One of my favorite advising quotes is that someone entering the job market at this time will have five careers, not five jobs, five careers. To be honest I don't recall exactly where I heard that. I'm pretty sure it was from someone in Career Services but I can't guarantee it. The number doesn't really matter, it's probably higher than five now. What matters is the idea that the world of work isn't like it used to be. As recently as a decade ago, certainly twenty-five years ago, it was completely reasonable to assume that you would (or at least could) finish your career with the company you first worked with. That kind of certainty just doesn't exist anymore. Is that good or bad? Probably both. The certainty of lifetime employment has an appeal for sure. On the other hand, it was very possible to get caught in a "dead-end" job and spend much of your career unfulfilled and stuck. As long as you know the rules, you adjust, I guess.
My Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law are examples of the changing world of work. Both had very well-paid professional jobs for a large company (international, Fortune 500). After 20 years of continuous employment they were both laid off within a year of each other. Their company provided generous severance and assistance with finding new work. In the time since they were laid off, six or eight years--I don't recall exactly--neither has had permanent full time work. They have both been hired as contractors and consultants, never at a wage anything near what they left.I'm sure you know people with similar experiences.
My sister-in-law believes quite strongly that their company did the right thing in laying them off. She says that it's just what companies have to do to stay in business. I'm not so sure. I understand that the world is a turbulent place and change happens at an incredible rate. On the other hand, to me it seems like we keep renegotiating the contract so that soul-less corporations get a little bit more and real people with flesh, blood, and souls get a little bit less. Is it really necessary that every choice in the changing world of work should benefit the company over the person? We love our free market in the US but, you know, it does come with a cost.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
37 comments:
I guess I’m the first to blog, so here goes. I have also heard that we will have five careers in our lifetime. And I know for a fact that career services has said that you shouldn’t expect to work at the same place you start or even in the same field. I find this unfortunate. I don’t know if it’s because the companies aren’t trying to keep employees around or that as employees we don’t know what we truly want to do. It is unfortunate because we sometimes spend many years exploring and learning in a field that we think we will enjoy. That not only wastes our time, but also the time that others have invested in our learning. I think it’s interesting to listen to people on campus talk about their majors/minors and why they have chosen them and what they want to do after graduation. I am to that point in my college experience that I need to think about internships and where I want to end up. I am an accounting major so I have many corporations to explore in a variety of accounting concentrations. I have been told that it is very likely that I will work for multiple companies and I don’t like that idea that much. I believe in finding what I really love to do and continuing to do it until I can’t. I don’t want to be in a job just to have a job and money. I think that is a very sad way to live your life. But to answer the question, is it necessary for every choice in the changing work world to benefit the company over the person, I say no. I have accepted an internship at McGladrey & Pullen and in talking with their employees I have learned that they request that their employees have a well rounded and balanced personal and work life. They are very understanding about family and personal time. This is something that has definitely influenced my views on the company and one of the main reasons why I have decided to do my internship there. Unlike many other companies, McGladrey has an employee retention rate of over 90%. So I believe that in order to have employees who enjoy their job and therefore work harder for the company, the choices made by the company should benefit the company as well as the employees. Maybe McGladrey is an exception to the work world, but I think more companies should be more concerned with their employees.
I have never heard the "five careers" statistic, but have heard many times that it is very unlikely that we will stay at the same company for the duration of our working lives. I do not necessarily consider this to be a bad thing. I think that in some cases, this could provide us with an opportunity to discover a more fulfilling work experience. I acknowledge that many people have a difficult time recovering from a lay-off and, perhaps, an even more difficult time finding new work. I find this most unfortunate, but I believe that if you are able to someday find that job that fulfills you like none other, that all the hardship is worth it. Because of this reasoning, I also don't believe it is necessary for every choice in the working world to benefit the company over the person. I think that for a company to truly be successful, they have to consistently work towards strengthening their team. In many cases, this involves providing the workers with an environment that is optimal for each individual. I believe this will result in more positive attitudes towards tasks and a more successful business, overall. I worked at a toy store last year that was soley focused on profit of the company and never on the contentment of the employees. Since I quit, at least 85% of the people I worked with also quit. My reasoning for leaving was because of the companies' tactics at sales. I felt that there was a money-making gimmick behind everything. It upset me, perhaps more than even the customers, to have to bombard the shoppers with disadvantageous offers from the minute they walked into the store. I find it interesting that my contentment with the company was directly related to their "strategy" at acquiring new and lasting customers...not at the benefits I was offered or the money. In my opinion, if the changing work world continues to benefit the company over the person, the only results will be unsatisfied customers, the outsourcing of jobs, increased unemployment rates, and less satisfying products.
Yes, I have heard about something like “we will have five careers in our lifetime”. Like your Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law, my elder brother has experienced that too and I saw how the process works. About ten years before, Hong Kong was a financial-based economy. Without surprise, my brother, a fresh graduate at that time, was engaged in the financial field. But after 1997, the economic turmoil in HK, the government intended to transform the economy into a knowledge-based one. It made the financial industry gloomy. He could not but enter the growing IT industry. Yet, worse still, the IT bubble burst years later. In the following years after that, he did not have a permanent work and keep searching. His changes are probably the result of the changing world of work. I just can’t remember how many careers he has had until he found his current job. It seems to be a very rugged career path; however, what I see now is that he pretty much enjoys his work. So, I think the changing world of work may not necessarily purely benefit the company alone but employees too. Life’s like this. We are all searching for the best in our minds. You have to be flexible towards changes. Otherwise, you would possibly be put aside and forgot. The process may be bitter, but like what jennak said “if you are able to someday find that job that fulfills you like none other, that all the hardship is worth it.” But I acknowledge that nowadays many companies, especially those multinational ones, are too profit-emphasized. Sometimes, they may have forgotten their social responsibility and business ethics that’s what really worrying to employees. In my mind, they should try to strike a good balance between the company’s benefit and the employees’ benefit.
