Climbing the corporate ladder: You don’t have to climb the corporate ladder if you enjoy your job. Normalize staying put in a job you like.
Like most people, I started off my career climbing the corporate ladder.
After I studied business marketing in school, I began my career working for a telecommunications company.
As soon as I gained enough experience, I applied for bank jobs out of a sincere interest to learn more about investing.
Then, around 2012, I got a job at a bank. I was in!
My quest to climb the soul-crushing corporate ladder began.
I spent eight months in an every-day banking role before I moved on to becoming a mutual fund advisor.
Shortly after that, I obtained a job as an investment service representative for a reputable stock brokerage. It was supposed to be my dream job. I expected to meet investment mentors that were as obsessed about investing as I was. Unfortunately, all I found were cogs.
This disheartening process led to my questioning of climbing the corporate ladder. I started to wonder if it was really worth it.
Simply put, I was supposed to be thrilled about it, but my day-to-day life sucked. It literally depressed me.
In this post, I will look at why climbing the corporate ladder is not worth it and why there should be a push towards staying in a job you like.
Let’s jump right in to an overview of what the corporate ladder is.
Climbing The Corporate Ladder: What Does It Mean?
Climbing the corporate ladder is an expression used to describe the process of moving up within a corporation.
Essentially, it means you apply for other jobs within a corporation to receive higher pay and more status.
Every time you get a promotion, you move one step higher up the corporate ladder.
Why I Stopped Climbing The Ladder
In short, I stopped climbing the corporate ladder because I find it extremely unfulfilling.
As soon as I made enough money to cover my own expenses, I stopped being motivated by jobs that pay more, unless it was something I truly wanted to do.
Furthermore, I don’t care about status or what someone thinks about my job.
I don’t give a damn if someone thinks I look rich because I wear a suit to work.
And I couldn’t care less about my job title or Linkedin profile.
Moreover, I believe in my own abilities. So, once my bills were covered by jobbing, I knew I could start a business or invest well enough to achieve financial independence even if I was investing with little money. It is a slower process, but it is an enjoyable process.
Simply put, I would rather earn a low income doing what I enjoy instead of earning a high income while hating every minute of my life.
Let me put some numbers on that to show you how serious I am.
I would rather earn $40,000 annually than $150,000 annually if I like my day-to-day life better.
Corporate Job Boards Are Depressing
Another reason I stopped climbing the corporate ladder is because job boards are absolutely depressing.
This is the truth: I actually used to get depressed looking at job boards. Literally nothing appealed to me. I really tried to look and then it would suck the life right out of me for the rest of the day. It is so depressing to see other people motivated by something that you find utterly depressing.
And it’s not that the jobs are out of my reach or that I couldn’t build the skills.
It’s that the job titles and job descriptions are complete bull$%*t.
I mean, I didn’t go through school aspiring to be a “Senior Administrator” or a “Sr Test Developer.”
Personally, I think these job titles are a clever way of making boring jobs sound complex. It provides the employee with a complex title to tell others about so they sound intelligent. Why not just call it what it is?
Also, the job descriptions all sound horrible. They aren’t interesting, fun, clear, or creative at all. Hence why employees think they need to climb the corporate ladder—the jobs are literally so boring you couldn’t possible stay in them for more than two years.
Meanwhile, if you look at people who love their career, they stay in the same career for their entire lives.
Climbing The Corporate Ladder Is Like School Forever
If you enjoyed the education system, you probably enjoy climbing the corporate ladder.
It’s exactly like being in school forever.
You have managers and trainers that try to guide you, as if you haven’t become an adult that is capable of thinking for yourself.
In a big corporation, there is a pressure to move into different roles every few years. They call this career development.
Additionally, you are trapped in a structured environment with teacher-like managers that control your time and hold you to an attendance standard.
If you have an entrepreneurial mind, I almost don’t think it’s possible to work for a corporation and become an independent-thinking adult.
Never Move Laterally Without a Raise
One of the most criminal things large corporations do is get employees to take on more work for the same pay.
They will tell you things like:
- This will look great on your resume
- You will be able to build new skills
- We don’t have the extra funding
- This is a stepping stone
I call bull$%*t.
The truth is that the company is taking advantage of people with less experience.
It could even be considered bullying.
If you do more work, you should get paid more.
Essentially, they are telling you that they need to squeeze out more profits for shareholders and they don’t care about you.
And frankly, it’s a complete lie—you do not have to accept a lateral move to move up.
If that’s what your employer tells you, you should consider moving out to move up. Find a job that pays higher at a different company.
Alternatively, just take matters into your own hands. You don’t have to wait for your manager’s approval to apply for a job. You can simply apply for a different job that you want.
Don’t let them take advantage of you.
Finding Satisfaction Without Climbing The Corporate Ladder By Moving Down
At the beginning of my career, I was just a young kid trying to do what was right.
I listened to the narrative of what I was supposed to do.
The worst thing I did, though, was let managers pressure me into roles I wasn’t truly interested in. I even moved laterally into a role without a raise and more work.
You see, I used to be painfully shy in person. I was afraid to say no.
This led to me taking courses I didn’t want to take and wasting time on job applications I didn’t even want.
