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I think it’s also interesting how a lot of very successful people in the field of engineering identified that they want to be engineers when they were very youn

I think it’s also interesting how a lot of very successful people in the field of engineering identified that they want to be engineers when they were very young and just started pursuing it.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
If you mean software engineering, those people must be completely unlike myself. I started spending serious time programming at 13. But it took me well into my first job 10 years later until I thought, "well, shit, I guess that's how I'm gonna be making money". My choice of software as a study field when I was 18 was literally made like this: "oh, I can get degree by doing what I like, and hopefully pick up some more interesting knowledge along the way, sign me in!". For some reason (probably upbringing and local environment), some people start to think about their careers very late. And I don't feel like thinking about it much earlier is productive. When you're 15, or 9, you don't really have enough information (or arguably sapience), to make a reasoned choice. I feel the "compound interest everything" thinking is infecting our lives too much. I've heard arguments that Soviet times were bad because it was government that told you where to go to work, and free societies let people choose for themselves. But if kids are forced to think about their career at 9 and make decisions that become binding because of sunk costs, that's essentially market choosing for you. You're not free either way, it's just a different optimization system optimizing you.
- tonyedgecombe 7y ago
  I've heard arguments that Soviet times were bad because it was government that told you where to go to work In some ways that must be quite freeing, assuming that the selection is reasonably correlated with your abilities and temperament.
  - p_l 7y ago
    Even then, AFAIK you weren't "told" what kind of career you were getting, but at times people would get assignments they could take for a job in their field?
p_l 7y ago
When I was 8-9 year old, I wanted to become aeronautical engineer and in university to get "MSci-Engineer in Aerodynamics". People change a lot since that age ;)

I think it’s also interesting how a lot of very successful people in the field of engineering identified that they want to be engineers when they were very young and just started pursuing it.

TeMPOraL 7y ago

If you mean software engineering, those people must be completely unlike myself. I started spending serious time programming at 13. But it took me well into my first job 10 years later until I thought, "well, shit, I guess that's how I'm gonna be making money". My choice of software as a study field when I was 18 was literally made like this: "oh, I can get degree by doing what I like, and hopefully pick up some more interesting knowledge along the way, sign me in!". For some reason (probably upbringing and local environment), some people start to think about their careers very late. And I don't feel like thinking about it much earlier is productive. When you're 15, or 9, you don't really have enough information (or arguably sapience), to make a reasoned choice. I feel the "compound interest everything" thinking is infecting our lives too much. I've heard arguments that Soviet times were bad because it was government that told you where to go to work, and free societies let people choose for themselves. But if kids are forced to think about their career at 9 and make decisions that become binding because of sunk costs, that's essentially market choosing for you. You're not free either way, it's just a different optimization system optimizing you.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago
I've heard arguments that Soviet times were bad because it was government that told you where to go to work In some ways that must be quite freeing, assuming that the selection is reasonably correlated with your abilities and temperament.
- p_l 7y ago
  Even then, AFAIK you weren't "told" what kind of career you were getting, but at times people would get assignments they could take for a job in their field?

p_l 7y ago

When I was 8-9 year old, I wanted to become aeronautical engineer and in university to get "MSci-Engineer in Aerodynamics". People change a lot since that age ;)