Wali Khan

telecom engineer and content creator

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Wali Khan is an engineer and content creator from Karachi. He has worked in the telecom field for about 20 years, in the radio frequency domain, and has lived in Dubai for about 13 years.

Early life and background

Khan had wanted to study computer science, but it did not work out. His family did not want him to study computer science. He says that around 1999 the usual choices were engineering, medicine or IBA. [1]

Education

Khan studied electrical engineering at NED. He says his NED experience was very good. He says the academic side of NED was only fair, though some teachers were very good. He says he paid 25,000 rupees for his engineering degree, over five years in total. [1]

He says the soft skills he gained came from university. He says a website he ran earned money and he used it to fund his university degree. He is an electrical engineer who also completed a master's degree in the UK. [1]

Telecommunications career

Khan works at a large telecommunications company. He began in data communication and ended up in wireless communication. He says that although companies changed, his work has mostly stayed the same. [1]

He says Siemens picked up most of the electrical engineers from his batch. He says new telecom companies such as Telenor had arrived when he joined the field. He says his own work covers planning tower placement, tilt and orientation, and that his RF work is more analytical than technical. [1]

Content creation

Khan has always run side work alongside his job. He says the launch of the Roshan Digital Account was a turning point for him. He says he has uploaded roughly 400 to 500 videos, and that he has uploaded three videos a week since around April or May 2021. [1]

He says his content had more impact in Urdu than in English. He says Indian viewers began to watch his videos after he started covering UAE topics. He says the subject of his content has been his passion from the start. [1]

Life in Dubai

Khan says he moved to Dubai by registering a company and hiring himself through it. He says he realised a digital business built in Dubai could let him step back from a regular job. He says content alone may bring cash flow but not a sustainable income, so he needs a business, online or physical. He says his current routine is not sustainable. [1]

He says the cost of living in Dubai has risen sharply, and that Dubai has become much more expensive in the last year, especially for housing. He says he could live in Edinburgh for about half what he pays in Dubai. He says Dubai compares well with the UK once you earn well, because there are no taxes there. He says that if he had to move somewhere, it would be the US, and that he finds almost no American expats in Dubai. [1]

He says many content creators and businesspeople are basing themselves in Dubai. He says he knows two or three Pakistani content creators who got golden visas after gaining some visibility. He also says Dubai is not going anywhere and that its regional conflicts were resolved amicably. [1]

Views on saving and investing

Khan says India has at least ten personal finance channels with over one million subscribers, but Pakistan has none like them. He estimates Pakistan's investment and savings rate at roughly 13 to 14 percent. He cites one data point saying about 75% of America's working-age population is invested, against under 1% in Pakistan. He says Pakistan has about 250,000 active stock market traders. [1]

He argues real estate in Pakistan is a gamble, since there is no reliable data on prices. He says real estate is non-productive and does not help the economy. He says the government taxes stocks through corporate tax and capital gains tax, while real estate receives amnesties. [1]

He says people can start small in Pakistan's stock market and keep adding 5,000 or 10,000 rupees each month. He says he started investing in the stock market at 40, and before that his investments were in property. He says Pakistan's stock market beat India's and the US's in dollar terms from about 2000 to 2015, and that the US stock market did not perform from 2000 to 2015. [1]

He argues gold has not been an inflation hedge, since its dollar price today is much the same as in 2000 or 2011. He says the global view is that 5 to 10 percent of a portfolio in gold is enough. He says a gold fund has been launched again, and that banks now offer Islamic products. [1]

He says the dollar is under pressure but he expects it to hold up. He says investors cannot ignore the US or its companies. He says diversification is important in every case. He says a robo-investor platform makes a simple allocation for a small fee. [1]

He says platforms cite FATF and AML rules to require investing from the investor's own bank account. He says Payoneer is risky, since accounts can be suspended. [1]

He says rising salaries often trap people in lifestyle inflation, and that raising one's income is the best option. He says his biggest investment was in himself, through tools and training. He says it puzzled him that people did not grasp simple ideas like compounding. [1]

He says investors look only at share prices and ignore dividends. He says people should judge returns over ten years, not against today's inflation. He warns that chasing inflation through trading or crypto usually leads to losses. [1]

