Success / Self Improvement / Career
Your Career: Don’t listen to Grandpa!
Things ain’t what they used to be.
Once upon a time, a man grew up, maybe went to college, maybe didn’t, got a job, and worked there for his entire career. The company looked out for him, made sure he had the training he needed if he wanted to move up, and demonstrated loyalty to him in tough times. In return, the man was loyal to the company in good times and bad. Put your head down, work hard, and good things happened.
That time and place don’t exist anymore. Now it’s men and women (whose only career choices used to be a teacher or nurse — nice to have choices now!), almost always go to college, try to get a job, and then rinse and repeat as they get another job every 2–3 years. The companies don’t give a crap about you (tech workers, looking at you! Year to date tech layoffs: ≈ 170k as per TechCrunch.com). If you don’t have the skills they want or need, tough. They’ll hire someone who does. Loyalty? Hah! Now, it’s just a word in the corporate dictionary between Lacking and Reliability.
Working hard is no longer enough. You can’t be head down, you have to be heads-up! You have to see what’s coming, not only for your job but your company and your industry.
