Re: Worth of Benefits

[Mitch Berg <mberg -at- IS -dot- COM>]

Michael Andrew Uhl wrote:

> My message to the younger colleagues among us is, don't
> *automatically* assume your benefits are worth more than what
> you could earn at a higher salary and *less* in the way of
> benefits...[snip]...One reason people stay on a job they dislike or
> suffer in, is because they hope if they tough it out for
> just a few more years...the pain will all be worth it.
> They forget that they're loving employer, 'we're a family here,'
> will downsize them...Heavy dependency on an employer is a scary thing,
> a thing I would not wish upon anyone.

While I echo Melissa's formula (find what works and do it), I also
advise people that the best present they can give themselves is
independance, as much as possible, of any given employer.

America's greatest business thinker, Scott Adams (:-]), said in the Wall
Street Journal that, in today's economy, your "job security" is
inversely proportional to your dependance on the company.  I think this
is true to the point of profound.  I've often felt extremely fortunate
that I started in radio (in 1979, when I was 16), and learned before
most people that they _just_don't make_careers_anymore_! (I worked at 10
stations in 13 years, and only quit voluntarily twice...)

My main advice to someone entering ANY field (except maybe medicine) is
"Travel Light".  And try to develop some entrepreneurial skills - at
least that way, your future depends more on your own skills than the
exigencies of someone else's business...

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