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The Dream Job That Wasn’t
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- hprotagonist 6y agoAll work involves a certain amount of toil. Make your peace with that, and find out how to make the rest of the job make the toil worth it — or at least endurable.
- leetrout 6y agoI’ve had a fantastic career which I am thankful for. My dream job is to be a pilot which I accept I will never do and can imagine the aspects that make it “just a job”. More relatable, in my experience, is the dream company. Accepting that you are committed to software development as a career different companies then take the place of a dream job. Google with all their perks of working on site. 37Signals / Basecamp and the remote culture. Fog Creek and “everyone gets an office with a door”. What I’ve found is that at the end of the day they are still just jobs. It’s the management and the coworkers that make a place great. I wish I could figure out how to interview for that because it is far more elusive to detect accurately than all the technical interview hoops we all love to complain about.
- mhh__ 6y agoHaving recently got hooked on DCS, I've subtly fallen in love with the idea of being a fighter pilot. I'm the right age to apply, but my eyes aren't even close to good enough, so I'm so glad I've had that particular epiphany after starting a degree and having other interests and all that jazz.
- bumby 6y agoIf you’re in the US, I believe most military services now allow LASIK and PRK
- mhh__ 6y agoI'm in the UK (I think the US has more reserve slots than the RAF has active duty), and I think my eyes are probably beyond saving in that regard, unfortunately.
- flurdy 6y agoI am surprised by that, but I guess most pilots are not exposed as much as I thinĸ to open cockpits or windows that can blow your cornea flap open...
- bumby 6y agoI think the original ban was due to worry that the corneal flap couldn’t withstand the g-forces. As more data came in, it seems like it’s a pretty low risk. Same with the pressures exerted while diving underwater
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- drsim 6y ago> It’s the management and the coworkers that make a place great. I've stayed in mediocre jobs because of a great team, and left 'dream' jobs because of people I don't like working with. > I wish I could figure out how to interview for that [...] I can get a good vibe in interviews, but it's unreliable, especially remote. As is 'we do drinks at 3pm on Friday'.
- austincheney 6y agoI recently had a coworker whose dream job is to be a pilot, specifically for fire rescue services. This coworker is a military officer who is intentionally taking a large demotion to become a military pilot in furtherance of that dream. They also had to fulfill a huge amount of nonsense, more than administrative actions, to ensure they had access to that opportunity.
- leetrout 6y agoThose pilots do some of the most dangerous and impressive flying. I hope it works out for them!
- throw1234651234 6y agoI don't understand "pilot" as dream job. You basically take off and land once you hit commercial. I get the learning part - the first time you learn how redundant and simple Cessna engines are, the first time you realize how light and simple it really is, how to tie it down, your first time trying to fly with instruments only, your first crosswind landing, etc. But after that? Really seems like "just a job". Btw, not a pilot in any sense, just took some very discounted classes.
- leetrout 6y agoThere are some really good corporate pilot gigs flying business jets (or event just turbo props) and back country flying in the pacific northwest of the US. Bush flying in remote areas... firefighting flying as someone else mentioned. Ag pilot is also pretty awesome on video but the exposure to chemicals is concerning. There are a lot interesting piloting jobs other than commercial. But even with "just" commercial at the majors the travel and salary is amazing (after a lot of crappy pay at regional outfits).
- throw1234651234 6y agoI thought all the "amazing" pilot jobs were gone now that all the airlines are saving money and it's pretty much ~100k. I am pulling that number out of my ____, but my understanding was that it's a good job, but not FAANG / med school "good" in terms of salary, with rare unicorn exceptions, i.e. private rotary in Dubai or something.
- leetrout 6y agoCould be. Couple quick googles with glassdoor data... Pilot salaries at FedEx can range from $108,918 - $377,643 The typical Delta Air Lines Captain salary is $279,152. Captain salaries at Delta Air Lines can range from $97,342 - $443,133
- segmondy 6y agoIs your dream job to be really a pilot or to be able to fly a plane? Those are different things and you can probably take flying lessons and get your pilot license.
- llaolleh 6y agoI agree that there are mundane and boring aspects of any job. But if you can confidently say I love my job you're at a good place. That said, I can never tell if people who say they love their job actually love their job or are lying to themselves.
- TrackerFF 6y agoI'm just grateful for having been raised in a household where I was completely free to choose my own future. I wanted to become a musician, and my parents were ok, even supportive, of that. I eventually then found out that it's not easy to make a living as a musician, and later decided to pursue tech. On the other hand, have friends that grew up in very different homes, where they were pretty much forced to pick medicine, law, or engineering, not ifs or buts. Many ended up switching careers quickly after graduating, pursuing other professions. In the end, most I know - myself included - ended up doing pretty good. People do adjustments underway, but I'm grateful for having had the chance to chase my teenage dreams, even if it didn't work out as planned.
