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Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

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Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#161

Post by csallen »

People have very limited notions of what a business is. At its core, a business is just a project or activity that's capable of sustaining itself financially. That's it. There are no other requirements.

There are some super creative businesses out there, with an unimaginable number of possibilities still unexplored. The Internet has made this even more extreme. By connecting everyone on Earth to everyone else, it's made extremely specific niche businesses quite viable. If only 3 in 100,000 people are Japanese candy aficionados, then most cities aren't big enough to start a business around that. But on the Internet that business can exist, because 3 out of every 100k in a pool of billions is a LOT of people.

TL;DR - Most people are perfectly capable of creating a business that suits them.

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#162

Post by new2628 »

beaker52 wrote: post #141

That people sometimes do shitty things, make mistakes or let me down, and no matter what, if I squint - I can see myself. That I'm not always right, or always better than Joe. And that: I'm not always wrong, and Bob is not always better than me. That we might hit our deadline. And the world will still be there if we don't. That people do things I don't understand, for reasons I will never see or be able to anticipate…

Marcus Aurelius and Seneca would like to have a word with you.

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#163

Post by lvturner »

KozmoNau7 wrote: post #25
andykx wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the years go by, I find myself craving a job with a physical labor component to it. A friend of mine studied enology (wine making) at Cornell and his job is about 50% business management and 50% wine making. Some days he has to wear a suit to work, other days he comes home in a wine stained smock. It seems like a good balance.

Some here. 12 years in IT, and I dream of a job where I get to be outside in nature, perhaps forestry. I have friends who work in various construction fields, so I know it can be miserable and cold and dirty and hard on your body, and that people tend to romanticize outdoor jobs. Still, I've never been one to be bothered by cold or reasonable amounts of rain, as long as the appropriate clothing is available.

12 years in IT here too - now working for an AgriTech

After spending a few days bolting heavy steel pipes into place in the scorching sun I realised I quite like the comfort of the office ;-)

Though it is fun to go onto the absolute front lines and get your hands dirty and the feeling of satisfaction on completing a physical job can be very high.

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#164

Post by 0xabe »

usrme wrote: post #20
cwojno wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Holy shit, this.

Let me recommend to you "Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams" by Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister (go with the 3rd edition) and "The Mythical Man-Month" by Frederick P. Brooks Jr. (go with the anniversary edition). Both books expound the idea that most software projects fail not because lack of technology or innovation, but rather due to the mismanagement of people and a lack of understanding how teams work.

Anything specific about the 3rd ed of “Peopleware” as opposed to the 2nd? Thanks

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#165

Post by muzani »

Antoninus wrote: post #96

I'm a developer like many people here. One thing that people who don't program don't realize is that its a laborious job. It seems like its a fun job with lots of 'hanging out' but its more like 4-5 hours a day / 5 days week looking at a text editor and a terminal trying to focus and not be distracted. At the end of the day, I'm exhausted

I've done all kinds of jobs. I'd take a 14 hour physical labor job over a 8 hour mental labor job anytime. Mental labor is painful... in the form that stalling the main thread of something is.

But that's data entry. Development is much less mental labor, and I'd agree with the 4-5 hours/day assessment.

Most people can't actually do this, which is why a lot of people hate math. Math class is dealing with intense focus on a poorly documented thing. Development has little to do with it, but it's the same soft skill.

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#166

Post by galfarragem »

TrackerFF wrote: post #47

(preface: I worked a string of manual labor jobs before and during college) A lot of the (now) coveted trade jobs can seem like a very tempting alternative to crushing college debt and volatile job security, but truth be told, many of these trades are plagued with physical injuries, sudden unemployment, and what not. Furthermore, you deal with A LOT more shady people (employers, customers / clients, suppliers, you na…

The downside of trades is that most people are there only for the money. From this you can derive the rest.

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#168

Post by 2sk21 »

Waterluvian wrote: post #137

Life is fleeting. Most of us here are 1/3 or more of the way done. Divest yourself as much as possible from your job. Find other sources of identity. You don't need that fancy car or to buy a boat as much as you need that ejector seat savings account. And when you realise that conditions have evolved to a point where you're not having fun anymore (and they always eventually do), eject yourself and go spend far more t…

Excellent advice. I would also suggest reading the book "Your money or your life" by Vicki Robbin about achieving financial independence as early as possible.

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#169

Post by fxtentacle »

webew wrote: post #154
fxtentacle wrote: post #146

How much feel good and drinking relationships matter in upper management. And on the downside, how little facts weight in when compared to a manager's gut feeling. Enthusiastically presenting a (factually wrong) solution can be a winning strategy. In high school, I thought I was a math genius because all of my solutions were judged as correct. Turns out, I was just a good presenter and nobody made any effort to check…

This is what would now be termed a "blackpill".

No, I didn't mean things in that sort of "nothing you can do about the sad truth" way. Instead, I consider this actionable advice.

- Spend time hanging out with other guys talking about shared hobbies

- When you like your results, make sure people can see your enthusiasm

- Help people look good in front of their peers and they will buy

- As a contractor, do what the customer wants, not what you like best

- Before you spend the time to build something, research that your intended customer can and will buy it

- Don't worry if people complain about your stuff. They always do, even if they get rich by using your tools.

BTW, googling for Blackpill sure yields odd results:

"What Is The Black Pill? A Closer Look Inside The New Red Pill"

followed by 2 huge advertisements:

"10x your attractiveness to women - Click Here" "Accidental discovery reveals the exact body type women want - Click Here"

followed by a full-width picture of 10 naked models barely covered with what looks like a furry blanket.

Re: Ask HN: What has your work taught you that other people don't realize?

#170

Post by necovek »

roenxi wrote: post #103
collyw wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having worked filling shelves in a supermarket, I disagree that it applies to every field.

People can master nearly anything and stand out; boring physical labour is actually one where there are obvious things to be amazing it. It may not earn people a pay raise, but there will be a noticeable and impressive difference between an expert shelf-stacker and someone killing time for money. That being said there are a lot of jobs where I have difficulty imagining what mastery looks like; say in an automated, lo…

When driving a car, I tend to optimise (my wife would say overoptimise) for everyone's efficiency, and I am sure a lot of that can be applied to bus driving — for instance, many of them will stop too close to a red traffic light, so cars in adjacent lanes can't see them when they are only on the that side of the street.
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