5 ms·

I know it's the biggest cliche in the world, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Lots of musicians wish they had a skill that let them sit at

by vlunkr 6y ago

I know it's the biggest cliche in the world, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Lots of musicians wish they had a skill that let them sit at a desk all day and get a stable paycheck. Not saying you have to keep working in tech forever, but I don't think it's objectively stopped being fun and interesting.

cjsawyer 6y ago
I think the “trick” is to find a fulfilling non computer based hobby
- Osiris 6y ago
  I agree. I don't do side projects, I do BJJ and ride motorcycles. Those things keep me from getting burned out on coding.
  - vlunkr 6y ago
    My rule about side projects is that I only work on them until they stop being fun. I'm ok using my free time to try out a new language or something, but once I'm tracking down bugs I just stop. I'm not doing that for free.
- mesaframe 6y ago
  Will trading work?
frereubu 6y ago
Absolutely. Every friend I talk to, from central bankers to dramaturgs, has regrets about the career they chose. It generally breaks down into where they are on the spectrum from (a) they wish their job was more creative to (b) they wish they had more money to live comfortably. I know almost no-one who is content that they've found a happy medium, and the few that do have done so through blind luck.
- sidlls 6y ago
  It's not that I have regret--I'm ridiculously well paid compared to other laborers, even if I'm still underpaid compared to the value I deliver--it's that I just can't stand the personalities and practices in this field, and I'm still in the (b) side of that spectrum. Though that will change soon thanks to a fantastic liquidity event. I'm looking forward to leaving this industry in a couple of months and living comfortably on my low- to mid-seven figure exit.
- dmingod666 6y ago
  An alternate perspective to this is. The great line of thought, that you are meant to 'follow your passion' and discover your true calling. There is a job mean for you and you just need to find it. I disagree with this and feel this thinking makes peoples lives miserable thinking they're somehow wasting their lives and makes people take plunges in life that they later regret. I feel there is space for an attitude that, to learn a craft you need to toil and master it with deep dedication and practice. Mastery, will bring with it naturally that joy that we seek. I think if people consider their craft as bigger than themselves, with an attitude of humility and learning they will get the happiness and satisfaction of building things. Rather than seeking a job that's somehow obliged to give you that happiness juice..
  - dmingod666 6y ago
    These ideas are from the book "be so good they can't ignore you" cal newport
  - shagie 6y ago
    There's a blog post from a CS Professor that I stumbled across a bit ago - Find The Hard Work You're Willing To Do - http://www.cs.uni.edu/%7Ewallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2018-10.html#e2018-10-21T09_53_29.htm http://www.cs.uni.edu/%7Ewallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2018... Its short, only a few short paragraphs - but it has one key piece that I've found myself oft quoting to people: > Maybe this is what people mean when they tell us to "find our passion", but that phrase seems pretty abstract to me. Maybe instead we should encourage people to find the hard problems they like to work on. Which problems do you want to keep working on, even when they turn out to be harder than you expected? Which kinds of frustration do you enjoy, or at least are willing to endure while you figure things out? Answers to these very practical questions might help you find a place where you can build an interesting and rewarding life. > I realize that "Find your passion" makes for a more compelling motivational poster than "What hard problems do you enjoy working on?" (and even that's a lot better than "What kind of pain are you willing to endure?"), but it might give some people a more realistic way to approach finding their life's work. -- I enjoy software development - and I do so because I enjoy solving those problems. To me, software development is like being paid to solve sudoku puzzles all day long (and yes, I watch cracking the cryptic from time to time)... well, at least when I'm not in meetings. One of the important skills that I now realize that the dreaded math classes that I disliked (integrations and eigenvectors - ugh) was about the skill of continuing to solve the problem rather than giving up (and searching for the answer). Yes, there's a place for people who go to the back of the book or Stack Overflow for the solution - but many haven't learned the hard skill of continuing to solve the problem when its not easy.
nickthemagicman 6y ago
This is true. One of the best musicians I know. A trained classical guitarist with decades of professional playing. Just became a real estate agent.
ntsplnkv2 6y ago
Yes, and I think the problem is more: "What I am doing sucks the soul out of my life so bad that I'd be willing to do anything else."

