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Career advice for people with bad luck

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Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#431

Post by xenihn »

worik wrote: post #372
pmiller2 wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah, having money is nice, As someone who was broke for many years and now is less broke (cash is flowing, there's money in my accounts, but I'm deeply in negative net worth due to student debt), I think you're understating the issue, vastly. Simply put, money is freedom. If you have it, you can do things people who don't have it can't. If you have enough of it, you can do just about anything. And, I'm not necessa…

"* If you have an absurd amount of money, you don't need to worry about going bankrupt from getting sick." Or you live in a country with a socialised medical system.

Money gives you the freedom to start over in one.

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#432

Post by pmiller2 »

brabel wrote: post #425
pmiller2 wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah, having money is nice, As someone who was broke for many years and now is less broke (cash is flowing, there's money in my accounts, but I'm deeply in negative net worth due to student debt), I think you're understating the issue, vastly. Simply put, money is freedom. If you have it, you can do things people who don't have it can't. If you have enough of it, you can do just about anything. And, I'm not necessa…

> If you have enough money, you can send your kids to a good school and get them off to the best possible start in life. > If you have an absurd amount of money, you don't need to worry about going bankrupt from getting sick. I don't know where you're from, but most rich countries, and even some poorer ones, have free, quality education for all, and health care tends to be nearly free... if you get sick, the governme…

Take a guess which rich country I'm from. Hint: look who's #1 in global GDP.

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#433

Post by msla »

Reedx wrote: post #289
askdfjng wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

JBP's 12 Rules for Life is dangerous advice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwP6AbbAUc

To dismiss as dangerous is silly. Here are the 12 rules. Rule 1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back Rule 2: Treat yourself like you would someone you are responsible for helping Rule 3: Make friends with people who want the best for you Rule 4: Compare yourself with who you were yesterday, not with who someone else is today Rule 5: Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them Rule 6: Set y…

> Rule 2: Treat yourself like you would someone you are responsible for helping

I've never seen someone turn the Golden Rule inward like this. I like it.

> Rule 5: Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them

Other people will do what they do. The only thing you have control over is your own reaction. Most adults understand this.

> Rule 6: Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world

Nobody's house is in perfect order. Internalizing the tu quoque fallacy of relevance is not good philosophy.

> Rule 8: Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie

I'd mention the "Jew in the attic" thought experiment, but there's probably some way to successfully hide the Jew without telling a "lie" if you're clever enough about defining what a "lie" is and what precise statements you make.

> Rule 11: Do not bother children when they are skate-boarding

Unless this conflicts with Rule 5, I suppose.

(I don't have any issue with the statements I didn't respond to.)

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#434

Post by anonymous24 »

I'm considering myself as a back luck person. Graduated with CS major but has been stuck in a QA engineer position. So, after many failures to become dev, I decided to take a M.S degree to sharp my skills and my resume. But when i'm gonna graduate soon, the Covid-19 happens.

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#435

Post by brabel »

pmiller2 wrote: post #432
brabel wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you have enough money, you can send your kids to a good school and get them off to the best possible start in life. > If you have an absurd amount of money, you don't need to worry about going bankrupt from getting sick. I don't know where you're from, but most rich countries, and even some poorer ones, have free, quality education for all, and health care tends to be nearly free... if you get sick, the governme…

Take a guess which rich country I'm from. Hint: look who's #1 in global GDP.

I was being sarcastic :) of course I know in which country people usually have the concerns you mentioned... being #1 in GDP means nothing to the majority of Americans who don't get to have the peace of mind to not worry about even the most basic human necessities.

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#436

Post by nicoburns »

dvt wrote: post #367
Pamar wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is interesting. Can you expand it a bit, please?

Philosophy major here (I jokingly tout myself as a trained philosopher ). Philosophy is a big field with different schools of thought. In the US/UK, the primary school is known as "analytic (philosophy)" which is focused on tight arguments, precise language, and clarity of thought (see Russell, Wittgenstein, Lewis, Godel). This is contrasted by European -- in particular, French -- "continental (philosophy)" which wax…

Also, the less logical bit of analytic philosophy is all about breaking down and understanding other people's arguments. It's a very similar process to teasing out business requirements from stakeholders!

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#437

Post by throwaway5752 »

pmiller2 wrote: post #413
throwaway5752 wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your boss can absolutely be your friend. You should be a good friend back and recognize you have two relationships, and if they are a good person with integrity they won't make professional actions on the basis of personal relationships. That's just basic professionalism. I've been friendly with many of my bosses during and after the term of employment I've worked for them. I would never, ever have expected any favor…

There's a bit difference between having a "friendly" relationship and being a friend.

I completely agree. I still have zero expectations in the professional context. If I couldn't handle that I would quit rather than risk the friendship.

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#438

Post by ammanley »

brudgers wrote: post #416
taurath wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many miles does your Philosophy Minor have on it? I've heard they're not very reliable

It varies by brand. Plato pretty much runs forever. Kant, even property maintained, will leave you scratching your head. People keep Aristotle running, but it’s not pretty. For what you spend Hume is a bargain—you can even take it off road in the forest...assuming there are unfallen trees. For the DIYer, Wittgenstein will keep you busy but Russell is known to have a computational design flaw. I recommend a late model…

this was the best thoughtful chuckle I got in a while

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#439

Post by KerryJones »

FabHK wrote: post #428
KerryJones wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think luck is as "random" of a factor as much as most people think it is. Checkout "Luck Factor" by Dr. Richard Wiseman. I do think there are a lot of things you can due to get probability more on your side: - Keep your eyes open for opportunities and look for the upside ("be optimistic" is the woo-woo version), but it's been proven in experiments that you'll catch things others won't - Only keep friends arou…

> - Learn about probability (Fooled by Randomness is a good start). If you constantly expose yourself to more chances of success, _odds are_, you'll start to find more of it. A) You really want to identify gambles with positive expectation. If you constantly expose yourself to “more chances of success” with negative expectation (such as going to the casino for the chance of winning big), you’ll end up ruined. B) Even…

Very much agreed on both points -- which is why I think studying that is important. The tide is definitely against you, but you have a greater chance of fighting it if you know how it works.

Re: Career advice for people with bad luck

#440

Post by KerryJones »

FabHK wrote: post #423
KerryJones wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think luck is as "random" of a factor as much as most people think it is. Checkout "Luck Factor" by Dr. Richard Wiseman. I do think there are a lot of things you can due to get probability more on your side: - Keep your eyes open for opportunities and look for the upside ("be optimistic" is the woo-woo version), but it's been proven in experiments that you'll catch things others won't - Only keep friends arou…

Counterpoint: Luck (broadly seen, including your genetic disposition and where you’ve been born - you might not call it luck, but it’s certainly not something you’ve chosen or earned) plays a much bigger role than most people think it does. Source and book recommendation: Robert H. Frank: Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691167404/su... > In re…

I totally agree with your sentiment, but I wouldn't consider it a counter point.

I said luck isn't as _random_ as some people think it is. You're saying it plays a much bigger role than most people think it does.

These are not mutually exclusive.

It might even emphasize the point -- because it plays a bigger role than most suppose, it is important to understand how to best take advantage of poor (or superior) circumstances.

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