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"In Greenville, students can specialize in engineering beginning in kindergarten. Some critics worry the push for career education at young ages is putting business priorities before those of students and school systems" ..."Greenville is now introducing the idea of a career path to students in elementary school and giving students the option to follow those programs to middle and high schools, hoping by eighth grade they will have a better understanding of what they want to do after high school and what it will take to get there." More at The Hechinger Report

The Hechinger Report, is a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

You may recall me writing about the
ugliness of Dementia my wife has had for the last six years.
I will move into a Memory Care Facility
with my wife, on May 18th. I will be in
Independent Living but will reside with my
wife of 60 plus years.
My writing content may vary as I become involved, on a daily basis. Please bear with
me as I try to produce more humorous, entertaining pieces.

Of all the World
there is to see.
Why oh why
couldn't it be,
a place of
great infamy?
Why must you,
always say,
change is just
a step away?
Enjoy your life,
come what may.
Become the person,
you want to be.
Do it unmercifully.
Then you will see,
how small the World,
can really be.
where everything
is not a conspiracy.

"At first, the employees at Digital Enabler in Bielefeld, Germany, thought their boss, Lasse Rheingans, was joking. “Would you like to work 40 percent less at full pay?” he asked when he stepped in front of them in November 2017"... Read more

Working from home is a dream come true for some people and a nightmare for others. It all depends on your perspective. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, some people who started working remotely were happy about the changes. For one thing, working from home saved them time and money that would have been spent on commuting to work every day. 

However, the most important advantage of working from home is that it will keep you safe from getting infected by the novel coronavirus. Right now, this is the only reason that counts. Thankfully, software developers have the privilege of working from home. This has propelled some of them to consider relocation from Silicon Valley to more affordable cities in Texas. 

Tech Talent Flee From Silicon Valley 

Do you know that there are more than 225,300 high tech workers in Silicon Valley, San Francisco? To put this into perspective, there are 387,000 high tech jobs in the entire country. So, if there are 225,300 high-tech jobs in Silicon Valley, then you can understand why it is the best hub for web developers around the world. Unfortunately, the city is at risk of losing its position as the number one destination for tech talent. This is primarily because of two things: talent relocation and company relocation. 

Without the companies and the hundreds of thousands of tech workers in Silicon Valley, the city is going to lose its title as the foremost destination for tech gurus in the United States. This makes it one of the most technologically innovative places in the world but it also makes it one of the most expensive. House rent in the Valley is unrealistically high and it's only going to keep increasing. Tech jobs pay more money than many other jobs in Silicon Valley. However, tech workers aren't satisfied with spending all the money they have on daily expenses. 

A small one-bedroom apartment in Silicon Valley costs over $2,000 monthly. By the time you factor in food and other expenses, you might spend over $5,000 just to survive in Silicon Valley every month. This isn't something the average worker can afford. Some of the tech workers who can afford this expensive lifestyle don't think the Valley is worth all the hype. Since they can now work from home, many of these workers have decided to leave the expensive city for more affordable places.

Why should any average worker pay $5,000 monthly to survive when they spend $2,000 for the same standard of living in another city? The primary reason why many of these tech workers remained in Silicon Valley for this long is because of their jobs. Now that they no longer have to go to the office, they want out of the city. Some of them have already indicated an interest in moving to Texas while many others have moved out already. 

Coronavirus is Changing Tech Salaries 

As tech talent and companies flee Silicon Valley, they inspire even more people to leave the overpriced city. However, tech companies that are remaining in Silicon Valley aren't ready to let their talent relocate, remote work, or not. Facebook and other companies have given their workers ultimatums. They have the choice to remain in Silicon Valley and keep their fat salaries or relocate and face cuts. The salary cuts depend on the company but Facebook is threatening to remove up to 10% of the salary of remote workers. Some other companies claim that they will cut between 8% to 20% depending on where their workers choose to go after leaving the Valley. The cheaper the cost of living in the new place, the higher the salary cut.

