Master of all Trades? - The Multi-Career Path

Remember when the gig economy was raging the charts for new upcoming workstyle trends? Well, we now know it is the new normal and is here to stay. Gig economy not only paved the way for more flexibility in job roles but also proved to be quite contagious. Let me explain. 

As college students asked the question of what more could they be doing after classes? This question was soon picked up by those in their early years of employment. We all knew someone who was once a software engineer by day and writer by night, what was once described as sheer interest and nothing else has gained huge momentum with a lot of writers moving towards content creation as a new job role. Gig economy played a crucial role in creating that extra money, satisfaction or experience for an individual. One thing it also did was instill confidence that multiple roles were not impossible to fulfill.

Whether it be working part-time or donning two hats in a single place, multiple job roles now seems to be the way of life for the majority of millennials and Gen-Z alike. Often referred to as “The Portfolio Lifestyle”, this is similar to one’s investment portfolio where one job would be for money, one for personal interest, and yet another would be to give back to the community. 

Working at a single company throughout the career has been the norm for most of our pre-millennials but the same idea now haunts us. We are constantly on the run looking for best in growth and challenges, we belong to the risk-taking generation. This drastic behavioral drift was sooner or later going to alter the way we work.

Covid-19 has proved that remote work can be as effective and maybe more if anything. It has set the stage for optimization and prioritization, debunking the requirement of physical presence for numerous corporate roles. Does this apply for those in the executive roles of the company, the ones calling the shots? Sure, this isn't for everybody but for those adventurous few who are willing to do more. I believe the age of remote work will encourage the freedom to ask this question, even for the executives and the ones taking it up will be setting precedent which will then become the norm.

Working in multiple roles at a time has been criticized using the concept of “Daylighting” which is the practice of doing freelance work or working for another organization during the time you're being paid by your main employer. It is considered to be unethical and potentially illegal. Work from home also posed the same risks and challenges, however in the need of the hour, proved otherwise. 

Does it affect the efficiency in operational roles? Steve Jobs famously ran Pixar and Apple at the same time. Exhausting as it might have been, both were undoubtedly massively successful with him at the helm. Elon Musk runs multiple companies at the same time and it would be hard to argue if anyone else would be better suited for the job, same goes for Jeff Bezos and Jack Dorsey. 

I believe executives offering their expertise in one single function of the company will begin to ask this question of “Can I do this same job for multiple businesses at the same time” .The only difference in the coming years will be that it won’t just be “Elon Musk does this” but “my friend does this”.

Will the famous “jack of all trades, master of none”, be the way of life? Or will our over-achieving Gen-Z make the master of all trades possible?