In today's society I can definitely see people having around five careers or more. There was more job security earlier in the past century when you would be hired for your first job after college and would stay on until you retired. Back then it seemed like you only had one shot. Nowadays, everyone seems to be changing jobs due to the corporate decisions.
I personally think it's more than just job ADD for some people; businesses don't always have that same moral value like in the old days. I work at Kwik trip where it seems there is a sense of family because it is still run by the man who founded it. Therefore, everyone is taken care of. My last job with Northwest Airlines (or whatever synonym works best for you)left me worn emotionally and physically. I had 3 different managers during my time there. That says quite a bit about the airline industry. The hours were long, the pay was pitiful, and the last manager didn't care about your life outside of work. In conclusion, I believe that big corporations have forgotten what is truly important: the people. Forget cutting hard-working employees loose just to gain a few bucks. Those people you cut will cost you even more. I left NWA before I lost my mind, and my job. Sometimes you just have to do what's best for you.
In my opinion the changing world of work should both benefit the company and the person. I am a human resource management major and I hope that in my first career of HRM I will be able to create a balance of benefits between my employer and the human resources I will manage. I don't necessarily think that changing careers always has a negative affect on people. It is true that your pay may decrease, but your happiness could increase. I definately don't agree that all social contracts should be the same. Times have changed since our grandparents or even parents. People don't only consider themselves successful through their job, but also through their family and commuity envolvement. Some people choose to only work part-time so that they have time in their life to balace their priorities. Therefore when companies offer new social contracts to employees that allow for part-time, project-based, or seasonal work this becomes a win-win situation. Companies don't have to worry about the expense of employees during off-seasons or when large projects are finished. There isn't necessarily the loyalty or security of the traditional "old" contract, but it does give the option of career exploration and freedom. Just as the working world is changing around us, I feel it is important to change ourselves. Not only for the reason of adapting to the changes, but in order to better ourselves.
It's almost humorous to me to be reading this blog after reading the book. As I was reading chapter one I was also thinking that I have recently heard from the people I work with at Trane that "kids" our age don't stay with one company too long. I cannot even begin to analyze all of the thoughts in my head. I am also a marketing major and have been told in my classes that "this is the way of the business world - buy companies that are going down, build them up and sell them off". When this happens people are laid off and unfotuatly have a hard time find employment again. I guess our parents generation would have a harder time than our generation because most likely they have been working for the same company their entire lives. It's hard to imagine not working somewhere that I am not completely happy with. I think a lot of us grow up thinking we can do whatever we want to do, we can actually be happy at work, and that's how I hope it really is. I think this is mostly true because, like the book said, not-for-profit companies are really starting to take over the work force. Those companies seem to be employing people that really love what they are doing, that really care for the things they do. That's what I think is most important about keeping jobs. I think experiences like volunteering and internships will really help in the search to find better employment, and maybe that is why young adults are in and then out of companies like kids in a play ground. There are so many opportunites out there that we are taught to take advantage of. It really is a wild work force out there and we must compete to stay in.
Wow! I have to say that the reading and the quote gave me a lot to think about. Personally, I think that the changing work world benefits the company as a whole rather than the individual, and it is disappointing. But can we really be surprised about this? Living in an individualistic, capitalistic society, it's sort of what you can expect. The U.S., compared with other countries, has a completely different idea of the value of work, so it seems. Work all your life to get ahead, earn money, and then enjoy the last 10, 20 years of life. There should be a balance to life in which work and play can be intertwined! This past summer I did an internship for a non-profit organization in Montreal, Canada. At my job we had flex time which was great! Miss a few hours, make them up later. We also had hour long lunch breaks. In France, I believe families get 5 weeks of paid vacation. What do we get here in the U.S.--like 2? And even then it's not paid. And 60 hour work weeks are typical for the average worker, supporting a family or flying solo. I think some companies and organizations are realizing that employee productivity can be so much higher when there is a focus on quality of life and family life. The change to this new way of thinking about work is occurring slowly but surely. It also seems that today it is all too easy to mistaken work for home and home for work, especially when most hours are spent at the office. I hope to work for a non-profit organization doing something that I love, and be able to come home and night and really be home fully, without worrying about work. That's not to say that non-profits orgs are the perfect employers, but I think they definitely have the right idea in being more humanitarian and more fair to their employees.
If I would have heard that someone should be prepared to go through five careers in their lifetime five six years ago I probably would not have believed it. My Dad is a Veterinarian and started his own company so his job has always been concrete. As for my Mom, she had worked for the same company for 19 years. When I was in middle school my Mom switched jobs so that she could work closer to home and receive better working hours. That was the first time I became aware of my Mom's work life and her home life and the separation between the two. She later told me that the main reason why she left her old company was because they were not sympathetic towards her outside life, meaning her family. For my Mom, she had to put her own feelings and sense of duty for her family before her job which led to her departure of that job. After reading the blogs I would agree with kayingm's comment about how companies, "should try to strike a good balance between the company’s benefit and the employees’ benefit." After listening to my Mom tell me about the lack of concern for employees outside life, it became apparent why my Mom took the actions that she did. There was not that balance between the company and their employees. After 9/11 however, my Mom's company was bought out. She was offered a nice severance and had time to find a new job fortunately, but other co-workers of hers were not as fortunate. After her job loss she started working for another company called metavante. She has been with them now for a little over five years. Before my Mom was hired though, she wanted to make sure that she would have the flexibility to balance both her job and her family. Looking back now, I have seen both sides of the "five career" statistic. My Dad still has the same job; however my Mom has done her fair share of bouncing back and forth. If I have learned anything through watching my parents’ career paths, it's that the companies who have been the most successful are the ones who have an equal balance between an employees personal and work life. I guess the only way for me to look optimistically towards this statistic is to think that at least I will be gaining beneficial work experience. I guess if having five different careers is what it takes for me to truly find a job that I am happy with I am willing to make those sacrifices, but boy would life be a whole heck of a lot easier if I could just find that one perfect job and never have to leave. Unfortunately, quoting my parents, “life just isn’t always fair!”
