Why Job Security Is Complete Bullshit
Jan

If you asked 1,000 people to sum up in a single word what a typical job with health benefits, paid vacations, and a 401(k) retirement plan means to them, they will most likely answer ‘security’.
I would have answered this question the exact same way a few years ago. We are taught to go to school, get good grades, go to college, and find a job with excellent benefits. Then, after working the best years of our lives away, we get to retire with a gold watch and “enjoy” the rest of our lives.
I don’t know about you, but this seems like the recipe for unhappiness to me. What if we don’t want to go to college? What if we want to travel the world instead? Are we going to be failures? What if we don’t want to spend 40 or 50 years working a job? Are we considered unstable or irresponsible?
The idea of getting hired into a large corporation, starting as the low man on the totem pole, and spending our whole lives working towards upper management seems incredibly foolish, wasteful, and depressing. Yet, society had taught us to do exactly this.
This is the rat race, pure and simple.
Is the rat race a bad thing? Not necessarily. It works for those who need that structure and direction in their lives. It just doesn’t work for me.
One of the biggest problems I have with the whole “9 to 5 mentality” is that people believe that they’re secure in their jobs. A scene from ‘Office Space’ shows the two very different thoughts about the rat race and job security:
“What if we’re still doing this when we’re 50?”
“It would be nice to have that kind of job security”
I am clearly with Peter here and cannot imagine working in my miserable job until I’m 50. However, it’s extremely common for people to think like Samir and wish for job security. Personally, I think it’s incredibly sad for a person to settle for and actually want the “safety” of a meaningless job when there is so much more to life.
Job Security Is A Myth
The bottom line is this, if you work for somebody else, even if it’s the U.S. Government, you have no job security. Why? Because someone else makes the decisions. How can we be in control of our careers, finances, or happiness, when someone else has the power to fire you?
How many people do we know that have lost their “secure” jobs? How many stories have we heard regarding long time, hard working, and dedicated employees getting laid off? Far, far too many.
I worked for Merrill Lynch in 2004 and 2005, when it was considered an unstoppable brokerage powerhouse. Fast forward 3 years and 50 billion dollars in mortgage backed securities losses, and Merrill Lynch was insolvent. It just goes to show you that no matter how large, powerful, or financially stable a company is, you never know what can happen.
Add don’t even get me started on these large corporations lying their asses off to us about their financial stability.
Do you remember the last half of 2008 and the first few months of 2009, when the stock market was getting absolutely hammered? Large, well established companies were folding left and right.
Here is a short list of well known companies that declared bankruptcy during that period:
- Bear Stearns
- GM
- Chrysler
- Washington Mutual
- Eddie Bauer
- Mrs. Fields (not the cookies!!!)
- Circuit City
What do you think happened to all those employees? All their benefits, retirement savings, and “security” didn’t exempt them from getting thrown out onto the streets to fend for themselves.
If we are going to be truly secure in our professions, we need to be the decision makers. I’m not advocating that we all quit our jobs and start our own companies, but I can think of no better way to be in total control of our financial futures than to have our own business.
Why are we going to spend the best years and most of our lives building another persons business? Are we incapable of finding something we love to do and creating a business from it? Of course not.
Create Your Own Job Security
If we understand that we have no job security if we’re not in charge, then why not figure out how to be in charge?
The problem is that we live in a society that breeds sheep. The vast majority of Americans are sheep. This is not an insult, it’s just a fact. Sheep need to be told what to do. If we were raised to believe that we need to follow a certain path in life to be successful, should we be surprised that most of us need to be led?
There are countless different ways to create job security for yourself, we just need to figure out what is going to be our path.
Using myself as an example, my plan to create my own job security is the following:
- Create a valuable resource (this blog) for people.
- Build an online community and integrate myself fully into it
- Turn my blog into a valuable asset by creating a business strategy and implementing it
- Begin earning income with my blog through various monetization methods
- Create a passive income stream, which will allow me freedom over my time and allow me to be in charge of my financial future
Let me clarify that I am NOT an expert in this field (yet). These are my personal ideas to build my online business and whether it turns out to look like this or not, only time will tell.
