Thirty years ago, if someone had told me (as a 26 year-old
physiotherapist with his own practice) that in 2012 I’d have four or more jobs –
I would have been incredulous. Back
then, I thought that I was into a secure lifetime career which would only end
if I sold it the practice to retire in splendour, or carked it at work and was
carried out feet first. Today I run a
wine tour company, write wine articles and other freelance journalism, work
three shifts a week in a wine store, have done some acting in TV commercials, do some home-based massage and manual therapy
...and I’m working on my second wine book when I find a spare moment.
Right now we live in a totally changed world. Jobs that were once sexy and lucrative are marginal
now. I had to walk away from my physio practice
because of declining patient numbers and a hostile environment for state funded
health providers who work in low income areas.
A good friend of mine who was a senior social worker now makes more
money being a home handyman at a retirement home. The jobs that he and I trained for were once viable
in a healthy economy that had social welfare as an affordable priority.
Health, social work and education - and Law, to a lesser
extent, were areas where a lot of us Hippy era kids were attracted. Trades were regarded as a good option for the
kids who weren’t so bright. Finance and
commerce were uncool and more like working for the Man. Computers were for science geeks and bean counters.
A web site was something where spiders
lived. Banking, Accountancy? No way – they were part of The Establishment.
So did I make a bad choice when I decided to go to
physiotherapy school? No. In 1974, I had
opted for a hot profession, just like the other kids who did Law, Medicine, social
work and teaching.
Now, the old certainties are gone and employment is subject
to the repercussions of global financial crises, international terrorism, an
ageing population, scarcity of fossil fuels and even climate change. Tourism was hot when I launched an Auckland
wine tour business aimed at international tourists in 2001. Since then the Twin Towers bombing and the global
financial crisis have reduced tourism numbers dramatically. So, I looked elsewhere to augment my income,
and hence – my multiple income streams.
Do I regret it? No. I have been pushed out of my comfort zone and
into areas I never dreamed of like acting and retail sales. It’s not easy – I do three late shifts a week
selling wine and that cuts in to family and social time. I work very hard some days putting in 13
hours when a wine tour and a late shift coincide. On the other hand some weeks I get three or
four days off – so I get some time to catch up with friends, walk the dogs
etc.
The only thing that is certain is uncertainty. Welcome to the new millennium.
Phil runs the No. 1 TripAdvisorAuckland tour activity – Fine Wine & Food Tours. Also writes wine columns for Ponsonby News,
Medical Assurance’s OnMas glossy quarterly, works Monday Thursday and Saturday
at Glengarry Grey Lynn, and is available for TV or web based commercials and can fix a crook back or neck.
