Money...

Education is all about the exchange of knowledge such that those who receive it will be able to comprehend more complex problems and derive solutions efficiently and effectively. This, translated into economic terms, means that education is a tool used to increase the worth of people. Our value is measured by how much we prove that we know and can handle through examinations, presentations and daily social interactions. In other words, the better we are at tackling problems, the more valued we are in this world.

Sometimes, I feel that we are so engrossed in educating ourselves that we forget why we have to in the first place. If you could clear your mind and think of why, you will find that all this education is simply for securing a well-paying job in the future. Of course, we hone our inter-personal skills and develop a logical mind to prevent ourselves from being gullible through education, and even be able to help other needy people with our skills and knowledge, but the main aim is still to earn money to sustain our lives.

Money makes the world go round, but to think of it, even without money the world is still round and spins around. Unfortunately, we have since long ago connected our lives with money like we did with technology, so we can never live without them. It is interesting to note that we can never earn enough money, just like we can never make enough friends, for time is something that we are always short of. Therefore, we are always on the quest to get things done quickly and get the most out of it, so finding ways and means to earn money efficiently is never foreign to most of us.

When we are still studying, earning money will mean looking for our parents and coaxing them into parting with their cash. Otherwise, it will be looking for part-time jobs at some fast food restaurant or being a sales assistant at a retail store. After we have completed our education, it is unlikely that we continue to leech off our parents. Our pay expectation will be much higher as we will be deemed to be of a greater worth once we have those certificates, so obviously the jobs that we seek have to pay better. Furthermore, as Singaporeans, we are pickier, so we require that the job location be accessible and near our homes, have plenty of incentives, have flexible working hours, etc. Normally, the best paying jobs are proportionate to the amount of effort and money spent during education, such as investors, lawyers and doctors. There are also jobs that yield money that is proportionate to the amount of effort spent after education, such as writers, designers and salesmen, just to name a few.

From here, I would like to draw the focus of this write-up to this particular group of salesmen, who call themselves multi-level marketers or network marketers. They operate on a business model which thrives on human greed, which is unethical to many but to those who have joined such companies, it is an opportunity to move from being poor to being rich. It is often said that those who are in such companies for a considerable length of time are reaping monetary rewards into the tens of thousands every month. Such companies usually do not pay their employees a salary, for the employees earn hefty commissions by selling the company’s products, recruiting more personnel and from other employees under them who are also doing the same. The products or services are often healthcare related because it is one of the easiest to sell and consumers will most likely have to follow-up for prolonged periods of time. Everyone wants to live a long healthy life, and so does the multi-level marketer.

I am not saying that multi-level marketing is evil or bad. It is a legitimate career that our government legalised to reduce unemployment rate. They offer the best personalised services that salesmen in retail stores can never provide, such as meeting you at a place convenient to you, delivering the products to your doorstep, explaining their products and services near your home etc. However, they are often not able to provide comparisons for products or services, and you are paying more than what you should. You can say that the cost of the personalised services is added into the product that you are purchasing, so it is an option whether you wish to buy the product off the shelf or through them. Just when you thought you have that option, they will let you know that the product or service they are offering is one-of-a-kind and cannot be found elsewhere. This eliminates the need for comparison and your option of buying it off the shelves. To complicate the situation, you usually know the multi-level marketers personally, which makes it harder for you reject their offers. When it comes to such a scenario, which happens most of the time, the marketer loses a friend and goes looking for another customer. The next time the marketer tries to call that friend out, the marketer will most surely be rejected due to the fears that he/she will try to sell products or services again. Business and friends do not mix well. That is the way things are.

Is money more important than friends? Will we ever be satisfied with the amount of money we earn? After earning so much and if one fine day we die of a freak accident, will we die happy? If it is not about money then why are we so stressed up about studies right now? Shouldn’t we be focusing on the more meaningful things in life like assisting people and helping to think of solutions to alleviate the problems our society is facing? And shouldn’t all of us males be giving all out when we serve NS? It’s still all about the money isn’t it? If nobody pays us well we don’t give as much? I have my reservations.