PREPARE FOR THE UPS AND DOWNS OF PROJECT WORK

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Gary Player

 

Project or itinerant work life is not for the faint hearted.

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that forty percent of us have incomes that rise or fall dramatically.  The ‘feast and famine’ itinerant professional earns large sums of money when the economy is strong but when the economy falters income can drop precipitously unless we plan.  This results in more wage inequality between those who have full time, core jobs and those contractors who can be laid off.

Increased merit remuneration, performance based pay, and frequent job switching also increase income variation.  While this work pattern was thought to occur mainly in peak retail and tourist seasons, this now occurs in consulting, with suppliers, and in many professional firms.

Life Lesson Earned:  As the economy has collapsed, more of us are going to be Itinerant professionals.  You’re going to have to more flexible and may have to take jobs in locations that you may not want.

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