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Career Asymtotes

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Re: Career Asymtotes

#41

Post by 1970-01-01 »

cortesoft wrote: post #22
1970-01-01 wrote: post #16

I think this is the first time I disagree with everything said. A properly motivated man can be whatever they want. Astronaut is absolutely within reach, along with anything else, with the exception of POTUS if you weren't born on US soil. Do not conflate your lack of 110% motivation to a cause/goal/solution as lies.

I know that you know this isn’t true. You are telling me the only thing keeping a guy in a wheelchair out of the NBA is motivation? As for astronauts, NASA has a height limit of 193cm to be on a flight crew, so no amount of motivation is going to let a 6’6” guy be an astronaut. These are the easy and obvious counters to your assertion that motivation is all it takes to be anything, but it is even true at most things.…

NWBA is a legit basketball league with pro athletes. NASA may limit your astronaut dreams due to height but SpaceX won't. You state easy and obvious concerns, yet they all are self limiting..

Re: Career Asymtotes

#42

Post by koakuma-chan »

brian_cunnie wrote: post #12

Measuring oneself as an engineer by the title of the salary band you're in is a disservice. I remember at Bell Labs they had one title: MTS (Member of Technical Staff). You were an engineer, and that was that. (disclaimer: there were a handful of DMTSes (Distinguished Member of Technical Staff)). No one said, "I'm an E7" or "I'm a Staff Engineer II". Those statements strike me as distasteful. And begs the question if…

[flagged]

Re: Career Asymtotes

#43

Post by 1970-01-01 »

sushisource wrote: post #20
1970-01-01 wrote: post #16

I think this is the first time I disagree with everything said. A properly motivated man can be whatever they want. Astronaut is absolutely within reach, along with anything else, with the exception of POTUS if you weren't born on US soil. Do not conflate your lack of 110% motivation to a cause/goal/solution as lies.

I mean that's just obviously, objectively, not true. If you're born with 12-inch legs you are _not_ going to be an elite marathon runner. Heck, even if you're born with average genetics, you're not going to be an elite runner. What would make us think the same thing isn't true of mental activities? Obviously there's a lot more noise in the signal, and it's a lot more subjective, but there's pretty much 0% chance that…

>I mean that's just obviously, objectively, not true. If you're born with 12-inch legs you are _not_ going to be an elite marathon runner

My empiric objection is simply to watch this video. Everything here is objectively true:

https://youtu.be/cEItmb_a20M

Re: Career Asymtotes

#44

Post by 1970-01-01 »

hollerith wrote: post #40
1970-01-01 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. There are literally thousands of sports doctors and coaches willing to work with you. Nothing is stopping you but your high horse. Work with what you have and just do it.

I hope you are being sarcastic (even though that is unlikely).

Nope.

Re: Career Asymtotes

#46

Post by dmoy »

almostgotcaught wrote: post #25
dmoy wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> are effectively money you can bank and that's the only thing that matters We may have to agree to disagree here. Not even just talking about the case where someone's worked in the tech industry long enough with a low enough expense lifestyle that money literally does not matter to them anymore ... A lot of people will work specific jobs not because they're trying to optimize for the most possible money.

> Not even just talking about the case where someone's worked in the tech industry long enough with a low enough expense lifestyle that money literally does not matter to them anymore... This is the most out of touch (and also irrelevant) take you can have. I work in FAANG in the bay. The people around me are solid upper middle class but mortgages, day care, regular cars, medical bills, aging parents, college tuition…

> This is the most out of touch (and also irrelevant) take you can have. I work in FAANG in the bay. The people around me are solid upper middle class but mortgages, day care, regular cars, medical bills, aging parents, college tuitions, etc etc etc mean very few of them can retire today and continue to live in the same place.

I don't know the particulars of your budget, but up here in Seattle an FAANG E5/L5/etc makes over 3x median Seattle household income. And has medical insurance with like a I've met quite a few FAANG who've been at it long enough with a modest enough lifestyle that they don't need to work after 20 years. Some quit, some quit and moved to cheaper local, but some are still at it 'cus they like the problem solving.

I've also met several FAANG who bought a house worth 5x their income, are saving for $100k/yr of private Uni for 2-3 kids, drive $100k cars, etc, and save It's all tradeoffs.

And yea probably earning 3x median income makes someone out of touch to begin with. But what you do after that income is kinda up to you, and different choices yield different possibilities.

> Then you just work in a completely universe than I do because at every single job I've ever had, from lowly bus boy to FAANG ML engineer, not a single person has ever said to me "I'm doing this for the love of it". Quite the opposite in fact - many people I know would quit at the drop a hat if not for "golden handcuffs".

Well you can count me as one. I've met several others, and was on a team where most were like that for awhile.

Re: Career Asymtotes

#47

Post by prmph »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #16

I think this is the first time I disagree with everything said. A properly motivated man can be whatever they want. Astronaut is absolutely within reach, along with anything else, with the exception of POTUS if you weren't born on US soil. Do not conflate your lack of 110% motivation to a cause/goal/solution as lies.

I think you are confusing physical possibility with statistical probability.

And even physically, some things are just what they are. You can't escape death; you can't escape from a black hole, etc. You may claim these things may be possible in the future, but we are talking about what is currently possible.

But, the main way to understand the argument being made is: even if something is physically possible, if it is guaranteed that only say 10% people of people will achieve it, then you need to manage your expectations. It is exactly the same reason why gambling is a bad idea. In the aggregate, you are guaranteed to lose

A lot of grief arises because people ignore this basic concept. And, a lot of things in life are zero-sum: not all employees can be at the top level, otherwise that loses its meaning. Similarly, not all citizens can be president, not all people can be rich, etc.

Re: Career Asymtotes

#48

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #39
raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am 5 foot four and was born with a limp, do you think if I tried really hard I could have been a pro basketball player? The entire idea that anyone can do anything they put their mind to is a lie. There are all sorts of path dependencies that limit what people can do.

Yes. There are literally thousands of sports doctors and coaches willing to work with you. Nothing is stopping you but your high horse. Work with what you have and just do it.

So you are saying at 51 i still have a chance?

Re: Career Asymtotes

#49

Post by AaronAPU »

cortesoft wrote: post #24

I have often felt a little out of place when I hear how focused on career growth some people are. I was excited to advance the first few years of my career, but it didn’t take long for me to realize I just didn’t have the desire or need to keep trying to climb the career ladder. Once I started making good money working on problems I enjoyed with the level of respect and autonomy I desired, I stopped even thinking abo…

My career goal was always to keep programming, because it was what I enjoyed doing the most. I resisted every single move which would result in doing things other than programming.

It wasn’t a good approach for money making, but at least the primary goal was achieved.

No idea which path would’ve been a better life with all things considered.

Re: Career Asymtotes

#50

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

hollerith wrote: post #45
1970-01-01 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope.

I wonder whether there are people who believe like you do in every country or whether it is specific to the US.

This is the kind of thinking that keeps poor America - especially rural America voting for policies that help the rich. They think they some day they may be able to take advantage of policies that help people making 10x what they make - ie they are only “temporarily poor”
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