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"Follow your heart [rather than your wallet]" is generally a bad advice [1], but if both tracks are equally well paid you might as well indulge, if only for lon

by DenisM 8y ago

"Follow your heart [rather than your wallet]" is generally a bad advice [1], but if both tracks are equally well paid you might as well indulge, if only for long enough to get a feel for it. Meaningful work is one of the pillars of mental health, don't take that away form yourself unless you have to trade it for another pillar. [1] It's a bad advice because it often turns people to soul-sucking cafe ownership, hand-to-mouth musician careers, and other loveable but hurtful things. A much better advice is to find an intersection of (things you love) and (things that pay well enough for it to not be a bother) and (things you might be good at) and (...).

colordrops 8y ago
Owning a cafe is soul sucking?
- mynegation 8y ago
  YMMV but on average - yes. Restaurants and cafes are very cutthroat industry, with a lot of churn, long hours, lots of regulation etc.
- DenisM 8y ago
  Yes. I vaguely recall some research indicating it's the most likely venture to fail. You might be used to this in the startup world, but here there is no outsized upside, and you're not cultivating a valuable skill. Business aside, there is also a huge discrepancy between the romantic image of happily hopping about a cozy little shop and the crushing burden of 18-hour workdays for near-zero pay, demotivated or thieving employees, obnoxious customers, flaky suppliers, rising or unexpected costs, your own failure to plan for this or that, and all that with no hope of things becoming different in the future. There were profiles in the NYT which I can no longer find, but here is one I did find just now: https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-to-never-open-a-restaurant-thrillist-nation https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-to-never-open-a-res... If you are contemplating this nearly-suicidal move I highly recommend interrogating an acquaintance who's been that and done that before investing any further effort.
bumby 8y ago
I agree with this. The OP addresses the issue as if the fields are inherently mutually exclusive. There may be areas of the ven diagram of life where they overlap. For example, you could work on AI to help radiologists identify abnormalities in imaging or robotics in surgery. Or address energy issues in hospitals by optimizing building automation or enterprising with energy performance contracts implementing renewables. The right intersection can keep you motivated by relating to your interest and keep you fulfilled by relating to a noble purpose. If you can't find an intersection there's nothing wrong with finding a job that allows you the ability to investigate as a hobbyist. Maybe in time you'll build the skills to contribute to those intersection points.

by DenisM 8y ago

colordrops 8y ago

Owning a cafe is soul sucking?

mynegation 8y ago
YMMV but on average - yes. Restaurants and cafes are very cutthroat industry, with a lot of churn, long hours, lots of regulation etc.
DenisM 8y ago
Yes. I vaguely recall some research indicating it's the most likely venture to fail. You might be used to this in the startup world, but here there is no outsized upside, and you're not cultivating a valuable skill. Business aside, there is also a huge discrepancy between the romantic image of happily hopping about a cozy little shop and the crushing burden of 18-hour workdays for near-zero pay, demotivated or thieving employees, obnoxious customers, flaky suppliers, rising or unexpected costs, your own failure to plan for this or that, and all that with no hope of things becoming different in the future. There were profiles in the NYT which I can no longer find, but here is one I did find just now: https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-to-never-open-a-restaurant-thrillist-nation https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-to-never-open-a-res... If you are contemplating this nearly-suicidal move I highly recommend interrogating an acquaintance who's been that and done that before investing any further effort.

bumby 8y ago

I agree with this. The OP addresses the issue as if the fields are inherently mutually exclusive. There may be areas of the ven diagram of life where they overlap. For example, you could work on AI to help radiologists identify abnormalities in imaging or robotics in surgery. Or address energy issues in hospitals by optimizing building automation or enterprising with energy performance contracts implementing renewables. The right intersection can keep you motivated by relating to your interest and keep you fulfilled by relating to a noble purpose. If you can't find an intersection there's nothing wrong with finding a job that allows you the ability to investigate as a hobbyist. Maybe in time you'll build the skills to contribute to those intersection points.