“Part 7: Which jobs put you in the best long-term position?” by Benjamin Todd

Mozart is one of the most famous child prodigies, but it’s less widely known that his father was a world-famous music teacher, and started training him from age three. Mozart’s sister was also an accomplished player. This is a painting of all three practicing together. Great skill requires lots of practice.

People like to lionise the Mozarts, Malala Yousafzais, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world — people who achieved great success while young — and there are all sorts of awards for young leaders, like the Forbes 30 Under 30.

But these stories are interesting precisely because they’re the exception.

---

Outline:

(03:24) The bottom line

(06:12) Why career capital is so important

(07:40) Five components of career capital

(09:47) How can you get the best career capital? Get good at something useful.

(12:31) What skills will be most valuable in the future?

(16:30) Concrete steps for gaining career capital

(17:15) Work at a growing organisation that has a reputation for high performance in your path

(22:32) Go to graduate school in carefully chosen subjects

(29:13) Take an entry-level route into policy careers

(33:10) Develop a useful skill

(40:52) Do anything where you might excel (even if it’s a bit random)

(43:14) Do what contributes

(45:24) Transferable vs specialist career capital

(46:28) Should you wait to have an impact?

(48:33) How can you get career capital in any job?

(48:49) Conclusion

(49:27) Exercise: Apply this to your own career

---

First published:
September 30th, 2014

Source:
https://80000hours.org/career-guide/career-capital