The following is a summary of Episode 93 of our podcast, The Engineering Career Coach (TECC) Podcast. You can also listen to the show through the player below, the website, or by subscribing on iTunes.
Here are some key points from this episode:
#1 – The social & technological advancements of the past 100 years have brought us the end of jobs. Now the scarce resource in the economy is entrepreneurship which, while a scarce skill, is one that can create more career freedom.
#2 – For the past 40 years the only job segment with growth has been non-routine, cognitive type – i.e. creating systems. The only segment that is growing is non-routine cognitive work. When you build your career, you have to think about the skills that are non-routine and can do the cognitive work.
#3 – Jobs in almost all industries are becoming increasingly commoditized. Getting a certain degree or certification may not be as important as before; you have to have that skill (the ability to do non-routine cognitive work) that companies are looking for.
#4 – Entrepreneurship is a skillset which can be acquired. You can learn the skills of entrepreneurship just like you learned how to become an engineer.
#5 – With the Internet, geography is irrelevant. Entrepreneurship or starting a business has gone global; you don’t have to have a storefront.
#6 – The stairway to entrepreneurship allows you to move from the job you’re in now, to the freedom you desire. Taylor gives an analogy of the stair step theory with lifting weights at the gym – stair stepping your way up to bigger businesses or successes.
The 9 to 5 jobs aren’t necessarily stable anymore. How you think about risk or how you define risk will determine if you or somebody else controls your career’s future. Taylor gives an analogy of the turkey and the butcher.
Entrepreneurs have much higher leverage points – you might have the credentials but they might not be putting you ahead because everybody has those same certifications, however if you take those certifications and start your own business with more geographical reach, you have more leverage than other people with the same credentials.
Have you taken your first step towards entrepreneurship?
Anthony Fasano, PE, author of Engineer Your Own Success, found success as an engineer at a very early age and now writes and podcasts to help other engineers do the same. Visit Anthony’s website at EngineeringCareerCoach.com to access all of the free engineering career resources he has created to help engineers succeed.