Four years out of college: Some combination of working at Google, Facebook, $BIGBANK, or going to law/med school.
The smartest all jumped on career ladders because of the head start from their degrees and grades. The non-technical went to banks because what other profession pays $100k a year for a liberal arts degree? The technical went to the most recognizable companies that would take them and pay them a lot of money.
The entrepreneurs are a much more interesting bunch; most are technical, some never had a corporate job, some did YC, some left their corporate job and are mindlessly trying to be entrepreneurs, lots have raised funding, and a very select few have exited or hit Series C.
> some left their corporate job and are mindlessly trying to be entrepreneurs
"mindlessly"?
What are they missing? I'm curious, because this is a path that has always appealed to me, but that I didn't take in my twenties or early thirties. I hope to be in a position to be able to do it in my late thirties, but am not committed to the idea.
Came here to post the same, as I take a break from getting people to click on advertisements, at a job that pays way too much money to even consider anything else.
It's pretty damn depressing that the brightest minds of our generation have been sucked up by these companies that really do nothing but further meaningless consumerism. When people ask what I do, I say I work at a button factory.
To be fair. I can't explain it either but when you have the traffic people also click those ads.
Edit:// no idea why I got down voted. I lived of adsense half of 2015 and full 2016. Still don't know why people actually clicked, or why they didn't have a adblock to begin with
I also do this. Although I actually believe that my clients are doing something positive with their business (and I don’t take clients who aren’t) so I actually enjoy doing this.
High frequency trading. Built enough of a nest egg (probably < 5MM) at age of 30 and will go off to pursue his own goals. Before you think that "talent was wasted on a zero-sum game", keep in mind that the rest of my peers in the same age group are likely to be working even more inconsequential desk jobs while paying off mortgages for the rest of their lives.
Working for himself or for a fund? Just curious if there's really room in that space for 1-5mm with all the big fish in the water. Feel free to ping me offline if up for it.
From anecdotal experience it seems to me that high intelligence has a strong correlation with emotional instability, which in turn often manifests in the form of substance abuse.
Smartest person I know works on smarter-than-human artificial intelligence at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute [0]. Previously at Microsoft and Google, he decided to get involved in smarter-than-human AI and is now the Executive Director at MIRI. Definitely inspiring!
I mean, I know plenty of people working in web development and app development, but I still think the people writing assembly for a system that's not been in development for a decade or two are doing pretty damn well at it. Doing anything particularly complicated with ASM is both tricky and tedious as all hell.
As I'm thinking about this question, I just realized while pondering it that.. I can't identify a single person, or few people, I know as "the smartest".
• Low-level infrastructural/optimisation stuff, such as large-scale data analysis systems, language runtimes, and operating systems. Work is hard but even small wins have high impact.
• Developer tools, including using machine learning to help tools help developers better. Improving the state of programming is always welcome.
• Online advertising—such are the times.
• Avoiding the tech industry for a while to relieve burnout and work on personal projects—this person inspired me to do the same.
Perhaps it would be best to avoid the more popular answers to this question in one's own career, depending on your goals.
My own strategy is to intentionally target areas that have been neglected for no good reason. While there are plenty of smart people in my field (fluid dynamics), I feel that if the field had a wider reputation, even more smart people would join, and the number of opportunities I have would shrink. Marketing folks seem to call this the "blue ocean strategy".
So what can you learn from how smart people behave? It would be better to try to distill rational principles from their behavior rather than saying choice X is optimal. For example, ask why choice X is optimal rather than just believing choice X is optimal.
Some currently spend a lot of their time on servicing and properly orchestrating Docker and related infrastructure (the actual product they're working on, mark you, isn't Docker-related ...).
On a much more positive note though a particularly smart person I know works on speech recognition software that uses linguistic features in order to assess communication skills and to some extent psychological properties (in an anonymous, privacy-compliant fashion) such as current predisposition for depression (which can manifest in features like pitch, voice melody and prosody).
I always wondered the definition of "smart" in context of these questions. Am I considered a smart person if I work hard on a subject and succeed at it, or if I am a naturally talented prodigy, and excel on that same topic?
10 gigabit ethernet to the home over singlemode fiber, with the extreme challenge that it needs to have a reasonable ROI for the ISP, fast build process, and reasonable per unit passed costs. And five nines uptime goal over 1 year of statistical measurement.
If I was douchie enough - I am working on p2p internetless cryptocurrency transfers and distributed ID. Otherwise it would be antiphishing, improved open source debuggers, and RISCV implementations.
