I think this identity shift is extremely difficult in a society that ties getting your basic needs met (such as healthcare, food, and shelter) through employers. How can you truly be free with those kind of golden handcuffs impacting your daily life for those ends? The United States operates like one big corporation, not a society of human beings, sadly.
Best training I ever had was a course that trained creatives to make money from their practice, either directly or indirectly. Creatives need to pivot all the time, or have side hussles or second careers and find self worth and existential purpose even if nobody wants to buy their work. On the course we learned how to put together a 'skills resume', introduce ourselves to people in a way that reflected who we really were, to ask other skilled or connected people for advice, and to think creatively about how to apply our skills to meet the needs of the world. Inspiring. Once I saw myself anew I never looked back.
Best training I ever had was a course that trained creatives to make money from their practice, either directly or indirectly. Creatives need to pivot all the time, or have side hussles or second careers and find self worth and existential purpose even if nobody wants to buy their work. On the course we learned how to put together a 'skills resume', introduce ourselves to people in a way that reflected who we really were, to ask other skilled or connected people for advice, and to think creatively about how to apply our skills to meet the needs of the world. Inspiring. Once I saw myself anew I never looked back.
I'm more exhausted at having to change who I am in order to make money. I am comfortable and confident in who I am outside of it all, but it isn't enough when I have to pay the bills. I have to continuously come up with different versions of myself that are profitable. It's tiring.
Your piece really echoes the sentiment I described in my essay about the "confessions of a burnt out tech worker". Most of us in this industry are tired of having AI shoved down our throats. Many of us are skeptical about the usefulness of AI products, but we're forced to build them anyway because that's what the investors want. The existential dread is very real and very valid.
This is exactly right. It doesn't have to be as good as us to replace us. This happened with offshoring. The workers weren't as skilled at first, just cheaper, but they got better quickly. Apple, which taught millions of workers in China is now doing the same thing in India. It is all about the bottom line.
The shattering of the myth of expertise is painful but it also brings opportunity. We are not computers with legs, we are so much more. No longer tethered to a desk or a desktop, I'm re-integrating into being more than a job description and re-becoming a full physical human being.
fascinating post, in many ways. thank you for writing it! as i was climbing the corporate ladder in my twenties, i was just one reorg away from my team being totally irrelevant, i realized my identify can not, at all costs, be tied to my work. since then, i’ve made a point to create meaning and value outside of work.
Yes, 100%! Corporations have always been (and always will be) about keeping investors happy, and this means focus on optics, doing (more specifically: saying) whatever they can to look like they are innovating and growing.
nailed it. "What do you do when the scaffolding of who you thought you were starts crumbling?"
well according to recent comments i've been receiving, the answer is: Deny, lash out, claim "it's crumbling OTHER people but certainly won't ever come for me"
Love this post! As it eloquently lays out, AI is an easy scapegoat but the leaders of the companies are the ones choosing to lay people off. While it's easy to villainize the gun and sure makes it easier, the shooter's ultimately culpable. Although it's dizzying to pivot so frequently, I am optimistic that we'll land in a place where the people are empowered to push the productivity higher than AI could do alone. In the meantime, tying your identity to a job these days feels like mooring to a pier in the shadow of a tsunami. Glad we have substack type things to help us build a self outside of work (even if you are one of the fortunate ones who makes substack their work).
Agree. And, who we want to be isn't always viable in this constantly changing market so ... it's not easy and a very complicated moment. Also, there are deep, fundamental flaws with AI that will rise once people start really using it. It does a great job ... to a point. Then, your human brain still has to take it the rest of the way. That's been my experience. {{Or, perhaps, you have to pay for some ungodly expensive version. }}
Dina the acronym was SEARCH but sadly it's no longer running, it was in Vancouver at the time. No doubt there are other books or courses that might do similar?
I think this identity shift is extremely difficult in a society that ties getting your basic needs met (such as healthcare, food, and shelter) through employers. How can you truly be free with those kind of golden handcuffs impacting your daily life for those ends? The United States operates like one big corporation, not a society of human beings, sadly.
