learning a living
pp. Working in a job that requires the constant learning of new knowledge and skills.
Examples
1995
Paul Brainerd, the founder of Aldus Corp., believes retraining and continuous education is one answer for today's worker. Speaking Thursday at an Economic Development Council program that honors education and retraining programs, he said that instead of earning a living, today's worker may have to be involved in "learning a living."
—Stephen H. Dunphy, “Economic Memo,” The Seattle Times, April 09, 1995
1990
The shift from brawn to brains has led to the recognition that workers in the 1990s will need to be "learning a living" as well as "earning a living." More specifically, many now believe the prerequisite skill for an increasing majority of occupations is "learning-to-learn."
—Marie Josee Drouin, “Solution needed for Canada's literacy woes,” The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada), June 14, 1990
1969 (earliest)
The speed of information movement in the global village means that every human action or event involves everybody in the village in the consequences of every event. The new human settlement in terms of the contracted global village has to take into account the new factor of total involvement of each of us in the lives and actions of all. In the age of electricity and automation, the globe becomes a community of continuous learning, a single campus in which everybody, irrespective of age, is involved in learning a living.
—Marshall McLuhan, Counterblast, McClelland & Stewart, January 01, 1969
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