Definitely the right time to be in that field ($$$$) but it isn't without its moral hazards. I find the area interesting, but the high level maths is beyond me.
Computer vision and robotics (with Agricultural Science applications), RF communications, and one person who works in games development because it affords him his work on a C++ committee sub-group. Outside of technology, an economist for the DoJ and a lawyer who works in non-profits (not sure where she is right now / what sort of work).
I see responses here with a certain tone of derision. That's sad and may be unproductive. Maybe shouldn't the question be what should "we", not just the smartest people working on and how ?
Disclaimer: My perspective is obviously shaped by the places I've worked; I don't know the people I don't know. Here's my LinkedIn profile in you want that context(note - I'm not looking for a job): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsysimon/
Healthcare. There were lots of changes brought about by Obamacare, and while of course many of the political aspects have either been changed or are at risk of being changed with little or no notice, the implementation also created great changes in the industry that aren't going away regardless of the political climate. There are all kinds of niches where something not much more complicated than a simple CRUD app on an iPad can significantly reduce costs and/or improve outcomes. The industry has realized this, and it's going to be a hot place to work for the foreseeable future - and one that can make a real difference in people's lives.
Government. The last I looked was ~2016, but 18F was doing some great things at the time. They had far more latitude in hiring and compensation than is typical for the public sector, but I'm not sure if this is still the case.
Dev community outreach. In my experience, there are at least two kinds of "developer evangelists" - those that are skilled socially (and have to gain the respect of developers) and those that are skilled technically (and may have to learn how to do the social side). Those who are technically-skilled and have proven themselves before taking on the role tend to be both very effective and well compensated. There are a couple of people I know in those roles, but they are people I very much respect.
Devops. Especially at a junior level, I've encountered far more people I would consider to be exceptionally talented on the ops side of things than purely development. I don't know where their careers will end up taking them from there, but I've seen those people rise quickly through the junior > mid-level > senior progression. If a team has someone who is exceptionally smart, motivated, and productive, devops is easily the role I'd want them to be in. Their work there can make the entire team substantially more productive. I think (good) managers see this as well, which is why devops seems to have a higher proportion of very talented people.
Finally, there is something of a revolution happening in academic publishing. It's yet to be seen if the lessons learned by the F/OSS software world can compete and win the cultural war between established academic publishers (e.g. Elsevier), but the people I know who are working in that space definitely qualify as the smartest people I know.
chatmasta|7 years ago
The smartest all jumped on career ladders because of the head start from their degrees and grades. The non-technical went to banks because what other profession pays $100k a year for a liberal arts degree? The technical went to the most recognizable companies that would take them and pay them a lot of money.
The entrepreneurs are a much more interesting bunch; most are technical, some never had a corporate job, some did YC, some left their corporate job and are mindlessly trying to be entrepreneurs, lots have raised funding, and a very select few have exited or hit Series C.
LyndsySimon|7 years ago
"mindlessly"?
What are they missing? I'm curious, because this is a path that has always appealed to me, but that I didn't take in my twenties or early thirties. I hope to be in a position to be able to do it in my late thirties, but am not committed to the idea.
IpV8|7 years ago
aphextron|7 years ago
Came here to post the same, as I take a break from getting people to click on advertisements, at a job that pays way too much money to even consider anything else.
It's pretty damn depressing that the brightest minds of our generation have been sucked up by these companies that really do nothing but further meaningless consumerism. When people ask what I do, I say I work at a button factory.
herbst|7 years ago
Edit:// no idea why I got down voted. I lived of adsense half of 2015 and full 2016. Still don't know why people actually clicked, or why they didn't have a adblock to begin with
clay_the_ripper|7 years ago
anotherevan|7 years ago
— Jeff Hammerbacher
nexus2045|7 years ago
rajacombinator|7 years ago
sgtmas2006|7 years ago
LyndsySimon|7 years ago
herbst|7 years ago
otras|7 years ago
[0] - https://intelligence.org/
CM30|7 years ago
I mean, I know plenty of people working in web development and app development, but I still think the people writing assembly for a system that's not been in development for a decade or two are doing pretty damn well at it. Doing anything particularly complicated with ASM is both tricky and tedious as all hell.
Cshelton|7 years ago
evincarofautumn|7 years ago
• Low-level infrastructural/optimisation stuff, such as large-scale data analysis systems, language runtimes, and operating systems. Work is hard but even small wins have high impact.
• Developer tools, including using machine learning to help tools help developers better. Improving the state of programming is always welcome.
