The Art of Money Getting
43 points by dxs 4 hours ago | 13 comments

ChrisMarshallNY 35 minutes ago
> They take whatever job pays and spend decades fighting upstream.

I suspect that this affects a lot of folks in tech. There's a lot of money to be made, so people get into it. They don't really like what they do, so it's always a chore. Their work often shows it, too.

I'm retired. I don't have to write software, but I spend more time writing software (for free), than I did, for most of my career.

I like the Integrity part, too. That seems to be something that's missing (from most vocations), these days. One of the reasons that I stuck with my last job for so long, was because the people I worked with, and for, had Integrity, and that's pretty important to me.

reply
Michelangelo11 7 minutes ago
> Barnum’s first rule: pick the work you’re built for, then aim to be the best at it.

Edsger Dijkstra, in one of his letters, giving advice (IIRC) to a PhD student: "Do only what only you can do."

Kind of funny to see one of the greatest computer scientists and one of the greatest public entertainers giving the same advice, but I guess that speaks strongly in its favor.

reply
amunozo 47 minutes ago
The hardest thing is to know what's your best fit. Any advice?
reply
anonym29 44 minutes ago
A lot of pop-psychology doesn't hold up when subject to empirical review, but OCEAN / "Big 5" does, and it's probably a decent starting point.

E.g. if you are low in extraversion and agreeableness, you probably wouldn't make a good nurse or waiter, but you might not make a bad lawyer or engineer.

reply
whiplash451 34 minutes ago
> low in extraversion and agreeableness

I don’t know that these are awesome features for an engineer. There’s a big unsaid cost to this in my experience

reply
derektank 19 minutes ago
If we’re being honest, highly agreeable, extroverted, conscientious, and non-neurotic people are simply going to be better suited to all forms of employment than the inverse. But, since personality is pretty durable, it’s easier to try and find a career where your weak spots are detriments, but not crippling.
reply
grebc 26 minutes ago
Might mean civil engineer.
reply
portly 22 minutes ago
More like an uncivil engineer
reply
thm 36 minutes ago
For a more recent pop-culture version, I'd recommend Felix Dennis https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18749286-how-to-get-rich
reply
Michelangelo11 17 minutes ago
What a good book! I was expecting some "follow your dreams and lean into the hustle" pablum, but no. He talks pretty frankly about how the pursuit of extreme wealth, (100s of millions) which he'd succeeded at, isn't worth it even then because a single-digit amount of millions is quite enough to enjoy life, but adds that he expects readers will ignore that part and attempt to get filthy rich anyway.

Also, he later became a poet (a very good one, too, if I remember right) and early on in his life tried to be a pop singer. Feels a bit like that whole multi-decade career as founder and owner of a massive publishing empire was an odd detour for him.

Very fascinating person, and the book's definitely worth reading.

reply
zulux 6 minutes ago
I appreciated Felix going over what he had to give up to get where he was. It let me be content with a bit less money and a bit more family.
reply
evantahler 21 minutes ago
That guy looks nothing like Hugh Jackman
reply
atoav 33 minutes ago
Another one I'd like to add is: fuck prestige. Everybody wants to run a Café or a Bar, nobody wants to run a gutter cleaning service. Of the former ones most go out of business within a year. Transfer that to other things as well.

Things looking good is not necessarily the same as things working out financially.

reply