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The money you earn is a form of life energy. It’s not just numbers in a bank account. It’s a measure of your mental, physical and emotional energies – and your time.
Unfortunately, the market only values what is rare. So the vast majority of people only earn standard incomes because they are doing things that a lot of others are already doing.
If you really want to earn more money, you have to start doing things that nobody is doing right now. And that means that you need to rethink your approach to work.
Switching careers and learning something new is always a scary experience, and you wonder how things will work out. But it can also be a rewarding one too. Check out the following skills that could double your pay.
Leveraging People Around You
We tend to associate leveraging with people taking risks in financial markets. But you don’t need to be a banker to use this skill – just somebody with authority over others.
Let’s say, for instance, that you’re a manager and you oversee a team of people. Unsophisticated managers will see those below them as people who require management and who drain energy. But top managers always view people as a resource, no matter how bad they might be.
Think about why some people get so rich. It’s not because they are trading all their time for money. Instead, it’s because they leverage the efforts of others. A company’s CEO doesn’t do the most work – not usually – but he does earn the most money. And it’s all thanks to his leverage of other people in the organization.
Learning Rare Skills In High Demand, Such As Cybersecurity
Here’s another way to earn more money: gain a rare skill in high demand.
One such skill that fits this requirement at the moment is cybersecurity. Firms want employees who can see more threats to their organizations and protect them. What’s more, you can often get certifications in these fields surprisingly easily. It just requires knowing where to find the best resources. Once you know where to look online, the actual learning part can happen relatively quickly.
Starting Now
Waiting until later to take action to improve your pay is always a losing strategy. The best way to make your way up the ranks is to start acting the part now.
Instead of taking a passive approach to your work, become more active. Look for ways to help the company and, if necessary, perform strategic tasks that will get you noticed. Find opportunities to impress senior management whenever you can.
Prove That Giving You A Raise Is A Good Investment
Employers usually consider raises on the order of 10 percent to be reasonable. But if you want to get them to go higher than this, you’ll have to provide strong evidence for why you’re worth the extra money. But that’s not always easy.
The best way to approach this problem is to figure out how much you’re actually worth to the company in dollar terms. This way, you can point out how much money you’re making and then compare it to what you get paid. If there’s a large difference, it’ll encourage the company you work for to pay you more.
Why? Because it works in their interest to do so. If you’re a $50,000 a year employee producing $150,000 of benefits for the firmr, then you can do the same elsewhere. And your managers and bosses certainly do not want that.
Accept That You May Need To Leave To Get A Big Pay Jump
Your manager might be open to the idea of a pay rise. But he or she will unlikely allow a pay jump of the kind you can expect by moving between firms.
Remember, many companies don’t want to pay star employees extra because of the effect that it could have on morale. They would rather keep the peace and allow a star colleague to leave, instead of paying them what they are actually worth.
By contrast, new firms are often willing to pay for talent when they see it. So that could be an excellent way of getting paid more.
Provide A Timeline For Value Creation
Another tactic you can try is providing your boss with a timeline of how much money you will generate for the firm, and by when. This way, it is easier for the people who decide your pay to see how you’re benefiting them.
Please note, that you will not get a pay rise for nothing. The payment you get is simply a measure of the value that you bring to the table.
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