Work experience contributes to almost 60% of a worker’s lifetime earnings in India where fewer people are able to avail of higher education opportunities and start work in low-wage jobs as compared with 40% to 43% in the US, the UK and Germany, a recently published McKinsey Global Institute study has found. Most workers in India start their careers in relatively low-skills jobs, and work experience thus becomes an important driver of income.

Faster nominal wage growth, albeit from a lower base, results in a greater lift to lifetime earnings in India than in the advanced economies.