Sam Walton was about 45 when he started walmart. I've made career pivots several times, most recently this year, at age ~39. Just do whatever you're interested in... major pivots require the willingness and stamina to drink from a firehouse, so keep that in mind.
Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
21–30 of 305 posts
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#22There is a distinction in paid work between the skill components and the social components. Very often seemingly high skill positions turn out to be given to/occupied by someone who only has social components- dresses well, is young, demonstrates aggressive behaviors, etc.
Though his 10k hours for mastery of skillset thesis has been disproven- in the context that there does seem to be "talent" that cannot be "practiced"- I believe it myself and have observed substantial learning at older ages. However, for yourself I would question whether learning the skills is really what is required or are expectations and social components the more difficult obstacle to overcome.
Good luck.
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#23The rule is bullshit and the truth at the same time.
Just imagine playing guitar from the beginning until you reach 10000 h of physical practice. Just say.. 10h a day ..that would mean 3 years of extensive training. You for sure will be a Master after that.
Or, just assume everyday 1h of practicing. That's 10000 days.. something like 30 years..
So this rule doesn't mean you can't be a Master if you didn't invest 10k h of practicing, but rather, no matter what you do,if you do it for 3 +x years, you sure will be a Master at that.
Bullshit truth!
Go for it, if it's something you can enjoy.
Go for it, if you can use your aforequainted knowledge.
Go for it, if you see some chances for being able to say "it enables me to work more for myself and less for one another".
Go for it, if your life needs a complete change.
But keep in mind, that you may need to lower your spendings. If you can't lower your spendings for some reason - then, think twice about switching careers. It's up to you, whether you can cope with possibly lower income.
Keep us informed:)
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#24I found a great article searching through Hacker News the other day - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32497780 It's appropriately called "There’s no speed limit". A lot of rules from there apply here as well. It's about a guy who finished college in 2 years, if I remember correctly. I've written it down on my white-board and remind myself about it everyday. Thought you might find it useful. P.S. I'm working on b…
Love Derek and his aphorisms and came here to share the same.
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#25I found a great article searching through Hacker News the other day - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32497780 It's appropriately called "There’s no speed limit". A lot of rules from there apply here as well. It's about a guy who finished college in 2 years, if I remember correctly. I've written it down on my white-board and remind myself about it everyday. Thought you might find it useful. P.S. I'm working on b…
Love Derek and his aphorisms and came here to share the same.
Btw Any take on this? https://sive.rs/h Just discovered it.
Love this quote and it seems fitting here - "Many books believe they know how you should live. But each book disagrees with the next. In “How to Live”, each chapter believes it knows how you should live. And each chapter disagrees with the next."
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#26Forget about the 10k myth. I think it's absolutely feasible to switch careers at your age, and I assume it's software development you're thinking of. I think half a year to a year of intense study and practice should be enough to make you employable.
But first, figure out if this is something you would like doing. Take a course like e.g. this https://www.coursera.org/learn/python for a month (you can audit it for free) and see if you actually like programming. If you do, carry on.
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#27You don't have to master anything to switch careers. I switched careers from marketing to software development at 37 yo. It took me 8 months of full-time study (I had the privilege to be able to quit my job to do that) to get my first job as a front-end developer. Now, 5 years later, I think it was the best professional decision I have ever made in my life. I am much happier doing daily work than before and, now, I e…
I’d love to hear more about this switch as a family member is considering something similar as a 42 y/o.
If you don’t mind, was it long ago that you made this switch? Was there anything that you’d do differently in retrospect?
The big one I guess: do you feel that not having gone the “traditional” route made it more difficult to find roles in the early days?
Feel free not to answer if too invasive but I’d find any info really helpful.
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#28Are you switching jobs to something completely different, where absolutely none of your current skills are transferrable? Given your age, that seems unlikely, as you've probably chalked up a fair amount of experience in various areas.
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#29My opinion: * The 10000 hour rule is nonsense. There are skills that require very much practice, and a lot of those are unattainable for most people. You could practice 10,000 hours on the violin or playing chess without reaching the lofty heights of Hahn or Magnusson. That does require some kind of "talent". * Many other skills can be acquired in much less time, certainly if you don't start from scratch. E.g., learn…
> You could practice 10,000 hours on the violin or playing chess without reaching the lofty heights of Hahn or Magnusson.
Without commenting on whether the 10k rule was reasonable, you're shifting goalposts. It was never the claim that it only took 10k hours to be the best in the world.
Re: Ask HN: 10k hours rule to master anything. Could I switch career when I am 43?
#30I think you first need to be honest with yourself about a few things, at least these:
A) What does being a master really means to me? Others respect? Peer recognition? Work autonomy? B) Am I willing to change careers knowing I will never be a master in it? C) Does the trade-off of changing from a career that I master to a career that I will never master worth it?
In your question there's already an implied NO, do not change, because being a master seems important to you.
Regarding mastery, it's always difficult to achieve it, starting at 20 years old or starting at 50 years old. Most people don't achieve it, they just feel comfortable after a while.