4 ms·

Maybe the correlation isn't education => low paying jobs, but motivation => low paying jobs? I've seen a lot of people just "settle" with a crappy job which pa

Maybe the correlation isn't education => low paying jobs, but motivation => low paying jobs? I've seen a lot of people just "settle" with a crappy job which pays poorly just because they aren't motivated to go find something better or more challenging on a day-to-day basis. Some of these people have gone through college, some haven't.

deedubaya 12y ago
Whoa, why the downvotes? Did I strike a nerve?
- WalterSear 12y ago
  You didn't contribute anything useful to the discussion.
  - deedubaya 12y ago
    > You didn't contribute anything useful to the discussion. I purposed an alternative possibility! Ha, what a joke!
jellicle 12y ago
You can see that the population gets these sudden bursts of laziness over time, which oddly are correlated with the business cycle: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/an-epidemic-of-laziness/ http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/an-epidemic-of-laziness... Lazy takers!
- deedubaya 12y ago
  I knew something like this would be a reply, of course. I'm not talking in absolutes. I'm just suggesting that the correlation that the article assumes is correct may not be the only reason based off of my personal observations, that's all.
snowwrestler 12y ago
The above will be a controversial post because there are plenty of highly motivated people who work hard but never get rich. For example a day laborer construction worker has to get up very early, perform tiring physical labor all day, and then do it again the next day. Many work more than 5 days per week to make ends meet. I bet that not many web developers could make it as a day laborer for long! That said, the question of "motivation" now has a deeper subtext thanks to recent research on early childhood development and the impact of family and community on each individual's development and achievement. Rather than an inherent personal quality (which is easily corrupted into a proxy for "worth" or "deserving"), we are learning that motivation is heavily influenced by factors outside a child's control, like how much loving attention they receive, how many words they hear per hour, the level of violence they witness or experience, the number of books in their home, the professional success of their parent or parents, the average socio-economic level of success in their school district, etc. So, to say that maybe the answer is motivation, is not as much of an answer as it used to be. Now we want to know where motivation comes from, and what we can do to improve that.
- deedubaya 12y ago
  > So, to say that maybe the answer is motivation, is not as much of an answer as it used to be. Definitely. It's sad that these outside factors influence something so important, but that doesn't change the fact that some people are motivated and some are not, does it?
  - danans 12y ago
    I think the point is that there are systemic factors that affect motivation that far swamp out an individual's drive, especially in their formative years. These can include, but are not limited to: violence and trauma in one's community and family, lack of reliable parents or positive role models in one's community, childhood economic pressure towards physical survival and meeting basic day-to-day needs. These are all things that individuals born into poverty in the US face at disproportionate levels, and they can have a negative effect on motivation. We generally don't fault people for the very harsh circumstances they are born into.

deedubaya 12y ago

Whoa, why the downvotes? Did I strike a nerve?

WalterSear 12y ago
You didn't contribute anything useful to the discussion.
- deedubaya 12y ago
  > You didn't contribute anything useful to the discussion. I purposed an alternative possibility! Ha, what a joke!

jellicle 12y ago

You can see that the population gets these sudden bursts of laziness over time, which oddly are correlated with the business cycle: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/an-epidemic-of-laziness/ http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/03/an-epidemic-of-laziness... Lazy takers!

deedubaya 12y ago
I knew something like this would be a reply, of course. I'm not talking in absolutes. I'm just suggesting that the correlation that the article assumes is correct may not be the only reason based off of my personal observations, that's all.

snowwrestler 12y ago

The above will be a controversial post because there are plenty of highly motivated people who work hard but never get rich. For example a day laborer construction worker has to get up very early, perform tiring physical labor all day, and then do it again the next day. Many work more than 5 days per week to make ends meet. I bet that not many web developers could make it as a day laborer for long! That said, the question of "motivation" now has a deeper subtext thanks to recent research on early childhood development and the impact of family and community on each individual's development and achievement. Rather than an inherent personal quality (which is easily corrupted into a proxy for "worth" or "deserving"), we are learning that motivation is heavily influenced by factors outside a child's control, like how much loving attention they receive, how many words they hear per hour, the level of violence they witness or experience, the number of books in their home, the professional success of their parent or parents, the average socio-economic level of success in their school district, etc. So, to say that maybe the answer is motivation, is not as much of an answer as it used to be. Now we want to know where motivation comes from, and what we can do to improve that.

deedubaya 12y ago
> So, to say that maybe the answer is motivation, is not as much of an answer as it used to be. Definitely. It's sad that these outside factors influence something so important, but that doesn't change the fact that some people are motivated and some are not, does it?
- danans 12y ago
  I think the point is that there are systemic factors that affect motivation that far swamp out an individual's drive, especially in their formative years. These can include, but are not limited to: violence and trauma in one's community and family, lack of reliable parents or positive role models in one's community, childhood economic pressure towards physical survival and meeting basic day-to-day needs. These are all things that individuals born into poverty in the US face at disproportionate levels, and they can have a negative effect on motivation. We generally don't fault people for the very harsh circumstances they are born into.