Views on Pakistan and the Middle East

Khan describes Pakistan as a very consumption-driven economy. He says he has neither strong hopes nor fears for Pakistan. He says India has changed a lot at the macro level, and Pakistan could catch up if it moves in the right direction. [1]

He describes the Middle East as booming. He says the UAE and Saudi Arabia want to diversify away from oil, and that he read that much of Jeddah is being rebuilt under Vision 2030. He explains FIRE as financial independence and retiring early, and says it is very difficult to calculate in Pakistan and the Middle East. [1]

Views on technology and careers

Khan says 5G makes little difference to his own phone use. He thinks there is no current scope for 5G in Pakistan. He says use cases such as autonomous cars need 5G because of latency. [1]

He says engineers must learn modern tools to stay relevant, and that a person who knows AI could take the job of someone who does not use it. He tells people to earn the degree and also build soft skills. [1]

Personal life

Khan's elder son helps him edit his videos. During Covid, his family was in Pakistan when flights were banned. [1]

Timeline

2021
Says he began uploading three videos a week, from around April or May[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-09-01 What Pakistanis get wrong about saving and investing money Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Wali Khan?

Wali Khan is an engineer and content creator from Karachi. He has worked in the telecom field for about 20 years, in the radio frequency domain. He has lived in Dubai for about 13 years.[1]

What does Wali Khan do?

Wali Khan works at a large telecommunications company in the radio frequency domain. He says his own work covers planning tower placement, tilt and orientation. He is also a content creator who says he has uploaded roughly 400 to 500 videos.[1]

Where did Wali Khan study?

Wali Khan studied electrical engineering at NED. Khan also completed a master's degree in the UK.[1]

Where is Wali Khan from?

Wali Khan is from Karachi. He has lived in Dubai for about 13 years.[1]

How long has Wali Khan worked in telecom?

Wali Khan has worked in the telecom field for about 20 years. He began in data communication and ended up in wireless communication. He says that although companies changed, his work has mostly stayed the same.[1]

How often does Wali Khan upload videos?

Wali Khan says he has uploaded three videos a week since around April or May 2021. He says the total is roughly 400 to 500 videos. His elder son helps him edit them.[1]

How did Wali Khan move to Dubai?

Wali Khan says he moved to Dubai by registering a company and hiring himself through it. He says he realised a digital business built in Dubai could let him step back from a regular job.[1]

What does Wali Khan say about gold?

Wali Khan argues gold has not been an inflation hedge, since its dollar price today is much the same as in 2000 or 2011. He says the global view is that 5 to 10 percent of a portfolio in gold is enough.[1]

