Which is dying: job category or people inside

A while ago, Marian Schembari shared a good reading about people committing suicide taking enormous amount of risk by jumping into so-called dying industries (she is mentioned on page 3, alive and well).

Well, why? Are they rich enough to indulge themselves? No - almost everybody introduced in the article made their choice without preparing a safety cushion (some even ditched it). They are, as the article says, just "incredibly enthusiastic about their career choice."

I believe those courageous people who listen to their inner voice will transform not only themselves but also those professions from outside. How come? Because they (1) already have passion and (2) are flexible enough to change their process when things do not work as intended.

Marian herself ditched traditional job-hunting arsenals such as resume and cover letter; instead, she focused on networking using social media tools (it apparently worked very well). An ex-social media expert trying to become an English professor is thinking of landing a job as a high school English teacher, even going back to social media if thing does not go the ideal way.

The writer of the article, Michelle Goodman, also recommends not following the beaten path.

Picture an office building with a row of four to six doors at the entrance. Most people who want into that building will bottleneck around one doorway instead of taking the time to open one of the unused doors themselves. (Admit it; you know you've seen this real-life scene a thousand times.)

Like lemmings, we're conditioned to do what everyone who's gone before us has done. My advice to those entering an already saturated profession: don't be the career lemming.

The ironic fact is that probably the majority of people already in the saturated profession are career lemming without knowing so. Some job categories are slowly dying not because we don't need them anymore but because people working there cannot adapt well to the new reality.

We still still read news and learn English, after all. Someone will take care of them, and I hope them to be "outsiders."

Comments

[Marian Schembari]

I really loved the Michelle Goodman quote you used - she's a smart cookie.

Thanks for the mention!

[Isao]

You're welcome - it's not too common to see stories that are thought-provoking and encouraging at the same time.

[Annabel Candy, Get In the Hot Spot]

People definitely need to be more flexible and think outside the box in all areas. Competition is fierce and we need to differentiate ourselves in all we do. Thanks for writing:)

[Isao]

Interesting thing is that in general we do not see outside our boxes unless we are forced to do, but then find out what we have been missing... One of my favorite quotes: http://isaokato.tumblr.com/post/407383479