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People can inadvertently fall into a bad career by being good at something. Take a goal oriented person with outstanding genomics for sport. Their binary decis

People can inadvertently fall into a bad career by being good at something. Take a goal oriented person with outstanding genomics for sport. Their binary decision tree of life is skewed in one direction by compliments and dopamine. They build up to the ultimate outcome to be an extrinsic release. The day comes for the ultimate test. The world watches for 30 seconds and moves on. Win or lose, the world doesn’t care the way they cared. The release never came — just silence (with no monetary reward).

brobdingnagians 5y ago
I remember a presentation I listened to years ago by a woman who knew someone who decided to become an accountant or something like that instead of going into pro-football, which would have conflicted with some of his personal values. He never regretted the decision and had a very happy life as a successful normal person with plenty of time for his family and hobbies.
- redis_mlc 5y ago
  The average NFL player career is 3 years. So any profession is better financially long-term than the NFL, on average. Head coaches are well-paid, but often change cities, which causes family and housing issues (some build large, custom houses for occasional team meetings.)
Retric 5y ago
There are normally a lot of wins before you end up at the Olympics, those wins simply aren’t televised. Roughly, 1 in 750,000 people end up at each Olympics, simply going is a big deal. Even then most people realize they have zero chance of winning their event. Many would consider making the final to be a huge accomplishment.
HWR_14 5y ago
> with no monetary reward Many countries have a financial reward for medals. Russia gives you a new Mercedes, a six-figure USD sum and a lifetime pension for a gold (the Mercedes is for any medal, but the model gets worse.) (This was in 2014, I think they may have jiggered the reward since then). The US pays five-figures to any medal winner. I'm not saying that it's a good business decision, but it's definitely some compensation depending on the country. I also wonder how it works in smaller countries. If you are the gold medalist from your country do you get endorsements? Like, sure, the US team won X, but we have a lot of medals and how many people really care about that sport. As of today Iran has won one medal (a gold) and Kuwait has won one medal (a bronze). Are those people heroes back home? *Edit: Thanks to the person who corrected my spelling
- TGImemegen 5y ago
  Mercedes (if you mean the car)
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    Thanks, fixed.
- asicsp 5y ago
  Every medal is cherished here in India and gets lot of coverage in media.
- 45ure 5y ago
  There are some countries, which reward their athletes handsomely, either financially or via some form of compensation through benefits. However, you will generally find that they don't have a comprehensive program or a support network in place, and the historically low medal count might have a role to play. There are also detractors, who don't agree with the practice of paying for medals. https://old.reddit.com/r/olympics/comments/orije1/check_out_how_much_each_country_rewards_their/ https://old.reddit.com/r/olympics/comments/orije1/check_out_... https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/tokyo-olympics-how-much-athletes-earn.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/tokyo-olympics-how-much-athl... https://techpolicyinstitute.org/publications/miscellaneous/does-paying-olympians-for-winning-medals-make-them-more-likely-to-win/ https://techpolicyinstitute.org/publications/miscellaneous/d...
- _fat_santa 5y ago
  Even looking past the direct monetary benefits, I wonder if having "Former Olympian" on your resume will give you a boost looking for jobs. I've noticed that even after a small stint at a prestigious aerospace company, I still get calls that stem from folks seeing that on my resume, I would imagine being a former Olympian would give you a similar leg up.
- dillondoyle 5y ago
  That $ also pales in comparison to sponsorships for the more popular sports. Even the 'medium' sports, Brooke (climbing team USA) is in car commercials now. Though the small sports can still struggle to even get enough resources to train full time, USOC should work on that.
bobthechef 5y ago
Why the weird technical jargon? All you had to say was: people with certain talents can more easily fall into an unhealthy career when they are rewarded in ways that encourage them to continue on that career path.
epa 5y ago
To be an Olympian itself is a long time social reward for an individual. That will never lapse.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- reidjs 5y ago
  Yes! Am I supposed to feel bad for olympic athletes now? That label instantly propels you into an higher status in society.
  - scott_s 5y ago
    > Am I supposed to feel bad for olympic athletes now? No. That would be sympathy, where you feel bad because they feel bad. But empathy, where you understand their feelings would be good. Not just for Olympic athletes, but in general.
icegreentea2 5y ago
At least in the cases described by the author, the comedowns weren't because the world didn't care about if they won or lost - or if they got the release or not (or monetary reward). The comedown was about the loss of structure, degree of control, and clarity of goals. It's analogous to what I hear from many people (including in my head) when you finally get out of school into the real world. It's also (based on what I've read and heard - I certainly have no first hand experience), analogous to something that many veterans feel going into the "real world". The structure, clarity of purpose, knowing that everyone has more or less the same goals, knowing that you have non-trivial control to advance yourself towards your goal (winning gold, getting the grade, surviving the deployment, etc) which you know no-one will question. We live our normal lives never quite sure if we're trying to do aim for the right things, and never quite sure if we're doing it the right way. We spend our whole adult lives coping (and perhaps thriving) with that uncertainty. Some of us fantasize about "more simple" lives, ultimately because the reduction in choices and things to consider mean we can (hopefully) go about our lives with greater clarity. I don't know if "the real world" could be any other way. But perhaps on some level, we keep pushing people along this "bad career" (I don't think it's bad really... but that's a different discussion) because we all on some level want to believe that that idyllic, focused life can exist.
- sjg007 5y ago
  The only constant in life is change. The sooner you embrace uncertainty the sooner you move on and thrive.
  - alexanderdmitri 5y ago
    Worth noting, calculus and differentiation help alleviate some of the uncertainty around determining the rate and effects of change.
    - temp0826 5y ago
      I hope I can get my doctor to prescribe some
MisterBastahrd 5y ago
This hasn't been true in Olympic sports in decades, even for minor athletes who didn't place. "Olympian" is a good enough selling pitch for endorsement contracts.
- gilbetron 5y ago
  The giant names in the giant sports get money, the rest, not so much: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22586868/olympics-athletes-pay-medal-sponsors-ioc https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22586868/olympics-athletes-pay...

