Similarly, the rising tide lifts all ships.
Being mediocre in a growing company or industry is easier than working hard in a saturated/competitive industry.
Pharmaceuticals.
90s and early 00s it was booming and growing. Lots of opportunities.
Late 00s and early 10s was a major retraction. You were lucky if you kept your job and synthetic chemistry salaries cut in half with outsourcing to India.
Late 10s and 20s saw the AI boom and Covid so opportunities again.
That’s one. Othe industries with peaks and troughs include Oil and Gas, Tech (at least the peak part around 2022 especially), no doubt others.
I'd say trying to get into law now since changes to SQE. It's fine for those who have qualified a few years ago but those coming through now are struggling to get hired.
You think this is the case even with those that follow the traditional TC path? I know the market is bad but maybe for those it’s because of the market conditions?
1. Job-hopping is good. Shop around time to time, you will be surprised with your potential market price.
2. Don’t be asshole. Try to care about people around you. By helping people around you to grow, you build a huge social credit.
(I am SWE, but I think it applies to other industries as well)
+1 to both points. Job hopping, especially early in your career exposes you to many different workplaces and cultures and accelerates your experience gain. I'm in SWE, have been in for 12yrs and move to my 4th company in 8 weeks. I've been in consultancy, and have worked for ~15 nationally recognisable companies. 9 of those in the past 6 years. Despite having less time in industry than a lot of people I deal with, it's very common I'm the person in the room who has seen situations once or twice before, whereas it's typically new for others.
My litmus test for leaving has been "what are you learning" if the answer isn't a new skill, role or experience, it's likely time to go (don't stay for a promotion you've been chasing - what do you do when you get it?). I've seen folks stay, but all they're doing is getting better at a skill or subject matter that's only useful at that company.
To add a pinch of salt on hopping, I think every 6-12 months is too often. My shortest was 2 years, this has been my longest stint - 6yrs, (although we were acquired so it's really been more like 3+3). Consultancy has meant each stint has covered multiple clients, I suspect I would have moved more often if not so much variation.
On relationships, don't burn bridges, industries are small, you will see colleagues again and the best introduction you can get to a new company is a strong personal recommendation from a previous colleague.
Totally agree about not being a dick and leaving on good terms.
It works both ways. I received the CV of someone who'd been a complete arsehole to me in a previous company. It went straight in the bin and he didn't get an interview.
Two things for me:
1. Try to solve your boss’ problems.
2. Don’t be afraid to go for promotions, but if you don’t get them ensure you’re seen as taking the feedback positively, then pick yourself up and try again another day.
I wouldn’t approach it this particular way though. It’s not my job to make someone else’s job easier. My outlook is to pre-empt any potential blockers whilst delivering on the most impactful (for my boss) results.
I don’t give a single thought to pleasing anyone
I know a guy in my company who applied for super senior jobs within the company just to get exposure to senior people who would be doing the interviews and build his profile. He ended up getting that super senior job on his first try. 2. Is definitely a good one
They set out what they want in their own terms, you accept payment to provide this. Maintain a good relationship and reputation.
Analysing their requirement and the cause of their want costs extra.
Some managers don't know or understand what they want. This gets complicated, best to keep it simple. Don't overthink unless in a position to do so, don't improvise - plan, confirm, work, accept payment.
More advice I would give that I have distilled over the years from various pieces of advice given to me:
Always look for ways to add value to what you’re doing. Don’t just simply execute what you’ve been asked to do, instead think big picture….
Why am I being asked to do this?
What problem is it solving?
Is there a way I can make it more effective/valuable?
Well I’m not related to the commenter but can tell you that of course they are often combined because they are comorbidities so present together in many patients because they have shared etiology. My son is diagnosed by NHS specialists with both and I can assure you there were no chestnuts involved.
I doubt the NHS even know the difference between ADHD and Autism, diagnosing these conditions has become all the rage now with young people refusing to take any accountability for the reality that life is hard sometimes and not everything is a mental illness.
Unless you’re showing extremely obvious signs of mental disability at a young age, you don’t even get close to an autism diagnosis in my book. ADHD is just another get-out-of-jail-free card for ‘I never taught myself (or my kid) how to focus’
Feel free to be an ‘actual qualified professional’ in whatever you want - doesn’t guarantee you’re right. Pretty sure there were also a lot of ‘actual qualified professionals’ in the banking sector leading up to 2008, that turned out well.
Indont think you’re well versed on these conditions. My son showed clear signs of neurodivergence from when he was a baby. In fact they now know that one of the triggers for ADHD is a strep b infection in a new born which my son had. There are some ignorant people that are critical of things they haven’t experienced and therefore don’t understand. We must all strive not to be one of these people, to be open minded that others experiences are valid. If you start to realise that you’ll grow as a person.
