UnFail: There’s No Such Thing As A Dead-End Job
I regularly read a blog called Hope to Prosper. The author, Bret, often addresses personal finance issues not covered by others. Just as often, he gives an old topic new life with a thoughtful post that looks at things from a new angle.
This week, illustrating how a career can become a non-starter, Bret wrote about dead end jobs and what you can do to avoid them. Among other things, he says:
Not everyone aspires to be wealthy or to rise to the top of the corporate world. But, to work so hard, get paid so little and have no opportunity for advancement is a definite fail. I’m not talking about someone choosing a low-paying profession because it’s their passion and they enjoy it. I’m talking about being stuck in a dead-end job because they never made the effort to pursue a career.
Well played. No one wants to think of themselves as being on the road to nowhere. The alternatives Bret proposes are good, but I’d like to point something out.
There’s no such thing as a dead-end job. Every company, from the 2-person ditch-digging service to Wal-Mart, either has leadership positions that will eventually need to be filled, or has the potential to expand if managed right. Working your way up from gas
station clerk to shift manager to regional manager may not be glamorous, but it is realistic.
So why does it happen so rarely? The problem is, if you come into a job and label it “temporary” or “dead-end”, you’ve lost your own mental battle before you’ve ever put your dukes up. This is just a summer gig or some emergency cash until something better comes along; why bother doing anything above the minimum?
The truth is that it doesn’t take much effort to glide by. Just show up on time, accomplish in general what is asked of you, and tolerate your customers. Some people may even get promoted this way.
If most people making minimum wage see their jobs this way, is it very hard to do a little more? In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. If you always come in a bit early, always take a little bit of initiative, always ask where you can be useful outside of your barebones job description, it’s easy to set yourself apart from co-workers who are just going through the motions.
Does this mean working your way up in this manner is your ideal path? Maybe not, and Hope to Prosper’s post can give you some great ideas for alternatives, but in the end it’s only a dead end if you put the transmission in “Park”.
September 28th, 2011 at 5:43 PM
I love this article! Do you mind if Miguel uses this (properly cited in APA format, of course) for his organization behavior class?
September 28th, 2011 at 5:56 PM
Michele, he’s welcome to use it with or without citation
I’d love to read his results when he’s done.
September 28th, 2011 at 6:25 PM
Thanks for the rebuttal Cognoramus.
My first job was digging up cesspools for a company called Stinky, Inc. My uncle got me the job when I was 16 years old. I used to ride my BMX bike 8 miles each way and make $3 per hour. So, after a brutal 8 hour day of labor and two hours of riding, I made $24 before taxes. I stuck it out for almost six months.
When I looked for my second job, I got a lot smarter. I got a $4 union job in a supermarket with benefits and opportunity for advancement. It took me six months of showing up every week to get that job, but it was worth it. I was a journeyman retail clerk making $12.35 per hour in 1985, when I left to go into the computer field.
The point I wanted to make is that I learned about employment the hard way. And, I see so many people who do the absolute minimum, thinking they are pretty smart. What they don’t seem to realize is that over time their income will usually wind up about equal the effort they put out. So, they are mostly fooling themselves into a life of drudgery.
Bret @ Hope to Prosper\’s last post: Money Fail: Dead End Job
September 28th, 2011 at 6:32 PM
Bret, if nothing else working for Stinky, Inc paid off with a life lesson that seems to have stuck pretty well with you and earns compound interest every time someone else can learn from it without having to do it themselves. That by itself is pretty cool. I often wonder what paths have led people to be where they are. I guess if people choose the path of least resistance that coasts downhill as much as possible, they end up at the bottom instead of at the top.
September 30th, 2011 at 11:30 AM
I read your comment on Bret’s post and followed your response over here. I believe your approach and outlook is so so valuable.
After graduating I worked in what some may term a ‘dead-end’ job, while applying for a ‘career’. As a medical receptionist I developed a great understanding of complex work environments, honed communication and ‘people’ skills, saw managerial approaches that worked…and those that didn’t. I went above the call of duty to work out ways doctors, admin staff and receptionists could work more efficiently together. And do you know what else? I became less of a snob; less likely to look down on other people in low paying jobs.
I wouldn’t have changed this experience for anything.
Thanks a lot for sharing this. I also thought your comment on Bret’s post was very insightful.
Harri @ TotallyMoney\’s last post: Secrets of the job market
September 30th, 2011 at 1:30 PM
Harri, thanks for stopping in. Your story highlights some of the nuanced benefits to working the “undesirable” jobs. There’s always an opportunity to gain experience and learn something, even if you don’t plan to be running the shop one day.
October 21st, 2011 at 1:02 PM
-sierra pizza, free delivery
November 30th, 2011 at 1:49 PM
Sometimes in those dead end jobs you meet a contact that leads to much bigger things. Keep that in mind. Life is networking and those that get good at it find many more opportunities open up.
February 17th, 2012 at 3:26 PM
you are right any job is a good job if it pays. It can provide the security while you look for a better job and that is very valuable today in this economy.
Thanks, Corey
Corey\’s last post: Management – PLR