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Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)
- galfarragem 11y agoIMO, the crutial point is not just being in the top 25% of some skills. It depends on the skill. Maybe you only need to be in the top 50% on DIY to get an useful skill but e.g. on juggling maybe you need to be in the top 1% to have a relevant skill.
- rrherr 11y agoVery true. And for some skills, like juggling specifically, even the very top might not be good enough: "Why did Anthony Gatto, the greatest juggler alive — and perhaps of all time — back away from his art to open a construction business?" http://grantland.com/features/anthony-gatto-juggling-cirque-du-soleil-jason-fagone/ http://grantland.com/features/anthony-gatto-juggling-cirque-...
- drumdance 11y agoHis self-help book is excellent. http://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still/dp/1591847745 http://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still/dp/15...
- simonswords82 11y agoThanks for linking this, just purchased a copy the reviews are outstanding.
- simonswords82 11y agoThanks for linking this, just purchased a copy the reviews are outstanding.
- jtth 11y agoScott Adams is one of the last people I would take advice from.
- jluxenberg 11y agoWhy? https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ad-hominem https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ad-hominem
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- JadeNB 11y agoWhile I happen to agree personally, perhaps this comment would be better with some explanation of why he's so far down the ladder?
- kelukelugames 11y agoScott Adams used to give great career advice and cartooning tips. I think he got bored a few years ago and decided to become a professional troll. I will write some examples after work.
- wging 11y agoI have no idea whether you're calling this article trolling or good advice.
- existencebox 11y agoThis article seems to hold up to my personal anecdata, and that of many of the mentor figures I've had over the years. (I'd also note the 2007 publish date) However, I've (as with the parent) read some of his writing recently that made me just shake my head and want to stop, and I say this as a die-hard Dilbert fan. His opinions on trump being some sort of personal-image savant at "hacking psychology" (don't recall the actual wording but it was spiritually similar) stand out to me as one I read and felt was somewhat far fetched.
- autarch 11y agoRe: his articles on Trump. I'm not sure if he's right, but I do appreciate that he's been willing to make very specific predictions about the future. So far it seems like he's been pretty good at predicting how things will turn out for Trump. Maybe he's entirely wrong about why, of course.
- existencebox 11y agoI don't fault his making predictions; but an occams razor explanation seems FAR more compelling to me, that a character like trump provides an outlet for sentiments that haven't been well served by any _marginally_ viable political candidate. Combined with a boisterous personality (which dovetails well with what seems to be a rising anti-establishment sentiment in certain groups) and celebrity background, it fits neatly into America's tendency to lend more credence than might be deserved otherwise to stars, regardless of their individual domain specific merit. (c.f. other celebrity anti-vaxers and the recurring trend to have non-political notables on political talk shows)
- putlake 11y agoScott Adams is very entertaining. He predicted Trump's staying power way back in the summer when everyone (including me) thought his candidacy was just a joke. In fact, he has predicted a landslide for Trump in the general election. He says it's based on his training as a hypnotist, which gives him an insight into the art of persuasion. Over the years I've learned many things from following Adams' blog. He recommended Cialdini's books on persuasion, which are a must read for all sales people and all entrepreneurs (because we are salespeople, like it or not). His financial advice [1] is rock solid, and his latest book on goal-oriented vs. systems-oriented thinking was also an eye-opener. TLDR: I like the dude. [1] https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/scott-adams-financial-advice/ https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/scott-adams-financial-advice/
- m52go 11y agoYeah I think people misread Scott. He's always had crazy ideas, but they've been well-articulated and always delivered with a healthy dose of humility. He doesn't take himself too seriously. Whereas many see him as a troll, I think he's a true contrarian in a sea of fashionable contrarians.
- dhmholley 11y agoFor a guy who doesn't take himself too seriously, he sure creates a lot of sockpuppets to argue with his detractors and sing his own praises.
- hkmurakami 11y agoI feel like anyone who makes knowledge of their MESNA membership public takes themselves fairly seriously...
- partomniscient 11y agoWait, Scott Adams is part of a organosulfur compound?
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- lifeisstillgood 11y agotl;dr Don't try to be the best at something, it's too hard. Be good at a couple of things and make a living in the Venn diagram intersection. It's a nice idea, but I struggle when I get to "software and ..." Cartoons? Cycling? DIY?
- nradov 11y agoSoftware and some other aspect of business: health care, finance, agriculture, shipping, whatever. Your value as a software developer is much higher if you understand the business domain and can actively contribute towards requirements analysis.
- bcook 11y agoWhat about being good at 2 fields of software, like databases and facial recognition?
- adenadel 11y agoFinance, statistics, biology, mathematics, energy, manufacturing, education, fitness... (not trying to be condescending here) I think software could be a great pairing with many other areas. I'm not sure if it's better to have software as a foundation or as second skill to add onto your area of expertise.
