How To Stay Employed Forever: Mastering Job Security
Part-time and gig jobs are becoming more common. An employer can replace you as an employee at any time. How can you prevent yourself from becoming unemployed? Here is how to stay employed forever!
The job market is becoming more competitive. A new term for people who cannot find work is ‘unemployables.’ Here is how you can stay employed forever and master job security.
Don’t Go To College
Society tells everyone to go to college. What is the problem now with college degrees? Too many people have degrees. The consequence is degree inflation.
Degree inflation is only one of the problems with college. The next problem is going into debt for a college degree. The worst thing you can do is go into debt for anything.
Debt prevents your ability to save and invest more money. Debt prevents you from having the ability to invest in yourself. Debt prevents you from being able to take calculated risks that can help your long-term financial future.
College is not an investment. Universities sell a college education to potential students, saying that a college degree is an investment but another way to spend money.
I spent nearly a decade in the higher education system. I have never used anything I studied professionally in any of my classes. Besides the courses I took on classical literature and philosophy, the required reading for academic books and computer programs was outdated. I could have read the books on philosophy and classical literature myself without attending expensive college classes.
Caveat
If what you think you want to do requires a college degree before getting an advanced specialized degree, attend a community college or technical school first. You can get all your core classes done. You can then transfer to a four-year college. After graduation, you can then apply to medical or law school.
Attending a community or technical school will save you money. You will get the required material out of the way. You can work while attending college to cover the costs of your courses while working to save money.
Learn A Trade
Learn a trade. There is currently a high demand for the trades. There are a wide range of trades you can specialize in. The skilled trades include:
Carpentry
Plumbing
HVAC
Electrician
Farmer or rancher
Farrier
Butcher
Bartender
Mechanic
Dental hygienist
Self-Education
Self-education is a vital skill of many self-made millionaires. They make a point to read daily, subscribe to relevant sources for their niche, and dive deeper into their specialty.
What is the significant difference between self-education and a college degree? Self-education focuses on practicality. Universities emphasize quizzes and tests. Sealf-learning is a vital form of self-development you can do yourself. College is a societal institution that people continue to lose confidence in. Self-education can help you achieve your career and other goals. College gives you a fancy piece of paper for a degree you may never use as your reward for going into debt.
You can study for certifications. You can take online digital courses to further your education.
A certification can help you in your career. It shows employers that you are certified by a reputable party and have expertise in an area. Certifications often cost less than a college class.
You can purchase a digital course to learn about a topic or skill. The person who creates a digital course has experience with the topic or skill. The great thing about digital courses is you often have access to the digital course forever. Depending on who you take a digital course from, you may also receive a certification upon completion.
Network
People move up in companies and fields by knowing the right people. Life is all about connections.
Do the right people like you? Have you done something to make their life easier? Did you go to the right school? If so, they will be more likely to help you.
The better connected you are, the easier it will be to get ahead. This is just the cold reality. Make a point to network, follow, and get to know the right people for what you want to do.
Get to know your manager if you work for a larger company. If they like you, you may increase your odds of moving up in the company. If you want to move to another location, they may know a manager at the company’s other location to make it easier for you to move. This option will only work if you work for a traditional company, which is becoming rarer.
Companies often prefer to hire internally or through employee referrals. An employer or manager who has built a professional relationship with the employee is likelier to hire someone from an employee referral than someone randomly applying online.
Internal recruitment simplifies the hiring process and saves the company time and money. from having to place a job advertisement and market to hire for the position.
Gain Work Experience
Work as soon as you can. The sooner you start to make money, the more money you can save to have compound interest work in your favor. The earlier you begin work. The sooner you can have an income.
Once you have enough money saved, you can invest in the stock market. You could even start your own business.
You can find an employer who offers a matching 401(k). You can match the investment amount for your employer's 401(k) for as long as you are with the company. You are building up your net worth and preparing for retirement. Stay with the employer until you can find something better.
You can work random jobs to determine what you enjoy. You will be making money while you work to know yourself. You can continue to upskill in the meantime.
Non-traditional jobs continue to replace traditional employment. These jobs are freelancing, contract, and self-employed jobs. These types of jobs continue to become more common.
You can build a business around non-traditional work.
Start Your Own Business
Being a business owner is the secret to staying employed forever. There are three main types of businesses. You have multiple options for generating revenue and making a profit for a company.