10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job - Steve Pavlina
Right now I am between jobs. My previous employer was acting a bit strangely. They confiscated some of my personal property, a notepad I brought to work, while I was in another office and did not tell me. I only noticed this after I went to look up some information in the notepad only to find the page missing. Naturally, I refused to continue working for the company.
I recently came upon the post 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job by Steve Pavlina. The points made are very insightful; however, I have some resistance to them. Here are the major points (paraphrased) and my reactions to them:
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It is not smart to be in a position where you are only making money while spending time at work. It is far better to find an opportunity where you make money regardless of time spent.
I definitely agree with this point; however, it really takes an entrepreneur to be able to recognize these types of opportunities. It would definitely be better to continue to receive revenue regardless of hours worked.
One of the ways Steve Pavlina appears to do this is through advertising on his website, and donations from those he has helped. That was definitely a smart move. My hat’s off to him for making it work.
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When working you tend to have a limited set of experiences. Jobs allow you to gain some experience; however, eventually you end up doing the same thing over and over.
In my experience this has definitely been true. One of my lowlier jobs was that of a Service Desk Analyst (translation: help desk phone person) at a well-respected hospital. Aside from being paid poorly, I was not supposed to help solve problems if it seemed that they would take longer than 10 minutes to solve.
This limited my experience severely. It also consequently helped to contribute to my extreme job dissatisfaction.
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Jobs purposely try to drive out your free will. They need someone who obeys.
I have definitely found this in jobs that I have held. You are obviously there to do the company’s bidding. That is what a job is all about afterall. The problem is the way in which some companies punish in a show of authority when the employee was obeying all along.
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Your hard work pays more than your salary. It pays for the office, the success of the business, and to the owners and investors.
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Many use the excuse that it is too risky not to hold a job. This is because of their social conditioning. When in a job your boss can just tell you you are fired and it is over. If you have multiple revenue streams and are working for yourself you are much more secure.
The point can be true, but it really depends. For some people a real job is more secure. It can be difficult figuring out new revenue streams and capitalizing upon them.
Most small businesses fail pretty quickly. Many new entrepreneurs do not have the financial discipline that they need to run a company properly.
Holding a job might be more risky if you are the type who has great entrepreneurial potential. How do you know if you do? That’s a bit tricky.
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You must be subservient to your boss even if he or she happens to be incompetent.
That is definitely one of the worst parts of the job. Let’s look back to my Service Desk Analyst position. The previous supervisor was demoted before I began working at the hospital. My boss was placed in the position as a ‘temporary’ supervisor. She had absolutely no knowledge of computers.
Lots of calls that would come in day-to-day were repetitive. The hospital had done a really lousy job of setting up the call logging software. I decided to make a macro for each of the common calls and placed custom buttons on my personal profile.
The boss, as she often did, sat behind me and stared at my computer screen. She saw my custom buttons and went into hysterics about how I could have brought all of the hospital systems down. She was about ready to pursue disciplinary action. I spoke to the systems analyst for that piece of software and had him come to my unwalled ‘cubicle’ to speak with her. He told her that the reason there is a customize button is so that we can customize the program and become more efficient. I had done nothing wrong.
This was not the first time she had pulled a stunt like this. The other time I programmed speed dial numbers on my desk phone to different parts of the department that I frequently called. I had to do the same thing and get someone from telecomm to calm her down and tell her the whole hospital’s phone system would be ok.
She was a large part of why I was so dissatisfied. Why was she in that position? Hospital politics.
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Whenever you want more money you have to go and beg for it. Wen in business for yourself you can adjust your salary for yourself.
Definitely a good reason to pursue self-employment. Steve Pavlina’s post has me re-thinking my whole strategy. I do have a corporation, and I used to consult. The problem is that consulting falls into the time trap from point number 1. What if I consult and try to figure out other revenue streams?
Sounds like a plan.
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In a job you do not get to meet a lot of different people. You end up having conversations about stapelers and office supplies.
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You lose your freedom.
This point is similar to points 3 and 6.
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You become a coward, constantly whine about problems at your company, and do nothing about it.
I’m still young, and my spirit has yet to be broken. When I felt I was wronged, I left my previous employer. Hopefully my spirit will not be broken.
The post 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job by Steve Pavlina is definitely a good read.