Is there even a point in having a career?

[Mole]

Imagine you discovered a source of free energy. You had the designs all laid out. You even had some working prototypes. This would revolutionise the world. But imagine you throw the blueprints and prototype in the bin and decide to become an accountant instead because your parents and teachers say you need a stable job and provide for your family.

Isn't this free source of energy no different to philosophy? Isn't it true that philosophy can and has to some degree revolutionalise the world? So what possible value can you find in becoming an accountant, a surgeon, a lawyer, a technician, a teacher, an academic, etc?

There isn't much of a societal value incentive. 70% of those dollars will be wasted.

Maybe you'll say the value is in the act of the job itself. A source of pride and esteem. How could you possibly find value in anything else if you discovered a source of free energy?

It's true that some people must find a career or a specialty to lift themselves out of poverty, but I don't see that applying to first world nations.

If you get the career you wanted, how does it feel like working for most of your life knowing that the 20% at the top at your business are creating 80% of the wealth?

Unless you are in that top 20%, what is the purpose in sacrificing your life for a couple extra dozen K a year? Why not work 2 hours a day MAX instead and spend the rest of your life in leisure and devoting the rest to teaching philosophy, raising your children, making relationships, learning philosophy, appreciating art, doing self-help? It is true that happiness is derived from value creation; the application of mans' mind, but how can value be appreciated without time devoted to consuming it?

After learning about how inefficient the average life is: watching 7 hours of TV a day, or wasting your intellectual prowess in academia or chess, or raising children and having little clue in what you are really doing.
It's really made my cynical about society. There are so many options and things to learn for young people like myself but there's no guidance. After learning about philosophy I see a path emerging from the darkness. Albeit, the other paths remain dark. And from my subjective perception, it makes no sense to me why anyone would go another path unless they are some kind of robot monkey who is acting out something wired into him with no free will. Other paths may be lightened for them, but I cannot sympathise with it one bit. Actually, it is worse than not sympathising, it's demoralising. I feel like I have to reinvent the wheel at this point since almost everything people have told me has no real world use. "Follow your passion", "Do what you're good at", "Get a stable job", "You'll figure it out later", "Take a gap year". These are all bromides given to us from dead intellectuals and artists. There is nothing original and real about them. Every man has his own bromide. How can I possibly believe society is well meaning if it does not even have integrity?

People talk about finishing their degree in electrophysiology with such passion. But ever since I was a kid no technical passion has existed for me. Ever since I was a young kid I only thought about philosophy. At first, I thought I wanted to be a physicist until I learned that I really wanted to be a metaphysician. Then I thought I wanted to be a Christian apologist but then I realised I wanted to be a moralist. Now I am considering psychology, but perhaps what I really want to be is an epistemologist.

Perhaps I should learn to appreciate the innate philosophical aspects to all professions? After all, once anarchism has been realised the same structures will have to be maintained and some industries will have to be transferred into the private domain. Someone has to be good at those things. Perhaps others are incapable of drawing out the blueprints of anarchism. Perhaps that's something my unconscious demands I do. It is good enough if others are at least aware of the transition taking place. Appreciation can be discovered in the work itself. Hmm, and I guess it's sufficient to spread wisdom through personal relationships since one to many relationships (publicity) is for leaders.

It is true that if everyone was a philosopher nobody would bake the bread, however, if everyone was a philosopher we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.

Am I being overly cynical? Should I have more appreciation for professional work? If it is true that I should, I better find it otherwise I will be the real robot monkey not being able to find my own passion. The last thing I want to do is project.

[Mole]

I think I answered my own question in the bold, my analogy of finding a free source of energy is actually really silly since it only takes a few people and not a whole society to work on it, however, whole society reaps the benefits if they are open to it. This post shows nothing but my own incompetence in having an integrated set of moral values which I can express in the world through my work and life. While others are decisive here I am all confused about which direction I must go to uphold the moral values I claim to have. Just because others don't teach their values to the masses does not mean they don't possess them and it doesn't mean that they aren't doing the best they can with the abilities they have to spread them.

[twinklingwinter]

 

3 hours ago, Mole said:

Unless you are in that top 20%, what is the purpose in sacrificing your life for a couple extra dozen K a year?

 

I stopped reading after this. You're begging the question. By phrasing that question in that way, you assume the conclusion that there's no point in working on a career, to prove that there's no point in working on a career. Why? Because you said "sacrificing your life", which implies doing something for your whole life against your self interest. You haven't proved that working implies doing something against one's own self interest. Perhaps you should ask yourself why you see work in this way before making universal statements about work.

Check your premises.

[Boss]

A guaranteed check is never pointless, that's why many wait in line to freely fill out the application.

[meetjoeblack]

On ‎7‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 2:54 PM, twinklingwinter said:

 

 

I stopped reading after this. You're begging the question. By phrasing that question in that way, you assume the conclusion that there's no point in working on a career, to prove that there's no point in working on a career. Why? Because you said "sacrificing your life", which implies doing something for your whole life against your self interest. You haven't proved that working implies doing something against one's own self interest. Perhaps you should ask yourself why you see work in this way before making universal statements about work.

Check your premises.

+ 1

 

Excellent post. One of the best I have seen in a long time.

Ideally, working towards a career that highlights one's talents and skills would be beneficial rather then self-sacrificing. Unfortunately, during a Jordan Peterson video I recently watched, he discussed the push to women for a "career," running up student loans, loans that you cannot declare bankruptcy when the reality sets in that, Liberal Arts or Women's studies and being a SJW wont pay off student loan. Nor will squandering SMV, letting it crater chasing a "career" that doesn't exist when in fact, at a woman's baseline, a significant amount of the female population would much prefer to be a stay at home mother. Said reality sets in once actually going to work and trying to pay off a crazy loan happens.

Peterson is correct in saying that, most don't acquire a career but have a job that they wouldn't do if not for the pay. Staking one's claim in the free market sounds great in theory but, it is challenging as a fuck, long hours, and very cut throat. Many of the high paying corporate jobs or even middle class jobs are being outsourced. A buddy with a ton of education and skills got turned down for a job by idiots with not even the fraction of the education he has or the skill sets.

I don't think pissing away your life chasing the top of the pyramid in the corporate or business world is ideal for one's happiness, health or personal life especially if you have a LTR or family. If you are going to get throttled for taxes, I fail to see the point of acquiring a crazy high paying job when in fact, you are going to be working 80hr weeks, having a long commute or paying for a over priced piece of property (if not renting). There is a dominance hierarchy. The chase for a career is to win that game coupled with whatever cards you were dealt in the genetic lottery. Its all a big game of monopoly only the stakes are much higher.

To answer TS' Q: about career, I think it be more ideal to begin starting your own business venture then chasing a carrot on a string in the form of a better high paying long hour job.