As a teenager you have probably noticed that your "worth" in the "job market" is not very high. For example, when you go searching for a job you probably find that most of them pay minimum wage. Have you ever wondered why you make minimum wage? Have you ever wondered why other people make $20 an hour, or $50 an hour, or more? What is it that determines your value in the job market, and how can you increase your value? These are extremely important questions. Once you answer them you are in position to do something about changing your own value.
Your value in the marketplace is controlled primarily by what you know. A very simple and surprisingly accurate way to understand why this is the case involves the basic rule of supply and demand. Right now, as a teenager, you have not acquired the knowledge that allows you to earn more than minimum wage. That means that most of the jobs you are offered are "low on the totem pole." Either they are "entry level" positions, or they are "unskilled" positions like sweeping floors, unloading boxes, flipping burgers and so on. Most of these jobs pay minimum wage because it doesn't take long to train somebody to do the job.
In the case of minimum wage workers, the supply of workers outstrips the demand. As an employee you have no leverage because you can be replaced in an instant.
If you want to make more money, then you have to learn a skill. As a general rule, the longer it takes you to learn a skill the more valuable the skill is. This occurs because the length of time needed to obtain a skill tends to limit the supply of people who possess the skill. You have to keep an eye on the demand side as well, however. If you spend ten years becoming the most knowledgeable expert in the world on some topic, that knowledge will have no value (in terms of money, anyway) unless you find someone who needs the knowledge you possess. Preferably you will learn a skill that puts you in a place where there is a large demand and a small supply. That is a place where you can make a lot of money for what you do.
If you keep the laws of supply and demand in mind, a lot of things begin to make more sense. For example:
- Why do doctors and lawyers make a lot of money (a good lawyer bills between $100 and $200 per hour. Famous lawyers bill much more)? Because it takes 6 to 10 years to take the classes and pass the tests required to become a doctor or a lawyer. Therefore the supply is low relative to the demand for doctors and lawyers.
- Why does a commercial pilot make so much money (for example, pilots with American Airlines average $120,000 per year (1997))? Because it takes 10 years to accumulate the hours and pass all the tests necessary to fly a commercial airliner. Therefore the supply is low relative to the demand. If all of a sudden 10,000 new pilots were to appear on the market then wages would go down, but that won't happen because it is very hard to become a pilot.
- Why does a person who is reliable and does a job well generally rise in a company and earn more than someone who is slack? Because reliable, trustworthy employees are rare compared to slack people.
- Why does a mechanic with 20 years of experience earn more than a new mechanic? Because a person with 20 years of experience has seen a lot more problems and is therefore better at diagnosing and fixing things than a new mechanic.
It really is important to start early. Have you ever seen an adult do something and been amazed by it? For example, have you ever seen a star athlete do things on the field that amaze you? Have you ever seen your parents handle a sticky situation in a way that amazes you? Have you ever seen a master craftsman build something beautiful and asked, "How in the world does he/she do that?" People who are able to do amazing things get to the point of amazement by practicing. Every day that you practice a skill you learn something new, and it is what you learn that makes you valuable. That applies to computer programming, car repair, public speaking, basketball, and everything else.
Let's imagine that you are trying to learn a new skill. It doesn't really matter what the skill is. The first day on the job you know nothing, and as a result you are hopelessly bad. But on that first day you learn one or two things about the skill. The second day on the job you are a tiny bit better and you learn a couple more things. The third day you are a tiny bit better and you learn a couple more things... And so on. Adults can do "amazing things" because they have spent thousands of days doing whatever it is they do. In their brains they hold thousands of experiences that they draw on to handle today's situations. The sooner you start adding information to your brain's storehouse, the more valuable you can become.
Let's say that you are a normal teenager. Let's say that you would like to start learning a skill that is valuable. Let's say that you have access to the web. If you like computers, then you are in luck. It is possible for anyone to learn a wide variety of computer skills on the web. What I would like to show you in this article is several of the different (and valuable) specialties you can learn, on your own, in the field of computing. I will also show you where you can go on the web to get started teaching yourself.
Will your efforts help you earn more money? Yes. Even as a teenager you can significantly improve your earning power by learning computer skills.
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