I agree, and our school years funnel us into the 'system' of working for employers and 'success' is working your way up the career ladder.
Best training I ever had was a course that trained creatives to make money from their practice, either directly or indirectly. Creatives need to pivot all the time, or have side hussles or second careers and find self worth and existential purpose even if nobody wants to buy their work. On the course we learned how to put together a 'skills resume', introduce ourselves to people in a way that reflected who we really were, to ask other skilled or connected people for advice, and to think creatively about how to apply our skills to meet the needs of the world. Inspiring. Once I saw myself anew I never looked back.
What was the name of the course?
Dina I replied to the main thread in error! Let me know if you don't see it 🙂
I don’t see it - can you please share again?
Best training I ever had was a course that trained creatives to make money from their practice, either directly or indirectly. Creatives need to pivot all the time, or have side hussles or second careers and find self worth and existential purpose even if nobody wants to buy their work. On the course we learned how to put together a 'skills resume', introduce ourselves to people in a way that reflected who we really were, to ask other skilled or connected people for advice, and to think creatively about how to apply our skills to meet the needs of the world. Inspiring. Once I saw myself anew I never looked back.
I'm more exhausted at having to change who I am in order to make money. I am comfortable and confident in who I am outside of it all, but it isn't enough when I have to pay the bills. I have to continuously come up with different versions of myself that are profitable. It's tiring.
So true. When I lost my job at the end of 2023- I lost my definition of self. I’ve rebuilt from the inside out — but it’s not an easy journey.
Your piece really echoes the sentiment I described in my essay about the "confessions of a burnt out tech worker". Most of us in this industry are tired of having AI shoved down our throats. Many of us are skeptical about the usefulness of AI products, but we're forced to build them anyway because that's what the investors want. The existential dread is very real and very valid.
This is exactly right. It doesn't have to be as good as us to replace us. This happened with offshoring. The workers weren't as skilled at first, just cheaper, but they got better quickly. Apple, which taught millions of workers in China is now doing the same thing in India. It is all about the bottom line.
The shattering of the myth of expertise is painful but it also brings opportunity. We are not computers with legs, we are so much more. No longer tethered to a desk or a desktop, I'm re-integrating into being more than a job description and re-becoming a full physical human being.
fascinating post, in many ways. thank you for writing it! as i was climbing the corporate ladder in my twenties, i was just one reorg away from my team being totally irrelevant, i realized my identify can not, at all costs, be tied to my work. since then, i’ve made a point to create meaning and value outside of work.
Yes, 100%! Corporations have always been (and always will be) about keeping investors happy, and this means focus on optics, doing (more specifically: saying) whatever they can to look like they are innovating and growing.
nailed it. "What do you do when the scaffolding of who you thought you were starts crumbling?"
well according to recent comments i've been receiving, the answer is: Deny, lash out, claim "it's crumbling OTHER people but certainly won't ever come for me"
Love this post! As it eloquently lays out, AI is an easy scapegoat but the leaders of the companies are the ones choosing to lay people off. While it's easy to villainize the gun and sure makes it easier, the shooter's ultimately culpable. Although it's dizzying to pivot so frequently, I am optimistic that we'll land in a place where the people are empowered to push the productivity higher than AI could do alone. In the meantime, tying your identity to a job these days feels like mooring to a pier in the shadow of a tsunami. Glad we have substack type things to help us build a self outside of work (even if you are one of the fortunate ones who makes substack their work).
Agree. And, who we want to be isn't always viable in this constantly changing market so ... it's not easy and a very complicated moment. Also, there are deep, fundamental flaws with AI that will rise once people start really using it. It does a great job ... to a point. Then, your human brain still has to take it the rest of the way. That's been my experience. {{Or, perhaps, you have to pay for some ungodly expensive version. }}
Dina the acronym was SEARCH but sadly it's no longer running, it was in Vancouver at the time. No doubt there are other books or courses that might do similar?
Outstanding - thank you. I believe your analysis is spot on.