The recession has turned associate career paths upside down. Legions of associates unfortunately lost their jobs, and countless others who were eager to start their careers were deferred and shunted toward short-term positions they never envisioned. Even those whose jobs were spared were impacted, as compensation systems in many firms were overhauled to better fit the new world order.
There will be quite a few long-term effects from these changes, most of which, in this writer’s opinion, will be beneficial for associates. This is not meant to trivialize the pain caused by a job loss or the effect of having compensation decreased, both of which can have serious consequences. Examining all those effects is outside the scope of this article.
