A man with locs sits next to one woman and across from another as they review floor plan documents.

Lessons I Learned By Getting Fired From Every Job

An essay series on labor, job skills, and moving on.

In the summer of 2020, I got invited to speak to bright, promising high schoolers. They were part of a scholarship program where I was an alum. I thought someone must’ve made a big mistake choosing me to speak about careers. Mine has always been in flux. Strangely adept, I’ve been able to make money writing. That’s seldom meant writing essays or stories for pay (though that does happen). Whatever creative skills I nurture get assigned to solving a company’s menial problem. Then, once the problem’s solved, I get fired, often after months spent wrestling boredom. At the time, I saw no value in speaking to squishy young minds about this tragic cycle. But, at the very least, I could serve as a source of hope: “Don’t be a dummy like I was!” is a worthwhile fable.

If I’d been braver, I would’ve told them about hiring, firing, and the fallacy of labor equaling value.

“Your labor does not equal your value,” I would’ve said.

That seems simple but it’s not. Everyone tells you, as a poor Black being, that the only way to exist is to work. The world seeks to erase you so your loudest shout/your boldest stroke is your work. That belief is so false that sweet pain vibrates my knuckles as I type it. I live under…