In the 19th century you had the same job for life. If you were a
blacksmith you stayed a blacksmith and died a blacksmith in the
village where you were born. Your surname was synonymous with your
skill. Wheeler. Smith. Potter. Even in the mid 20th century people
worked for the same company for life. The "corporate" (body) world
meant something very different than today. The corporation took care
of you. It paid for your health and holidays. If you were unhappy in
work, it helped sort that out so you would stay. As late as the 1960s,
and still for some people who work in government, and still a culture
in Japan, you can get a "job for life".
"Career" means to move haphazardly. It replaced the more stable
notions of "vocation" and "calling". Today you might spend a year in
hospitality, a few years in sales, then do a diploma in programming,
move to California, get into media design, and then open a juice bar
on the beach... Everyone is at the mercy of ever swirling markets and
the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, layoffs and takeovers,
new trends. Who here didn't "get into AI" in the last 2 years?
In a way that's a richer better life. It's more challenging. It is
also shallower. There are less places to put down roots and grow
anything worthwhile. People with active minds and a lust for life
naturally outgrow scenes, groups and institutions. Moving on should be
an exciting joy. What I see of America and UK now (at least here on
HN) is that people are held in place by fear. We've regressed to 19th
century ideas about work and life, minus the positive 'belonging'.
What I think people sometimes "grieve" is the sunk-cost spiritual
investment in what they thought an institution represented. Or they
found themselves in an career that is in decline. or in institutions
that have decayed - and it's painful to move on. Those reasons may be
emotionally noble; loyalty, fidelity to values etc. You can let go of
values and of a dream. Or you can take them with you, by realising
that they never belonged to any "institution" in the first
place. They're yours.
Academia is definitely that place in 2024. The reality of academic
life is the antithesis of human values we traditionally associate it
with. If the institutions we inhabit are inflexible, ineffectual, and
less than our ambitions then it's time to move on. The problem is not
so much that people identify with what they "do", but where and with
whom they do it. It's a strong and valuable kind of person who keeps
their calling/purpose separate from their employment identity.
IMHO, this is one of the most "wise" replies on this thread. I personally experienced that "reality of academic life", with my own (now abandoned) Ph.D journey.
It's worth calling out how recent (and US-centric) it is, to strongly invest one's work with one's entire reason for being. Derek Thompson termed it "workism":
I appreciate the extra nuance you added, about the "where and with whom they do it". I can personally attest to the importance of work colleagues and environment, over the work itself. The former can make up for the latter, but rarely (if ever) the other way around.
Having an institution/career represent your passions, ambitions and most importantly your community is an immense luxury.
For the rest of us, it definitely makes more sense to put roots down in one place, build up community, indulge in the local arts scene etc -> exactly the kind of stuff that modern life is not aligned with. You cannot be moving around every few years and expect any sort of community.
"Career" means to move haphazardly. It replaced the more stable notions of "vocation" and "calling". Today you might spend a year in hospitality, a few years in sales, then do a diploma in programming, move to California, get into media design, and then open a juice bar on the beach... Everyone is at the mercy of ever swirling markets and the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, layoffs and takeovers, new trends. Who here didn't "get into AI" in the last 2 years?
In a way that's a richer better life. It's more challenging. It is also shallower. There are less places to put down roots and grow anything worthwhile. People with active minds and a lust for life naturally outgrow scenes, groups and institutions. Moving on should be an exciting joy. What I see of America and UK now (at least here on HN) is that people are held in place by fear. We've regressed to 19th century ideas about work and life, minus the positive 'belonging'.
What I think people sometimes "grieve" is the sunk-cost spiritual investment in what they thought an institution represented. Or they found themselves in an career that is in decline. or in institutions that have decayed - and it's painful to move on. Those reasons may be emotionally noble; loyalty, fidelity to values etc. You can let go of values and of a dream. Or you can take them with you, by realising that they never belonged to any "institution" in the first place. They're yours.
Academia is definitely that place in 2024. The reality of academic life is the antithesis of human values we traditionally associate it with. If the institutions we inhabit are inflexible, ineffectual, and less than our ambitions then it's time to move on. The problem is not so much that people identify with what they "do", but where and with whom they do it. It's a strong and valuable kind of person who keeps their calling/purpose separate from their employment identity.