[will-burner]

This is something I think about a lot and I thought the article was pretty solid. My father is a musician, so he always told me to do what I love. I tried to do that by becoming a research mathematician, that didn't work on and now I do something I don't love (but like some days) that consists of sitting at a computer writing code.

>One useful trick for judging different kinds of work is to look at who your colleagues will be. You'll become like whoever you work with. Do you want to become like these people?

I've had 3 careers: working with high school students in low income areas, being an academic research mathematician, and now being a data scientist. The people I liked the best and who I would like to become like were the teachers I worked with at the high schools in low income areas.

>Indeed, the difference in character between different kinds of work is magnified by the fact that everyone else is facing the same decisions as you. If you choose a kind of work mainly for how well it pays, you'll be surrounded by other people who chose it for the same reason, and that will make it even more soul-sucking than it seems from the outside. Whereas if you choose work you're genuinely interested in, you'll be surrounded mostly by other people who are genuinely interested in it, and that will make it extra inspiring.

This pretty well states the soul-suckingness of working in industry.

[anon291]

I know the teacher thing is a nice 'feel-good' example, but based on the experience of my own mother's colleagues, for many teachers in these low income areas, the paycheck is also all they care about.

[will-burner]

For me, it wasn't just about a feel-good thing, I enjoyed being around and had the most fun time on a day to day basis when hanging out and working with the high school teachers. I met them all at a summer program, so it was probably the more engaged teachers. Also, the teachers were from the same demographics as the students, so it wasn't white savior type people, but people from the actual community.

[anon291]

> people from the actual community.

Often doesn't make a shred of difference.