brobdingnagians 5y ago

I remember a presentation I listened to years ago by a woman who knew someone who decided to become an accountant or something like that instead of going into pro-football, which would have conflicted with some of his personal values. He never regretted the decision and had a very happy life as a successful normal person with plenty of time for his family and hobbies.

redis_mlc 5y ago
The average NFL player career is 3 years. So any profession is better financially long-term than the NFL, on average. Head coaches are well-paid, but often change cities, which causes family and housing issues (some build large, custom houses for occasional team meetings.)

Retric 5y ago

There are normally a lot of wins before you end up at the Olympics, those wins simply aren’t televised. Roughly, 1 in 750,000 people end up at each Olympics, simply going is a big deal. Even then most people realize they have zero chance of winning their event. Many would consider making the final to be a huge accomplishment.

HWR_14 5y ago

> with no monetary reward Many countries have a financial reward for medals. Russia gives you a new Mercedes, a six-figure USD sum and a lifetime pension for a gold (the Mercedes is for any medal, but the model gets worse.) (This was in 2014, I think they may have jiggered the reward since then). The US pays five-figures to any medal winner. I'm not saying that it's a good business decision, but it's definitely some compensation depending on the country. I also wonder how it works in smaller countries. If you are the gold medalist from your country do you get endorsements? Like, sure, the US team won X, but we have a lot of medals and how many people really care about that sport. As of today Iran has won one medal (a gold) and Kuwait has won one medal (a bronze). Are those people heroes back home? *Edit: Thanks to the person who corrected my spelling

