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The Dream Job That Wasn’t

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Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#51

Post by toast0 »

Emma_Goldman wrote: post #33
skadamat wrote: post #13

Cal Newport became famous for his books "Deep Work" and "Digital Minimalism", but my favorite / most underrated book by him is actually "So Good They Can't Ignore You": https://www.calnewport.com/books/so-good/ In SGTCIU, he really goes deep on the idea that pre-existing passion is unlikely to lead you to a happy career and presents an alternate, more-compelling framework for job satisfaction. 1. Acquire rare & valua…

>'There are happy & fulfilled people in every career and, of course, unhappy people in every career / walk of life. But pretty much everyone wants the same thing in their career: mission, autonomy, impact, and creativity. These traits ^ are mostly independent of a specific job / field' I think this is untrue. It depends on how one understands mission, autonomy, impact and creativity whether they can be achieved indep…

These traits are like salary. There's a level which meets your needs, a level which makes you happy, and a level that anything beyond is superfluous. And the levels aren't fixed either; more of one may make up for less of another, and different people have different needs.

I personally don't need a lot of mission; it's nice, and having a mission frame helps me accept an offer, but once I'm in the job, it's kind of whatever.

Autonomy can be picking your tasks from anything possible, or picking your tasks from a small menu, or just doing your assigned tasks in peace. Or having 'flexible' start times of 7-9 AM. Different people have different needs.

I love having global impact, but really all I need is for my code to actually make it out to users. I hate doing a bunch of work and it never ships. But if like one or two people use it, that's enough for me.

Creativity is relative too. Some people want to create totally new things. I just don't want to do the same thing every day for years. In software that's not too hard though; if it's the same every day, it's begging to be automated.

Look for enough of these things to make you happy, not to find the maximum available. And yeah, some jobs won't have enough to meet your needs; they might meet other people's needs though.

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#52

Post by string »

hi41 wrote: post #20
string wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was raised in a similar way, and I have mixed feelings because I essentially ended up taking the path of least resistance. There was no pressure to do anything in particular, so I cruised through school doing as little work as necessary. I took exams in maths, physics and chemistry (because I found those subjects easy) and got very good grades but ended up going to design/art school because I thought it would be "f…

Thank you for sharing your experience. Could you please elaborate more on this. Is it the long hours in front of a computer? >> Then I slowly discovered how awful the graphic design industry is

The other comment gives a good overview, I'll try to elaborate a bit.

I worked for a few independent studios that a lot of design students would think were up there in terms of reputation. We did work for cultural institutions, museums, galleries, architects, artists, fashion brands, etc. The kind of thing you dream of doing as a design student.

The pay at these "cool" studios is generally awful. £25k after 5 years kind of thing. One guy who was at a studio I worked for before me was on £16k. Factoring in the long hours, that works out to well below minimum wage. This is in London, btw. I did get to sit on a chair that cost more than my monthly salary though. I know the directors of these companies make very good money.

Generally they all have a huge list of previous employees. They hire graduates on low salaries because you get to do "cool" work, these are almost exclusively young people with parents that can subsidize their living expenses whilst they start out. They last one to two years, rinse and repeat.The graduate to job ratio is depressing, we used to get tens of applications a day, it's very easy to find replacements.

Unpaid internships are normal, although some pay minimum wage. I had a job throughout university and blew all my savings doing an unpaid three month internship after graduating. It was stupid but also got me a job (on £18k, as a "freelancer" to save the employer money), it's basically impossible to get a foot in the door without working for free for a while. This obviously leads to an industry with very little diversity, most people simply can't afford it.

There is a lot of pandering to artists and curators and talk of "giving shape to contemporary visual culture" that everyone knows is complete bullshit. The art and design world is full of the most egotistical people imaginable, and graphic designers are on the bottom rung generally speaking. We worked with one curator who literally refused to speak to anyone below director level. As in to your face, would just completely blank you, it was bizarre.

The only viable option if you want to have a career is to run your own studio, but again that is very difficult unless you have the money and connections.

In the end I decided it wasn't worth it, I'd rather have a pension and a family one day, it's not worth giving that stuff up to design books or typefaces for artists or curators that don't even know your name.

I still really love design, and I do know a lot of nice people who still do it, but the industry is not great!

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#53

Post by leetrout »

throw1234651234 wrote: post #43
leetrout wrote: post #4

I’ve had a fantastic career which I am thankful for. My dream job is to be a pilot which I accept I will never do and can imagine the aspects that make it “just a job”. More relatable, in my experience, is the dream company. Accepting that you are committed to software development as a career different companies then take the place of a dream job. Google with all their perks of working on site. 37Signals / Basecamp a…

I don't understand "pilot" as dream job. You basically take off and land once you hit commercial. I get the learning part - the first time you learn how redundant and simple Cessna engines are, the first time you realize how light and simple it really is, how to tie it down, your first time trying to fly with instruments only, your first crosswind landing, etc. But after that? Really seems like "just a job". Btw, not…

There are some really good corporate pilot gigs flying business jets (or event just turbo props) and back country flying in the pacific northwest of the US. Bush flying in remote areas... firefighting flying as someone else mentioned. Ag pilot is also pretty awesome on video but the exposure to chemicals is concerning. There are a lot interesting piloting jobs other than commercial. But even with "just" commercial at the majors the travel and salary is amazing (after a lot of crappy pay at regional outfits).

