the fact that the economy almost tripled in a decade reshaped the whole economy and opened up many new sectors or widely enlarged the existing ones.

we are followers /and no surprise in that/ in all leading or higher growing sectors of economy, namely telecommunications and IT industries. Banking is a well established industry, and yet experienced another enlargement by foriegn banks coming in, and locals going out.

Mostly, is the continous pursuit of standardization on all levels. As we all have many concerns on various matters and the way they evolve in the country, but during the last decade, many new standards and restructures were introduced with all the consultants, the certificate mentality, the advisors, and many many foriegners coming to advice and advocate from government structure to public finance, banks, NGOs, humbling advancement of civil freedoms, media growth..etc.

Our parents phase (as a 28 year old person) was the one looking for safety and opportunity. They are the generation that went through wars with Israel, that witnessed the crash of the arab unity, the same generation that got manipulated over and over with the issue of the states, the west, the war, the peace, and the whole problem called Israel.

As a normal social development, upcoming generations will look for else or more.

The Abu Naseem lecture series is probably all too common for all of us and all too true. I don’t think I or any of mys siblings are 1/10th as tough (I don’t mean physically) as my father, and yet he insists that life is much more difficult nowadays. That it was much easier to be happy back then. The other day he was telling my sister NOT to get married. That she’s better off single! Wise man.

I just wanted to confirm that this didn’t start with your generation. Even MY generation is in a similar boat. I think that many peope MY parents’ age, teehee, were shocked when the study first came out indicating that people could expect to change CAREERS 5 times in their work-lifetime. That’s not jobs, that’s careers. However, having said that, I do think tht there is a bit of a dangerous trend in Jordan to jump ship for 50JDs more per month. In the US, someone who changes jobs every year is called a “job hopper”. HR proessionals screen those people because it takes, on average, 6 months to get a new person functioning efficiently in a job. If they’re leaving 6 months later to purse a tiny bit more money, you don’t want to be the next 1 year employer on their resume. The reality is that you should make a change based on new skills you will gain, new and more marketable experience offered, and decent developmnt opportunities.

Having said that, in the US they also found that people rarely leave jobs for money. They typically leave jobs because of their manager. I find myself wondering if that is as true in Jordan as the US. Are people really leaving for 50JDs more or are they leaving because the job is dead-end and the boss is poorly trained? Interestingtopic, I hope to see more.

When our parents had to hold one job for a long time, it is not like they had much of a choice either, government jobs were the only option. But now, leaving money aside, the number of prospective employers has grown manyfold.

I think we should give young Arabs a break, many of our young whom I have met in Jordan have the determination, challenge and patience.

We WILL have more challenging, patient, determined, and even creative youth when we have the democratic institutions that allow for self-expression, certainty of freedoms, and the channeling of the energies of our youth into participatory decision-making and state-building.

Leaders are as important as followers.

very true!!

sadly applies to all fields, wether in their career growth or spiritual growth.

Quote from the post ‘ Living is as much about closing possibilities as it is about creating them. ‘

I loved it.

But happiness is not only about constantly having your cheese, you gotta complement it with the wine, breads and crackers..and all the other good things. If you’re only attempt at changing your life is getting a new job ..then you will always be job hopping

(on a separate note: is dad a sagittarius?)

I think that there are much more options and opportunities available now and it is an on-going struggle to try and find one’s niche in a market that is characterized by competition that is not necessarily fair or based on merit. And when it is, there seems to be a prevailing culture of not knowing what to do with talent and ambition. I think guidance becomes important then, also feedback, credit and appreciation of one’s efforts and intellectual investment. There are many visible and invisible ceilings. Of course with the few exception.

This entry brought up so many issues that are about the educational system, the administration of it, the market and its culture and the culture that governs our very own perception of career and progress (assuming that career means more than a just a job and is essentially about progression of one’s worklife).

This is probably true. There is a disconnect between people who make it and people who want to learn how to. BUT, I don’t think guidance is the main issue and I don’t think it’s a Jordanian issue.

The U.S. is going through the highest unemployment rate in a decade, reaching 6%. Ofcourse, that percentage is the equivalent to a few countries in the middle east, in terms of the number of people and the amount of money it represents in this bigger pond.

So CNN and other agencies went on a survey frenzy. Studies, focus groups, employers, employees, young, old.

The results across the entire country are very interesting. They suggest that rapid technological change, added convenience, and the growing concept of speed is the root reason why younger generations are not satisfied with any one work place for more than 2-3 years.

If you think about it, we’re dogging after the fastest internet, making everything wireless, having to fill up gas less often, and automating EVERYTHING. Down to having robots as maids.

This mentality of “hey, this thing can call people and email my work and call my friends and family and have me check on the weather and pay bills and rent and book tickets to fly away all in one” - is making us anxious for speed and change and feeding this career A.D.D. that everyone seems to have.

Our grand parents had to do everything. Cook from scratch, manually turn a telephone. Go to someone’s office to talk to them and hand them a document etc.

In short, some things I do take 5 minutes in today’s world but took 2 weeks 15-20 years ago. Thus, the things I accomplish in 2-3 years are things they used to accomplish in 2 decades. So, I get done with my job sooner.

I think that people are mistaking CAREER shifts and JOB shifts. If you have to change jobs every now and then- usually in pursuit of money - then you’re not doing yourself or anybody else any good -You’re just filling a gap that was left void by another and perhaps a million others in due course. If you’re changing occupations along a steady career path, I don’t think that’s critical as long as you keep to certain goals and ambitions.
I think that it’s only possible in fairytales and in Hollywood that you can be a cook today, a postman tomorrow and a minister next week!! Careers are built along a steady path of persistence; patience and determination. BUT— a lot have changed since the times of our fathers and grandfathers! All you can see today is common amongst people all over the world and not just those in the Middle East as Marwan suggested. Money isn’t the key thing for people anymore; psychological and emotional needs are paramount in order to keep people happy in their careers. People need to be valued, appreciated and their inner potential positively-tapped, or else they would leave. We are forced to think in the mentality of this age - the global age; where there’s no force eminent, or ideology utmost. People are blessed with freedom. It may not be the perfect age that will set economical and industrial revolutionary standards. But it will be definitely the age of liberation.
As much as I say this I do feel sad, because we will always be criticized as the generation that did nothing; our individuality is more important to us than that of the masses, and so our fate is yet to be determined!

However, with workers becoming more of a dispensable commodity, they feel that they are no obligated to “marry” their company and instead follow any job that will maximize their life goals. Why would I stay in a job where I have outgrown the challenges, and where I do not foresee any chances for further advancement

You do find companies that work hard to retain their employees for the longest time possible. However, this has become a point of differentiation for them rather than the norm.

It could be that we are a spoiled generation, or it could be that the world is such a fast moving place that those who stand still are left behind.

Youth in Middle East lack the guidance of successful senior professionals. Careers are monopolized and controlled by unprofessional customs in Jordan, such as wasta, not to mention the selfishness of the older professionals who fear to be responsible mentors without the recommendation of a government senior official or a famous figure.

Also, most university students, including me, are forced to choose their majors based on the Tawjeehy results, without any deep understanding to what might happen after graduation.

I think most young Arabs have no sense of challenge, patience, or even determination! I really do not know why, and I hate to admit this, but I think our culture has a lot to do with it. Our culture talks a lot about those virtues (determination, patience, etc) but in a very theoretical way, easy to remember and say, but extremely hard to apply on the ground of reality!