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If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

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Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#91

Post by ThomPete »

toxicflavor wrote: post #90
mahmud wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a false dichotomy. The issue is not doing crap work, the issue is doing it reluctantly . If you put a little effort into your work and think of the big picture, even the stupidest job can be considered a success if you pair it with a solid Plan-B and an exit strategy. Work on crap, but also work on your dreams while at it. What do you have to give up beside TV and idling? I bet this English graduate did nothin…

It's not a false dichotomy. It's not true to say that life is too short to spend doing crap work because some people don't have the choice to make a living in any other way, no matter how reluctant their decision is and no matter how much it cuts against their dreams.

I don't buy that.

Have you ever read Fish? http://www.charthouse.com/productdetail.aspx?nodeid=11010

There is an art to everything it's just a matter of finding it and you can learn a great deal from even the most tedious work.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#92

Post by sabat »

reynolds wrote: post #77
sabat wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if they turned you down? Then what? Eventually, after scores of weeks of silence, you'd start blanketing too.

> after scores of weeks of silence, you'd start blanketing too. Actually I wouldn't, but my situation is probably different than most people just looking for a job. I wouldn't let it get to weeks of silence. I'd just move on.

I meant after weeks of sending out resumes to companies you wanted to work, and hearing nothing back. That would be most people's experience.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#93

Post by jacquesm »

lee wrote: post #51

I read a lot of comments mentioning how the author is overqualified for the jobs he's applying to. But we've gotta consider two things: 1) We're currently in a depression/recession. Jobs are scarce out there. 2) He has a Masters degree in English! Compared to most of us on Hacker News, we don't have experience job hunting with an arts degree.

One mans recession is another mans opportunity.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#94

Post by Eliezer »

shadowfox wrote: post #49
michael_nielsen wrote: post #37

I like the converse: "If you're so rich, why aren't you smart?" It's attributed to MIT's Paul Cootner, supposedly as a comeback to a money manager who asked him why, if Cootner was so smart, he wasn't rich?

That response didnt make much sense to me :(

It's the equivalent of saying "Yes, Madam, and you are ugly, but I will be sober tomorrow." If you're smart but not rich, you can try to get rich. What do you do if you're rich but not smart?

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#95

Post by Ardit20 »

jbooth wrote: post #74
shadowfox wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That response didnt make much sense to me :(

Who's smarter? Money manager guy who does a good job of getting paid in a system that is universally regarded as broken and overpaying everyone involved to do a crappy job, or the professor who reinvents some area of science but only makes 90k? Depends on your definition of smart.

Which definition are you using and what's the alternative definition and what are the pros and cons, that way only I guess can we find if the rich guy or the smart but relatively poorer guy is smarter.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#96

Post by tannerburson »

lsc wrote: post #46
SMrF wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally sympathize and if you are on the startup path it sounds like quiting was the right move. But I think your expectations for an entry level job are too high. One thing newly minted adults would do well to realize is your first few years at any job are going to be spent doing the grunt work. If you go into it expecting to spend your days oscillating between mind numbing boredom and hectic days filled with busy…

>One thing newly minted adults would do well to realize is your first few years at any job are going to be spent doing the grunt work. Is this what most people experience? The earliest bits of my career consisted of me getting thrown in to situations for which I was in no way qualified, then being expected to sink or swim without much help. Often nobody at the company really knew how to do the job I was hired for. Gr…

Your experience pretty well mirrors my own.

My first several jobs I was thrown into the deep end and expected to find my own way back up. Typically about the time I'd get a solid handle on what I needed to do, the job turned into something I was much less interested in.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#97

Post by kd0amg »

cparedes wrote: post #47
reynolds wrote: post #29

I don't get the mentality of sending out thousands of resumes. I sent out one to get my current job because I wanted to work there.

I don't get it, either. Most of the jobs I've applied for after I've graduated college, I was able to get at least an in person interview, and several times, was able to juggle between several offers; I've only applied to roughly five or six jobs in my whole career so far. Why? Because I actually took the time to look at their website, see if it was something I was interested in, and even come up with work-related qu…

I was able to get at least an in person interview, and several times, was able to juggle between several offers

This alone suggests you were in a somewhat different situation than that of the author. Resume carpet-bombing is what people seem to eventually do when they aren't getting offers.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#98

Post by toxicflavor »

ThomPete wrote: post #91
toxicflavor wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a false dichotomy. It's not true to say that life is too short to spend doing crap work because some people don't have the choice to make a living in any other way, no matter how reluctant their decision is and no matter how much it cuts against their dreams.

I don't buy that. Have you ever read Fish? http://www.charthouse.com/productdetail.aspx?nodeid=11010 There is an art to everything it's just a matter of finding it and you can learn a great deal from even the most tedious work.

"There is an art to everything it's just a matter of finding it and you can learn a great deal from even the most tedious work."

Go down to your local sweatshop and try telling that to some of the people working there. See what they have to say about it.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#99

Post by amohr »

ergo98 wrote: post #63

While I think this story is largely fictitious, when someone argues that they're downtrodden and victimized because they sound smart -- in verbal or written form -- they're often missing the forest for the trees. Unless you're debating esoterica of a specialized domain, the smartest people manage to communicate in a simple, effective manner(1). The person accused of using too many syllables, in contrast, tends to be…

I know it's hard to believe, but there are people who legitimately enjoy finding the exact right word. This is like trashing someone for working on an open source project - they're just doing something they love the best they know how. In this case it's not strategically optimal and finding that out was a (perhaps overdue) shock.

Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

#100

Post by Ardit20 »

sliverstorm wrote: post #60
klochner wrote: post #30

Are hard to read font colors a new trend or something? #666666 for body text makes my eyes bleed

That's because #666666 is the color of The Beast.

and it is not optimal contrast with the white background, nor black for that matter.
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