By going to college, we are suppose to explore different areas through our general education courses and try to find a career path that we may want to go into by the time we graduate. For some, we will have internships that will help us establish our decisions about continuing a career in that field. We may have to go through a few jobs in order to reach our "dream job", and there is always the goal of becoming better at what we do. For others, we may go through college without ever finding a career choice that we get excited about. You can graduate with a general understanding of what degree you choose, but not knowing what you want to do with it. I can see how some people may have to go through a couple of companies until they find a job/career that they really enjoy.
Career Services pushes students for experience. The more experience you are, the better of an applicant you are. I see that as a good and bad thing. If you enjoy working for a company, why should you have to change your career just to gain more experience. You can try a new job with the company to gain more knowledge about the company, and understand more about how different jobs bring the company together. I don’t think that you necessarily need to always venture away from a company that you enjoy working for. Americans seem to always strive to become more successful in their careers, and employees may change jobs/careers in order to become the most successful that they are capable of.
After reading Rick's entry, I thought about my aunt. She worked for a financial company in Milwaukee, as a full time employee for many years (since she graduated college). She had a number of people working below her, and she was fairly successful at her job. When she was pregnant with her second child, she asked her boss if she could split her full time position with another parent co-worker. Her boss did not like the idea, and in the end, she quit. Ever since she left, she has had to take pay and benefit cuts from the various companies she has worked for. Although she does not mind having the free time to spend with her two children, she is in search of a company that can compare to what the original company was.
Not to switch the subject, but something that really caught me was when the chapter talked about time. Although I definitely see the benefit of timeliness in company practices, I wonder if it is/has a negative effect on our society. Take for example next day shipping; if we need something right away we can get it really fast. But if we rely on this back up, are we being less responsible or losing our need to plan ahead? When companies race to get their products out there first, are they putting less emphasis on the quality of the product? I realize the company knows this, but does the customer know this when they buy the product? Look at how many flaws the Xbox 360 had in it when it was released. As a consumer it just adds one more thing you have to think about when buying something. The more we focus on timeliness, the less we focus on quality and perfection. Just look at what Spell Check did to people like me. I don’t have to think much when it comes to spelling on papers, but it really shows up when I have to write something by hand. I love the luxuries of our timeliness society, but I do think it will impact us in the long run.
I have to admit I’ve been feeling somewhat overwhelmed recently. As a senior this year the constant question I’ve been bombarded with is, “What are you going to do after graduation?” And I cannot for the life of me come up with an answer. Hearing that people have about five careers makes me feel slightly better about my insecurities about the future. At least I know that if I make an initial career move I’m unhappy with – I can move on and it’s okay. My Dad will be 50 shortly and he has worked for the same company since he was 18 years old. He’s been through mergers, lay-offs, cut-backs and yet has managed to keep up with the ever changing organizational environment. I believe this is because he has had multiple careers within the organization. What he does now, in no way relates to what he was doing as an 18 year old kid. The company has allowed him to grow, providing him with opportunities to be successful.
What I’m trying to say is that as long as an employee is happy changing careers – I think it is a great opportunity to learn and grow. At the same time, it is hard to put a positive spin on things when people are forced to change careers. It is difficult to say that every choice made in the work environment should benefit the company over the person. At times, of course – but in no way should every choice. At the end of the day we are all human and I was happy to read that that employers are beginning to recognize the importance of employee quality of life.
It is indeed interesting to think that we could potentially have five or six jobs in a lifetime but I, for some reason, have always had that sort of mind set. Like Meghan said, people always ask what I will be doing after graduation. At this point I dont know but I have always had the mind set that I will find something and if I dont like it I will just move on to something else. I think that because of the fact that our society is more flexible with careers and also have the mind set that they can just move on, it makes it easier to change careers and it doesn't seem like such a big deal. I also think that it would be very nice to stay with the same company for 20 years. It would be a place to grow and develop ideas within. It is hard to tell what will happen in my life as for the future.
One thing that I thought of was the our attention spans as a society. Are our attention spans getting shorter? Are we just getting board with careers so we find the need to change them five or six times? Maybe our fast paced society is forcing us to just become bored with one career. Not that it is a bad thing, just an idea.
Who doesn’t have the dream of graduating college, getting handed the perfect job, and working your way up to the top to retire a happy, healthy YOUNG millionaire? I know I do, but unfortunately in this ever changing world it just isn’t reality. Maybe I am being a devils advocate here, but I completely agree with Rick’s sister-in-law in believing that their companies did the right thing in laying them off. I too am a strong believer that change (although sometimes rough and tough) is a good thing, and if it takes companies having to lay off employees to better themselves and for the companies generally interest so be it. I guess I think of it as it better for a company to lay off 10 employees to save on costs, than laying off 100 employees and moving the company to Mexico or some other underprivileged country for cheaper labor.