What I AM an expert in however, is knowing how most of our thinking about job security is complete bullshit. I’ve spent 24 years as an employee and have seen job “security” fail more times than I want to remember…

Jen Gresham
It’s true. No job is really secure in the way we used to think of it. Even in the military, I am watching as thousands of good people, people who did everything they were “supposed to,” are getting laid off.
But in a way, it’s good to realize the only security you have is inside yourself. You create security by being creative, passionate, persistent, and a hard worker. Not that those qualities guarantee anything, but they mean you will always have the resources inside to add value.
Steve
Jen,
This is exactly my point! There is no security. Even owning your own business isn’t secure, but WE are in control of what happens, not someone else.
Patricia@lavenderuses
Great goals for 2011. I have set my goals and moving them up a gear now. I have never based any type of security in my job.
Sadly there are now many who are learning this lesson and it must be devestating for those who did believe they had a “job for life” and now have nothing.
The internet brings with it both incredible opportunities for success and also a place where there are many scammers lurking ready to pounce!
Getting connected to the right people and learning as much as possible should be a priority for newbies. That way a good dose of reality also kicks in.
No silver bullets, no instant success but huge potential with hard work, patience and perseverance. Sweet 🙂 May all you hope for and more come to fruition in 2011.
Patricia Perth Australia
Steve
Patricia,
I love your comments and am always looking forward to seeing them! 🙂
It’s so sad to see hard working people being laye doff after pouring their lives into their jobs.
We have to create our own security, because nobody else is going to do it.
Models & Moguls
“Job Security” is an oxymoron
Derek Potocki
You are right Steve. There is no true security in your job or your business. The only security we have is in our own ability to adjust, change our approach and keep going. Fall seven times, stand up 8.
Life goes on:)
I hope all your desires about your blog become reality! Rock on:)
Steve
Thanks Derek,
I’m hoping more people understand this and start creating their own security.
Meghan
Steve, I read this blog & your bio — Couldn’t agree with you more. How would you like to be almost 60 (me!), be recently divorced, with no husband, boyfriend, who spent 30 years devoted to her family only to end up divorced with barely a hope of paying the rent each month?
I go to work (otherwise known to me as hell), and then they continually send us (not just me!) home because they’re aren’t enough ‘leads’ to call. None of this matters to me because, like you, I have a passion to succeed.
And like Jen Gresham said “It’s good to realize the only security you have is inside yourself. You create security by being creative, passionate, persistent, and a hard worker.” Well spoken Jen. And Steve. As long as we remember that we are in control of our destiny. If we don’t design our life — someone else might design it for us. And, we may NOT like what they have in store for us.
Steve
Your situation sounds pretty miserable, I must say. I am trying very hard not to get to 60 years old and still be stuck in a job I hate.
I hope you are pursuing your passions so you can get out of your situation and enjoy your life. You still have many good years ahead of you, so make them the best you possibly can!
Vincent Chow
If you only depend on one thing for another to happen, there will be no security. A blog like mine does generate passive income, but there is no security. If Google de-indexes it, or bans me from AdSense, the blog will be back to zero.
The only security is redundancy. Don’t depend only on one thing for the other. Having multiple streams of income and a good backup plan will give you better sleep at night.
You wouldn’t want to board a plane with only one hydraulic system, will you?
Steve
Vincent,
You make a good point here.
If a blogger relies solely on one income stream and it dries up, they’re broke.
Most, if not all successful bloggers I am familiar with, have multiple income streams.
The most popular methods seem to be affiliate marketing, membership sites, coaching programs, consulting, and eBook sales. Why not do all of them? That way, if 1 or 2 dies off, you still have money coming in..
Ryan Renfrew @LifestyleDesign
Right on Steve,
Job security is nothing but an illusion. At the end of the day there is no such thing as total security. The best strategy for maximising financial security is too create as many different income streams as possible. These streams should come from different sources, so if one dries up the rest are flowing.
bLAZE yOUR tRAIL
Steve
Ryan,
I feel the exact same way. I think one of the keys to having passive income is building as many income streams as we can. If we rely on just one, we’re got another “job”.
