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Maybe it's the youth in me, but I wholly and fully agree with PG here, and I strive to live by it. However, there's another fascinating school of thought that I
by pncnmnp 2y ago
Maybe it's the youth in me, but I wholly and fully agree with PG here, and I strive to live by it. However, there's another fascinating school of thought that I read about back when I was an undergrad. It comes from Richard Muller, who used to be quite active on Quora back in the day:
> “Follow your passion” or the similar “Follow your dreams.” I’ve seen this advice lead people into paths in which they could not have productive lives or support themselves or families.
> With this advice, many kids will choose to become professional athletes, and then fail. My daughter (Elizabeth Muller) once wanted to become a professional dancer. I think she is very glad now that she instead went to UC San Diego, majored in math and literature, and got a masters degree in international management. (She is now the CEO of our non-profit BerkeleyEarth.org.) One of her friends, in contrast, decided to become a professional bicycle racer (encouraged by her parents) and she now supports herself by selling and repairing bicycles. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think it was what she envisioned when she took this career path.
> I suggest to children that before they set out on a career path, they consider what will happen if they are the 1000th best in the field. If your field is boxing, you will either be completely out of work, be a sparring partner, or (if you are lucky) be running your own gym. (Or, maybe, you’ll be an enforcer for some mob.) If you are a ballet dancer, it is unlikely that you will be performing; you will probably be teaching children how to dance ballet. If your field is physics or math, you will have very good income, have the respect of your neighbors (maybe they’ll think you are a genius), and a good diverse and productive life.
> I suggest instead that you teach children to try to plan their future lives, to design their futures. They should approach it as they would a challenging homework problem. Learn more about possible careers, and what they are like. Don’t choose too early, since many careers (running Berkeley Earth?) are not obvious to a youngster. Get a broad education, and do a good job at it. Study hard and learn. Get familiar with the world. Beware of childhood passions; they are based on a limited experience, and may not be a good choice for a career.
I'm not sure how to share the link to the post itself: https://www.quora.com/What-is-in-your-opinion-the-most-damaging-advice-people-can-give-to-children https://www.quora.com/What-is-in-your-opinion-the-most-damag...
- titanomachy 2y agoBold to assume that someone managing daddy's nonprofit foundation is happier and more fulfilled than someone fixing and selling bikes for a living.
- geomark 2y agoAt a big electronics hardware company a group of us EEs would talk about our dream of owning a bike shop almost every day.
- nine_k 2y agoDoes a bike shop owner make comparable money to an EE in a large company? How about medical insurance for themselves and the family? As a bike shop owner, what do you do when a customer brings clearly a stolen bike? It's nice to theorize about an idyllic life if you only think about the idyllic surface of it, from inside of a less idyllic but better-off life.
- grecy 2y agoAlong similar lines, I never really pictured what being a software engineer would be like. I like solving problems and working with smart people, but sitting inside all day at a computer just isn’t for me. Sunny outside? Sit inside all day. Snowing? Sit inside. Stunning fall colours? Sit inside. After a few years I had to stop. That is not the life I wanted. Now I adventure around the world, write books and sell stories freelance to magazines. I have way less money, and I am way happier.
- SenHeng 2y agoI too, could never imagine what being a software engineer would be like. Sunny outside? Work from the deck chairs on the roof. Snowing? Grab a seat by the window and enjoy the view. Stunning fall colours? Great day to work at the park. And that was before I went full remote.
- grecy 2y agoSorry I wasn’t more clear. When it is sunny I go hiking. When it is snowing I go snowboarding. When the fall colours are out I go mountain biking. Then when it’s dark I write articles about that stuff, working the least amount possible.
- anish210 2y agoCould you elaborate more on what it is you do? I'm a current college student studying math. I enjoy what I study a lot, but don't think I could cut it as a mathematician. At the end of the day, I don't care much for money on its own, but I do accept that it is needed to enjoy the true freedom and enjoyment of life you describe. But, as such, I've had to look at jobs that seem kind of bleak to me, but do pay nicely like software engineering(I know that there are some very very interesting software engineering positions, but these are far and few and I'm personally not interested in AI). If I could skip this intermediate step, that would be awesome, so naturally I'm really curious what you do/how you started?
- 2y ago
- nonameiguess 2y ago> One of her friends, in contrast, decided to become a professional bicycle racer (encouraged by her parents) and she now supports herself by selling and repairing bicycles. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think it was what she envisioned when she took this career path. This can happen even if you're literally #1 in the world at one point. Floyd Landis now runs a bicycle shop.