Amber Naslund

This week, I made my kid’s school mad.

Because I took her (an honor roll student)on a business trip with me, and she missed three whole days.

We went to NYC, where we had conversations about why counter-terror units were patrolling Times Square.

She went to work with me to learn about my job, and to experience a bit of why I travel so much and how I earn a living.

We went to the public library and talked about education and learning and books and why preservation of these things is so critical.

We had great food and walked through culturally diverse neighborhoods and talked about complex topics like homelessness and immigration and art.

We saw the New York Philharmonic and their Project 19, celebrating the 19th amendment through music by female composers.

I am privileged enough to bring my daughter with me for something like this, and the experiences and learnings she gets in the real world are worth every nastygram the school sends to me about her attendance.

I loved doing it this week, and I will keep doing it as long as I can. There is no classroom substitute for getting out there and seeing new places. And I’d like to think she’ll be so much richer for it in the long run.

I know I am.

I got turned down for a job this week - one I would be such a great fit for otherwise - because I don't have a degree.

I don't hide behind that. I came up short of my Bachelor's because I couldn't afford to finish school. I don't think there's any shame in that. I did the best I could, worked my ass off, and parlayed that instead in to valuable, practical experience that has given me 20 years of marketing in the actual trenches, doing the work.

I don't think finishing my Music Ed degree is of consequence at this point given my career path in marketing.

But here's what you need to know.

Degrees count for a lot of things. The experience of university has value and applicability. But it doesn't necessarily translate into someone who's an outstanding performer or leader.

I learned what I know by DOING it, for decades, and building on what I learned (and failed at) and learned some more. There are *plenty* of companies out there that value what you know and did more than the classes you passed.

So if you're like me, take heart. There are some companies that will dismiss you because your BS or BA or MBA isn't there.

And then there are the ones that see past ALL of that and know that what you've actually achieved is far more valuable to their business.

Stay the course!

I want everyone, but especially women, to stop apologizing about prioritizing compensation in their careers.

There is a vast difference between being motivated by greed (which is at other people’s expense) and driven to earn as much as you’re qualified and able to earn.

Money is freedom to make choices. To have options. To provide, to protect, to escape, to invest, to plan, to change your mind and your circumstances. To take breaks and to take chances. And I can tell you from personal experiences, sometimes a matter of simply surviving the present moment.

Women are not nearly educated enough about how to negotiate strong comp for their qualifications and we have shamed people into “not being in it for the money”.

I can tell you this: if I had enough money to *not* work, I wouldn’t be working.

Yes it counts to be fulfilled and work somewhere that you like and enjoy. Yes it counts to feel purpose in your work. Compensation is *one* lever to pull and not the only one that matters.

But for heaven’s sake, our financial security is a really important part of our well being.

So I for one am here for us getting educated about what we’re worth, asking for that without flinching, and being our own best advocates so we can break everything from cycles of poverty to dependency and create security for ourselves, our families, and future generations.

Work trauma is a thing.

It's not something a lot of people talk about openly. Instead we sort of dance around it, referencing “bad experiences“ or “toxic environments“. But terrible experiences with work have a lasting impact on us.

For most of us, much of our lives is spent immersed in our careers. It forms a big part of our identity (sometimes too much). So when it goes badly, it does damage.

It's especially painful and prevalent when you're on the market. I know when I was looking a couple years back, I was burdened with memories of verbal abuse from bad power-tripping bosses (and one who threw chairs when he got mad), rampant sexism, sexual harassment, and unhealthy workaholic cultures that almost boastfully drove people to burnout.

Just know that if you've had those experiences, they have *real* impacts on your mental health, your self-esteem, and your productivity.

It's ok to seek out support and help to work through those things, and to lean on your friends and colleagues to remind you of your worth when it's not something you can remember for yourself.

#mentalhealth #careers