by vlunkr 6y ago

cjsawyer 6y ago

I think the “trick” is to find a fulfilling non computer based hobby

Osiris 6y ago
I agree. I don't do side projects, I do BJJ and ride motorcycles. Those things keep me from getting burned out on coding.
- vlunkr 6y ago
  My rule about side projects is that I only work on them until they stop being fun. I'm ok using my free time to try out a new language or something, but once I'm tracking down bugs I just stop. I'm not doing that for free.
mesaframe 6y ago
Will trading work?

frereubu 6y ago

Absolutely. Every friend I talk to, from central bankers to dramaturgs, has regrets about the career they chose. It generally breaks down into where they are on the spectrum from (a) they wish their job was more creative to (b) they wish they had more money to live comfortably. I know almost no-one who is content that they've found a happy medium, and the few that do have done so through blind luck.

sidlls 6y ago
It's not that I have regret--I'm ridiculously well paid compared to other laborers, even if I'm still underpaid compared to the value I deliver--it's that I just can't stand the personalities and practices in this field, and I'm still in the (b) side of that spectrum. Though that will change soon thanks to a fantastic liquidity event. I'm looking forward to leaving this industry in a couple of months and living comfortably on my low- to mid-seven figure exit.
dmingod666 6y ago
An alternate perspective to this is. The great line of thought, that you are meant to 'follow your passion' and discover your true calling. There is a job mean for you and you just need to find it. I disagree with this and feel this thinking makes peoples lives miserable thinking they're somehow wasting their lives and makes people take plunges in life that they later regret. I feel there is space for an attitude that, to learn a craft you need to toil and master it with deep dedication and practice. Mastery, will bring with it naturally that joy that we seek. I think if people consider their craft as bigger than themselves, with an attitude of humility and learning they will get the happiness and satisfaction of building things. Rather than seeking a job that's somehow obliged to give you that happiness juice..
- dmingod666 6y ago
  These ideas are from the book "be so good they can't ignore you" cal newport
- shagie 6y ago
  There's a blog post from a CS Professor that I stumbled across a bit ago - Find The Hard Work You're Willing To Do - http://www.cs.uni.edu/%7Ewallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2018-10.html#e2018-10-21T09_53_29.htm http://www.cs.uni.edu/%7Ewallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2018... Its short, only a few short paragraphs - but it has one key piece that I've found myself oft quoting to people: > Maybe this is what people mean when they tell us to "find our passion", but that phrase seems pretty abstract to me. Maybe instead we should encourage people to find the hard problems they like to work on. Which problems do you want to keep working on, even when they turn out to be harder than you expected? Which kinds of frustration do you enjoy, or at least are willing to endure while you figure things out? Answers to these very practical questions might help you find a place where you can build an interesting and rewarding life. > I realize that "Find your passion" makes for a more compelling motivational poster than "What hard problems do you enjoy working on?" (and even that's a lot better than "What kind of pain are you willing to endure?"), but it might give some people a more realistic way to approach finding their life's work. -- I enjoy software development - and I do so because I enjoy solving those problems. To me, software development is like being paid to solve sudoku puzzles all day long (and yes, I watch cracking the cryptic from time to time)... well, at least when I'm not in meetings. One of the important skills that I now realize that the dreaded math classes that I disliked (integrations and eigenvectors - ugh) was about the skill of continuing to solve the problem rather than giving up (and searching for the answer). Yes, there's a place for people who go to the back of the book or Stack Overflow for the solution - but many haven't learned the hard skill of continuing to solve the problem when its not easy.

nickthemagicman 6y ago

This is true. One of the best musicians I know. A trained classical guitarist with decades of professional playing. Just became a real estate agent.

ntsplnkv2 6y ago

Yes, and I think the problem is more: "What I am doing sucks the soul out of my life so bad that I'd be willing to do anything else."