Gen X woman here. I’m old enough that it was assumed I would get on a career ladder after uni and work my way up to management level. It was expected that I would have some sort of career path that involved promotions.
I never did have a career path like that. Self-employment, volunteering, precarious zero hour contracts, short contracts, and further study were all part of the mix.
Some loved ones in the generation above are absolutely convinced that I’ve never worked. I suspect part of the reason is that I’ve never really talked about work with them much and I didn’t have big landmark events like getting promotions and fancy titles. I can see how a three month contract could pass under the radar if a loved one lives some distance away and they’re too busy to talk because they’re busy on their three month contract!
I’m just curious whether this misunderstanding is fairly common in a family where most have followed the traditional career ladder and just a few have ended up with multiple jobs, side hustles etc…