Re: Job prospects in Canada, US, the planet?

Subject: Re: Job prospects in Canada, US, the planet?
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 20:57:52 -0800


Gene Kim-Eng wrote:

I suppose it may just be semantics, but it seems to me that there's a difference between "the market"
and "your prospects." The former is usually a trend going on around you that is mostly beyond
your power to substantially alter, the latter is the result of how well you prepare for the former.

I think we're saying the same thing in different ways.

The fact that we manage to remain gainfully employed during a downturn in the economy does
not alter the fact that one happened.

However, because we're limited to our own experience, and maybe that of a few others, it's hard to know how our prospects relate to the market. If you're employed or getting regular offers of new contracts, then obviously the market is going to seem fine to you.

Another way of looking at this is that a statement about the market is about average prospects. If you're not average, then the statement about the market doesn't apply.

I'm reminded of the science writer and evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould. He found out that he had cancer, and everyone told him that he probably had only a very short time to live. He researched his condition, and learned that, while what everyone said was true, because of his general age and health, his prospects were better than he had been lead to believe. Moreover, they could be improved by making a few lifestyle changes. He went on to live another ten or fifteen years.

Moral: If you're not average, then statements about average prospects don't apply to you.

--
Bruce Byfield
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield

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Follow-Ups:

References:
Job prospects in Canada, US, the planet?: From: lyndsey . amott
Re: Job prospects in Canada, US, the planet?: From: Bruce Byfield
Re: Job prospects in Canada, US, the planet?: From: Gene Kim-Eng

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