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#54

Post by throw1234651234 »

leetrout wrote: post #53
throw1234651234 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand "pilot" as dream job. You basically take off and land once you hit commercial. I get the learning part - the first time you learn how redundant and simple Cessna engines are, the first time you realize how light and simple it really is, how to tie it down, your first time trying to fly with instruments only, your first crosswind landing, etc. But after that? Really seems like "just a job". Btw, not…

There are some really good corporate pilot gigs flying business jets (or event just turbo props) and back country flying in the pacific northwest of the US. Bush flying in remote areas... firefighting flying as someone else mentioned. Ag pilot is also pretty awesome on video but the exposure to chemicals is concerning. There are a lot interesting piloting jobs other than commercial. But even with "just" commercial at…

I thought all the "amazing" pilot jobs were gone now that all the airlines are saving money and it's pretty much ~100k. I am pulling that number out of my ____, but my understanding was that it's a good job, but not FAANG / med school "good" in terms of salary, with rare unicorn exceptions, i.e. private rotary in Dubai or something.

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#55

Post by fartcannon »

Phenix88be wrote: post #16

I believed the "If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.". I loved to build website and make it my job. I regret that decision every day for the past 6 years. The software industry in my country is a big pile of legacy trash that is making money. It's painful to never find a place where you enjoy what you are doing. Now I tell people to NOT make passion or hobbies a job, it's a trap.

Well, I work a career I dislike for the financial security of it. I regret it every day.

Work sucks, as a rule, so why not at least do work you sometimes enjoy?

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#56

Post by bumby »

ta988 wrote: post #21
bsenftner wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading his "How to win at College" when finishing graduate school; his first book made me feel smug because I was already doing all his recommendations. I feel extremely blessed, as I have held a series of "dream jobs": 1) video game studio owner at age 17; 2) graphics researcher working for Mandelbrot on his research in '83; 3) Beta Tester for the original Macintosh; 4) 3D graphics researcher back when h…

I would not call these last ones dream jobs. More like dream-crushing jobs...

I think it’s a case of different strokes for different folks.

Those “three letter agencies” may offer resources and projects that one would struggle to find elsewhere.

To some people, being a Marine is a dream job. To others, that lifestyle would be soul-crushing.

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#57

Post by Phenix88be »

fartcannon wrote: post #55
Phenix88be wrote: post #16

I believed the "If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.". I loved to build website and make it my job. I regret that decision every day for the past 6 years. The software industry in my country is a big pile of legacy trash that is making money. It's painful to never find a place where you enjoy what you are doing. Now I tell people to NOT make passion or hobbies a job, it's a trap.

Well, I work a career I dislike for the financial security of it. I regret it every day. Work sucks, as a rule, so why not at least do work you sometimes enjoy?

Because you end up not enjoying it anymore. You lose a passion, a hobby and you are unhappy

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#58

Post by leetrout »

throw1234651234 wrote: post #54
leetrout wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some really good corporate pilot gigs flying business jets (or event just turbo props) and back country flying in the pacific northwest of the US. Bush flying in remote areas... firefighting flying as someone else mentioned. Ag pilot is also pretty awesome on video but the exposure to chemicals is concerning. There are a lot interesting piloting jobs other than commercial. But even with "just" commercial at…

I thought all the "amazing" pilot jobs were gone now that all the airlines are saving money and it's pretty much ~100k. I am pulling that number out of my ____, but my understanding was that it's a good job, but not FAANG / med school "good" in terms of salary, with rare unicorn exceptions, i.e. private rotary in Dubai or something.

Could be. Couple quick googles with glassdoor data...

Pilot salaries at FedEx can range from $108,918 - $377,643

The typical Delta Air Lines Captain salary is $279,152. Captain salaries at Delta Air Lines can range from $97,342 - $443,133

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#59

Post by segmondy »

leetrout wrote: post #4

I’ve had a fantastic career which I am thankful for. My dream job is to be a pilot which I accept I will never do and can imagine the aspects that make it “just a job”. More relatable, in my experience, is the dream company. Accepting that you are committed to software development as a career different companies then take the place of a dream job. Google with all their perks of working on site. 37Signals / Basecamp a…

Is your dream job to be really a pilot or to be able to fly a plane? Those are different things and you can probably take flying lessons and get your pilot license.

Re: The Dream Job That Wasn’t

#60

Post by bsenftner »

ta988 wrote: post #21
bsenftner wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading his "How to win at College" when finishing graduate school; his first book made me feel smug because I was already doing all his recommendations. I feel extremely blessed, as I have held a series of "dream jobs": 1) video game studio owner at age 17; 2) graphics researcher working for Mandelbrot on his research in '83; 3) Beta Tester for the original Macintosh; 4) 3D graphics researcher back when h…

I would not call these last ones dream jobs. More like dream-crushing jobs...

I pursued Personalized Advertising because I foresee automated actor replacement as inevitable, and if that is the case why not be it's Edison?

My work in facial recognition is partially because I can do the work at all, few can, and I also do this work to know what it is, it's capabilities and limits, so I'm not in the dark and can influence it's use. I'm an ethical person, and I voice my ethical concerns constantly, insuring the systems cannot be easily abused.

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