Seven Career Principles from 4 AM Reflections

Professional Development Series

It is 4 AM, the week after Memorial Day weekend. It is a quiet week in academia. The news, on the other hand, is filled with topics that I have a lot to say about, but don't feel like I should talk about right now. That has been happening a lot lately.

To distract myself, I have been reflecting on my career. If you had asked me 10 years ago where I saw myself in 10 years, I would not have been able to describe my career as it is today. I find that beautiful.

As I reflect, I've identified several things that’ve served me well, and I'd like to share them with you. Let us call them the career progression principles. I would love to know which principles you would add to this list.

Seven Career Progression Principles

1. You can't find your passion without experimenting. Stop waiting for passion to strike. Passion develops through experience. Try different projects, volunteer for assignments outside your comfort zone, and explore adjacent fields. Your interests will reveal themselves through action, not contemplation.

2. Don't focus on the outcome, focus on the journey. Obsessing over specific titles, salaries, or timeline milestones creates anxiety and blinds you to valuable opportunities that don't fit your predetermined path. Focus on learning, growing, and contributing. The outcomes will follow, often in ways you couldn't have predicted.

3. Build in public, letting the world know your goals and the steps you're taking to achieve them. Share your projects, challenges, and learning experiences. This isn't about bragging—it's about creating accountability, attracting opportunities, and building a network of people who understand your trajectory. Your next opportunity often comes from someone who's been following your journey.

4. Stop fearing failure. There is no such thing as failure, just lessons that you learn from. Lessons are part of the journey. The fear of failure is often more damaging than failure itself. Every setback contains information about what doesn't work, bringing you closer to what does. Reframe failures as lessons and experiences that improve your knowledge. Knowing what not to do is valuable, too.

5. When starting a job, learn as much about the industry as possible. Podcasts, YouTube, and the internet make it easier than ever to do this. Don't just learn your specific role—understand the broader industry context. What trends are shaping your field? Who are the thought leaders? What challenges is your industry facing? This broader knowledge makes you more valuable and helps you anticipate and respond to changes.

6. Always buy the book. When you encounter a book that you find interesting, you can go ahead and buy it. Don't wait for the perfect time to read it or wonder if it's worth the investment. Books are among the highest-return investments you can make in your career. The knowledge compounds over time in ways you can't predict. This also applies to fiction. Sometimes you need an escape from your real life, and fiction allows you to do that.

7. Some people will disappoint you, but more will inspire you. You'll encounter colleagues who don't share your work ethic, mentors who don't follow through, and leaders who fall short of your expectations. Don't let these disappointments make you cynical. For every person who disappoints, you'll find several who inspire you with their dedication, creativity, and character. Focus on learning from the inspirers. One day you will be responsible for a team. To lead them, you need to know how to inspire them as much as how not to disappoint them.

The Takeaway

Career progression isn't a formula you can execute. It's a mindset. There are more principles to add to this list, and I hope you share with us what you have found to be valuable in your career progression.

The most successful people I've mentored haven't been those who had everything figured out from the start. They've been those who remained curious, embraced uncertainty, shared their journey openly, and maintained optimism about human potential.

Your career will likely span 40 years or more and multiple economic cycles. The specific skills you're learning today may become obsolete. Still, the habits of experimentation, learning, sharing, adaptability, and resilience will serve you regardless of how the economy or your industry evolves.

Start where you are, with what you have. Small steps lead to big outcomes. Take that next step.

Stay curious,

Dr. A

Share the Knowledge: If you found these career reflections valuable, please forward this newsletter to colleagues and friends who might benefit from this perspective. Sometimes the most important insights come from quiet moments of reflection rather than urgent news cycles.

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Currently Reading

It is summer, so I am reading a book and listening to another. I highly recommend both so far.

Reading

Based on item 5 above, I am learning as much as I can about higher education. The Empowered University is a must-read. The book examines how shared leadership enables an empowered campus to tackle challenging issues by taking a hard look in the mirror, noting strengths and weaknesses while assessing opportunities and challenges.

Listening

In this clear, tactical guide, Wilding shows you how to operate from a position of power—even if you lack formal authority—to build the emotional intelligence, relational capital, and negotiation savvy to succeed in a world of competing stakeholders and remote work. Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge. Available currently with Spotify Premium.

"Economics with Dr. A" is a newsletter dedicated to explaining the personal side of economics. Subscribe to our mailing list for in-depth analysis, historical context, and practical guidance for navigating our complex marketplace.