What Pay Cut? You're Not Making Any Money ...

Professional anonymous network Reddit used to be the classic play-out of misguided empathy.

Typical had been the post: The rug was pulled from under you. You lost your job. And you've been jobless so long that unemployment compensation has run out and soon enough will be your savings. Bro, we feel for you.

Recently there's been a paradigm shift to raw pragmatism. Here is the Reddit post on the question of whether to take a pay cut. And here is the kind of collective response:

"It is not a pay cut if you are currently making zero. Bring in some money while you look for other opportunities. Adjust your budget to get rid of any expenses that are not absolutely necessary."

Get it: Since you aren't making any money now and haven't for too long, there's no pay cut per se. There's the reality of a low starting salary at a job. If you're a hustler and alert to opportunity, that should be on short time. Here's a comment which received 78 upvotes, so far:

"Major Pay Cut _AND_ Keep Looking. Don't mention this new job on cv."

Yes, that embeds optimism that you can navigate out of the temporary setback in earnings. And it gives "permission" to leave the whatevers out of future job-search materials.

But, what if you take the pay cut and time passes with nothing better-paying coming up? Well, join the club. Right now, up to 43% of workers have experienced wage deflation.

That is coming in two forms.

One is from the bite out of earning power triggered by inflation.

The other is the age-old operation of the law of supply and demand. Because of the perfect storm of cost-efficiency and AI, a growing number of sectors reduced demand for many kinds of manpower. So, they don't have to pay what they used to for talent.

In tech in general, documents The Wall Street Journal, the drop ranges from $10,000 to $40,000 in annual compensation. Even AI fields per se are getting hit with wage shrinkage. That's because there's less demand for executive types and more for hands-on. The haircut range is $10,000 to $20,000.

In content-creation, it's been more of a bloodbath. Currently, 48% earn $15,000 or less annually.

In law, Paul, Weiss partner/thought leader Brad Karp projects that AI will transform certain law-firm practices into commodities. The impact on earning power in those categories could be catastrophic. Simultaneously demand at the firm will grow for technologists and data scientists.

So here we are in 2026. Let's review what to do.

The just-in-time solution is this: Grab work, any work. Work gets you more and usually better work. That's because you're again giving off vibes that you're work-ready, not deadened in reflexes from long-time unemployment. Your confidence is back. Having some money coming in puts you in a position of strength. You're out there making contacts. It's possible you're connecting the dots on how you can retrain, rebrand and/or start a business.

Meanwhile, as the Reddit "first-responders" hammer, do a budget audit. 

Relocating to a LCOL region may or may not be smart. That area could be so LCOL because of few employment/business opportunities. 

Creating a multi-generation household is becoming common, as it had been before post-WWII affluence. Individual expenses could be minimal. Also popular is co-living among strangers. 

The necessary mindset, of course, is radical acceptance. That is, not wishing things were different. Not wasting energy resisting what is, at least at the time. The first step toward a solution is to size up reality.

Careers. Forget all that. It’s about earning a good living, no matter what. Intuitive coaching and, upon request, tarot readings.

Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova, StreetSmart Coaching (janegenova374@gmail.com)



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