Like millions of experienced workers caught in a sea change in labor markets, he is learning to navigate a revolving-door world of employment and just-in-time hiring. An engineer who began his career in the 1970s, before lifetime jobs vanished, Foss never wanted to become his own boss. But that, de facto, is who he is becoming, learning skills that don't come naturally to him: networking, branding and promoting himself, juggling one job while keeping an eye out for the next.


He is dipping his toe into the growing world of contract work, where there is no longer any pretense of permanence, and an employee's value no longer increases with longevity and company knowledge. It's as if his work has been outsourced, not to an offshore firm but to an expanding pool of displaced professionals.

This is not how he expected things to unfold, but he is a realist.

"I no longer believe there's a reason anybody could expect to stay with one company for life," Foss said. "Once you come to realize that, what am I holding on to?"