Career Debt

Debt — something, typically money, that is owed or due.

Almost everyone is familiar with the concept of debt. You acquire something now in an agreement to pay it off plus interest in the future.

If you acquire too much of it, you may be stuck just paying the interest and never pay down the principal. This means you will never end up being able to save.

Technical Debt

To quote Martin Fowler:

Technical Debt is a wonderful metaphor developed by Ward Cunningham to help us think about this problem. In this metaphor, doing things the quick and dirty way sets us up with a technical debt, which is similar to a financial debt. Like a financial debt, the technical debt incurs interest payments, which come in the form of the extra effort that we have to do in future development because of the quick and dirty design choice. We can choose to continue paying the interest, or we can pay down the principal by refactoring the quick and dirty design into the better design. Although it costs to pay down the principal, we gain by reduced interest payments in the future.

Technical debt just like financial debt can be a good thing. If you acquire too much of it, you may be stuck paying the interest and never pay down the principal. This means you never progress.

Career Debt

You can develop Career Debt by working in the wrong company, the wrong position, or for the wrong boss. A little bit is acceptable, but the cumulative affects of compound interest can be absolutely staggering. Working in the right company, the right position, and for the right boss and having excellent mentors is like winning the lottery. Unlike winning the lottery — you can actually control your career. If you are working for two or three wrong fits — you will accumulate Career Debt and the compounding interest on that Debt may never be recoverable.

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Published in Chris Kluis: Product, Product Marketing, & AI

Got too many degrees. All around nerd. Hardcore SaaS Evangelist. Capitalist.

Written by Chris Kluis

Got too many degrees. All around nerd. SaaS Evangelist. Capitalist.

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