Whats a high income skill you should learn in your younger years?

thrwy75479 · 2019-06-29T15:28:25+00:00

Investing your money. The earlier you start, the better. Having financial knowledge, in general, is vital to building wealth, and having monetary success.

hereforgains1986 · 2019-06-29T15:46:09+00:00

1.Investing. Read about everything, know the terminology and learn about stocks that pay dividends, bonds, etc. 2.learn how to study and how to memorize properly.this will help you ace school and will help you become a better learner. 3.find yourself a teacher/master as in someone who can teach you practical stuff about life or finances or work. Depends on what you want but you must want to be their student otherwise it wont work. 4.Align yourself with successful people. And avoid “unlucky” people like the plague.

nabosch · 2019-06-29T15:42:28+00:00

Being able to converse with people and actually having shit to talk about.

Being able to talk on the phone.

BurnoutRS · 2019-06-29T16:05:39+00:00

Learn how to find people who want products and connect them with people who have products. Being a middle man and knowing how to broker a good deal is a very lucrative skill.

hazelstein · 2019-06-29T17:32:36+00:00

Sales - It doesn't matter what you do in life, you'll be selling something.

You're a teenager, you're working in a shop convincing someone to buy a new dishwasher. Then you're trying to convince someone to give you a college course, then you're a doctor trying to convince a patient to take his medication, then you're trying to apply for a research grant.

It's all sales. I know far too many talented people who can't sell, and it hurts them a lot.

CabbageCutter · 2019-06-29T15:47:16+00:00

General computer literacy and people skills will get you very far. Gaining a wealth of life experience to fall back on when making decisions can prove to be invaluable.

mvorbrodt · 2019-06-29T16:23:30+00:00

I'm a software engineer (programmer :) ) and it certainly provides me with a high earning career. but in order to be taken seriously in most companies you need at least a BS in Computer Science or Engineering.

VigilantSmartbomb · 2019-06-29T16:44:50+00:00

Computer anything. It’s with us for the long haul

Kidterrific · 2019-06-29T16:39:44+00:00

Not necessarily the answer you're looking for, but learn to type. Well.

123931 · 2019-06-29T18:43:07+00:00

Taking care of yourself. No drugs, very little if any alcohol, don't smoke, don't do high-risk activities.

Whats the high-income skill? Few medical bills. Able to do more because of good health. More longevity and good QoL (quality of life) enable you to work more and longer if you wish, even having more income streams increase your value and earnings.

Oh yeah, eating right...you'll spend fewer of your income on junk food, will have more energy, be mentally sharper, and most of all, be healthier and less "down time" being sick.

I wish teenage/20 yr old me knew this. I've fucked up, but I hope I show my kids the importance of this.

Joeboard · 2019-06-29T16:19:28+00:00

Open a roth IRA at 18. Max out your contributions. Compounding interest is the shit.

travlingsomewhere · 2019-06-29T18:45:03+00:00

Sales. Marketing.

This is more of a life skill but how to manage and handle your money.

Create LLC. All money that comes in gets separated into 3 accounts.

33% to Taxes, 33% to biz expenses, 33% to personal.

Personal gets separated into 3 accounts. 11% into savings, 11% into investments, 11% into spending.

Obviously only pay taxes on profits. Track expenses and have a bunch of writes off. This is a life skill we should all master young.

Ryanaissance · 2019-06-29T20:49:18+00:00

I'm 37, so I'll give my perspective of what I wished I did earlier.

