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Cheers to the Squiggly Careers
A reflection on ‘winging it’ through life
What do you want to be when you grow up?’
The chances are you changed your mind a lot when faced with this question as a child, and many ‘grown ups’ still aren’t sure they’ve found the right answer. In 2016 The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the average person will have 12 jobs throughout their career and millennials are often referred to as the job-hopping generation.
But rather than an indicator of being lost, perhaps it’s time to embrace taking the scenic route through life?
‘Squiggly careers’ is a term coined by two career development consultants Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper, in their 2020 book The Squiggly Career: Ditch the Ladder, Discover Opportunity, Design Your Career. They challenge a narrow view of what career paths should look like, in favour of creating your own map and defining progress on your own terms.
Intentionally or not, I seem to be on the squiggliest of paths. Here’s a personal reflection on learning to…
… wing it
About three years ago I panicked about life after graduation and I spoke to an advisor at university. I brain dumped my fear of getting sucked into a career I had no interest in and spending my life there. She told me to dip…