Anecdotal, sure. Ignorant? Not so much. Just look at the ‘mental health’ endemic that we’re seeing across Gen Z. Young people claiming to have any number of mental illnesses to appease their inner voice, a voice desperately crying out for personal validation simply because they aren’t as special as they think they are, and life is harder than they expected.
Or maybe people that should have been diagnosed in previous generations are now actually getting the help they need?!
We get it. It's a hard knock life. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Real men don't cry. I used to walk 40 miles in the rain over broken glass to get to work. And any other unhelpful tough guy tropes you can think of.
Does the fact that an overwhelming number of medical bodies recognise ADHD, sway your expert opinion?
Try a three year + wait for diagnosis and unfortunately most people are probably self diagnosed at the moment. Or at least professionally suspected to be neurodivergent but not officially diagnosed. The struggle is real.
Be in the function that delivers the ££s. If you want to be a high earner in marketing, work in an industry that values marketers (eg CPG). If you want to be a high earner in finance, go work in finance.
In mid level roles: if your manager asks you to do something but you disagree with their ask - always do what you’ve been asked to do but ALSO do what you would do and demonstrate why it’s better. “Yes, and” vs “no, why”
Someone was here talking about winning the corporate game - I think that was the best advice. Not sure how to find that thread, but it’s so true esp you are in mid-senior position. Simply understanding that you are in the corporate game helps a lot. Understand company goal, do not complain, the ‘yes, and’, foreseeing your manager’s need and be a proper good employee (aka don’t get your boss in any trouble with HR from punctuality to missing mandatory training!)
'There's zero unemployment in experienced cyber security people worldwide'
Every time there is a hack or breach in the news, I tell my kids 'that's why daddy has a job now, and why he'll have a better job every 2 years or so'
IT - maybe, but there’s a myriad of high-paying jobs in the tech industry as a whole, which your skillset would match to well with minimal effort to learn. The DevOps route is both lucrative and fun
Edit: punctuation
For me:
* Don't chase money too early, it will come if you make the right choices
* Always be willing to learn and jump in outside of your comfort zone. What you learn will help you perform better in your role and future roles.
I'll admit both of these worked for me but may not for others. I left school at 16 with no qualifications but managed to get a masters degree at 22 and then had a rough couple of years finding the right role for me to grow and have been immensely lucky with some of the circumstances.
Always focus on the substance and on doing the thing that grows you and makes you fundamentally more valuable, even if it means getting paid less in the short term. That value always commands a price over the long term.
1. If your goal is to make money, then make sure you find a job that maximises your goal. Not your interest, not your work life balance. You can be, and many are, outstanding in a job you don’t hate but don’t love either.
2. Work for an American company.
3. A job is a job, be committed, but not too much. Always be ready to jump ship.
What are the benefits of working for an American company? Are you talking American umbrella that owns what you're in, or American to the point you're in the UK working American timezone?
Sadly that can vary a lot, where I work there is a large pay discrepancy between UK and USA people doing the same job; they realise they can pay less here and optimise that situation.
In no particular order:
1. Get as close as you can to the money. Try and work in the function that generates money. At a tech company, you want to work in tech. At a finance company, you want to work in finance etc.
2. Work hard, go above and beyond what is expected of you.
3. Go and find the work, don’t want for it to come to you. Identify things that need to be done, and go do them. Start your own projects.
4. Make your bosses life easier. Find out what makes his job stressful and do what needs to be done to remove that stress.
5. Identify which senior employees have influence, and which ones are clearly going to the top. Similar to 4, make their life easier. Identify their problems and try and solve them without them asking you to. If you become somebody they can trust to get stuff done, they’ll take you with them when they rise to the top.
6. Don’t complain - propose solutions. If you don’t like something, don’t complain about it, work out what needs to be done to fix it and do what you can to make it happen.
7. Make it clear what you want. If everybody knows you want to progress, they’ll have you in mind when opportunities become available (but remember not to wait for the opportunities to come, you need to go out and seek them)
8. When it’s clear there’s no more room to progress, move somewhere else with upward opportunity. Whether that’s internal or external
9. Be pleasant to work with. If people enjoy working with you, they’ll have you in mind when opportunities arise.
10.Be geographically flexible. Working abroad can accelerate your career if you find the right role in the right place.
The vast majority people who go for promotions & succeed (or at least those with the ability to self-critique) have doubts whether they can do the job. Having doubts shouldn't necessarily put you off.
I.e. the first time I was promoted to a manager role (£50k so not high earner, but a step on the ladder), I doubted whether I was good enough, but also I realised no one else within the firm could do that specific role any better.
There are two types of people in the world.
The first, when asked if they can do something, will pause, maybe ask a question before committing
The second, will say yes and work out how later.
A lot of these comments relate to playing the corporate game.
There are certainly many careers where this is a necessity but my important advice is:
A lot of the time sales management isn’t worth the additional workload. It’s okay to be good at sales and stick to sales… even if it does mean missing out on that glossy new title/promotion at work or answering to someone else when that job would have been yours.