Invest as early as I could have. I wish I had started back in the days of earning an allowance. I didn't start investing until my early 30s.
Lived like a pauper, or with my parents as long as I could get away with, and saved all my money so that I could be mortgage (debt in general) free as soon as possible.
Learned a foreign language, or two. So many times have opportunities arisen that would've benefited me had I been able to speak German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, or Chinese. Anyone one of those would've paid off above and beyond the massive initial time investment.
Communication skills. Probably this should be number one. Being able to communicate well both in writing and speaking is absolutely invaluable. Start with self-help books (almost any will teach you something), join toast-masters, spend more time being social (I'm pretty introverted so this was a big challenge), take a part-time sales job, learn how to write well and you will stand out positively.
Optional. Depends on the field you're in. Math and Programming skills in any field that's technical are a must, but even if you're only in a peripheral position to them, being able to understand what your technical team is telling you, even if at only a rudimentary level, is important.
Attitude. Not indulging in self-pity, anger, etc. Learning to recognize emotions you have, but letting them pass (or channeling them into something positive-good thing to do with anger). Stoicism is as valuable today as ever, perhaps even more so.
Time management. Efficient routines, discipline, delayed-gratification, and persistence are excellent habits to establish while young. I spent so much of my youth just doing what I felt like like. I was just directionless flotsam on a stormy sea.

I'm not familiar with the medical field, but I think the above should all apply.

/2cents

jrr6415sun · 2019-06-29T16:30:04+00:00

Working well with others, communication and how to lead a group. I have my own business and wish I had learned better management skills earlier. In the past I have had a lot of unmotivated employees and people who quit that I probably could have dealt with better if I learned earlier.

MurkyArtichoke · 2019-06-30T00:55:45+00:00

I regret that i didn't spend time really thinking about my future when i was younger. I think something towards IT, computing, software development etc is highly profitable in the long-run. I've always had an interest in this stuff, but never viewed it as something i would make a lot of money out of.

I think what many people have said here, about connecting with people is important. I know a lot of people who didn't necessarily do very well in school, but they are so sociable and likeable and they just seem to be successful. They make connections. If you have connections, you can get somewhere. You can know someone who will hook you up with good deals or a good job.

I'm not unhappy about my job, but man sometimes i think a lot about what "could have been".

Granite_Pill · 2019-06-29T18:45:14+00:00

Learn a skill that has a strong political lobby, that has lobbied the government to restrict the supply of labor with said skillset by the use arbitrary and costly licensing standards, thus ensuring high wages for that field. Any skillset with associations that lobbies congress to construct artificial barriers to entry in that field will be quite lucrative.

SolidLiquidGasPlasma · 2019-06-29T16:51:47+00:00

Honestly being able to save or spend money on what’s worth it has gotten me further than knowing another language.

AnubissWarior · 2019-06-29T17:34:39+00:00

Two thoughts:

Think of the future, not the past. If you were in any point from the 1970 to 1990s, I'd say programmer. Now programmer's while well paid, are a dime a dozen and the older you are, the more pink slips you're collecting. That's a plan for 10 years, not the next 50. You want to move up the ladder, be the one sanctioning the employee appreciation budget rather than receiving a 10th of it.
People skills, and not (just) the kind you learn at management school. My biggest professional asset has always been the length and depth of my network, my relationships, my integrity, my ability to value and judge people, my focus, my boldness and yes, the one skill you actually should master, communication. Listening, talking and leading. Those are hard to do, because no one teaches them. If they did, everyone would do it, and we would live in a much more rational world for it. Till then, win.

Finish your medical degree, became the absolute best damn doctor there ever was, and have fun being a crupier. That's impressive enough, and the best way to get all the high income you want.

redpilllogin · 2019-06-29T17:47:37+00:00

Search Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. All you need to know about money is there, the main point being avoiding debt.

jacencross · 2019-06-29T22:34:33+00:00

Not sure if either of these have been mentioned yet, but self-discipline and spelling/grammar. I am terrific with spelling and grammar (as long as I'm not using Google voice texting and not proofing afterward), and it's honestly a rare skill nowadays. I have absolutely zero self-discipline and that has probably cost me millions of dollars at this point, as well as negatively affected my health and social standing. Most of the answers on here have been pretty good, but without self-discipline you will never be great at any of those skills.

rnsbrum · 2019-06-30T01:10:48+00:00

Sales, Leadership and social skills. These skillset will lack so much in the next generation due to the lack of social interactions

therealbigoso · 2019-06-29T15:49:21+00:00

Agree with the two other answers. Investing and social adaptability.

