Digging Ditches

Predicting The Future Isn't Easy

The ways of the world are changing and it gets harder to see these changes the older we get. As humans, we tend to strive or security and comfort when in fact, nature is the exact opposite. We need to constantly remind ourselves that nothing is static and the future is never guaranteed.

When I was a young lad, my father always made sure to reinforce the ethic of hard work and planning for my future. His view of the world and success were based in the great depression and the Second World War. His career path ended up being an officer in the U.S. Military. In his eyes, hard work and a good, competent employer were the keys to security and happiness in your old age. For his generation, this all made perfect sense.

I will never forget one of the lessons that my father taught me while sitting around the dinner table one night. It went something like this:

"You need to study hard and get good grades in school. You can't get a good job with a big company if you are a slacker. If you get good grades and work hard, you can get a job with Boeing or ATT or General Motors, work there for 25 years and then retire with a nice pension. Otherwise you will end up being a 'ditch digger' or a 'garbage man'."

As a young child of 10, I nodded my head in agreement. Sounded like good advice and what the heck, this was my father. The man could do no wrong in my eyes.

My father could not have foreseen the economic collapse of the early 21 Century. Countries that win World Wars don't fall apart 50 years later. The Boeing Corporation that made the bombers that he flew in WWII is half it's former self and struggling to compete with France's Airbus. The ATT he referred to was the 'old' ATT (at the time the ONLY telephone company) before it was broken up, and recently resurrected as the new ATT. And General Motors....we won't even go there. By the time you read this, they might not even exist anymore.

And those jobs I was supposed to avoid at all costs?:

Ditch diggers now sit in air conditioned backhoes and make upwards of $30 an hour. Those garbage men? Their hands never touch the garbage can as they sit in trucks and control pneumatic arms that process the trash. The are usually unionized and have better benefits and stability than I could ever imagine.

Predicting the future is never easy. Life has taught me that you have to be able to roll with the economic punches and to never trust your employer. Regardless of what they say, they NEVER have your best interests at heart. As a fellow blogger mentioned, we are all our most precious resource. We shouldn't trust others to use us on their behalf. We need to manage ourselves and be ready for any eventuality.