• Online advertising—such are the times.
• Avoiding the tech industry for a while to relieve burnout and work on personal projects—this person inspired me to do the same.
codingdave|7 years ago
iamjk|7 years ago
btrettel|7 years ago
My own strategy is to intentionally target areas that have been neglected for no good reason. While there are plenty of smart people in my field (fluid dynamics), I feel that if the field had a wider reputation, even more smart people would join, and the number of opportunities I have would shrink. Marketing folks seem to call this the "blue ocean strategy".
So what can you learn from how smart people behave? It would be better to try to distill rational principles from their behavior rather than saying choice X is optimal. For example, ask why choice X is optimal rather than just believing choice X is optimal.
rootsudo|7 years ago
BjoernKW|7 years ago
On a much more positive note though a particularly smart person I know works on speech recognition software that uses linguistic features in order to assess communication skills and to some extent psychological properties (in an anonymous, privacy-compliant fashion) such as current predisposition for depression (which can manifest in features like pitch, voice melody and prosody).
InterestBazinga|7 years ago
mabynogy|7 years ago
He is currently homeless and needs your help: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=51kJATJUJxik3DjLLxQB6dw...
JauntTrooper|7 years ago
jb1991|7 years ago
walrus01|7 years ago
flossball|7 years ago
DoctorOetker|7 years ago
Also the distributed ID.
Where can I read your thoughts?
nils-m-holm|7 years ago
Someone1234|7 years ago
Definitely the right time to be in that field ($$$$) but it isn't without its moral hazards. I find the area interesting, but the high level maths is beyond me.
patch_cable|7 years ago
jimnotgym|7 years ago
gabept|7 years ago
He's living amongst the forests, homeschooling his children, after indulging and destroying himself with consumerism, alcohol and drugs.
scruple|7 years ago
reitanqild|7 years ago
People I've learned to know recently? Writing web applications.
rishav|7 years ago
bloodorange|7 years ago
ncfausti|7 years ago
Getting people to click on ads
Biochemistry MD/PhDs
Geologist for a lithium mining company
deweller|7 years ago
fogzen|7 years ago
chasd00|7 years ago
patrickmay|7 years ago
;-)
lcfcjs|7 years ago
[deleted]
Overtonwindow|7 years ago
bllguo|7 years ago
walrus01|7 years ago
rthomas6|7 years ago
LyndsySimon|7 years ago
Healthcare. There were lots of changes brought about by Obamacare, and while of course many of the political aspects have either been changed or are at risk of being changed with little or no notice, the implementation also created great changes in the industry that aren't going away regardless of the political climate. There are all kinds of niches where something not much more complicated than a simple CRUD app on an iPad can significantly reduce costs and/or improve outcomes. The industry has realized this, and it's going to be a hot place to work for the foreseeable future - and one that can make a real difference in people's lives.
Government. The last I looked was ~2016, but 18F was doing some great things at the time. They had far more latitude in hiring and compensation than is typical for the public sector, but I'm not sure if this is still the case.
Dev community outreach. In my experience, there are at least two kinds of "developer evangelists" - those that are skilled socially (and have to gain the respect of developers) and those that are skilled technically (and may have to learn how to do the social side). Those who are technically-skilled and have proven themselves before taking on the role tend to be both very effective and well compensated. There are a couple of people I know in those roles, but they are people I very much respect.
Devops. Especially at a junior level, I've encountered far more people I would consider to be exceptionally talented on the ops side of things than purely development. I don't know where their careers will end up taking them from there, but I've seen those people rise quickly through the junior > mid-level > senior progression. If a team has someone who is exceptionally smart, motivated, and productive, devops is easily the role I'd want them to be in. Their work there can make the entire team substantially more productive. I think (good) managers see this as well, which is why devops seems to have a higher proportion of very talented people.
Finally, there is something of a revolution happening in academic publishing. It's yet to be seen if the lessons learned by the F/OSS software world can compete and win the cultural war between established academic publishers (e.g. Elsevier), but the people I know who are working in that space definitely qualify as the smartest people I know.
zacharycohn|7 years ago
tynman|7 years ago
david927|7 years ago
testplzignore|7 years ago
GolDDranks|7 years ago
psyc|7 years ago
SteveNuts|7 years ago
Toine|7 years ago
rance|7 years ago
gormz|7 years ago
berbec|7 years ago
z3t4|7 years ago
amai|7 years ago
romanpoet|7 years ago
unknown|7 years ago
[deleted]
hockeybias|7 years ago
[deleted]