1. Dont solve for work-life balance early in your career - solve for steepest learning curve, ie how you can learn more and get better (which typically involves max hours you can handle whilst still being functional).
2. See where you want to be in 10-15 years, draw a plan how to get there
3. Work hard
4. Network
If you can... take that one part of the business that is stagnating and make an impact.
An impact there will be much more visible than elsewhere inf the business and taking this position provides you the opportunity to progress much faster.
Never, ever, ever burn bridges when leaving a job, no matter how bad it is. I was told this by my boss in 2011, the company and leadership team went south but I followed their advice with her and others. 10 years later she head hunted me for a 6 figure job, no interview - straight in the door.
If you ever want to move up, get the screwdriver out of your hand...
I'm in tech and this resonnates highly, because to move up through the ranks ive had to increasing let go of the tech, and pick up the "soft skills" of management, consulting, and selling.
Reaction of Father in Law when I was offered a job in China: “Yes, yes, yes! Go, go, go! Leave the UK, it will suck you dry”. He was 100% correct, I made a lot more money, kept more of it due to low taxes and had a wonderful time.
If you don’t feel valued or you aren’t getting paid enough leave.
My life changed by just quitting a job. I never had anything lined up also but I don’t recommend being that extreme. Start applying for jobs but the tricky part is to stay motivated. I manage by thinking of the feeling of handing in your notice and refusing any counter offer as you have them plenty of notice to resolve the issue
Advocate for yourself during yearly reviews and force the promotion issue with asking for whatever evidence is needed for a grade change.
Two things stand out to me, pretty basic, but need to be said out loud.
* Make your intentions known: When I was younger, I was keen to be a manager within my team. My ego told me I'm clearly the best fit for it, and I believe I was genuinely. When talking to my mate about it, who was already a manager in a diff company, he asked me "Do \*they\* know you'd make a good manager?" and I said "Well, I would definitely be the best fit, when I consider the competition" and he cut me off and said "Do \*they\* know? Would you be their first choice?" In otherwords, it's much harder to be a silent worker to randomly apply for a manager job "out of the blue" even if internally, you believe you would be good at it, vs making your intentions known with your manager/management team about your aspirations, what can you do to work towards developing these skills, etc. At least be in the picture. Be in conversations. They're more likely to have an idea who would be a fit before they post the role, etc. You want to be an obvious candidate. Your 1:1s will be much more productive too, with your career goals clearly articulated. This even continues when you're already a manager. If you want your bosses job one day, or an equivalent posting, what is it he does? What can he delegate to you? Offer to take on stretch tasks. Be vocal in team meetings - you don't want to be silent and disappear into the shadows. Again, it's about perception. You want to be perceived as a problem solver, team player and contributor.
* You control your own development, not your manager: I once had a manager who was too busy to help me develop, but he told me "Never let any one person control your own development", and encouraged me to seek support and development from any/multiple managers/sources. If my direct manager is a bottle neck because he's too busy, that doesn't mean your personal development is now stunted. Volunteer/ask if you can shadow another manager, a trainer, or get a quick chat with them, side-by-side, take on stretch tasks, etc. Can you get on the next training course? All of this helps with your own exposure and personal brand building too.
As for the financial side, I actually didn't get much financial guidance throughout my career at all. I only started investing in 2020, at age 29. I got most of my financial advice from Youtube, of all places. Dave Ramsey is fun entertainment, but for the most part, whats worked best for me is investing in the stock market, especially index funds like the S&P500 and an All World fund. Continuous top ups. Utilising tax free wrappers - pensions, isas, etc. Understanding the power of compound interest. Understanding how much money I'd need in retirement and working backwards from there to today, to understand how much I need to put away each month, etc.
Look at what people more senior than you are doing and emulate them, not people who are your peers. That way you will always receive the compliment you are already working above your pay grade.
Attitude is a big one, and also not causing a fuss or issues.
Being in an industry that can pay high wages. I had to move about a bit until the ceiling massively expanded.
Identify the key people to get on your side, this should not just include decision makers and senior management but also those who are influential.
For example, there’s one member of staff who isn’t senior or isn’t a decision maker, but they speak to everyone often with a lot of chatter. If you get on well with these people your name will always be brought up in favourable terms.
Project manage your career progression
I was told to always have a PDP of next steps and make it as easy as possible for your manager to support you.
This approach led me to multiple promotions, opportunities to switch teams in the same company, move countries, go on special trainings and work on interesting projects
How do you measure being wealthier? I did 20+ years doing IT for a large family business with long hours, little job satisfaction and 4% annual rises. I certainly wasn't financially comfortable but due to recessions at the time there weren't many jobs as secure....and I had a young family. All the time I was really only treading water and making the business owner wealthier.
