CIO posed what they consider to be “The most important career question you’ve never even considered.” While Glen–do you want to make yourself a “hot commodity,” someone who has a unique skill but is a Transactional relationship, or a “treasured stalwart,” who is intended to be a long-term employee but rarely works in the “hot new skill” industry.
The general idea of a commodity worker is one who works contract or part time, and who specializes in a unique skill; one that the company, for whatever reason, doesn’t want a standard full-time employee for. It could be implementing a new network or part-time SQL DBA – there’s no specific field, but it tends to fill the short-term needs, rather than long-term trends.
Commodity pros:
- Generally higher pay (in the short run)
- Provide necessary and sometimes difficult skills
- Can contractually work for flexible periods of time and flexible projects
Commodity Cons:
- Not always a steady, consistent flow of work (e.g. occasional periods of unemployment between projects)
- Not usually “developed” as a tenured employee would be in understanding the overall picture
- Culture doesn’t always fit with company
On the other hand, the stalwarts will have different characteristics. They tend to retain long-term employment, and operate in fields that the business will need either indefinitely or for extended periods.
Stalwart Pros:
- Consistent, stable employment
- Developed as an asset to the team (which can increase flexibility)
- Understand business culture better
Stalwart Cons:
- Doesn’t cash in on “hot skills”
- Generally lower pay (in the short run)
- Less flexible hours
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