Finally, around 2019, I decided enough was enough. If a manager tried to guide me into a new role, I just told the truth.
I told them I didn’t want to apply for the roles that were being suggested. I honestly wasn’t interested in any of them.
What I wanted was more time to work on this blog.
At the time, I worked in the banking industry. If you’ve ever worked for a bank, you would know that there is a constant pressure to continually move into a different role every two years.
Because of the pressure, and considering the company I worked for wasn’t interested in providing employees with more flexible schedules, I took matters into my own hands.
I made a gutsy move to find a high-paying part-time job.
Instead of climbing the corporate ladder, I moved down to find more time.
Now my blog is earning money every month and I have the most free time I’ve had since I was in college.
Say NO To Jobs You Don’t Want
If I could offer you one piece of career advice, I would tell you to say no to jobs you don’t want to do. It doesn’t even matter if it pays more.
If the job title and job description makes you cringe, say no.
For whatever reason, I find that employers tend to pressure me into higher roles.
I think they see that I am an honest worker that does a good job. In turn, they think I’m trying to climb the corporate ladder and they pressure me into new roles.
They seemingly look at me as if I am unsatisfied or like I need a bigger challenge.
It nearly happened again recently, to tell you the truth.
But I am more satisfied with my career than I have ever been in my life.
I don’t have status, but I have a flexible job with low hours and a high paying wage.
It pays the bills and I have extra time to increase income streams and work on more fulfilling passions on the side.
There Are More Reasons Than Ever Not To Climb The Soul-Sucking Ladder
We are literally in the midst of a technological revolution.
I mean, you can literally start a blog and get paid monthly income with display ads.
It has never been easier to start an online business.
The stock market and investing is accessible to nearly everyone.
Basically, you have more alternative career options than ever.
All Jobs Are The Same—Focus On Tradeoffs
Millennials switch jobs more often than any other generation in history.
They always talk as if the next job will change their life.
But within a few months of obtaining the job they desired, they get right back to complaining again.
This is why it is my opinion that all jobs are essentially the same.
No job is really a good job.
All jobs are jobs with tradeoffs.
What it really comes down to is what are the best tradeoffs for you.
For example, if you really want status and you need people to think you are a big shot, by all means, pursue some fancy title so you can feel good about yourself. It’s pretty shallow, though.
If time is truly what you want, you could work a part-time job to have more time now.
If you prefer a job with a flexible schedule, find a job that offers that.
Simply put, the job you will enjoy the most is the job that is best suited to your lifestyle.
Prioritize Day-To-Day Life Over Status and Prestige
It is truly difficult for me to understand why someone would prioritize status and prestige over substance.
It is life outside of work you should be prioritizing. That’s all there really is.
Do you really think history is going to remember some middle level manager from a large corporation?
In my view, a job is just an income stream to support my world outside of work. It’s not my identity.
If you really listen to people that pursue status over substance, they often spend most of their time complaining about their jobs.
It’s so strange to me that a person would hate their day-to-day life just to hold a title or for a level of income.
If you start to make career decisions based on the actions you do and less on superficial things, you will enjoy each day more.
Value Your Time
Another thing that is borderline criminal is that jobs don’t pay for commuting.
I don’t see how ten hours of commuting per week does not factor into compensation when most employers won’t even pay you for a 30 minute lunch.
Typically, you are required to be in some building somewhere for 40 hours per week. Yet they nickel and dime you on your lunch break and force you to commute and pay for it yourself. I don’t see how it’s fair.
In addition, most employers expect you to take courses to climb the corporate ladder on your own free time. I guess 40 to 50 hours a week of your life isn’t enough.
I am all for extra learning. However, you should be able to spend your free time being free and learning things you want to learn.
After an entire career of climbing the corporate ladder, most people hardly even know who they are anymore.
The best years of your life were spent learning information you didn’t want to learn, commuting, and chasing status.
Normalize Staying Put In A Job You Like
If you enjoy your job, if it is suits your lifestyle, and if it pays well enough, there is actually no reason to climb the soul-crushing ladder.
This generation seems to forget that older generations remained in the same job for most of their lives.
If you were a farmer, you farmed until you couldn’t.
If you were a blacksmith, you created objects and forged metal for your entire life.
Nowadays, people have to switch jobs every couple years.
It seems as though they keep looking for jobs to fulfill a missing piece or something.
To put it bluntly, it’s extremely unlikely that your job will ever truly fulfill you or fill that entire hole.
But if you find a way to love your life outside of work, a job just becomes an income stream.
Then, you can just stay put. You can become an expert at your work, which is fulfilling in itself.
Just get your money from the job and spend as much time as possible enjoying your life outside of work.
Please help me normalize staying put in a job you like.
Is Climbing The Corporate Ladder Worth It? – Final Thoughts
In my personal opinion, climbing the corporate ladder is not worth it.
It is a soul-crushing endeavour that never ends.
However, it also depends on who you are.
If you are someone that enjoyed school, climbing the corporate ladder could be fulfilling.
But if you are naturally an entrepreneur or financial independence seeker, it will make you physically sick to your stomach and it will cause you a lot of frustration.
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