If you belonged to any generation beside the GenZs, you know that growth has been our watchword all our life. Personal growth, career growth, financial growth, academic growth. Whatever area of life we were in, we pursued growth.

How did that growth look like?

It was an accumulation of skills, an increase in our intelligence, a little more sophistication in our speech and attire and most significantly, a lot more moolah.

For as long as I remember this has been the formula with which people from all walks of life approached growth. Sure, their motivation or route to growth could be different but most likely this was the fool-proof plan.

Cut to 2025, a 7 year old dancing on tiktok or a 15 year old vlogging on YouTube or a 22 year old on OF make significantly more than any of their counterparts in any generation.

Technology and the appetite for people in the new age is feeding this frenzy and good that people are able to make money doing whatever they want and there’s a market for it.

But, uhm.

It leaves us asking what does building a career mean today?

Career can be defined as something you are trained and practiced for many long years or simply what you do for a living. Sure, there are ample examples of people around us who build their careers in the traditional way, climbing the corporate ladder- taking one step at a time. Sowing their seeds, waiting for their moment to shine.

I don’t know, perhaps I am writing from a place of contention for people who have had quick success who kind of changed the game for all of us. Most of them with a stable job still have a side hustle or a passive income mechanism. Its great that they do, coz I do too but it makes me wonder what the rule of the career game in 2025.

Do what works for you, I guess.

There are no rules. It all boils down to what you want and how much you are willing to work to get what you want. The road to how we get there is for the individual to decide.

In any generation, an honest job has its reward, and I am going to pursue it.

I’m curious—has the meaning of “career” changed for you too?
Whether you’re climbing a ladder, building a brand, or doing a bit of both, I’d love to hear how you’re defining success in 2025.