A Big Paycheck ≠ High Income: In Investing, Would You Rather Build Skills or Take the Easy Route?

Tiger_SG
2025-09-10
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Recently, a programmer in Singapore shared his experience online after calling an electrician. The repair took just 40 minutes but cost him S$300, which translates to an eye-popping S$450 per hour. Netizens joked, “Time to sign up for electrical courses!”

At first glance, technical trades like electricians, plumbers, locksmiths, or even nail technicians seem to earn far more than regular office workers. After all, they can charge premium rates for urgent jobs. But look closer, and you’ll see that high hourly pay ≠ high income.

From an investing perspective, this looks a lot like high-volatility assets:

When opportunities strike, returns can be huge—but they’re rare and costly to maintain. By contrast, a steady full-time job—whether in IT, finance, or other industries—resembles fixed-income assets: the returns may not be flashy, but they’re consistent and predictable.

Now, when high hourly pay also comes with stability, that’s the real jackpot: effortless high income. But let’s be honest—opportunities like that are extremely rare. In investing terms, it’s like finding a high-beta stock that not only spikes but also delivers consistent, repeatable gains.

For most investors, the reality is closer to 1 win out of 10, often ending in a net loss.

Questions for you:

Would you choose:

A. To upskill yourself and take on side gigs with high hourly pay?

In investing: sharpening your stock-picking ability to capture high-volatility, high-return opportunities.

B. To stick with your main job and easy way to get stable income?

In investing: add to high-dividend stocks, and reinvesting those dividends for compounding returns.

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In Investing, Would You Rather Build Skills or Take the Easy Route?
Recently, a programmer in Singapore shared his experience online after calling an electrician. The repair took just 40 minutes but cost him S$300, which translates to S$450 per hour. But look closer, high hourly pay ≠ high income. From an investing perspective, this looks a lot like high-volatility assets. Would you choose: A. To upskill yourself and take on side gigs? In investing: sharpen stock-picking ability to capture high-return stocks. B. To stick with your main job and easy way to get stable income? In investing: add high-dividend stocks, and reinvest dividends.
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.
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Comments

  • koolgal
    2025-09-13
    koolgal
    🌟🌟🌟I would adopt a hybrid strategy which is :  My main job to provide a stable income and add in side gigs like giving tuition to provide an additional income.  Plus   upskilling my knowledge in investing and invest in dividend ETFs to provide a passive income.  That way I have the best of both worlds.

    As Warren Buffett likes to say :  "Never depend on a single income.  Make an  investment to create a second source."

    He also said :

    "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die."

    Therefore my main job is my active income engine while my investments are passive income.

    @Tiger_SG @TigerStars @CaptainTiger @Tiger_comments @TigerClub

  • Shyon
    2025-09-10
    Shyon
    我会选择B——坚持我的主要工作，建立稳定的收入。对我来说，可预测性和一致性比追逐偶尔的意外之财更重要。就像股息投资一样，稳定的流动可能看起来“无聊”，但随着时间的推移，复利会承担重任并积累持久的财富。

    这并不是说我不钦佩那些选择A的人。提升技能以从事高价值的副业可以增加收入，但它往往伴随着不确定性、不规则的需求以及你能处理多少的物理限制。从投资角度来看，这就像把握波动性交易的时机——你可能会赢得一次大奖，但维持下去很困难。

    因此，我更喜欢专注于稳定性，同时让我的投资组合在后台复合。股息再投资感觉就像“沉默的工人”，不需要我不断追逐下一个机会。随着时间的推移，这种可靠性让我安心和财务自由，不用担心下一份高薪工作。

    @Tiger_comments @TigerStars @Tiger_SG

  • Zarkness
    2025-09-13
    Zarkness
    Everything u choose A or B have its own meaning to it, especially with ownership of characters of each person is different. Some would choose A but doing B , some would be having best of both world … some would say results don’t lie but I would want to highlight something , those mistakes that each made will be the stones for further path , so till one day when we meet … our path cross and many will see each other there 🙏❤️🌹
  • LucasOng
    2025-09-10
    LucasOng
    Everyone think is safe to rely on a stable job for income. However the safest way to rely on one single income is in fact the most risky way to live your life. If you lose your job, you lose that single source of income.


    Everyone should always upskill themselves, and build multiple source of income. See each source of income as a small stream of water, no matter how small it is. When all the steam of water is form up, it will become a lake or even a river.
  • Tiger_SG
    2025-09-17
    Tiger_SG
    Thanks for participating in discussion.The tiger coins have been sent. You can check them in the tiger coin center “history“.
    @UTOtrader
    @AN88
    @TheStrategist
    @FTGR
    @Jackosen
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    @1PC
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    @Zarkness
    @LucasOng
    @TimothyX
    @太复杂的我不懂
    @Subramanyan
    @北极篂
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  • TimothyX
    2025-09-14
    TimothyX
    當機會來臨時，回報可能是巨大的——但它們很少，維持成本也很高。相比之下，一份穩定的全職工作——無論是在IT、金融還是其他行業——類似於固定收益類資產：回報可能並不華麗，但它們是一致且可預測的。

    現在，當高時薪也伴隨着穩定性時，這纔是真正的頭獎：毫不費力的高收入。但說實話，這樣的機會極其罕見。從投資角度來看，這就像找到一隻高貝塔值股票，它不僅會飆升，還會帶來持續、可重複的收益。

    對於大多數投資者來說，現實情況更接近十分之一的勝利，通常以淨虧損告終。

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