A young magazine writer was recently interviewed on a radio program I listened to about an article she’d co-authored for Newsweek regarding young professionals who choose alternatives to marriage entitled “I Don’t.” The writer, Jessica Bennet, discussed her article during the interview, and at some point the interviewer mentioned that Ms. Bennet is 28 and is a Senior Writer at Newsweek. What struck me as remarkable about this is not the subject matter, but rather that someone at age 28 could be considered a senior anything. I don’t want to sound like an old grouch, but what does it take to get a title like that at such a young age? I see in her bio that she’s written some articles that were well-received in the New York publishing world, but it begs the question of what happens as she gets older and wiser and looks for more acknowledgement of her skills from her employers. Will she later get the title of Super Duper Senior Writer? The other question is if she’s a senior writer, does that mean that if you look around the office, there are few older people (like in their 30′s and 40′s, or real geezers in their 50′s) there who might have previously been considered senior? Did they get rid of the old people to save on the salary budget? If so, do you think you should be relying on the observations and advice of people who are just starting to figure out what life is about? Do you think you should rely on the thought processes of someone who’s every other spoken words were , “I mean….”? Maybe she’ll grow out of that when she gets older. I’m sure she’s a wonderful, skilled writer and maybe somewhat advanced compared to her peers, but let’s get a little perspective here.
Wow.