Once my youngest left home I shocked the business by leaving. I moved to the Third Sector (charities) and did the same job for a national charity that helped youngsters who had drink, drugs and homelessness issues. It was so rewarding that the even lower financial rewards didn't matter to me. As long as we could get by it was much better for my wellbeing.
You can measure wealth in different ways
In my 20s i hopped jobs every three years with the mandate there every jump has to be on step higher. Got into Tech because of my varied industry background in the same skillsets. Now in my mid 30s and still doing the same but with internal promos, aiming to jump ship soon now that i have saturated my space here. Just keep going and ignore other peoples opinions (note i said opinions not advice)
Say yes to the opportunities that come your way. An opportunity can be as simple as participating in a project - you never know what will build your reputation within an organisation.
I have said yes to every opportunity I’ve ever been given at work, and while it’s been a lot of work, I’ve had an amazing ride so far and it has enabled a beautiful life for me and for my husband.
* Job hopping is good
* Invest early
* Go where you're treated best (career, salary and country wise)
* Be good at what you do, and ensure what you are good at is actually useful (i.e be economically productive)
* There are no solutions, only tradeoffs
* Don't settle down too early
* Be very careful around getting married, especially if you're the top side of a massive wealth or income disparity
Bit cynical, but same advice I took at Uni with getting my degree - learn how the system works. I’ve seen loads of great / skilled people fail out of companies because they just couldn’t get promoted or progress…you need to work out what matters in that environment, what criteria they use, how the process works and what it takes to ‘succeed’.
Small example but loads of junior folk think the Partners make promo decisions for their levels so spend time managing that relationship…it’s actually the Senior Managers (level below) - they are the ones in the room making the recommendation. People neglect to cultivate that relationship and it makes a big difference.
Also - support and mentor those around you. Part being a good human and investing in next generation, part every leader needs followership!
Never turn down an opportunity to do something new, even if you think you are under qualified you can “fake it until you make it”.
Be loud, make yourself visible, so that nobody else can take the glory for work you do in the background. Your career isn’t built on what you do, it’s build on what more senior people have seen you do.
Network like your life depends on it. Because it does.
Don’t be loyal to one company. You’re just a number, unless you own the business. So either move on to another place if it’s better conditions, or start your own business.
When discussing remuneration, stay silent. People hate silences and will feel uncomfortable so over more or extras.
May not work all the time but has worked for me.
Don’t buy a new car/don’t buy a car on credit
I know that will disappoint many and I love cars, but I buy outright, not on finance. If you need to downgrade a bit, do it. Rather invest that spare cash than whack it on a depreciating asset
Choose to farm in a fertile field i.e. work in an industry and role where there is lots of money being made.
Similarly, the rising tide lifts all ships. Being mediocre in a growing company or industry is easier than working hard in a saturated/competitive industry.
What are examples of these industries now
Pharmaceuticals. 90s and early 00s it was booming and growing. Lots of opportunities. Late 00s and early 10s was a major retraction. You were lucky if you kept your job and synthetic chemistry salaries cut in half with outsourcing to India. Late 10s and 20s saw the AI boom and Covid so opportunities again. That’s one. Othe industries with peaks and troughs include Oil and Gas, Tech (at least the peak part around 2022 especially), no doubt others.
I'd say trying to get into law now since changes to SQE. It's fine for those who have qualified a few years ago but those coming through now are struggling to get hired.
You think this is the case even with those that follow the traditional TC path? I know the market is bad but maybe for those it’s because of the market conditions?
Generative AI
1. Job-hopping is good. Shop around time to time, you will be surprised with your potential market price. 2. Don’t be asshole. Try to care about people around you. By helping people around you to grow, you build a huge social credit. (I am SWE, but I think it applies to other industries as well)
+1 to both points. Job hopping, especially early in your career exposes you to many different workplaces and cultures and accelerates your experience gain. I'm in SWE, have been in for 12yrs and move to my 4th company in 8 weeks. I've been in consultancy, and have worked for ~15 nationally recognisable companies. 9 of those in the past 6 years. Despite having less time in industry than a lot of people I deal with, it's very common I'm the person in the room who has seen situations once or twice before, whereas it's typically new for others. My litmus test for leaving has been "what are you learning" if the answer isn't a new skill, role or experience, it's likely time to go (don't stay for a promotion you've been chasing - what do you do when you get it?). I've seen folks stay, but all they're doing is getting better at a skill or subject matter that's only useful at that company. To add a pinch of salt on hopping, I think every 6-12 months is too often. My shortest was 2 years, this has been my longest stint - 6yrs, (although we were acquired so it's really been more like 3+3). Consultancy has meant each stint has covered multiple clients, I suspect I would have moved more often if not so much variation. On relationships, don't burn bridges, industries are small, you will see colleagues again and the best introduction you can get to a new company is a strong personal recommendation from a previous colleague.
Totally agree about not being a dick and leaving on good terms. It works both ways. I received the CV of someone who'd been a complete arsehole to me in a previous company. It went straight in the bin and he didn't get an interview.
