The career ladder is dead
But the strange thing is, nobody told the people still climbing it.
So every morning, we’re still polishing resumes, tweaking LinkedIn headlines, and waiting patiently for the next rung.
It’s like showing up at an airport with a perfectly packed suitcase, only to realize the airline shut down three years ago.
The ladder didn’t die loudly.
It died politely.
No announcement.
No email.
No retrenchment memo titled: “FYI, we’ve removed the top half of your career.”
Instead, the system kept the rituals.
Performance reviews.
Promotion cycles.
Titles that sound impressive but don’t protect you from anything.
So we keep climbing.
Because stopping feels irresponsible.
If you’re still climbing, you’re not stupid.
You’re just loyal to a map that hasn’t updated.
The ladder is still running on Windows 95.
You are not.
To be fair, the career ladder used to work.
You worked hard.
You got promoted.
You became harder to replace.
You retired with dignity.
Today, the rules quietly changed.
You can get promoted and still be retrenched.
You can be a “senior” and still be replaceable.
You can be a manager and still be redundant.
You can climb for ten years and fall in one quarter.
Climbing the ladder now often feels like running faster on a treadmill that isn’t moving forward.
Or upgrading to better seats on a sinking ship.
This insight comes from Sebastian Chen, who put it plainly: the ladder is gone, but many of us are still behaving as if it will save us.
If this topic resonates with you and you want to think more deeply about how careers actually work today, I strongly recommend reaching out to him or following his writing.
So what’s the way out?
Adapt.
Learn skills that travel across jobs.
Build options outside your role.
Stop tying your identity to a rung.
That’s why I designed this book cover as a mirror.
If you saw yourself in it, you’re not alone.
P.S. If you’re an author or creator with a sharp idea like this, I’m a book cover designer. I design fast, often same day. Sometimes a cover is all it takes to help an idea land where it deserves to.
PS I write books too. They live here:
https://payhip.com/samchoo
