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Freelancers are precarious...in the writing business (which, it is clear, is what they meant). More fundamentally, freelancers are exposed to the current balan

Freelancers are precarious...in the writing business (which, it is clear, is what they meant). More fundamentally, freelancers are exposed to the current balance of supply and demand for their profession, in a more direct way. If there is a shortage, you feel the way you are treated improve more quickly than if you were full-time, and you can definitely increase your pay more quickly. If there is a surplus, it works the other way. Unfortunately, the real lesson here is: you need to enter a different labor market. Change your profession (or, in some cases, location). This is, I freely admit, way easier said than done. I'm sure any retired steelworker or coalminer can guess what that's like. I am trying to make sure my daughter, currently junior high age, understands how important it is to have a profession for which there is more demand than supply. I find that the messages she hears from society are quite the opposite. But, if you want to be able to demand that you are treated with respect and dignity, it helps a whole lot if what you are doing is something for which there is currently more demand than supply.

deleted 8y ago
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mixmastamyk 8y ago
> I find that the messages she hears from society are quite the opposite. Curious about this statement, what are some of these messages?
- secabeen 8y ago
  Not the OP, but I think what they're referring to is the "follow your passion", "do what you love", "if you love your work, you don't work for a single day" messages that imply "it's not important to [select] a profession for which there is more demand than supply"
  - j-c-hewitt 8y ago
    Teachers want enthusiasm from students so they encourage them to do things they're enthusiastic about. They don't share the pain if their student who follows their passion for music or poetry becomes indigent in the future. The market often rewards work that is difficult, boring, risky, straining on personal relationships, and physically dangerous.
  - rossdavidh 8y ago
    That is precisely what I was talking about. "Do what you love" is fine, "expect to get paid for doing what you love" is not. If you love singing, for example, by all means do it, do it a lot, but don't let the market turn what you love into a grind by making it your profession if the market has 100 people trying to get that career for every job opening. Pick something you are ok with, that others want to pay for, and it's ok if what you love is a hobby. There is some programming I love doing; it's not generally the stuff I am getting paid to do. That's ok, as long as I realize that it's ok.
  - shoo 8y ago
    yeah. i think it is probably healthier for most people to aim for work that is in relatively high demand, and hence has relatively good working conditions / pay / career options, and then decouple the "do what you love" activities from work activities. to quote a programming blog, "work expands until it exceeds your capacity for stress". if you are in the luxurious position to do so (i.e. you have a few options for work and so can avoid working for horrible organisations with bosses or colleagues or clients that dont respect your free time), set up strong boundaries between your job and the rest of your life, and keep work contained. a few people are lucky enough to be able to make a decent living out of doing what they love, or are in the position of not needing to work, and are free to do what they love. for the vast majority of people this is not realistically achievable (this is not necessarily a question of ability, etc, lots of people are born into contexts where they have very little opportunity to develop their inherent potential) and they should not be judged by society from finding dignity in doing what is economically necessary to pay the bills. here's a slightly different but complementary perspective from an investment blog i follow: > Part of the problem is not having or developing an attitude of service. There is no shame in helping others. In one sense, compensation derives from how many people you help, times how valuable your contribution to that good or service is. > So, rather than “following your bliss,” the best work comes from enabling the bliss of others. http://alephblog.com/2015/07/25/the-school-of-money-first-grade/ http://alephblog.com/2015/07/25/the-school-of-money-first-gr...
fencepost 8y ago
Depending on her interests, "not remotable" might be more significant than "more demand than supply." If there's a persistent long-term supply/demand imbalance then something will change that, be it a change that eliminates or drastically reduces the demand or something that changes how the supply is provided (e.g. automation).

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

mixmastamyk 8y ago

> I find that the messages she hears from society are quite the opposite. Curious about this statement, what are some of these messages?

secabeen 8y ago
Not the OP, but I think what they're referring to is the "follow your passion", "do what you love", "if you love your work, you don't work for a single day" messages that imply "it's not important to [select] a profession for which there is more demand than supply"
- j-c-hewitt 8y ago
  Teachers want enthusiasm from students so they encourage them to do things they're enthusiastic about. They don't share the pain if their student who follows their passion for music or poetry becomes indigent in the future. The market often rewards work that is difficult, boring, risky, straining on personal relationships, and physically dangerous.
- rossdavidh 8y ago
  That is precisely what I was talking about. "Do what you love" is fine, "expect to get paid for doing what you love" is not. If you love singing, for example, by all means do it, do it a lot, but don't let the market turn what you love into a grind by making it your profession if the market has 100 people trying to get that career for every job opening. Pick something you are ok with, that others want to pay for, and it's ok if what you love is a hobby. There is some programming I love doing; it's not generally the stuff I am getting paid to do. That's ok, as long as I realize that it's ok.
- shoo 8y ago
  yeah. i think it is probably healthier for most people to aim for work that is in relatively high demand, and hence has relatively good working conditions / pay / career options, and then decouple the "do what you love" activities from work activities. to quote a programming blog, "work expands until it exceeds your capacity for stress". if you are in the luxurious position to do so (i.e. you have a few options for work and so can avoid working for horrible organisations with bosses or colleagues or clients that dont respect your free time), set up strong boundaries between your job and the rest of your life, and keep work contained. a few people are lucky enough to be able to make a decent living out of doing what they love, or are in the position of not needing to work, and are free to do what they love. for the vast majority of people this is not realistically achievable (this is not necessarily a question of ability, etc, lots of people are born into contexts where they have very little opportunity to develop their inherent potential) and they should not be judged by society from finding dignity in doing what is economically necessary to pay the bills. here's a slightly different but complementary perspective from an investment blog i follow: > Part of the problem is not having or developing an attitude of service. There is no shame in helping others. In one sense, compensation derives from how many people you help, times how valuable your contribution to that good or service is. > So, rather than “following your bliss,” the best work comes from enabling the bliss of others. http://alephblog.com/2015/07/25/the-school-of-money-first-grade/ http://alephblog.com/2015/07/25/the-school-of-money-first-gr...

fencepost 8y ago

Depending on her interests, "not remotable" might be more significant than "more demand than supply." If there's a persistent long-term supply/demand imbalance then something will change that, be it a change that eliminates or drastically reduces the demand or something that changes how the supply is provided (e.g. automation).