TGImemegen 5y ago
Mercedes (if you mean the car)
- HWR_14 5y ago
  Thanks, fixed.
asicsp 5y ago
Every medal is cherished here in India and gets lot of coverage in media.
45ure 5y ago
There are some countries, which reward their athletes handsomely, either financially or via some form of compensation through benefits. However, you will generally find that they don't have a comprehensive program or a support network in place, and the historically low medal count might have a role to play. There are also detractors, who don't agree with the practice of paying for medals. https://old.reddit.com/r/olympics/comments/orije1/check_out_how_much_each_country_rewards_their/ https://old.reddit.com/r/olympics/comments/orije1/check_out_... https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/tokyo-olympics-how-much-athletes-earn.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/tokyo-olympics-how-much-athl... https://techpolicyinstitute.org/publications/miscellaneous/does-paying-olympians-for-winning-medals-make-them-more-likely-to-win/ https://techpolicyinstitute.org/publications/miscellaneous/d...
_fat_santa 5y ago
Even looking past the direct monetary benefits, I wonder if having "Former Olympian" on your resume will give you a boost looking for jobs. I've noticed that even after a small stint at a prestigious aerospace company, I still get calls that stem from folks seeing that on my resume, I would imagine being a former Olympian would give you a similar leg up.
dillondoyle 5y ago
That $ also pales in comparison to sponsorships for the more popular sports. Even the 'medium' sports, Brooke (climbing team USA) is in car commercials now. Though the small sports can still struggle to even get enough resources to train full time, USOC should work on that.

bobthechef 5y ago

Why the weird technical jargon? All you had to say was: people with certain talents can more easily fall into an unhealthy career when they are rewarded in ways that encourage them to continue on that career path.

epa 5y ago

To be an Olympian itself is a long time social reward for an individual. That will never lapse.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
reidjs 5y ago
Yes! Am I supposed to feel bad for olympic athletes now? That label instantly propels you into an higher status in society.
- scott_s 5y ago
  > Am I supposed to feel bad for olympic athletes now? No. That would be sympathy, where you feel bad because they feel bad. But empathy, where you understand their feelings would be good. Not just for Olympic athletes, but in general.

icegreentea2 5y ago

At least in the cases described by the author, the comedowns weren't because the world didn't care about if they won or lost - or if they got the release or not (or monetary reward). The comedown was about the loss of structure, degree of control, and clarity of goals. It's analogous to what I hear from many people (including in my head) when you finally get out of school into the real world. It's also (based on what I've read and heard - I certainly have no first hand experience), analogous to something that many veterans feel going into the "real world". The structure, clarity of purpose, knowing that everyone has more or less the same goals, knowing that you have non-trivial control to advance yourself towards your goal (winning gold, getting the grade, surviving the deployment, etc) which you know no-one will question. We live our normal lives never quite sure if we're trying to do aim for the right things, and never quite sure if we're doing it the right way. We spend our whole adult lives coping (and perhaps thriving) with that uncertainty. Some of us fantasize about "more simple" lives, ultimately because the reduction in choices and things to consider mean we can (hopefully) go about our lives with greater clarity. I don't know if "the real world" could be any other way. But perhaps on some level, we keep pushing people along this "bad career" (I don't think it's bad really... but that's a different discussion) because we all on some level want to believe that that idyllic, focused life can exist.

sjg007 5y ago
The only constant in life is change. The sooner you embrace uncertainty the sooner you move on and thrive.
- alexanderdmitri 5y ago
  Worth noting, calculus and differentiation help alleviate some of the uncertainty around determining the rate and effects of change.
  - temp0826 5y ago
    I hope I can get my doctor to prescribe some

MisterBastahrd 5y ago

This hasn't been true in Olympic sports in decades, even for minor athletes who didn't place. "Olympian" is a good enough selling pitch for endorsement contracts.

gilbetron 5y ago
The giant names in the giant sports get money, the rest, not so much: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22586868/olympics-athletes-pay-medal-sponsors-ioc https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22586868/olympics-athletes-pay...