"An archaeologist is someone whose career lies in ruins." -Anon

[mcgillianaire]

"Western workers may have been paid above the market wage for many decades because political and technological barriers prevented Chinese and Indian workers from gaining a foothold in the global labour market." -Stephen King, HSBC Group Chief Economist
Since arriving in the UK, I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what career to pursue. For now I think I have it all worked out. Interestingly, I thought about pursuing a career in the same field when I was in San Jose, but I've approached it slightly different this time, and it definitely seems like the best option. Without further ado, I present you a career in Market Research.

Market research is a broad category. I'm particularly interested in the economics of commercial market research. In other words, I want to work in a field that tracks the supply of global resources (natural & human) to fulfill consumerist demand. The fact is, market research is virtually dead in the Western world, simply because the majority of its citizens are already mass consumers. The same however, is not true for the majority of Indians, Chinese, Africans and South Americans who live in the same world as us. This is significant because the political, economic and technological barriers that currently divide us, are breaking down by the second, and this is slowly, but surely, creating a world of greater global interdependence. Add to this the inevitable rise of mass consumerist societies in South Asia, China, Africa and parts of South America and one shudders to think about the impact this will all have on prices and the supply of global resources. It's going to impact our existing way of life and don't forget, we also have global warming to worry about!

The real losers in the rise of the Third World are going to be Western workers & consumers; there's no doubt about it in my mind. Read Stephen King's quote at the top and you'll get an idea why. The rise of India and China is very different from the rise of any other economy in the history of humankind for one simple reason: numbers. Since the industrialization of Japan, no country with more than 80 million people has joined the wave of mass consumerism. In this century, we're looking at potentially 2-3 billion people joining the queue at Walmart and Ikea. That's a helluva lotta people and I wonder how many people are even aware of it. Because if you aren't, honey, wake up and smell the coffee. If you don't think you're being paid enough, no problem, somebody sitting in Pune or Xi'an can do the same job for less money. I was talking to someone from the travel industry the other day who said they're working on a model to outsource travel guides to India by using robots to guide tourists in London. The robot will be able to speak in 20 different languages, something very few humans can do. Can you imagine the savings on salaries and training?

The point is, many people in the West take their comfortable and relatively affordable lifestyles for granted, but I doubt that's going to remain the case for the next few decades. I don't think it would be far off the mark to say that people from our parent's generation lived the cheapest and most comfortable consumerist lifestyle than we will, or our children ever will. That's a realistic scenario in my mind, unless we're mysteriously able to find a new oil, or discover a new Ghawar. The probability of either is low, so I think it's better to recognize the challenges before us and find reasonable solutions. That's where the economics of commercial market research comes into play. I want to work in a field that doesn't just monitor existing & future market trends. I want to work in a field that does the research, but more importantly, uses the research to advise clients about the changes taking place, and how to deal with them.

The fact is, the global supply of natural resources isn't just affected by consumerist demand. There are several other crucial factors involved, including political issues, like Iran detonating a nuclear bomb, or Kazakhstan slipping into civil chaos. There are economic issues like trade embargoes to account for, and technological issues such as a worldwide internet breakdown due to damaged cables in the Atlantic. These are all plausible scenarios and the impact they will have on global supply is significant.

I am not solely interested in consumerism, politics or financial markets. I want to pursue a career in a field that is influenced by these areas, but ultimately focuses on finding solutions to the economic problem of fulfilling unlimited wants with limited resources.

Inshaperumal, I shall succeed in my quest.

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PS How's that for the basis of a sales pitch in a covering or speculative letter? Feedback generously welcomed!

Comments

[messicat.livejournal.com]

That's absolutely brilliant, Hari, and I reckon you can make it happen! I think you've got the background and cultural understanding to be able to see this unlike other people would.

Yeah, the future is going to be very interesting. And there is enough on this planet for us all to share. Things just need to be looked after better. I don't understand economics to put it in a way that makes sense, but yeah, the West needs to learn to share better.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Thanks Jess!!!

>Things just need to be looked after better. I don't understand economics to put it in a way that makes sense, but yeah, the West needs to learn to share better.
That's absolutely right. As I was reading somewhere earlier today, the problem is not supply or scarcity of energy resources. There is no doubt that sharp increases in short-term demand will put upward pressure on oil prices and deplete existing reserves quicker, but the corollary is decreased demand from those who cannot pay for oil at that price. This would mean depending less on oil and looking to other energy resources that will work out cheaper, even after compensating for the loss of using oil. In fact, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2002, oil represented only 39% of American energy consumption. If oil becomes disproportionately more expensive than other sources, its contribution to the overall energy mix will decline. But in the long-term, there is going to have to be rapid changes to technology, upstream and downstream. Improved technology will produce better returns (ie, increased productivity), and hopefully, enable the West, and everybody else, including India and China, to share the existing resources better. Etc, etc.