There are three kinds of jobs:
- The ‘flatline’ jobs: Here you do the same thing for the same inflation-adjusted salary, all your life. E.g., a mailman sorting parcels.
- The ‘linear growth’ jobs: Here, you grow at a steady pace. E.g., start as a junior accountant, become a senior accountant, and retire as the head of finance. Your job role and salary improve predictably. Most jobs fall in this category, and there is nothing wrong with it.
- The ‘compounding growth’ jobs: In compound interest, your interest gets capitalized so you earn even higher interest the next year.
In the context of a job, as you gather more experience and skills (the ‘interest’), your job role changes materially (‘interest’ gets capitalized), allowing you to earn even more valuable experience (‘higher interest’).
That is how, in McKinsey or BCG in 6-8 years, you go from post-MBA associate to a partner, as your job changes from data analysis and problem-solving, to managing teams, to finally, managing clients and getting more business. After that, once you become a senior partner, it flatlines.
But what happens when it doesn’t flatline? That is when you have people like Sundar Pichai reaching the top.
Of course, ‘compounding growth’ jobs are cut-throat competitive and can suck your life away.
There is nothing wrong with any of these categories. So decide what you want because it is your life. The bigger the dream, the bigger the price.
– Rajan