It really sucks to know the saying; “the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer” is all too often true. And to the see the fact in the book that the average working persons pay went up only 66% in the past 20 years, compared to that of 1,996% of a CEO is sickening. However reading on in the book, American economy could not survive without the underpaid and undervalued employees of companies around the country….after all, we are not all striving for a college education to make minimum wage at a local burger joint, but someone has to do it right?
Personally, I hope that I or none of us have to go through the financial and emotional burdens of loosing a perfect job.....but in the end it is real people made of flesh, blood, and souls that are making the financial and beneficial decisions of the soulless corporations, who knows maybe one of us?
I think that sometimes people are almost too afraid of change that they often lose opportunities that could benefit them in the long run. As most of our parents have stayed in the same career for most of their lives, we tend to think that is the best way to go. I haven't been forced to think too much about this aspect of my life until recently. As I am approaching graduation (as terrifying as it may seem), I found myself contemplating the question of "where am I going to end up?" I have for many years been scared of the idea of working for the rest of my life. I have had a few jobs in my life, but that is just what they seem to be..."jobs." To think that I may find myself in five or so different careers throughout my life is exciting. I ultimately strive for what everyone does, a steady, enjoyable career that will provide me with quality benefits, good pay, and general happiness in what I do. Being a Communication Studies major, the options are open as to what I can do with a Public Relations emphasis. I hope find myself in many different jobs until I finally find one that fulfills my expectations. I don't feel it necessary to compromise happiness, financial stability, or overall satisfaction by being in a job that doesn't put their employer as a first priority. Also because we all are human beings with emotional needs and many of us have an idea that family should be prioritized over our careers, the "workaholic" attitude is often not the norm, and should not be expected of employees. It is definitely important to strive to be the best employee and work to benefit the company, but this should not mean compromising importance of our family lives. In short, I believe our "quality of life" should be recognized and respected in our choice of career.
Having never heard the ‘five-careers’ thing I found it and extremely interesting statistic. Not really the fact that this is a well-accepted statement, but more along the lines that people are shocked to see the numbers. It’s funny to me because I’ve been in the same major for my entire collegiate career now (telecomm… or digital broadcasting… I’m not sure what we’re calling it) and still have no clue where that’s going to take me in life. One the other hand I have a friend who has changed his major now for the sixth time in four years and he thinks he has his career path set out. Besides that being a completely ridiculous statement by my friend with how changing the economy and everything is – that could be close to impossible by the time our generation is old enough to say we’re ’10 years on the job’.
To answer the question that’s being thrown around, I agree with Emily 100% and it’s a terrible truth. I hope that I, along with anyone I know, will never have to go through the hardships of layoffs or many of the other money grubbing schemes corporations go through to earn the almighty dollar but the sad and honest truth is that it needs to happen for an economy to grow – that’s just how capitalism works. The other hand of this is also that some of the lower end jobs that these layoffs are filling are also needed to keep the economy going, a corporation keeps growing and less desirable jobs get filled – the ball keeps rolling.
My father is the type of man who has been working the same job and most likely will be working it for the rest of his life. He too has been through layoffs and has had to adapt to new changes. I, However, feel that I am not going to love my first job and stay with it for the rest of my life. I am the kind of person who is always looking for new challenges and better opportunities. So I guess the statistic of five careers in our lifetime doesn't really surprise me. I think that every job we have we learn and grow. For instance, last year I got a job working in an office and I thought that I might really like it. After about three months I realized that I could NEVER work in an office dealing with paperwork again. I suffered through a year of it and decided to quit. I soon moved onto a job at News Channel 8. This is a job that is high paced and I feel like I'm constantly learning something new. It doesn't pay as well as the job in the office but the fact that I enjoy being there makes it all worth it. Switching jobs and starting new jobs can be intimidating for a lot of people but sometimes it can turn out to be a great life change or a learning experience. Don't get me wrong I would eventually love to settle down into a career that I love. But the knowledge I will gain from my experiences in my other jobs will only help me to achieve that.
It seems as though a lot of people also feel like they expected to have more than one career. I think that as the world becomes more competitive and fast paced we are feeling the pressure to change and to strive for our own excellence. To do this we must learn from our experiences and be able to adapt to an ever-changing world.
After reading the blog and the chapter I have begun to feel even more apprehension and anxiety for the future. The competition, the chance of cutbacks and downsizing in a company all are issues we may be forced to deal with and the idea of having 5 different careers seems to be an accurate statistic to consider.
Will we find loyalty and trust in the very first job we are offered? One can only hope. After the specialized training we have had for our jobs, why would a company ever doubt the ability of potential employee?
As we see the shift to the "New Social Contract" I can't help but agree that most relationships that we will from with a new company will fall under these guidelines. Although being finished with a degree in four years and then not ever having to think about school again is a relief, however, will we still remain in demand? Will employers over-look someone that does not continue to expand on their abilities? Will they look for a better opportunity to hire for the company? With these thoughts in mind what will I do to stay in demand and marketable? Does it mean going through 5 careers? Will these five different careers help me gain more experience and provide continual learning?
In summary, if we strive this hard to please only a company will we ever have our own priorities straight? It is a true balancing act to please the company and the employee and this type of structure will be hard to come by as we continue at the pace we are at in this society.
