Work peak and professional decline (2019)
theatlantic.com
Work peak and professional decline (2019)
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Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#2There's no real data behind this article. It's basically ageism fueled by self-doubt.
Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#3(2019)
Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#4(2019)
Previous thread here, with 44 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20227091
Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#5One of the most productive engineers I knew (who I’m guessing will read this) was in his 60s when I met him. He’s since “retired” and helped a company obtain a $1B valuation.
Similarly, my 85 year old grandfather still doesn’t own a wheelbarrow and will move stone, dirt, etc every summer. His motto is “keep moving”, I don’t think there’s really anything else to it. Yes you will slow down, but stay engaged and motivated and frankly you’ll outperform anyone because you’ll also have experience.
Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#6A lot of capability comes from the network you develop as you move through your career. This is also true in technical fields.
Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#7There's no real data behind this article. It's basically ageism fueled by self-doubt.
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Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#8This is a classic MBA-style fluff piece.
Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#9I think this man needs to see that life isn't only your work. The value you provide to others and self-worth shouldn't be tied exclusively to work, there is so much more to life and so much more to give past 60.
Re: Work peak and professional decline (2019)
#10Related: The notion of "retirement" is a relatively recent invention.
Traditionally, when you were too old to work the farm or prove the theorem (sorry, cognitive decline is a well-documented thing, and tends to coincide with physical decline[1]), you would "retire" to a productive life in less-demanding pursuits: caretaking of the grandkids, woodworking, food preservation, writing, etc.
It's important to maintain hobbies in your youth such that when the time comes, you can turn those hobbies into productive and enjoyable enterprises. Certainly many would disagree, but such a path seems somehow "better" than popping Metformin in front of a television in a Boca Raton retirement community or tooling around the country in an 8 MPG RV.
[1] Yes, I'm aware that people like Dave Cutler are the exception to the rule. But they are, to be sure, the exception.