Comments on: Is Your Career Really Your Most Valuable Asset? I Say No

By: junkcafe

junkcafe — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:31:35 +0000

You can take the career out of the person (you) but not the person out of the career. This logic may seem confusing. Yet, reflecting on my experience, I see the distinction that Trent is making. To me, Trent is describing a holistic approach to career development. The paradigm shift away from the corporate lifer to free agent status(highly recommend reading Daniel Pink’s Free Agent Nation) is one of the reasons for this introspection. The history of companies investing in its people in exchange for your loyalty is a thing of the past. Today, a good company recognizes the value of training to attract candidates and retain them with the sobering realization that the employee is poised to leave for greener pastures. As you may notice in your place of employment, training is being reshaped as personalized professional development.

I think it’s wise for Trent to post this topic. On another level, it also draws upon the individualist philosophical core of our nation. Can we agree that class mobility is a result of individual rights?

By: Jerry Dill

Jerry Dill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:20:29 +0000

This article does show that getting a necessary skill set is good, however I think it helps your overall abilities down the road, such as obtaining the necessary skills that set you apart from other people and provide you with experience. This can also give you a greater income. I think that since your job is your greatest income compared to stocks and other investments, you need to focus on how to diversify yourself.

By: Writer's Coin

Writer's Coin — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:26:39 +0000

The way I’ve always seen it, you are your career. There are no lines separating the two. It’s your job to take yourself as far up in life as you can, doing whatever it may be for whoever it might be for (or starting your own thing).

By: Carmen

Carmen — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:59:11 +0000

Whilst I appreciate with the points in the article, your basis for ‘disagreement’ lost me completely. You haven’t given up your career, unless you have retired since the last time I checked in? :)

Career does not equal employee. An invaluable fact that could be included in your proposed High School Curriculum regarding employees never becoming (comparatively) rich. :)

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:22:16 +0000

Trent,

As a long-time reader of this blog and FMF, I think he uses the term “career” loosely. What he really means is that your “ability to earn income” is your greatest financial asset.

While you may have quit your “career” your ability to earn money (this blog, books, etc.) is still your greatest asset. As you mentioned a while back, if you were to become disabled and lose your income, how long could you and your family survive? Maybe 6-12 months, but once your emergency fund is out, then what?

I think you took his definition of “career” too literally. Replace “career” with “ability to earn money” and his comments make a lot of sense.

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:25:52 +0000

I think you confused “career” with “job.” If your company goes under, your job may be history, but your career is not.

By: gr8whyte

gr8whyte — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:23:38 +0000

I agree with Shanel Yang (comment #3) and Kim (comment #11) for people who can adapt/learn to switch/change jobs; it’s semantic quibbling. For those who can’t, their existing job/career may be their single biggest asset in today’s employment environment.

By: rob

rob — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:41:26 +0000

I think this post is right on. For me, a career is something you do. By investing in yourself rather than a career, you shift the focus from what you do to what you are. And this makes a big difference.

My job and career is only a small part of what I am.

By: VM

VM — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:53:29 +0000

If we all took a minute to view our lives as a pie and broke it up into its various ‘pieces’ – don’t you think it would be sad if our work/careers were the largest piece? I think we should all be far above that and look at our lives as much more than simply ‘what we earn’. What we do with those earnings and how they help us to survive is indeed important. However, there are many other ‘pieces’ that are more important than that. If we all learn how to step out of ‘me’ and into ‘others’, this world would be better for it. I don’t feel life is about ‘me’ at all.

By: Shevaun

Shevaun — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:37:39 +0000

I agree with the semantic distinction made in comment #2. Trent, while I agree with your concept, I think there is a difference between “job” and “career.” For example, I am a full-time-adjunct college professor. That is, I teach part time at four different schools, combining to make a double-full-time work load. Any one of my schools is a job, but my life’s work of eduction is my career. So ultimately, I agree with you, but just as you say, investing in your greatest asset–you–builds your own professional worth. I would submit that if you conceive of your “career” as your life’s work, then ultimately your career *is* you. And just in case I sound too work-is-life-ish, I also think that raising my daughter is my life’s work, as are my loves for cooking, sewing, being a kind person, and acting as a responsible citizen. All this together is a life’s work.