You should learn how to read technical price charts for stocks, bitcoin, indices, ETFs and bonds. Even if you play the market conservatively, you’re ahead of most if not everyone else in your social circle and most likely their social circles. It’s a highly undervalued skill because most people don’t care about making dividends on their income. Ultimately once you learn, there are ways to automate it so you spend less time reading charts and more being the guy with a well tuned social ability. Because a man who can navigate networks of people and approach without shame is just as valuable as a man who knows how to invest his money.

mrnuttty · 2019-06-29T17:04:48+00:00

Software Development.

andyturbo2000 · 2019-06-29T17:36:57+00:00

Pharmacy. As a locum pharmacist charge $120 an hour. That or the oil industry, particularly deep sea diving. Think $1000 a day.

ldamien65 · 2019-06-29T17:48:17+00:00

Commenting to check back on this in a few hours.

dadfrombrad · 2019-06-29T19:33:37+00:00

Everything technology related.

seriousgourmetshit · 2019-06-30T05:49:13+00:00

Programming. Even if you dont want to be a developer, being able to identify areas in your work where you can write code to increase your efficiency can be pretty helpful.

acp_rdit · 2019-06-29T20:51:04+00:00

welding is the skill i wish i learned when i was younger

[deleted] · 2019-06-29T21:53:51+00:00

Selling.

throw_this_far_awayy · 2019-06-29T22:35:43+00:00

House hold Plumbing and electrical work. Beign able to unclog a drain, stop a leak, replace a light switch, replace a ceiling fan and stuff like that can save you huge bucks $$$.

bilabrin · 2019-06-30T00:03:37+00:00

Hard work.

manifestyourlife · 2019-06-30T00:23:39+00:00

Sales.

whoareyou31 · 2019-06-30T01:37:04+00:00

Really surprised nobody mentioned this.

Language. If you can master Spanish and Chinese on top of English, you probably dont need to be a doctor.

VasiliyZaitzev · 2019-06-29T17:19:44+00:00

One of the most important things is to keep spending under control, even if you are saving. There is a tendency to let one's lifestyle rise to the level of one's income. Avoid that.

Also, stay mobile. If you are a high income earner, living in a blue state can costs you millions over a lifetime of work, vs. living in a red state.

Uilleam_Uallas · 2019-06-30T01:54:01+00:00

Math.

lukesterboi1 · 2019-06-30T03:07:03+00:00

Definitely how to manage and invest money properly. Don't be that idiot who turns 60 and realizes, "Man! If I had started funding my [maybe Roth, maybe both depending on your financial situation] IRA as soon as I got my first job and stopped masturbating to thoughts of that girl I never even had the balls to make eye contact with in freshman year, I could have retired 10 years ago!"

Also learn to code (and no, CodeAcademy and bootcamps won't work. Those only teach you basic syntax. Head over to your local community college and finish up your other 2 years at uni for that shit. Last time I checked, CodeAcademy didn't have an architecture or compiler design section) or become an actuary or some decent shit that pays so you can actually have money.

slaterhuckle · 2019-06-30T03:59:13+00:00

Paintless Dent Repair can be extremely lucrative with the right company

piinkoo · 2019-06-30T05:00:13+00:00

Computer aided drafting, these jobs are in high demand and pay well.

