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Gen Z’s trendy new choice: portfolio career

Fortune Magazine is calling them “the anti-work generation.”

But they’d probably just call themselves a bunch of smart, fed-up 18-year-olds.

Because gone are the days of the traditional linear career path.

Practically anywhere you look, interest in “portfolio career” with multiple income streams is rising among the youth.

Spurring it, in part? These trends:

• Today, more than half of LinkedIn members hold jobs that stand to be disrupted by AI (FYI LinkedIn has 1billion+ users)
• Which brings us this: traditional career paths may not always be secure

• The average half-life of skills is now less than five years, and in some tech fields it’s as low as two and a half years.
• So, quick math. The average half-life of skills is now less than five years. If a degree takes 4-6 years, and practical work experience takes another 4-6 years, well, the math ain’t mathing…

Why is school teaching us trades that will no longer exist when we graduate?

That last one is a biggie. Just think about the situation on the ground.

As a pre-college teen, you may have this train of thought…

1. You’re using ChatGPT to cheat on a homework assignment and starting to piece together how people might lose their jobs because of tools like it.

2. You’re also seeing 44% of jobseekers regret their choice of degree - because they don't feel prepared for the changes in the workforce and the skills required of them.

3. You see the rise in freelance opportunities and plethora of tools that enables you to build your own business

4. You are not anti-work, just anti-meaningless-work.

So sure, it’s not for everyone, but for you, maybe a portfolio career… might just make some sense…

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But FIRST

If you are new, welcome to OCE’s weekly newsletter curated for the ambitious youth…here are some articles you missed from previous weeks:

📈 How to get people to ACTUALLY respond ​Read More →​

🎨 Best tools for building your passion project ​ ​Read More​ →​

📘 All Your Questions Answered ​ ​Read More​ →​

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Now let’s dive a bit further…

Remember that train of thought we described above?

First of all — that’s a problem if you don’t.

Second of all — it’s a train that’s clearly making stops at more and more young minds…

Here’s the truth:

• In the Industrial Economy, you won by fitting in.
• In the Knowledge Economy, the more you know, the more you win.
• In the Adaptive Economy, those who learn fast, have influence and can apply expertise across domains, win.

It’s not enough to fit in, or to simply know a lot.

In this new economy you win by combining: Versatile Skill Stack + Network & Distribution

we talked about Skill Stacking in an earlier newsletter. Essentially, a skill stack is a set of individual skills that when combined in the right way, add up to a super skill.

This combination of skills makes you more qualified, more hireable and more prepared for [insert any job/endeavour/challenge here] than if you had just focused on one skill alone.

With network & distribution, we’ve seen that those who build strong, deep networks will be more resilient and have access to more opportunities.

But equally important is your distribution. The people who win in this economy will be those with the widest and most trusted distribution- aka loyal followers.

This is how the Kardashians built their empire, via their established fan base. This is also why Andreessen Horowitz – a Silicon Valley VC fund launched a media company, to extend their reach and build active communities.

The question, then, is: How can you leverage these strategies to your own advantage as a teen?

Enter: Portfolio Career

Here’s a framework for youth who struggle with having too many interests, too little money and never enough time.

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There are three complementary yet separate focuses to this model.

First, “the earner” takes up most time – between 20 and 50 hours a week – and generates short-term income while “teaching you the skills you need for the long term.”

In my case, I run a property management biz.

Next, “the passion” encourages people to explore their “intellectual curiosity” for up to 20 hours a week.

I actively build OCE with the mission of bridging cultures and spreading purposeful opportunities.

Finally, “the hobby” enables someone to “perform your best in the two other focuses” by providing “space to relax and recharge.”

I write to you guys weekly, simply because I love writing and sharing :)

The best part? This “mix of experiences” are going to supercharge your network & distribution.

Case in point:

One question that I often receive is that how I brought in so many incredible founders and tech leader to the OCE community

Here’s the secret: because of my unconventional mix of experiences

My experience in emerging market

My experience in tech & engineering

My experience in building community & business

This “unconventional” mix of experiences are conversation starters, serves as a common ground for deeper connection, build trust & authenticity.

“Unconventional” mix of experiences can be extremely powerful.

It kickstarts a virtuous cycle in building network as well as distribution, and I want to give this to you this summer.

And now, shout outs to the amazing OCE alums who are putting themselves out there, building, executing, creating a virtuous cycle:

• Mia launched Vietbossbabes, a podcast on career, relationships, education + more
• Amal is expanding Steps2Flourish, mental health platform for youth
• Lindsey & Libby launched Urban Harmony Project, promoting inclusive design

THESE are the kind of projects we need more of.

These are the kinds of projects that showcase youth ingenuity, initiative, while developing a versatile skill stack and distribution.

If you are working on something similar, let us know — we’d love to learn about it.

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Like what you read? Share with friends!

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PS. This summer, we are going to tackle pressing global issues and drive innovation in regions (such as your own community) where it is needed the most. Want in? We run a summer cohort for ambitious youth (high school and undergrads) to work directly with world-class founders while learning from Silicon Valley leaders. ​ OCE Summer Cohort ​ You can also explore purposeful opportunities through our Impact Internship Opportunities Database. ​ Get Curious.

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Lena

​https://www.openclassroomexperience.com/​