I usually don’t go back-to-back like this but after posting Why Results Trumps Education I finally built up the motivation to drop this perspective on why you have a job. I’ve been working since I was 15 years old and it wasn’t until I had a talk with my late mentor (RIP) that I learned what jobs are designed to do and why I’m currently employed today.

Your Job is Designed to Compensate You

The first thing you should know about your job is that it was designed to compensate you. Every job you’ve worked in was design to specifically to compensate you for your time.

At first read you may be thinking,

“You’re not saying anything that’s life-changing Q. Everybody knows this.”

Well let’s think about what I’ve said. If you decide to work your job for the average 60 years at an average salary of $54,000 than every hour you spend working you’re making roughly $28 an hour. Now ask yourself, is an hour of your time worth $28? If it is than I absolutely agree with you. However if $28 isn’t enough, after taxes and expenses are taken out, than you might have a crack in your foundation of life.

Your Job is Designed to Educate You

The second reason why your job exist is to educate you. Your job responsibilities mixed with your daily life should provide you with endless lessons on how to become a better version of yourself on the job (a.k.a maximize your salary).

Unfortunately, those endless lessons won’t always fall into the same category. One day you could learn a lesson on office politics and the next you may learn how to technically solve a problem on the job. On the surface, everyday will seem the same but if you dig deep enough you will find a lesson that will help you prepare for your next challenge on the job.

Your Job is Designed to Replace You

After revealing the first two sections, I know this may seem a bit shocking. It was shocking for me too when I first heard this perspective. Your job, no matter how good it is or how good you are, is designed to replace you when needed. Whether you’re getting paid too much for the position, not performing to expectations, or you simply quit. The company will always be able to find a replacement to fill the duties of the job.

With this knowledge it’s important for you not to get nervous about losing your job. You’re in the job for a reason and no matter what is going to happen you should feel confident that you have earned the position you have today. With that said, you should never romanticize about your job to a point where you think you will be in that position forever. Things happen on the job and you must remain flexible because I guarantee you the company you work for is going to be flexible to survive.

Why I Have A Job Today

Every year I evaluate why I’m still working at my current job. It’s important for me to understand if my job represents a good fit for my team as well as myself. Each year I review the points I’ve made above and apply them to my current job. To you, I admit that the reason why I haven’t transitioned to a full-time entrepreneur is because I love my job. I love the compensation, the plethora of lessons I learn every day, and most importantly I understand that I can replaced at any time. It’s these thoughts that allow me to get up every morning and put my best foot forward. I hope you do the same.