I found that the reading greatly emphasized what I already believed to be true about the work force today. When talking to people that I work under at my summer jobs, I find that most of them have moved from prior "careers" and are not planning on staying at this particular one for the remainder of their working years. It is interesting to me, though, that some jobs specific jobs seem to have a higher rate for keeping people in the same place throughout their entire career. For example, my father has been a teacher at the same elementary school for his entire career. That's over 30 years at the same job. Although my aunt has switched at one point in her life, she has been teaching at the same high school for over 15 years. I have found that other teachers stay in their positions for a much longer period of time than say someone in the business world. I feel as though there are certain careers, such as teaching, that would cause everyone to suffer if they reflected the idea that people are to have several careers throughout their life. On the opposite end, I understand that with a rapidly growing world and work force, there needs to be a certain amount of change. Change is neccessary for a company to grow and unfortunately sometimes that change requires a change in employees. The good news is that the company can continue to grow, the bad news is it makes it harder to start on the bottom of a company and work your way up. How can you possibly know how long your going to be around for, even if you are amazing at your job. Your job may not even be there tomorrow. It's sad that no one can expect the same loyalty from their employers anymore. It seems as though that if you aren't that cut throat and if let personal emotions and feelings get in the way, it's unlikely that you can advance and stay in the same position. It's almost as if their is a decreasing lack of respect for one another in today's work force. Lack of respect may lead to lack of motivation, which could ultimately hinder the company. So overall, although there are some places that you may be able to hold onto your job with a loyal company or instution, you may have to get use to the idea of shifting from place to place which could hurt you, and ultimately, the companies.
I found it ironic that is was the topic of our first blog because in my psychology class this morning we were talking about this same issue, but my teacher stated that we would have at least three careers in our lifetimes. Obviously different research will produce an array of career possibilities, but the message is clear; we are going to be a generation that will need to be flexible and adaptive.
I agree with meghanm that I have been overwhelmed with determining my plans after graduation, but I do feel relief knowing that we will have opportunites to explore different options and hopefully find our true passions in life. I also come from a family where the experience has been very different. My mom is an RN and has been for 30 yrs. My dad is the third generation in our family's small construction company and he knew before he finished high school that he would be taking that career. i envy my parents ability to find careers they enjoy and make them last throughout their lives, but I also look forward to the freedom of choosing my own path.
The working world is more complex than it was when our parents' generation began working. We have many more opportunites available to us. We also have greater economic issues to deal with and less stability within our career choices. Like Dr Roddick's brother and sister-in-law some of us will struggle through some of the jobs that we take in our lives and others may find easier success. I think that we must leave college prepared for the worst and hoping for the best.
I tend to plan ahead (even though I can’t control everything in the future) and that is why I chose a major that would be flexible enough to prepare me many different types of jobs. Lay-offs do scare me, my father was almost let go when I was younger from a manager position, and I thought it was the worst thing that ever happened. However, I plan on switching careers as I age which allows for flexibility. I want to go from working in the business field to becoming a work from home mother, to starting my own business, and hopefully someday working for a non-profit organization. Change is a good thing and I think some people take for granted what they have. People complain about their jobs so much, but then when down-sizing happens they freak out and think the end of the world is coming. The chapter even talked a little about flexibility and how important it is for the world we live in today. Knowing how the business world is changing people need to start planning ahead and have enough in savings to allow for a period of unemployment. I have a hard time accepting outsourcing at a reason for lay-offs, but in my father’s case his company was going bankrupt and needed a way out. Things that you can’t control happen, so being ready for it and being flexible enough to not hit rock bottom because of the change is really important. The other thing that really stood out to me also was the quality of life. This summer was the first time I ever quit a job for reasons other than leaving for school. My life outside of work was becoming more stressful and at work I did not agree with how everything was managed. Instead of complaining about it even more, I just quit. I have been so much happier, and if my old boss really needs me to work a weekend I will go back for a few hours. Compared to some other countries I feel there are many things lacking in the U.S. business world. Yes, making money is a good thing, but I feel that the quality of my lifestyle and what I can achieve from the job definitely outweighs the number on my paycheck.
Chapter one to me was the best explanation as to why I am in Communications. It pretty much explained very clearly that communication affects everything. While reading this chapter it reminded me of my intercultural class that I had just went to that day. Satoshi is the proffessor and he opened it up to the class to ask him any questions. Besides finding out that he lives with a cat and a dog (adding, that it's not his cat-he's actually allergic, it's more of a situational thing-that benefits the cat) and that he likes any kind of music-club, country, japanese, etc., someone inquired as to why he chose communication studies. His answer was that it pertained to every aspect of life. I thought that was a pretty good statement.
Businesses are a great example of an organization that needs communication. The first chapter outlines many different changes that have taken place. It's now a global market and communication acrosse different cultures is very prevalent. Even on a small scale-time is money. The more times you have to repeat something the more money is lost
I like Rodrick's comment about how the corporation is getting the money and not so much the flesh and blood people. Coming from a small(1600) midwestern town, I'm not much of a fast-paced person. Neither of my parents went to college. One of my classes asked, "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" Really the first thoughts that came into my head was that I would hopefully be married with a couple of kids. I don't have the biggest of career goals. I still think they are pretty good goals. I don't think that I would have a problem staying home with my kids. I was grateful that my mom stayed home when I was young. She started work after my siblings were old enough to take care of us all. It is crazy to me how much our lifestyle's are centered around work.
This world is becoming more global. But, what are the businesses doing with their money. At least before the factories were helping out the towns. Now outsourcing is kind of the idea. Yeah Walmart is cheap, but where does the Walmart money go? All of mr. walmart's kids are in the top 20 (if they aren't in the top 10 yet) richest people in the world. It's crazy how much of this is inter-related with Sociology, Business, Ethics and many more.
I guess we should all do what we want to do. Just make sure we question think about how our actions affect: the community, the world, etc.
