So you want to make a great career…
I see many high school graduates who are still pumped up for the classic career path. They want to be consultants, brokers and investment bankers. Above all, this is awesome! I really respect your goals!
But ask yourself why. The most common reasons are probably:
• More money than the average (“average” is a disease in modern society),
• Economic security,
• Respect and appreciation from your parents and friends,
• More Power than average,
• Fulfilling yourself through a career
Think deeply about these goals. Do they make you happy? Are you ready to pay the prize for these goals?
There are a lot of illusions out there for people who “make a career” and I think that most people set their goals very unclear without seeing the other side of the coin.
Richness
It is still possible to become very rich with a “classic career”. But it´s a lot harder than 20 years ago. People are very successful when their technical and emotional skills exactly match the expectations of a booming market segment. Is consulting and banking a booming market? I doubt that.
An example for a booming market is the IT sector, i.e. digitization, machine learning, blockchain technology and so on. If you can program blockchain technology, you have a very good foundation to succeed.
Let us assume that you make a very successful career and you end up in luxury and richness. Are you really rich?
Anyone who makes a career seeks luxury as a compensation for the high performance he puts into his career and because he think he needs it. In a “classic career” your boss and your colleagues will buy luxury. The beautiful Rolex watch, the awesome new sports car. There is also an economic reason for this: if the company arouses in you the desire for expensive things, you will work harder to get them.
In addition, a career fosters the eternal misery of comparison as you try to move up the ladder every few years. You are constantly comparing yourself with your colleagues or other people in similar positions to check where you stand on the ladder. This will make you poor at the end because you will always find someone who stands above you. There is always a boss who stands above you. Even if you are the CEO at the end, there is the supervisory board. There are the stakeholders or other similar owners.
Economic security
I know that many people believe that and I just can disagree with this point. A career gives you security is probably one of the biggest mistakes of our time. Exactly the opposite is the case.
The higher you climb on the ladder, the faster the business gets, the less secure your job is. So many newcomers join big consulting firms every year. They are hungry and want to climb fast. You have to constantly compete with these people. There is no break.
Globalization reinforces this process by extending the labor market to the entire globe. In turn, increasing competition means you have to work harder to keep or climb your job.
And in some cases, you lose your job anyway.
You company was sold to an Australian investor. The boss of your boss now has a new boss who is based in Australia. He decides to dissolve the department you work in because it is no longer profitable.
Your boss leaves the company for a new job. The new boss replacing him hates you since the first contact. For him, you resemble the bully he remembered in high school. Since he joined the company, he´s your job hell. He disrespects you, he does not invite you to important meeting and he always promotes your colleagues.
Respect and recognition
Your parents are proud, your friends respect you. You joined McKinsey. Impressive!
They will notice one thing very quickly: they will hardly see you anymore. If you want to be promoted, you have to do one thing above all else: be present. Do you know a department manager who works seven hours a day?
You have to work hard for at least 10 hours a week every week. 80 hours of work per week are not uncommon in these places. You also have to spend your time on politically important lunches and drink coffee with the right people to boost your career. The higher you get, the more extreme it gets.
You can even become a full-time slave for the company.
• You will wear your suit 24/7.
• You will need some goodies to impress your boss and your colleagues, what about new cufflinks?
• You have to adjust your humor and attitude to your boss or your customer.
• There is a problem with the deadline of the project. You also have to work this weekend.
• You meet your old friends at a party. Make sure that nobody post these pictures with your drunk face puking over the shrubbery.
Is that really worth the respect and recognition you get?
Power
You will have more power than the average Coworker, at least after some time. But power comes with a price. The necessary hard decisions, many compromises and politically motivated opinions will affect your personality in the short or long term.
You will start make a strict distinction between work and personal life. But that is wishful thinking, at some point both worlds will have to communicate with each other, and your behavior at work will affect your personal life. I always had a strange feeling meeting successful workaholics in the classic business. Often they are just as****es.
It does make sense when you think about it. You have to be aware of political intrigues and power games at all times. Never say the truth in the wrong moment, never lie in the wrong moment. Everything has to fit perfectly otherwise your colleague could be promoted, not you. Making a career always means making yourself unpopular.
It's like politics: if you want to be successful, you have to adapt to the majority and forget your idealism.
Fulfilling yourself
That only makes sense if your passion is the politic game in an office and endless hours in meetings and in front of your laptop. I would say, for most people, the actual “doing” of the career is unpleasant and boring. I have meet many unhappy people during my career and they would never say that their career are fulfilling.
There is no reason for that either. They exchange money and power for their time, and that´s more important to them. For example, if you work as a broker, you have to crunch numbers all day. The indirect benefits at the end of the month come in form of salary and maybe even a year-end bonus check.
A career keeps you from dealing with your own desires and needs because you invest a lot of time and energy in the goals of your boss and your company.
Will that make you happy in the end?
Decide yourself.
Better keep on steeming!
