I’ve started composing some lessons on job advice in advance of the next session. I began by outlining the benefits of focusing on your career rather than attempting to elude it. I claimed that you must develop valuable, uncommon skills, which do not occur naturally. Also, I explained how exerting more effort, if it becomes your source of competitive advantage, might actually work against you.
The overarching lesson in all of these lessons is that you need career capital to have a successful career. Skills, relationships and other assets that make you in demand.
Yet, while gaining career capital isn’t trivial, and it’s the key element that divides the desirability of different occupations, it isn’t the sole step to having employment you’ll love. Having career capital isn’t enough, you need to actually use it to negotiate the lifestyle you want to live.
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What Type of Lifestyle Do You Actually Want?
Many people seldom take the time to reflect and sincerely consider the kind of career they want. Instead, they behave like ambitious rats in a Skinner box, pulling the appropriate triggers to obtain immediate professional benefits without first considering whether they want to be there in the first place.
Recently, I read an intriguing account of a student who “accidentally” chose to study in physics. This student was motivated by the pressure to earn good marks and then get into graduate school, but he never really thought about what kind of profession he wanted.
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This happens a lot more frequently than most people realize, in my opinion. They join a company where putting in long hours is valued, so they begin putting in hours to appease their coworkers rather than considering whether this is a good fit for them. Maybe they start seeking incremental promotions, without fully evaluating whether a minor rise in compensation is worth the added responsibilities.
I made fun of those who pursue illusions in order to become wealthy without contributing anything in the first lecture. Yet to be fair, at least those individuals are attempting to lead a certain lifestyle. Even though they may be approaching it ineffectively, they at least have a clear idea of the kind of life they want to create. Do you?
“But That’s Just the Way Things Are…”
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I occasionally talk to someone who is dissatisfied with the situation at work. The hours are too long. There are no vacations. You cannot set your own hours or work remotely.
These complaints imply that this is simply how the job is done. You don’t have an option.
Of course, in some cases, they may be right. You can’t operate your wedding photography business from home. Programmers spend their entire day working with computers. Sometimes the limitations are inextricably linked to the work itself.
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But for every person who claims that “this is just the way things are,” I’ve heard of someone else who flouts the law. A good buddy of mine negotiated part time work at a company to spend the rest of his time working on a personal project even though that was against corporate policy. I know of people who work from home, even though their coworkers can’t.
The truth is that when someone says “this is just the way things are,” they really only mean “this is the way things are for you.”
Most things are negotiable, provided you are uncommon and valuable enough to allow people to make you an exception.
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Be Wary of Default Lifestyle Choices
Actually getting enough career capital to be able to make unorthodox lifestyle decisions is what’s difficult. Nevertheless, there’s also lots of people who have some career capital, but fail to use it when it comes time to decide where and how to work.
I am unable to advise you on the lifestyle you ought to lead. Early in my career, I was able to work part-time and make enough money to live comfortably. Instead, I decided I wanted to embark on something more big, so now I have a small staff. I put in more effort now, but I also get to do things that I never would have imagined a decade ago.
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You might have the same tendency, choosing to take on more difficult tasks that truly thrill you. Or, you might prefer to work less, work from home, take more vacations or be more picky about what kinds of projects you undertake. The decision is ultimately yours, provided you have the professional resources to demand it and the flexibility to work out a compromise.
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