It May Be Time to Rethink Your Perfect Career Plan
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your Money Briefing for Friday, September 29th. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal.
What career myth does the episode challenge about a straight-line climb up the corporate ladder?
When we envision our career path, everything looks so perfect, step by step up the corporate ladder. But in reality, the path to the top often isn't always a straight line.
You're moving in all different directions and you're thinking, what do I want to be known for? Not just rising in lockstep to that next promotion that's directly above you. It's actually quite wise to diversify a little bit so that you have different skills that can be applied in different ways.
We'll talk to Wall Street Journal work and life columnist Rachel Feinsig after the break.
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Why does Rachel Feintzeig say employer-employee loyalty has frayed and when did it start changing?
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Rather than dreaming of the perfect career path, having expectations that there will likely be several detours and dead ends along the way could instead set you up for success. Wall Street Journal columnist Rachel Feinzig joins me to explain why. So, Rachel, it seems like past generations had it so easy.
How realistic is the expectation of steady promotions in today's job market?
They got a college degree, got a great job, a couple of promotions along the way. When did the tide start to turn?
I don't want to oversell how easy it was for everyone who came before us, although that is always tempting. This has been going on for some time, this kind of fraying bond between employer and employee, the idea that decades ago people got a pension, they stayed with the company for life. I mean, some of that is a teeny bit of oversimplification but there certainly has been a change what i think is changing more recently is just this new kind of moment we find ourselves in companies are cutting back whether it's because they actually have to do layoffs or they're following suit to show that they are lean and efficient they're getting rid of layers of middle managers in industries like tech meta has been very outspoken about this and i think things like technology and ai are changing this too
So does that mean that the expectation of moving up the career ladder in more or less a straight line is unrealistic?
How can being a ‘good corporate citizen’ help — and when might it hold you back?
I'm not saying no one can pull it off, but this idea that something I've heard from experts in months of reporting is this expectation that you're going to be moving up and to the right, you know, your job trajectory is going to be this straight line heading that way. That's just not how things work. Real life doesn't really work like that to begin with, but especially with all of these things shifting and changing, we just have to expect that it's going to be a little bit more up and down and sideways.
What about being a good corporate citizen and living by the golden rule of doing right by others? Couldn't that help propel someone forward in their career?
I'm not telling people not to be a good corporate citizen.
What is a 'squiggly career' and how can diversifying skills protect your future options?
I think being nice at work is always a good principle, as long as you don't let it veer into people pleasing. But this idea that we're just going to kind of be magically propelled by a system that is there to just make sure that we're continuing to rise in lockstep is probably not a good expectation. Adam Alter, the professor who I interviewed, talked about how, especially here in the West, we have such an allegiance to science and medicine. And those are obviously great things, but they've created in us this expectation that there's just not going to be that much change, that we can control the world around us. And then we're kind of flabbergasted when we find that that's not the case.
So what career expectations should someone set for themselves instead?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:36
2
What career myth does the episode challenge about a straight-line climb up the corporate ladder?
0:36–1:26
3
Why does Rachel Feintzeig say employer-employee loyalty has frayed and when did it start changing?
1:26–2:07
4
How realistic is the expectation of steady promotions in today's job market?
2:07–3:04
5
How can being a ‘good corporate citizen’ help — and when might it hold you back?
3:04–3:42
6
What is a 'squiggly career' and how can diversifying skills protect your future options?
3:42–4:52
7
How is technology and AI reshaping hierarchies and career advancement opportunities?
4:52–6:34
8
What do people who experienced career detours say about the emotional impact and lessons learned?
6:34–7:44
Speakers
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