If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
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If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
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Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#2The problem probably wasn't having the masters degree so much as having the masters degree and applying for jobs with titles like "administrative assistant"
moral of the story: don't trust "careers counselors"
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#3Sounds like a situation he put himself in by having no goals and just looking for anything that comes up.
Instead of doing that, he could have done research in what opportunities his degree opens up for him and specifically target those areas in his job hunt.
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#4I really hope there's a good deal of fantasy into this story.
Gladwell, in his great book Outliers, argues that IQ is only related to success to some extent: above the intelligence level that allows you to get a MSc without great difficulties (this is obviously a fuzzy metric), adding much more doesn't have a big impact. Other factors (was programming your hobby at 16 and you got access to a workstation when it was not common?) make the difference.
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#5I expected this article to be something totally different. I think it was a great article, though the title had little to do with the moral of the story.
But man I can relate. When I graduated with my Mechanical and Electrical Engineering degrees, I thought the world was my oyster. I found a sweet job called Marketing Engineer that required both a well-formed understanding of engineering and a knack for marketing and communication (I had those!). Turned out to be nothing more than a glorified technical support job (at least 6-7 hours of my work day). After 8 months, I was totally depressed, my side startup was suffering because of it, and I had to quit. No amount of money was worth that feeling all day, every day.
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#6Let's see now...
You took bad advice from the wrong person.
You dumbed yourself down.
You played the role of some other person, not yourself.
You played someone else's game without expressing what you were really thinking.
You settled for an inappropriate job.
You're bored to death and wasting time in a dead end job for 6 months now.
And you call that "Damn Smart"?
[EDIT: The only smart thing you did (following up with a nice Thank You note) is the only thing that got you the job. Please don't attribute your "success" to anything else.]
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#7What was your graduate degree in? Could you apply that to create value somehow?
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#8Let's see now... You took bad advice from the wrong person. You dumbed yourself down. You played the role of some other person, not yourself. You played someone else's game without expressing what you were really thinking. You settled for an inappropriate job. You're bored to death and wasting time in a dead end job for 6 months now. And you call that "Damn Smart"? [EDIT: The only smart thing you did (following up wi…
I think the title was supposed to be the train of thoughts for everyone who got his original application. They thought he was too smart to apply for that given job, so they did not even invite him for the interview, since he would have to be rich, if he was as smart as his application implied, in THEIR opinion.
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#9Because I'm smart.
Money certainly has utility, but it's not the be-all and end-all of my existence. It enables freedom in choices but doesn't become the reason I make choices.
And it certainly has let me chose not to work with someone who is impressed by 'dumbing down'.
Re: If You’re So Damn Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
#10Let's see now... You took bad advice from the wrong person. You dumbed yourself down. You played the role of some other person, not yourself. You played someone else's game without expressing what you were really thinking. You settled for an inappropriate job. You're bored to death and wasting time in a dead end job for 6 months now. And you call that "Damn Smart"? [EDIT: The only smart thing you did (following up wi…
It got him a job and time to look for a better one.