4 ms·

> for the most part talented people want to work on something they find meaningful Is this really true? I would hope so but apparently the definition of meanin

> for the most part talented people want to work on something they find meaningful Is this really true? I would hope so but apparently the definition of meaningful is different for everyone. From my point of view funding and talent has been allocated poorly in recent years.

ssharp 7y ago
"Meaningful" is definitely a range and may not even entail just the company they work for. For example, if you work for a company's whose product you may not be overly passionate for, but your job is satisfactory to you and pays you well so your family can have a nice, comfortable life, I'd consider that meaningful. There is also a distinction between "meaningful" and "most meaningful". If you believe enough if your company's end product and results, that will result in a certain level of meaningfulness for you, even if you aren't solving world hunger or curing cancer.
andreilys 7y ago
> for the most part talented people want to work on something they find meaningful Which in most cases is not economically viable so you have talent that gravitates towards maximizing total comp to achieve financial independence
fossuser 7y ago
I think most people are pretty good at retroactively creating a narrative around whatever they find themselves doing to imbue it with meaning and purpose. I think most people do want to work on something meaningful, but few start with the purpose and then pursue that. Then given the difficulty of actually getting into what you want (either access restrictions via things like admission, the randomness of technical interviews, or the thing you want not being very lucrative) - you're better off doing what you can until you have the money to be free. Unless you can tolerate lots of risk, don't worry that much about having a family, or have some existing family wealth.

4 ms·

> for the most part talented people want to work on something they find meaningful Is this really true? I would hope so but apparently the definition of meanin

by zwieback 7y ago

ssharp 7y ago
"Meaningful" is definitely a range and may not even entail just the company they work for. For example, if you work for a company's whose product you may not be overly passionate for, but your job is satisfactory to you and pays you well so your family can have a nice, comfortable life, I'd consider that meaningful. There is also a distinction between "meaningful" and "most meaningful". If you believe enough if your company's end product and results, that will result in a certain level of meaningfulness for you, even if you aren't solving world hunger or curing cancer.
andreilys 7y ago
> for the most part talented people want to work on something they find meaningful Which in most cases is not economically viable so you have talent that gravitates towards maximizing total comp to achieve financial independence
fossuser 7y ago
I think most people are pretty good at retroactively creating a narrative around whatever they find themselves doing to imbue it with meaning and purpose. I think most people do want to work on something meaningful, but few start with the purpose and then pursue that. Then given the difficulty of actually getting into what you want (either access restrictions via things like admission, the randomness of technical interviews, or the thing you want not being very lucrative) - you're better off doing what you can until you have the money to be free. Unless you can tolerate lots of risk, don't worry that much about having a family, or have some existing family wealth.