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2016-12-08
Financially Investing in One's Own Employment Status
By w̶i̶e̶l̶d̶l̶i̶n̶u̶x̶.̶c̶o̶m̶ author Morgan Jassen
As the title says, this blog post is about investing in one's employment status, but a non-investor might describe this same process/idea as "switching to a new job for more money". However I'm writing about the idea from the point-of-view of a financial investor.
The idea is financially investing in one's own employment status, or switching jobs as a form of investing.
Below I focus on switching to a new job in a different company, however the same mindset and principles will apply to switching to a new job (higher salary) in one's same/existing company. In fact that may be more desirable in most cases.
Rich Dad book* defines investing as buying an asset, and an asset as something that puts money in one's pocket.
This includes stocks, rental properties, and also buying-something-for-a-low-price (because then it can be sold at a high price)
What if one doesn't currently have money? Rich Dad book lays out scenarios where one could borrow money and leverage it to buy assets.
Here's another option I propose.
I propose buying one's current job from one's employer,( for the price of one's current wages/salary,) and then selling it to a new employer for a higher price.
In other words switching jobs; finding a higher-paying job.
This is just a different way of thinking of that act. It is a distinctly different way of looking at the act of job-seeking/ job-switching -- looking at it through the eyes of an investor.
This is an opportunity to buy something low and sell it high. It is the opportunity to buy an asset. If one can see one's employment status (one's partaking-of-payroll (n.)) as an asset, then to invest in it, one would buy it for low, and sell it to someone else for high.
Also, If one can sell one's employment status immediately after having bought it (i.e. switch between jobs without becoming unemployed in-between), then there will be no transaction cost. This would be an ideal way to perform this investment. Less ideal would be buying one's job early, then finding a new buyer, then selling the job. (i.e. being unemployed between jobs)
I'm especially glad to be able to think of this idea from the point of view of an investor, because I myself often feel like I'm in the situation where I'm having a hard time identifying assets to buy, and also have a hard time accepting the risk of borrowing money with which to use to invest.
But I may be more willing to invest in my own employment status (my own partaking of payroll) and resell it at a higher price. As with any investment there will be risk. But it is another option -- another investment to choose from -- one that is readily available to me, and to most people, and that doesn't require borrowing money.
In summary, thinking like an investor, one investment available to most, that doesn't require borrowing money, is to re-sell one's employment status to a new buyer(or to the current buyer) for more money.
Tags: #investing
* Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-- That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!; Kiyosaki, Robert T.; New York : Warner, 2000
Note: This page content was updated multiple times, including in 2023.