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Posts Tagged ‘jobs’

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No job is bulletproof, not even mine.

In Economy, finances, Media, National News, Opinion, Technology, Uncategorized on April 20, 2024 at 12:02 pm


Deer In Headlines II

By Gery Deer

Have you ever been afraid for your job? I laugh when people think I can’t lose my job since I work for myself. As a writer, even working under my public relations agency, I’m often called “self-employed.” The immediate assumption is that no one can fire you.

There’s a lot of nonsense to unpack there. First, and possibly most important, there’s no such thing as self-employed. Unless you have a magical chest of gold or cash that continuously refills itself, you’re working for somebody who’s paying you. Being independently employed (my preferred terminology) means you’ve traded one boss for many (customers).

Second, working on your own means constantly beating the bushes, knocking on doors, and continuously selling yourself to generate a pipeline of work. My father and brother created multiple, simultaneous jobs for themselves because they never wanted to be out of work—and they never were.

My family seemed to always have multiple income streams—cattle, trucking, engine work, welding, anything that brought a buck. However small the amount of revenue, it added up. Mom and Dad ran the farm and our trucking business, and I always knew my family worked hard for what we had. No two days were alike. Dad might be out on one of our trucks or auctioning cattle one day. The next, he and my brother might be rebuilding a tractor engine and welding a broken hay rake—all before dinner.

Over the years, I adopted the same philosophy, but I wasn’t always independently employed. Once upon a time, I worked for “the man,” and the woman, and the corporate overlords, and whatever else they’re called. From engineering technician and mechanical designer to database developer and coder, I did the 8-to-5 grind for many years before going out on my own.

Writers in every industry are rapidly becoming an endangered species due to Artificial Intelligence.

Since much of what I did in the corporate arena was high-tech, the advanced skills required evolved rapidly. I constantly studied the latest technologies to avoid obsolescence. I’ve always been fascinated by computers, but keeping up with advances in computer technology during the 1990s was exhausting.

If that wasn’t enough to worry about, no matter my job, I always felt like something would ruin it. Someone would take it away from me or decide I wasn’t qualified, and that’d be that. I really did know what I was doing. But I suffered from terrible imposter syndrome. Then, one day, that was enough. I walked away.

Life as an independent professional can be tough, especially if you’re used to a steady paycheck and punching out at 5. At least no one ever gets fired, right? Wrong.

There’s a quote from the TV show “Mad Men” that goes, “The day you sign a client is the day you start losing them.” It means that every customer will eventually leave you—your fault, their fault, nobody’s fault. It’s just part of the process. So, when that happens, you are effectively fired. Depending on how many customers you have, that’s how many times you will be fired.

Despite the romanticization, self-employment is hard work and a bit like riding a bike. If you stop pedaling, you fall. You must exceed customer expectations the first time, or those firings I mentioned start sooner. Is that more secure than a corporate job? In many ways, yes. Let me explain.

If I am a “free agent,” I can play in whatever league I want. However, I only get to set some of the rules. I usually have to work within the guidelines of my profession or the client’s needs. One thing is sure, however. If I do my best, treat people with respect, and give them good value for their money, the work will continue.

That doesn’t mean I don’t worry about my job. I do, but for very different reasons. One is automation. Artificial intelligence, or AI, threatens the livelihood of writers in every industry, and what it generates is, at best, inadequate.

Another concern is that my skills will be devalued by a market flooded with amateurs and dabblers. These people produce inferior work, disparaging the profession and limiting potential business for the pros.

Ultimately, no one’s job is bulletproof—not even mine. Always demonstrate your best work. That will show your value, and you’ll stay employed – somewhere. In the meantime, try to remember that there’s always another job.

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Reward yourself for a job well done.

In Business, Economy, National News, Opinion, Uncategorized on June 3, 2014 at 8:28 am

DIH LOGODo you hate your job? You might be surprised how many people despise their work. Even those making upwards of six figures can find the grind most tedious and would do nearly anything to change it. So why don’t they? Chances are, especially at the high end, people have locked themselves into a lifestyle that requires a certain level of money and position that becomes inescapable, or so they think.

