Post: #1

So basically I was slacking all life from work and now at 22 I don't have any valuable skill i can put to use.

What skill should I learn to make me more valuable as a person and that i can benefit financially from it? I realized I should do something with my youth and energy before it's too late. I'm willing to put up 2-3 years of work for it until i can rip the benefits.

Post: #2

why are even asking this? have you not browsed the forums, being a member since 2013?

oils sands, coding, writing, etc, etc, etc. its all out there.

Post: #3

(02-16-2014 07:49 AM)dunn Wrote:  So basically I was slacking all life from work and now at 22 I don't have any valuable skill i can put to use.

What skill should I learn to make me more valuable as a person and that i can benefit financially from it? I realized I should do something with my youth and energy before it's too late. I'm willing to put up 2-3 years of work for it until i can rip the benefits.

Learn to write, then learn direct response marketing and copywriting.
You'll never starve if you're any good at either of them.

Post: #4

I would say learning how to hustle would be very beneficial. Find the best real estate agency where you are, try to get a job there, then ask the top performers for advice and mentorship.

There is money in real estate no matter which country you're in.

Post: #5

Discover your own personal interests, find out what makes the most money ????? PROFIT!

Post: #6

Even at 22, any skills you do have are still latent and not fully developed. What are your natural strengths and interests?

Oh, and forget about the "2-3 years" thing. Unless it's a physical skill, it's more like 10 years to achieve professional status at what you do, and also to reap rewards.

Look up Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 Hours rule.

Quote:Gladwell explains that reaching the 10,000-Hour Rule, which he considers the key to success in any field, is simply a matter of practicing a specific task that can be accomplished with 20 hours of work a week for 10 years. He also notes that he himself took exactly 10 years to meet the 10,000-Hour Rule, during his brief tenure at The American Spectator and his more recent job at The Washington Post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)

Post: #7

Cooking. If you're good at cooking, you'll save gobs of money and improve your health. Plus, easy and classic date.

Post: #8

(02-16-2014 08:18 AM)DaveR Wrote:  I would say learning how to hustle would be very beneficial. Find the best real estate agency where you are, try to get a job there, then ask the top performers for advice and mentorship.

There is money in real estate no matter which country you're in.

This is terrific advice for a whole host of reasons and something I can't recommend any more strongly.

during college, i got a real estate salesperson license and the experience changed my whole life around. PM me for details regarding the licensing process.

the benefits were innumerable:

1. the top performers were awe-inspiring to watch. the true alpha dogs of the business world, they have the concept of push-pull down to a science. you'll pull girls with no problems afterwards, or at the very least, know how to close more deals and lessen your flake rate.

2. you meet people with deep pockets (esp if you work commercial properties, like i did). to this day, i'm still in touch with a chinese multi-millionaire in NY who wants to wed me to his daughter. and also with a 65-year old rich brazilian dude whose son and i still vacation together at his dad's amazing condo in miami beach.

3. there is potentially big money to be made. i would recommend selling commercial properties, because residential is too much about matching the clients' "emotional" needs. My first deal I worked on for almost 6 months before it closed. $10 million building, my cut was 0.5%. not bad for a kid straight out of college.

4. no set hours. it's the least 9-5 job I've ever worked. my boss told me from day 1 that i didn't have to come in to the office and many of the top guys didn't. the cellphone was their top weapon of choice and if they had it, they could do their jobs. that doesn't mean they were lazy though. they spent their time wining and dining clients. or working out at the gym. or going to their kids' soccer game. not playing video games.

everybody, at some point in their lives, will have to deal with some form of real estate, whether it's buying property for themselves or maybe investing in one. knowing something about this field will only benefit you. i'd recommend learning more about real estate as well finance, particularly personal banking.

Post: #9

Photoshop and printing is a useful skill to commit insurance fraud. That is real easy money.

Investing and trading stocks. Read 5 different books on the subject and spend some of your free time figuring it out. Its hard to lose a lot of money if you're not stupid.

Other criminal things like smuggling are also easily done and can pay off.

Post: #10

(02-17-2014 04:51 AM)spalex Wrote:  Photoshop and printing is a useful skill to commit insurance fraud. That is real easy money.

Investing and trading stocks. Read 5 different books on the subject and spend some of your free time figuring it out. Its hard to lose a lot of money if you're not stupid.

Other criminal things like smuggling are also easily done and can pay off.

Post: #11

(02-17-2014 04:51 AM)spalex Wrote:  Photoshop and printing is a useful skill to commit insurance fraud. That is real easy money.

