“Part 8: How to find the right career for you” by Benjamin Todd

Everyone says it’s important to find a job you’re good at, but no one tells you how.

The standard advice is to think about it for weeks and weeks until you “discover your talent.” To help, career advisers give you quizzes about your interests and preferences. Others recommend you go on a gap yah, reflect deeply, imagine different options, and try to figure out what truly motivates you.

But as we saw in an earlier article, becoming really good at most things takes decades of practice. So to a large degree, your abilities are built rather than “discovered.” Darwin, Lincoln, and Oprah all failed early in their careers, then went on to completely dominate their fields. Albert Einstein’s 1895 schoolmaster’s report reads, “He will never amount to anything.”

Asking “What am I good at?” needlessly narrows your options. It’s better to ask: “What could I become good at?”

That aside, the bigger problem is that these methods aren’t reliable. Plenty of research shows that while it’s possible to predict what you’ll be good at ahead of time, it’s difficult. Just “going with your gut” is particularly unreliable, and it turns out career tests don’t work very well either.

Instead, you should be prepared to think like a scientist — learn about and try out your options, looking outwards rather than inwards.

---

Outline:

(01:42) The bottom line

(03:09) Being good at your job is more important than you think

(07:53) Why introspection, going with your gut, and career tests don’t work

(08:08) Performance is hard to predict ahead of time

(10:18) Don’t go with your gut

(12:10) Why career tests also don’t work

(12:45) What does work in predicting where you’ll excel, according to the research?

(14:05) How can you find a job that fits? Think like a scientist.

(14:56) Make a big list of options

(15:57) Figure out your key uncertainties

(16:47) Do cheap tests first

(18:48) Try something (and iterate)

(19:56) What are the best ways to predict career fit, according to the research?

(23:46) How much should you explore in your career?

(26:02) Explore more when you’re young

(26:46) Consider trying several paths (with careful ordering)

(30:38) Jess — a case study in exploring

(31:52) A rational reason to shoot for the stars

(34:11) If unsure, quit

(35:19) Exercise: Apply this to your own career

(36:41) Conclusion

---

First published:
August 7th, 2014

Source:
https://80000hours.org/career-guide/personal-fit