If you were one of the millions of folks displaced from a job during the recession, you’re just counting your blessings and dealing with whatever unpleasantness comes along at work. Whatever the reason for staying, there are many reasons why people hate their jobs.

Much of what causes people to dislike their jobs has to do with a lack of obvious appreciation or recognition for your efforts. It takes more than a paycheck to feel fulfilled in your profession and most people don’t get the recognition they feel they deserve for hard work and dedicated service.

Recognition can also come from promotion and a change in responsibilities which can offer more challenges to your day, as well as a better paycheck. If you don’t have opportunities to grow within an organization, you’re likely to feel stifled and unproductive. That will eat away at you over time.

Another reason for someone might feel badly in their job is when they feel they’re meant to do something else or went to school for something entirely different. We all have had moments when we thought we should be something else. I grew up thinking I was going to be a doctor. When I finally enrolled in a pre-med program, I found I really didn’t like it and transferred into an engineering track.

girl_bookDespite what the academics would like us to believe, very few people really know what they want to do at the age of 18 when society is telling us to choose a lifelong career. The fact is we’re just not that grown up yet and, if we think we are and choose a direction, it often change with age and experience.

So what do you do if you are one of those who is just plain unhappy at work? First, it might be a good idea to try to find another job. Don’t wait until you lose the one you have to be looking for something better. Knee-jerk reactions to an employment crisis rarely bring about good change in life, instead just leading to more of the same mediocrity. Get out there and start looking and interviewing for the kind of work you really feel like you want to do, provided it meets your financial and professional qualifications.

Secondly, if changing jobs isn’t a practical option right now, try to provide yourself with some self-rewards and do things throughout the week to make your situation more enjoyable. As an independent worker and small business owner, I don’t get “rewards” for what I do all day. There is no employee of the month or chance for promotion. I’m as high up as I get and, unless the cat learns to use the printer, it’s doubtful I’m going to receive a certificate for outstanding performance anytime soon.

I still need to stay motivated, though, and so do you. So set up rewards for yourself throughout the week. For example, say you have a big project coming up that may test your patience and tolerance of others. Instead of going home stressed every night, establish yourself some rewards for hanging in there. Schedule a special lunch with a friend or ice cream after work. Go to a movie with your significant other in the middle of the week or even plan for a day off if possible.

These observations merely brush the surface of why people might hate their job, but it’s a start. Having a plan to help yourself better enjoy your work will reduce your stress level and increase your productivity. It will also make you less dependent on others for personal growth and self-worth. More importantly, developing a system of self-reward is something you can take with you.

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist and business writer based in Jamestown, OH. More at http://www.gerydeer.com.

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Evolve or die: More occupations are becoming extinct.

In Economy, history, Jobs, National News, Opinion, Technology, Uncategorized on November 6, 2013 at 5:45 pm

Deer In Headlines

By Gery L. Deer

What would you do if, not just your particular job, but your entire occupation was no longer needed – ever again? There are on dozens of job categories that are either slowly becoming unnecessary or have already suffered the fate of mechanized extinction.

operatorsAlready gone are the ice and milk delivery man (they were just men back in the day), the telephone operator, record player repairman, elevator operators, professional typists, and a host of others. Those occupational positions feeling the Grim Reaper nipping at their heels may include the gas station attendant, the postal delivery worker, video store clerk, department store sales person, newspaper delivery workers (the paper boy), travel agents and the old-fashioned barber.

Oddly enough even newspaper columnists, like yours truly, are fading away. Modern publishers can use syndicated filler columns or hire “bloggers” who often possess little or no journalistic experience – and pay pennies for the material if anything. Most of my freelancing colleagues have adapted to commercial writing or do as I have, by taking on a wider variety of work to earn a living.

Printing press operator jobs, once abundant in the Dayton, Ohio region are now all but gone. The more publications move toward fully electronic versions, the fewer press jobs there will be and the skill will be in higher demand with those companies still rolling out ink and paper.

