And Even More on Career Pathways

The comments keep coming in on my earlier ED career pathways article.

Here is one from a female ED professional in California:

"Thank you for your comments on career paths for Economic Developers. Your comments regarding a lack of identity are so true. Do you know I still have people asking me in the organization what economic development does? However, part of that comes from the people at the top who hire you and don't really have an understanding of what an economic developer is supposed to do. ( I agree with what you said in that regard.)

In city government, they seem to understand redevelopment much better. As long as we suffer from that the "identity" thing, I find it personally very difficult to get paid for what I contribute to the overall economic condition of the City. It becomes extremely frustrating at times. Planning is much more clearly defined and everyone understands that. But economic development to most people is still pretty exotic."

Here are some more comments from a female ED professional in Michigan that just came in this morning:

"There is a career ladder of sorts--or maybe ladders is a better term--since there are so many various ways to BE an economic developer, depending on the size of the community, its personality and its needs. I worry a lot less about the career ladder than how those of us who are on it keep from falling off prematurely. We shouldn’t have to feel a need to move on after 3–5 years. For the most part we are only then becoming effective. (Which raises some interesting questions about how effective we actually are). But because most of us are slightly ADD, and because we don’t have the tools to manage the stresses and frustrations of the job, much less our own attention spans, we move more rapidly than we should. And I think that adds to the frustration that sometimes drives us out the profession, not to mention increasing the divorce rate.

What I see needed is two things: tools to help us stay in place longer, and perhaps, career exit strategies for those of us who’ve been around a long time and want to do something else, albeit still in economic development. I’ve talked with other folks in Michigan lately who, like myself, are long tenured and pretty secure, and not at all bored. But we are all wondering what the next step is. That’s not the traditional career pathway, that tends to be more focused on the entry levels of the profession."

Wow, this is really good stuff I'm hearing. Keep it coming, and thank you!