Why are we talking about “snobbery,” you ask? Because it’s a direct cause of “career anxiety,” according to philosopher Alain de Botton.

“A snob is anybody who takes a small part of you and uses that to come to a complete vision of who you are,” said de Botton during a 2009 TED talk.

And here’s the workforce relevancy: “The dominant form of snobbery these days is ‘job snobbery.’ You encounter it within minutes at a party when you get asked that famous, iconic question of the early 21st Century: ‘What do you do?’ And according to how you answer that question, people are either incredibly delighted to see you or look at their watches and make their excuses.”

De Botton makes the argument that never have expectations been so high to achieve in our careers. He says that often our views of success (ie. high status, lots of money, etc) are not our own.

With IndianaSkills.com, we are working to broaden the idea of career success and promote the value of middle-skill jobs. Our economy desperately needs workers in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, information technology, the skilled trades, etc. These sectors are vitally important and they offer career stability and satisfaction.

Watch Alain de Botton’s full TED talk:

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