I don't understand the people around me who are working so very hard to succeed. It strikes me as irrational. Why do you do it?
A long time ago I reasoned that it is more efficient to strive for a 90% rather than 100% on a test because both yield the same "A". This morphed into a way of life. I barely got past grad school to earn my PhD, and now I'm a "Dr." just like anyone else. I worked in corporate research where promotions are largely determined by time served. So I aimed to do a good job, but I didn't put in extra effort. Recently, I do just enough consulting to get by and spend the rest of my time as a lazy hipster. :-)
The emotional half of my brain would like to be more successful, but the "logical" part of my brain explains (condescendingly) that the poor odds don't justify the extra effort. Which is right?
Here's a practical example: My friend is a senior manager at an investment bank. If she works extremely hard for a few more years, she has a small chance (1 in 50?) at being promoted to managing director (2x income). On the other hand, she could scale back her responsibilities and coast for a few years on her already outrageous salary. She has not decided what to do.
I'm new. If this has already been discussed please post links. Searching didn't yield anything relevant. Thanks.
It might be helpful to taboo the words "ambition," "success" and "rational" and rephrase.
You seem to be talking about titles and promotions, e.g. being promoted, climbing the corporate ladder, getting the most statusy degree possible.
So I think the heart of your question is "Are titles and promotions worth caring about?" or "Why do people care about getting titles and promotions?"
My position: These things have no intrinsic value, but can help me achieve other things that do.
I think it's silly to care about a degree for its own sake, but not silly to care about a degree because it will help you get the job you want.
For example, Robin Hanson went back to school because he wanted to participate more in academia, and he thought a doctorate would help. Eliezer Yudkowsky had different goals (building AI) which he thought a degree wouldn't help much with, so he dropped out of school and focused on things that would.
I don't understand the people around me who are working so very hard to succeed. It strikes me as irrational. Why do you do it?
A long time ago I reasoned that it is more efficient to strive for a 90% rather than 100% on a test because both yield the same "A". This morphed into a way of life. I barely got past grad school to earn my PhD, and now I'm a "Dr." just like anyone else. I worked in corporate research where promotions are largely determined by time served. So I aimed to do a good job, but I didn't put in extra effort. Recently, I do just enough consulting to get by and spend the rest of my time as a lazy hipster. :-)
The emotional half of my brain would like to be more successful, but the "logical" part of my brain explains (condescendingly) that the poor odds don't justify the extra effort. Which is right?
Here's a practical example: My friend is a senior manager at an investment bank. If she works extremely hard for a few more years, she has a small chance (1 in 50?) at being promoted to managing director (2x income). On the other hand, she could scale back her responsibilities and coast for a few years on her already outrageous salary. She has not decided what to do.
I'm new. If this has already been discussed please post links. Searching didn't yield anything relevant. Thanks.