Professionals regret career paths due to opportunity cost
14 posts across 11 communities in the last 60 days; 14% from Hacker News.
“Pretty much the title. I (30M) am an engineer. Out of college I took the first job that was offered to me in the city i always wanted to live in. Great? Well kind of. The problem: in college I did not exactly pick an area to specialize in when performing my major, mainly because…”
“> I want to be [whatever]That isn't the right question. The right question is can you do it, and will it pay enough to provide "a good life" (whatever that means to you). If you love [whatever] more power, that is the best case. However don't lose track of the fact that in the…”
“Enjoy wasting 4+ years of your life and thousands of dollars. [re: First semester CS student, what should I start with ASAP to ensure success in the long run?]”
Two posts express regret over pursuing advanced degrees and specialized careers, highlighting the significant opportunity cost involved. Users lament missing out on homeownership, family life, and other milestones due to the time and effort required for professional development.
SOURCES (14)
“Enjoy wasting 4+ years of your life and thousands of dollars. [re: First semester CS student, what should I start with ASAP to ensure success in the long run?]”
“You just need to decide what you want. It’s ok to prio non career things for a few years and go back to when kids are older too as another option. For me - my career is a means to a retire early end, but not at the cost of sacrificing time with my fam. I’m totally fine back burning career growth and coasting while my fam is young as that’s way more important to me at the moment [re: Career Advice: $480K TC remote job vs. $780K pre-IPO opportunity]”
“If you’re miserable, you have nothing to lose by going for it. It’s not uncommon to move around a bit esp early in your career to find an area that fits you and you fit it. [re: Picked the wrong career]”
“There’s a risk with anything. Life is too short to be miserable. Go try and if it doesn’t work out pivot. [re: Leaving PA to be a COO]”
“If I could start my career this year then there is no question that the job would be better than when I began 26 years ago. The job would still be hard, sure. But it would be MUCH better. Like you said, for one thing I’d be paid almost double, even accounting for inflation. I’d have access to the internet from day one. Access to a ton of books that feature diverse characters. Like you said too, can teach phonics and SEL! My students now have access to a ton of social services. Teaching is hard,”
“Pretty much the title. I (30M) am an engineer. Out of college I took the first job that was offered to me in the city i always wanted to live in. Great? Well kind of. The problem: in college I did not exactly pick an area to specialize in when performing my major, mainly because I didn’t have an understanding of what was out there (again my fault for not being more proactive). It took me about ~4 years in my first job to really understand what got me excited. I had a couple of obligations so I s”
“I'm 25 and currently in that phase where I feel like I should be doing more with my career. Learn new skills after work. Prepare for interviews. Build projects. Keep up with AI. Invest money. Stay healthy. Have a social life. Somehow also date and have a personal life. At some point there are only 24 hours in a day. I see a lot of advice saying your 20s are the time to work extremely hard because you have fewer responsibilities. I agree with that to some extent. But how much is too much? Is”
“A lot of people can stay in roles for questionable reasons such as prestige, and dependence on salary (due to debt). Other people have kids, and staying because of that is a good reason. Rarely anyone stays because of the LOVE what they are doing and feel very connected to a deeper purpose. Why have you stayed this long or why did you get into this fast changing tech industry? This post was not written by AI. submitted by /u/moises8war [link] [comments]”
“I have been preparing/grinding (whatever you guys call it) for past 3-4 year and I am still nowhere close to what I wanted to achieve. It seems that I would have to keep doing what I am doing for few more years before seeing the results, but lately I have been doubting myself. I have been questioning if it is really worth it to prepare for 2-3 hours minimum after office and then 4-5 hours at least on weekends? Not to mention other stuff like projects that needs to be done for some other companie”
“> it would at least have enabled you to own a home one day. Maybe have kids. Shit.ding ding ding. This is the real kicker. This is why it’s a waste of time to pursue. Want a PhD? A home? A family? Pick one or two. With the amount of time and effort it takes to achieve those these days, you won’t get to have them all. So you have to pick one. At 17/18 it’s easy to see the coming decade as longer than it really is, and opportunity cost will catch up to you quick.”
“> I want to be [whatever]That isn't the right question. The right question is can you do it, and will it pay enough to provide "a good life" (whatever that means to you). If you love [whatever] more power, that is the best case. However don't lose track of the fact that in the end no matter what job you pick there will be times when you have to do something you hate (not something unethical where you should quit, just something you hate), but you need to do something to be a good citizen.If y”