Work Hard & Be Nice To People.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, just released a new book and it's getting all kinds of attention. Mostly the catty female kind. I haven't read the book. I haven't read much of the commentary. But I've skimmed enough to have emotions to write a blog on it. First, it sounds like her book may not be the best written work ever, but that's not what is setting people off. It's the fact that she espouses (I think) that women need to buckle down and step up ("Lean in"), and move on up in the professional world. And the skeptics are saying, "We can't all do that! Stop making it look like everyone can get a Harvard education and be a crazy money-making career person! You are ungrateful to the little people who make your life possible! Stop making us look bad!"
And that's what pisses me off. First, I see 3 things that keep people from getting top-notch educations. 1) They're not smart enough to get in. This probably applies to less people than you'd think. 2) They're not willing to work hard enough. This probably applies to way more people than you'd think. Scratch that. If you're reading this you're probably a hard worker and know what I'm talking about. 3) They can't afford it - but if you can get in, you can afford it. Either you take out the loans and you pay them back, or you find a sweet scholarship. But the math is simple - even at $70k/yr tuition, with a solid degree and the willingness to take a job using that degree, you can pay it back. Ok, maybe there's a 4th, and that's unforeseen life circumstances.
But you know what, that's not what actually gets my goat. It's the attitude that you can't do it, so you shouldn't even try.
I think there is a definite demand for more women to move up into leadership positions, but a lack of qualified or willing candidates. And you know what, if you want to do that, a great place to start is with a degree in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field.
I've been fielding quite a few questions lately on college related items from the high school set. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I love WPI and love talking about it :) What I'm realizing is that the most likely path to a big money, big power career starts in high school. It starts with recognizing that the hard subjects are hard for a reason, and if you can buckle down and figure one of them out, that is a huge first step. It's really easy to get distracted by popularity or trying to fit in or the million other high school crapolas that crop up. And for some people this comes very easily. But even if it doesn't come easily, and you manage to learn that awesome skill of working hard and figuring sh!t out, you will actually be a much better employee than the other type of people. My better half is a much better engineer than I will ever be. He is good at sitting still and figuring things out. I get fed up after about 30 seconds. He may not aim to be a CEO, but he's the type of guy that makes a good company great, and (I hope) his management realizes that. They seem to.
As for the money part - I love money. I really do. And I'm telling every teenager I know that they need to be a pharmacist or an actuary, because that's where the dough is. But the money isn't enough. I don't know what her book says about when you reach that point in your career, but I'm curious to find out. Did she ever run into it? When you see this mega opportunity and it looks golden on the outside, but you just can't get excited about it?
This blog totally rambled all over the place. Too damn bad. Like Anthony Burrill says...
And that's what pisses me off. First, I see 3 things that keep people from getting top-notch educations. 1) They're not smart enough to get in. This probably applies to less people than you'd think. 2) They're not willing to work hard enough. This probably applies to way more people than you'd think. Scratch that. If you're reading this you're probably a hard worker and know what I'm talking about. 3) They can't afford it - but if you can get in, you can afford it. Either you take out the loans and you pay them back, or you find a sweet scholarship. But the math is simple - even at $70k/yr tuition, with a solid degree and the willingness to take a job using that degree, you can pay it back. Ok, maybe there's a 4th, and that's unforeseen life circumstances.
But you know what, that's not what actually gets my goat. It's the attitude that you can't do it, so you shouldn't even try.
I think there is a definite demand for more women to move up into leadership positions, but a lack of qualified or willing candidates. And you know what, if you want to do that, a great place to start is with a degree in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field.
I've been fielding quite a few questions lately on college related items from the high school set. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I love WPI and love talking about it :) What I'm realizing is that the most likely path to a big money, big power career starts in high school. It starts with recognizing that the hard subjects are hard for a reason, and if you can buckle down and figure one of them out, that is a huge first step. It's really easy to get distracted by popularity or trying to fit in or the million other high school crapolas that crop up. And for some people this comes very easily. But even if it doesn't come easily, and you manage to learn that awesome skill of working hard and figuring sh!t out, you will actually be a much better employee than the other type of people. My better half is a much better engineer than I will ever be. He is good at sitting still and figuring things out. I get fed up after about 30 seconds. He may not aim to be a CEO, but he's the type of guy that makes a good company great, and (I hope) his management realizes that. They seem to.
As for the money part - I love money. I really do. And I'm telling every teenager I know that they need to be a pharmacist or an actuary, because that's where the dough is. But the money isn't enough. I don't know what her book says about when you reach that point in your career, but I'm curious to find out. Did she ever run into it? When you see this mega opportunity and it looks golden on the outside, but you just can't get excited about it?
This blog totally rambled all over the place. Too damn bad. Like Anthony Burrill says...
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