10/4/21
The speaker who qualified in the 10am DA meeting today mentioned how he used to take job after job to gain the experience and kept telling himself that experience was more important than money. Another person spoke afterwards and said that he used to think the same thing and often took jobs underearning just to have ‘the experience’. He said it was like he was hoping that the next job, and the next job, and the next job would eventually pay substantially more for all that experience he gained while underearning at the prior places of employment.
That same old-timer shared that his sponsor suggested that they take an inventory of his past time spent in underearning jobs and “lets add up all that experience.” After adding up 19 full years of time, the sponsor looked at the sponsee and speaking in a sober and solvent deep voice asked, “Is 19 years enough?” Basically, what he was asking implied was 19 years of gaining experience enough experience? It was like he was asking, are you ready to start earning now? I can relate it to when I came into AA when my addiction therapist looked at me and said, “Are you willing to hang up the shovel?” You see, the more I dug every day, the deeper into a whole I got with drinking, drugging, debting, nearing divorce and the separation of my children. He said “Is it time to hang up the shovel and stop digging? Only you can make that decision.” I was ready. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Enough is enough. That is how I feel today. Enough “under-being”. It is time to move on and stop justifying taking a low paying job just to “build my resume” or to “get great experience.” Every time I do that, I just fall further and further behind…and am debting myself and my family.
He had underearned for 19 years of his life chalking it up as ‘for the experience’. Time got away from him like it tends to do. “Was that enough,” his sponsor asked him. Asking if he was ready to surrender and start working the program to get out from under ‘underearning’. Such a powerful way to look at it. I added up my time spent underearning and it came to 10 years. That means 10 out of 37 years have been working for a job where I was underearning….to gain experience. 10/37 years = 27% of my working career…and those are just the first three jobs that came to mind when I was thinking about it this morning.
I think I could add up all the places that I have underearned just to get the experience it would be even more shocking me too. If in question of ‘is this job going to get me great experience and build my resume or… is it going to make me income for my family comparable to what I’m worth?’ I think I’ll stop and take an inventory of my time again…in years…that I’ve underearned or debted my family. It’s time to stop the behavior. If I can do it with porn and drugs and booze…I can change my behavior around this too. Thanks for letting me share.
James H responded to me in a text:
Regarding experience over money that is the underearners paradise !!! Many creatives are overworked, abused and underpaid and find it to be normal. I left a theater company because they were making the money , not Sharing and having us work on plays at times 10 to 12 hours a day. No pay !!!
