I’ve cited one of Paul Graham’s long essays before. Even when I disagree with them they are brilliant and deceptively simple. This one isn’t about being a nerd; it should be of interest to everyone (who is lucky enough to be well educated and living in the comfortable West). It’s about finding a job you love. Read it all. Here’s a choice snippet:
A friend of mine who is a quite successful doctor complains constantly about her job. When people applying to medical school ask her for advice, she wants to shake them and yell “Don’t do it!” (But she never does.) How did she get into this fix? In high school she already wanted to be a doctor. And she is so ambitious and determined that she overcame every obstacle along the way—including, unfortunately, not liking it.
Now she has a life chosen for her by a high-school kid.
Every single “Morrisby” test or equivalent I took in school (a total of about 5) came out with:
1. Engineer – Mechanical
2. Engineer – Electrical
3. Engineer – Aeronautical
4. Engineer – Civil
5. Engineer – Other
I chose to do Maths, Physics, Chemistry A-levels having spent half a minute weighing up the options, and applied to study Mechanical Engineering in all 6 universities I applied to.
Several years ago I really started to appreciate how lucky I am to have always known exactly what I wanted to do for a career. So many are not so lucky.
Very, very good article. I’ve ploughed through just about everything on the subject for work purposes (ha!) and he’s managed to come up with something new somehow.
My own Morrisby tests used to point me towards teaching, then, later, towards advertising. In the first instance, I suspect I was being pointed towards all I knew; in the second, the tests failed to recognise my possession of a conscience.
[…] Stolen shamelessly from Damian, this Paul Graham quotation reminds me of what some people used to tell me when I was leaving high school, starting university, and totally unsure about what I wanted to do when I grew up: A friend of mine who is a quite successful doctor complains constantly about her job. When people applying to medical school ask her for advice, she wants to shake them and yell “Don’t do it!” (But she never does.) How did she get into this fix? In high school she already wanted to be a doctor. And she is so ambitious and determined that she overcame every obstacle along the way—including, unfortunately, not liking it. […]
Ha, that strikes a chord. At school I decided I wanted to be a doctor, a decision made at least partly under the influence of family and teachers. Went to med school straight after A-Levels. A month and a half away fro the influence of others allowed me to make the decision to walk out. And it’s still the best decision I ever made (despite the regular questions it all still produces from grandparents).
The whole thing was certainly due – in part – to well meaning parental pressure; thankfully they quickly came around to agree with me that it was a good decision.