By Et Contributor
Copyright indiatimes
Asha left Bhagalpur for Surat in 2021 with a single suitcase and a deadline she couldn’t miss — make money fast or return home defeated. She worked for textile suppliers for four years and grew to manage her own team and a fabric-sourcing desk with a large exporter. Rohit from Pune got a product manager role with a global firm in Singapore, and six years later returned to build a B2B SaaS venture in Gurugram with his ex-employer as the first customer. Different paths, same pattern. Mobility multiplies your career outcomes.Income Tax GuideIncome Tax Slabs FY 2025-26Income Tax Calculator 2025New Income Tax Bill 2025Why movers winPeople who move to cities or other countries usually out-earn their friends who stay back. Why? The answer lies in the ‘where, who and what’. Where are movers headed to? Opportunity markets. Who are they? People with higher need or ambition and a willingness to adapt. What will they do? Accumulate skills, knowledge and networks. Across India, about 37% of urban workers are migrants and their incomes grow faster than their folks back home. Similarly, a survey of Indian migrant entrepreneurs came up with five core motivators— family survival, individual identity, community support, market conditions and operational know-how.Migration = motivationMigrants usually move when it’s urgent. With their reputation, rent and remittances at stake, they are driven by do-or-die situations and, hence, work longer hours, learn faster and take bigger risks. Cities and developed countries offer deep demand, dense customer bases and infrastructure to such motivated migrants. Take Shabnam, who moved from a small town in Kerala to Kochi. As a nurse, she was inspired by her Gulfreturned colleagues and learned hospital protocols, fluent English and international standards of care from them. In three years, she was shortlisted by an Abu Dhabi hospital and, thus, tripled her salary. Global research backs this formula. Mobility itself is an asset because it expands human networks and opens new links across regions. Studies comparing Indian entrepreneurs report outstanding success in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, compared to locals.Migrants vs tourists or localsConsider Amit, who had no earning options in his village and headed abroad to either work or take a loan to study. He is a migrant with no backup. Meanwhile, Aaryan is headed to the same country, fully sponsored by his parents, to study at a university. He is a tourist without Amit’s survival need. In the common land of opportunity, the migrant and the tourist encounter the natives or locals. The outcomes show that even when education and opportunity are similar, migrants often outpace locals and tourists. There are four reasons for this. Firstly, the self-selection effect, where people with higher risk tolerance or ambition, are likely to migrate. Secondly, movers act faster to reach out to ethnic and professional networks for mentors, referrals and capital. Thirdly, while tourists and locals settle for convenience, migrants seek active demand centres and often relocate within the new city or country. Finally, moving without a safety net forces learning of operational skills that locals and tourists can’t easily replicate.Second-generation advantageChildren of migrant parents tend to carry forward the momentum. Consider Meera, the daughter of garment workers, who moved from Dhanbad to Noida. Pushed by her parents’ discipline and expectations, she worked her way into a tier 1 B-school and then into a consulting firm. She now advises Fortune 500 clients at work and mentors local entrepreneurs in her hometown on the side. Her story is confirmed by large studies that show second-generation migrants study more, start careers faster and enjoy higher earnings. Second-generation migrants also share an ability to work across multiple contexts and cultures, which is an advantage.Snowball effect for returneesLike a snowball rolling downhill, as a migrant, you have grown incrementally from multiple exposures to locations, technologies, processes, customers and regulators. Those lessons then compound and swing the odds in your favour even if you return. Research on return migration finds that international migration increases both the chances of entrepreneurship and the probability of success because migrants bring back both capital and insights. That’s why Bengaluru’s SaaS ecosystem has founders who studied or worked in the US, before applying global playbooks at Indian prices. Similarly, Surat’s textile exporters learned inventory and supply chain tricks from global buyers first.Risks and reality checksMigration is not a free lunch. The cost you will pay for migration is personal and invisible. A common driver of migration is financial strain, which carries psychological stress and threat of failure. Most migrants are separated from their family and struggle with cultural barriers and social exclusion. Migration is also not a guarantee for success. External factors will impact you, including country, policies and community. As a migrant, you can reduce your risk by considering these factors and your support infrastructure before you move.Act like a moverEven if you don’t cross borders, you can learn from the migrant playbook. Within your own company, you can volunteer for a business turnaround or switch your sales region or transfer to a different department. Next, accelerate your learning with new universal skills like communication and sales or AI and data. Focus on showing quick outcomes. Build a safety net with savings, interim gigs, and pre-booked introductions for an easier start. As a student, can you stretch yourself with internships outside your domain, location or alongside your studies? If you’re an entrepreneur, migrate to be closer to your customers or your talent cluster, even if temporarily. Know that the pattern is clear and is backed by research. Movement plus mindset will accelerate your earnings. Make it work for you.THE WRITER IS FOUNDER OF SALARYNEXT.COM, A JOB LOSS ASSURANCE FIRM, AND AUTHOR OF GET HIRED IN 30 DAYS
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.)