Sarb
Life is what you make it. I believe in fate, destiny, karma and all that. I believe that whatever you put into life, is what you’ll get out of life. In today’s world and economic climate, it’s survival of the fittest. And I must say that life has taught me to be a survivor, just like some of you I’ve also had many knock backs but this pushed me to get stronger and come up with a business idea which I was lucky enough to get in my late twenties. I wish you all the best!!
Leah
So true! In 2008 with a decent stable full-time job and a large down payment I bought my first place. I should have felt like I was on top of the world. The opposite happened- I started to want security. I realized this would only happen if I created multiple streams of income. It’s so funny how all my life I was conditioned to believe this would come from a full-time job.
Looking forward to more posts!
Steve
Leah,
I’ve been hearing this a lot lately. People falsely believing that they are getting security when they find a good job. Unfortunately, too many people find out the hard way that it was an illusion.
You’re right, having only one income source offers no security either. If we lose it, were broke!
I hope you are doing something to build your business and create those income streams!
Sam
Once again, you’re spot on. To me, you need to decide where you are on the “-ability” continuum. What do you want more of? Stability or flexability? No matter what, though, you need to be aware that stability could be very fleeting. There are no more lifetime jobs.
Steve
Sam,
While it makes sense for me to desire stability due to my family depending on my income solely, I am in the flexibility camp as far as what I want in life.
My goal is all about having flexibility with my time so I can watch my daughters grow up.
Jason Dea
I quote the movie Office Space on a daily basis. How close to home it hits for most people is a testament to it’s brilliance as well as to the sad state of the corporate world.
I just finished reading Setch Godin’s book Linchpin which goes in to similar themes to what you write about.
Big fan of your blog. Gives me a nice pick me up each time a new post is published.
Steve
Jason,
I couldn’t agree with you more about Office Space and just how relevant it is to millions of us. I appreciate you reading my site and I’m glad to hear it offers you something positive….
Garrett MOon
You speak the truth man. Job security has nothing to do with who you work for, and everything to do with your own abilities. Invest in your own talents and work will always find you.
One thing that I think happens when when we look to our employer as job security is we get relaxed about personal development. You can’t depend on your employer for your personal growth and learning – that is your responsibility.
Kate
Hi Steve,
I totally agree. You must read a book by Tom Hodgkinson called “How to be Free”. He doesn’t belive in job security either nor the need to worry about the pension. He has an online magazine site called The Idler. He advocates the need to seek life balance and pursue your interests and try to createand beauty and creativity and how unfortunate it is in modern society on how work has become our master. He criticises the Protestant work ethic that has ruled our lives and prefers medieval times before the Reformation which he thinks was a much more humane and diverse society and people were much more self sufficient.
I’ve been in a stressful soul destroying job for too long now and am now getting ready to quit even though I have no real plan. The book has given me inspiration.
Steve
Kate,
I’ve never heard of the book, but it sounds like something I would appreciate. I will check it out, thanks.
A soul destroying job huh, you must work for the same company I do 🙂
That’s awesome that you are getting out and what’s even more impressive (some would say irresponsible, but not me) is that you are doing it without a safety net.
Good luck. When you make the leap, let me know!
Placid
Hi Steve !
You ever have a great comments about own business, the most of the greats men had your own business. It´s very hard to get it, but we never can give up. Thanks for your advice.
Kamran
I often read blog posts and don’t comment….but I just had to say something about this!
Fantastic article, and I agree 100%!!
We live in a society where people dare not think outside the box. Where people fear acting outside of the norm.
The norm is exactly how you describe it – and we create sheeps. Robotic behaviour about what work is!
This probably serves the Government and big companies, but I’d hate to be part of the system.
I’m still young but have decided I will create my own security, no Government or company job will ever do that for me!
Excellent article 🙂
Steve
Thanks Kamran, I appreciate that.
Good for you for deciding to steer clear of the status quo. Believe me, almost 10 years of office work has crushed my soul. If you know that will make you unhappy, by all means do everything in your power to avoid it!