Vent: My dad called my 'side hustle' a distraction from a real job

He said 'a real career is 40 years with one company' over dinner, and it hit me that his whole generation sees work as a place, not a thing you do. Does anyone else's parents just not get the gig economy?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery_carter20d ago

Yeah, I used to think like that too, that you needed one steady job. But seeing how fast things change now, having a side thing just feels like smart backup. It's not a distraction, it's a different kind of safety net. Piper_smith is right, forty years at one place does sound pretty wild now. My dad had that same job for life view, and it took him getting laid off to see it doesn't work that way anymore.

piper_smith22d ago

Forty years at one company... that's insane.

the_paul22d ago

My dad put in 38 years at the same factory before they gave him a watch. I lasted about 38 months at my first real job before I got bored and quit. Guess the commitment gene skipped a generation.