- collyw 11y agoPrimary skill, if you have ever had to look at the code from self taught bioinformaticians from biology backgrounds.
- adenadel 11y agoAs a bioinformatician, I completely agree with you. My question is, which contributes more to the field? A specialist enabled by code, or a coder who has learned something of a second field?
- driznar 11y agoSales? How much of an edge does being a competent developer anyway provide you when it comes to high margin software selling?
- nickthemagicman 11y agoHe says at the beginning of the article to be in the top 25% at two things, then, at the end of the article he says to be top 25% at three things? So I'm guessing if we got in the top 25% at 5 things or even 50 billion things it would probably be even better! My career advice to everyone is this: "Be better than most people at 50 billion things and you will be successful!" Scott Adams is super brilliant.
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- petke 11y agoThat's good advice. Find a niche basically. It don't think it works for every career though. Being good or even being the most skilled at a niche. Musicians and actors, any job that has as much to do with popularity as with skill. Very few make it and the ones that do, don't seem better than most of the ones that dont. I have been listening to enough open mic nights and small time bar gigs to think so. Its sad really, how many talented musicians there is in this world that never make it. Music that gives you the chills. And then you put on the radio and its an endless stream of crap. My career advice would be, don't get into anything that requires popularity. Its a cruel world out there.
- kevindeasis 11y agoScott says: 1. Become the best at one specific thing. 2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things. You raise a fascinating point. Following Scott's format. I wonder if a person can: 1. be the very best musician. 2. Be very good at networking (top 25%) or playing at events . Now my question to you, petke. With those two things, would any person wanting to be a musician be a successful musician?
- petke 11y agoGood point. Those musicians that made it, maybe they where just better at networking. The music I tend to like most is these folk type singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar singing sad songs. A lot of those musicians seem quite introvert and shy, and are probably bad at networking. So it might explain why so many of them don't make it despite their talents.
- bitJericho 11y agoHaha one of my fav indie singers didn't even bother to reply when I told her her domain was expiring. It's now lost to the shitty secondary market. I guess she gave up. Let me know your email if you'd like to know the artist.
- jimmydddd 11y agoReminds me of Tony Horton (P90X dude). He worked for years as a trainer and aspiring actor/standup comedian. He didn't hit it big until he started making exercise videos when in his forties. The acting and comedic skills combined with the trainer skills made him successful.
- kimonos 11y agoA good read! Thanks for sharing! :)
- erobbins 11y agoI'm in the top 25% of quite a few things, and I'm not spending weekends on my 100 foot yacht in the caribbean... probably because I'm in the bottom 25% of motivation. It's good advice, but just a piece of the puzzle.
- bambax 11y agoSame here. But, to be fair to SA, I actually never tried to combine any two of the things I'm good at, I always try to compete/compare myself to people who are the best at one thing and I usually fall short. Combining talents is an interesting concept.
- drumdance 11y agoHe talks about motivation in his book. I don't remember the details word for word but he basically says you should optimize for energy, which is key to motivation.
- monksy 11y agoHe had a great interview on the Tim Ferris podcast. If I hadn't heard about him there I would have never gotten his book. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/09/22/scott-adams-the-man-behind-dilbert/ http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/09/22/scott-adams-the-man-b...
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- jhrrsn 11y agoOn the whole, I think I agree with Scott's advice in this post. However, there are some real challenges that come with the choice to be 'good at a few things' instead of the 'best at one thing. Namely, if you're not starting your own business, I think it massively reduces your employment mobility. I am fortunate in that I am valued within my organisation for my 'generalist' spread of skills (including communication, development, analysis & sales). It's clear to me how useful it is to be able to approach a problem from several angles and engage with specialists from different areas effectively. However, if I ever want to move out of my current organisation, I feel as though I would end up taking a significant step backwards in my career because almost all advertised jobs are specialised roles. This creates a constant pressure in my mind to specialise and focus more on a single area.
- drb311 11y agoI'm surprised. Most jobs advertised want competence in a range of things, not superstar status at one very specific thing. Perhaps the difficulty is marketing the range of skills you have in a way that other employers will value?
- drumdance 11y agoI think he would argue that you're better off hacking your way into a job. That is, don't apply for open positions. Instead, get to know the decision makers and demonstrate your value one on one. (His book has a whole section on networking.) That's hard to do for someone just out of college, but once you get a little experience it's a sound strategy.
- specialist 11y agoThere's always more work to be done. If you're competent whatsoever, you'll be asked to tackle any unforeseen tasks. Don't underrate "easy to get along with, get's things done".
- nadam 11y agoThis is good advice for success. On the other hand happiness is not the same thing as success, although they are related. This is the reason I put an unreasonable fraction of my energies into being very good at programming, algorithmization and things like that, instead of better diversifying my portfolio. Programming (the interesting kind) is something that I need to do to be happy.