Why You Will Pick the Wrong Career

Summary

In this video, Lily, a computer science graduate, faces a dilemma between two job offers: software engineer and data scientist. Despite extensive research and networking, she finds it challenging to envision her future in either role. The narrator reassures her that it's normal to feel indecisive, as most people likely choose the 'wrong' career path initially. They emphasize the importance of a growth mindset, suggesting that adaptability and continuous learning are key to crafting a fulfilling career, rather than making a perfect choice upfront. The video also touches on the value of pursuing opportunities and the importance of personal interests alongside career choices.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Lily, a computer science graduate, has two job offers: one as a software engineer and one as a data scientist.
• 🤔 She is indecisive, having changed her major multiple times in college, and fears choosing the wrong career path.
• 🔍 Lily has researched both fields and sought advice but finds it hard to envision herself in either role.
• 👩‍💻 The speaker reassures Lily that it's common to feel uncertain and that most people likely choose the 'wrong' career at first.
• 🧠 Only 27% of college graduates have a job in their field of study, indicating that career paths often change post-graduation.
• 🚀 Successful people often pivot in their careers, as exemplified by Elon Musk's transition from economics and physics to entrepreneurship.
• 💡 The key to a successful career is a growth mindset, which allows for adaptability and continuous learning.
• 🌟 The speaker suggests choosing the career that offers the most learning opportunities and embracing the chance to grow.
• 💼 The importance of aligning career choices with personal values, including financial stability and quality of life, is highlighted.
• 📚 Brilliant.org is recommended as a resource for developing a growth mindset and learning new skills in STEM fields.

Q & A

What are the two job offers Lily received after graduating from college?

Lily received two job offers: one as a software engineer and one as a data scientist.

Why is Lily having a hard time deciding between the two job offers?

Lily is having a hard time deciding because software engineering is more familiar and has more job openings, while she has a genuine interest in data and enjoyed machine learning courses.

What is the speaker's perspective on choosing the right career?

The speaker believes that it's almost inevitable to choose the wrong career at first, as it's hard to know if you'll like something without experiencing it, and many jobs didn't even exist a few years ago.

What is the percentage of college graduates that have a job in their major according to the video?

Only 27% of college graduates have a job in their major.

What is the key mindset that the speaker suggests for a successful career?

The speaker suggests that a growth mindset, which believes intelligence, talents, and abilities are learnable and improvable, is the key to a successful career.

How does the speaker relate personal career changes to the concept of a growth mindset?

The speaker relates personal career changes to a growth mindset by stating that successful people often start in one career and pivot when opportunities present themselves, demonstrating adaptability and continuous learning.

What advice does the speaker give to Lily regarding her career choice?

The speaker advises Lily to choose the option that allows her to learn the most and to be open to new opportunities for learning and growth.

Why does the speaker mention Elon Musk in the video?

The speaker mentions Elon Musk as an example of someone who started in one field and pivoted to another, demonstrating the ability to adapt and seize opportunities, which is a trait of having a growth mindset.

What is the role of the sponsor 'brilliant.org' in the context of the video?

Brilliant.org is mentioned as a resource for developing a growth mindset through self-study and learning new things, particularly in STEM subjects, which aligns with the video's theme of continuous learning and improvement.

What is the speaker's personal approach to career and passion, as mentioned in the video?

The speaker is conservative by nature and values financial stability and status, suggesting that while they may prioritize a high-paying job, they also self-learn and explore passions like filmmaking to potentially combine them in the future.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Career Decision Dilemma

The video opens with a sponsorship acknowledgment and introduces Lily, a recent computer science graduate facing a choice between two job offers: software engineering and data science. Despite her extensive job search and interviews, she is indecisive, having changed her college major multiple times. The narrator suggests that choosing the 'wrong' career path is common, and it's nearly impossible to predict job satisfaction without experiencing the role. Only a small percentage of college graduates end up in jobs related to their major, indicating career paths are often unpredictable. The video emphasizes that a growth mindset, the belief that abilities can be developed, is crucial for adapting and thriving in any career choice.

05:01

🚀 Crafting the Perfect Career

The video continues by encouraging viewers not to stress over choosing the 'perfect' career, as many successful people have changed their career paths. It suggests that one should focus on developing a growth mindset to adapt and learn from opportunities. The narrator shares personal anecdotes and examples of people who pivoted in their careers, like a bike racer who became a growth marketer, illustrating the dynamic nature of career development. The video concludes with a sponsorship message for Brilliant.org, a platform for interactive learning in STEM subjects, which aligns with the theme of continuous learning and growth. The narrator also shares a personal preference for financial stability and the pursuit of passions alongside a primary career, suggesting a balanced approach to career and personal interests.

