Career Advice

At age 48, I’m over the halfway hump in my career. I’ve been an engineering (and now IT) professional for 24 years, and I envision retiring in another 15 years (give or take a few). Not that anyone has asked, but as I interact with younger coworkers, I’ve thought about what I might say if I were asked for career advice. Here’s what I think I would say.

  • Get God right. What you value most is your god. There is only one true God, and lots of false gods. If you “believe in God” but give more energy and focus to your career than to God, then you don’t worship God, you worship a false god. Money, power, prestige, or any other measure of a “successful” career won’t provide lasting satisfaction. If you want a satisfying career, then get your satisfaction from the Bread of Life (John 6:35).
  • Become an expert.  Don’t make it your goal to climb the ladder or earn more money. Instead, focus on becoming really good at your job. If you do that, the opportunities and compensation will follow. It’s not enough to just know how to do something. Be the person who knows how to do it right, the reasons for the required do’s and don’ts, and how to fix things when something goes wrong. Don’t just collect experience. People with experience are a dime a dozen. Experts are rare. Avoid jumping from job to job in order to try new things. Learn new things in your current job by digging deep and figuring things out. Don’t let “I don’t know” be a barrier. Take the time to study, learn, and understand. Be a historian; uncover the history of why things are the way they are. Understand the relationships and dependencies between processes, departments, equipment, etc. Become the person people come to when they need help. Using your expertise to help others makes you a valuable asset and makes a job enjoyable.

  • Be humble and generous with your expertise.  People won’t come to you for help if you’re not humble and generous. There’s a big difference between an expert and a know-it-all. Acquiring expertise requires learning, and learning requires humility. Helping others means sharing your expertise, not keeping it to yourself. Some people have the mistaken notion that if they’re the only ones who can do something it gives them job security. But the reality is that no one is irreplaceable, and you’re a more valuable asset when you’re a team player. Help others be successful by teaching, showing, and sharing. Don’t worry about “protecting” your expertise or getting the credit. When you’re a team player and the team is successful because of your contributions, the reward will come. When you help others be successful, everyone benefits.
  • Get God right.  Bad bosses, bad coworkers, bad economies, bad situations at home, etc. are sometimes a reality. When you’re overloaded with expectations you can’t meet, facing obstacles you can’t overcome, stressed by decisions that you don’t know how to make, remember that your career is not the source of your satisfaction. “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”1  As someone has said, “don’t sweat the small stuff,” and when you get your priorities straight, you realize that a career is part of the “small stuff” (Philippians 3:8).

  1. https://thewestminsterstandard.org/westminster-shorter-catechism/