The typical career path is to work hard throughout your schooling, build upon your skill set with higher education, and attain a desirable position at a global multinational corporation or settle for a fruitful position in small to medium businesses, academia, or public service. But that was and is not always the case.
Prior to our modern day corporatist culture, people found gainful employment through military service, early union opportunities, or entrepreneurship. Many of the big name brands we know today were started as small operations by an entrepreneur. In their day, individuals had to create their own opportunities. There were no LinkedIn, Indeed, or CareerBuilder to find them. Also, the absence of opportunity is the opportunity.
Every so often there are significant economic shift that changes what the norm is for gainful employment. That was the case for all the people who graduate into the dreadful Obama economy, where there was no job in corporate America, small business, or public service. The normal path for the American Dream was no more.
The silver lining was the new opportunities created by that absence of opportunity. Opportunities that allowed people to earn money in a convenient manner, balancing life and what is now work. In the above content, the gig economy is discussed.