22 ms·
I started writing a comment to share my similar story of a blue-collar upbringing, but realised that other than a few chance encounters most of the relevant men
by jackgolding 9y ago
I started writing a comment to share my similar story of a blue-collar upbringing, but realised that other than a few chance encounters most of the relevant mentorship I have gotten was as a professional or read in articles/books. The best things I've learned in life through tough lessons - the trick is don't fail too hard.
The important stuff I learned before graduating my bachelors was things like:
1) It's better to be a small fish in the big pond (my career councillor told me this when I was 16, I think I disagreed with it in my first 3 years of uni but now I can totally agree.)
2) You don't owe anyone anything and you aren't tied to anyplace on earth (Mum - grew up moving a lot so when I had an opportunity to attend a more prestigious university my mum gave me a lot of support)
3) Always swap jobs every few years (my uncle worked for the same company for 18 years before being laid off - he has done well but nearly everyone he started working with are execs now)
Most related to your comment is something I was told a few years after university where I was pushing work to fast track my professional development as much as possible. A senior manager told me there is only so much other people can teach you, in the end you need to do the time and build the experience.
- bartedinburgh 9y agoSmall fish in a big pond? I've heard a completely opposite advice stating that "in a big pond" there's much competition, and dominating a small niche yields better results. What is the rationale behind being a small fish in a big pond?
- akvadrako 9y agoI can't see how either choice could be always correct. A small pond can have great rewards, but also great risk. Like if it dries up totally.
- BrandonM 9y agoI take away something different from both of you. To me, the question is about whether it's better to be the most impressive person in a shithole town or a nobody in an amazing place. I'm not even sure I know the answer for myself, and it probably varies a lot based on personality.
- andrewprock 9y agoI've been in both ponds, and I can honestly say that the small pond was more interesting and personally satisfying. That was, until the pond did in fact dry up. The big pond on the other hand, pays a bit more but is much less interesting. The big pond is almost certainly never going to dry up though.
- jackgolding 9y agoIt's happened twice in my career. Once choosing to do more difficult courses at a more prestigious university. I don't think this was great on my well being in the short term (always feel like the idiot in class) but in the long term being associated with the brand has helped A LOT. So it was probably more beneficial to get worse grades at a "better" uni. Professionally rather than being a gas data scientist in a small city, moving to a more competitive more established field of web analytics/marketing (with many more peers) in a larger city has lead to a much higher salary.
- jay-anderson 9y agoThere are probably a couple ways to interpret the metaphor depending on your context. There's more competition, yes, but there are also more opportunities to grow. A similar analogy is it's better to be the worst player in the best band than the best player in an awful band. You're going to learn less and learn it more slowly in the latter situation. I think this is more what the author was going for.
- humanrebar 9y ago> It's better to be a small fish in the big pond I'd actually recommend that young professionals try a variety of situations as they switch jobs. I learned much different lessons from different situations at different stages of my personal development. Though starting that growth path with a position at a large company isn't a bad idea if it's an option.