Bottom Line 

Covid-19 is changing tech salaries in the United States and every other part of the globe. Many similar things have been happening in tech companies around the world, but the most pronounced rate of relocation is in Silicon Valley. Tech companies like Oracle and Hewlett Packard have also left the Valley for Texas. Even Elon Musk has moved from his Silicon Valley home to the Lone Star State. If companies keep leaving the Valley, it will no longer be the most popular tech hub in the world.

Did you ever have the feeling
of impending doom?
I did once, when I entered
an un marked room.
"We won't need you, anymore today,
not this week, not this month.
Here is your severance pay.
Goodbye to you. It's been swell."
Off I went to the "unemployment Hell."

Finding yourself in a mismatched career can be a distressing situation, but even more worrisome is not even being aware your career is wrong for you. Perhaps you’ve been suspecting it for some time or maybe not at all. Regardless, there are a few signs to watch out for that are indicative of the fact that your career is wrong for you.

Above all else, when determining whether or not a career is right for you, it is important to understand that a period of introspection will be required. The downsides of ending up in the wrong career can lead to an unhealthier lifestyle, so it is important to be honest with yourself if you suspect you aren’t in the correct career. 

Do You Get Bored Easily at Work?

There’s nothing wrong with being bored at work. In fact, Udemy published a study that found up to 43 percent of American office workers are bored at their job. It’s unrealistic to assume that every second of your job will capture your undivided attention. With that said, if every second of the day seems boring to you, then there may be an undiscussed problem. 

When it comes to some of the top reasons for leaving a job, a lack of a challenge is high up on the list. As counterintuitive as it may seem, people enjoy work that makes them think. The brain is a muscle and it needs to be trained like the rest of the muscles in your body. Having a mindless job can quickly lead to burnout and contribute to greater stress in your life.

Boredom at work is only natural, but there should be plenty of aspects of your job that keeps you interested and excited to come to the office each and every day. Don’t settle for a job where your mind can simply go on autopilot—find a path that challenges you.

Are Your Skills Underutilized?

Something that can quickly lead to feelings of a mismatched career is a mismatched skillset. If you studied a certain field and graduated expecting to go into it, it can be disheartening to discover you’ve landed a job that uses almost none of those developed skills.

A good sign that you are in a career that is a good fit for your skills is that you feel challenged to a healthy degree while at work. Otherwise, it’s possible that your job may actually not be stimulating to you. In a study, the Washington Post found that only 27 percent of new graduates land a job related to their major. Now, surely, a fair number of the other 73 percent could potentially have chosen a different path, but it is more likely that they accepted a career which presented itself to them.

Landing a job that does not use your skillset is a quick way to grow tired of the job. Try not to stay in a career that simply doesn’t fascinate you. If your skills are underutilized, it’s worth brushing up on how to write a resignation letter and searching for a new path immediately.

Have You Found Yourself Complaining About Your Job?

One of the easiest ways to discover that your career path isn’t for you is by reflecting on whether or not you are that friend who is always complaining about work to other friends. However, there is an important distinction to be made here. If you complain about your work, try to discover if it is the specific job you have or the actual career path.

If it is the latter that bothers you, then you have your answers for whether or not the career you’re in is right for you. Everybody complains about work but doing so every day without any improvements is a huge sign that your career is not right for you. Should you find yourself in this position, consider making a career switch to a path that may better suit your interests and skills.

When it comes to changing careers, discovering the optimal path can seem daunting. However, make use of resources such as coding bootcamps that offer intensive courses in new fields and can potentially prepare you for a new career.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether or not you currently think your career is a mismatch, it’s important to be completely honest with yourself. Your work will make up a large part of your life and should not be something that you simply settle on. Being passionate and enjoying your work is the greatest path to career success. However, you’ll never be passionate about your work if you are in the wrong career. For that reason, don’t stop searching for work until you find a path that lights a fire in your heart.