brain through immediate reward?
As I waste another Thursday night, I have a certain observation made by Office Space's Peter Gibbons on my mind concerning Western workers' motivation to work harder/more effectively. Basically I'm racking my brain to come up with careers that are attainable by your average Joe (or Jane) that would really appeal to the reptile brain; better work = more pay. Further, in these careers the ceiling on earning would be high enough as not to discourage going further in the field.
The first thing I thought of was a day trader; make better trades, make more money. However, I threw this one out due to the fact that your average person has neither the assets or the connections that successful traders need to make it big. My second choice was some sort of sales career, what with all the commission income. This too was kinda thrown out because your average person cannot simply jump in and start selling the type of product that has the potential to reward extremely efficient and hard work with extremely high commissions. You can probably walk onto a job selling lumber, but not selling high-dollar industrial equipment. It takes connections. So I am at a loss.
The opposite of what I am talking about would be a teacher - it doesn't matter how great of a teacher the person is, they are still going to me taking home the same amount of pay and they can't exactly look forward to a promotion or raise, what with the exclusion of meritorious raises.
So what can you come up with, Hive Mind? What sort of jobs would appeal to mankind's reptile brain through immediate reward?
Or, you can apply the same idea with other types of service jobs like gardeners, dog trainers, etc.
posted by amyms at 8:00 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by amyms at 8:00 PM on December 2, 2010
Sales. Commission sales. Any job that's dependent on tips (that aren't pooled) like bartender, waiter/waitress.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:17 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Ideefixe at 8:17 PM on December 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Restaurant server. But the thing is that faster isn't necessarily "better" here. It's often more about learning the regulars and making non-regulars feel welcome.
posted by salvia at 8:41 PM on December 2, 2010
posted by salvia at 8:41 PM on December 2, 2010
If your criteria for "average joe" doesn't include, say, a college degree or any specialized education, then yes, probably some kind of small business run directly by an individual. As amyms says.
But otherwise I think your metric of "average joe" is a little tweaked. A lot of people work in sales, for commission. It's more difficult to get that kind of job than it would be to get a job at Home Depot, true. But it's not like you need to be some sort of rockstar.
posted by Sara C. at 9:01 PM on December 2, 2010
But otherwise I think your metric of "average joe" is a little tweaked. A lot of people work in sales, for commission. It's more difficult to get that kind of job than it would be to get a job at Home Depot, true. But it's not like you need to be some sort of rockstar.
posted by Sara C. at 9:01 PM on December 2, 2010
Anyone you might normally hire for a one off job: home/appliance repair, cleaning, gardening. They generally charge a fixed rate and so doing a good, fast job means you can schedule more clients in a given day. And because time is money, they're often borrowing against future profits to buy time saving equipment.
Mechanical repair jobs are normally paid by a standard billing rate, ie an oil change takes 20 minutes, but if you're done faster, you bill the standard. And if you're done slower, you bill the standard. It's not great at first but with practice you can start raking in dough (the employer gets a cut naturally). Same principle goes for doctors!
Telemarketing and bill collections sometimes have a dual structure; an hourly base with bonus incentives. I know collections agencies often have contracts with clients to hit various metrics. Verify X addresses every week and earn a bonus! etc.
But all of this reptilian brain stuff has some downsides: people take painful shortcuts. Mechanics might over proscribe treatment or repairs to make incentives, and collectors might (and do quite frequently) game their metrics in ways that hurt the client. When the objectives are simple, constant and easily verifiable, it's not such a problem. But lots of work that's simple, constant and easily verifiable can be done just as well in China or by a robot. So unless he lives in China, that job is gone.
Moreover, the kind of work done by American firms does not respond well to incentives. Money can make you work harder, but not think smarter. In fact, studies indicate the opposite is true -- if you give people a few months income for doing well on a test (I forget what exactly), they do worse than control groups. And if you do this really wrong, by giving them the money to hold on their person during the test and ask for it back at the end, they fare dramatically worse.
posted by pwnguin at 9:29 PM on December 2, 2010
Mechanical repair jobs are normally paid by a standard billing rate, ie an oil change takes 20 minutes, but if you're done faster, you bill the standard. And if you're done slower, you bill the standard. It's not great at first but with practice you can start raking in dough (the employer gets a cut naturally). Same principle goes for doctors!
Telemarketing and bill collections sometimes have a dual structure; an hourly base with bonus incentives. I know collections agencies often have contracts with clients to hit various metrics. Verify X addresses every week and earn a bonus! etc.
But all of this reptilian brain stuff has some downsides: people take painful shortcuts. Mechanics might over proscribe treatment or repairs to make incentives, and collectors might (and do quite frequently) game their metrics in ways that hurt the client. When the objectives are simple, constant and easily verifiable, it's not such a problem. But lots of work that's simple, constant and easily verifiable can be done just as well in China or by a robot. So unless he lives in China, that job is gone.
