I think that’s your judgement call. If spending the $1000 means you will get a certificate that will bump you up into the next pay level, say a $1500 increase at your company, then I think it makes sense to spend that money.

From what people in my field (mechanical engineering) tell me, the easiest way to increase your pay is first ask for it. And if you make a strong case but they don’t agree, then look into other opportunities and come back to your current employer with those offers. Hiring and training someone new to do your job can cost a company $50K; an increase of a few thousand dollars in your salary seems like the better deal to them.

I know these ideas are all worthwhile investments, but to what extent? Is it worth cutting $1000 from my retirement savings budget to take a course and join the local chapter of my professional organization?

There’s one niche I looked at that has 310,000,000 popular searches and very little legit competition.

Based on the research I’ve done myself and have in hand, there’s also quite a few people looking how to get rich faster without working.

I think that the way the job situation is currently. and the attendant structural deficiences in infrastructures (physical and financial) — college & old school seeking employment methodologies aren’t as useful and effective as they once were.

There’s unlimited opportunities in entrepreneurship — and some don’t take decades to pay off.

Increasing your human capital could also mean adding to your own unique knowledge base, and then venturing out and adding value to your fellow humans, for a substantial price that people who can, will be happy to pay.

(If it matters, I’m a former union worker with 2 MBAs who has ventured out into the “great beyond” to create a leveraged and sustainable income — and a lifestyle, beyond a career.)

Thank you.

The author mentioned that many retirees are forced to stop working due to health issues. You may just boost your income by showing up to work. This can be thought of in both the small ways – missing days here and there for colds, viruses, coughs, etc – and in the big ways – weeks/months or more off for heart attacks, catastrophic illnesses, etc. A forced early retirement or disability salary may not compare to what a person could earn had he or she not been sidelined by a health issue.

And I do realize not all health issues can be avoided, despite the best attention, but even some attention may go a long way. (I say this as health issues are fresh in my mind. We’ve been dealing recently with my parents and in-laws nasty bouts of sidelining illnesses, some of which forced early retirements – so difficult in many ways and certainly devastating financially.)

My wife is an at-home mom. She provides volunteering support at my eldest kid’s school, networking with other moms in similar situations. She also looks for volunteering opportunities around town.

She’s not yet ready to go back to work, but when she does, she will be able to mention her various volunteering gigs and other events (neighborhood clean-ups, etc) that she’s organized that have filled the gap since her last J-O-B.

Just a few ideas to ponder.

JD, I agree. Professional development is the best way to increase your human capital overall. Great post

I’d say #2 – networking – has been my best career asset. My affiliation with my undergraduate alumni association has netted me no less than two job offers over the last ten years. And one of those offers was made while watching a college football game, with a beer in hand and buffalo wings on the table.

@Elysia I’m a mom of two kids and have managed to have a great career as well. Some careers that work well: be an architect’s helper, geospatial engineer, graphic designer, garden designer, etc. You can teach yourself these careers and work your way up. Work from home, set your own hours. Give it 5 years to get to a point where the business runs on referrals and is doing well.

I couldn’t agree more with the networking advice. I received 2 job offers yesterday thanks to my network, one out of the blue. That’s one of the benefits of job-hopping quite a bit though – you get to know a lot of people, get a wide range of experience in different industries – and people get to know that you’re flexible and will take almost anything on.

I am constantly seeing working professionals, in their non-working capacity, presenting themselves as capricious, impulsive nitwits. Would I recommend an accountant, realtor, or counselor like that to a friend? No, I would not.

Every single person we interact with in daily life has the potential to be a business lead. Yes, even the barista. You don’t know what his/her second job might be.

Presenting one’s self, and behaving, in a manner consistent with competent professionalism ought to be the default for anyone in need of an income. It’s all about attitude, as Lyn points out.

As to self study: I recommend Fast Company and Men’s Health magazines. The first offers articles on the leading edge of business. The second offers excellent information (for men AND women, the counterpart women’s magazine has become sadly fluffy) on physical, mental, and relationship health – all key to a successful working life.

I often suggest bring training on site to reduce cost and offer it to more employees within my department.

That said, loyalty has a limit. If it’s a bad situation, and you’re getting a raw deal, leave. But don’t discount the value of time-in-position on a resume.

The time that you can spend at home with your children is so valuable. You can keep a foot in both camps, but need to recognize that there are some trade-offs. Well worth it in my book! Good luck!

Pick a degree that’s useful to the field you want to study in and do your research before you devote a major portion of your life to a degree that will turn out useless.

I also disagree with #6. That’s old advice. Since moving around is more common than it used to be it isn’t a red flag signaling that you’re unemployable like it used to be, just that you’re a hot commodity. Obviously this will differ by industry and occupation, but if there’s a lot of movement in your field, take advantage of it, or take advantage of the outside offers to buff up your salary. Besides, if it is a red flag and you are a hot commodity, then you’ll just have to stick at your current job until someone else hires you.

Of course, I’m not going on the market even though an outside offer could increase my salary here around 20K in a time of no COL raises (looking at my colleagues’ salaries who have gotten and declined outside offers). I just don’t want to.

Everything else on the list sounds right. Nice post.

I don’t think you can judge whether it’s worth $1000 from retirement savings unless you know what the course is and what kind of job you’re looking for/how much they value this course. I think if you have no job and you need serious networking help then joining the professional organization is probably worth it.

In today’s world, you can never count on your current employer, so be prepared to move or better yet go into business for yourself.

I found mentoring a good and new idea I hadn’t thought of. Either channel, opens up good networking avenues.

This was a nice change of pace post.

Mike

I don’t know *what* to do with myself, and at this point I’m mainly relieved that I have a flexible job and can spend time with my family as my kids are little. But I have no idea how to get a job that would let me be around for the kids but be more challenging to me.

I really think the whole human capital/growth thing totally sucks for moms or anyone wanting to be a good and available parent to their younger children. My sister the surgeon is looking for a housekeeper to be around when her kids get home from school — she actually said she needs a “mom” for them. What if you want to be your kids’ mom too?

A lot of leading companies have email lists that they send their ‘cool stuff’ to. It’s a sales pitch mostly, but it also keeps you informed as to the things that are out there in the marketplace.

And trying for a mentor, or being a mentor, has no cost and arguably is the most useful. It doesn’t need to be a formal mentorship to be meaningful.

Also, see if you can volunteer for any committees at work.