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My rule of thumb is any job that has any "star" the general public knows and cheer for, don't bet your life's happiness on it. The more glamorous you see the st

My rule of thumb is any job that has any "star" the general public knows and cheer for, don't bet your life's happiness on it. The more glamorous you see the star, the worse off the average person is/the more improbable an average person can make it. For example, rock star, movie star, star chef, star youtuber, star blogger, star athlete, star politician, star Hacker news story, star redditor, star 4chan memer, etc. I haven't heard of a star lawyer, or star doctor, or star programmer that the general public knows.

erehweb 9y ago
Johnnie Cochran was a star lawyer, and you could make a case for Gloria Allred.
wgerard 9y ago
> I haven't heard of a star lawyer, or star doctor, or star programmer that the general public know. Ehh, I'm not sure I would agree with that. Sure, for the most part the really successful ones pivot to become something else (typically to become politicians, media personalities, and/or CEOs), but their original profession remains a core part of their identity. Off the top of my head, most people (older than 25, say) know who Johnnie Cochran was. Ben Carson was pretty famous even before he entered politics. And despite whatever he is now, Zuckerberg is still pretty much the poster boy for programmer-turned-CEO. Heh, there's an entire movie about what a star programmer he was.
- jimmies 9y ago
  There is nothing super contradictory about Zuck that way... Zuckerberg isn't rich and famous because he is good at programming. He is because he created a successful social network called Facebook. He doesn't make money because he programs now. He is rich because he is good at being a CEO of Facebook, and neither the CEO job nor a successful social network is easy to get. I don't think Zuck would list his job as being a programmer. He lists his job as being a CEO. Same as Taylor Swift lists her job as being a singer/songwriter. When someone dreams to create a successful social network and become a CEO like Zuck, it's just as delusional as writing a hit song and becoming a music star like Swift.
  - wgerard 9y ago
    > Zuckerberg isn't rich and famous because he is good at programming I doubt we'll agree on this, so I'll agree to disagree and just leave it at this: I think he is. He was instrumental in programming the early and core product of Facebook. Facebook wouldn't have become the monolith it is today without his ability to program the very early versions. Being a star programmer doesn't necessarily mean tackling self-driving vehicles or the linux kernel, and it can very much blend into what looks like traditional business decisions: Deciding what to build, what to allow/disallow, etc. Pop music is actually pretty similar in this regard: It's not well-known as a technically difficult or especially avant-garde form of music, and being a pop star is often not about the music as much as it is about everything else surrounding the music (branding, marketing, etc.). Still, we consider pop stars to be star musicians. Even when they don't write their own music!

erehweb 9y ago

Johnnie Cochran was a star lawyer, and you could make a case for Gloria Allred.

wgerard 9y ago

> I haven't heard of a star lawyer, or star doctor, or star programmer that the general public know. Ehh, I'm not sure I would agree with that. Sure, for the most part the really successful ones pivot to become something else (typically to become politicians, media personalities, and/or CEOs), but their original profession remains a core part of their identity. Off the top of my head, most people (older than 25, say) know who Johnnie Cochran was. Ben Carson was pretty famous even before he entered politics. And despite whatever he is now, Zuckerberg is still pretty much the poster boy for programmer-turned-CEO. Heh, there's an entire movie about what a star programmer he was.

jimmies 9y ago
There is nothing super contradictory about Zuck that way... Zuckerberg isn't rich and famous because he is good at programming. He is because he created a successful social network called Facebook. He doesn't make money because he programs now. He is rich because he is good at being a CEO of Facebook, and neither the CEO job nor a successful social network is easy to get. I don't think Zuck would list his job as being a programmer. He lists his job as being a CEO. Same as Taylor Swift lists her job as being a singer/songwriter. When someone dreams to create a successful social network and become a CEO like Zuck, it's just as delusional as writing a hit song and becoming a music star like Swift.
- wgerard 9y ago
  > Zuckerberg isn't rich and famous because he is good at programming I doubt we'll agree on this, so I'll agree to disagree and just leave it at this: I think he is. He was instrumental in programming the early and core product of Facebook. Facebook wouldn't have become the monolith it is today without his ability to program the very early versions. Being a star programmer doesn't necessarily mean tackling self-driving vehicles or the linux kernel, and it can very much blend into what looks like traditional business decisions: Deciding what to build, what to allow/disallow, etc. Pop music is actually pretty similar in this regard: It's not well-known as a technically difficult or especially avant-garde form of music, and being a pop star is often not about the music as much as it is about everything else surrounding the music (branding, marketing, etc.). Still, we consider pop stars to be star musicians. Even when they don't write their own music!