A wise band once said "nobody likes you when you're 23." Ok, it was Blink 182, and they were right for the most part. When I was 23, I had just returned from a temporary job in London, and decided that America was far inferior. I made sure my friends knew that I appreciated culture more than they did. ("EVERYONE goes to the theatRE in London, it's not even a big deal!" "You can just hop a plane to Norway anytime you want! Any time!") Scoffing at my surroundings, I returned to school to get the degree that's put me in the blogosphere in the first place.
Well, it seems that my international meandering has put me behind the curve when it comes to being an obnoxious wunderkind. Instead of staying on one career track, I chose to experiment. At any interview, I am inevitably asked why I switched from one field to the other. I want to say that it's because I am a naturally curious mammal, but instead I tell them I discovered the wonder and magesty that is journalism! But at 27, my multiple tracks seem to dictate that I will never get a job outside of customer service or retail. Especially with these bastards hanging around.
Businessweek, which I usually avoid like a free supermarket circular, featured America's Best Young Entrepreneurs a few weeks back. I'll let you read it for yourself, but reflect on this if you are older than 25: Should we be encouraging younger people to aspire to success solely through business? Are you threatened by these Generation Y whiz kids? I sure am.
But, since the article was written before Wall Street dissolved into a brownish goo, one wonders what the future holds for career development that requires little soul searching past the desire to earn tons of money.
Monday, November 3, 2008
How to succeed in business without really aging
Posted by The Master of Arts at 4:43 PM
Labels: 20s, business, career, golden girls, grad school, journalism, students, unemplooyment
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2 comments:
Reading through the list of the Businessweek finalists was like reliving the last four years in condensed form. I was lucky enough to go to school with a lot of incredible people (some of whom I expected to see on that list), but, while it was fun going to class with them, it is most certainly NOT fun to watch them attain meteoric success while I struggle to get noticed in the first place.
To your other point, I've long been troubled by how narrowly "success" is defined in American culture and have been utterly exasperated by the discovery that we live in a system that punishes people for curiosity, self-development and diversity of experience.
I'm not surprised that you miss your international meandering...if only there were "angel investors" for THAT.
I must say I found myself laughing like mad, I'm 46 and still dealing with the same issue....thanks! Please keep writing!!
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