Do Your (Career) Math

The first step towards having a smart long-term career strategy is to have the right mind-set. Here are 5 questions I call "Career Math" to get you in the right mood.

Q1. What’s your current age subtracted from the number 62?

Go ahead right now. This is the number of years you have left until EARLY retirement. And most people will retire AFTER age 62.

For most people, it is a daunting number. Most people vastly UNDERESTIMATE how long a career needs to last. 

Q2: What % of your personal wealth do you think you’ll accumulate AFTER the age of 40?

Just guess a percentage. Is it 30%, 50%, or 70% or something else? For the average person in America, the answer is almost 90%. That’s right. Almost all the wealth you will accumulate comes after your 40th birthday. 

This means that you have to do smart things in your early years to position yourself for the bigger jobs in your 40s, 50s and even 60s.

Q3. How many hours does it take to become really excellent at something?

The author Malcolm Gladwell estimates that it takes about 10,000 hours to really “master” something. In my experience, I agree. 

10,000 hours means working at something full time for about 5 years. Even if you are super talented, don’t expect that you can do it in a few months or even a couple of years. You need to put in the hours.

Q4. About how many contacts do you have? (The combination of Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, etc.)

This is usually a really big number. In the hundreds or thousands for most. This is great because these raw contacts can help you stay connected.

Q5. How many people will you meet in “Career Heaven”? 

By this I mean how people will make a really huge difference in your career over the long haul. Here’s a hint: nobody ever says at the end of a long and successful career “Hey, I’d like to thank my 1,386 LinkedIn connections.”

They ALWAYS say there are 2 or 3 or maximum 5 people who REALLY made it all possible. These people are your champions. You don’t just need contacts, you need relationships. This is something I call a “Career Ecosystem”.

What did “Career Math” teach you?

To learn more about "Career Math", "Career Ecosystems" and other practical exercises to develop your career strategy, read THE LONG VIEW: Career Strategies to Start Strong, Reach High and Go Far.