Prolong and career choices

I once heard that most Westerners change their career at least once in their life. Few people do the same job for the 40-50 odd years that they have to be a productive member of the workforce. I have trouble imagining that people would want to do the same job for two or three hundred years. Prolong is still a relatively new technology in the honorverse with the very first people to receive it being in their early middle age. So the societal repercussions of having over two centuries of productive work-time has not fully shaken up societal norms yet.

But if we were to fast forward things to the mid to late 2000s PD, how would people's attitudes about life, work, and career have changed?

One thing I imagine would come to pass is that there would be a huge upsurge of old-timers deciding to join the armed services. Classes at Saganami Island would be split between young 20 somethings alongside octogenarians looking for some excitement and the opportunity to serve Queen and Empire.

GabrialSagan wrote:I once heard that most Westerners change their career at least once in their life. Few people do the same job for the 40-50 odd years that they have to be a productive member of the workforce. I have trouble imagining that people would want to do the same job for two or three hundred years. Prolong is still a relatively new technology in the honorverse with the very first people to receive it being in their early middle age. So the societal repercussions of having over two centuries of productive work-time has not fully shaken up societal norms yet.

But if we were to fast forward things to the mid to late 2000s PD, how would people's attitudes about life, work, and career have changed?

One thing I imagine would come to pass is that there would be a huge upsurge of old-timers deciding to join the armed services. Classes at Saganami Island would be split between young 20 somethings alongside octogenarians looking for some excitement and the opportunity to serve Queen and Empire.

OTOH, women in the sex industry may remain much longer than their pre-prolong counterparts, for obvious reasons.

Strippers, dancers, performers, etc., will keep a youthful appearance much longer and can work longer. Having the body of an 18-yr-old but the experience and mind of a 60-yr-old can clean the pockets of many who patronage the sex industry.

A fool shall always be parted from his pockets.

In fact, certain industries -- present exhibit accepted -- may very well prove more profitable as one ages... gracefully.

Hmmm. Let me think back.....
First job bank clerk; next, Regular Army; next, stocks & shares analyst; next, assistant portfolio manager; next, deputy portfolio manager followed by portfolio manager followed by Company Secretary; next, stock auditor for a food factory; next, de facto head of liaison with financial services regulators (I didn't have the title nor the pay); next, public relations manager; next, retirement. There was a distinct set change after Company Secretary because I got tired of commuting to the Great Wen and went after local jobs. And even as a portfolio manager I was writing non-fiction commissioned by magazine editors, which I still do today. So how many career changes have I made? And does my successful (paid-for) writing count as one of them?
Cheers
John

John Prigent wrote:Hmmm. Let me think back.....
First job bank clerk; next, Regular Army; next, stocks & shares analyst; next, assistant portfolio manager; next, deputy portfolio manager followed by portfolio manager followed by Company Secretary; next, stock auditor for a food factory; next, de facto head of liaison with financial services regulators (I didn't have the title nor the pay); next, public relations manager; next, retirement. There was a distinct set change after Company Secretary because I got tired of commuting to the Great Wen and went after local jobs. And even as a portfolio manager I was writing non-fiction commissioned by magazine editors, which I still do today. So how many career changes have I made? And does my successful (paid-for) writing count as one of them?
Cheers
John

Looks like two, maybe three careers. Many of your jobs seem to have been in finance and even though you've been paid for writing, I'd say that's more of a paid hobby or professional recognition.

I think what the OP refers to, though, is completely starting over in a new field. Lawyers quitting lawyering and studying engineering so they can join the merchant navy, is perhaps an extreme example of this.

With prolong, it is perhaps not a bad idea to encourage a high turnover for certain jobs. I'd be a bit uneasy if my doctor was 200 years old, with med school about 160 years behind them.

munroburton wrote:
Looks like two, maybe three careers. Many of your jobs seem to have been in finance and even though you've been paid for writing, I'd say that's more of a paid hobby or professional recognition.

I think what the OP refers to, though, is completely starting over in a new field. Lawyers quitting lawyering and studying engineering so they can join the merchant navy, is perhaps an extreme example of this.

With prolong, it is perhaps not a bad idea to encourage a high turnover for certain jobs. I'd be a bit uneasy if my doctor was 200 years old, with med school about 160 years behind them.

Many jobs would probably require additional training to maintain license certification.

Depending on what I needed done I would want the doctor with lots of experience.

Thinking of the other side, if you're the type who is doing what they really love, then hobbies become much more important as a way of breaking things up.

I could also see people taking breaks from their normal careers and doing something else for a few years, then returning.

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Which does make we wonder.

Would Elizabeth absicate, and if she did, what would she go on to do?

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Annachie wrote:Which does make we wonder.

Would Elizabeth absicate, and if she did, what would she go on to do?

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Join the navy as Ms. Midschipwoman Winton Middie cruise under cpt. Helen Zilwicky

I had to do a paper on job changes with regards to age spectrum a few years ago. I don't know what the current numbers are, but here's some data that came from the Bureau Of Labor and Statics (BLS).

Today's average person is considered to change jobs ten to fifteen times in their careers. This includes moving up or sideways in a company.

Some one born in 50's was likely to change jobs ten to twelve times.

If you go back another 50 years, the number drops off sharply. Most people would have one to two jobs in a lifetime.

Part of this is technology based, and how it has impacted society. Much of it is dependent on the growth and change in society. I would imagine that with Prolong you'd expect to see people develop high level skill sets. Or perhaps a strong rise in more broad based training.

Fireflair wrote:I had to do a paper on job changes with regards to age spectrum a few years ago.

snip

Part of this is technology based, and how it has impacted society. Much of it is dependent on the growth and change in society. I would imagine that with Prolong you'd expect to see people develop high level skill sets. Or perhaps a strong rise in more broad based training.

In the early years of Honorverse treecat adoption, the treecats outlived their people. Now? But what about prolong for treecats? Has Beowolf been hired to produce this? Would the cats outlive their people again?