Moreover, the kind of work done by American firms does not respond well to incentives. Money can make you work harder, but not think smarter. In fact, studies indicate the opposite is true -- if you give people a few months income for doing well on a test (I forget what exactly), they do worse than control groups. And if you do this really wrong, by giving them the money to hold on their person during the test and ask for it back at the end, they fare dramatically worse.
posted by pwnguin at 9:29 PM on December 2, 2010
Due to this current economy, this is a popular topic, and something I've been putting some thought into. To sum up, your question is this: "how to earn above average income with average (or below average) intelligence/effort". It's a nice challenge.
First, a few observations.
1. the labor market in the US is a relatively free market. Thus, the price for labor roughly reflect the equilibrium between supply and demand for that service.
2. However, what we are interested in isn't the market price of labor, it's the ratio of personal cost to supply a unit of labor to the market versus the compensation from the market return to the worker. Note that I used "compensation" and not wage, because compensation include other, non-economic rewards (or detriments) such as being valued by others, being proud of one's job or satisfied with one's career choice... These considerations are not trivial to many workers.
3. Beside time and energy, which are most common, there are other factors a worker brought into production:
a. Human capital. These are investment that the worker has put in himself, such as education, skill, experience.
b. Risk. An artist producing a piece of art is taking a risk that it won't sell; or a day trader is taking a risk that his bet is wrong.
c. Constraints. Not everyone can do every job that he is qualified for; most people has geographic/moral/preferential constraints...
With that, let's restate the question as: how do I increase my compensation versus my personal cost to produce. The above observations naturally suggest some solutions:
1. Market-base solutions: you should try to identify market inefficiencies that may create a niche which artificially raise the compensation. Union-related work is one: unions impede the natural flow of labor, thus raising their own compensation. Government work is good too, there are few "services" in the free market that you can force the consumer (i.e. taxpayer) to buy (i.e. pay taxes) without his free will. Government service is an example of monopoly, other monopolies would apply in the same way: works which required you to be US Citizen, or have security clearance, or have a license... All of these are barriers of entry which will improve your compensation and/or job security.
2. Internal solutions: you can also try to increase your compensation by doing the things you like. Job satisfaction is a free compensation.
3. Exploit constraints:
a. Human capital is the most common way to improve your compensation. But, because of market liquidity, these investments are subjected to competition and risk just like all other investments. Having an MD or LD used to pay very well. Now, because of competition, the compensation for these professions are still elevated but not extraordinary. MDs still enjoy some market inefficiency (i.e. the AMA and their licensing requirements), but when medicine become global, they will face increase competition oversea. Still, investing in yourself has a history of high return.
Among the type of human capital one can invest, there are 3 categories that have better returns because the skill/knowledge acquired are rare (among the population). They are: intellectual skill, managerial skill and communication skill. Be above average in one of these 3 categories and you will live comfortably. With two, you can become rich; and with all three, you can be super-rich.
b. Risk. To win by taking risk requires knowledge to manage the risk. Risk taking without knowledge will only get below average returns. Successful risk-taker combine 2 traits: analytical ability and management ability (2 of the 3 special categories mentioned in 3a). These are your average casino manager or portfolio manager, and they earn decent income. The average Joe tend to lose at gambling (be it day-trading, or slot machine or lottery).
c. Constraints. This is probably the fastest way to improve your competitiveness in the labor market. Be ready to move to a remote location, that will pay well. Cooks on ships get paid better than cooks in a restaurant; an English tutor in China will get paid better than one in the US. Be ready to compromise your moral will also pay well. And finally, if you can do a job that other prefer not to do (like sanitation worker, or sex worker), you will get paid well too. However, it's rare to find jobs that people shun completely, since the US does have a large illegal and unskilled work pool.
That's my contribution. I'd love to read from others.
posted by curiousZ at 9:56 PM on December 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
First, a few observations.
1. the labor market in the US is a relatively free market. Thus, the price for labor roughly reflect the equilibrium between supply and demand for that service.
2. However, what we are interested in isn't the market price of labor, it's the ratio of personal cost to supply a unit of labor to the market versus the compensation from the market return to the worker. Note that I used "compensation" and not wage, because compensation include other, non-economic rewards (or detriments) such as being valued by others, being proud of one's job or satisfied with one's career choice... These considerations are not trivial to many workers.
3. Beside time and energy, which are most common, there are other factors a worker brought into production:
a. Human capital. These are investment that the worker has put in himself, such as education, skill, experience.
b. Risk. An artist producing a piece of art is taking a risk that it won't sell; or a day trader is taking a risk that his bet is wrong.
c. Constraints. Not everyone can do every job that he is qualified for; most people has geographic/moral/preferential constraints...