- string 6y agoI was raised in a similar way, and I have mixed feelings because I essentially ended up taking the path of least resistance. There was no pressure to do anything in particular, so I cruised through school doing as little work as necessary. I took exams in maths, physics and chemistry (because I found those subjects easy) and got very good grades but ended up going to design/art school because I thought it would be "fun" to be a graphic designer. Then I slowly discovered how awful the graphic design industry is, and made a transition into tech. I taught myself to code at a youngish age so I have no idea why I never considered it as a career. With hindsight I wish I'd had some pressure from my parents and gone to a "proper" university, studied something like computer science and really applied myself. I visited Cambridge after graduating and was blown away, I didn't even know what an actual university looked like. In some ways doing what I wanted meant taking the path of least resistance (it's easy to pick the fun route), but ultimately led to disappointment career wise.
- skadamat 6y agoCal Newport became famous for his books "Deep Work" and "Digital Minimalism", but my favorite / most underrated book by him is actually "So Good They Can't Ignore You": https://www.calnewport.com/books/so-good/ https://www.calnewport.com/books/so-good/ In SGTCIU, he really goes deep on the idea that pre-existing passion is unlikely to lead you to a happy career and presents an alternate, more-compelling framework for job satisfaction. 1. Acquire rare & valuable skills (career capital) 2. Use said career capital in exchange for job / life properties you care about (remote work, working less hours, working for 'better' companies, higher pay, more autonomy, managing more people, w/e those are for you). There are happy & fulfilled people in every career and, of course, unhappy people in every career / walk of life. But pretty much everyone wants the same thing in their career: mission, autonomy, impact, and creativity. These traits ^ are mostly independent of a specific job / field
- paulcole 6y ago> But pretty much everyone wants the same thing in their career: mission, autonomy, impact, and creativity There’s another model I use that I’ve found to be pretty accurate for most people: SCARF. Status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/SCARF.htm https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/SCARF.htm
- bumby 6y agoThe problem with status is that it’s completely relative and ultimately not in your control. You might be the team captain but there’s likely another athlete who’s better. Status is driven by comparison and, as Teddy Roosevelt said, comparison is the thief of joy. Beyond that, it means putting stock largely into what other people think which can be in a natural juxtaposition to autonomy
- bsenftner 6y agoI remember reading his "How to win at College" when finishing graduate school; his first book made me feel smug because I was already doing all his recommendations. I feel extremely blessed, as I have held a series of "dream jobs": 1) video game studio owner at age 17; 2) graphics researcher working for Mandelbrot on his research in '83; 3) Beta Tester for the original Macintosh; 4) 3D graphics researcher back when how to do 3D graphics was unsolved research; 5) video game console OS developer (3D0 & first PSX), 6) video game lead engineer (15 years), 7) I was one of the first people to get Live Interactive Video working on the Internet (Rotor Communications, '99), 8) VFX digital artist & developer for 9 major release feature films; 9) I pioneered and global patented Deep Fakes back in '08 (trying to commercialize that bankrupted me, I was trying to launch Personalized Advertising); and today 10) I'm lead developer of one of the leading facial recognition systems used by 3-lettered organizations world wide. I get these positions by being irritatingly enthusiastic, technologically deep when first meeting the interviewers, and I try to get right into what their immediate problems to be solved and try to engage in that solution during my interviews. If given make work for evaluation, I simply refuse and ask them what problems they are actually facing: let's solve one of those. This gets the actual problem solvers engaged and I can judge them and they can judge me in our compatibility when problem solving. I tend to cinch the deal trying to get tje job by including 360 degree financial, long term maintenance, and a schedule for planned enhancements achieving expense reduction when executing whatever solution. I tend to minimize having an MBA, because my development achievements speak for themselves; but when I close with financial managers assessment of the company and act like the prospect of working there will be good for them, they tend make an offer. I never act like I need the job. I act like they need me, and without me they would face me working for their competition. Basically, I act like a force, and they can have me on their team of they want. Yes, this is arrogant; it is intentionally so. In many ways, I find I need to treat management like an asshole peer, and be an asshole right to them, and suddenly I'm their favorite guy. People are strange.
- Phenix88be 6y agoI believed the "If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.". I loved to build website and make it my job. I regret that decision every day for the past 6 years. The software industry in my country is a big pile of legacy trash that is making money. It's painful to never find a place where you enjoy what you are doing. Now I tell people to NOT make passion or hobbies a job, it's a trap.
