Many of you know I grew up in various oil fields. My father worked for Gulf Oil Corp. His career began before World War II and spanned nearly 40 years, all with the same company. Of course, he had offers to jump ship, change companies and enter new fields, but he never seriously considered them.
A product of the Great Depression, his aim was, understandably, job security. That worked out well for Gulf Oil, and most companies in those days, most of whom felt strongly about providing employee job security. And that worked out well too, in a country flush with victory, flexing its economic muscle on the international stage for the first time. It was, in this country - and in most of the world after the ravages of war were repaired - a span of three decades of unparalleled growth. It was also a fluke of sorts.
I started thinking about career development when we agreed to run a series of four articles on that subject, the first of which appears this month. I began, as I always do, by lamenting the good deal my father had - if you call living through the Great Depression and fighting World War II in order to achieve job security a good deal. I wondered why we don't have the job security our fathers had. Deep in my gut, I knew the answer; it came to the surface on a recent trip to New Orleans, La.
On the drive back, we took the river road - the Mississippi River - along the right bank. It runs through plantation country, where there once existed mile upon mile of vast, thriving, slave-supported agricultural units known as plantations, characterized by large, impressive mansions. The planters who owned the plantations were the wealthiest group of men and women in the United States prior to the American Civil War (1861-1865). They led a lifestyle that has been glamorized in literature and movies far beyond reality.
Only a few of the plantation mansions are left, most in private hands and many in need of restoration. The farms have long since been broken into smaller pieces, interspersed with the refineries and chemical plants that support much of the regional economy along the river from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, La. But it is possible to tour the plantation houses that have been restored and opened to the public.
We stopped to tour one, Laura Plantation, about 60 miles up river from New Orleans. Dating to the earliest part of the 19th century, Laura Plantation has all the trappings of glamour associated with the plantation era, including a Big House and numerous dependent buildings that once sat on 12,000 acres of singly owned plantation. The reality underlying the history of Laura Plantation, however, destroys the glamorous image of a wealthy family with an international network and seven prestigious townhomes in New Orleans. In truth, the plantation, like most, was in economic trouble for much of its existence and, in the end, sold for a pittance.
So there was no job security for the wealthiest families in mid-19th century America. And there is very little job security for us now. And if you put two and two together, there never has been - save for exceptional periods such as my father enjoyed - job security for most of the world's employees.
So if ever there were a good time to discuss career development and the changing employment contract, it is now. Or next year. Or 100 years ago. Or 200 hundred years hence.

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