holmesrjk · 2019-06-30T05:02:28+00:00

Are you in medschool right now? I am a doctor as well. I did made a good amount by launching a website educating people in laymen terms about the usual diseases and I used to affiliate advertisements of drugs from which I made a healthy cut. By this it not only allows you to revise your subjects,but making it more simpler means you have a better understanding of it. DM me if you need more info

blacwidonsfw · 2019-06-30T05:08:55+00:00

Yup programming make 100-400k a year

illmatic708 · 2019-06-30T06:47:30+00:00

Coding

GoldenAnthurium · 2019-06-30T06:52:28+00:00

If you're studying to be a Medical Doctor and you succeed, you won't need any other skills, end of story. But, some people run up a lot of student debt and never finish the Medical Doctor path, so if you're committed to being an Medical Doctor don't give up. If you do give up on the Medical Doctor path but you're halfway there, become a nurse, nurses can make a ton of money too and it's the same path as MD. Programming is a great skill, but it's time consuming to learn. Unless you're super-gifted, I can't see somebody studying programming AND Medical Doctor at the same time, I guess it's possible but you may end up failing at both programming AND Medical Doctor if you don't commit 100% to one or the other. If all else fails, become a plumber, those guys make a ton of money too LOL.

Coolvolt · 2019-06-30T06:52:48+00:00

The trades are good (carpentry, electrical, HVAC, plumbing etc) and will be increasing in demand for a long time, meaning plenty of work available. The knowledge you gain Learning any of these trades will follow you forever and can get you a job pretty much anywhere in the world. Not to mention many of these jobs are unionized with great benefits and a pension.

BiscottiGeneral · 2019-06-30T08:50:45+00:00

Sales. Nothing will make you more money than sales. I don’t care what anyone says. You can apply sales to every single career. Learn the art of persuasion and getting people to bend to your state of mind.

deadliftsforlife · 2019-07-07T06:38:56+00:00

saving and investing is great, but learning the tax system and how to take full advantage of it is important. you can benefit more from tax strategies if you own a business, so keep that in mind. basic things like computers/technology, cars, and office space can be written off your taxes if used correctly. sure, your accountant will tell you good things to do, but not all affordable accountants will give you the really valuable information. for instance, using uber/lyft app on your phone can enable to you to literally write off most of your car payments. also, if you own a luxury car for your business, you can enable uber/lyft when driving at all times just to take advantage of the tax deduction, because you are theoretically using it for "business". some guy eventually made a video when he realized it, but there are many tax strategies. hope this helps since taxes literally take up a huge chunk of your income.

PickUrPain123 · 2019-07-15T13:29:55+00:00

Top skills from an young engineer's perspective:

Investing: Slowly trickle money into the stock market by finding diversified funds to invest in. Leave these funds alone and they will blossom into a nice sum eventually.
Finance/Accounting: Learn personal accounting/finance along with disciplined budgeting of your money. You can't have money to invest if you spend it all.
Computer programming: data science, machine learning, and various other related skills will be very important in the future. However, if you are becoming a doctor I would focus on that first because mastering this field takes lots of time and effort that you likely do not have currently.

slamdunktiger86 · 2019-07-20T07:45:30+00:00

Not exactly high income, but in terms of cumulative spend, eating out is probably the highest expensive in my 20s after taxes and housing.

If I could suggest an expense lowering skill aligned with SMV, I would say:

Cooking.

One chef knife and a serrated knife = you can prep and cook nearly everything

Only started cooking seriously last year, holy shit did panties drop when I rolled up with a tomahawk ribeye steak for dinner (pan sear and finish in the oven to a sweet medium rare).

It’s so so easy honestly once you do it once or twice.

Wish I started doing this muchhh earlier. Big expensive dates are overrated. Why not just cook it up big at your place or hers? Hell, bedroom is right there after a bottle or two of vino.

Some wine knowledge goes a long way too. Decanting cheap wine is pretty clutch.

decoide · 2019-06-29T16:42:06+00:00

Door to door sales. If you can do that you can do any 9-5 job, but you wouldn’t want to if you got good at it.

Title	Whats a high income skill you should learn in your younger years?
Author	AnubissWarior
Upvotes	174
Comments	193
Date	June 29, 2019 3:22 PM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/c7064n/whats_a_high_income_skill_you_should_learn_in/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/whats-a-high-income-skill-you-should-learn-in-your.243862 https://theredarchive.com/post/243862