Keywords

💡Career Choice

Career choice refers to the decision one makes regarding their professional path. In the video, Lily's dilemma between becoming a software engineer or a data scientist exemplifies the challenges of career selection. The script emphasizes that choosing the 'right' career is fraught with uncertainty, and it's common to feel overwhelmed by the decision's long-term implications.

💡Software Engineering

Software Engineering is a field that involves the design, development, and maintenance of software systems. The video mentions it as one of Lily's job offers, highlighting its familiarity and the abundance of job opportunities in this area. It's presented as a more traditional and defined career path compared to data science.

💡Data Science

Data Science involves the analysis and interpretation of complex digital data sets to extract useful information, support decision-making, and drive strategies. The script discusses Lily's interest in data and her enjoyment of machine learning courses, suggesting that data science could be a growing and dynamic field that aligns with her interests.

💡Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. The video stresses the importance of a growth mindset for career success, suggesting that it allows individuals to adapt, learn, and excel in any chosen field, which is crucial for navigating career changes and seizing new opportunities.

💡Indecisiveness

Indecisiveness is the inability to make decisions, often due to anxiety about the consequences. Lily's character is described as indecisive, particularly regarding her career, which mirrors the video's theme of the challenges in choosing a career path. Her past of changing majors reflects this trait and adds depth to her current career decision.

💡Machine Learning

Machine Learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that enables systems to learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. The video mentions machine learning courses as part of Lily's positive academic experience, indicating her potential aptitude and interest in the technical aspects of data science.

💡Career Pivot

A career pivot refers to a significant change in one's professional path. The video uses examples of successful individuals like Elon Musk, who started in one field and pivoted to another, to illustrate that it's common and often necessary to change careers to find the right fit or to pursue new opportunities.

💡Job Market Trends

Job market trends refer to the patterns and shifts in the demand for different types of jobs. The script touches on the rapid growth of data science, reflecting broader trends in the job market. Understanding these trends can influence career decisions, as they suggest which fields might offer more opportunities.

💡Self-Learning

Self-learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills independently, without formal instruction. The video advocates for self-learning as a means to explore interests and prepare for career opportunities, such as using platforms like Brilliant to learn STEM subjects, which can be beneficial regardless of one's immediate career path.

💡Brilliant.org

Brilliant.org is an online learning platform mentioned in the video as a resource for developing a growth mindset and self-learning. It offers interactive courses in STEM subjects, which are recommended by recruiters for preparing for interviews in tech fields. The platform is highlighted as a tool for continuous learning and skill development.

💡Opportunity

Opportunity, in the context of the video, refers to chances for career advancement or change. The script encourages viewers to be open to new opportunities, as they can lead to personal growth and the crafting of a fulfilling career. It suggests that being adaptable and ready to learn is key to seizing these opportunities.

Highlights

Lily graduates with a computer science degree and receives two job offers: one as a software engineer and one as a data scientist.

Software engineering is a more defined career with more job openings, while data science is a rapidly growing field.

Lily has always been indecisive, changing her major multiple times in college.

The video suggests that it's almost inevitable to choose the wrong career due to the abstract nature of predicting job satisfaction.

Only 27% of college graduates have a job in their major, indicating the fluidity of career choices.

The importance of having a growth mindset is emphasized for adapting and thriving in any career choice.

Successful people often pivot multiple times in their careers, as exemplified by Elon Musk's diverse career path.

The video encourages viewers not to stress about choosing the perfect career, but to focus on personal growth and learning.

Lily is advised to choose the career that allows her to learn the most and to be open to new opportunities.

The video suggests that one doesn't simply choose their perfect career but rather crafts it through continuous learning and adaptation.

The speaker shares a personal anecdote about balancing financial stability with pursuing personal interests.

Brilliant.org is introduced as a resource for developing a growth mindset and learning new STEM subjects.

The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to share their career choices and thoughts in the comments.