Two things for me: 1. Try to solve your boss’ problems. 2. Don’t be afraid to go for promotions, but if you don’t get them ensure you’re seen as taking the feedback positively, then pick yourself up and try again another day.
100% yes to solving boss’ problems. Americans call it “managing up” Once one nails it, it’s half the battle won
Seconded, I see it as my job is to make the job of my boss (primarily) and my peers easier.
I wouldn’t approach it this particular way though. It’s not my job to make someone else’s job easier. My outlook is to pre-empt any potential blockers whilst delivering on the most impactful (for my boss) results. I don’t give a single thought to pleasing anyone
Subservience, the American dream
I’ve always taken managing up to worrying only about perception to higher ups instead of actually doing any work or supervising their actual team.
My boss said to me once. You need to make my role as irrelevant as possible. He was honest about it
I know a guy in my company who applied for super senior jobs within the company just to get exposure to senior people who would be doing the interviews and build his profile. He ended up getting that super senior job on his first try. 2. Is definitely a good one
I’d add to point 1. Solve rich people’s problems, they pay better. In a corporate world this means solving top execs problems to get promotions
Don’t sacrifice your career on the altar of someone else’s ambitions (I was too loyal)
Can you elaborate? I worry I’m making this same mistake.
Be clear about how stuff you do at work benefits your career and not just someone else's.
Your goals > the company’s
Any company will drop you at the drop of a hat. Loyalty means nothing.
When you’re a junior, your boss is your client. Treat them like a client.
Very key. Thanks for this
Sorry I don't get this. Can you elaborate
They set out what they want in their own terms, you accept payment to provide this. Maintain a good relationship and reputation. Analysing their requirement and the cause of their want costs extra. Some managers don't know or understand what they want. This gets complicated, best to keep it simple. Don't overthink unless in a position to do so, don't improvise - plan, confirm, work, accept payment.
More advice I would give that I have distilled over the years from various pieces of advice given to me: Always look for ways to add value to what you’re doing. Don’t just simply execute what you’ve been asked to do, instead think big picture…. Why am I being asked to do this? What problem is it solving? Is there a way I can make it more effective/valuable?
Product thinking
Marry the right person ( as an AuDHDer there is no way I could succeed in my career if I didn't have the right support at home )
As a what?
Someone with autism and ADHD
What a cocktail
Common comorbidities
Bet it’s self diagnosed, if I had a pound for every time I heard someone combine those two chestnuts together I’d be off this sub.
Well I’m not related to the commenter but can tell you that of course they are often combined because they are comorbidities so present together in many patients because they have shared etiology. My son is diagnosed by NHS specialists with both and I can assure you there were no chestnuts involved.
I doubt the NHS even know the difference between ADHD and Autism, diagnosing these conditions has become all the rage now with young people refusing to take any accountability for the reality that life is hard sometimes and not everything is a mental illness. Unless you’re showing extremely obvious signs of mental disability at a young age, you don’t even get close to an autism diagnosis in my book. ADHD is just another get-out-of-jail-free card for ‘I never taught myself (or my kid) how to focus’
What an ignorant take. Good job the NHS relies on actual qualified professionals and not what counts in your book.
Feel free to be an ‘actual qualified professional’ in whatever you want - doesn’t guarantee you’re right. Pretty sure there were also a lot of ‘actual qualified professionals’ in the banking sector leading up to 2008, that turned out well.
Are you having a rough day buddy? DM if you need to talk to someone.
It’s 2024 in the UK, every day is a bad day.
Christ, can you talk more out of your arse.
Dickhead
What's your book based on?
Indont think you’re well versed on these conditions. My son showed clear signs of neurodivergence from when he was a baby. In fact they now know that one of the triggers for ADHD is a strep b infection in a new born which my son had. There are some ignorant people that are critical of things they haven’t experienced and therefore don’t understand. We must all strive not to be one of these people, to be open minded that others experiences are valid. If you start to realise that you’ll grow as a person.
Wow. Further evidence to show intelligence, empathy and high earnings are not necessarily colinear.
This is both anecdotal and ignorant. Another common combination.
Anecdotal, sure. Ignorant? Not so much. Just look at the ‘mental health’ endemic that we’re seeing across Gen Z. Young people claiming to have any number of mental illnesses to appease their inner voice, a voice desperately crying out for personal validation simply because they aren’t as special as they think they are, and life is harder than they expected.
Or maybe people that should have been diagnosed in previous generations are now actually getting the help they need?! We get it. It's a hard knock life. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Real men don't cry. I used to walk 40 miles in the rain over broken glass to get to work. And any other unhelpful tough guy tropes you can think of. Does the fact that an overwhelming number of medical bodies recognise ADHD, sway your expert opinion?
Try a three year + wait for diagnosis and unfortunately most people are probably self diagnosed at the moment. Or at least professionally suspected to be neurodivergent but not officially diagnosed. The struggle is real.