- ghaff 6y agoI think that's more common than not. You're doing things other people want you to do and pay you for, not what you find interesting. And you're not just doing them when you're inspired to do so but all the time whether you feel like it or not.
- fartcannon 6y agoWell, I work a career I dislike for the financial security of it. I regret it every day. Work sucks, as a rule, so why not at least do work you sometimes enjoy?
- Phenix88be 6y agoBecause you end up not enjoying it anymore. You lose a passion, a hobby and you are unhappy
- WhompingWindows 6y agoMy dream job was to be an MD. I went to a grade deflationary undergrad, UChicago, and was too interested in music, social life, and sleeping to achieve a high GPA. I scored 90th percentile on the MCAT and had choruses, piano, humanities, and research in my background, but merely having a 3.35 GPA meant I got 0 interviews after 11 applications to medical school. How devastating is that: you dream to be an MD for a decade, you work on it for 5 years, spend thousands of dollars prepping and applying, and you receive ZERO responses from a human voice, just automated email replies? Okay, dream A was quashed, so then what? I fell into programming for healthcare. I'm not good at it. I struggle to understand basic SQL joins, intermediate R, and intermediate statistics. I can barely solve beginner-level coding interview questions and I never pluck up the motivation to build side-projects, given all the "real life" chores and hobbies distracting me. I lost my last 2 healthcare coding jobs for being too outspoken with my criticisms and opinions. I didn't have the political savvy or grit to swallow my objections and play nice. I'm still looking for my next position. I want to use SQL, R, and statistics to solve real-world problems in healthcare or climate. This isn't a dream, but it's interesting, it'll pay better than anything else I could do, and I can tell myself I'm lessening suffering and improving human lives. For this next post, I'm going to have to find a place that accepts my openly disagreeable nature, or just swallow it down and say "Yes, Sir" to whatever my bosses demand.
- halfmatthalfcat 6y agoIs applying to 11 medical schools considered a lot? Where they all like A tier med schools or were you willing to settle for something less prestigious? I’m just asking because I’d imagine you’d be able to get into _a_ med school with your academic credentials but maybe not the best one? I’ve also never applied to a med school so I could be talking out my ass.
- WhompingWindows 6y agoIt's not a lot, it's pretty standard. The chances of getting into any of them are very low these days, some schools get thousands of apps for 100-200 spots, leaving an acceptance rate of 5-10%. I'd wager they WANT this to improve their "Newsweek" Ratings, shake my head, think of all the shortages of doctors are bright-eyed 23 year olds who get rejected and have to repeat the process, all to maintain exclusivity (and due to limits on how many residents/interns we can train at once). I didn't apply to the top-tier schools. I knew my GPA would be an algorithmic non-starter, a human wouldn't even look at a GPA under 3.5 in many schools. Also, I'm a white male biological sciences major, not exactly a rare type for medical schools applicants. Keep in mind, UChicago Bio Sciences had courses I was required to take, that had graduate students and actual medical students in them, that had the median student with an 80 average. How sadistic is that? A classroom full of brilliant students, and half of them will get C's and D's? You can guess which half I was in... In the end, it may have been a blessing, because MD school is VERY expensive and time-consuming, and I would've been a poor doctor like family medicine or pediatrician, so I'd be financially way worse off and probably a lot more stressed if I had succeeded down that path.
- spaetzleesser 6y agoI think an important ingredient in having a dream job is to be in tune with society to some degree. You don’t have to do what everybody else does but you need to know how to work the system and get along with people. From my observation there are people who do their own thing but don’t get along with people. And there are people who get along with others but don’t have their own goals. The lucky ones are the people who can do both.
- roberthahn 6y agoI saw a video recently where Adam Savage was talking about his experience working at ILM. His friends observed at the time he always spoke in terms of what he “gets to do”. Not has to do, _gets_ to do. That looks like a pretty great metric for measuring how close to ideal your job is.
- swsieber 6y agoI think dream jobs are like soul mates. Yeah, you have good fits, but there's not just one perfect job for you, upon which all personal fulfillment is predicated. Not to say you can't find a job that makes you super happy... I think more important is to not hinge your personal happiness or fulfillment on having a particular job, just like wasting your life waiting to find Mr./Mrs. Right. Yeah, there's a lot more nuance to this than I give; and I have a family, so that greatly impacts my view and perspective. I think generally the principal holds though - don't link fulfillment to some ideal event you're waiting for. Caveat emptor, yada yada.