[atleastoptimal]

Networking is infinitely more valuable than any other element in terms of career success.

I'd say that among the highest paid people in the world, only a small percentage of them have some special specific skill, but ALL of them have huge, high-valued networks which served them very well during their ascent to the top.

The issue is you can't just be naïve and try to meet as many people as possible like some sort of heuristic hustle agent. The best networks are formed via shared deep experiences, ala:

1. College alumni

2. Company alumni

3. Romantic relationships

4. Childhood friends

5. Strong friendships via serendipitous happenstance

Any other case you can only get good results from networking if you already have some 99.9th percentile product or skill.

[nanopasta]

Makes sense, but then my next question is - what happens if you don't happen to have this network already? If someone didn't go to a technical university or moved countries and their old networks aren't useful anymore. How do you create networks if the stroke of luck didn't favour you?