Five careers? Are you kidding me? I don’t even want one career right now and I’m first dealing with the fact that I’ll be getting a real job soon. It isn’t very comforting going into a frightening world of work with no guarantees, morals, or commitments from the employers. My parents both got jobs right out of high school and they were actually good jobs. Both stayed with their employers until they had me and got jobs better suited for parenthood. This was about 21 years ago and both of them still work for the same company that they got their new jobs at. This is so opposite of the world of work that I’m going into and it sucks. I feel like that if I got a good education, had the required skills, did my job, and was a good worker that I should be respected enough as a human being to not fire me so the owner of the company can make a few more dollars. Companies pick people up and ship people off these days like we were on professional sports teams with salary caps. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be moving my entire life around what my job entails. It is work we’re talking about here. People are supposed to like what they do all day every day, not hate, regret, and fear it. This is probably why I’ve avoided any attempt to get a serious full time job every summer. Answering the question, I think that the modern working world favors the corporation over the individual at almost every turn and that is why so many people are being terminated and treated like property so that the CEO can get a new plasma tv for their bathroom. Stupid.
Well, I actually had heard the multiple carreer statistic, but when I heard it I think it was, like you said, higher - more like 7 carreers. To be honest not only was I shocked to hear that, but it terrified me. The fact that my real life starts within a year is scary enough let alone the fact that according to the statistic I will have to start from scratch at least 5 times.
That said, this doesn't necessarily have to be a negative statistic. For some people, change in life is necessary to keep them on thier toes and interested in what they're doing. So if a corporation lays off 15 people in the company, odds are, it might work out just fine for 5 of those people - my oldr sister is like that. The problem comes with the other 10 people that aren't that way. The 10 people that have a family to support and valued their job security. I'm sure some companies aren't as good with helping their ex-employees find new jobs as your brother and sister in-law's were.
I think that in many cases the corporations should try to put more human faces on the situation, and even though the company could suffer a bit (in sure it wouldn't too extreme of a loss) the execs should try to put themselves in the shoes of the people that they are laying off. They may think twice about their decision then.
Well, I believe the whole five careers in a lifetime thing. I know my parents have had at least five and they are only 50. They are self-employed and still really don't know what they want to do. A couple years ago Wal-Mart came to my hometown and crushed a lot of the small businesses. I know that my mom's business has struggled because she can't compete with the cheap prices that Wal-mart has to offer, thanks to outsourcing. We had a Co-op that was going to go out of business, but the older customers were loyal and it ended up staying open. Take that Wal-mart and your cheapness.
Anyways, so having only one career actually sounds odd to me. Which I guess is good, with the at least five careers statistic. I can see myself having at least five careers in my lifetime. Luckily for me, I picked Communications as a major and I feel like there are a lot of different careers and opportunities out there for me. I have an idea of what I want to do when I am done with school, but I'm sure my interests will change and I will move on. I'm kind of excited that I am not intimidated by the changes that are happening in the work world. I mean, I do want to find the perfect job out there, but why not experience things on the way. I'm actually excited about it.
It's so hard to believe how much the work world has changed! My dad always keeps me up to date with what's going on in the world, and just from what he's told me about recent careers and the economy, believe it or not, there are going to be many more changes to come. Just the fact that the average person will end up having at least five careers blows my mind. When I graduate from college, I would like to think that I will find a job that I love and will be able to stay at that job until I choose otherwise. Knowing that that might not always be the case really worries me. Not only that, but as the employees are working hard to keep their jobs, the corporations themselves are just enjoying the ride. They have nothing to worry about just as long as the working world keeps favoring the corporations over the individuals, which is part of the reason why so many people are losing their jobs. Both my parents have been working their same jobs for as long as I can remember, however my dad just recently left his job about a year ago to find something new. Even though he's found a job and has been involved with that job for a few months now, the process it has taken him has been somewhat chaotic. Things definitely aren't as easy today as they were back then. I just hope for myself, that my experience in the work world will be a good one. I know that finding a job right off the bat that I love may not be realistic, but I'm hoping to eventually find a job that I love going to everyday. Things may be changing in the work world, but it's not going to stop me from doing something I love!
I am graduating in December. When people hear that, their first question is "oh, well where are you going to work?" To me, it is extremely scary to think that after December, I will pretty much be out there on my own. Granted I want to go to grad school but still, what do I tell these people? I have no idea where I will be or even what I will be doing in the meantime. It is like what we discussed in class today about whether or not we would take the job in La Crosse. I have heard the “five careers” quote before and as recent college graduates, most of us do not have anything holding us down to an area. So what is there to stop us from going to work in other states or even other countries and then come back to the place that is familiar to us; a place where we would want to raise our children. I think that having five careers can be a voluntary action though. There are so many different careers that I think would be extremely interesting, but I lose interest in things fast. So I can personally see myself and having several different careers in my lifetime.
I would have to agree with the part about how big companies are downsizing or subsidizing their employees, yet, CEOs are taking home bigger salaries than ever before. This is very similar to what happened at my dad’s former job. There was a group of like 10 or so engineers who all had been working at the company for over 10 years. The CEO saw this and realized how much he was paying to all these people due to being at the company for so long. Slowly, one by one, each one was let go in order to hire new college graduates to come and do the work for much much less money. My dad was let go from his company that he had worked at for over 20 years. It is so hard for someone to almost start over after being in one job for such a long time. My dad didn’t have problems finding a new job but his job was a far cry from what he was doing at his old company and he had to take a huge pay cut. I understand it from a business sense but it still is hard to see it happen.