As time passes, some of these occupations will have to either evolve into other forms or go the way of the door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. Librarians, for example, may have been headed towards obscurity but now manage a variety of media, both on the shelf and online. But others may not be able to adapt to serve alternative functions and will simply die out, like the salaeratus maker (that’s someone from the 1800s who made baking soda). See what you can learn from Deer In Headlines?

So what is to be learned from all of this professional progression? Clearly, more education is going to be necessary and the market will adapt to the need. New types of jobs will be created as others fade away.

But are there any jobs unlikely to be replaced by technological breakthrough? Oddly, anyone who is required to create, build and repair that technology has a goldmine ahead of them. Let’s face it, the nerds rule the world and they’re not going anywhere! There are whole television shows about them now.

Incidentally, it isn’t merely technology that causes occupational evolution, but the economy and changes across a business sector, particularly where several types of industries overlap. Consolidation of responsibilities combined with changes in technology can result in the need for more highly-trained workers, but requiring fewer to do the same jobs.

Doctors and nurses will probably always be required, even though patients will pay more to see them less. Hospitals are in a constant state of change as well. Budget cuts and lack of necessity have long-since done away with the helpful but redundant “orderly” position. Today, nursing and medical assistants have taken the place of orderlies, having more education and medical training that can serve a larger need than merely as a gurney driver.

On-air radio professionals, once called “disc jockeys,” have had to evolve as well. Digital media and station automation have made these jobs scarce, but those who are surviving are evolving through other types of media like Internet-based entertainment and even creating their own online listenership.

Whatever the job, workers should make an effort to stay ahead of the game through personal enrichment, continued education and, above all, keep an open mind. Those people who are very resistant, even defiant, toward technology will have a much harder time adapting.

The bottom line here is that occupational evolution is a necessity of any economy. As technology changes and America continues its slow but steady recovery from recession, more workers will be needed while some jobs disappear because they’re just obsolete. *

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist and business contributor to WDTN-TV2’s “Living Dayton” program. Learn more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com

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Local Company Laser-Engraves 1,400 Apples for U.C.

In Business, Economy, Local News, State News, Uncategorized on October 12, 2011 at 10:37 pm

Laser Wolf Engraving cut 1,400 apples for the University of Cincinnati College of Education.

West Carrollton, OH – With Halloween approaching, people are preparing to decorate Jack O’ Lanterns and bob for apples. For Will Stansfield, owner of Laser Wolf Engraving in West Carrollton, pumpkin carving is something done at the speed of light.

Since opening his doors in March of 2008, Stansfield has engraved hundreds of different types of products from champagne flutes and memorial stones to photo frames and etched glass. “Everything’s engravable,” Stansfield jokes. “We’ve done wood, plastic, ceramic even blue jeans and a toilet seat.” In September, the University of Cincinnati consigned Laser Wolf to engrave 1,400 laser-engraved apples boasting the college of education logo.

As part of a promotion for the college, the apples were included in gift baskets that were delivered to about 70 different local schools. Nothing touches the apples but light so they are clean and still edible after the cutting process.

Stansfield creates the graphics for each engraving on the computer and a carbon dioxide laser precision-cuts the design into whatever object he chooses. “Each apple takes about 30 seconds to engrave, and you can put just about anything you want on it.” he says.

In addition to apples, pumpkin engraving is another popular choice for the fall season. Laser Wolf can create pumpkins with logos, text or even photo portraits carved right into the skin. The engraved pumpkins can last for several months and the graphics become clearer and brighter after a couple of days.

Stansfield says engraved pumpkins are the ideal way to raise money for non-profit organizations and schools. On October 11th, the City of West Carrollton unveiled a laser-engraved Wright Brothers mural created by Laser Wolf.

Pumpkin engravings can cost as little as $12 for a graphic with an additional charge for a photo carving. Laser Wolf Engraving is located at 424 E. Dixie Drive in West Carrollton. For more information call (937) 609-3812 or visit http://www.laserwolfengraving.com.

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