6 ms·

Anonymous advice: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want your name on?

24 points by gamechangr 5y ago

MontyCarloHall 5y ago
The vast majority of these seem like good, solid pieces of advice. I don’t get the reluctance to put one’s name on them.
david_allison 5y ago
(2019)
geoduck14 5y ago
This one made me laugh > Don’t follow general advice blindly The issue with career advice in general, and it’s such an issue for 80,000 Hours, is how insanely context-relative it is. Not just from person to person, but even within a person’s life.
- SahAssar 5y ago
  Reminds me of "Everything in moderation, including moderation"
kradeelav 5y ago
I wrote the same for designers on my personal site, (separated from my real name), if anyone's interested: http://kradeelav.com/designer-resources.html http://kradeelav.com/designer-resources.html
- MonaroVXR 5y ago
  I like the things you have said. (I wasn't aware of it and some of these things apply to other things as well. I'm not sarcastic.)
  - kradeelav 5y ago
    No sarcasm taken, appreciate the kind words. :)
SamvitJ 5y ago
I'm less inclined to take this advice (though much of it is fine) because there is no name attached to it. Why would I take an unknown person's advice on something? How do I know I can trust them if I don't know anything about their career? Even more importantly, I don't know the context behind any of this advice, which is needed to process it appropriately. Some examples: > If you need a PhD, get through it ASAP. Is this really good advice? I would encourage people to be extremely skeptical about getting PhDs - i.e., work in the real world first - and then if you still really want to do one, do it well, so that you have a shot at the kind of post-PhD opportunities that would make it worth it. > Develop specific skills and think about specialising early. The anecdote on this is weird and I'm not sure I agree (depends on what they mean by "specialize"). If by specialize, they mean "major in something practical" sure I agree with that. If by specialize, they mean, "aim to become a expert in some niche in your field in college", disagree. > Be wary of slow feedback loops. Agree mostly, but disagree with the specific examples given. If you know you want to be a lawyer, go to law school. > Be strategic in your career decisions. Agree, but the opposite advice would also be fine: careers are long and complex, so don't attempt to be overly strategic early on. > Think about going to a startup. This just looks like startup shilling. > When you’re great at your job, no one’s advice is that useful. Not sure this is true. > Know the relevant senior people. Not sure this is THAT important early on in your career. > Be irrationally optimistic. Useful if you are in sales or a founder, but for most other careers (e.g., engineering), I would advise rational optimism.
- SamvitJ 5y ago
  Could someone explain why this is being downvoted? I didn't mean it in a snarky way, I just am not able to place some of this advice without knowing who it is from!
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - gamechangr 5y ago
    I didnt down vote you, but your asking to become more self aware ( Could someone explain why...) I think you lost your reader on your first sentence. Maybe don't read an article called " Anonymous advice" and lead with "...less inclined..why would I take...anonymous advice'. hope that helps
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
aaron695 5y ago
Everything seems like common politically correct advice straight from self help lectures. I was expecting stuff like, You'll be on your death bed for a week at most and probably high on drugs. Do not plan life for the end 5 mins. If work matters more than family now, chose work.
f0xytr0xy 5y ago
Cheat, lie, sabotage and steal whenever it can help you advance. Meritocracy is a myth. The only reward for hard work is more work. Also, stock options are worthless unless you’re a co-founder.
jameshush 5y ago
“Be an entertaining interviewee” is a great one. Doesn’t work for the leetcode grind interviews, but turning on a bit of charm and honest entertainment goes pretty far. People like working with people they like.

24 points by gamechangr 5y ago

The vast majority of these seem like good, solid pieces of advice. I don’t get the reluctance to put one’s name on them.

david_allison 5y ago

(2019)

geoduck14 5y ago

This one made me laugh > Don’t follow general advice blindly The issue with career advice in general, and it’s such an issue for 80,000 Hours, is how insanely context-relative it is. Not just from person to person, but even within a person’s life.

SahAssar 5y ago
Reminds me of "Everything in moderation, including moderation"

kradeelav 5y ago

I wrote the same for designers on my personal site, (separated from my real name), if anyone's interested: http://kradeelav.com/designer-resources.html http://kradeelav.com/designer-resources.html

MonaroVXR 5y ago
I like the things you have said. (I wasn't aware of it and some of these things apply to other things as well. I'm not sarcastic.)
- kradeelav 5y ago
  No sarcasm taken, appreciate the kind words. :)

SamvitJ 5y ago

I'm less inclined to take this advice (though much of it is fine) because there is no name attached to it. Why would I take an unknown person's advice on something? How do I know I can trust them if I don't know anything about their career? Even more importantly, I don't know the context behind any of this advice, which is needed to process it appropriately. Some examples: > If you need a PhD, get through it ASAP. Is this really good advice? I would encourage people to be extremely skeptical about getting PhDs - i.e., work in the real world first - and then if you still really want to do one, do it well, so that you have a shot at the kind of post-PhD opportunities that would make it worth it. > Develop specific skills and think about specialising early. The anecdote on this is weird and I'm not sure I agree (depends on what they mean by "specialize"). If by specialize, they mean "major in something practical" sure I agree with that. If by specialize, they mean, "aim to become a expert in some niche in your field in college", disagree. > Be wary of slow feedback loops. Agree mostly, but disagree with the specific examples given. If you know you want to be a lawyer, go to law school. > Be strategic in your career decisions. Agree, but the opposite advice would also be fine: careers are long and complex, so don't attempt to be overly strategic early on. > Think about going to a startup. This just looks like startup shilling. > When you’re great at your job, no one’s advice is that useful. Not sure this is true. > Know the relevant senior people. Not sure this is THAT important early on in your career. > Be irrationally optimistic. Useful if you are in sales or a founder, but for most other careers (e.g., engineering), I would advise rational optimism.

SamvitJ 5y ago
Could someone explain why this is being downvoted? I didn't mean it in a snarky way, I just am not able to place some of this advice without knowing who it is from!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- gamechangr 5y ago
  I didnt down vote you, but your asking to become more self aware ( Could someone explain why...) I think you lost your reader on your first sentence. Maybe don't read an article called " Anonymous advice" and lead with "...less inclined..why would I take...anonymous advice'. hope that helps

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

aaron695 5y ago

Everything seems like common politically correct advice straight from self help lectures. I was expecting stuff like, You'll be on your death bed for a week at most and probably high on drugs. Do not plan life for the end 5 mins. If work matters more than family now, chose work.

f0xytr0xy 5y ago

Cheat, lie, sabotage and steal whenever it can help you advance. Meritocracy is a myth. The only reward for hard work is more work. Also, stock options are worthless unless you’re a co-founder.

jameshush 5y ago

“Be an entertaining interviewee” is a great one. Doesn’t work for the leetcode grind interviews, but turning on a bit of charm and honest entertainment goes pretty far. People like working with people they like.