An Ode to the Slow-Build Career

Many want it all, and want it fast, but there’s benefits to slowing down

Stephen Moore
4 min readNov 17, 2023
Photo: GettyImages

Unsurprisingly, millennials want the same career benefits that other generations enjoyed, namely opportunities for growth, job stability and a competitive salary.

The difference is the speed at which they want them. Over 90% of this generation desire ‘rapid career progression,’ or in other words, we millennials want all the things, and we want them now.

But in reality, it doesn’t always turn out like this.

My career trajectory (read: various attempts to avoid a career entirely) plays out very differently.

I ditched the rapid progress for the slow build.

And I’m glad I did.

10 years of steady progress

Everything I’ve embarked on in my working life has taken years of work to get off the ground.

I started a business fresh out of university. When you throw yourself into entrepreneurship without the slightest idea what you’re doing, you can’t expect it to take off like a rocket. (Of course, I did.) In the end, my quick-rise to fame was neither quick, nor did it end in fame. It took 4 or so years to establish a reputation in our local area, and then…

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Stephen Moore

Writer, editor, part-time furniture maker. Subscribe to Trend Mill for critical takes on our dystopian metaverse hellscape future - https://www.trend-mill.com