References

  1. What Pakistanis get wrong about saving and investing money . Thought Behind Things , 2023-09-01.
Show the source passages (86 statements)
  1. Wali Khan is an engineer and content creator. Wali Khan is an Engineer and Content Creator.
  2. He is from Karachi. Main Karachi se hoon.
  3. He studied electrical engineering at NED. woh eventually main electrical engineering start ki maine NED ke andar, NED se hoon main
  4. He had wanted to study computer science, but it did not work out. Although ke I wanted to go for the computer science for the first, lekin woh nahi ho saka.
  5. His family did not want him to study computer science. Just because ke ghar wale nahi chahte the.
  6. He says that around 1999 the usual choices were engineering, medicine or IBA. us zamane mein back in 99, it was of course you either have to go for being an engineer ya phir doctor ya phir let's say at max you can go to IBA.
  7. He says his NED experience was very good. Nahi, mera experience bahut acha tha.
  8. He says the academic side of NED was only fair, though some teachers were very good. academically theek tha, kuch cheezein bahut achi nahi, kuch teachers bahut ache the.
  9. He says he paid 25,000 rupees for his engineering degree, over five years in total. maine us zamane mein apni engineering 25,000 rupay mein ki thi, total 5 saal ke andar
  10. He says the soft skills he gained came from university. jitna mujhe soft skills samajh mein aa rahi thi, woh mujhe university se mil rahi thi.
  11. He is an electrical engineer who also completed a master's degree in the UK. Electrical engineer by profession and then I did my masters as well from the UK.
  12. He works at a large telecommunications company. Yahan par ek badi communication company hai, telecom company hai, usmein main kaam karta hoon.
  13. He has worked in the telecom field for about 20 years. I have been in this domain for last, let's say 20 years almost now.
  14. His work is in the radio frequency domain. Radio frequency domain hai.
  15. He says his RF work is more analytical than technical. Mera RF domain hai, bahut zyada technical domain nahi hai, hamara analytical domain
  16. He began in data communication and ended up in wireless communication. Woh data communication mein tha, lekin eventually I end up doing this job in wireless communication.
  17. He says that although companies changed, his work has mostly stayed the same. Companies change hoti rahi hain, lekin kaam almost yahi raha hai.
  18. He says Siemens picked up most of the electrical engineers from his batch. Siemens ne zyada tar hamare jo batch ke electrical ke the, un sab ko hi almost pick up kar liya tha
  19. He says new telecom companies such as Telenor had arrived when he joined the field. jis waqt main aaya tha, us waqt telecom ki nayi nayi companies aa gayi thi, Warid aaya tha us time par, Telenor aaya tha
  20. He says his own work covers planning tower placement, tilt and orientation. woh usko kaise plan karna hai, uski uski tilt kaise deni hai, orientation kya hai, woh us level ke upar main aa jaata hoon.
  21. He says a website he ran earned money and he used it to fund his university degree. meri ek website bhi thi jisse maine kafi itne paise generate kiye the 2002 ke andar ki maine apni jo university degree thi woh isi se khud hi maine fund ki thi
  22. He has always run side work alongside his job. maine hamesha side hustle ki hai apni job ke saath
  23. He says the launch of the Roshan Digital Account was a turning point for him. Roshan Digital Account naya naya launch hua tha and that was actually for me a take off point
  24. He says he has uploaded roughly 400 to 500 videos. Roughly 500 videos ab ho chuki hain. Almost 400 plus videos.
  25. He says he has uploaded three videos a week since around April or May 2021. maine April 2021 se ya I think May 2021 se jo every week I am uploading 3 videos
  26. He says his content had more impact in Urdu than in English. nahi impact zyada Urdu mein hi banta hai
  27. He says Indian viewers began to watch his videos after he started covering UAE topics. jab maine UAE ke topics shuru kiye toh us waqt phir Indian audience bhi mere paas aana shuru hui
  28. He says India has at least ten personal finance channels with over one million subscribers, but Pakistan has none like them. Aap India mein dekh lein aap personal finance ki baat karenge toh log aapko at least top 10 channels is tarah ke mil jayenge jo 1 million upar ke upar ke subscribers hain. Lekin Pakistan mein aapko koi is tarah ka nahi milega.
  29. He estimates Pakistan's investment and savings rate at roughly 13 to 14 percent. Pakistan has a has an investment and savings rate of roughly right 13 14% maybe.
  30. He cites one data point saying about 75% of America's working-age population is invested, against under 1% in Pakistan. America ke andar almost 75% of their sort of working age population is invested in some form of stock or otherwise. Pakistan mein woh number less than 1% hai.
  31. He says Pakistan has about 250,000 active stock market traders. Pakistan mein active stock market traders are 250,000.
