Comments on: In praise of an average career

By: Ryan Hoegg

Ryan Hoegg — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:10:58 +0000

This post could have been written by Ellsworth Toohey. The greatness of an achievement is independent of the worth others place on it.

By: Bobarino

Bobarino — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 04:56:03 +0000

“A life bound by rules is the life of a slave.”

“Don’t live by the rules” is just another rule.

By: FZ Blogs » Vasat bir kariyer, milli piyango, çekik gözlüler ve bir turnuva

FZ Blogs » Vasat bir kariyer, milli piyango, çekik gözlüler ve bir turnuva — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 23:15:52 +0000

[...] Geçen gün “In praise of an average career” başlıklı bir yazıyı okurken aklıma yine bunlar geldi. Bu aralar herhalde “en iyi iş için en iyi insanları bul ve çok iyi para ver, süper şirketin olsun” tarzı ile “hadi canım sen de, aslolan eldeki insanları çok iyi şekilde değerlendirebilmek ve öteye götürebilmektir” tarzı arasındaki tartışmaya dair yazmayanı dövüyor olsalar gerek ki nereye baksam buna dair üç beş kelam eden birilerini görüyorum. Amazon ve Google gevezeleri (ve bir de ev sahibiniz Spolsky (!)) insanlarla biraz kafa bulmayı seviyorlar anlaşılan. [...]

By: Mr Angry

Mr Angry — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 22:36:15 +0000

I’m with you Margherite – if work is crappy I get fulfilment from outside interests. Sometimes it’s even the main motivator for pursuing something more worthwhile.

By: Margherite

Margherite — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 14:04:42 +0000

> Crappy job + Good Pay = Satisfaction?

no way .. crappy job + good pay = I’m too tired from keeping a rein on my rebellious instincts and quick tongue to have any energy left to indulge in a whole lot of satisfying activities.

I’d be delighted by an average career, but I’ve been working for almost 50 years and it’s never happened. A couple of peaks and lots of mud- and vermin-filled valleys. The couple of peaks I’ve experienced were brought down by (1) Y2K panic and (2) management shooting themselves in the foot and the company going out of business or being outsourced to China or India.

The crappy job pays the bills. Nothing more. An average career frees up my sensibilities so I can excell somewhere else, like art or music or hiking.

By: Mr Angry

Mr Angry — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 08:05:44 +0000

I think you’ll find that only works for a limited amount of time. Of course that depends on your definition of crappy and good. I find outside interests can make a crappy job more tolerable.

By: rob roy

rob roy — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 03:48:13 +0000

“I think everyone should always be looking for ways to improve and even the crappiest job can give a sense of satisfaction if done well.”

There’s a lot of ways to be satisfied, mine would be because of the pay at the end of any month.
Crappy job + Good Pay = Satisfaction….

By: Mr Angry

Mr Angry — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 03:25:52 +0000

Yeah, MS and Apple both did/do the same thing. There was a story going around that one new hire was fired for writing on a blog “this is bullshit, all these perks are just designed to make us stay at our desks longer and work all hours”

By: tom l

tom l — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 23:17:59 +0000

i actually know two managers at google, one of whom has been there since the beginning, the other of whom was a professor of the founders (at stanford) who lately jumped aboard – both assure me that the lavish google engineer lifestyle is predicated on youth, energy, and the expectation of burnout. they’re gonna squeeze those suckers dry and let ‘em enjoy every twenty-hour day of it.

By: Mr Angry

Mr Angry — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 22:40:39 +0000

Reg: thanks for the link, I like how you used it as a balance with your piece.

John: Thanks. I agree with you that we should always be trying just maybe not be totally disparaging of the idea of living an average life and being happy.