(source: Tech in Asia)
Note: This article reflects the author’s personal opinion and does not represent the views of the Fact-Meter.com Editorial Board.
Competition among job seekers today is increasingly fierce. This is marked by the shrinking number of decent job opportunities and the need to compete with younger generations who are more skilled, with people who have stronger educational backgrounds, with those who are more charismatic, or with those who have insider connections.
Typically, the choices look like this: taking a job with wages below the minimum wage (UMK), a job above the minimum wage but requiring god-tier qualifications and years of experience, or a job that pays just slightly above the minimum wage but demands extreme physical and mental sacrifice.
And the qualifications often look like this: maximum age 25, at least 2–3 years of experience in the same field, some even requiring the applicant to own a personal vehicle and laptop—and even demanding “good looking” as a job requirement.
If you’re already 26, are you not allowed to apply for a job?
I asked an entrepreneur friend who posted these kinds of vacancies. His answer was simple: the principle of business owners is to get as much help as possible at the lowest cost possible.
Why is the age limit capped at 25? Because younger people are energetic, creative, and as beginners they can be paid like “beginners.” Why require 2–3 years of experience? So their work ethic is no longer “beginner-level,” and they don’t need to be trained.
Then a new question arises: are all workers under 25 being paid according to the minimum wage?
The answer is, of course, no. My friend, the entrepreneur, posted a job vacancy offering wages at half of the local minimum wage, with working hours exceeding 6 hours a day and only one day off per week.
Another friend’s experience, as a former office worker earning minimum wage, involved heavy mental and physical strain—with no paid leave and salary cuts when sick.
Another friend, holding a position with the title “Senior” and supervising several subordinates, was still paid only barely above the minimum wage.
How can you get a high-paying job with minimal effort? As Gibran says—just become an entrepreneur.
