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If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

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Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#21

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 »

fifilura wrote: post #13

I don't think the random sailor analogy is a perfect fit. If you guide your own direction too strictly you will both risk moving yourself into a dead end, but also miss out on unexpected opportunities.

But your opportunities depend partially on what you can actually do. In other words, optmize for your strengths, refine what works, remove what doesn't. Opportunities will come, but if you are not prepared based on your own predispositions, they are wasted on you anyway. Direction of the sailor of the sailor is but one factor in this.

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#22

Post by NegatioN »

Swizec wrote: post #6

My favorite lens on this comes from Hamming: > It is well known the drunken sailor whos taggers to the left or right n independent random steps will, on the average, end up about sqrt(n) steps from the origin. But if there is a pretty girl in one direction, then his steps will tend to go in that direction and he will go a distance proportional to n. In a lifetime of many, many independent choices, small and large, a…

I also really treasure that quote. Your visualization really made it hit home again though.

It does make me reflect on this piece I wrote 9(!!) years ago though, which hasn't completely materialized. I think I'm due for a re-alignment of priorities.

https://www.jrishaug.com/Who-do-you-want-to-be/

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#23

Post by y-curious »

nottorp wrote: post #5
ramon156 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Juniors fall into this pitfall so quick. Our newest hire actually set boundaries early on and I was pleasantly surprised

So it's the kind of work place where you have to set boundaries? :)

“Set your own boundaries, or someone else will do it for you”

Turtles all the way down

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#24

Post by NooneAtAll3 »

raincole wrote: post #17
Swizec wrote: post #6

My favorite lens on this comes from Hamming: > It is well known the drunken sailor whos taggers to the left or right n independent random steps will, on the average, end up about sqrt(n) steps from the origin. But if there is a pretty girl in one direction, then his steps will tend to go in that direction and he will go a distance proportional to n. In a lifetime of many, many independent choices, small and large, a…

Wait, are you saying that for a symmetrical random walk, the expected distance is of the order of sqrt(n), but even for a slightly biased random walk (like 0.5000001 chance to take right) it's of the order of n? Edit: well of course it is. I was thinking expected position (which should be 0) not distance

yep

"expected distance" is average abs(coordinate), so for biased walk (and big enough time) it's simply abs(bias)*time, and for unbiased it's deviation==sqrt(variance)

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#25

Post by raincole »

NooneAtAll3 wrote: post #24
raincole wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, are you saying that for a symmetrical random walk, the expected distance is of the order of sqrt(n), but even for a slightly biased random walk (like 0.5000001 chance to take right) it's of the order of n? Edit: well of course it is. I was thinking expected position (which should be 0) not distance

yep "expected distance" is average abs(coordinate), so for biased walk (and big enough time) it's simply abs(bias)*time, and for unbiased it's deviation==sqrt(variance)

Oh right, makes sense.

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#26

Post by jeffwass »

raincole wrote: post #17
Swizec wrote: post #6

My favorite lens on this comes from Hamming: > It is well known the drunken sailor whos taggers to the left or right n independent random steps will, on the average, end up about sqrt(n) steps from the origin. But if there is a pretty girl in one direction, then his steps will tend to go in that direction and he will go a distance proportional to n. In a lifetime of many, many independent choices, small and large, a…

Wait, are you saying that for a symmetrical random walk, the expected distance is of the order of sqrt(n), but even for a slightly biased random walk (like 0.5000001 chance to take right) it's of the order of n? Edit: well of course it is. I was thinking expected position (which should be 0) not distance

The “expected distance” is not what you think here.

For a binomial distribution of probability p and (1-p), after N steps the expectation value of right steps is Np.

The Variance is Np(1-p), so the standard deviation (or Root-Mean-Square) scales as Sqrt(N).

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#27

Post by keiferski »

The main thing missing from this IMO is an element of chance or randomness, the ability to incorporate “unknown unknowns” into your life. The most interesting people I’ve come across have had a variety of jobs, many of which they knew absolutely nothing about when starting out. There is a genuine value add when you’ve worked beyond the same white collar profession your entire working career.

In other words, the problem in designing your life is that you’re almost always going to pick things you already know. Maybe that gets you to the peak of your current profession over twenty years…but maybe some other job is actually a lot more fulfilling to you.

I’m not sure how to incorporate this into a young person’s real life experience, but I do think gap years, varied internships, volunteering, etc. are probably a good start.

I recently listened to a podcast with a guy that wrote a book advocating that young people spend 4 years getting a pilot’s license, working on a ranch, becoming an EMT, and various other useful skills/jobs. That seems like a great idea, although I didn’t like the hostility to traditional college he had in offering this plan.

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#28

Post by neuralkoi »

A lot of us live our lives according to the expectations of others (our parents, society, etc) because this is all we know how to do at first and what the "system" reinforces through school, career, etc. and this difference between what we want to do and what we actually end up doing can end up causing lots of suffering to ourselves (and to others).

I've seen fear as the primary obstacle to trying something different when the current route is not working. It's really hard to step outside the comfort zone in those situations.

Re: If you don't design your career, someone else will (2014)

#30

Post by ErigmolCt »

This reads a bit like classic self-help, but there's a solid point hiding underneath the platitudes. Most careers do get shaped by inertia: the projects you say yes to, the skills you accidentally accumulate, the expectations other people quietly set for you
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