An article over at Medium has me stopping in my tracks: Dear Jr Creative…Earn Your Place. You’ll Be Better For It. It hits two of my pet peeves:
- Referring to someone generically “younger” as Junior.
- Assuming everyone should follow the same path the same way.
The world is a messy place and all of us have our own path for the world. What would this world be if Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg had decided to “start at the bottom.” Likely they would have become indoctrinated into a way of thinking that would have held technological advancement back by decades. Would we be better off if Nokia bar phones were still cutting edge?
Junior is a similar issue. As soon as someone is labeled a Junior their ideas are immediately second tier and their input secondary. Yes, they probably deserve it initially. But can you tell me when a Junior becomes not a Junior? Don’t worry, I’ll wait. That’s right – there’s no clean, easy way. The moment you label them a Junior they are stuck there until they are arbitrarily made not a Junior.
I get the intent of articles like this one. It’s not completely “damn kids stay off my lawn” but it is mostly that. All of us need to gain experience but not all experience should be spoon fed at a controlled and steady rate as determined by individuals that have a personal gain in holding back competing, younger talent.