The Episodic Career: How to Thrive at Work in the Age of Disruption

by Farai Chideya

Find your most rewarding place in today's economy. Award-winning author, researcher, and analyst Farai Chideya offers a practical guide to the ways in which work in America is changing and how you can navigate today’s volatile job market.

Since the Great Recession of 2007–2009, America’s work landscape has changed dramatically. Many people experienced long-term unemployment that eroded their savings, and the globalized economy means that not just jobs but entire career tracks are created and destroyed in front of our eyes. We’re living in an age of rapid disruption where we can barely adjust to one new reality before a new new reality comes along.

So how are we supposed to live a rewarding life—working fulfilling, stable jobs that also cover our monthly expenses—in such a chaotic economy?

In The Episodic Career , Farai Chideya explores the landscape of employment in America. Profiling the rich, the poor, and people from every strata in between, Chideya seeks to understand the many kinds of work we do—for example, not just job fields, but whether we seek to build institutions or seek social change while earning money. In addition, Chideya provides a self-diagnostic tool to help you find your work/life “sweet spot.” You’ll see how different types of people have navigated their careers and forged their own paths even in times of hardship. As a young reporter at Newsweek , CNN, and ABC, Chideya realized that her working-class Baltimore childhood and factors like Ivy League education affected how people viewed her, and she takes a frank look at stereotypes, employment discrimination, and how to create healthy workplaces. Ultimately, she asks how we as a country can sustain the American Dream.

Knowledge of the workplace is power over your career. The Episodic Career provides the big-picture vision of the world economy, as well as the particulars of salary, family, health, and lifestyle that you need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Self Help

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 2016

Reviews

[Amy Stilgenbauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most refreshingly realistic and relevant career advice books I have ever read. Does it have direct answers? No not even close. However, the approach is one based on critical thinking, instructing you to think about the new realities of the job market (a rise in "independent contractors", the ever dwindling concept of retirement and pensions, etc) and how to construct a life in this world that seems foreign to many who grew up being taught, like I was, that you "just get in the door of a company, even if you're just in the mail room and work your way up. They will reward loyalty and hard work." which happens less and less these days.

[Vero Narvaez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of data, but in the end, the author had the right questions, but not all the answers or with adequate deepness. She talks about what the future of work will be, how we will fulfill different roles and careers in our lives, a very different experience than our parents and prior generations had. Useful data from USA, but relatable to other countries.

[Julie Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better and more digestible than the Econ 101 class I dropped as a student. The book was a little heavy on anecdotes and case studies, and the personality type matrix wasn't that helpful to me, but the overall message and nuances of "This is not your parents' job market - few people stay with a job for decades anymore" was interesting. The author is very upbeat and engaging.

[Shagufta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book that covers similar concepts to "Design Your Life" but does something I'm been craving from a career book - it brings in discussions of race and equity and discusses them in real and meaningful ways.

[Jules · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being anecdote heavy, I couldn't see my.life or career path in the book. The archetype thing was a long anecdote followed by a short summary that wasn't robust enough to provide any insight. Despite being written in 2016, the book felt very dated as well.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of great stuff in here, but the organization and structure of the book isn't always intuitive - read with a highlighter handy, ready to catch the gems of insight that speak to you. The centerpiece of the book, the section on the 16 Work/Life archetypes, gives a great picture of the book's strengths and weaknesses in one neat package: the 16 in-depth interviews that Chideya frames as exemplars of the 16 types are rich material, interesting, compelling, and well worth careful reading. But they are embedded in a structure that's trying to make sense of a personality-type scheme that didn't really speak to me, and, I predict, is not going to catch on outside the covers of the book. While I might wish Chideya had found another structure to better integrate all of the hard journalistic work that the book represents, the fact is that the basic material is very potent. Chideya is so real about the current world of work that I had to keep putting down the book - sometimes for months at a time - because it was hard for me to take in the enormity of what she was describing. So, it's a book that took me over a year to finish, but I'm glad I persisted.

[Jenni Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a considerable amount of relevant information for anyone planning a career. My only issue is the actual formatting of the book and some actual typographical errors that diminished the overall impact of the well-researched information.

[Zack Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

not memorable... read again...

[Ashley]

Already very outdated. Very American focused. Way too many personal anecdotes. What felt like very little actionable advice. The archetypes seemed very vague and not very useful.

[Joseph Iliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about the changing workplace. Lots of details, but insightful for the reader.

[Brenda Chamness Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this is an interesting read about the evolution of careers. The author presents info in an engaging way and encourages thinking through how to stay relevant in an ever-changing world.

[Tina Panik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although practical, there are too many personal stories. Opt to skim for what you need.

[Marcela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very scattered. Not that great for advising on how to get job but main strength is in antecdotes.

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book is very useful and relevant to today's job seekers. I wish that the work/life matrix portion of the book was more robust.

[Shayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting content, but sloppy writing, questionable use of statistics, and the whole "matrix" that forms what should be the heart of the book is (1) a poor man's Myer's Briggs with no baking at all (even less than MB!) and (2) not tied into the rest of the book anymore than a nice "know thyself" would have been.