This is really a lot more subjective than the write up makes it out to be. There's no generic algorithm for determining whether or not someone needs a new job.
What I say to people who are looking for a job
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Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#42Offtopic, but you now do "analytics on user behavior" at Salesforce. Do your analytics let you know that logging out my brower tabs overnight to show me some marketing bullshit is really f*king annoying?
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#43One piece of advice I like to give nowadays, is that if you don't know how to get to a goal, then do this: 1) Divide up that goal into pieces. 2) Take those initial pieces and divide that up. 3) Take one of the bits from 2, and create a lame, incomplete version of it 4) Keep polishing that bit until it's great The key steps are 3 and 4! It's hard to build even a small production ready component of something, even a v…
Speaking as someone writing a dissertation, I am here, at the end of 4, with a nice, shiny, well-polished bit that I am really proud of and a mountain of crap still to deal with!
It's really hard to go back and pick up the next bit, but it's due so soon . . . .
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#44The problem with this sort of advice is that how useful it is completely depends on where you are in life. Basically, it's targeted advice, but there's no disclaimer stating that. Arbitrary examples: - Someone fresh out of a Chemistry undergrad - A 40 year old laid off from their Walmart job with no savings - A 30 year old who's just had a successful startup exit - A young (say ~20) adult in a dead-end town ... etc T…
I don't think this is the problem. I think you assuming a short blog post like this is supposed to be a universal, generalized solution to job searching is the problem.
You can pretty much tell if this article is meant for you in about 1 minute.
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#45Wow, this is the most ridiculous "advice" ever. I mean, just absolutely absurd. So terrible and outlandish I'm convinced it must be satire. Either its satire or its written by someone incredibly far removed from reality.
There's a ton more to deciding on a career than "I pick the thing that I find most interesting." I mean, c'mon...
Other factors (not inclusive):
What's the pay? How important is pay vs enjoyment of the work? Are you willing to sacrifice pay to do something you love? Are you willing to do a "meh" job that pays well for a few years to save up so you are in good financial shape to follow your passion?
Are other people relying on your income? How does your job choices affect them?
Hours? Will you be on call? Shift work? Mandatory unpaid overtime? Will this effect your marriage? Social life?
Is travel required and can you travel?
What's the realistic job outlook? I might find baseball the most interesting thing in the world, but making that into a career isn't feasible for everyone but the best of the best of the best. If I did pursue baseball, then I'd have to be willing to endure a poverty wage in the minor leagues for years with a 99% probability of never being called up to the majors. Even if I wanted to work a non-player role, what's the competition? Do I stand a chance?
Is it a job that requires luck and/or knowing the right people to get hired?
What's your fallback if this doesn't work out?
Do you have to relocate? Are you ok with that?
Do you have to go [back] to school? Crunch the numbers, does it make financial sense to go [back] to school?
Is your spouse ok with all these choices? When you're married you are a team and negotiation must happen.
Are you ok with turning something you love into something you hate? That's the biggest issue with making a "passion" into a job, it can become a chore and you can grow to hate it. Just because you love doing it in your free time doesn't mean you will love doing it when you have to.
Just because you really enjoy something doesn't mean you're good enough for someone to pay you to do it. Be realistic here, most people aren't going to get paid to do a hobby.
Just because you really enjoy doing something for yourself doesn't mean you'd really enjoy doing something for someone else. If you love building websites for yourself using your own technology stack at your own pace doesn't mean you'd love building websites for someone else, to their exact specifications, with a technology stack you didn't choose, and half of it is maintaining someone else's legacy code.
Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit or are you happier with being a cog in the machine?
Consider health concerns.
Work life balance?
If you're interested in learning something, what's the barrier to entry? Do you have to buy a lot of expensive equipment to get started? If you do, do you have both the money and the physical space for this equipment? Is teaching yourself this activity dangerous?
If you pick a job based on "things I'm interested in," you miss out on the jobs you don't even know exist yet.
Most jobs you can't have as a "side project" first. You can't be an lawyer on the side to see if you'd like to make it a career. Nor can you be an optometrist, medical biller, security guard, nuclear engineer, HVAC technician, veterinarian, offshore oil rigger, flight attendant, police officer, solider, mortician, plus an a million other things.
Finally, in the real world most jobs aren't particularity interesting nor do they usually give you "energy"! Learn to deal with it, this is real life, not some fantasy land. If you get to turn something you enjoy into something you are paid handsomely for, you're incredibly lucky. 99% of jobs out there are simply a means to an end.
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#46what if I don't have money?
It won't be convenient, but nearly anyone with the internet, a laptop, and a lot of time and perseverance can get a well paying job today.
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#47The problem with this sort of advice is that how useful it is completely depends on where you are in life. Basically, it's targeted advice, but there's no disclaimer stating that. Arbitrary examples: - Someone fresh out of a Chemistry undergrad - A 40 year old laid off from their Walmart job with no savings - A 30 year old who's just had a successful startup exit - A young (say ~20) adult in a dead-end town ... etc T…
I don't think this is the problem. I think you assuming a short blog post like this is supposed to be a universal, generalized solution to job searching is the problem. You can pretty much tell if this article is meant for you in about 1 minute.
No, the problem is it's mis-titled. It should probably say something like "What I say to people who are looking for a job in tech" or something.
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#48I have one major problem with this advice. This advice is only actionable for people who either already have financial security and can afford to take time off, or who don't have day to day responsibilities that demand your spare time, like childcare.
If you have all of that spare time, then by all means try to follow that advice. But if you're short on time for life or financial reasons, it's much trickier, and you have to find ways to make many small adjustments to get to a career change.
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think this is the problem. I think you assuming a short blog post like this is supposed to be a universal, generalized solution to job searching is the problem. You can pretty much tell if this article is meant for you in about 1 minute.
No, the problem is it's mis-titled. It should probably say something like "What I say to people who are looking for a job in tech" or something.
Yes why don't we all account for every edge case in every single thing we say. Perhaps it should have been, "What I sometimes say to some people who are looking for a job in specific industries in certain age groups in given regions of the world, provided they have the resources, intelligence, financial security, and time to do so."
It's a casual blog post not a piece of code.
Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, the problem is it's mis-titled. It should probably say something like "What I say to people who are looking for a job in tech" or something.
Yes why don't we all account for every edge case in every single thing we say. Perhaps it should have been, "What I sometimes say to some people who are looking for a job in specific industries in certain age groups in given regions of the world, provided they have the resources, intelligence, financial security, and time to do so." It's a casual blog post not a piece of code.
You're not even giving my post a good-faith reading. I suggested adding two words to the title to make the post far better and more specific, not adding a 32-word mini post in the title. Do you really believe that's what I was suggesting, or are you just trolling and looking for an excuse to downvote?