Mother Jones is running a great series called Speed Up on the corporate exploitation of working Americans. Here is a particularly cogent warning about how to not work from a college professor:
After being raised in a family with a strong work ethic and being drilled from an early age to study hard, work hard, invest money, etc., I will teach my children the opposite. Do what you want—and don’t spend one minute “paying your dues” or “proving” yourself to an employer. This is a scam. You are either paid fairly—by your own standards, not theirs—from day one or you never will be. The moment you stop enjoying your job, quit—because they certainly won’t hesitate to fire you on a whim. There is no such thing as “loyalty.” Don’t waste your youth “building your resume.” Go have fun and let life develop as it may. Working for a living simply does not pay—and to exert any effort whatsoever above and beyond what you are being compensated for is to be complicit in your own exploitation.
How to Live Without Regrets