  32. He argues real estate in Pakistan is a gamble, since there is no reliable data on prices. Like real estate first of all is a gamble because you really don't know ki uski koi legitimate koi data nahi hai
  33. He says real estate is non-productive and does not help the economy. Dusra it's non-productive so it's not helping the economy.
  34. He says the government taxes stocks through corporate tax and capital gains tax, while real estate receives amnesties. Government ne tax lagana hai toh woh corporate tax laga degi, woh capital gains tax laga degi on stocks. Woh real estate ko amnesty de degi.
  35. He says people can start small in Pakistan's stock market and keep adding 5,000 or 10,000 rupees each month. Aap usse start kar sakte hain aur har mahine 5-5,000 rupay daalte rahein, 10-10,000 rupay daalte rahein, jitne paise aapke paas hain daalte rahein.
  36. He says he started investing in the stock market at 40, and before that his investments were in property. Maine khud stock market mein 40 saal ki age se start kiya usse pehle meri sari jo bhi investment thi woh properties ke andar chal rahi thi
  37. He says Pakistan's stock market beat India's and the US's in dollar terms from about 2000 to 2015. 2000 se lekar 2017 tak aur maybe 2014 15 tak Pakistan stock market ka jo return tha woh dollar terms ke andar India ki stock market aur US ki stock market se dollar terms ke andar behtar tha.
  38. He says the US stock market did not perform from 2000 to 2015. 2000 se lekar 2015 tak US ki stock market ne kuch bhi perform nahi kiya tha.
  39. He argues gold has not been an inflation hedge, since its dollar price today is much the same as in 2000 or 2011. main kehta hoon inflation hedge nahi raha hai gold kyunki as such aap dekh lein 2000 11 mein jo gold ki prices thi dollar terms ke andar aaj bhi wahi hain
  40. He says the global view is that 5 to 10 percent of a portfolio in gold is enough. Globally kehte hain ki 5 to 10% aapka maximum aapka portfolio ka gold is enough
  41. He says a gold fund has been launched again. Mizan ne gold fund dobara se launch kar diya hai.
  42. He says banks now offer Islamic products. Mizan Bank hai aur bahut saare is tarah ke banks hain jo ki Islamic products leke aa gaye hain
  43. He says the dollar is under pressure but he expects it to hold up. To dollar mujhe lag raha hai problem mein to hai lekin I would say I would see ke wo sustain karega
  44. He says investors cannot ignore the US or its companies. Aap US ko nahi chor sakte. Aap US ki jo companies hain unko nahi chor sakte.
  45. He says diversification is important in every case. To isliye jo overall basically jo jo diversification hai wo har surat mein important hai.
  46. He says a robo-investor platform makes a simple allocation for a small fee. ya phir aap robo-investor platform choose kar sakte hain, which is like jo aap unko paise de rahe honge, thodi si unki fees hogi
  47. He says platforms cite FATF and AML rules to require investing from the investor's own bank account. wo globally FATF aur AML ki wajah se aapko jo bhi platforms hain wo yeh kehte hain ke aapko jo investment karni hai wo apne bank account se karni hai.
  48. He says Payoneer is risky, since accounts can be suspended. Haan, Payoneer chal raha hota hai, Wise chal raha hota hai lekin again they are very dicey kyunki maine kabhi kabhi bhi sun sakte hain aapka account suspend ho gaya
  49. He says many content creators and businesspeople are basing themselves in Dubai. isi liye to bahut saare content creators ya businessmen apna base Dubai bana rahe hain
  50. He says rising salaries often trap people in lifestyle inflation. jaise jaise salary badhti hai, aap life style inflation mein phans jaate hain
  51. He says it puzzled him that people did not grasp simple ideas like compounding. ki logon ko compounding jaisi simple si cheez kyun nahi samajh mein aa rahi hai
  52. During Covid, his family was in Pakistan when flights were banned. Covid hit aur meri family Pakistan mein thi us time par jab woh sari flight bans hue the
  53. His elder son helps him edit his videos. elder son who helps me edit the videos now as well
  54. He says he moved to Dubai by registering a company and hiring himself through it. So Dubai mein jis tarah the way that we moved was ke we registered a company, we hired ourselves and we moved.
  55. He says he realised a digital business built in Dubai could let him step back from a regular job. And that's where I realized I was like okay so if I can build a digital business on top of it, then I can really plug myself out.
  56. He says his current routine is not sustainable. Yes, I would definitely because abhi jo jis tarah se mera routine chal raha hai wo it's not sustainable.
  57. He says content alone may bring cash flow but not a sustainable income, so he needs a business, online or physical. mere paas cash flow to aa jayega lekin wo sustainable nahi hoga. Mujhe sustain karna hai through a business. Either it's online or physical business.
