TC&MN #7 - Mastering Your Tech Career: Unleash Your Worth in 2024!

Why Do Most People Fail to Get the Raise or Salary They Want?

Many people fail to articulate their values to describe what they are worth.

Your ability to convey the 'why' and 'how' behind your work is crucial in the tech world. It's not just about the 'what,' but about articulating the impact.

Articulating your value will allow you to be compensated for what you are worth.

Why most people fail:

1. Lack of a clear framework to evaluate their skills.

2. Struggling to communicate their work's value in terms of results.

3. Failing to document their achievements leads to forgetfulness.

In today's fast-paced tech landscape, expertise isn't just a buzzword; it's your currency for success.

Expertise is your leverage. Deep expertise in a critical tech area can enable you to earn substantial equity and fast-track your journey to financial freedom. This isn't limited to any particular discipline; whether in Engineering, Product Management, Sales, Marketing, Finance, or Leadership, your expertise can be traded for substantial equity.

“Build a unique, irreplaceable skillset that can't be automated or outsourced, and you'll unlock doors to opportunity and freedom.” - Naval Ravakant, Tech thought leader and investor.

As we start the New Year, you must lock in all of the valuable lessons that you learned from last year, as well as all of the results that you delivered. Don’t make the mistake that 95% of other tech employees do. Document your results so you can tell your story how it deserves to be told.

Your action is to inventory your 2023 achievements and results!

Don’t follow the herd and store your hard-earned results in your head. If you don’t spend some time documenting your results, you will forget some of the best bits. My wealth journey started when I could document and see my value written down, and then I used that to get the best compensation the market would bear.

Click Here to Access your Career Capital Log for 2023

To prepare set aside 45 min, turn off the phone and distractions, and invest the time to document your results. This will be worth it.

Video Walkthrough of Career Capital Log

Below are the steps to populate the worksheet:

1. Accomplishments: Document all the key accomplishments that you achieved over the year. Go back to January of 2023 and fill out this column first. What projects did you complete last year for your customers, company, department, or team?

2. Impact: List out the positive outcomes that you achieved from your accomplishments. Focus on the outside in. Start with impacts to customer, then company, department, team and yourself. Quantify these.

3. Skills Demonstrated: Where did you showcase some of your deep skills or develop others? Build a business case for how you are building skills and developing yourself for future roles.

4. Lessons Learned: We learn the most from big wins and failures. The biggest value we get from the losses is the valuable lessons learned. Make sure you complete this.

5. Review and Plan: After completing this exercise, review the sheet and ensure you have captured everything. Use this as a look back to what you did and plan for the future.

This simple but powerful tool captures all the salient things you did throughout the year. Use this to prepare for end-of-the-year reviews and interviews.

The Truth You Won't Hear Elsewhere:

Here's the truth: if you can precisely track and articulate your results and tell the story of your career well, you'll outshine 90% of the competition.

Our goal is to help you find the freedom and success you deserve.

2024 - Let’s get to work!

Have questions? Hit reply and Ask - We answer all questions.

035 🎙️ Navigating the Tech Landscape: Strategies for Leveraging Your Expertise

Building expertise is crucial for technology employees to succeed and achieve their financial goals. This episode breaks down the concept of Expertise, what it means for you, and how it relates to financial independence.

Expertise is the foundation of moving from working for Tech Equity to Financial Independence. Learn the fundamentals 👇🏼

What Does 2024 Hiring Look Like?

The 2024 tech hiring landscape promises to be complex and nuanced, with a mix of challenges and opportunities. Over the break, I spent time on the phone with hiring managers, finance directors, and recruiters.

Here is the summary of what I heard from multiple sources.

Challenges:

• Economic uncertainties: Will there be more of a global economic slowdown that could impact tech budgets and lead to hiring freezes or cuts at some companies? Or will the planned budget rate cuts by the Fed give us a soft landing? With these uncertainties, make sure you must stay apprised of the macro market and especially how your company is performing.

• AI's influence: The rise of automation and AI could continue to grow and its impact on roles is coming. However, it's important to remember that AI also creates new opportunities, especially in areas like machine learning and data analysis.

• Increased competition for talent: As the demand for skilled tech professionals continues to outpace supply, the competition for top talent will remain fierce. This means companies will need to offer competitive salaries, benefits, and work-life balance options to attract and retain employees.

Opportunities:

• Focus on niche skills: With the increasing complexity of technology, companies will be seeking professionals with specialized skills in areas like cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. These skills will be highly sought-after and command top salaries.

• Shift to remote work: The trend will likely continue, opening up opportunities for professionals outside traditional tech hubs. This could benefit companies and workers, expanding the talent pool and offering greater flexibility.

• Rise of startups and smaller companies: While some larger tech companies might be cautious in hiring, smaller firms and startups may continue to grow and hire aggressively. This could be a good opportunity for skilled professionals seeking dynamic and fast-paced environments.

Here are some final thoughts and considerations: 

• Location: Certain tech hubs like Silicon Valley and New York might see slower hiring, while emerging tech cities and regions with lower living costs could see increased activity.

• Company culture and values: With the focus on attracting and retaining talent, companies with strong employer branding and emphasis on employee well-being will be at an advantage.

• Adaptability and continuous learning: The ability to adapt to changing technologies and continuously learn new skills will be crucial for success in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

Overall, 2024 will be a year of transition for tech hiring.

\While there will be challenges, there will also be exciting opportunities for skilled professionals who can adapt and embrace the changing landscape.

Make this your year to build skills and invest in yourself.

Building Skills as a Content Creator

I practice what I preach.

My road to financial independence started when I realized that I was the Asset in the negotiation for Equity.

I invested and built my skill set to be worth more over time to trade my time and talent for more and more Equity. This was the foundation to becoming financially independent.

As I announced in the last newsletter, Tech Careers & Money { } will grow as a Media and Education company whose mission is to elevate tech professionals through unmatched career and personal finance education that equips them to make their best decisions.

This year I am investing in my skills as a content creator.

Here are my investments :

1. Writing Course (Jan 2024): Intensive writing course that will see me publishing thirty ( yes 30) pieces of medium-form content.

2. YouTube Podcast Community ( All Year): Learning with others how to produce user-valued content on YouTube to grow the reach of the podcast.

3. Book Writing & Marketing Coach (Jan - Jun 2024): The largest investment is where I want to move the needle the most. This is the year I will publish “From No Dough to IPO - A Proven Playbook for How to Trade Time and Talent for Tech Equity.”

I tell you this for two reasons.

1.) I may be financially independent but not retired. My independence has allowed be to graduate to a level of work where I love what I do and I want to get better at it.

2.) If you want to do what you love, build skills around it and move that to expertise. That rule applies to all of us.

All of what I am teaching above is what I am living daily.

Work Hard and Have Fun Doing It!

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When you are ready, there are 3 Ways I can Help You:

1.) Get started on your learning - 🎧️ Follow our Podcast

2.) Watch our Videos - 📺️ Subscribe to our Channel

2.) Build a Career or Money Strategy 🧠 Book a 1:1 coaching session

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or career advice. Always consult with qualified professionals before making any decisions based on the information provided.