A Look at IWTYTBR’s Career Seasons Perspective
For anyone who keeps up with the personal finance world, the name Ramit Sethi is likely one you recognize. He’s the author of the New York Times best-selling book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich and has released a new Netflix series called How to Get Rich.
Sethi has grown a following because of his fresh, no-nonsense approach to personal finance. For example, he encourages his readers to look for savings accounts with the highest interest rate and minimal fees (this oftentimes isn’t the traditional brick and mortar banks many of us grew up with). He also dismisses a lot of common personal finance advice, ignoring the financial experts who insist skipping the avocado toast or Starbucks run will be life changing for their finances. He recommends his book as a starting point, but readers can stay up to date by visiting his website. Like any personal finance advice, I suggest you take what works for you and forget the rest.
Articles from The Money Talks Series
(where I encourage open + honest conversations about personal finance)
Sethi has also talked about his opinions about careers when it comes to careers and career development. When he mentions the idea of being rich, he asks readers to consider what their rich life looks like. Many people answer having a job that is more creative or a career that allows for more flexibility. In his career advice, he asks us to be more intentional when mapping out and editing our career plans.
When I heard of the Career Seasons perspective, I thought this was a smart lens for us to view our career or even our life as a whole. I believe this is even more important for people at my age range (hi fellow mid-twenties people), who are still learning the fundamentals and gaining experience in our fields.
Let’s look at the three different Career Seasons according to Sethi:
“Growth: When we prioritize learning and earning more — and we’re willing to put in the time.
Lifestyle: When we want to prioritize our time outside work, such as taking care of family.
Reinvention: When we want to completely reinvent ourselves, including the role and even industry we work in.”
Take a minute and ask yourself: Which season is your career in right now?
The reason why I enjoy this perspective is because it acknowledges we will have different priorities based on our goals and life. One saying I relate to is “You can do anything, but not everything” and I think Career Seasons Approach has a similar spirit. This view is crucial for those who are ambitious and can become lost or overwhelmed with all their goals. In the career seasons, we see structure, and this can inform our choices.
I would also say this bit of advice resonates because it rejects the traditional strategy Americans have established around their career and professional advancement. In the past, people were told to keep their head down, get the work done, and hold out until retirement. While this advice may have worked decades ago, it doesn’t translate in the modern world where the economy is drastically different and technology advancements have changed all industries. For example, employees have to stay proactive and up to date about their industry, even if they remain at the same company. When it comes to the “who, what, when, where, and how’s” we’ve seen a complete change in the professional world (especially if we think of the pandemic impact). The world has changed and in order to be successful in all areas of our life, we can’t afford to coast in our professional life for decades.
Each person is going to be able to pick their career season based on their current situation. For example, I would say I’m in the Reinvention Season. Why? Well, I've spent my career and formal education focused on marketing or business administration. Once I started working in e-commerce, it felt like a natural step for me. However, after some experience in e-commerce, I’m looking for something different. If you read this blog, you know the intersection of marketing and technology is one of my main focuses. I think I’ll continue to use the skills I learned from my traditional education and work experience but apply them in a new way. I’m also actively learning new technical skills which I plan to use in future jobs that are out of my current comfort zone.
You might be in a different season, for example, one of my mentor’s is in a Lifestyle season. She’s happy with her business and current clients. She’s even at the point where she turns down offers for new projects because it would distract her from the priorities she has during this season of her life.
The same way the seasons change in the world, I know the seasons will change in our professional lives. Once this season is over, I could be in a Growth Season. It’s likely my schedule and lifestyle will look different compared to the Reinvention season. This is the beauty of the Career Seasons perspective; it talks about the continuity of our lives and how to use it to navigate the age-old challenge of finding a healthy work/life balance.