Transcripts

thank you brilliant for sponsoring

today's video Lily is about to graduate

from college with a computer science

degree she applied to over 200 jobs and

went through grueling rounds of

interviews but it did pay off and she

ended up with two offers one as a

software engineer and one as a data

scientist she's obviously super happy

grateful very very relieved but now the

question is which to choose on one hand

software engineering is something that

she's more familiar with it has a lot

more job openings it's a more defined

career a lot of her friends are software

Engineers on the other hand she's always

been interested in data she also really

enjoyed taking the machine learning

courses that were offered as electives

and the field of data science seems like

it's growing rapidly with more and more

people being interested in data and

using data so what to do what to do she

has watched all the videos about

software engineering about data science

she's reach out to people on LinkedIn

But ultimately it feels really abstract

because it's hard to Envision yourself

actually going down either career paths

and knowing which one you would like

better and you know the thing is Lily

has always been a pretty indecisive

person at least when it comes to her

career in college change your major a

lot going from Finance to pharmacology

to literature and she ultimately settled

on computer science basically it has

been a struggle and she has commitment

issues to her it feels like every step

she's supposed to narrow down what it is

that she wants to do for the rest of her

life with all the other options just

closing forever the thought of choosing

wrong terrifies her okay so this is what

I would tell you don't sweat it girl

you're right you are probably going to

choose the wrong career wait what did

you say but it's okay almost everybody

does I mean seriously the probability of

you choosing the right career is so

small first of all how are you supposed

to know you would really like doing

something without embarking on that

journey and actually experiencing it for

example maybe you think data science is

about building fancy machine learning

models maybe you think it's about like a

lot of coding and in reality it might

just be you sitting there cleaning data

for 80 of your time and losing your mind

here's that only 27 of college grads

have a job in their major another reason

why you probably choose your career

wrong it's at the by the careers are

very long in fact a lot of the jobs that

you see right now were even available

like five years or ten years ago and

it's hard to imagine what jobs will look

like in five years or ten years from now

and you get people like me and I

genuinely love what I do right now I

love my job I think my career is going a

direction that I will be very happy with

in the future as well but what exactly

do I do I make internet videos for you

guys I write a newsletter which by the

way y'all should check out over here

where I talk about my life and stuff and

I run an octopus program about

self-learning like what like how could I

possibly have known that I would be

doing something like this so you see if

you somehow decide that you want to just

like must exactly get the best career

right now that is a lot of pressure on

yourself and statistically speaking

you're probably going to be wrong unless

you know yourself very well and you can

also predict the future and even some of

the smartest and most successful people

out there has pivoted multiple times in

their career Elon Musk for example

graduated from UPenn with a dual degree

in physics and Ecom he started a PhD

program in Material Science ended up

dropping out and then founded several

companies in a bunch of different fields

sure Rose Amber the formal CEO of meta

she started with a bachelor in economics

worked at the World Bank did an MBA went

to management consulting worked in

advertising and then ended up as the

chief operating officer at the tech

company okay so I hope I drove home that

point that it's okay I don't stress out

so much like you're probably gonna

choose the wrong career anyway a bit

rude but noted and it's okay if you

change your mind some of the most

successful people do but I do want to

make a point that there is one thing

that matters way way more to have an

amazing career and it's something that

all successful people share and that is

a growth mindset someone with a growth

mindset believes that intelligence

talents and abilities are learnable and

you can improve on them and this is in

contrast with someone with a fixed

mindset that believes that you pretty

much are given what you have and then

that's about it so having this growth

mindset is what allows you to adapt to

improve and to learn so you can thrive

in whatever it is that you choose to do

and when the opportunity presents itself

for something better it allows you to

take that opportunity and and jump to

the next thing and then thrive in that

as well now that is how you end up with

the best career for you going back to

Elon Musk he's one of the best examples

out there like the guy started off in

something he realized that there was

another opportunity that he could take

advantage of and he just jumps at the

opportunity he went from an econ and

physics person to building Rockets

that's insane from my personal

experience as well I noticed that the

smartest people and the most successful

people are often those that started off

in a certain career ended up like

pivoting and jumping when opportunity

presents itself for example I know a guy

who races bikes and now he works in

growth marketing a doctor who became a

software engineer and it became a crypto

developer these people are so Dynamic

and I think they are the ones that end

up being the happiest with the career

that they ultimately craft for

themselves okay so hopefully you feel

less stressed out about this now and are

more interested in developing a growth

mindset but let's go back to Lily's

example she still has to make a choice

do we go for software engineering or do

we go for data science well in Lily's

case obviously both offers are

absolutely amazing my advice would be to

go for the choice that allows you to

learn the most commit to this open

yourself up go out there and learn as

much as you can and when you're

presented with the opportunity to learn

more something that's exciting something

that's new to keep that opportunity

because you're confident in your ability

to learn and to adopt any situation

which will push you to Greater Heights

and that is how you end up crafting your

perfect career you see you don't choose

your perfect career you craft your

perfect career okay so before I end this

video I do want to make one more point

you see I'm a pretty conservative person

by Nature what I mean by this is that I

respect people who are able to pursue

their passions and be like this is the

thing that I love doing and they don't

think that much about money or status

but with me I do care about money I do

care about status and I also like having

a certain quality of life so if I were

given the choice between something like

I don't know like a film assistant I may

be super interested in Philips super

passionate about it or a job offer a

tech company in which I'm making really

good money I will go with the tech

company that's making me really good

money but while I'm on that job I would

also be self-learning how to do film

stuff and maybe create a YouTube channel

so I'm able to explore that side of

things as well maybe one day I will have

an an opportunity in which I can then

combine these two things together now a

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video all right I hope you enjoyed this

video I hope this was helpful for you I

hope you feel less stressed out about

choosing the right career and things

like that let me know in the comments if

you're choosing between different

careers right now what the different

options are and what you think you're

going to do now and I will see you guys

in the next video for live stream