Investing and trading stocks. Read 5 different books on the subject and spend some of your free time figuring it out. Its hard to lose a lot of money if you're not stupid.

Other criminal things like smuggling are also easily done and can pay off.

I've thought about this. I was inspired by the guy that changed the loan terms a banked offered him, printed it out, and they didn't bother to reread the contract before signing it.

Not commiting insurance fraud, but throwing the peoples elbow back at the banks.

Post: #12

(02-16-2014 07:49 AM)dunn Wrote:  So basically I was slacking all life from work and now at 22 I don't have any valuable skill i can put to use.

What skill should I learn to make me more valuable as a person and that i can benefit financially from it? I realized I should do something with my youth and energy before it's too late. I'm willing to put up 2-3 years of work for it until i can rip the benefits.

Learn how to control and manipulate your supervisors, your co-workers, and everyone else where you work. You gain skills from experience. You gain experience by getting opportunities to do things. You gain these opportunities by learning how to manipulate the people who can give them to you. You manipulate them into think you can do the job.

You manipulate when you look for a job. You manipulate when you're in meetings. You manipulate when you are up for a promotion.

Post: #13

Negotiation
Effective Business writing
Sales (and more generally, "persuasion")
Copywriting (persuading in writing)
Public speaking
Basic project management
Basic management skills
Personal finance


All powerful, highly transferrable skills that will pay dividends for life.

I also agree in principle with the guy above, but I think "manipulate" sounds pretty icky and win/lose. I prefer the term "influence", and also a win-win frame - "How can I get what I want by helping them get what they want?". With that you'll go far.

Also, I wouldn't touch trading stocks - that's a five-year learning curve with snakes at every turn looking to relieve you of your money. It's more scammy than "internet marketing". Proceed with caution, and then preferably only after a few more years figuring out how the world works....

The real-estate career recommendation is very smart though. Especially commercial property. You'll learn so much from that and deal with some very smart/rich/successful people.

Post: #14

(02-16-2014 10:04 AM)Sombro Wrote:  Even at 22, any skills you do have are still latent and not fully developed. What are your natural strengths and interests?

Oh, and forget about the "2-3 years" thing. Unless it's a physical skill, it's more like 10 years to achieve professional status at what you do, and also to reap rewards.

Look up Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 Hours rule.
]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)

Can't agree with this, if "professional" simply means "competent and able earn a living from it".

If you're extroverted and persuasive, you can step into sales jobs and become a great salesman after 1-3 years.

If you're a great written communicator, you can learn copywriting from a few books and a few weeks practice and be in business very quickly.

If you're analytical and logical, you can learn to program in 6 months and get a well paying developer job if you apply yourself.

The 10,000 hours rule is for becoming an elite performer - world class athlete, musician, etc. It's bizarre that people keep applying it to career advice.

There are also usually diminishing rewards to becoming a "master" in your career, unless your career is very much a profit center. 10 years of programming experience might make you a jedi-level programmer, but you may not earn even twice what a smart comp-sci grad would earn fresh out of college. However, 10 years of high-end sales, or 10 years of growing your own business, could leave you earning 7 figures per year. Picking what to excel at is key.

Post: #15

I wonder what happened to OP

Post: #16

Critical thinking: know when someone is trying to BS you.

Post: #17

Learn about robotics. Those things will do all the work in the near future. Learn how to beuild or program them and you'll have a job when others don't have one.

I'm gonna push this on my 7 year nephew. Programming and electrical engineering sure are nerdy jobs but at least he'll have one.

Post: #18

Learn how to analyze a situation, proposition or potential deal. Also, learn how negotiate.

Post: #19

(04-06-2015 02:08 AM)RichieP Wrote:  There are also usually diminishing rewards to becoming a "master" in your career, unless your career is very much a profit center. 10 years of programming experience might make you a jedi-level programmer, but you may not earn even twice what a smart comp-sci grad would earn fresh out of college. However, 10 years of high-end sales, or 10 years of growing your own business, could leave you earning 7 figures per year. Picking what to excel at is key.

That's a great point. Without a sense for how to run a business and all the other stuff RichieP outlined in his first post, you'll always be working for someone else. Maybe that works for you. I know guys who work when they want to and take time off when they want. Programming is a skill just like welding or pipefitting. If you want to make real money, that comes from getting other people to work for you.

Post: #20

Learn discipline.

Then you can learn anything else.