Thoughts on requesting reasoning or examples to not pursue fields/positions

By TheMatAllen @ 2022-05-20T20:43 (+10)

In a one-on-one at EAGx Boston an attendee mentioned to me specific points from a talk on entrepreneurship easily convinced them not to continue this path, which was quite relieving to them.

This makes me think, could a post of different fields and their respective "deal breakers" be a useful (or harmful?) post to have?

For example, "I've worked in [whatever field/position] and pretty frequently my colleagues and I have noticed that traits x,y,z have often precluded someone from advancing or enjoying their job. Maybe talk to someone about this if you're concerned."

I can imagine this being harmful if someone misinterprets the info and gives up trying to excel in a field they may be a good fit for, if this post did happen I'd be sure to include a warning at the top.

At the same time, having clarity on what not to do utilizes resources more efficiently as well.

I'm uncertain about this, but think it would be generally helpful.

Rob Mitchell @ 2022-05-20T20:56 (+2)

I don't think approaching this as 'why not to pursue a path' is helpful. I think it's more about helping people be aware of things they may not know so they can make an educated decision. That decision may then be 'it's not for me'. Think of the numbers showing how few people become professional athletes. The framing isn't 'don't do it because you won't make it'. It's 'few people make it, decide in full knowledge.'

TheMatAllen @ 2022-05-20T21:16 (+1)

"Decide in full knowledge"; I think that's exactly what I was aiming for, thank you.

My impression (and maybe I just haven't seen the articles) is that there is more focus on "these are the traits of people who have done well in this path" and something along these lines would attempt to balance that.

I may also be biased as I have a lot of interests, and narrowing down feels much better than adding more options to my plate.