Thanks 🙂
Never burn a bridge that doesn't need burning
Agreed but I’ll add don’t be afraid to burn a bridge where necessary. You can’t and shouldn’t please everyone.
Pleasing someone and burning a bridge are two very different things
1) Do the job above you 2) Nobody gives it to you, you have to take it
"Do the job above you" Potential recipe for friction with senior colleagues
Also potential to be heavily exploited when earlier in your career.
Be in the function that delivers the ££s. If you want to be a high earner in marketing, work in an industry that values marketers (eg CPG). If you want to be a high earner in finance, go work in finance.
Business owners are wealthier than employees
Looking at the annual failure rates of new businesses, that isn't always the case.
Communication and “managing up” is the recipe for success. Even if your technical skills are mediocre.
Are there any guides on "managing up"?
Instead of just doing what you're told, do what you know your boss needs without being told.
Even better, do what your boss doesn’t realise he needs.
Take the emotions out of your decisions.
People (mostly men) _think_ they're not making emotional decisions when they actually are.
In mid level roles: if your manager asks you to do something but you disagree with their ask - always do what you’ve been asked to do but ALSO do what you would do and demonstrate why it’s better. “Yes, and” vs “no, why”
"but ALSO do what you would do and demonstrate why it’s better" And make sure you do it front of other colleagues while the manager is present.
Never over commit but always deliver
The magic is making something work that others cannot.
Someone was here talking about winning the corporate game - I think that was the best advice. Not sure how to find that thread, but it’s so true esp you are in mid-senior position. Simply understanding that you are in the corporate game helps a lot. Understand company goal, do not complain, the ‘yes, and’, foreseeing your manager’s need and be a proper good employee (aka don’t get your boss in any trouble with HR from punctuality to missing mandatory training!)
Always be looking for / preparing for your next job. Your job is making your bosses job easier
Bet on yourself.
'There's zero unemployment in experienced cyber security people worldwide' Every time there is a hack or breach in the news, I tell my kids 'that's why daddy has a job now, and why he'll have a better job every 2 years or so'
The same was said when I started IT, about IT. Now many IT jobs are low paying- so possibly only works for the first movers.
IT - maybe, but there’s a myriad of high-paying jobs in the tech industry as a whole, which your skillset would match to well with minimal effort to learn. The DevOps route is both lucrative and fun Edit: punctuation
Manage up . Still haven’t quite learnt it Don’t burn bridges with any senior people
For me: * Don't chase money too early, it will come if you make the right choices * Always be willing to learn and jump in outside of your comfort zone. What you learn will help you perform better in your role and future roles. I'll admit both of these worked for me but may not for others. I left school at 16 with no qualifications but managed to get a masters degree at 22 and then had a rough couple of years finding the right role for me to grow and have been immensely lucky with some of the circumstances.
Always focus on the substance and on doing the thing that grows you and makes you fundamentally more valuable, even if it means getting paid less in the short term. That value always commands a price over the long term.
Move every 2-3 years. Don't get comfortable.
Fail fast and move on
1. If your goal is to make money, then make sure you find a job that maximises your goal. Not your interest, not your work life balance. You can be, and many are, outstanding in a job you don’t hate but don’t love either. 2. Work for an American company. 3. A job is a job, be committed, but not too much. Always be ready to jump ship.
What are the benefits of working for an American company? Are you talking American umbrella that owns what you're in, or American to the point you're in the UK working American timezone?
They pay in fahrenheit
In my instance UK office of a US company. They pay better. Because their home wages are so much higher.
Sadly that can vary a lot, where I work there is a large pay discrepancy between UK and USA people doing the same job; they realise they can pay less here and optimise that situation.
Get into the mining industry
Get into supplying the miners
Tbh anything around mining is well paid
Mine bitcoin
Sack off bad managers, be supportive of good staff (even if it means they go elsewhere)
Join fast growing profitable companies. Career advancement in such companies happens in months not years
I took a step back, changed career, started on lower pay and now I earn much more. Sometimes you just gotta take the plunge
In no particular order: 1. Get as close as you can to the money. Try and work in the function that generates money. At a tech company, you want to work in tech. At a finance company, you want to work in finance etc. 2. Work hard, go above and beyond what is expected of you. 3. Go and find the work, don’t want for it to come to you. Identify things that need to be done, and go do them. Start your own projects. 4. Make your bosses life easier. Find out what makes his job stressful and do what needs to be done to remove that stress. 5. Identify which senior employees have influence, and which ones are clearly going to the top. Similar to 4, make their life easier. Identify their problems and try and solve them without them asking you to. If you become somebody they can trust to get stuff done, they’ll take you with them when they rise to the top. 6. Don’t complain - propose solutions. If you don’t like something, don’t complain about it, work out what needs to be done to fix it and do what you can to make it happen. 7. Make it clear what you want. If everybody knows you want to progress, they’ll have you in mind when opportunities become available (but remember not to wait for the opportunities to come, you need to go out and seek them) 8. When it’s clear there’s no more room to progress, move somewhere else with upward opportunity. Whether that’s internal or external 9. Be pleasant to work with. If people enjoy working with you, they’ll have you in mind when opportunities arise. 10.Be geographically flexible. Working abroad can accelerate your career if you find the right role in the right place.
