What do people mean when they say 'corporate america'?

Question

Just typical corporate/office jobs in general?

A former manager at a company that I worked for (Retail) said he had "just gotten out of corporate america and had never worked retail."

What does this term really mean? For being in his 50's or 60's and working a 'corporate/office' job...he honestly didn't seem to know how to do much of anything. He lasted just a few days, if even that...in retail. Then he went looking for another position somewhere else.

So...what do 'corporate america' people do, exactly? Why do people use this term to describe it that way?

Answer 1

Corporate America is a rather broad term.  I believe it refers to for-profit companies that embody America, e.g. IBM, GM, Boeing, etc.  Typically this phrase evokes the image of a white-collar office worker in a large company, working to make money and climb the ladder to management.

Sounds to me like your former manager probably quit his job due to some sort of dissatisfaction at his previous employer.  Maybe he didn't like wearing suits, or working 9-5, or attending company picnics, or competing for promotions.

A job in "Corporate America" could be many sorts of jobs -- finance, sales, accounting, customer service, etc.  There is no guarantee that your former manager had management experience, and particularly not retail management experience.  He might just have taken the first job offer that he got, and then realized it wasn't a good match.

Just my 2 cents, hope that helps...