Here We Knowledge Workers Are: Another Category of Workers Shamed as Being a "Dime a Dozen"

"The lack of [Milbank] summer bonus matching is finally making some egos realize maybe they're not a scarce hot commodity as they thought they were. Go ahead, quit your firm. It took half a year to find a half-decent in house job pre-covid (let alone in this market), and the firm will replace you within a month (if even needed)." - Fishbowl Big Law, August 28, 2024 (Not available for viewing at this time.)

Ironically the relatively petty matter (given the big picture in the heady Big Law world of massive wealth, power and influence) of a summer bonus has transformed associates into a kind of Shakespearean character. That's King Lear who is vilified in that drama for perceiving himself as "more sinned against than sinning." 

Instead of the usual sympathy for supposedly exploited junior lawyers in large law firms there is the emerging glee that they could be receiving a message from their employing law firms that they aren't all that important. To prevent their flight law firms, as yet, aren't caving to match/top the Milbank summer bonus of up to $25k.

Meanwhile, most posts on both Fishbowl and Reddit ask for the intel how to get jobs at Milbank. The brand has become golden. Sure, they work you hard at Milbank but they also reward that intense input, right. So goes the mindset, for now.

Shade thrown on a category of worker as expendable is nothing new. And it is increasingly frequent in this era of an extreme glut of talent in so many sectors. They include tech, content-creation, management consulting, human resources, finance, graphic design, marketing, film production, public relations and more. 

Knowledge workers are not only losing jobs. They are unable to land comparable ones. ProPublica documents that if you're 50 or over there's only a 10% chance if you find another job that it will provide compensation matching the one you lost. 

In the final days of singing for my supper as a content-creator I, once in the top 10% of earners in that sector, had been told a number of times that I was "a dime a dozen." The cruelty was palpable. My reget was not getting out before that happened. No surprise, the Fishbowl post has been flagged to be not available for viewing at this time. 

What gave me the drive, strength and confidence to eventually exit and reset in two other niches (intuitive coaching/tarot readings) had been an accidental relationship with the head of elite law firm Paul, Weiss Brad Karp. Like sociologist Mark Granovetter hammered: Professional success comes from networking with "weak ties," that is those not in our traditional networks.

Karp had been following one of my then-influencer blogs. There he would be, popping in, delivering the external validation I needed to recognize I still had runway. 

Currently I am back, including with the old angst about not arriving late for an on-site assignment and what outfit would be a fit. In addition, there is the Cadillac problem of being drained after so much work. 

Takeaway: If you have become glut, figure out how to reposition and repackage yourself. Reach beyond your typical networks. We 76 million Boomers were, from the get-go, total glut. And we are now the gen with the most wealth.

In business and life you usually have only one shot at whatever. Up the odds of success with Jane Genova. I am an intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)