I believe the idea of having many careers in a person's lifetime is going to become more prevalent as time passes. People now can barely sit through an entire TV show or continuously pay attention in an hour long class. How are people supposed to be satisfied working the same career for 40 years? I don’t even see how that would be desirable. Life is short, why would someone want to be completely immersed in one company, one job, and the same day-to-day activities for an entire lifetime? It would be hard to suddenly not be making the same paycheck at a different job, but money isn’t everything. For someone our age to even decide what they want to do until they are 60 seem nearly impossible. People change and their interests change and a job that may have been amazing right out of college would no longer appeal to someone later in their life. I agree with the book that this is a big change compared to the past. A previous blogger had mentioned “work A.D.D.” which I think really sums up how the world is today.
With the changes in how the business world is running now, it doesn’t surprise me that employees are being laid off. Companies are changing how they manage and organize their day-to-day activities, requiring different employees with different skills than they may have needed in the past. The emphasis on technology is drawing in more information systems employees, for example, replacing the jobs of others. It seems hard to keep up with the trends of the workplace and sell yourself to an employer as having all the current and desired qualifications.
I believe most companies, overall, do value the company over individual employee needs. If something can maximize profit for a company, it may be done at the employees' expense. I don’t believe this is always the case, but it is true that most companies believe “the customer is always right.”
I have been told since middle school to expect to change careers up to seven times. Imagine getting that kind of information at the age of 12, 13, or 14. It's no wonder I had such a hard time declaring a major and actually sticking to it for more than a semester. I wanted to try and find a major that would set me up for one clear cut, "This is what you do with this major and there isn't much wiggle room" kind of job.
When I applied to UWL, I applied as a Pre-Pharmacy major, because I figured that I would only have to switch companies then. Pre-pharmacy lasted as a major for about as long as the four-hour car ride home. I changed my mind as soon as I got to campus to an Undeclared Science & Allied Health major with no real idea what I wanted to do.
After looking through the course catalog online, I decided to give marketing a try so that I could go into advertising. I went and switched majors and took my economics classes, only to quickly discover that that was not the career path I wanted to go into. Somehow I managed to find the Telecommunication emphasis in the CST department and switched to that.
After I was accepted into the department, I figured I should probably pick a minor since that was required. I opted for a psychology minor and suffered through the most horrible class at UWL, Psychology 100. Needless to say, the psych. minor was dropped instantly, and the PR & Org. Comm. emphasis was discovered. After a few classes, I decided to pull a “switcharoo” and have PR & Org. Comm. as my major emphasis, and Telecommunication as my minor emphasis. Since that spring semester of my sophomore year, I’ve been content with my choice.
If I had that hard a time picking a major and minor combination, then I think I will probably welcome a variety of career paths. I graduate in May and honestly have no idea what I want to do when I “get out” and for once, I’m okay with not having everything laid out in black and white in front of me. I know that from just changing majors, I have had the chance to learn things that I wouldn’t have if I had been set on one major from the start, and I can only imagine that a similar path in my career will do the same. I think I’m ready for the changing world of work…terrified, yes…but ready.
Funny thing, my experience is similar to that of Amanda's. I started at UWL as an International Business Major with a Spanish Minor. It didn't take long to figure out that I didn't like my business classes and that it was time to go back to my roots and what I am good at: English and communicating with people. After an enlightening talk with an advisor at the academic advising center I decided on an English major with rhetoric and writing emphasis and a public relations and organizational communication minor.
All of this talk of changing jobs relates to me in a way because at a glance it seems like I have a very standoffish major, but really I just wanted to make it as versatile as possible and keep my options open. I enjoy writing, editing, and public relations but I'm also interested in human resource management. I have a great deal of customer service experience that can be applied to a variety of different positions. I hope to use the skills I acquire in a round about way to try out different fields. Bearing this in mind, I'm not scared of having to change jobs or change fields, because in a way I'm planning for it.
I had a taste of human resources this summer in an internship and although some aspects were interesting, I definitely want to see what other jobs out there have in store.
Graduation in May seems especially intimidating but as I've mentioned above, I think I've given myself enough options that I'll be ok no matter what comes along!
After reading that a person will have "five careers, not five jobs, five careers" I had to go back and read the statistic again because I was thinking five jobs! Five jobs seems about right but five careers is surprising. I immediately think of my parents. My dad worked in his family's Marine Store as a teenager, then started working for the family business of building houses. Since then, he has become the owner of Driessen Builders and will stay with the business until he retires. My mom has had to two different jobs, both working as a secretary. Therefore, it is hard to imagine changing careers several times. I have been told, most recently by an English Professor, that it's not as important to know what you want to go to school for but more important to get a higher education degree. This advise is somewhat comforting as I truly do not know what I want to do "when I grow up!" Also, the advise makes sense with the five career quote. I chose to major in communications because of the variety of career opportunities that deal with this degree. I too, like many of my classmates have said, want to find a career and job that I love, and I expect to learn and grow from past jobs on my way there. I agree with how Mikeh feels about not wanting one career right now and dealing with the fact that he will be getting a real job soon! Now that I've read through the end of the chapter I realize why it is so important to volunteer, get an internship, etc. in the community because the new definition of success in American society now includes community and family. Success doesn't strictly mean career!
