CathInfo.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23887807

Very interesting video article about how 20 somethings have never developed an ability to engage humans 1 on 1 because of the mobile phone, video games and not being allowed out to play in the street or the local park.

Want to be on six figures in the future?  Learn how to replace the generation of salespeople who are 20-30 years older than you.  Selling large business to business deals is, and always will be a personal thing built on meeting people and looking them in the eye.  Nobody in business spends over $100k without meeting a representative of the firm they are buying from and that rep nearly always gets a piece of the action.  No chinaman or computer can replace you in this role because people cannot chat with and form a close trusted relationship with an alien culture as easily as their own.  ( "How about those Mets?" Sounds very strange from a Chinaman or even a Mexican)

Salespeople retire early. The best ones can afford to and the worst ones get fired or leave because they cannot make sales.  That means corporations are ALWAYS looking for fresh talent to start.

It's a great job, if you can master it, because you often have you employer's balls in a bag.   If you are hitting targets and making them money you are one of the most important people in the company and VERY difficult to replace because of the combination of specific product knowledge and trusted relationships.  You can take days off, come in late leave early and there is nothing they can do about it.  Nor will they care if you make your numbers.

It is ideal for a Catholic Father because you make your bones in your 20s and in your 30s and 40s it gets easier and less time consuming right about the time you need more time off work for the family.

It is also the cornerstone of nearly all business.  Without sales no business can run.  With great sales you can run the rest of the business like an asshat and still make a profit.

Skills required?  You have to like people and like talking to them.  College degree totally unnecessary.  When it gets technical you just roll in some guy wearing a pocket protector.  You sell VALUE to the senior people who control the purse strings.  They don't care a hoot how their fine suit is made, just that it fits them.

So all you 20 somethings worrying about how 'the world has changed' and 'everything's a monopoly' and 'corporations only want cheap little chinamen doing everything', well HERE is an opportunity for you.  Something that in 2013 is a stronger opportunity for a young white native English speaker than in 1988 when I started out.  Especially one who is not wedded to his smartphone and Facebook account.

I work in sales, actually, and this is very true. I have no Bachelors degree, and someone in my office actually has no High School diploma. In our office, the lowest paid employee makes no less than 70k/ year. It is well known in my industry that the prospective buyer 'buys you, not the product.'

Something to contend with, however, is that not all Catholics- especially Traditional ones, it seems- have the right temperament for sales. So we cannot, of course, view sales as the 'fix' to all of our problems. What do we do when we have a melancholic who has a great mental intellect, but may be introverted and quiet?