On a recent Sunday afternoon I was sitting on a bench at the local park watching my daughter on the playground equipment. I overheard an interesting conversation among another family. The adults were commenting on what their 8-year-old boy wanted to be when he grew up.
Mother: “Of course he wants to be a fireman when he grows up.”
Boy: “Or a policeman!”
Father: “Well, which one do you want to be?”
Boy: “Well, I’ll be a policeman if I get fired from being a fireman.”
Mother: “Well that is sure aiming high!”
What I found fascinating about this was that the 8-year-old boy understands something about the modern job market that many adults have a hard time grasping. Your job isn’t stable and what you do for a living may change drastically over time.
This kid looked around at the world, saw that people often lose their jobs or have to change careers and formed a contingency plan as part of his career planning. Many adults would benefit from his example and spending some time thinking through what their different options are if they lose their job.
Developing a skill set that increases your marketable skills is always a safe move. Thinking through how those skills can be applied to other areas should be part of basic career planning, but often isn’t done until a job actually disappears.
If this kid is any indication of how the coming generation is going to view the job market, they are probably going to be much better prepared in terms of career planning than many modern adults.
Interesting example Mark… I think you’re right, children more and more see circumstances of their parents and become more aware and they easily adapt to change… Changing careers is just one example.
I see it especially in my country. 20 years ago in my country we did not have private property, but the government owned all companies… In such country people are working in one company for their entire life. There are even people who have done the same job for 20 years…
The transition from state ownership to private ownership has created a big change in the understanding of term “job.” It is still difficult for people to change their mindset…
Simply put, (worldwide) things are changing faster and faster, and every next generation will easier adapt to change…
What I took from the boy also was to make sure you have varied interests so when one thing falls through you will have multiple things to fall back on.
Great Post!
My son is 5 years old and he has made the same comment to me on several occasions. I can remember him personally asking me what would I do if I lost my job today. Of course he was hoping we could play cars and read books all day but it definately got me thinking about avenues outside of my current line of work. It is amazing how much you can learn by actively paying attention to the questions your children ask.
Thanks again.