May 6, 2007

To clarify...

Exams are over, but I want to blog about something that happened during the exams period. It might seem trivial, but it seriously affected me on that day. I'm sure the people involved did not mean it. They just did not realise that what they said was quite unfounded. It was good that they voiced it out, so that I could clarify this idea in all females of my country, because it affects everyone, boys and girls. I want to blog it and spread it every female reader of my blog, so here I go.

It was about army. Anyone that knows me well knows army totally destroyed me, physically and mentally. It was a mistaken conception about army, or I should say life after army.

On that day, my female friends and I were talking about careers, and we went on to salaries. The girls felt that guys are at an advantage because they get a higher pay, only because they served army. By now, people should realise what got me a bit uncomfortable. I took my place and seek to clarify what I felt was a misconception. Firstly, of course I said army was not a choice. Naturally, they still felt that army should not equate to higher pay for guys, but the system was unfair.

Naturally, I went on to the next idea – age group and opportunity cost. I took a more mathematical approach, and I asked the girls to compare with their JC male peers, guys in the same age group as them, and not compare with guys in the same university batch as them, a.k.a guys like me. I told them by now, females in the same age group as me are already in income-earning jobs, while backtracking to my army days, I was given (minimum) 'allowances', not 'salaries' (because its a duty, not a job).

They then claimed that the pay difference would more than make up for the difference. I furthered the idea that girls in my age group would earn $24K more than me by the time I graduate (assuming me and the female comparison both took honours, and that earn month's income is $2K, and that they reach employment immediately when they graduate). Payback period. How much can the pay difference be? $500? $1K? If its $1K, assuming everyone's salaries remain constant (or grow in by the same percentage), it will take 24 months. $500 would take 48 months. As if the difference is that much. I would come the difference to be only around $300 max (pardon me if I'm wrong on this), and my rough estimate would take 80months, meaning 7years and 8 months. And I have not even included the time value of money, and of the compounding effect of savings. I did not say the italics part to them, because they seemed to see my point when I said about the $24K difference.

I have to mention that I am not trashing the 2 girls on my blog. I have no intention to target anyone with my blog, or belittle anyone in any manner. Rather, I hope this misconception can be cleared through my blog. That's all. However, people are free to comment or give another perspective to what I have said. From where I come from, it is a free country, to a certain extent.

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