Ive heard stories from both ends of this argument, on the one hand there are numerous stories of people who jump from company to company (particullarly in prof. fields). Yet, there are also stories of companys who work to grow positions around employees and who attempt to utilize them to the fullest or simply individuals who have worked their way up from lower ranks into upper managment materials strictly through company loyalty. No one can really know for certain what their future will bring or how the current job market will develop in the next few years. As a result, I feel that employment decisions shouldnt be made in regards to trends or fads, but on a more solid, grounded approach looking at what we expect of our careers at this point and where and how can we best hope to meet these goals we have set for ourselves
It is mind bottling that we would be discussing the effects of today’s employment uncertainty in a class of communication studies majors; our intended degree will enable us to go to a countless number of different careers. If we live in a world where statistically speaking we’re likely to have 5 different careers its good to know that we have an adaptable degree with an adaptable skill set to meet those careers.
The idea of having multiple careers and a change of scenery once and while doesn’t fear me in the least. It is those frustrating and uncertain times of unemployment that raises concern. We have sought after higher education in hopes of providing better lives for ourselves and our future families which makes it seem entirely unfair to think that we could become so easily disposable.
However we may claim to feel about companies putting business over people, the reality is this decision is a reflection of our own individual values. We consistently are putting our work lives over our personal ones. It has become acceptable for companies to choose business over the people because the people are putting business over people. So is it really necessary for companies to benefit over the person? No, but that is the world we are making. It would be overly ambitious to try and change the world. It is best we continue to do what we are doing and give ourselves the best chance possible to succeed by getting a higher education, having a diverse degree and being flexible to take on the challenges we will face in the professional world.
I have certainly not heard of the five career statistic, but I have heard that it’s not unrealistic to obtain a job after graduation that may have nothing to do with what you spent 2-5 years studying for in college. It’s mildly ironic to me that in college you have decide on a major that is supposed to help figure out what you will do for ‘the rest of your life’. I’ve heard from numerous people older than me who went to college for a certain degree and ended up pursuing or obtaining a job that has little to no relevance to what they spent a large amount time learning in school.
This is proven true by many members of my family. My father, for instance, graduated from college with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. However, he is now a sales associate for a major Milwaukee company.
I also agree that career services pushes people to gain experience in their intended major. This is extremely helpful for those in a business or com studies major because with a lack of experience in what they are doing, they are less likely obtain a job after graduation that is in their intended field of study. Even if you change jobs frequently, the experience you gain from the previous positions might possibly show your employer a new way of approaching or dealing with situations, or coming up with new ideas for selling a product, etc. The more experience you gain from different places of employment the more you will have to offer the companies you will potentially work for.
Reading what some of you have written and thinking about what the text says reminds me of my grandpa. He had two jobs in his life. His first was in sales and then his second and last job was for a local comapny in my hometown that helped people find work. My grandpa passed away two years ago after along battle with cancer. the entire time that he was sick, he never stopped working. He had such dedication to his job and he really liked working. When my grandpa atarted to get really sick and it became too difficult for him to go to the office every day, his bossed let him to continue to work from home. He worked until one week before he died. At his funeral, not only was my grandpa's boss there, he went up to my grandma and gave her some money from his own pocket. He said that it was just one way that he could show his appreciation for my grandpa's hard work over the years and that he also wanted to make sure that my grandma would be okay. My grandma has since developed a strong friednship with my grandpa's former boss and his wife. I recently met them and he offered me Badger tickets since he has season tickets. This kind of compassion is something that is not seen too often in the wroking world today. It shows us that when companies work to make their employees feel appreciated and satisfied, they will work that much harder and devote themselves that much more to the company. I agree with some of the posts and the text that talks about the change in the idea of succes and that it now includes a family. Companies and major corporations would be wise to pay close attention to the growing change in people's values and would also be wise to work to accommodate it. I can only hope that I am even half as lucky as my grandpa was to have a job that he not only loved, but that, as corny as it may sound, loved him back.
I have noticed that when talking about the recent trends in the job market, specifically the "five careers" statistic, many people seem to talk about it in a negative light. I think the idea of changing companies, jobs, or careers completely is exciting and uplifting. The idea of staying in one position for my entire working life sounds boring and unmotivating. The idea of using networking to change areas of work sounds motivating and intellectually stimulating. I like the idea of changing my tasks in order to continually learn and challenge myself. I also like the idea of networking, although I think it can be unfair and discriminatory if taken too far. While I think it is useful and important to network and get to know people, the most qualified person, even if not the most highly connected person, should still get the job.
I guess coming from a guy who has finally settled with a college after attending three other universities, the idea of someone having five careers over a lifetime seems almost invetiable. My mother had held her previous job for more than 30 years, has tried three different careers in the last 6 years. She had told me the reason she left her old job was because of new management and it didnt seem to have the family-like atmosphere that it once had. She has been to trying to find that same feel ever since. I myself can see getting a new job every few years. I seems like in jobs like marketing and sales, which I am most interested in, there can be peaks and valleys. My value will most like be at its highest when the company peaks, but at low times, I'll expendable. Companies today seem to forget the value of history. As in, who got us here,and who kept us here. Instead, its "what have you done for us lately?" All in all, I get the feeling that nobody should get comfortable when the numbers slip a little.
I find it interesting to hear that people will have five or more careers in their lifetime. I've heard statistics similar to this before and when I think about my parents I guess that holds true. Since I've been in college and even before that, I have tossed around more career choices than I could ever possibly count. I have recently been able to narrow all my options down to the few careers that I can actually see myself pursuing and enjoying for a long time. I can only hope that if the statistic holds true and I do end up having multiple careers in my lifetime, that they will all be careers that I enjoy. I feel that if I'm lucky this won't even be the case and I can stick with an interesting career that I love for a long time. I could, however, possibly see myself wanting to spice things up a bit years from now and choosing to change careers somewhere down the line, and in that case proving the statistic would not be such a bad thing after all.
Post a Comment