  58. He says the cost of living in Dubai has risen sharply. the cost of living right now in Dubai that I have is skyrocket
  59. He says he could live in Edinburgh for about half what he pays in Dubai. Edinburgh mein. My friend lives there and I really like the place. Meri half cost hoti hai. A two bedroom apartment with the same grocery and all of the things that I'm doing here is half the cost that I'm paying in Dubai.
  60. He says Dubai compares well with the UK once you earn well, because there are no taxes there. to yeh jagah compared to UK bahut behtar ho jati hai kyunki yahan taxes nahi hain.
  61. He says if he had to move somewhere, it would be the US. if somebody would ask me to move to somewhere, it would be the US.
  62. He says he finds almost no American expats in Dubai. agar aap Dubai mein dekhenge to Dubai mein aapko koi US expat nahi milega
  63. He has lived in Dubai for about 13 years. Almost 13 years now. 13 years.
  64. He says Dubai has become much more expensive in the last year, especially for housing. Dubai is getting expensive now because in last one year jo housing especially jo hai woh woh bahut zyada expensive ho gayi hai
  65. He says the UAE and Saudi Arabia want to diversify away from oil. Dubai aur let's say UAE aur Saudi they would like to diversify away from oil.
  66. He says he knows two or three Pakistani content creators who got golden visas after gaining some visibility. Pakistan ke content creators mein se do teen logon ko main jaanta hoon jinhone jinko golden visa mila tha just because woh thoda sa limelight mein aa gaye the
  67. He says FIRE is very difficult to calculate in Pakistan and the Middle East. Fire number in Pakistan aur Middle East is very difficult to calculate.
  68. He explains FIRE as financial independence and retiring early. Fire number hota kya hai basically financial independence retire early
  69. He says Dubai is not going anywhere and that its regional conflicts were resolved amicably. Dubai to kahin nahi jaane wala maine inka ek achi cheez jo dekhi abhi jo inke conflicts the regional conflicts the woh bade amicably unhone solve kiya hai
  70. He says he has neither strong hopes nor fears for Pakistan. Meri koi bahut zyada hopes as such nahi hai lekin Positive bhi nahi hai negative bhi nahi hai.
  71. He says India has changed a lot at the macro level, and Pakistan could catch up if it moves in the right direction. macro level ke upar India ke andar bahut cheezein change ho gayi hain aur Pakistan ko cope up karne mein time lagega aur time bahut zyada bhi nahi lagega agar sahi direction mein chalna shuru kar de Pakistan
  72. He says a person who knows AI could take the job of someone who does not use it. agar aap AI use nahi karenge to jo banda AI jisko aati hai woh aapki job le sakta hai
  73. He says 5G makes little difference to his own phone use. mujhe koi as such farq nahi padta mere use cases mein
  74. He thinks there is no current scope for 5G in Pakistan. Pakistan ki baat karenge to mera nahi khayal ke is waqt Pakistan ke andar koi scope hai is waqt 5G ka.
  75. He says use cases such as autonomous cars need 5G because of latency. Kuch use cases aa gaye hain jaise autonomous car aur is tarah ki cheezein jo ke normal network pe bhi chal jaata hai, lekin kyunki uski latency wagera ke masle hote hain to woh definitely 5G is required.
  76. He says engineers must learn modern tools to stay relevant. Aap apna kaam definitely jo naye modern tools hain, unke upar aana padega.
  77. He tells people to earn the degree and also build soft skills. main sabko yeh bolta hoon ke yeh jo aapki degree hai, yeh to aap kar lein, lekin at the same time aapko soft skills leni chahiye
  78. He says the subject of his content has been his passion from the start. jis cheez pe main content banata hoon, yeh mera shuru se passion raha hai.
  79. He says raising one's income is the best option. definitely main bolunga income barhayein apni. Yeh isse achi to koi cheez hi nahi ho sakti.
  80. He says his biggest investment was in himself, through tools and training. Maximum investment meri yeh hoti thi ki invest in yourself. Haan toh apne tools badha lein ya let's say training le lein.
  81. He says investors look only at share prices and ignore dividends. Hum dividends ko ignore kar dete hain. To wo bhi cheez dekhna chahiye.
  82. He says people should judge returns over ten years, not against today's inflation. Lekin usko bigger picture dekhni chahiye 10 saal ke upar. Aapki inflation is level pe nahi rahegi.
  83. He warns that chasing inflation through trading or crypto usually leads to losses. Agar aap is chakkar mein pad gaye toh lazmi nuksan karenge kyunki aap phir different kism ki trading mein chale jayenge crypto mein
  84. He describes Pakistan as a very consumption-driven economy. So we are a very consumption driven economy.
  85. He describes the Middle East as booming. Middle East on the other hand is booming.
  86. He says he read that much of Jeddah is being rebuilt under Vision 2030. And so I started reading up on it ki ji what is this vision 2030 and I found out ki ji pura Jeddah jo hai woh tod ke naya ban raha hai.