With that, let's restate the question as: how do I increase my compensation versus my personal cost to produce. The above observations naturally suggest some solutions:
1. Market-base solutions: you should try to identify market inefficiencies that may create a niche which artificially raise the compensation. Union-related work is one: unions impede the natural flow of labor, thus raising their own compensation. Government work is good too, there are few "services" in the free market that you can force the consumer (i.e. taxpayer) to buy (i.e. pay taxes) without his free will. Government service is an example of monopoly, other monopolies would apply in the same way: works which required you to be US Citizen, or have security clearance, or have a license... All of these are barriers of entry which will improve your compensation and/or job security.
2. Internal solutions: you can also try to increase your compensation by doing the things you like. Job satisfaction is a free compensation.
3. Exploit constraints:
a. Human capital is the most common way to improve your compensation. But, because of market liquidity, these investments are subjected to competition and risk just like all other investments. Having an MD or LD used to pay very well. Now, because of competition, the compensation for these professions are still elevated but not extraordinary. MDs still enjoy some market inefficiency (i.e. the AMA and their licensing requirements), but when medicine become global, they will face increase competition oversea. Still, investing in yourself has a history of high return.
Among the type of human capital one can invest, there are 3 categories that have better returns because the skill/knowledge acquired are rare (among the population). They are: intellectual skill, managerial skill and communication skill. Be above average in one of these 3 categories and you will live comfortably. With two, you can become rich; and with all three, you can be super-rich.
b. Risk. To win by taking risk requires knowledge to manage the risk. Risk taking without knowledge will only get below average returns. Successful risk-taker combine 2 traits: analytical ability and management ability (2 of the 3 special categories mentioned in 3a). These are your average casino manager or portfolio manager, and they earn decent income. The average Joe tend to lose at gambling (be it day-trading, or slot machine or lottery).
c. Constraints. This is probably the fastest way to improve your competitiveness in the labor market. Be ready to move to a remote location, that will pay well. Cooks on ships get paid better than cooks in a restaurant; an English tutor in China will get paid better than one in the US. Be ready to compromise your moral will also pay well. And finally, if you can do a job that other prefer not to do (like sanitation worker, or sex worker), you will get paid well too. However, it's rare to find jobs that people shun completely, since the US does have a large illegal and unskilled work pool.
That's my contribution. I'd love to read from others.
posted by curiousZ at 9:56 PM on December 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm a speech therapist, which is definitely a delayed-gratification field. But audiology is related, and seems more instant-gratification. You test someone's hearing and fine-tune their hearing aid, bam! You pull wax out of someone's ear, bam! (I KNOW it's not all that simple, audiologists of Mefi!) It's also practical with the aging baby boomers and hearing loss from our noisy world.
Also, remember that if you work in your passion, delayed gratification will be more...gratifying that instant fixes that you just aren't as into or involved with. Good luck to you!
posted by shortyJBot at 4:39 AM on December 3, 2010
Also, remember that if you work in your passion, delayed gratification will be more...gratifying that instant fixes that you just aren't as into or involved with. Good luck to you!
posted by shortyJBot at 4:39 AM on December 3, 2010
This is in a slightly different direction, but when I worked in newspaper production, the faster and better I worked, the earlier I got to go the hell home and go to bed. It wasn't more pay, but it was less work and more sleep! (Which I guess means more pay per hour than someone doing bad work.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:01 AM on December 3, 2010
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:01 AM on December 3, 2010
Sales for commission works exactly this way. Sell more stuff = proportionately more money.
And, if you're that hot in sales, you'll make less money than on a fixed salary + aggregate team sales bonus as a sales manager.
The downside, of course, is that direct sales of things is really hard. And, if your game drops, your pay drops with it right away. The classic double-edged sword.
posted by Citrus at 11:47 AM on December 3, 2010
And, if you're that hot in sales, you'll make less money than on a fixed salary + aggregate team sales bonus as a sales manager.
The downside, of course, is that direct sales of things is really hard. And, if your game drops, your pay drops with it right away. The classic double-edged sword.
posted by Citrus at 11:47 AM on December 3, 2010
Er, the above should say:
And, if you're that hot in sales, you'll make less money than on a fixed salary + aggregate team sales bonus as a sales manager.
posted by Citrus at 11:48 AM on December 3, 2010
And, if you're that hot in sales, you'll make less money than on a fixed salary + aggregate team sales bonus as a sales manager.
posted by Citrus at 11:48 AM on December 3, 2010
« Older How do I fix a stuck pressure-sensitive button/key | How should I respond to a classmate who makes... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by amyms at 7:58 PM on December 2, 2010