It is worth pointing out that many times there is no meaningful correlation between education and income.

One can statistically show that an average college graduate, over the course of his or her adult working life, will make more money than an average high school graduate who does not go on to higher education. Any knowledgeable person can show this as a fact.

The problem is that many times the difference between the two is not as great as some would think. It is not like all college graduates make an average of $100,000 a year, and all high school graduates make an average of $20,000 a year.

It is a fact that if you are a physician or an attorney with a professional degree, well placed and competent, you can make a potentially huge income compared to people who do not have a medical degree, or a juris doctor degree.

But what about all of the college graduates without professional degrees who end up as a cook or behind the counter at McDonald’s while they are trying to find a challenging, good paying position that interests them?

Clearly, without a college degree that leads to a high paying profession, you cannot expect to knock down the big money.

Some graduates have a bachelor’s degree, have been out of school for 10 years and are making less than $30,000 a year. You are going to have a hard time convincing them that a college education has put them on easy street.

The reason they are making only $30,000 a year is not because they are underpaid for the service they are performing, it is more likely because they are underemployed.

College graduates in this position generally do not have an education problem, a training problem, an intelligence problem, or a refusal to work problem. They usually have a marketing problem. They simply do not know how to market themselves.

Just as there is many times no meaningful correlation between education and income, so is there no meaningful correlation between intelligence and income. There are educated idiots everywhere. A high IQ (intelligence quotient, your ability to learn quickly) does not automatically equate to a high income.

Many times there is also no meaningful correlation between talent and income. Have you ever heard of the proverbial starving artist? How many painters are waiters at restaurants while they are waiting to be discovered? How many talented actors have gone to Hollywood and, like thousands of others, not been discovered?

How can we then explain why some people (generally sales representatives) earn more than $100,000 in annual income and do so with a high school degree, and sometimes even as a high school dropout?

The answer is that you can many times show a meaningful correlation between people skills and income.

In almost every case, when you can identify a person who is not in an education-driven, high paying profession, does not have a college degree, and makes $100,000 plus a year, you will likely discover a person with obvious people skills. When you listen to them talk, they may not have perfect subject-verb agreement, however, they know how to relate to prospects at an emotional level, and use their winning personality to create a likeability factor that results in sales.

You do not need a college education to generate a lot of income, you do need to have people skills, and know how to relate to people at an emotional level before you begin benefit selling a prospect on your product or service.

Power Secret Six: When the Protestant Ethic Does Not Work for You

This is the Protestant ethic: work hard, be thrifty, keep your nose clean, and good things will happen (like such success being a sign that one is saved). Too often today, people who follow the Protestant ethic find that good things do not automatically happen (like getting hired or promoted when qualified), which might help explain why a lot of folks have little use for the Protestant ethic these days.

How many times have you seen a fellow employee hired or promoted who was not really the most qualified person?

Yes, you are seething too. Someone might say: “I can not believe they hired that person,” or “I can not believe they promoted that jerk. If they only knew.”

The reality is that 50% of the time the person hired or promoted is not the most qualified. It is important to note that another 50% of the time, the person hired or promoted is the best choice based on his or her qualifications.

Why does this happen? The answer is fairly obvious. People who hire get a lot of pressure to go through all their relatives, friends, neighbors and lovers to find prospects to hire or promote. This is why you need to know that 60% of hiring and promoting involves influence, the person getting hired or promoted simply knows someone who wants to help him or her.

Granted that much of this occurs at entry level to mid-management positions, but it occurs none the less.

Here is some good news: the people who get hired or promoted are oftentimes not the most qualified, but usually they have done the best job of presenting what it is they have to offer.

This means that many potential hires who are not the most qualified can also get hired or promoted when they do the best job of presenting what it is they have to offer. This is exactly what you need to do in the process of getting hired or promoted: the best possible job of presenting what it is you have to offer, despite your qualifications or lack thereof. It almost goes without saying that knowing someone who wants to help you is an even bigger factor in getting hired or promoted.

Copyright 2006 Ed Bagley

By: Ed Bagley