Career versus Job

I was watching comedian Chris Rock do a bit on a job versus a career. It was pretty funny but had some core truths.

A job is 9-5. You get in, you get out. You clock watch. You get breaks and short lunches.

In a career you don't clock watch. You want to be wherever it is that you practice your craft.

In a job the boss the man (as in working for the man).

In a career, you are the man (or the woman).

In a job you get pay raises and performance reviews.

In a career you get paid and sometimes you don't but you don't really care about reviews. They can't stop you from doing what you do. They may not pay you but that is not the key element.

In a job, your skills are not visibly portable. You focus on the place you work and allow yourself to get fenced in.

In a career your skills are portable. You can take them with you. No job is the job. No company is the company.

In a job you never do 24-7.

In a career you are always 24-7 but people around you aren't that aware of it.

Career is a state of mind. You can have a job but treat it as a career, You can have a career and treat it as a job.

I hate jobs (or gigs as I call them).

I realize that whenever I accept a consulting assignment that looks, tastes and feels like a job, I usually end up unhappy.

Words to watch for: "We do real work here."

Real work means a job not a career work.

Say yes to career and no to jobs.

My soon to be last assignment is a job. Surrounded by job folks. That is the reason I have hated it as much as I can hate anything. Not the people but rather the framework. The CFO's mantra is that he values real work.

I never wanted to come in on the weekend and catch up. I tried several times but couldn't make myself get in the car and go. I never wanted to stay late. I tried that too. It's not that I believe coming in on the weekend or staying late is necessary. It's that when I am doing career work, I never thought about it. I would just go do it.
At this place I thought about it all the time.