➡️ tl;dr go to CV
First there were cave people. Some excelled at “rock,” others mastered “fire.” A handful of vanguards invented the proto-selfie, coating their miraculously globby articulating fingers with pigment and smacking them onto the cave walls.
A whole lot later, there were craftspeople; the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. In England, trades are adopted as surnames: Smith, Tailor, Miller, Fisher, Cook.
Then the 20th century came sweeping in and shit gets way more delineated. We have HVAC technicians and anesthesiologists and aeronautical engineers and boutique pet groomers – there are jobs and those jobs have specific functions and the person doing the part has a title. Usually, it describes the function.
Oh but then the 21st century gets uploaded and all of a sudden there are Innovation Alchemists and Growth Hackers and Moonshot Engineers and any manner of sportless “Coaches” and it’s all a little less clear what the people and their functions do.
I worked in Hollywood throughout the oughts where everyone was a “Hyphenate.” Producer-Director and Designer-Stylist-Consultant and Model-Activist-Blogger. Before Showrunning I was a Producer-Editor, or charmingly, a Preditor. Rrrar.
Then the gig economy becomes a thing and there are Lyft drivers with PhDs and ASMR superstars. It is said that 90% of babies born today will hold jobs that haven’t been invented yet.
So the once-stark lines that divided industries have blown away like chalk, and each of us is left with unique compositions of modern survival and thrive-al (ugh) skills. We are complex and evolving amalgamations of proficiencies. Here’s a modest suggestion for the 2020s: Let’s rip off the Five Word Job Title like an itchy sweater with a scratchy label.
Here’s a toast to the idea that you don’t have to be an Über Spëcialist to be more than the sum of your parts. We are each a shimmery constellation of experiences, knowledge, skills, creativity, perspective, and interests. I love and welcome learning by doing, and doing what I’ve learned because I’m always learning more.
Let’s collaborate 🔥 and see what kind of trouble we can get into.