I'm a relative newcomer here (10-12 posts into the 84), and I'm right there with you and enjoy this form of "getting to know you", and/but you don't strike me as someone who would want an MBA.
Decades ago, I cut off my ponytail, and went to business school. It was really easy, so I also got my CPA license and rocketed off to go audit too-big-to-fail banks. It was a wonderful episode the (education and the job, six years total), but it was a wide detour away from the rest of my life's arc.
Have you already explained this in a post that I just haven't gotten to? Is it none of my fucking business?
Haha I haven't explained the reasoning behind it no. It's anyone's business who asks! Basically I want to transition into management/entrepreneurship from programming. I got into coding when I was younger and directionless in school and chose the most direct path to high compensation. Though I'm an effective individual contributor, I don't particularly enjoy it. I'd like to continue living where I live without existing solely as a code monkey; but It's super expensive- so my options are a career lateral, which takes time and is unguaranteed, OR going back to school to reframe my resume.
This gets into a bigger idea of job "atomics" and trying to make the majority of your role be made up of things that don't feel like "work" for you in order to proactively prevent burnout. In my case, supporting teammates, calendering, async communication, project management, strategy, coordination across teams, maintaining roadmaps- there's a lot of high level communication skills that don't feel like work to me. In line with atomics is the fact that most of what I do naturally every day is learn and write about what I learn- so I've always been well suited to academic environments. The issue is getting compensated at the correct rate for these skills.
In line with these ideas I decided to take the GMAT in early 2021 before the trail and got a 780. If that hadn't happened I likely wouldn't be pursuing an MBA, but here we are. The sad fact of the matter is we live in a credentialist society, and that many people won't take me or my ideas seriously without having passed what they consider a sufficiently impressive societal filter. An MBA is the only academic environment that allows me to transition into management, maintain or increase compensation, and add a relevant prestige stamp in the process.
I don't really believe in the idea of using the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. I am, however, a pragmatist. The fact of the matter is that people get books published with the sole credential of "harvard MBA." This is definitely a teaser of a future post, but I think that if you don't believe your personal politics are superior, then you aren't serious about them. If i'm serious about spreading my viewpoint and philosophy, then I have to do everything in my power to leverage society as it stands today into listening to what I have to say- that includes obtaining credentials.
Enjoyed the work! Haven't read all of your other stuff, to apologies if I'm misunderstanding basic stuff about EoSV. Just wanted to say that although I know you call out Moneyball as a case where one standard is being exchanged for another, I might even argue it goes in the other direction? To me, the stats evaluation seemed highly focused on the individual. It felt like things went from "we need to replace this first baseman with someone similar because that's crucial to the overall function of our team" to "team-fit doesn't matter, get a random bundle of the most hits for the least money".
Of course, it's uplifting and entertaining when a coach sees value where others are unwilling/unable to. And I love people being valued for what they actually bring to the table instead of a bunch of old guy's expectations. But just not sure it hit the mark with this theme for me? Good piece either way!
I'm a relative newcomer here (10-12 posts into the 84), and I'm right there with you and enjoy this form of "getting to know you", and/but you don't strike me as someone who would want an MBA.
Decades ago, I cut off my ponytail, and went to business school. It was really easy, so I also got my CPA license and rocketed off to go audit too-big-to-fail banks. It was a wonderful episode the (education and the job, six years total), but it was a wide detour away from the rest of my life's arc.
Have you already explained this in a post that I just haven't gotten to? Is it none of my fucking business?
(And I call myself a half-assed secular Taoist.)
Haha I haven't explained the reasoning behind it no. It's anyone's business who asks! Basically I want to transition into management/entrepreneurship from programming. I got into coding when I was younger and directionless in school and chose the most direct path to high compensation. Though I'm an effective individual contributor, I don't particularly enjoy it. I'd like to continue living where I live without existing solely as a code monkey; but It's super expensive- so my options are a career lateral, which takes time and is unguaranteed, OR going back to school to reframe my resume.
This gets into a bigger idea of job "atomics" and trying to make the majority of your role be made up of things that don't feel like "work" for you in order to proactively prevent burnout. In my case, supporting teammates, calendering, async communication, project management, strategy, coordination across teams, maintaining roadmaps- there's a lot of high level communication skills that don't feel like work to me. In line with atomics is the fact that most of what I do naturally every day is learn and write about what I learn- so I've always been well suited to academic environments. The issue is getting compensated at the correct rate for these skills.
In line with these ideas I decided to take the GMAT in early 2021 before the trail and got a 780. If that hadn't happened I likely wouldn't be pursuing an MBA, but here we are. The sad fact of the matter is we live in a credentialist society, and that many people won't take me or my ideas seriously without having passed what they consider a sufficiently impressive societal filter. An MBA is the only academic environment that allows me to transition into management, maintain or increase compensation, and add a relevant prestige stamp in the process.
I don't really believe in the idea of using the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. I am, however, a pragmatist. The fact of the matter is that people get books published with the sole credential of "harvard MBA." This is definitely a teaser of a future post, but I think that if you don't believe your personal politics are superior, then you aren't serious about them. If i'm serious about spreading my viewpoint and philosophy, then I have to do everything in my power to leverage society as it stands today into listening to what I have to say- that includes obtaining credentials.
Enjoyed the work! Haven't read all of your other stuff, to apologies if I'm misunderstanding basic stuff about EoSV. Just wanted to say that although I know you call out Moneyball as a case where one standard is being exchanged for another, I might even argue it goes in the other direction? To me, the stats evaluation seemed highly focused on the individual. It felt like things went from "we need to replace this first baseman with someone similar because that's crucial to the overall function of our team" to "team-fit doesn't matter, get a random bundle of the most hits for the least money".
Of course, it's uplifting and entertaining when a coach sees value where others are unwilling/unable to. And I love people being valued for what they actually bring to the table instead of a bunch of old guy's expectations. But just not sure it hit the mark with this theme for me? Good piece either way!