Long ago and far away, or maybe it was just 30 years ago, Johnny Paycheck recorded David Allan Coe’s “Take This Job And Shove It”, which became an anthem for the workin’ man. And woman.
Recent events have me wondering if the word “job” is on the verge of becoming, if not obsolete, at least vestigal in American English.
Detroit’s auto manufacturing plants are on the ropes. Circuit City is laying off 3,400 sales employees. Most days it feels like the entire workforce is teetering on the edge of redundancy – in both the Brit and Yank versions of English.
Back when Johnny recorded his big crossover hit, the idea of joining a company out of college and working your way up the ladder over the next 20-30 years was considered the norm.
The bad news is that the American workforce, like the military, is fighting the “last war” – in the workforce model, the belief that employment with one company for an entire career is still possible, or even desirable.
Go to school, get good grades, get a job.
How about pay attention in school, study business, identify a need, and fill it. You don’t have to be on the MBA track, this is a framework to follow even if you’re a stellar mechanic or plumber.
This isn’t new stuff – Robert Kiyosaki has made a fortune saying essentially the same thing. The education system in the US, and across the globe, needs to wake up to the fact that they’re still teaching to a 19th century societal model.
Just one woman’s opinion…
