Interview with "One Person Multiple Careers" Marci Alboher

Marci Alboher is a columnist, blogger, and author of "One Person Multiple Careers." Alboher has a new take on using multiple career roles to improve everything from meaning of life to work-life balance. She advocates the adoption of "slash" careers (as she herself is a columnist/blogger/author) to "integrate and fully express the multiple passions, talents, and interests that a single career often cannot accommodate--leading to a greater sense of fullfillment."

Last month, during LifeTwo's "How to Be Happy" week, we turned to Alboher for advice about the very common dilemma of people who do not feel they can afford to leave their relatively unsatisfying but high-paying current career for a more satisfying but lesser paying career. For example a corporate attorney who dreams of being a painter. Given the importance that careers play in our overall well-being, this is far from being a theoretical issue.

We now return to Alboher to ask her more about slash careers and how they work.

LifeTwo: You noted that "slash" or "composite" careers are not new and cited Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin as examples. So why does it seem to be a new concept? What has happened over the past few years to facilitate people's ability to possess more than one career at the same time?

Alboher: I attribute the recent rise in slashdom to three factors. First, technology is dramatically freeing up the way that people work. A good amount of what people have traditionally shown up at the office nine-to-five for can actually be done from anywhere with an internet connection. Increasingly, savvy bosses are realizing that results matter more than face time, making it easier for slash-minded employees to negotiate flexible work arrangements. The second major factor is general rise in entrepreneurship, which means that people are launching business while holding on to their day jobs for security. The third factor is simply that people are living and working longer. We used to say "Life is short." Now we say, "Life is long. Why do the same thing forever?"

How is having a slash career different than "moonlighting"?

Moonlighting suggests an after-hours gig tacked on out of financial necessity and thus has an element of darkness or shame. Slashing, on the other hand, has cachet; slash careers are taken on less out of necessity -- although they often have an economic benefit -- and more in pursuit of greater satisfaction and balance.

Marci Alboher

Does it take a particular type of person or personality to be successful with the slash career model? Are some people just not built for it?

Slash careers are not for everyone. Some people are bad at multi-tasking, and some truly want to devote themselves to one pursuit for life.

While a surgeon who does not have a slash career may not be as fulfilled as one that does, if you are about to have surgery don't you benefit from their skill, focus and specialization more than their life fulfillment? Similarly, if you adopt the slash career model don't you face the danger of being a "jack of all trades, master of none"?

It's funny that you should mention a surgeon, because I happen to profile Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon / CNN medical correspondent, in my book. He is a great example of someone who has stayed on top of his game even after adding a slash. The key for Dr. Gupta was identifying which parts of his job as a surgeon he could realistically give up. Before accepting the job at CNN, for example, he cut back on the time he spent doing clinical research but kept his affiliation with an academic hospital to ensure that he would be on the forefront of developments in his field. He also cut the number of patients he sees in half and always puts them first; if an emergency comes up, he will rearrange his television schedule.

What happens if your boss won't get on board with your desire to have a slash career? Is this common?

I devote a whole chapter in my book to negotiating a more slash-friendly work environment with one's boss -- certainly one of the most unpopular steps along the path to slashdom. For those who simply cannot get their boss on board, I also provide advice on how to find an employer who is will be more accommodating.

Why do you believe people with slash careers are more fulfilled than those without?

Adding a slash to one's career is way to integrate and fully express the multiple passions, talents, and interests that a single career often cannot accommodate--leading to a greater sense of fullfillment. Slash careerists are less likely to be bored or burn out because they no longer need a single career to provide all the challenge and stimulation they need to stay interested. People with multiple careers also tend to have a greater financial stability -- if one pot runs dry, they still have something stewing in the next.

You have an interesting take on maintaining work-life balance. Can you elaborate?

Slashes often think less in terms of work-life balance and more in terms of worklifeblur -- in part because slash careers often grow out of unusual work arrangements and in part because people tend to add slashes out of passion rather than obligation. If you love your work, you are more likely to blur the the boundaries between work and life -- and be quite comfortable with it. As I said in my column, I am not yet convinced that loosening boundaries is the answer for everyone. But if you chronically blur the lines between work and life, it is wise to find work you love — or at least enjoy enough to welcome it following you home occasionally.

Can you be too old to start having a slash career?

I have seen people building slash careers at all ages and all life stages. Rather than being too old, those in mid-life and beyond tend to be ideally situated for slash careering; they tend to have financial security, a solid skill set, and a good sense of how you like to spend their time -- all of which help make their launch into slashdom successful.

You were very clear that this isn't just about changing careers and that your goal is about change the way people think about careers. Can you elaborate?

One of my goals is to create a vocabulary that people can use to describe their careers. Rather than a one-word description that fits neatly into cocktail party conversation, I believe that people should think of their careers as constantly changing and evolving (thus the title of my New York Times " Shifting Careers" blog).

Harvard University has a positive psychology class that teaches undergraduates how to be happy. Do they need a similar class on careers?

Of course they do! You can tell them that I'm available at any time.

In researching the book, what was the strangest slash career or career combination that you came across?

There are so many -- but I would have to say Joe van Blunk is among the more unusual. He is a longshoreman/documentary filmmaker whose first film was about the Jewish quarter of South Philadelphia (the fact that he happens to be Catholic makes him all the more interesting).

Lastly, LifeTwo has the belief that everyone should maintain a list of the things they want to do before they die. Even if you don't have such a list, what is or would be one of the things on the list?

I'm terrible at at answering these kinds of questions -- I say something this week, and it will be different from what I say next week. That disclaimer aside, I do have a desire to publish some fiction at some point -- but at the moment, I'm not terribly good at making things up. Another thing I would love to do is become more fluent in Spanish. It kills me to think that so much of the world speaks Spanish, and I can't connect with them!

Link to LifeTwo's review of Alboher's "One Person Multiple Careers" which is available at the LifeTwo store.