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Tired of being
poor and disgusted with her husband, she was convinced that
moving to San Francisco was the only solution. Her assumption is
that her relatives, average middle class people will take care
of them. She states she’d very much like to be closer to them.
In her mind the entire transition would only take about 6-months
for her husband to find a high paying job and all of the
family's problems would be solved.
She wasn’t happy
with our advice. We suggested she consider the reality of
her present situation and that moving would not solve her problems;
moving at this stage given the information she provided would
likely increase her strife. We did state her goal is
obtainable if she plans first and then takes steps toward
accomplishing it. This made her considerably unhappy.
Her request was for a prepackaged solution and agreement with
her direction, not dissention and additional responsibility.
The advice
seekers dilemma is quite common. The more challenging our
economy becomes, the more people flee from small towns to cities
in search of better employment and a better life. Given
this we decided to take this question and explore it further.
Our objective at
Couples Company is to help people achieve their goals, not enable
them to live in fantasy. This article describes in-depth
the factors we considered in our advice seeker's situation and how we came to our conclusion.
This article has three parts, all based upon the information and
situation of our writer. First we'll explain the reality
of job prospects and living conditions people in our advice
seeker's situation will face moving from a small town to one of
this country's major cities. Second, we'll present the action plan,
the solution to
getting out of poverty and achieving middle class within 10-years.
Finally, we'll tie it up with a few success stories and some
tough love coaching. We hope this information will help you to
focus on the solution rather than the obstacles. If you
are currently looking to move out of poverty into middle class,
what we are presenting will get you there. All you need is
the courage and the tenacity to do it.
Skip to
Success Stories
The Reality of Major City
Living:
If you're tied
of small town living and thinking your chances are better in a
major city, you may be right. However, the skills that
allow you to make a living in a small town may force you
further down the economic ladder in a major metro. Let's
look at our advice seeker's situation.
Several items
are implied by her story. First he husband is not risk taker.
If he were, he would not stay in a low paying job for twelve
years, never receive a promotion and do nothing to change the
situation. Moving would be extremely traumatic to him, and her
resentment would increase as his job prospects in a new area
decrease. This is a psychological issue and in some ways an
intrinsic personality trait; there’s nothing wrong with not
liking risk unless the fear of it keeps you from being happy.
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His salary also
implies another reality. His work is a commodity. Commodities
go for the lowest bid in major cities because there is an
abundance of people with these skills. Given no advanced education, special
skills or ambition, the family would be forced to fight against
the the immigrant population, legal and illegal,
similarly skilled for the same low paying jobs. He will receive
the same salary he’s earning in a small town; the difference is
his cost of living will increase 200% to 300%. This cost
of living increase means the $8.35 per hour he is living on in a
small town will have the same buying power in the big city as
current earnings of $2.76 to $4.17 per hour in his small town.
Figure out what he can afford at this reduced rate where he
currently lives and this will be his lifestyle in a major city.
How do
immigrants make it on this? Immigrant families
have an edge over American citizens. Not only do they have a community that
will help them, they will live with 2-5 families in the same
home. Most
small town American’s won’t do this or cannot do this.
For our writer
the problem is her husband’s pay sentences his family to the
ghetto since a month’s salary or the maximum unemployment
benefits won’t even pay the rent in most California communities. Outside of
Honolulu, The Bay Area jockeys with New York City as the most
expensive place to live in the United States. Her dream of a
better life rested upon moving rather than strategy, and a
naiveté about the true dynamics of large city.
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Big City Consideration #1
New York, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Chicago are the power
centers of the United States. These five cities draw the best
and the brightest in the world. Competition is fierce. The
carnage of failed dreams and substandard skills is littered up
and down the corridors of back alleys, tenements and section-8
housing. But you can succeed by becoming one of the best and
brightest and following their example.
What the best
and the brightest do is cut their teeth in smaller cities first,
gaining the experience, education and network before hitting the
majors. They
experience success and a few failures before taking on the
career challenges of a lifetime. The best and the
brightest prepare to do battle; they do not wander into it. Even
with all of these things going for them, education, network and
experience many will fail within 5-years and return to smaller
cities. Large cities are the jungle and it is survival of
the fittest.
The Hiring Myth Many large
companies in these major cities with entry-level positions like
filing, mailroom and receptionist will not hire anyone without a
bachelors degree (or someone who is at least very close to
achieving one), even if you have experience in the position.
Nearly every multi-national advertising agency, financial
services and consulting group has this policy in Los Angeles. This is because they want people they can promote, not those
limited by their skills, business savvy and ambition. They see
their employees as investments and only want the best and the
brightest, even in these lowly positions.
On a personal note: I don't have an MBA. I have a
Bachelor of Science in Marketing, a certificate in Industrial
Purchasing and dual Associates in Education and Management in
addition to six years of executive education through seminars,
workshops and retreats. Not having a graduate degree has
hurt me in Los Angeles where MBA's are common. I've lost
freelance gigs because I don't have a MBA. I've been
declined funding for Couples Company because I don't have a MBA.
I've been disqualified from consideration on the East Coast
because I didn't go to an Ivy League School. Yes, this
makes me angry. Yes, it is not fair. Unfortunately
it is reality and even though I've accomplished everything a
graduate student learns, on paper before those whom do not know
my work or me, I am disqualified.
The simple hard to swallow truth is this. People in power
have MBA's, BS's and BA's and they hire people like themselves.
The exception to this is when through your network you cultivate
these relationships and people learn to respect you for your
work and achievements. The other exception is if you are
over 45. This is because for those born prior to 1956, a
two year degree accomplished what a 4 year degree does today. |
