"Who ever thought there'd be layoffs among the dot-coms? Look, nobody promised you a rose garden.

If you wanted job security you'd be pushing paper in some giant bureaucracy in suburban Washington, D.C.

Internet stock prices will continue to surge, then plummet, then surge again. Pay will ride a roller coaster. Job responsibilities will morph from one week to the next. And there are going to be some layoffs.

You may lose your job tomorrow, maybe even this afternoon. Or you may have to close down an entire division. This is the price for being in the most dynamic part of the new economy, doing creative stuff, taking big risks. It goes with the territory.

There are going to be some bad days, and some horrendous weeks. But I guarantee you that even more of them will be fabulous."

—Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor
[May 9, 2000]