Not only am I a columnist and a programmer, I’m also a dad, and my oldest child will be graduating in May from a small liberal arts college on the East Coast. Some of you reading this column may find yourself in the same boat, so I thought I’d share my take on how to succeed following graduation.
It’s been a long time since I graduated from college (my 35th reunion is this year), and a lot has changed in the world. In my dad’s time, the goal was to get a job with a “good company,” work for 40+ years, climb the ladder as far as you could, and retire with a gold watch and a pension. When I graduated in 1978, it was already pretty clear the world was changing. Job security was becoming much less of a given, and the only people getting pensions were government employees. I opted to work for a series of small and growing companies. No pension, but good benefits, and the chance to participate in the growth of the company’s value. It’s worked out OK for me.
The graduates of 2013 probably have never heard of pensions, and even benefits are getting thinner. For example, most employees now have to pay at least some part of their health coverage, and that’s before the effects of the Affordable Care Act on small businesses become clear. Some employers may consciously limit hourly workers to less than 30 hours per week to avoid the burdens of the ACA, so even “full time” employment is a changing concept.
In some ways, however, the choice is exactly the same: Are you looking for security or are you looking for autonomy? I think it’s a lot harder to find security these days. Hell, even the Post Office is cutting back, and public employee pensions are under intense scrutiny. And today’s secure job comes with a price: The ladder my dad climbed isn’t there anymore. You’ll be lucky if your earning power rises with inflation.
Of course, freshly minted baccalaureates can always delay by attending graduate school in law, medicine, business or their academic specialty. For people who want to be lawyers, doctors, corporate executives or Ph.D.s, there’s no way around it. And it some ways, it’s a choice for security, since these are well-understood career paths.
The truth is, there are no problem-free choices. Grad school costs time and money. Lawyers face the partnership grind or the uncertainty of building a practice. Being a doctor is no longer a golden ticket to a comfortable life. Not every MBA can work for Goldman Sachs. The best new graduates can hope for is to have some choice in the kind of problems they have to deal with.
The biggest thing new graduates have to realize is that they aren’t finished products. In my own field, newly minted software engineers rarely have any experience with the process of actually shipping a product: dealing with regulatory compliance, responding to the demands of marketing and sales, building things that are more than capstone projects.
With all that said, here’s my advice for new graduates:
Optimize for learning. Your real challenge, as a new grad, is to increase your value to your current (and future) employers. The only way to do that is to develop true skill and expertise. In 10 years, you want to have 10 years of experience, not the same year of experience 10 times in a row. A demonstrated ability to learn quickly is the only way people will take a chance on you when new and unfamiliar opportunities arise.
Optimize for fun. I’m not sure if “fun” is the right word, and no job is fun all the time: There are periods when you just have to slog through a difficult problem or grunt work. But a job that grinds you down each and every day is never the right answer. You need to be batting at least .500 in the fun department. Of course, it also helps if you’re one of those lucky people who can find fun in almost everything.
Live below your means. I’m going to assume you haven’t taken a subsistence-level job and have some disposable income. Don’t spend all of your paycheck on skittles and beer (or Starbucks and Netflix). Cooking for yourself, having roommates, walking to work and generally taking on a semi-ascetic mindset can keep you from being at the mercy of your paycheck. Take the difference and invest it prudently. Never let your things own you.
Work for someone you like. The number one reason people leave their jobs is because they have a lousy manager. In interviewing for a job, this a key question to answer. Make sure you get a chance to ask your potential future coworkers about the boss. And if you find yourself with a bad manager, look for an avenue of escape (see “optimizing for fun”).
Work where you can make mistakes. In general, mistakes are the fastest route to learning. Smart companies realize this—and encourage experimentation—knowing mistakes will happen. It also shows they trust and value employees’ knowledge and skills.
Develop a side hustle. This is another great way to learn new and valuable stuff. It’s also a way to add to your savings and investments. I’ve always had a consulting business on the side to let me do interesting projects (like writing this column). And sometimes the side hustle becomes a full-fledged business.
Say yes. Be open to serendipity. As a young person and (hopefully) free from the responsibilities of a family, mortgage and so forth, you have the luxury of taking big risks. While some employers may exploit this, most will respect and reward it.
Learn to take care of your finances. You’re always trading your time for money—that’s the reality of economic life. Make sure the money you get is working for you, ideally to reduce the amount of time you have to trade for money going forward. That’s called freedom.
Funny, it turns out this isn’t bad advice for anyone.
Next month, I’ll return to more technology-focused pursuits. In the meantime, I’d love to share your take on what a new grad should know with mine. Drop me a line at mduffy@northbaybiz.com.