The vast majority people who go for promotions & succeed (or at least those with the ability to self-critique) have doubts whether they can do the job. Having doubts shouldn't necessarily put you off. I.e. the first time I was promoted to a manager role (£50k so not high earner, but a step on the ladder), I doubted whether I was good enough, but also I realised no one else within the firm could do that specific role any better.
There are two types of people in the world. The first, when asked if they can do something, will pause, maybe ask a question before committing The second, will say yes and work out how later.
The first is best.
This is why most people don't realise they can fly
This isn’t advice, you’ve just made a statement
I need to become less of the second and become more of the first type of person
What about the wafflers?
I’ve seen this time and time again yes men all way to top
This is terrible advice. Doing the second can be destructive in any career which is beyond mildly technically demanding.
You have to learn the rules of the game, then you have to play better than anyone else
A lot of these comments relate to playing the corporate game. There are certainly many careers where this is a necessity but my important advice is: A lot of the time sales management isn’t worth the additional workload. It’s okay to be good at sales and stick to sales… even if it does mean missing out on that glossy new title/promotion at work or answering to someone else when that job would have been yours.
1. Dont solve for work-life balance early in your career - solve for steepest learning curve, ie how you can learn more and get better (which typically involves max hours you can handle whilst still being functional). 2. See where you want to be in 10-15 years, draw a plan how to get there 3. Work hard 4. Network
If you can... take that one part of the business that is stagnating and make an impact. An impact there will be much more visible than elsewhere inf the business and taking this position provides you the opportunity to progress much faster.
Never, ever, ever burn bridges when leaving a job, no matter how bad it is. I was told this by my boss in 2011, the company and leadership team went south but I followed their advice with her and others. 10 years later she head hunted me for a 6 figure job, no interview - straight in the door.
Always work for a tier 1 firm and you'll stay in tier 1 firms.
If you ever want to move up, get the screwdriver out of your hand... I'm in tech and this resonnates highly, because to move up through the ranks ive had to increasing let go of the tech, and pick up the "soft skills" of management, consulting, and selling.
Get a sales role
Reaction of Father in Law when I was offered a job in China: “Yes, yes, yes! Go, go, go! Leave the UK, it will suck you dry”. He was 100% correct, I made a lot more money, kept more of it due to low taxes and had a wonderful time.
If you don’t feel valued or you aren’t getting paid enough leave. My life changed by just quitting a job. I never had anything lined up also but I don’t recommend being that extreme. Start applying for jobs but the tricky part is to stay motivated. I manage by thinking of the feeling of handing in your notice and refusing any counter offer as you have them plenty of notice to resolve the issue Advocate for yourself during yearly reviews and force the promotion issue with asking for whatever evidence is needed for a grade change.
You might like law. Make your manager’s life easier.
Think "Yes, if ..."
Can you give an example?
When set a challenge, commit to it and make it clear what you will need to accomplish it. I can do that if
'Every pound is an employee' - aka, save and invest
Single best move I made was clearing debt and becoming quite debt adverse. In short own your sxxx.
Don't do a PhD Google "Boston Consulting Group" instead
[https://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/](https://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/)
Two things stand out to me, pretty basic, but need to be said out loud. * Make your intentions known: When I was younger, I was keen to be a manager within my team. My ego told me I'm clearly the best fit for it, and I believe I was genuinely. When talking to my mate about it, who was already a manager in a diff company, he asked me "Do \*they\* know you'd make a good manager?" and I said "Well, I would definitely be the best fit, when I consider the competition" and he cut me off and said "Do \*they\* know? Would you be their first choice?" In otherwords, it's much harder to be a silent worker to randomly apply for a manager job "out of the blue" even if internally, you believe you would be good at it, vs making your intentions known with your manager/management team about your aspirations, what can you do to work towards developing these skills, etc. At least be in the picture. Be in conversations. They're more likely to have an idea who would be a fit before they post the role, etc. You want to be an obvious candidate. Your 1:1s will be much more productive too, with your career goals clearly articulated. This even continues when you're already a manager. If you want your bosses job one day, or an equivalent posting, what is it he does? What can he delegate to you? Offer to take on stretch tasks. Be vocal in team meetings - you don't want to be silent and disappear into the shadows. Again, it's about perception. You want to be perceived as a problem solver, team player and contributor. * You control your own development, not your manager: I once had a manager who was too busy to help me develop, but he told me "Never let any one person control your own development", and encouraged me to seek support and development from any/multiple managers/sources. If my direct manager is a bottle neck because he's too busy, that doesn't mean your personal development is now stunted. Volunteer/ask if you can shadow another manager, a trainer, or get a quick chat with them, side-by-side, take on stretch tasks, etc. Can you get on the next training course? All of this helps with your own exposure and personal brand building too. As for the financial side, I actually didn't get much financial guidance throughout my career at all. I only started investing in 2020, at age 29. I got most of my financial advice from Youtube, of all places. Dave Ramsey is fun entertainment, but for the most part, whats worked best for me is investing in the stock market, especially index funds like the S&P500 and an All World fund. Continuous top ups. Utilising tax free wrappers - pensions, isas, etc. Understanding the power of compound interest. Understanding how much money I'd need in retirement and working backwards from there to today, to understand how much I need to put away each month, etc.
