Issue #16: Is What You're Doing Right Now Increasing Your Earning Potential?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I see people (including past me) spending months or years on things that feel productive but don't actually make them more valuable.

And the worst part? They don't realize it until way too late.

Here's what I mean.

You could be working a job right now. Maybe making decent money, maybe not. But the real question isn't "am I getting paid?" It's "is this making me more valuable?"

Because those are two completely different things.

You can get paid for years doing work that doesn't increase what you're worth. And you can do unpaid work that 10x's your earning potential in six months.

I've done both.

Before I do anything now, I ask myself: If I stopped doing this tomorrow, would I be more valuable than when I started?

Not "will this look good on my resume?" Not "will people be impressed?"

Just: am I actually building something here or just staying busy?

Let me show you what I mean with real examples from my life.

Example 1: The bootcamp I couldn't afford

In 2021, I'm working as a pharmacist. Making decent money for someone in Ghana. Everyone thinks I have it figured out.

But I knew something they didn't. I wasn't getting more valuable. I was just getting older doing the same thing I did last year.

So I quit and enrolled in a software engineering bootcamp. Made zero income doing it for months.

People thought I was crazy. "You're leaving a stable career to learn coding? At your age? When you already have a degree?"

But here's what I knew: every single day in that bootcamp, I was learning things that would work anywhere in the world. I was building projects I could show. I was becoming someone who could build actual things, not just talk about medicine.

Six months in, I got my first paid contract. Before I even finished the bootcamp.

Not because I was smarter than the pharmacists making more than me. Because I was building portable value. Skills that work in Ghana, Canada, the US, anywhere. Code that I could show anyone.

That bootcamp increased my earning potential more than six years of pharmacy school did.

Example 2: The AWS certification nobody asked me to get

In 2021 and 2022, I'm doing freelance web development. Have clients. Making money. Could take on more clients and make more money right now.

Instead, I spent four months studying for the AWS certification which reduced my client work. I ended up making less money during those months.

Why? Because I knew that "freelance web developer" is a crowded space. But "developer who understands cloud infrastructure"? Different category.

That certification didn't just make me better at what I was already doing. It made me qualified for opportunities I couldn't even access before.

Four months of lower income to open doors that generic "web developer" would never open? Easy trade.

Example 3: Learning in public during the bootcamp

This one felt stupid at the time but ended up being the most valuable thing I did.

During my bootcamp, I posted on Twitter every single day about what I was learning. Literally just documenting my journey. The bugs I hit. The things I figured out. The projects I was building.

I wasn't an expert. I was a beginner sharing beginner stuff. Felt weird posting about problems I was struggling with when there were people way better than me watching.

But you know what happened?

Six months in, I started getting DMs. "Hey, I've been watching your journey. Would you be interested in this project?" "We're looking for someone with your background."

I got my first full-time software engineering offer before I even finished the bootcamp. From someone who'd been watching my posts for months.

That daily posting? That was building earning potential. Every post was proof I could learn, build, and communicate.

Free to do. Took 10 minutes a day. Changed my entire trajectory.

I'm not formal about this. No spreadsheet, no scoring system. Just honest questions.

1. Can I take this skill somewhere else?

If I learn this thing, will it only matter here? Or will it matter everywhere?

Good: Learning Python. Building projects I can show. Getting good at solving problems that exist in every company.

Bad: Becoming an expert in one company's internal tool that nobody else uses. Learning a process that only works in this specific organization.

When I was choosing between staying in clinical pharmacy and learning to code, this question made it obvious.

Pharmacy skills? Mostly useful in hospitals. In specific countries. Need credentials that don't transfer.

Coding skills? Work the same everywhere. A deployed app is proof in Ghana, Canada, anywhere.

2. Am I actually learning new things or just getting older?

This one's harder to be honest about.

Real learning: "I can do things now I couldn't do three months ago."

Not learning: "I'm doing the same things, just faster or with different dates."

During my bootcamp, I could point to new things every week. Data structures I didn't understand. Problems I couldn't solve last month.

If you can't list new capabilities you've gained in the past few months, you're not learning. You're just aging.

3. Is this opening doors?

Does this make me qualified for things I can't access now?

Does this give me access to people I wouldn't meet otherwise?

Does this create a combination that makes me different?

My AWS certification didn't just make me a better developer. It made me a developer who understands infrastructure. Different bucket.

My pharmacy background plus coding? I'm not competing with all the developers or all the pharmacists. I'm one of the very few people with both backgrounds.

That's how you get opportunities other people can't access. You stack things that don't usually go together.

Let me show you some real scenarios and how I'd think about them.

Scenario 1: You're working retail while learning to code

The retail job isn't teaching you anything new. Same tasks every day. But it's paying bills.

That's fine. You need money to survive. Just don't lie to yourself about what it is.

It's not "building your career." It's solving an immediate problem (paying rent).

The real growth is happening in those hours you spend coding at night. The projects you're building. The things you're learning.

Keep the retail job as long as you need it. But your earning potential is being built after your shift ends, not during it.

Scenario 2: You have two job offers

Offer A: $55K, established company, clear role doing standard web development

Offer B: $42K, early startup, you'll be doing everything from frontend to DevOps to talking to customers

Run it through the questions:

Can I take these skills anywhere?

Am I learning new things?

Is this opening doors?

I'd take B. Even though it pays less. Because two years later, the person from B is way more valuable than the person from A.

Scenario 3: Free course vs. paid bootcamp

You can take a free online course and learn at your own pace. Or pay $10K for a bootcamp with structure, deadlines, and a network.

The course teaches the same technical content. But the bootcamp gives you:

The technical knowledge might be the same, but the earning potential outcome is different. The bootcamp builds more than just skills. It builds proof and connections.

Look, I'm not saying you should always take the lowest-paying option. Sometimes you need money now.

Take the money when:

You have immediate bills that can't wait. Family to support. Debt that's urgent. You're in survival mode.

Do what you need to do. Just be clear about what it is. It's solving a problem, not building a career.

And if you can, use that money to fund your actual growth. Work the stable job, spend your nights learning something that will get you out.

Take the growth when:

You can survive with less for a while. You're trading short-term income for long-term capability.

My bootcamp? Made zero income for months. But the skills I built there 10x'd my earning potential within a year.

That's a trade I'd make every time.

The question is: am I trading money now for value later? Or am I just undervaluing myself?

Look at what you're spending time on right now. Not just work. Everything.

For each thing, ask yourself honestly: If I stopped this tomorrow, would I be more valuable than when I started?

Don't lie to yourself. Don't tell yourself you're "gaining experience" when you're really just killing time.

If yes, keep going. You're building something.

If no, you need to decide: am I doing this for a good reason (money I need, obligation I have) or am I just afraid to do the harder thing?

And if you're choosing between opportunities right now, ask:

Pick the one with more yes answers. Even if it pays less. Even if it's scarier.

Your current paycheck is what yesterday's work bought. Your earning potential is what tomorrow's opportunities will care about.

Build the second one.

Obed