The requiem for jobs and careers as the American middle class has known them has already
sounded. Some purveyors of career advice claim that "jobs" are increasingly obsolete; instead,
people will perform tasks on a project-by-project basis under short-term contracts. They liken
workers to free agents in professional sports. Or they invoke Hollywood to describe future
careers:
teams assembled for particular ventures that will readily move on to the next one, carrying their
security with them via their reputations and network of contacts.