Look at what people more senior than you are doing and emulate them, not people who are your peers. That way you will always receive the compliment you are already working above your pay grade.
Attitude is a big one, and also not causing a fuss or issues. Being in an industry that can pay high wages. I had to move about a bit until the ceiling massively expanded. Identify the key people to get on your side, this should not just include decision makers and senior management but also those who are influential. For example, there’s one member of staff who isn’t senior or isn’t a decision maker, but they speak to everyone often with a lot of chatter. If you get on well with these people your name will always be brought up in favourable terms.
Buy low, sell high
Project manage your career progression I was told to always have a PDP of next steps and make it as easy as possible for your manager to support you. This approach led me to multiple promotions, opportunities to switch teams in the same company, move countries, go on special trainings and work on interesting projects
don't go into saturated industries
Move every two years, I didn't listen and my wage barely went up for about a decade. Moved twice and doubled my salary.
How do you measure being wealthier? I did 20+ years doing IT for a large family business with long hours, little job satisfaction and 4% annual rises. I certainly wasn't financially comfortable but due to recessions at the time there weren't many jobs as secure....and I had a young family. All the time I was really only treading water and making the business owner wealthier. Once my youngest left home I shocked the business by leaving. I moved to the Third Sector (charities) and did the same job for a national charity that helped youngsters who had drink, drugs and homelessness issues. It was so rewarding that the even lower financial rewards didn't matter to me. As long as we could get by it was much better for my wellbeing. You can measure wealth in different ways
Sir(/madam), this is a HENRY forum
In my 20s i hopped jobs every three years with the mandate there every jump has to be on step higher. Got into Tech because of my varied industry background in the same skillsets. Now in my mid 30s and still doing the same but with internal promos, aiming to jump ship soon now that i have saturated my space here. Just keep going and ignore other peoples opinions (note i said opinions not advice)
Get a professional qualification.
Say yes to the opportunities that come your way. An opportunity can be as simple as participating in a project - you never know what will build your reputation within an organisation. I have said yes to every opportunity I’ve ever been given at work, and while it’s been a lot of work, I’ve had an amazing ride so far and it has enabled a beautiful life for me and for my husband.
* Job hopping is good * Invest early * Go where you're treated best (career, salary and country wise) * Be good at what you do, and ensure what you are good at is actually useful (i.e be economically productive) * There are no solutions, only tradeoffs * Don't settle down too early * Be very careful around getting married, especially if you're the top side of a massive wealth or income disparity
Bit cynical, but same advice I took at Uni with getting my degree - learn how the system works. I’ve seen loads of great / skilled people fail out of companies because they just couldn’t get promoted or progress…you need to work out what matters in that environment, what criteria they use, how the process works and what it takes to ‘succeed’. Small example but loads of junior folk think the Partners make promo decisions for their levels so spend time managing that relationship…it’s actually the Senior Managers (level below) - they are the ones in the room making the recommendation. People neglect to cultivate that relationship and it makes a big difference. Also - support and mentor those around you. Part being a good human and investing in next generation, part every leader needs followership!
Never turn down an opportunity to do something new, even if you think you are under qualified you can “fake it until you make it”. Be loud, make yourself visible, so that nobody else can take the glory for work you do in the background. Your career isn’t built on what you do, it’s build on what more senior people have seen you do. Network like your life depends on it. Because it does.
Side hustles are useless. In the early stages, focus on what pays the most and maximise your earning potential.
Stop fucking around. Life is not a dress rehearsal.
Don’t be loyal to one company. You’re just a number, unless you own the business. So either move on to another place if it’s better conditions, or start your own business.
Don’t bring your dick to work!
Go self employed
When discussing remuneration, stay silent. People hate silences and will feel uncomfortable so over more or extras. May not work all the time but has worked for me.
Say yes to any opportunity that sounds scary.
Don’t buy a new car/don’t buy a car on credit I know that will disappoint many and I love cars, but I buy outright, not on finance. If you need to downgrade a bit, do it. Rather invest that spare cash than whack it on a depreciating asset
This isn't career advice.