Finding Purpose in Tech Careers: The Explorer, the Journeyman, and the Healer

Software problems tend to evolve over time into philosophy problems, a point that's come up in a few Diff pieces, like the Antithesis writeup and Asana's ontology-as-a-service ($). In this particular category, it's the philosophy of work and vocation: a bond trader, accountant, or social media manager doesn't necessarily have to spend much time nav... See more

curiosity, passion, and purpose—and add autonomy and mastery to our stack. Both are exceptionally potent drivers, and both are biologically designed to work in conjunction with the previous stack. Autonomy is the desire for the freedom required to pursue your passion and purpose. It’s the need to steer your own ship. Mastery is the next step. It dr

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16:45 - Intro to Shawn's book “The Coding Career Handbook.” Definition of Career by Mark McGranaghan: “The course and consequences of your professional endeavors.” And that it is more non-linear than in the past. Definition of Career by Shawn Wang: “Career is the story that you retroactively tell after we do the things that we’ve done. It becomes a... See more

One former client, who is now the CEO of a health-care company, said if he had to identify one key element of his career success, it was realizing early on that every new role in his career carried its own particular purpose. Whether the new role came from a promotion or from a move to a different organization, his first task was always to get very

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People love to ask what you do for work and understand your professional trajectory. Often, it’s a surface question. Or, used to quickly categorize people in familiar boxes. But beneath this lies a far more interesting story. 
I don’t think you can truly answer questions about work without exploring ambition and identity. Looking back over the... See more

Understanding why you undertake certain projects or tasks is just as important as knowing how. Whether it’s because you have to or because you want to, find the purpose in your work. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over my career is that I can find a worthy bet anywhere. It might not be obvious and I might have to dig for it, but it’... See more

The desire for fulfilling work — a job that provides a deep sense of purpose, and reflects our values, passions and personality — is a modern invention. … For centuries, most inhabitants of the Western world were too busy struggling to meet their subsistence needs to worry about whether they had an exciting career that used their talents and nurtur... See more