By: clint

clint — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:39:55 +0000

My job is becoming less and less important in my financial life, because my other streams of income are getting larger and larger.

clint lawton

http://www.a-debt-free-life.com

By: fathersez

fathersez — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:02:33 +0000

I, too, share your view. It’s “us” who are our biggest financial asset. How we make use of “us” and how we nurture “us” might include performing superbly at a career.

Nevertheless, the career is only one option from the many that are available to a well maintained and looked after “us”.

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:50:41 +0000

I agree with Shanel Yang (comment #3).

FMF is talking about one’s financial assets.

Whereas Trent is talking about the human-element in gaining those financial assets.

Obviously, a career is much dependent on the person.

So, both parties are correct; just depends how you want to look at it.

By: Accumulating Wealth

Accumulating Wealth — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:43:01 +0000

Right, I think the point is that if you invest in yourself and develop the right skills, there will always be career opportunities for you. And any specific career can be lost without warning.

By: Jarrod

Jarrod — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:36:23 +0000

I agree that your focus should primarily be on yourself (personal development) and secondarily your ability to earn income. Yes we need money. But more importantly I think we need better people in the world. If everyone took becoming a better person as their top priority I think the world would benefit.

By: M

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:58:33 +0000

The way I view it, a job is where one develops, practices, and refines a bundle of skills while a career is the path you take through multiple jobs. One’s career doesn’t change even if there is a major switch in jobs, like a switch from an IT job to running a motorcycle repair shop. The strategic skills are still there, positive interaction with customers or the ability to think through a problem, for example. It’s the tactical skills that change, in this case knowing how to rebuild a carburetor instead of knowing how to configure a database.

I like to think that people are, for the most part, always true to their career path regardless of what they do for wages every day.

By: Tana

Tana — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:59:51 +0000

So if this is true (and I think it is), the argument that moms are sacrificing their career in order to stay at home with their kids while their children are young is null and void. You may not have a job-job to put on a resume in that slot, but you are practicing people skills, organization, management, networking, etc. which are all things that can make or break your success at a job. Interesting.

By: irina

irina — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:37:48 +0000

A career, or many different careers, all in all it is basically your earning ability. If you can get out of your bed, and you have two legs and two arms, and most importantly your mind you should have a few options on how to earn.

Take me, for example. I went from a being a medical doctor, to being a vice president of a PR firm to becoming a full time professional entertainer. Which one is my true career? I don’t really care.

I know if I stop being a full time entertainer, I have at least 5 other ways how I might earn money.

My husband however lost his ability to earn income due to his total disability. He suffers Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Lucky for him, he doesn’t have to earn because he has me to do that earning thingie… :-)

I don’t hope to be so lucky as to have someone to provide for me if some weird illness strikes me at some point. I do line up different strategies on what I will do if I am 100% unable to earn.

Seeing what my husband went through taught me to take nothing for granted.

You can be handsome, brilliant, with a great potential and it all can be taken away from you through no fault of your own.

Be thankful for every day you can get out of your bed and get out. I certainly am.

By: Luke @ Money & Fitness Blog

Luke @ Money & Fitness Blog — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:35:57 +0000

Trent,
I enjoyed the article but had a question that I was hoping users might be able to answer.

On your quote about putting all your efforts into your current job and it goes under, isn’t that what you should be doing? I know that building up your skills is important no matter what happens but if you have a sole employer, shouldn’t you be giving it everything you have so that they are successful no matter what field they are in?

By: Tina

Tina — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:17:38 +0000

You couldn’t be more right. When my husband’s 23 year career came to an abrupt end during a merger we both discovered the dangers of putting a career above all else and of basing our identities and self-worth on something over which we ultimately have so little control. The last 20 years have been all the better for it, too, as difficult as they were at times.