Thinking About A “Real Job”
The last time I had a job with a steady paycheck was 1988. I had never really given this much thought until a couple of days ago when I realized just how remarkable that sounded. This doesn’t mean that I’ve been unemployed for 20 years, only that I haven’t held a traditional 9 to 5 job with a steady salary.
My last job with a regular paycheck was also my first. I went to work as an Account Manager for a printing company in Richmond straight out of graduate school. Within a few months, the monotony of the job was already killing me, and I realized that I needed to do something very different if I was going to maintain my sanity for the next 40 years in the workplace.
Fortunately, the opportunity I was seeking was right around the corner. My employer offered me a sales position which I gladly accepted, and from that point forward, I’ve either worked for commissions, or been self-employed. Either way, my income was entirely performance based, with no guarantee of a steady paycheck.
Most folks are accustomed to working for a fixed hourly wage or salary, so the idea of not having a predictable income is completely foreign to them. For someone who has never been there, it’s hard to imagine working for weeks or months on a deal, only to end up empty-handed when it’s snatched away by the competition. If you’ve never owned a small business, you can’t appreciate what it’s like to pay all of your expenses for the month, only to find out that you have exactly enough left over for a cheeseburger and coke. If you’re not prepared for something of an emotional roller coaster ride, stick with your 9 to 5 job.
When I was younger and had fewer responsibilities, I thrived on the excitement of “unlimited earning potential”. For most of my years without a steady paycheck, I did quite well, and I had no fear of taking on significant financial obligations. One sure way to keep yourself motivated is to lie awake thinking about payments on a $50,000.00 car, monthly country club dues, and a $100.00 a day mortgage. It should probably come as no surprise that by the time I was in my mid-thirties, my blood pressure was 180/120.
Now that I have a 3 year old son, my priorities are changing, and I’m thinking it might be time to get off the roller coaster. I was 43 when Robert was born, so by the time he’s ready for college, I’ll be just a few years shy of retirement. This is not the kind of obligation I want to lie awake thinking about for the next 15 years.
My challenge now is figuring out how to make myself employable. I’ve developed a tremendous range of skills over the years that aren’t necessarily reflected by my previous job titles. I could have my choice of sales jobs today, but finding a salaried job commensurate with my experience is going to require an open-minded employer willing to take a leap of faith.